Sunday 30 August 2015

Another Loss

Our old pal McLean helped ensure another league defeat yesterday as Killie went down 0-1 at Fir Park. That said, he didn't help but he is not to blame, the league table doesn't lie. The match report etc may be a bit delayed this week due to circumstances out with our control...about time someone on the board took control!

Friday 28 August 2015

Josh Bites Back

Josh Magennis spoke to the press yesterday about the now infamous Gordon Sawer viral video and his views on how we have started the season.

He said: "For me, those kind of people  are not fans. If they want to do that, then to me they are poison. They pay their money so all due respect. But then they get airtime on the radio and it just gets promoted. For me, people like that are irrelevant to my life. If you listen to that kind of stuff and you take it on board, you are not a footballer. For me, that just goes in one ear and out the other.

The Dundee game at the start of the season was an embarrassment to football. It was a disaster. No-one showed up, not even the subs. But even though we got beat by the same score at the weekend by Ross County, it was more of a mixed bag. We just got beat by a better team. I don't think any of us failed to show up. We created a few chances but still looked vulnerable in defence. It was better but still the same result. A loss is still a loss whether you concede one goal or four.



Has the flak been hard to take? Maybe for some but as a footballer you've just got to take it. You are paid to be a footballer and you are in the limelight whether you like it or not, whether you try to go under the radar or not. You are always going to get some press. I try not to pay too much attention to the good press or the bad. I try not to get carried away.

The criticism we have been getting is well deserved because compared to the start we had last season, this one isn't good enough. But with the quality we have in the team, of course we believe we can turn it around. I will back us against anyone. Unfortunately so far we haven't hit out stride. I'd just ask the fans to stick with us. They have every right to be a bit weary. They pay their hard-earned money to come watch us. We're not entertaining them right now but hopefully we will be playing exciting and expansive football soon. They just need to be patient."

Gordon's Dietary Advice

Supporters Meeting

Kilmarnock FC Director Russel Smith has organised a meeting with Kilmarnock FC supporters for the evening of Thursday 3rd September.

Russel will be joined by Kilmarnock FC Chairman Jim Mann and fellow Director John Kiltie. The purpose of the meeting is to answer supporter's questions and improve engagement and communication with Kilmarnock FC supporters.

Due to room size restriction, the meeting is strictly by invitation only.

Should you wish to attend, please email slo@kilmarnockfc.co.uk including any question title you would like discussed. Questions from the floor will be managed from the question titles received.

Invitations to attend will be forwarded on a first come first served basis.

Thursday 27 August 2015

League Cup Draw

Killie were first out of the draw today for the third round of the Scottish League Cup, followed immediately by table-topping Hearts. With the Jambos not seeded having been in the Championship last season, ours is the only all Premiership match and surely the tie of the round. The full draw is:-

Kilmarnock v Hearts
Livingston v Inverness CT
Ross County v Falkirk
Rangers v St Johnstone
Celtic v Raith Rovers
Morton v Motherwell
Dundee United v Dunfermline Athletic
Hibernian v Aberdeen

The next round fixtures are scheduled for Tuesday 22nd or Wednesday 23rd September and we have updated the Fixtures page accordingly.

Festival Time

Apologies for the delay (this real life thing is a drag), we have added the match report LC02 and Sandy Ferguson's pictures from Tuesday night's 4-1 League Cup win over Berwick Rangers. Also updated the Fixtures and Hotshots pages. Watch out later today to see who we draw in the next round. Killie are seeded in the draw but you can only beat what is put in front of you so we'll take anyone at home please.

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Mixu Love Letter

So we clocked this wee gem on the Killie Kickback Forums today and thought it deserved a wider audience than those who are already au fait with the excellent scottishcomedyfc.com. Killie fan Michael Park penned a love letter to our former Finnish boss Mixu Paatelainen on behalf of the club...and well it made us chuckle. You can check it out at their website HERE


Tuesday 25 August 2015

Berwick Tickets

If you are looking to buy tickets for the League Cup match against Berwick Rangers tonight (Tuesday 25th August) you can do that online at the official website HERE

Monday 24 August 2015

Season Diary - Week 4

August 24th 2015... So much for the hard work starting now, if the weekend’s result goes for anything then we are simply not up to it. Too many players who do not look interested and there is definitely problems with the way the team is being selected and set up and, nice guy though he is, Gary Locke has to be held responsible for that. Lee McCulloch was registered as a player in case of emergency with a talent like Kiltie and Slater back from injury both on the bench, what was the thinking behind starting a 38-year-old who clearly could not keep up with play? The midfield is non-existent at times and the defence shambolic, if we struggle to get out our own half we are not going to score many goals. Killie fan Gordon Sawers' video rant at the team went viral at the weekend, it may have been x-certificate stuff but let’s be honest, it is along the lines of what we are all thinking.


 

Sunday 23 August 2015

Viral Video Rant!

The biggest news of the weekend does not seem to be Killie's capitulation at Rugby Park to Ross County, it would appear that Killie fan Gordon Sawer's Facebook video has grabbed everyone's attention more! The Scottish media has latched onto Gordon's rant and the video has now gone viral with more views than the club can expect fans to go through the gates for the whole season.


For the avoidance of doubt...there are profanities galore in the six minute epic so it is not safe for work and definitely not safe to play when the kids are around! Gordon is quite clear on his feelings on the teams performance, or lack of it, and with social media being what it is we can expect the manager and players to be privy to the Sawer's tongue lashing...and let's be honest, apart from McDonald and possibly McKenzie...they probably deserve it!

Gordon told killiefc.com: "I'm on WestFM breakfast show tomorrow morning and my phone hasn't stopped all day. Thailand, Australia, India to name but a few countries it's reached and I have even had Ayr fans praising me, unbelievable! The newspapers only called me because it went viral but the fact is that we supporters need to be heard! KTID"

And now the movie trailer!

Fleeting Visit

Former club Chairman Bobby Fleeting was in town on Saturday and took in the 'match' at the Theatre of Pies. Clearly he has seen better times at Ayrshire's premier club but that didn't stop him popping into the Howard Arms post game to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones in the process.


We did pick Bobby's brains about the current situation at the club but he is not the kind of guy to start pointing fingers and all he would say was: "It was a different situation when we took control of the club, all the dead wood was already gone and it is much easier to kick start things when you have a fresh start."


Bobby and wife Annie, whose parents were instrumental in the re-building of Rugby Park back in the day, are travelling with friends and were in town to visit Bobby's sister Mary and her husband Dennis Hubble who are both still regulars at the football; so it goes without saying that seeing the mighty Killie in action was high on the holiday itinerary.


It was great to see Bobby back in town and it is a stark reminder of how things were on the up for the club during his tenure. It is a real shame that Jim Mann was unfortunately unavailable to meet his predecessor on this occasion as we am sure he would welcome the opportunity to get some tips on how to get the crowds back from the man who could sell sand to the Arabs.


Out for the County

Hammered at home by the Highlanders. Yesterday's match was truly dreadful and it was virtually all over bar the shouting five minutes in! Another four goals conceded at home with no reply, this is becoming a very bad habit.

We have now uploaded Sandy Ferguson's match pictures along with a match report from another new lad to the team, David Shaw. We have also updated the Fixtures and League Table but sadly not the Hotshots page.



Saturday 22 August 2015

Half Time Hotline

It could be worse, but not much! Two goals down in the opening minutes and the defence looking shakier than the boy Stevens in his ole house. Cue injuries to Connolly and then Westlake and another easy goal and the Dundee debacle is looking in danger of not being the worst performance of the season. Sorry, make that for goals down...and could have been more. McCulloch then gets injured and replaced by Splaine, why are we starting with a 38 year old in the first place?

With the home fans singing "what a load of rubbish" you can sense it is not going to be a pleasant second half unless someone dopes the half time refreshments in the County dressing room. Even if they did there will probably still be more dopes in ours! If DJ Dave doesn't play "it's an embarrassment" during the break it will be a travesty...a bit like our defending.

Launch Team


The bubbly was cracked open at PlanB headquarters in Riverside Business Park, Irvine yesterday. Months of planning and work by Ian, Steven and Claire, not forgetting of course everyone involved in the 'old' websites, came to fruition as killiefc.com was relaunched as a portal for all the Killie fans organisations.

The infamous Killie Kickback Forums and the Prediction League may well look the same, for now at least, but the front end of the site was totally revamped and although there is still a lot of work to do...phase one has officially landed. The Killie Trust, the Kilmarnock FC Supporters Association and Young Kilmarnock now have a new online home and the phrase "by the fans, for the fans" was never more apt.

#WeAreKillie


Thursday 20 August 2015

Don't Panic!

...it's not just you.

The initial phase of the new website launch has now happened and as expected there are going to be a few glitches that we will need to clear up. As you can see there are still a lot of areas in all the sections of the website that are unpopulated...and that will remain the case until we get around to backfilling them from the Legacy Websites which are still running in the background, or at least they will be!

Meanwhile, it looks like the ever popular Killie Kickback forums will be getting some much needed respite, and we may have to void the Prediction League for this week if the input page is not available by end of play Friday. I am sure you will agree that the new website looks a lot better and offers Killie fans a lot more than the previous incarnations...and we hope to keep adding to that with your help.

Please make use of some of the downtime to go through the new site and see where everything is (or where it is going to be) and let us know if you can see anything you think we have missed or would like to join the team and contribute to the site restoration and expansion. Also go and have a look at the Official website as there is plenty going on there as well. Here's to a new improved season on and off the park and hopefully that will start with a win on Saturday over County.

Your Website Team
(too many to mention!)

Volunteers Required

In association with the KFCSA, Kilmarnock FC are looking for volunteers to distribute flyers to supporters before the Ross County game on Saturday. The flyers will provide information on the new ticketing and entrance processes at Rugby Park. If you would like to help the club, please email slo@kilmarnockfc.co.uk providing full contact details. All volunteers will receive one free match ticket for the Ross County game.

Wednesday 19 August 2015

League Cup Tuesday

Killie have now confirmed that the League Cup tie against Berwick Rangers at Rugby Park will be played on the Tuesday night, not the Wednesday. Our Fixtures page has been updated to reflect the confirmation of the date and details of how you can purchase a brief for the ALL TICKET match can be found on the official site if you Click Here

Season Diary - Week 3

Aug 18th 2015... From abject misery to a glimmer of hope with a couple of 2-2 draws under our belt since last week. Four goals scored and four conceded and we have not been in front once…we are going to have to learn to start playing before the other team scores! The midweek result at the Theatre of Pies was particularly gratifying given that we were being quoted at 16/1 for the win prior to the game, that’s why you will never meet a poor bookie. The main difference was the fight shown by the team and they battled for every ball. Magennis started for the injured Boyd and missed a sitter, before burying a shot that was far more difficult and the cheeky chipped penalty by Higgy was delightful, good job for him in went in! Saturday’s draw at Firhill was slightly less pleasing, but I’ll take a point way from home any day, so let’s not be greedy. The real hard work starts now.

Sunday 16 August 2015

Point From Jags

Killie travelled to Firhill yesterday and managed another 2-2 draw following the exact same scoreline at home to Celtic last midweek. We went a goal down and were under real pressure prior to Rory McKenzie grabbing his first league goal of the season to bring us back into it. With a Partick player sent off it was surprisingly Doolan who score his second of the game but Boyd came off the bench for Kiltie and score the equaliser five minutes from the end. Updated the Fixtures, Hotshots, League Tables and added a match report and pictures by Sandy Ferguson.

Thursday 13 August 2015

Messi Knee

Chris 'Messi' Johnston has sadly suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury during training and he could be out of the team reckoning from between six to nine months.

The midfielder said: "It's going to be a hard time for however long it is, hopefully I can get back playing this season. I know I'll come back stronger and better. That's the most important thing.

Yesterday, I was trying to get back from my ankle injury and then I've done this. It is a horrible one to get at any time, but I just need to stay positive, do all the exercises, hopefully the operation goes well and get back as soon as I can.

If I beat myself up, it's just going to get worse, it's happened, I just need to get on with it and stay positive. It could have been worse...it could have happened when I'm near the end of my career and been unable to come back from it." 

We wish the wee man a speedy recovery and hope that he is fit again and available for selection before the end of the season.

Chris Johnston Squad Profile

Higgy Chip

Killie's season finally got started after two defeats with a 2-2 draw at the Theatre of Pies against reigning champions Celtic. The great and the good were all predicting a heavy defeat for Ayrshire's finest and that look a real possibility when we lost a goal in the first two minutes...but the team battled hard and levelled the game twice, the second time being in the last couple of minutes with an audacious chipped penalty from Kallum Higginbotham.

We have now uploaded the Match Report and updated the Fixtures, League Tables and Hotshots pages to reflect the latest result.

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Oliver Davies Signs

20 year-old goalie Oliver Davies has been signed on loan from Swansea City. The 'keeper will come in as cover for first choice Jamie MacDonald now that Craig Samson has moved on and that will allow Conor Brenan to continue his loan spell at Stranraer and gaining some first team experience. The player told the Club's official website: “This is my first time in Scotland and I am really looking forward to training here and being a part of the Killie team. I have watched a lot of Scottish football and I know how competitive the Ladbrokes Premiership is. I know if I work hard I will gain good experience from my time here.”


Here is a 'highlight' reel of the young keeper and you can follow him on Twitter here @oliver_davies_

Monday 10 August 2015

Season Diary - Week 2

Aug 11th 2015... Technically I was right last week when I said the only way is up...we only lost two goals this week as opposed to four so if that form continues we can surely expect a 0-0 draw with Celtic on Wednesday...no? I was also right that the starting line-up would change and it did with Ashcroft and McKenzie replacing Findlay and Johnston. Wee Messi was injured in training and the big defender looked shaky at a couple of the goals we conceded to Dundee, plus we are playing his team on Wednesday and he's not eligible...but still no start for Kiltie. We started fairly well and retained possession well for about fifteen minutes before it all started going Pete Tong. Individually we have several players that have talent but the tactics, or lack of them, are not getting the best from the guys who could make a difference. Referee McLean gave us nothing as usual, but in all honesty there could be no complaints about the end result. You can understand the frustration of the Killie fans who travelled hundreds of miles and had to stump up £25 to watch what can only be described as dross. Sorry but one win and nine losses out of the last ten games is unacceptable.

Friday 7 August 2015

Braehead Bar

Trust Chairman Jim Thomson met today with local publican John Cairns of the Braehead Bar in Langlands Street, Kilmarnock. John has nominated the Killie Trust as the organisation his pub will be raising funds for this year. The contents of the bar's collection can and proceeds from a recent psychic night amounted to £150 which John handed over to Jim today. Jim said: "We'd like to thank John and all the patrons of the Braehead Bar for their kind donation and are delighted that the Trust have found yet another community partner to add to the list of those already helping us to achieve our aims."


New Kits Released

Our new Young Kilmarnock training kits will be launched at Powerleague Kilmarnock between 11am and 1pm. The kits are being supplied by Vision Outsourcing and will be available for pick up at the Saturday Club for those who are current members.

Thursday 6 August 2015

Samson Released

The club have released a statement this evening about goalkeeper Craig Samson being freed. Craig made his debut for the club back in January 3rd 2004 in a 1-3 loss to Aberdeen, but that was his only first team appearance before leaving and returning again nearly a decade later to the club he started out at.

“Kilmarnock FC and Craig Samson have mutually agreed the termination of Craig’s contract, which had entered its final season. The club would like to record its thanks to Craig for his dedication and professionalism and wishes him every success in the future.”

Last year was not a good one for any of our players and Craig came in for what could be considered some 'over the top' criticism, but he always tried his best and leaves with our best wishes for the future.

Heritage Walk


walkers

Fancy a walk around Kilmarnock town centre, visit a few pubs, have a few drinks and learn lots of things about the town while you do so?


Well, local Historians Gary Torbett, Graham Boyd and Stuart Wilson are here to help you out by leading a heritage walk in and around Kilmarnock town centre on the evening of Thursday 27th August with any proceeds being handed over to the Killie Trust.

In Gary’s own words:

“The walk will be over a fairly short walking distance, will take in a few town centre bars AND you will learn a wee bit about the town’s history….I hope.

A sort of educational pub crawl.

The plan is to start at Fanny By Gaslight at 5.30 / 6pm for a beer (you buy your own BTW) and then head down The Strand, through The Cross, down Sandbed, along St Marnock Street, up Bank Street and along College Wynd to John Finnie Street.

The walk will visit 6 bars along the way so you will have a varied view of the pubs in Killie!! However the point is to get folk out walking, learning and spending a few quid in the town.
The walk is free of charge – like I say, bring your beer money – but I will collect discretionary donations at the end which I will pass to The Killie Trust.”

If you would like any more information don’t hesitate to contact the Trust here, or on facebook or twitter.

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Season Diary - Week 1



Aug 4th 2015... Our pre-season optimism came down to earth with a crash in the first game of the season at the Theatre of Pies as we were out-thought, out-manoeuvred and out-classed by Paul Hartley’s Dundee. The writing was on the wall before a ball was even kicked with chaos reigning supreme as the new ticketing system saw massive queues form outside, many of whom got soaked and missed a chunk of the game and many who simply walked away. The club have since issued an apology, here’s hoping they just rectify the situation before the next home game. Those who made it in must have wished they hadn’t bothered as the players looked like they had never seen each other before and trying to guess the tactics kept me more amused than the game itself. Some of the first team choices were a bit bizarre, I predict that will not be the starting XI in Aberdeen. Bottom of the league with a four-goal deficit…the only way is up!

Monday 3 August 2015

League Cup Draw

Killie were seeded in the League Cup draw this afternoon and will face Berwick Rangers at Rugby Park on either Tuesday 25th or Wednesday 26th August. Killie have already beaten Berwick by a single goal in a pre-season friendly at Shielfield Park on July 11th with Rory McKenzie grabbing the goal, a repeat of that result will do.