Robbo's Lads In Final

WE'D like to offer our congratulations to Alan Robertson's Under 19 team who have reached the final of the Scottish Youth Cup for the first time. The lads travelled to Tynecastle as underdogs to take on a strong Hearts team however Killie's slicker passing game proved too good for the hosts. Goals from Stephen "kid goals" Naismith and John Paul Boyle gave us a deserved 2-0 victory and takes us to the final where we will face either Rangers or Celtic.

Many will remember Alan Robertson as a reliable left back who holds the record as the most capped Killie player in history. Alan was keen to stay in football after his playing career came to an end and for many years now he has worked tirelessly behind the scenes as youth coach. We have spoken to several ex-players who cannot speak highly enough of Alan and the hard work

he puts in. In recent years Killie have produced a stream of excellent youngsters who have broken through to the first team and many will tell you Alan Robertson has been a major factor in their progress.

At the moment we do not know the date and venue for the final but will publish the details as soon as we know. There were a good number of Killie fans at Tynecastle and I'm sure we'll carry a decent wee crowd to see the lads grab some silverware hopefully.

Half Price Killie Tops

THE Killie shop continues to do a roaring trade and Josie and the girls were busy as ever when we dropped in last week. The girls are always looking to give Killie fans some value for money and here's a bargain that will appeal to you all. Both home and away tops are now on sale at half price - adult sizes £20 and kids sizes £15. Get along and grab one quick as we anticipate they will vanish faster than A*r's first division status.

Obituary

WE were very sad to hear last week of the death of Killie fan Duncan McInnes. Big Duncan was a well-known face around Rugby Park where he had been a season ticket holder for most of his life. Duncan was also a "weel kent" face in the Ayrshire farming community and most Ayrshire farms must have been empty last Friday judging by the turn out at Masonhill Crematorium. Our sincere thoughts and condolences go to all Duncan's family and friends - the Killie Club on match days won’t be the same without him.

Scotland Bus

It’s your last call for the Killie Tartan Army bus for Hampden on Wednesday 31 March to see Scotland take on Romania. If you want a seat on the bus call Colin Boyd on 01563 533251 or Rab Robb on 01563 544217.

FBS Latest

All change this week as Baz takes the lead in the weight loss stakes. Maw Hippo (God bless her) was in hospital for a few days so the Bellfield Belly missed out on a few training sessions. On the scales this week Hippo lost 0lbs, Oboab lost 1lbs, Bluehand lost 3lbs and Baz shed 4lbs of blubber…mainly due to a last minute sauna on Sunday morning. A search party has been sent out for Swonnie, he may have taken it a bit far.

A big thanks as usual to all those who sponsor the ‘Fat Boys Slim’ challenge…main sponsor Klin Homes, Brownings the Bakers, Kilmarnock UPVC Ltd, Millennium Vacations International, J.R.D. Partnership (Accountants), Fortress Security, Goldsmiths, Millennium Beauty, The Cut Above, Duncan McLean Solicitors, Ritchie (UK) Ltd. & Fitness First. £100 and you too could do your bit!

On Pitch Problems

We took the trip up to Tannadice last week and were rewarded with probably the worst 45 minutes we’ve seen for long and weary, and that’s saying something! It is our own humble opinion that we are suffering terribly from lack of consistency in team selection. No one knows where they are playing half the time and amid the confusion our goals against column is taking a battering. The players themselves are far from exempt when it comes to criticism but ultimately the buck stops at the manager, so sorry JJ, this one is down to you.

The Goalie – Melly knows he's leaving at the end of the season so should probably be used as back up only. We’re in no way questioning his professionalism, as he's a really nice bloke, but with Partick almost guaranteed bottom spot and us leaking goals like crazy anyway, why not go with Smith?

The Defenders - There is no defence! Greer, despite his lapses in concentration when he thinks he's Franco Baresi and attempts 40 yard passes, should start in front of McLaughlin. Freddie should never play at left back because he just does not have the pace to cope with wingers or to get forward and overlap. The normally reliable Lilley had an awful first half and should have howfed the ball out the park instead of taking on two defenders for the third goal. Hooky also had a nightmare and despite having a reasonable season surely there is scope to bring back Sean Dillon for the run in.

The Midfielders - Despite what JJ says we think that wee Ruby Murray should start the majority of games. Okay, we understand when he says he doesn’t think Stevie will do the same damage away from home, especially up against big defenders but hell, surely it couldn't be any worse than we did without him. Why have him sitting in the stand with us when he could have been on the bench at least, we can only assume he is injured. Fowler's bad form continued, McDonald looked feart to put in a challenge at times and lost the ball too easily, Skora playing wide was out of position and ineffective and Gary Locke put himself about like normal but was pissing against the wind with no one around him producing anything going forward.

The Attackers - According to the stats we had more shots on goal than the Arabs in the first half and yet went in 4-0 down so credit to the strikers for making the chances but criticism for not putting them away. Boyd and Invincibile have looked like the best pairing up front so far but if play is breaking down before the ball gets to them then there is not much they can do.

The Team - Due to the changes every week they seem to lose track of each other and it stuck out a mile how much Dundee United communicated with each other during play and how quiet we were. Locke does his fair share of shouting between bouts of action to gee the players up but we need the lot of them to be more vocal when the ball is in play. We have played well at times this season and we know the talent is there, maybe with a more settled team we would play more as a unit rather than individuals.

The Management – We’re not quite sure how this bad cop - bad cop act is working. We think that overall JJ is a decent manager and we'll be lucky to get someone with such experience elsewhere at the moment - but it seems as if things are starting to deteriorate in the dressing room and something has to be done to sort it out. JJ seems to pay too much attention to our opposition and we should concentrate more on putting our strongest attacking team on the park and let them worry about us for a change.

Right, so we’ve had a go at all and sundry, but to be fair those who travelled through to Dundee last week will know exactly what we are talking about. In fact the points we’ve made will probably strike a chord with most fans as our home form this season has been worse than away. In all honesty our season looks as if it is all but over and it will take something really special to elevate us into the top six before the split. We can do our bit by making sure we get as many people along to the game on Saturday against Aberdeen for the Friends and Family Day but from there on in it’s down to the manager and his team…here’s hoping that they can steady the ship again.

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