First Away Trip

Il Ciocco is chosen by many football clubs including the Huns, Liverpool and Newcastle for training preparation before the start of the season. Before the Italia '90 World Cup the Italian national team also used it as their base. Loads of other sports stars use the facilities as well and this year, for the second time, it's the choice of Killie boss Jim Jefferies. We had a look at the place to see what it was all about and here's a wee list of the training centre's facilities.

It has an outdoor swimming pool, eight tennis courts, a football stadium, a roller skating rink, a fitness centre (sauna, Jacuzzi, weights room, solarium, massages, showers), a horse riding school (indoor and outdoor riding grounds), a game preserve, a gymnasium (basketball, volleyball), a games room

(video games, darts, table tennis, pool tables), mountain bikes for hire, two bowling greens, a disco "Il Ciocchetto", a tea room, an American bar, a pizzeria "Il Pattinaggio", a wine bar "La Cantinetta", the restaurant "Le Salette", a minimarket, a bazaar, a laundry and last but not least a heliport with two private helicopters: Dauphin 2 SA 365 - Robinson R 22.

It's amazing what you can find out on the internet! For the aforementioned it may seem more like a holiday camp than a training camp but Baggio assured us the other week that he was dreading the trip as it was the hardest weeks graft of the year. Between intensive training stints the players are sent back to their rooms and instructed to sleep to re-charge their batteries for the evening shift, and it's doubtful if they'll get the chance to sample the majority of the facilities that the plush resort has to offer.

For those of you wondering how the club can afford to send the squad to a training camp like Il Ciocco while claiming to be as skint as everyone else in the league (we are), we can allay your fears in that respect. Although we have had no official confirmation, we have been led to believe that club owner (and let's face it, a 91% shareholding constitutes no less a title) Jamie Moffat, who has obvious links to the travel industry, will be the man who makes it all possible. A 'big-up' to the main man from B&H for putting his money where his mouth is once again.

Pint-less Pub Crawl

Unless you've been holidaying on another planet for the past few months, or god forbid, not reading our column, you'll know all about the Killie Trust and the impending big launch night on Friday 22nd August in the Park Suite. Well, whatever the case, you do now, so make sure you make the effort to be there!

The first job of the interim board is to organise the launch and make sure that it attracts a decent amount of people to become shareholders in the Trust. As you would expect, to get things off the ground is going to take a wee bit of cash and to supplement the money that the Trust will get refunded by the Government body (Supporters' Direct), the board has had to look at ways of boosting the coffers while cutting as many corners as possible to limit the outgoings.

It's not been easy and we've covered most bases without incurring any notable debt, but the costs of printing the shareholder application forms and such has still to be met so it's imperative that the we secure some backing now so that we can make sure that the board who are voted into office after the first Trust AGM can start off on a sound financial footing. So some smart ass came up with the idea of the pint-less pub crawl…we need some fresh blood in the ideas department quick!

If someone had asked us to go on a pointless pub craw we wouldn't have had to think about it for too long…but trailing around every pub in Kilmarnock without so much as a drop of the hard stuff crossing our lips…now that's a different matter! The idea was simple. It will cost each shareholder 12 quid to join the Trust which, by definition, is being set up to benefit club and community. Rather than tap into those funds we are seeking out some corporate help in the form of our local hostelries. Well we have been supporting their cause for long enough!

The plan is that we are going to hit every pub in Killie for 50 quid and that alone should cover the cost of The Killie Trust launch. Billy Millar from our local, The Howard, is a huge Killie fan and chipped in his 50 bucks straight away, so now we are going to pick a day next week to visit every other licensed premises in the town…without as much as sniffing a drink! We reckon that fifty pounds is not too much to ask considering the amount of time and money that the good people of Kilmarnock spend in these establishments (in moderation of course) so all you publicans out there be warned…B&H are on your case as of now!

In return for the money we will give each pub whom helps us out a mention in the column and obviously on the sponsors board on the launch night. It may not seem that much but at least then the Killie punters will know which pubs were willing to give a little back. We will be putting up posters advertising the launch in these pubs as well as we are really hoping to make it a night not to be missed.

Despite appearing otherwise, the Killie support, like most other supports, is split into factions, and it's these barriers that need to be transcended to make the Trust work. Other clubs have managed to achieve this and they have shown the way ahead for the rest of us and demonstrated that there is power in unity and if we work together we can build something that will be a credit and a help to Kilmarnock Football Club and the Ayrshire community in general.

It does all sound a bit 'soap-boxy' but it's time we got rid of our idiosyncrasies and pulled together for the greater good. The old timers, the travel clubs, the exiles, the internet crew, the 'casuals', the part time supporters, the Mauchline and other 'out-of-town' boys…and so it goes on. No one likes to be pigeon holed but a pound to a penny says that each one of us could fall into one or more of the previous categories, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. We are all individuals and as such encompass a wide spectrum of the human condition, but we all have one thing in common…a love of Killie.

Jim Wilson, Colin Hargreaves, John Dearie, Alan Brown, Sam Stowe, Sandy Armour, Allan Auld, Davy Boyd - all names you will be familiar with, and all guys who have given service to the club above and beyond the call of duty. Yet despite each of them being alive and well (many apologies to any other influential fans I have missed), it is doubtful whether any of them ever could be found within the same postal zone barring on match days. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just emphasises the diversity of our support and how the Trust could be the common denominator in pulling everyone together.

Setting the Trust wheels in motion has been a worthwhile exercise from any perspective but everyone on board at the moment is fully aware that there will come a time when we will have done as much as we can and shall have to move aside. Delegating responsibility wont be that difficult though knowing that we've done what was needed to get things going and the only important thing is to make sure that we get the right people in place to take the Trust forward. With such a diverse bunch to choose from…hopefully things will turn out just fine…as long as we can focus on what's important and not who is pushing the pens!

Photo Opportunity?

It's well known that after our famous 1997 Cup win the club let all the fans get their photos taken with the trophy. Killie fan Donny Muir wanted to add a picture of the 1965 league-winning trophy to his photo album and went in search of that famous 'Holy Grail'. Here's his fascinating and entertaining tale:

Now there are many of you Killie fans out there that collect items relating to the mighty blue and white. Yes, there are those programme chaps who pride themselves in having every programme home and away since Jesus was an altar boy, I remember with real fondness the section within Killie Ken that related back facts and figures regarding interesting Killie games of yore.

The famed and fabled European Cup issue from Albania, the 'buffalo' magazine that covered a match somewhere on the continent against some mob from Belgium or something like that. The second eleven issue of the Meadowbank Thistle versus Kilmarnock match held on a Thursday afternoon on some distant planet, you know the type mega rare stuff.

Well I'm sure we all know a programme boffin but I have a small but perfectly formed collection of Kilmarnock football club team shirts, no, not the replica jobs, these boys have seen real action, worn on a number of occasion's by some of the great and good of Killie. I have a real hooped 'we won promotion' jersey, ex the property of one Kenny Armstrong, snatched or should that be loaned from his person within the home changing rooms whilst he and the team celebrated after thumping Queen of the South 6-0.

I have a fantastic 1970s three stripe panel number, you must remember this top, all white and the three stripes on the front, two thick middle on thin, big perms and flared collars, Marvellous. I also have, before I get to the point, a real prize possession, the last top worn by the mighty and much missed midfield god, John Henry.

Anyway getting belatedly to the point I also have a real passion about being photographed next to any major trophy won by the Killie. This of course is not a really extensive list, indeed I'll save you the trouble by naming the trophies here and now, firstly the Scottish Cup, secondly the League Championship trophy and last but not least…er…well….mmm?

Impressive list I'm sure you'll agree. Thankfully having only recently won the said Scottish Cup, and having thanks to my 'KTS' influence, I have had many rolls of Kodak and Fuji (product placement) used up having my mug stuck next to the said trophy. I, of course, also had the official club photo taken, which I'm sure most of you also have proudly displayed in outside toilets and garages the length and breadth of this fine country. That cup was easy, however, the other listed trophy that being for the 'Scottish League Championship", had proven to be somewhat elusive and out of my grasp.

For many years I longed to have my hands firmly planted on this silverware only to have my requests refused and thus leaving me despondent empty and sad. It was for me the soccer Holy Grail, a cup won on such spectacular circumstances, against the cousins of William. A trophy held aloft by the mighty Francis Beattie, check your Killie versus Real Madrid programme cover, and there at the front of that fabled squad, the splendid league championship trophy.

Now for decades this trophy passed between the soap dodgers in Glasgow's East End, or their equally odious brothers in the west at Castle Greyskull. Sadly it also departed for the north, Aberdeen and even Dundee. And for me the chance never arrived and so I felt sure that I would never have my photo taken next to this cup. Well something great happened a few years ago, the new super SPL was started and guess what, a super new trophy.

The old trophy seemingly vanished and I had no notion of it again, thinking it was kept by the SFA in a safe somewhere, lost to the world. Then a number of months ago, much to my great shock and personal discomfort, the old Harry Wraggs managed, by some freak of nature, to win the totally inferior and frankly below us, First Division.

Older Killie fans like myself can remember and hearken back to the First Division, these were the days that we lost on a regular basis to Brechin City, toiled at Station Park Forfar, and got gubbed at Clydebank. Historical note - For information on Clydebank FC please ask the all new Airdrie supporters about the shocking hijacking then killing off of the Bankies. Historical note no.2 - John Henry was also a great god at Clydebank, as was the mighty Blair Millar. The First Division, that was the good old days!

Anyway, Partick fluked it and managed to step up to the only league in Europe big enough to take the might of the Ayrshire Killie, the SPL. So on Super Scotsportscene on Sunday, I can't remember what it's called anyway, they had a trophy presentation to the Thistle captain, I think it was Pugwash, but cant be sure! Imagine my shock and surprise when lo and behold the trophy hoisted aloft for the fans to cheer to was the famed and long missing (so I thought) league championship trophy, as won in 1965 by the mighty Killie FC.

Firstly I was outraged that this cup once the highest and mightiest, was now relegated to the new First Division, a trophy fought for over decades and decades, not only containing the name of the old marnocky, but also the self same nine in a row soap dodging winning run. For me this cup represented the greatest moment in the footballing history of Killie, and now here it was in the muddy sweaty hands of some Partick player…insult central! Secondly I was thrilled and excited that maybe I could now complete my photographic collection of me, with all major trophies won in the long really long history of my only club. In a flash I plotted a top scheme and waited for the celebrations at Thistle to dissipate, then and only then I could make my move.

A number of months passed and I called my buddy from Glasgow, Mr. Anderson responded in the affirmative, he being a top Partick boot boy and supporter promised that he, and he alone, would approach his club to arrange a visit into there hallowed winning vaults. Days passed and many sleepless nights would come and go. (I really need to buy a new mattress). Then the call came, be in Maryhill, for 12pm on Friday.

I was beside myself, I could hardly wait. The film was duly purchased and I set off that Friday morning a mere boy, I knew that soon, real soon, I would return a man. I picked up Mr. Anderson in St. Vincent Street, and set off on the short drive towards the ground. We arrived moments later; I was flushed and clammy. Mr. Anderson was bored and uninterested.

We entered the ground and made our way up to the office of the Partick commercial Mr. Big, a certain Bob Reid. He greeted me warmly by the throat, (seeing my 60s Killie top) and gave me a little historical background on the Jags. He then led me to the trophy cabinet and there before my very eyes in full glory was the championship trophy. I gasped in awe as it was laid on the table before me, I quickly looked at the base and there engraved for all to see was the phrase, "1964/5 KILMARNOCK FC".

It was a staggering moment for me, a life long quest now complete, my mind now flitted back to Dave Sneddon's goal to Brian's cheeky wee second and to that fantastic save in the dying seconds, then to my years of searching and phoning and the many, many refusals. Here I was, in the very bowels of our deadly enemy, wearing the replica 1965 jersey, holding the holy grail of trophies, IT WAS MAGIC.
The actual picture can in no way sum up the joy I was feeling at that moment, and the thrill that this trophy was once, and for me still is, the most magical thing in football. We, Kilmarnock FC were Scottish champions, this cup says so. To close I must say a big thanks to Mr. Anderson, to Mr. Bob Reid at Partick Thistle FC. To David Sneddon and the late Brian McIlroy, to all the 1965 squad, and to myself for chasing a dream. Viva Killie…forever!

A fantastic tale from Donny, so now it's over to you Killie - why not get a hold of the trophy and give all Killie fans the chance to get their photo taken?

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