Life long Killie fan
David Ross
supplies to killiefc.com his exclusive 2002-03 SPL Season Preview. David
is the author of "Every Game" last years updated Kilmarnock Football Club
history. He also the webmaster of the Scottish League. Net website. Here
are his pre-season thoughts..........
According to the bookies, we're in for a dull old
season at Rugby Park. Seventh or eighth in the League is the best we can
hope for. We won't make the top six but weıll be nowhere near relegation.
In the cups we can expect modest runs, being eliminated in the
quarter-finals. Now I know that it's not usually wise to take issue
with the odds-makers, but these are the same people who were telling us
all less than two months ago not to bother looking past Argentina, France
and Italy for the World Cup!
2002 French Flops
As one of the few who picked Senegal to dump France
on their backsides, I'm glad they were wrong then and I think they're
wrong now. Here's why.....
Have a look at what's been happening or rather whatıs NOT been
happening in the SPL over the close season. Clubs are shedding players
by the dozen and they're not being replaced.
Look at the four teams that finished above us last season (weıll ignore
the Old Firm for now) and see if you can find any evidence that they'll
all be ahead of us again:
Aberdeen have lost Whyte, Winters, Zerouali, Dadi, Guntveit
and Belabed. Their sole signing to date is Eric Deloumeaux from
Motherwell.
Hearts have said goodbye to Flogel, Fuller, Adam, Grunlund
and, of course, Stevie Fulton. Replacements? Kevin Twaddle, a Bosman
signing from Holland and a trialist from Denmark.
Dunfermline have lost Ian Ferguson and have brought in Craig
Brewster (who has more grey hairs than I have) and a boy from Ireland.
Livingston have seen the last of David Fernandez and Nathan
Lowndes. True, they've brought in Sergio Berti and a couple of other
continentals. And if their track record is anything to go by, then theyıll
be a force again.
Livvy apart, I reckon that while all of the others have been weakened
overwhat we laughingly call the summer, Killie are actually stronger.
Yes, we've lost players too. But, aside from Tommy Johnson, everyone who
left Rugby Park was surplus to requirements. I don't know enough about
Barry McLaughlin to comment, but Jim Jefferies other signings are all top-notchers.
Greg Shields
I've spoken to season-ticket holders at Charlton and
they're agreed. Greg Shields was Premiership standard. It was only injury
that prevented him from making his mark in England. If he can steer clear
of trouble, he'll be a rock at Rugby Park.
And that's something we need you only have to look at the results last
season when Dindeleux was injured to realise how heavily we rely on
Freddie. Greg Shields will help share the burden.
Stevie Fulton
Stevie
Fulton needs no introduction to Killie fans. Always a player you love to
hate when he was with Celtic and Hearts, he's exactly the kind that
supporters love when heıs wearing their colours. Thereıs no reason to
think Rugby Park will be any different from Tynecastle in that respect.
Fulton is a class act, and although theyıre not that similar in style, he
can exert the same influence on the pitch as Ian Durrant did.
As for JJıs other signing Gary McSwegan Iım not so sure. He'll score
goals, certainly. But so will Craig Dargo. And Dargo has a lot more in the
tank. What we need is a regular out-and-out goalscorer. Somebody like....er,....Tommy
Johnson.
Craig Dargo
And that leads me to the fact that, while I reckon
we could have a good season at Rugby Park, the Scottish game is in crisis.
What does it tell us when the likes of Gillingham can afford to offer
Johnson a three-year deal?
Or when Robbie Winters can walk out of Pittodrie for a TRIAL period at
Stoke? Last year everyone laughed when players left Motherwell for Wigan
in the English Second Division. This time, Shaun Elliott has upped sticks
from Fir Park and moved to Hull in the THIRD!
Lack of a TV deal may have something to do with it but don't forget, these
players have gone to clubs whose own TV deal had collapsed. All the moves
I've mentioned were agreed BEFORE the recent Sky-Nationwide agreement.
What about the teams that finished below Killie last season? Have any of
them improved sufficiently to overtake us? I don't think so.
Bobby Williamson
Having left Killie for a "bigger" team, Hibernian's
Bobby Williamson must be wondering what is going on. Like all the others,
they've lost players. They couldnıt even keep Gary Caldwell on a loan
deal. They canıt possibly be as bad as they were last season but it will
take more than this season for them to rejoin the leaders.
So Hibs are skint and we can pinch players from Hearts. Thatıs Edinburgh
accounted for. What about Dundee?
Dundee United not so long ago the
benchmark for every provincial club in Scotland is fast becoming a rest
home where ex-Rugby Parkers can wind down their careers. Kevin McGowne has
joined Messrs McIntyre and Lauchlan at Tannadice where the only other
signing is Allan Smart a man whose off-field activities donıt exactly
live up to his surname.
Dundee are a club in crisis. Latin football Jim Duffy
style? Who are they kidding? Ketsbaia's off. Sara wonıt be far behind.
Having said that, Wilkie and Speroni have signed new deals and theyıve
snapped up Nacho Novo from Raith (why didn't we make a move for him?). But
they look too inconsistent to be top six material.
Thistle
have pushed the boat out since promotion. Then again they had to. Derek
Whyte is their most high-profile signing but they've accumulated a clutch
of experienced players in their bid to stay up. While they'll be tough to
beat, theyıre no Livingston and won't bother the top half of the table.
That leaves Motherwell. This time last year, St Johnstone
looked doomed before a ball was kicked. That's the role the Fir Park club
find themselves in this time round. They'll be hoping that Thistle or
Dundee will struggle too as that would appear to be their main hope of
survival. The guts has been ripped out of the Motherwell team. John Boyle
and Pat Nevin have not only picked up their ball and gone home, they've
left somebody else to pay the park fees. Eric Black the great white hope
of Scottish coaching has decided that he'd prefer to be a No 2 at
Coventry than a No 1 at Motherwell, thus proving that like others who
have done the same thing he's one of life's natural Number Twos.
So, my summation is that we have nothing to fear. I don't expect
Livingston to be a permanent fixture in the top four, but I think theyıll
be thereabouts this season. I donıt see any reason why we shouldnıt be
fighting it out with them for third place and a return to Europe in
2003-04.
It could be a good year for Killie but the Scottish
game in general is in poor shape. The national team is rebuilding from
scratch and I'm looking forward to getting up to Hampden to see the
Denmark game.
As for the Gruesome Twosome, they'll carry on as usual. It should be a bit
closer this year for the title with a lot hinging on just how committed
Martin O'Neill is to remaining at Parkhead.
There are many other issues affecting Scottish football. The future of the
Old Firm, TV deals, the "new" Airdrie replacing Clydebank, etc. Too many
to go into here. If you want to keep up to date with the latest
developments and are also interested in the game's past, have a look at
www.scottishleague.net
In the meantime, here's hoping for a good start against the Huns. I'll be
up for the away game at Livingston by which time the season will be
starting to take shape and we'll see how right or how wrong these
predictions are.
David Ross
http://www.scottishleague.net
A Scottish football website
