There are two certainties in life that Killie fans should never forget. Firstly, there's only one team in Ayrshire. Secondly, when you travel to watch Killie in Dundee you'll be treated like dog dirt.
Even back in the Fleeting days we can remember being forced to stand in torrential rain for no obvious reason until our chairman intervened and ensured the covered enclosure was opened - nobody knows why it was closed in the first place. We're not sure if there has been bad feelings since that infamous day however the Tayside police and stewards really appear to enjoy making our life a misery.

In recent visits to Dens and Tannadice there have been endless incidents between "us and them" however last Saturday was probably the worst case

of heavy-handed policing/stewarding we've ever witnessed. For those of you not able to make the journey we'll try and set the scene. Dundee were expecting a larger than normal home crowd so Killie fans were allocated the wing section of the antiquated main stand. Prior to getting through the turnstile we were searched by the police then asked if we were smokers!

I'm not quite sure what would have happened if we did smoke, however, that's the only bad habit we don't have, so it wasn't an issue. The Killie section filled up nicely with the boisterous young 'Killie choir' gathering in the very end section. As soon as the singing started the police and stewards moved in and basically surrounded the Killie fans. Now we are all aware that you are not meant to stand up however if the whole section is standing, nobody's view is being blocked and there are no complaints surely common sense should prevail.

If you watch the larger away supports at Rugby Park you'll find a lot of them stand up to support their team without any intervention from the police or stewards. Dundee fans were standing up but being left alone so what's with the bullyboy tactics against the Killie fans? Around a dozen fans were thrown out although only one was cautioned, and that was for under age drinking - is it a crime to stand? At Tannadice last season the whole Killie support stood in protest throughout the second half and the police were made to look rather stupid.

All we'd ask for is a bit of common sense - there would have been no need for anyone to be thrown out with a low police presence and a little understanding. Dundee are in a dire financial situation so we'd suggest they employ far less police and stewards. The club would save a lot of money and Killie fans would get watching a game in peace.

Small World

It's not often we bump into a guy with a Killie league winner's medal but that's exactly what happened last weekend. To be honest Andy looks as fit and healthy as he did in 1965, like John Lambie his love of pigeons must keep him young! A nicer guy you couldn't wish to meet and it was a pleasure to share a few beers with him in Howard HQ.

Andy hasn't been attending RP in recent years but his love of the club remains and he's always happy to chat about the team - his fixed odds tips leave a bit to be desired all the same! Of course Andy wasn't getting away scot-free and he was persuaded to agree to a Hippo interview before he was allowed to leave the pub. We will be in touch soon Andy.

Speaking of small worlds, Baz's sister was in New York the other week and stopped in at a bar on Times Square for a 'refreshment'. When they ordered their drinks a lady a couple of seats along heard their voices and asked them of they were from Scotland. As it turns out it was none other than Annie Fleeting who was in the bar with husband Bobby the former Killie supremo. Needless to say that several more 'refreshments' were partaken of, as that extent of what was remembered!

Media Muppetry

The media coverage about Killie is never good at the best of times and with the bias towards the Glasgow teams it is always going to be tough for Davie Mackinnon to get us more column inches. Hippo has a theory that Killie fans are the quickest readers on the planet and can spot the name Kilmarnock or Killie, in fact anything beginning with K in a matter of nanoseconds, but recently we seem to be getting ignored more than normal.

You know you can always rely on B&H and the Kilmarnock Standard for all your Killie news but it can be advantageous for the club to get wider recognition now and then, and it's just not happening. Just what is it with tabloid hacks? When they got a sniff of a scandal about the half time draw incident or thought that we were about to be bought over they were all over us like a rash, but where are they when we have any good news to report?

We are talking of course about JJ's troops winning three in a row for the first time in several seasons. A fantastic feat in anyone's eyes but yet not deemed newsworthy for the TV or the radio. When they showed the highlights of our game against Dundee we got the two Killie goals then the rest was all Dundee. Okay, so they are big news at the moment because of their financial plight, but must the match reports in the daily papers concentrate on the efforts of 'spirited' Dundee? Surely the efforts of the winning team (yes, we scored more than them) should not be restricted to no more than a few lines?

We are also fed up to the back teeth of reading about that other lot whose idea of getting out of financial strife is to go into administration for a wee while and pay off as many players and employees as possible…Motherwell. All this tosh about all the great young players brought through by Terry Butcher must stick in the throats of Killie fans. Okay, Pearson (on his way out) and Hammell are pretty good players, and McFadden made them a few bob, but when you look at the rest of their team, they have no where near the young talent that we have at Rugby Park.

The quality players brought through the ranks by Alan Robertson is second to none in Scotland, and we get no where near the amount of attention for that as we deserve. Ally that to the fact that there can't be a club in the SPL with anywhere near the amount of Scottish players that we have. Peter Canero has been a revelation since his introduction to the squad, and who can deny quality acts like Boyd, McDonald, Hay, Dillon, Fowler, Murray, Di Giacomo (the list is endless) their place in the first team squad?

All these guys are products of our youth system and those of you who go to the Under 21 and Under 19 matches will know that there are a host of cracking young players waiting in the wings to take their chance as well. We are great believers in credit where it's due, but Killie are simply not getting the plaudits they deserve from the national press. If Boomer got half the coverage that media darling Faddy got when he was at Motherwell then he could have also been plying his trade in the English Premiership right now, and Killie could have reduced that 9.8M debt a fair bit!

Scotland's New Scout

It was great to see so many Killie players being called up for national duty last week, and it's no co-incidence that Berti Vogts was at the Killie v Motherwell game directly before the squads were announced. Craig Samson and Sean Dillon were called up to the Under 20 squad and Greg Shields and Gordon Greer will join Peter Canero and Kris Boyd in the Scotland Future match against Turkey. Unfortunately we hear that Dillon is undergoing a cartilage operation that will keep him out for four weeks and Boydie has picked up a knock and will travel but probably not play.

We can exclusively reveal that Scotland's newest talent scout is none other than our very own Davie Mackinnon! Prior to the Motherwell fixture he approached Berti Vogts and told him to watch out for our number five (Greer) as he was an idea candidate for an international berth. After the game Berti sought out DM and told him that he certainly knew how to pick a player…and a few days later Gorgeous (so we're told) Gordon got the nod despite not initially even being on standby. A big up to all six players and we hope they get the chance to show Berti that the Killie boys can make the grade.