Good News Bad News

LAST weekend was one of those good news/bad news times that leave you not knowing which way to turn. It started with some really bad news on Friday when the club never invited us to the player’s kit sponsor lunch. Last season the website sponsored Stevie Fulton (because we reckoned that his strip may fit one of us) and we had a pleasant afternoon in the Park Suite with the big man and a few sarnies chucked in along with the official photographs and the handing over of the signed top. This season we paid a good deal more to sponsor new signing Alan Johnston, but were ’overlooked’ when it came to the end of season bash.

Okay, so we may well be a pain in the butt at (the majority of) times but unlike so many others at the end of the day we only have the interests of the club at heart, there is no other agenda. Through the website, fanzine and this column we give Killie FC more free advertising than anyone else we can think of, is it too little to ask for a little respect in return? Killie are in the entertainment business, vying for our leisure dollars, if this is an example of how they treat some of their most loyal customers then it is no wonder we are struggling big time.

Good News…after the disappointment of Friday morning we got a call from the boss man at Scottish & Universal that evening to tell us we could have a couple of freebie tickets to the Executive Club for the Livingston game. We wouldn’t normally accept anything gratis for a home game but seeing as the tickets were already paid for, as are our season tickets, we didn’t see the harm in indulging in a few shandies at the newspaper’s expense. It’s been a tough season after all! The Executive Club was excellent, the service was top class and it was overflowing with happy punters. There is something to be said for being treated like a first and not a second class citizen. Saying that, if we had cash and time to spare before home games, we would give the Executive Club serious consideration, we’re sure that Colin Fraser would be more than happy to send anyone out details for next season.

Bad News…was having to sit through the first half no score bore and Gaz MacDonald getting injured.

Good News…Rhian Dodds getting a game and producing the goods.

Bad News…not enough room on the plates for more Killie pies, the half time scran was top notch.

Good news…the second half display, especially after the introduction of Murray, was much improved and Killie merited the win.

Bad News…we took advantage of Ladbroke’s presence at Rugby Park to make a donation to the bookmaker’s benevolent fund. Why is it that there is always one result that lets you down? It wouldn’t be half as bad if you got half of your coupon wrong but by some cruel twist of fate it always seems to be just the one. Killie to win - easy money, we never usually touch Ayrshire’s finest for fear of jinxing the result but we broke with tradition due to the ‘Livi are pants’ factor. Huns to win - Terry Butcher hand Celtic the league? Not going to happen. Dundee and Caley to draw – due to the ‘both are pants’ factor. Our banker of course was a Hibs/Aberdeen draw. The Easter Road men only needed a draw to make sure of Europe, surely they could hold out at home to the sheep? Darren Mackie had other ideas, the bookies win again.

Good News…after crumpling up the footy coupon and throwing it in the bin (we’d be quicker doing that with pound notes and cutting out the middle man) Anne Clark arrives with the half time draw numbers. Having partaken of a few free drinks we’d purchased ten half time draw tickets…and for the first time ever we got a winner. Talk about speculate to accumulate! That was 100 smackers to add to the Park Hotel/Sports Bar collection tins. They have this fantastic new concept whereby you donate money to help keep the club afloat and they give you beer by way of thanks. It could catch on you know.

Bad News…the bouncer in the Sports Bar insisting that Karaoke night was a Sunday and we shouldn’t really be singing “A*r, A*r…eh…we don’t really like you much, A*r”, or words to that effect. To be fair to the big man we were in grave danger of creating an atmosphere so, tired and emotional, we headed wearily home. Unfortunately there was no good news in the lottery front though so John Terry will be staying at Chelsea.

Hippo Meets Squirrel

We had a good old chinwag on Saturday with Ian, the guy that provides the entertainment as Nutz the squirrel. Ian was on his way in to meet the Livi Lion who had travelled down with the larger than normal Livi support. Ian has been a bit concerned recently due to the bad publicity surrounding his predecessor however he wanted us to pass on a huge thanks to everyone who has been very supportive in recent weeks. The club, the Killie fans and even away fans have gone out of their way to encourage Ian and make sure our mascot is as popular as ever. Keep up the good work mate.

Grab a Bargain 1965 Shirt

We spoke to Josie on Monday to see what was hot in the Killie shop this week. With the 1965 legends being honoured by the club with a dinner/dance this weekend, it's the ideal time to grab yourself one of the 1965 limited edition tops. The top has been reduced to the princely sum of a tenner so get yourself over to the shop and grab yourself a bargain. Josie was also telling us they have some brand new t-shirts in stock that were selling like hot cakes over the weekend. The new home strip goes on sale this Saturday and prices will be the same as this season's kit. You can see the new strip on the club website where you can also buy it via the online store.

Here Comes Summer

Once we finish our final match of the campaign this weekend all thoughts will turn towards the comings and goings over the summer months. The management team will have been making plans for a while now but with no cash around it may well be the squad will be remarkably similar to the current one. We're certainly well covered for keepers with three outstanding candidates in Combe, Smith and Samson although the manager will have a hard job keeping all three happy. In defence Freddy's future was still undecided as we write this with some papers reporting Motherwell are interested in signing the likeable Frenchman. Freddy is a firm favourite with the Killie faithful and we'd love to see him stay at Rugby Park for a while yet. He was going to reach a decision last weekend so you may have read the outcome before you read this column!

We have brought through some good youngsters in recent years so you can be assured other clubs will be sniffing around. Boyd and McDonald have already caught the eye of some English clubs and the club will find it hard to refuse decent bids in the current financial climate. If Killie are to progress next season these are the type of players we need to hold on to. Both players still have plenty to learn and another few years at Killie can only help their football education.

Naismith and Dodds both gave excellent performances against Livingston and that has to bode well for the future. We'll also have Dillon and Di Giacomo returning from loan spells to add to the competition for places. Everyone likes a new face or two all the same and we're sure there will be a couple of signings to freshen the squad before the first league game on July 30. If the rumours on Killiefc.com are to be believed a certain Mr Skora may even make a welcome return. Let's hope that all the publicity we get is positive and we'll be keeping the column going throughout the close season. We're always happy to hear the fan's views so why not put your thoughts in print and e-mail us at Hippo or baz.

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