undefined Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Is this it? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kilmarnock-public-enemy-no1-michael-9139495 THE Rugby Park company secretary will meet directors Billy Bowie and John Kiltie for crunch talks. UNDER-FIRE Michael Johnston faces a crunch board meeting at Kilmarnock today as the club lurches into fresh turmoil. The Rugby Park company secretary will meet directors Billy Bowie and John Kiltie for showdown talks after bombshell news this week concerning main-sponsor QTS. Managing director Alan McLeish sent shockwaves through Killie after confirming that his company, which has invested £1.3million into the club, could pull its sponsorship unless Johnston resigns from the board. McLeish’s warning came just a week after Russel Smith resigned as a club director and almost 1500 fans signed a petition demanding Johnston’s departure. With potential investors already vowing to stay away from the club until Johnston goes, the seriousness of the situation has escalated with the QTS developments. Now Bowie, Kiltie and Johnston, the only other three remaining board members, are scheduled to have face-to-face discussions together at Rugby Park at lunchtime as the position of the club stands in danger of deteriorating yet further. Johnston has been absent from recent Killie matches and was not sighted during the midweek win over Hearts, where fans again chanted for his resignation and unfurled banners calling for him to go. It is understood Johnston recently rejected an offer of just over £1.9 million for his shares in the Rugby Park club. Ayrshire businessman Chris McMail also led a consortium willing to plough £750,000 into Killie if the former chairman stepped down. McMail himself has told Record Sport that the loss of QTS could spell disaster as McLeish warned: “The only way the club can move forward now is for Michael to stand down from the board and let the club move into a new era. “QTS would seriously be considering its sponsorship position if Michael stayed in place on the board. “Football is a very unforgiving business and there’s no doubt in my mind that Michael has done some great things in his time at the club, but the time has come for change. Meanwhile, Ayrshire businessman Chris McMail believes the loss of main sponsor QTS could spell disaster for Kilmarnock. Three years ago McMail and McLeish were members of the Kilmarnock Futures Consortium alongside former Rugby Park chief executive Ian Welsh and fellow businessman Kenny Alexander who attempted to buy the club. McMail, managing director of the Microtech Group, returned to the table again this year trying to invest a sum in excess of £750,000 in the club – but had to give up on his bid after failing to secure a promise from Johnston to step down. However, it is the fresh revelations that McLeish is now thinking of pulling out which has savaged the supporters and McMail believes this perfectly illustrates the seriousness of the situation. He said: “The fact Alan has stood by Michael all of this time and now he is suggesting that he might be prepared to pull his sponsorship has to be a telling moment. “Alan has been a massive supporter of the club for so many years. “He has supported the club through thick and thin and it appears he is now totally fed up. “Surely that is telling everyone a story about the current situation. “I think it would be fairly obvious to anyone who knows the club that losing the support of Alan would be disastrous to the club. “That has to be obvious because I don’t think there would be another shirt sponsor around the corner waiting to come in. “It’s already common knowledge that we have a number of corporate sponsors who are prepared to invest. “But they are reiterating that they are not going to invest while Michael is still there. “In my own opinion, it would be disastrous for the youth at Kilmarnock if QTS were to withdraw their sponsorship and backing on the back of the corporate sponsors who have said they won’t sponsor the club until Michael leaves. “The future does not look bright for Kilmarnock unless Michael steps away.” Fan anger around the club is now reaching fever pitch. With investors who could make a huge difference staying away along with supporters who have become disillusioned with Johnston’s current stance, despair has enveloped the group. Planned protests were staged earlier this season and, after a petition was signed by almost 1500 fans demanding Johnston’s disappearance, banners were unfurled in the midweek home win over Hearts. In the East Stand, one read: “We’re here because we love KILLIE but we all want MJ OUT.” Edited October 28, 2016 by undefined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneyboy Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Hope so, he should have left after he got the club debt free, went out semi popular. Now he is the most despised person in Ayrshire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 5 minutes ago, Barneyboy said: . Now he is the most despised person in Ayrshire. And the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamond_geezer Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 3 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said: And the rest! No!! I'm not having that. There's a chap in Maybole..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piffer Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Craig Swans column at the side of the page is excellent. "Moral crime" a particilular favourite line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmcc Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 This could be it people. However, would we be really surprised if something minky is kept confidential and he still manages to hang about?! Imagine tho QTS remain, or better still increase their investment, McMail gets on board with his £750k and Macklin (who mentioned it on twitter yesterday) spent some cash, this could be the start of something really, really interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygod Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) That has to be about the worst-written newspaper article I've ever read. " ....revelations that McLeish is now thinking of pulling out which has savaged the supporters....". Eh?! I thought everyone was delighted by QTS's intervention. Here's Craig Swann's opinion piece: "IF Michael Johnston has a shred of compassion or love left for Kilmarnock FC and the town, he will pack his bags after today’s board meeting and walk away from the club for good. People can be complex characters. The world is made up of all different types and that’s a good thing because, let’s face it, life would be pretty dull if we were all the same. Johnston? He takes some working out. This guy has been the bogeyman for Killie fans for a very long time. He’s absolutely despised by most of them inside the ground and that’s not counting the ones who stay away from Rugby Park simply because he is still part of the club’s fabric. Imagine you were him. You are getting slaughtered every time some folk see you and you can’t even go to enjoy your team play. The club you have been part of for ages doesn’t want you. So some nice people come along and offer you over £1.9million to go away. Despite the fact you didn’t really pay anything to be there, individuals want rid of you so much that you are going to stick nearly £2m into your hipper. Retire to Tahiti. Drink fine wines, puff cigars. Never work again and forget it all. You’d be chewing their arms off, yet Johnston has refused it all. Won’t go away. This guy must think that thundering six-inch nails into his own shinbones is a right good night out because who else would put themselves and everyone else through this wringer? For some onlookers with no actual affinity with Kilmarnock, it’s actually quite amusing Johnston should be prepared to go to such lengths to avoid his departure. But this is no laughing matter for the club’s loyal supporters and this week, we are now reaching a point where he is physically harming the place with his stubbornness. It’s one thing for a chairman or a chief executive to cling on to power when fans want you out. That happens all of the time in the modern game, it’s nothing new. Where it changes is when businessmen prepare to pump their hard-earned cash into the club won’t do it because he’s there and some who were involved are walking away. There are directors leaving the club and now, pivotally, we find out that the club’s main sponsor QTS could actually withdraw their backing. What a shame this should all come to light with the team flying. They go to Ibrox tomorrow to face Rangers on the back of their best performance of the season. Killie were brilliant against Hearts. Seven points from the last three games and, at last, some light at the end of the tunnel. Yet Johnston’s shadow is in danger of blocking out this light. This is a sponsor which doesn’t get involved just for the glitz of the big team but has pumped fortunes into the club. The cash must have helped fund things such as the youth programme and provides kits for boys and girls teams. Honest working-class people, the very heart of soul of the community, could be robbed of opportunities because if QTS pull the plug, there must be a chance money which is used for these schemes will be needed elsewhere in the club. That is where it would become a moral crime. If one solitary kid loses a chance to play football out of this, it’s out of order. The town of Kilmarnock has suffered enough. Johnston has no right to make it worse. If he really does have any care for the place, he’ll go and go now." And also from the Record: JOHN GALL fears Kilmarnock will wither and die of poisoning unless Michael Johnston leaves. The managing director of Brownings Bakers – who produced the award-winning Killie Pie – has delivered a damning verdict on the position at Rugby Park with more chaos hitting the club this week. With other major investors not prepared to get involved with Kilmarnock until the under-fire company secretary leaves the position is worrying. Brownings Bakers, who were a long-term backer of the club, aren’t involved following disagreements with Johnston and Gall believes the situation is now approaching a critical stage. With the future of QTS being outlined fully by chief Alan McLeish, Gall insists it’s looking bleak for the club unless there is drastic change. The end game? Gall says it’ll be administration for Killie if Johnston doesn’t listen to the pleas of fans and backers to go. Gall told Record Sport: “The best thing Alan did was show the strength of the business people out there. “There are lots of us who will not put any money back into the club into this man (Johnston) goes. “In my opinion he is a poison for the club. Michael doesn’t go to the games any more and I would say that is because he knows it is going to be a shouting match against him. “What does that say about a club secretary who doesn’t even attend the games because of the animosity against him? “It’s absolutely crazy. How can you expect to get sponsors into a club or supporters into a club when the man who owns 40 per cent of it will not turn up to watch the matches? “He has to realise he is the only person in the whole of Ayrshire who is alright with this current situation. Everyone else knows it is wrong. “The Ayr United boys can have a good laugh and they are saying, ‘Well done Agent Johnston – you are doing well’. “It is incredibly frustrating for people because it seems to be all about him. That is what it seems to be.” Johnston’s stance has frustrated potential investors even more because a recent offer was made – which was understood to be in the region of £2million – for him to go. Gall said: “The offer was on the table and he was advised to take it because he was told it would come off the table. There was no decision and in the end he ended up saying he didn’t want it and couldn’t accept it. “The offer was then taken away after the answer was no. The bottom line for me is it is all about him. “The club belongs to the people and to the town, it’s not all about Johnston. It’s unbelievable how he has been able to do this. “I would imagine the club would go into administration unless something changes. “He needs Billy Bowie and Alan McLeish to stick around the club and help him out with things but he has nothing to put into it himself. “Last year I decided: No More. He ended up getting me out of the club and his sponsorship was done. “I made an offer that was accepted by two directors but Johnston knocked it back and said he was serving notice on the contract. “That’s what happened to me. It’s a joke. “It’s like the American Presidency. That has its term. Everything else has a term. “The only club chairmen who stay around for a long time are the ones who are successful but I’m not sure the current situation can be described as successful can you? “He can rattle off all the good things he has done for the club but he has also driven so many people away and people now want things to change.” Gall reckons Killie are suffering by missing out on the type of investment that could transform the fortunes of the side. Lee Clark staved off relegation last term and improved recent form has seen the team surge to the fringes of the top six. Gall insists the promise is there if Johnston goes and he said: “You could almost double the turnover of Kilmarnock if he was not there. “There is no doubt in my mind the club would go places again. Clark is doing a good job at the moment and the performance of the team against Hearts in midweek was really good. “That is the manager having a budget of next to nothing. Imagine what he could do with double that playing budget. “He could definitely take Kilmarnock places and we could be up there challenging clubs such as Hearts and Aberdeen.” Although Gall walked away and has since invested in the junior scene he added: “I took charge of Darvel and I’ve loved it. But I would get involved with Killie if Johnston goes, of course I would.” Record Sport tried to contact Johnston yesterday but he didn’t respond. Edited October 28, 2016 by skygod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouser2 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 pressure is building -----but it is hard to get hopes up after so many of these battles and false dawns have come and sadly gone --but this time surely the end --and new beginnings for OUR club is getting closer ? Surely now is the time for BB to force a conclusion to this matter and show MJ the door ------ or will we see him circling the wagons (trucks) and support MJ against us all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbs Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 “I made an offer that was accepted by two directors but Johnston knocked it back and said he was serving notice on the contract." So it's not one member one vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojike and Bod Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 I'm not getting my hopes up. The slimeball leech will no doubt have something up his sleeve to cling on for as long as he can. He cares nothing for the club, fans or community and he is utterly beneath contempt. All he's interested in his his payday and won't give up on his pension fund easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sp3ckyh0td0g81 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 lets hope today is finally the day, would set us up nicely heading to castle Greyskull, the prokaryote's time is surely up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killie billies pal Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Should have been dealt with by now, nearly midday , how long does it take to say f**k off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sp3ckyh0td0g81 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 hes Ayrshires answer to Donald Trump and his time has to come today .................we will know soon enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theauldyin Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 PLEASE GO JOHNSTON !!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 36 minutes ago, Mojike and Bod said: I'm not getting my hopes up. The slimeball leech will no doubt have something up his sleeve to cling on for as long as he can. He cares nothing for the club, fans or community and he is utterly beneath contempt. All he's interested in his his payday and won't give up on his pension fund easily. Yup, long way to go IMO. We've been trying to get rid of him for over a decade, the wait will be worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cammy_boy Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 18 minutes ago, Sp3ckyh0td0g81 said: hes Ayrshires answer to Donald Trump and his time has to come today .................we will know soon enough I thought Ayrshires answer to Donald Trump was er....Donald Trump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cammy_boy Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Canne get my hopes up but seriously now he cant keep this up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_u_jimmy Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Have BB and JK the collective guts to tell him what he needs to hear? They have had long enough to get their words together. On yer bike Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesnowman21 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 I refuse to get my hopes up as he always seems to survive. It will be like winning the cup when he finally goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piffer Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 3 minutes ago, thesnowman21 said: I refuse to get my hopes up as he always seems to survive. It will be like winning the cup when he finally goes. Flags and streamers and an open top bus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 4 minutes ago, piffer said: Flags and streamers and an open top bus? Funny you should say that, we were talking about this on Wednesday. Aswell as getting everyone back to home games, it would be good if we treated the next away game as a cup final and showed the country the support we have. Flags, streamers, the lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker71 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 3 hours ago, piffer said: Craig Swans column at the side of the page is excellent. "Moral crime" a particilular favourite line. I know swanny well and hes a top guy (despite being a mad celtic fan), he despises Michael johnstone and lives down in Ayrshire now so can see first hand the impact the parasite is having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclean07 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 If BB and QTS withdraw financial support, that is all it will take. Administration would be a rock solid certainty leaving him with nowhere to hide. Just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panman Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 johnston must have some very thick skin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sp3ckyh0td0g81 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 no news yet ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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