Where Are They Now?

Our form in the games against Livingston and Inverness Caley may have dipped a little but we still find ourselves in the quarter finals of the League Cup and sitting pretty in the top six. Fans and officials of other clubs praise how our team is playing so we’d like to resurrect that million dollar question…where have all the fans gone? We reckon that the crowd against the Livi Lions was low mainly due to the poor pricing policy that was set. Were we the only club not to give any sort of incentive for season ticket holders? We await with interest the prices for the quarter final against Motherwell, but don’t hold your breath for an amazing deal that will get the missing thousands flooding back.

Killie had around 4,500 fans at the Inverness game, which some may think compares favourably with other clubs. We don’t subscribe to that theory since there are thousands of Killie fans out there who, for one reason or another simply do not attend the Theatre of Peppered Steak Slices on a regular basis. We are playing good football in general and the management team have done sterling work in getting some top quality players in the stripes. The only conclusion that can be reached is all our problems lie off the field, and the buck stops with the club chairman.

Fair enough, he has put in a lot of hours trying to keep the club ticking over, but he should be spending his time trying to find the people who can eradicate the debt and take the club forward. Before the pro-MJ brigade tell us he is doing this already…we know for a fact he isn’t. There are a huge number of Killie-minded businesses out there who would be willing to help the club, but have not been spoken to for ages. There are not enough folk working at the club now to cover all the bases that need covering!

This one-man-show style that Michael Johnson has adopted simply does not work. It’s great that he’s enthusiastic and he’s a nice bloke to talk to but with so much needing done to turn things around at Killie we’re afraid that the chairman being all things to all men just doesn’t cut it. We need to get the right people on board who can properly market the club and “brand” the famous name of Kilmarnock Football Club. We were meant to get one at the same time Murray Falconer joined up but they never materialised. MJ has to strengthen the board and bring in directors who know the club and can sell it to the public. Once that happens we may again see the missing thousands return and the club will once again be the talk of the town.

Kadi-Boy

Congratulations to Howard Supporter’s Club member John McGinlay who celebrated the birth of son Ryan last week. We were invited along to the wetting of the wean’s head on Saturday at the Kadikoi and were only to happy to make the trip to the top of the town for the occasion. The Kadi has long been a drinking hole for a host of Killie fans and there were quite a few weel-kent worthies propping up the bar before we got there.

The karaoke started with everyone singing Flower of Scotland and it just got louder and more raucous from there on in! Madness and The Jam (not forgetting Rolf Harris) got a real laying on and there was so little room on the floor that folk starting dancing on the tables. Killie songs were also in abundance and it was great to see that The Howard is not the last pub in the town with some real Killie heritage.

Marathon Man

Matt Dodds has been in touch regarding the article we did last week about him running the New York Marathon with the proceeds being split between FFTF and the British Heart Foundation.

He said: “Hi guys, I trust you are well and recovered from Saturday’s disappointment, not to worry there’s always next Saturday. I was at the physiotherapist tonight and he has given me the nod to commence running again, alternate days and start off slowly i.e. 15 minutes tomorrow, miss a day then 20 or 30 minutes on Saturday and so on. I have opened a bank account and the details are – Royal Bank of Scotland, 69 High St. Irvine, KA12 0AL. A/C No. 00648470. Sort Code 83-23-13. A/C Name Mr Matthew Dodds. If any one wants to pay in direct that’s fine just let us know so we can log it on a sheet. A few people have already utilised this method. At Saturday’s game I was at the Park suite and Jose kindly took the sponsor sheet round the tables and raised quite a few pounds. I will keep in touch, although out of the country next week. Read your bit on the web page, ta…Matt”

Macks To Motherwell

The rejuvenated Mack Bar Bus will be winging its way to Motherwell come Saturday. Their 49-seater bus leaves Macks Bar, Grange Street at 13:00hrs picking up at the King’s Arms in Fenwick at 13.15hrs. To book please phone 01563 541290 or email macks@killie.demon.co.uk