2018-19 Diary Week 37

Another great support through from the fans and a decent away point midweek at Easter Road, if anyone was going to win it in the end it was us.

The Saints game on Saturday was testament to just how far we’ve progressed, at no point did we look under pressure and we should have scored more goals.

Kris Boyd just missed with a header, won and scored a penalty and had a perfectly good goal disallowed.

That’s now 136 overall and 121 goals in the league, tying him with Eddie Morrison in second place…illustrious company indeed!

Rory McKenzie was again outstanding, and it is great to have someone who can take corners again!

Only one goal conceded in the last six matches says much about our defence, and even an absolute keeker to his right eye couldn’t keep big Findlay down.

Every match is now vital, and although there is much talk about the zombies game and giving them one stand, let's concentrate on getting as many as we can to the Aberdeen game first.

A well-deserved win for Alan Power at the KFCSA Player of the year awards, running away with the title with a record number of points.

Young Player of the Year went to Greg Taylor and Burkey and the Ginger Boyd picked up awards from the KFCDSA.

2018-19 Diary Week 36

A five star performance with five unanswered goals from five different players…this is how it feels to be Killie!

While Hamilton were not the same side who recently beat Aberdeen and Hearts, the score line actually flattered them as we could have hit double figures on the day.

That said, the QTS Man of the Match sponsors must have over indulged in the hospitality to award their accolade to Youssef Mulumbu.

While the on-loan midfielder was back to his ‘ball-sticking-to-his-feet’ best, Rory Mackenzie totally bossed the whole game and it was a travesty he did not get on the score sheet.

The worrying thing for our opponents must be that two of our best players, Alan Power (3 more years...brilliant!) and Chris Burke, didn’t even start the game.

Rugby Park’s own Benjamin Button did get a cameo, and a goal, but there is no denying the Steve Clarke got his players and his tactics right on the day…at times it looked like Greg ‘goal-machine’ Taylor was on another planet!

Hibs are a different prospect though, and no doubt the boss will switch things up to suit.

All we can do is travel in numbers and get behind the team who, sitting in third place with only seven games to play, are well worthy of the support.

It’s great to see the crowds up 10% on last year but we have to keep trying to bring more people along to watch the magnificent football that is on offer at Rugby Park.

The Club is undergoing major reconstruction on and off the park and getting a few more bodies into the ground as a result would be a real vindication for the time and effort put in by everyone at the Club and would hopefully encourage more investment in Killie.

The Player of the Year Dance is at the Park Hotel next week, a bit early as always in my own opinion but I understand they want to have it while players are still here…check with SLO allenkyle@kilmarnockfc.co.uk for any remaining tickets.

2018-19 Diary Week 35

Steven O’Donnell gained another cap against San Marino after both our players only made the bench for the Kazakhstan debacle.

Stuart Findlay inexplicably missed out altogether in the later match, where we had two goalies on the bench, I really hope he is not injured!

Another strange one was Jordan Jones putting in decent performances for Northern Ireland despite failing to show for us in recent weeks, maybe the break will do him good?

Off the field there are many changes happening.

The gym is being closed and sold off, which is a real shame for the employees but understandable as it has never made a profit for the Club.

In turn our offices have been moved to Portland Road as the Board start re-organising and getting our house in order now that the stench of our former chairman has finally left the building.

We owe much to the current Board and also John Kiltie and Bill White for where we find ourselves now, hopefully this is a new beginning and we will see more get involved soon.

2018-19 Diary Week 34

Due to circumstances I found myself having to seek out a bar in Manhattan to watch the game on Saturday, and that wasn’t easy as the St Patrick’s day parade had started.

There is a Sevco supporters club on the upper east side though, which was risky, but better than no game at all.

Ten of them, one of me, outnumbered as usual but I fancied our chances!

An early injury to Eamon Brophy was a setback, but his replacement Conor McAleny had the presence of mind to slip past their defence and put us ahead.

At half time they wanted $10 for watching the game so I gave them $20 and told them to invest the rest in a goalie.

They did equalise eventually, but we had our tactics right and possession football saw us leave with a well-deserved point.

There were a few meaty challenges by both teams but Slippy Gerrard’s knicker wetting is just sour grapes.

Well done to big Stuart Findlay on getting called up to join Steven O’Donnell in the Scotland squad.

2018-19 Diary Week 33

It was a tough match at Paisley and massive credit to the players of both sides who tried their best in terrible conditions.

While I do not like singling out individual players for praise I think I can get around that by praising them all!

Daniel Bachmann is totally solid, he gives the defence such confidence and has been outstanding since replacing Jamie MacDonald who is no slouch himself.

Stuart Findlay should be getting serious consideration for a call up and was immense on the night backed up by Kirk Broadfoot, Stephen O’Donnell and Greg Taylor.

Gary Dicker and Alan Power are a combination that is difficult to beat, literally, and the sheer tenacity and determination of Chris Burke and Eamon Brophy gives me goose bumps.

That only leaves a couple of places to play for and fortunately the boss has a few options.

Most pleasing was another fantastic away support and the reaction by the players at the end of the game reassuringly tells me that they are as invested in Killie as we are.

Bring on the cheats.

2018-19 Diary Week 32

There has been constant chat about the game which was abandoned last week, by most of whom if brains were dynamite they would not have enough to blow their nose.

Embarrassing rants about how the re-arranged match should have been free and how it was a disgrace to charge a fiver entry…I’m sorry but in my opinion it was the best deal for an SPFL match ever!

The fog was not down to the club, and they had to fork out for an unscheduled fixture on the Saturday…when we’d asked Motherwell to play it in the first place and they refused.

If you swap it around we actually paid £5 for half a match and then £22 for the whole thing…I’ve never heard of cheaper.

The game itself was a bit of a let-down but we were much improved second time around and were unlucky not to shade it.

Five games without a goal, Sevco and the Dons have certainly upset our balance with their transfer window shenanigans, as planned; our wee trip to Tenerife will hopefully give us a much needed boost.

2018-19 Diary Week 31

It is all about the Killie in the media these days, sadly not much of it is anything we really want to hear about.

The cup replay never really went to plan, our plan that is.

Eamon Brophy gets denied a stonewaller, Sevco run up the park and score.

Daniel Bachmann gets sent off for brushing off a defender, later rescinded of course when it is no use to us, and then we lost Alex Bruce to injury and had to put a midfielder in defence.

Understandably we were then overrun and the joy of the home support manifested itself in sectarian chanting directed at Steve Clarke.

The big man was shaking with anger at the post match presser, quite rightly too, cheated, abused and knowing fine well it would get swept under the carpet as it always does.

The Rangers Football Club officially apologised via Dave King latterly, but their fans just laughed it off and kept it up for their next match.

Obsessed?

Come the Saturday we were all looking to get back to football at Livingston, but a decimated team never quite got going and despite hitting the woodwork three times we lost out to a single goal and the three points eluded us again.

Nice to see about twenty Kaiserslautern fans over for a visit and also the new "Now we have a leader" banner making its debut...fantastic support from the fans yet again.

It has been a tough spell and injuries and suspensions have hit really badly, but if this is as bad as it gets, and we are still sitting fourth in the table, then there is nothing to worry about, it has still been a great season and it is not over yet.