A*r & Prestwick POTY

FOLLOWING our bit about Player of the Year dances and stuff last week we were approached by Charles Galloway at half time during the Arabs game with details of the A*r & Prestwick Supporters’ Club function this season. The event takes place in the Wallace Suite of The Park Hotel from 1pm on Saturday, May 21. Adult admission is £10 and that includes the buffet, a complimentary welcome drink and one free entry to the raffle. The club have various raffle prizes on offer and will also be giving punters a chance to win in their ‘Super Hidden Team’. Tickets are available from Matt on 01292 479621 or Chas on 01563 830026.

Vote Killie Pie

WE'RE always delighted to report on the growing reputation of the Killie Pie and of course local company Brownings the Bakers. We spoke to chief bottle washer John Gall earlier in the week when he told us that they have now made it into the last four of yet another prestigious award. Here's a rundown of what it's all about with John explaining…

“As a fellow Killie fan as well as the Killie Pie maker I was wondering if you could all vote for us in a competition which is available online. We are up against three other companies in the Food Processing Awards 2005. The other three are all English so we are hoping that everyone can do the same as you did when Scotland fans voted for the Jim Baxter Bridge at the new Wembley! It should mean a wee bit of publicity for Killie as well as the Killie Pie. The winner will be decided by who gets the most votes either on-line or by the readers of the magazine, so this is where YOU come in. If you access the website HERE and then click on ‘vote now’ and vote for Brownings the Bakers then that is all you have to do. Thanks for all your help and your continued support.”

So what are you all waiting for? Get online, vote for Brownings and make sure the reputation of the Killie Pie continues to soar throughout Britain.

SPL Fixture Folly

THE poor old SPL fixture machine has taken a bit of a battering from us this season already so we weren’t really surprised to see the mess it has made of things again. The bottom six clubs to play their final fixtures at the exact same time the English FA Cup final is on the telly? Give us, and the clubs a break, that is just madness. If there is anyone with any influence out there at all we beseech you to do the sensible thing and demand that the games be brought forward to kick off at noon. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go to the game and then into the club’s hotel or bar to watch a cup final? Never mind, it’s only money.

Hippo 46 Out Now

IT'S the end of a long hard season but there's still time for one final fanzine before we head off for our summer holidays. With only two games to go there's less fanzines ordered than normal so get in there early to avoid disappointment. This issue contains some hard hitting articles on the current state of our club and a Hippo five-point blueprint for improving the Scottish game. Thanks to everyone who has supported us and bought the fanzine throughout the season - we couldn't have done it without you.

Season Ticket Holders

WE received the following letter from Colin McCormick of Prestwick (popular place this week it seems) and as always we are delighted to include your contributions given that it’s less drivel that we have to produce!

“It's come to the end of another season and I'm sure one of mixed emotions, anyway, as a dyed-in-the-wool fan I'm already thinking of next season and what our fate will be. One thing that is really worrying is the lack of fans and the lack of atmosphere. Apparently we've dipped more than other clubs to the tune of 13%. There are one or two theories being thrown around on this, one being that some won't return until Jeffries is gone. I'm sure there could be a long debate on that. Anyway what really grips me, and it has only struck me recently, is the change at away games and the effect of all seated grounds.

The support seems to come alive away from home. Haven't you noticed how even visiting teams seem to do well when all their fans are in one area (apart from the obvious Glasgow two)? Take us for example in the cup at Tynecastle. So what has really gone wrong at Rugby Park? Think back to what it was like the day we beat Cowdebeath to gain promotion from the old Division 2. That was a Division 2 record which is unsurpassed. This is where I really get on my soap box. In those days (and I go back to the late sixties) you could go along, pay your money and most guys I knew wanted to get in to the noise of the crowd who stood along the centre line, so they got there early. The banter was great the crowd reacted to everything and I'm sure it lifted the team.

Now where are these kind of supporters? Stuck out in a section near the visiting support or strung around the East Stand. Season Ticket holders were confined to the West Stand because apparently if you bought a season ticket it entitled you to define which seat you would watch from. These supporters nowadays have four stands to choose from. It drives me mad that because of work and other commitments that I can attend only around fifteen home games per season plus odd reserve matches…but probably contribute as much, if not more, than a season ticket holder but yet I am treated like a second class citizen. I don't know if you hold a season ticket but I hope that you can at least understand some of these scenarios.

1. We have a ground that holds max 17,000. In an average home gate of 5,000 why is it that at the start of every season it is difficult to find a seat where you want to sit because a large number are marked reserved or have someone's name on them? Does this not get updated in the close season?

2. You sit on a seat at 2.40pm on a Saturday afternoon which has no reserved sticker. Ten minutes in to the game you are asked to move when someone shows their season ticket and claims that they have paid for that seat, despite the fact that there are empty seats in that area all around. Correct me if I'm wrong but in the old terracing could you buy a season ticket which entitled you to get in and stand in a reserved area?

A few years back there was a move to scrap season tickets. Maybe that was a bit radical but I'd appreciate your opinion on a couple of my proposals. Why don't we take away the right to reserve a specific seat for season ticket holders? This would still allow season ticket holders to get in to the match for the price reduction which the get buy paying for their football up front and at the same time allow them to be recognised for ticket sales to Cup/European/special matches. The down side for them would be that they would need to turn up early to ensure that they got the seat they wanted and compete with ordinary gate paying supporters for seats in a specific area. Benefits to the club? Surely it would encourage the noise to come from the right areas of the stand and create an atmosphere that we enjoyed and which helped the players for as long as the old terracing stood. This is obvious with the old firm and other clubs whose success is rising. Their fans are making a noise and it reflects on the park.

What about the gate paying faithful when it comes to big games/cup games. I remember how difficult it was trying to get a ticket for Ibrox in 1997. ‘I've followed Killie since I was a boy and can't get a ticket’. ‘Yes they all say that’ was the reply. Do you think it would work to have some kind of passport that gets stamped as you enter the gate? This would cut out arguments as to who was entitled. If this was stamped through the season as a gate paying supporter and exchanged for a certificate from the club at the end of the season then that certificate holder would be entitled to be considered first for Cup/Euro or other big games, just like a season ticket holder.

Anyway, I've had a bit of a rant and thanks for reading this but I only want to ensure that we do our part in making sure Killie stay in the league that they should be in. I've had too may flash backs to the eighties. I should have written to David MacKinnon but thought I'd gather your thoughts in the merits of these from a fan perspective first. Hope to hear back from you…Regards, Colin McCormick.”

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