Tartan Army Trip

THE football event of the Scottish season so far was the Euro 2004 play off at Hampden last Saturday; tickets were like gold dust. Due to a major cock up by Safeway with a couple of briefs I'd purchased for the Lithuania game, yours truly (B) found himself with a full refund and a freebie ticket to the big show…without the hassle of having to queue from the night before. A more than welcome attempt to put things right by the Killie supermarket!

Having advertised the new Tartan Army supporter's bus for the last few weeks in B&H it seemed only natural to give Rab Robb a bell and book myself a seat. There were still enough room left for my fat arse so that was the day out sorted. Like most people, I've always been a supporter of the national

side, but not bothered too much about actually going to the games. In fact if it hadn't been for the Estonia game at Rugby Park I could have qualified as a San Marino supporter as the two other times I'd been at Hampden the Italian minnows were the opposition.

That first game against Holland (the second game will be consigned to history by the time this goes to press) was always going to be that bit more special than any other Scotland game I'd been to before. The build up and the hype in the press was quite astounding, and the fact that the game had sold out so quickly and tickets were being flogged on the internet for three times the face value, made it all the more appealing.

There was no way I was going to miss this. Even after waking up on the Saturday with a heavy dose of the flu (commonly referred to by women as a minor sniffle). The Kadikoi was jumping with anticipation and it was in that fine establishment that I discovered something which has evaded the finest scientific minds for centuries…the cure for the common cold…lager! Stocks in Beechams are about to plummet.

The bus arrived in due course and big Tetley and his crew were convinced that we would be there in jig time. They hadn't reckoned of course that the bus company would send us an English driver who was struggling to find Hampden on his map. Truth be told he was struggling to find Glasgow! Needless to say, despite several wrong turns we arrived in plenty of time and were dropped off around the corner from the stadium.

The atmosphere in the streets surrounding Hampden was electric. Inside the ground it was even more intense. It was similar to the '97 Cup Final feeling but when your own club is involved it will always be that bit more special so I shouldn't really draw comparisons. For a Killie fan, or a fan of any other club out with the old firm, there can be no experience quite like it. If you've never been a part of a 50,000 crowd of up for it Scotland fans then you've never lived!

The sea of blue and white was breathtaking. A plethora of saltires and lion rampant flags brought the whole scene to life and the wall of sound being generated was hard to believe…and there was still twenty minutes to kick off. I was sitting in a different section from the rest of the lads but fortunately I bumped into big Craw and Kenny on the concourse and they had tickets for the seats beside mine, at last a bit of luck! We found our seats, which were right down four rows from the front, just to the left of the corner flag.

The MC was milking the crowd for all we were worth and with the Proclaimers and Runrig blasting out over the tannoy he had the place literally rocking. The piece de resistance of course was 'Flower of Scotland', and I can't quite describe how it felt to be a part of the Tartan Army at that point, specifically because it is very difficult to sing with a huge lump in your throat. No, it wasn't the remnants of a pie, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

We didn't have a great view of the match overall, but we did have a fantastic view of the goal…and what a goal it was! I hadn't celebrated a goal so much since, well, er, since we scored the second one against Rangers the other week. Okay, I'm easy pleased. From then on in though the Killie fan in me took over, or it could have been the flu, hard to tell really.

With 70 minutes on the clock I was just waiting for the inevitable collapse to happen. Watching the game through your fingers is not ideal at the best of times, but as all true Killie fans know, it's a habit you develop over the years. You announce to the world that you'll settle for a draw so that you're not too disappointed if the other mob get the obligatory jammy goal. But in reality your really promising god you'll never ask for anything else if he'll make the referee blow the whistle five minutes early!

On this occasion it was Rab Douglas and the crossbar that answered our prayers, fortunately that means we can chin the big man for favours again next week. The joyous scenes at the end of the game would have people thinking we had just won Euro 2004, but forget the cynics, this is definitely what it's all about. When was the last time you felt compelled to stand around singing twenty minutes after a game?

True to form, this doughnut managed to take a wrong turn on the way out of the stadium and was almost a mile and a half away in the wrong direction before realising my mistake. When I eventually found my way back to the bus my big red face was nothing to do with having to run (well, walk quickly) all the way back. The moral of this story is twofold. Firstly, if you get a chance to join the Tartan Army, do it. Secondly, the Toryglen car park is first on the right on your way out!


Howard Bus To Firhill

That's the excitement of the international stuff out the way so it's back to the real world this week when Killie head to Firhill. The Jags have yet to win a league game this season but Killie will need to repeat the commitment shown against Rangers to ensure we aren't the first victims. What do you mean anyone looking for a result just need to play us? The Howard is running a bus for a fixture that normally attracts a decent travelling support - it leaves at 1.15pm so call 01563 522323 to book your seat.

Debt Reaches £10.8m

With all the media coverage being concentrated on the national team there's been very little Killie news to talk about over the last week - apart from our mounting debt that is. The shareholders received the club accounts last week in advance of the A.G.M. in the Park Suite on December 10, and it didn't make for pretty reading. Our loss for the year ending May 31, 2003 was £1.94m leaving our overall debt at £10.8m. We are one of many clubs in a similar financial position but that doesn't make our situation any less serious. The figures have caused an outburst of debate on killiefc.com so here's a selection of what the fans think:

"Pretty scary reading, if we don't reach the dizzy heights of the 'Top Six' soon then I fear for us. I really struggle to see how our Board could possibly decide to turn down the Macklin offer when the losses continue to grow. I am sorry, but I have little faith in SJO's confident comment of being on target for 2006. It does not look good."

"Looking at accounts in more detail some additional thoughts. What happened to the shares that Bill Costley had in last year's accounts viz. 991,685? My understanding was that the Moffat family had purchased them but the figure has not been added to Jamie Moffat's total. I believe Jamie was going to donate £500,000 in the Big Match. Does the loan write-off represent this sum?"

"SJO stated last year at the AGM in January that the projected loss for year end May 2003 was approx. £2m. If the loan write-off was known about at that time then the projection was correct. If the loan write-off was not known about then the figures are 25% out in a year when we were only outstanding the last four months figures. If that were the case then I would not be too confident about forecasts for the next three years."

"I am puzzled that the loan was written off and not capitalised (shares issued for that amount). Could it be that Jamie wished to leave sufficient free shares for someone to take over the club? If this was the case then perhaps JM only wished someone else to take control of the club and is willing to leave the shares (and his investment) within the club."

An article in a national broadsheet painted a similarly bleak picture and independent financial expert David Glen of Pricewaterhouse Cooper quoted: "Unless there is a significant injection of cash, Kilmarnock will be added to the list of SPL clubs which are technically insolvent if it posts another loss in 2004." Jamie Moffat did not respond to a request for comment.

Worrying times indeed and the AGM should be a lively affair in a few weeks time. Questions will be asked about the board's plans for the future as their previous 'big match' idea has so far failed to grab the fan's imagination - read it all in B&H.

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