Where Are They Now?

As well as worshipping the current crop of Killie stars I know many fans take a keen interest in ex-Killie players once they depart from the Theatre of Pies. Of course when players head to the juniors it can be difficult to track their progress, however, when they remain senior it's a lot easier.

Many of our 1997 cup final heroes are still plying their trade in the professional ranks, here's a wee check list of where they are now - Gus MacPherson (Dunfermline although soon to move into management we hear), Dylan Kerr (Hamilton), Kevin McGowne (Partick Th.), Mark Reilly (St Johnstone), David Bagan (Inverness Caley), Gary Holt (Norwich), Jim McIntyre (Dundee Utd), Alex Burke (Berwick), Tom Brown (Dumbarton), Ally Mitchell (St Mirren) and John Henry (Falkirk).

Of the rest captain Monty works for his beloved Killie in hospitality, Paul Wright was doing agent work and big Lekovic was last heard of playing in Greece. David Bagan will be hoping for another winners medal this season so good luck to the wee man when he lines up for Inverness against Dundee in the semi final on Sunday.

Away from the cup final team Jerome Vareille is still a favourite among Killie fans and he made the headlines by hitting a hat trick for Airdrie last Saturday. We headed up to Parkhead on Sunday hoping for a Killie player to do the same and I thought it was a good omen when the first person we bumped into inside Parkhead was none other than the likeable Frenchman.

Jerome had bought his Killie end ticket and received a rousing chorus of "There's Only One Jerome" as he took his seat. Sadly we never got a Killie hat trick and Killie still haven't won there in the league since 1955 but at least Jerome can boast he scored at Parkhead during a 1-1 draw a few years back. All the best to Jerome and I hope he is a regular visitor to Killie games in the future.

Season Ticket Update

Season tickets continue to sell well for next term and we are managing to pair-up Killie fans on a daily basis. All current season ticket holders should be reminded that they only have until 2nd May if they want to keep their seat, after that seats will be sold on a first come first served basis. Contact the number below if you want paired up or have any queries about the season ticket offer. Call Sandy on 0774 771 8754.

Fit Baw Crazy!

When the charity organization Football Aid announced the dates of this season's games I must have had a minor brainstorm and decided to take part. The process is quite simple. You bid on the internet for a place in your favourite football team's match and if you are successful you then have to find sponsorship to pay for it. All donations are still welcome, it is for a good cause after all.

To cut a long story short, on Wednesday May 28th this year I will fulfill one of my long held ambitions and walk out onto the hallowed turf of Rugby Park wearing the stripes to play at center half for Killie beside my team captain, living legend Raymond Montgomerie. You won't be too surprised to hear that I'm more pleased about this fact than him.

Now that the teams have nearly been sorted out (there are still a few vacancies apparently) my real problems begin. Getting rid of fifteen years worth of lager and kebabs. Strolling out that tunnel is one thing, getting carted back down it on a stretcher is another! There are only two solutions (and I'll whisper in case Hippo goes into shock), diet and exercise.

The diet side of things is relatively easy. Forget all this Slimfast and Atkins nonsense you hear on the telly. If you have a sensible breakfast, a sarnie for your dinner and your tea as normal (if it fits on one plate it's a good start Hippo) then you'll be fine. As long as you cut out all the extra Scooby snacks and give up the ale the exercise will do the rest. Hold the bus, give up the ale? Did I say this was going to be easy?

The really difficult bit is definitely going to be the exercise. I wouldn't be lying if I were to tell you that the last exercise I did was at Loudoun Academy, and that was for being late. My best bet was to leave this side of things to the professionals, and as Bodie and Doyle have long since retired, I sought the advice of the staff at Killie's own Fitness.online gym, I'd heard they like a challenge.

It was a good move on my part. I told them why I needed to get fit and once they had stopped laughing (okay, not true) they gave me the grand tour. I'll save you the advertising patter, suffice to say that it had all the necessary equipment to aid me in my quest to fade away to a mountain and the instructors were really helpful. I think I gave them a sense of job security! They gave me a program of exercises to do on each visit and the best bit is getting to collapse, sorry relax, in the sauna or steam room after you've done your stuff.

I know I won't be challenging Monty's marathon time by the night of the match (I couldn't do that in a motor!), but if I can last 90 minutes on that park then the weeks on end of getting slagged rotten by The Howard fatties for drinking soda pop, and the dosh spent on the gym, will all have been worth it. All I need to do now is learn how to kick a baw!

Glory For Galston

With no Killie game on last Saturday, we decided to take in the Galston v Newmilns cup final at Rugby Park. It was a cracking day for football and as I lived in Galston for several years and traveled on the Irvine Valley Killie bus even longer, it was a much better prospect than an afternoon In the pub watching everyone else getting tanked up (see above).

Being a bit late on the go, I arrived at the ground to find that my amigos were sitting in the Newmilns end of the stand. Apparently it was the first entrance they happened on but I think if truth be told they couldn't be bothered walking any further. The kick off was delayed by twenty minutes to let the crowd in, around 2,000 by our reckoning, a pretty impressive turn out by both sets of fans, and probably the envy of many a lower league professional team (including our county subordinates).

I felt a bit of a turncoat sitting in the 'wrong' end but I suppose having lived in Hurlford for so many years qualified me as a neutral, and the natives were friendly anyway. It was gratifying to speak to an old mate from school who told us that a squad of them were all going to get season tickets for Rugby Park again after a few years without them. They are also actively pushing the merits of live SPL football to the armchair old firm fans that they know. Just think, for the price of four or five games at Greyskull or the Potatodome they could buy a Killie ticket for the full season and see four old firm games into the bargain. Value for money in anyone's book.

True to form big Kirkland had scored for Galston before I had even arrived and that proved to be the winning goal. Newmilns gave them a real game of it but it just wasn't to be and Gordon Stitt's men lifted the trophy to the delight of the Galston masses…and no doubt the owner of The Wee Train! It's one down and two to go for Newmilns though as they have a West of Scotland Cup Semi Final cup-tie to play this Saturday and then the big one, the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on May 17th. Best of luck to them in both games.

Final Fixtures

As we go to press it has still not been announced where or when Killie's last five league fixtures will be. It was meant to be announced on Monday but because of the Mexicans complaining about the timing of their game against their bitter rivals, the announcement has apparently been put back until Thursday.

By the time you read this we should probably know one way or another what the script is but just in case we'll let you in on what our SPL mole has told us so far. The first game after the week off will be away to Dundee, yes that's three times at Dens again, followed by the Euro crunch match against the Jambos on 3rd May. Trips to Ibrox and East End Park will follow in successive weeks and the final game of the season will be against Celtic at home.

Our mole is pretty sure about the two home ties but only 90% on the rest, so don't quote us on this! It's pretty ridiculous that the other clubs have to wait to be told because of some old firm paranoia in the first place, but then again, are you really surprised?

Read the B&H column in the Kilmarnock Standard every week