The Association & My Part in it's Downfall 

Sorry to come over all melodramatic, I was writing this editorial on the supporter's association and I thought that a Spike Milligan parody was pretty apt in the week of his demise....so don't worry, he might be gone but the Association is alive and kicking...but only just. We reported last week on the AGM and the events thereof whereby Colin 'Muppet' Hargreaves became the new chairman and immediately promised sweeping changes to revitalise this ageing dinosaur. Not before time I thought... and it was the thoughts of the assembled crowd that the Muppet asked for straight away in an attempt to inject some life back into the KFCSA, so here are my thoughts on the matter...

At the moment I see the Association as part of a bygone era...and the way it goes about it's business is equally antiquated. It represents a minority of Kilmarnock supporters who travel to away matches and purports to speak as the voice of the fans...how can this be the case? They meet once a month and discuss periphery issues and what little money they bring in they give to charities at the end of the season. All very noble but much ado about nothing as far as I can see...why would anyone bother? I can donate a couple of quid to charity at any time and there are no major club policy issues on which they have a say. So what's the way ahead as I see it? A total u-turn on the very foundations that the association was built on and a re-vamped KFCSA that is geared to modern day economics.

The Association should completely abandon travel club membership and introduce membership on an individual basis. In light of the current financial difficulties being experienced by clubs at every level in the game the focus of the KFCSA should be to be boosting attendances at
Rugby Park and not organising itself around away matches. I realise this may seem a bit radical but when you look at it objectively I think it makes overall sense. If we have an organised body of Kilmarnock FC supporters we should be doing our utmost to fill the coffers of our own club and not the other clubs in the league. I'm not saying we should ignore away matches, as it's a good day out and the team appreciate the support...just that the emphasis should be moved to getting fans to home games.

As it stands, a travel club with an infinite amount of members can join the association for £20, yet when there was individual membership introduced a few seasons ago (which has now apparently been abandoned) it was costing them a fiver a year. How was that ever going to encourage membership? Where's the equality? This is why I'm sure the way ahead is to have everyone paying an individual membership costing the same and to have the same voting rights as well...what could be fairer or more democratic than that? The KFCSA shouldn't be a body representing 12 travel clubs but one that represents hundreds of members...each one playing as big a part as the next. This may all sound a bit Utopian but I can't see how it wouldn't work. I'm not asking travel clubs to disband...quite the contrary...they would surely benefit as part of a stronger association.

As for the money that is raised and given away every year...surely charity begins at home? Would fans not prefer to see any money raised being ploughed back into the club? In case anyone didn't notice, all the things that we currently take for granted are under threat as the sport is gradually being brought to it's knees by the current financial climate, so why can't we use any cash that we generate to help study the infrastructure of our own club before we end up the next Clydebank? I'm quite sure that we could chip in with funds for the youth team or something like that, and I'm sure the board would appreciate the gesture...or we could even go to the extent of setting the KFCSA up as a trust and asking for our chairman to have a say at board level....a true voice for the fans. It's happening all over the country at the moment as supporters are taking things into their own hands so it may be a good idea to introduce it now unlike the majority of others who set up trusts when it's too late.

Okay, so you've either fell asleep by now or you think your reading the rantings of a loony, I wouldn't blame you on either count. I know I've probably missed a few points that I wanted to make but this has really dragged on long enough. I'm sure Muppet has many plans for the KFCSA already and that whatever happens things will at least be a major improvement on what has gone before but I would be interested to know what he thinks of my ideas...sorry mate...you did ask!    baz