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Bigdodge

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Everything posted by Bigdodge

  1. Hibs is a total basket case of a club. Why would anyone go there after seeing how they treated Maloney? Pressure for success at any club is always there but at the likes of Hibs, it's more tangible. If the new guy doesn't get results in the first few games of the new season, their jacket is already on a shaky peg. And that's more so the case at Hibs than at Killie. Yes, we got rid of TW sharpish but let's face it, our plight wasnt the same as Hibs. It was imperative we won and returned to the top league. Under TW that was never going to happen. Everyone could see that but TW. Would DM be under as much strain and stress after a poor start to a the SPL at Killie than if he was at Hibs? I dont think he would be. What would be expected in the 1st season back would be more realistic at Killie than at Hibs. DM should know that. He has already got a good footing at Killie on which he can build a team and a plan to improve. He should also have the sense to see that too. Loved at Killie or potentially hated at Hibs. Who knows? I think he'll stay. ?
  2. Forget about Arbroath. We win next week and the league is ours. Concentrate on Killie. One win away from a League Trophy. In DM we Trust. I have great confidence we can win next week.
  3. Great interview of Dieter Van Turnhout on Football Scotland. Interviewed by Killie fan Gary Kirkpatrick. Kilmarnock fans, can you believe it has been 10 years? A decade since thousands upon thousands of blue and white fanatics descended upon Hampden for the 2012 League Cup Final, only to leave a few hours later having witnessed one of the most glorious occasions in the club's long history. Plenty of memories will flood the minds of Killie fans when that famous day is recounted, but none more so than the goal that proved to be the decisive one. On the landmark anniversary of the club's famous triumph over Celtic, it was only right we sat down with the man who promptly etched himself into Killie folklore when he bulleted THAT header past a flailing Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster. Of course, it's Dieter Van Tornhout - the Belgian hero with the unofficial freedom of Kilmarnock. Before the final, Van Tornhout appeared in the blue and white stripes six times, with zero goals and a red card to his name, which he received in a home game against Hearts. As such, life in Ayrshire wasn't exactly going to plan for Dieter. And when cup final week came around, despite the magnitude of the occasion, things didn't feel too different for him, given his previous experiences with cup finals in Belgium and Holland: "The week before the final was actually not any different than the other weeks," he told Football Scotland. "But of course, we were speaking a little more about the cup final. "Nobody was expecting (to win it). But knowing we were playing against Celtic, the biggest team in Scotland, was nice. "For me personally, it was my third cup final, so I knew a little what to expect. "I wasn't successful in a cup final until 2012. My first one was when I was 18 with Club Brugge - we lost that final. "My second one was in Holland with Roda JC - this was a similar situation as in Scotland. We were a smaller team playing against a big team in Feyenoord. "I came on as a sub but after five minutes, I broke my knee! So I was unlucky. But the third (final) was the lucky one." You would understand, as a result, if Van Tornhout was feeling hungrier than ever to get his hands on silverware this time around given his past failures. But he admits that due to the size of the task ahead of them - a flying Celtic side chasing a domestic treble - winning the League Cup was merely a dream. Asked if the team believed they could beat the Hoops, he said: "To be honest, I think myself and the rest of the team were dreaming of winning it, but realistically in that moment, no. They (Celtic) were playing for three trophies at that moment." As mentioned, Van Tornhout suffered a bad knee break after just five minutes in the 2008 KNVB Cup Final playing for Roda JC versus Dutch giants Feyenoord, the latter winning 2-0 in Rotterdam. For some players, this situation can provoke an onset of mental anguish - an appearance in a cup final over after just minutes on the field. You'd think in preparation for his third shot at winning a cup final, Van Tornhout would be wary of another injury ruining his opportunity to play in the showpiece Hampden occasion. In fact, it was quite the opposite. "I was never thinking about injuries - if you get one, you get one. If you are thinking, 'I really don't want an injury', then you are not training or playing at 100% and you can't play like that anyway," he added. "I was a player who didn't have the best technique, but I had a killer mentality and worked my balls off." Despite his hard work and determination as a player, the Belgian found it difficult to get into the Killie starting XI prior to the final and as a result, while he hoped he would be involved in some capacity, it wasn't a foregone conclusion. "I knew from the beginning I would be starting on the bench. I just came into the team at the end of January. "I had no hard feelings about that. I was hoping to be involved in the game but I was just happy to be involved in a new final against a nice team." Things started to get very real for the Killie squad from the Saturday onwards. They spent the day together for a final training session and then settled for the night at the Park Hotel situated next to Rugby Park. "I slept very well", recalls Dieter. "My roommate was Danny Buijs, who was a very nice person. On the morning of the final, the squad had a normal breakfast together in the hotel. We then went for a small walk and got back for a tactical session and a sports meal, which was pasta." The striker remembers then-Kilmarnock boss and outspoken Northern Irishman Kenny Shiels' tactics lecture inside the hotel as a very simple one. He usually adopted a short passing game where possession was key, but he was forced to dilute this style given the opposition facing his side: "Tactically, the main thing was to play within our organisation. "He wanted to have us stay in our shape and then try take our moments by counter-attacking." With the team meeting out the way, the only thing that was left to do was head up to the south-side of Glasgow on the team bus for the occasion of a lifetime. For Dieter, this was when things started to become very real. "The moment we left the hotel, focus mode was on. On the bus, you start to feel the adrenaline in your body. "The trip to Glasgow was chill though. We were sitting mostly alone and just listening to music. "But you start to imagine some scenarios (about the match). 'Can we score early and get a goal in the first minutes? Imagine if I score the winning goal?'" Asked if he really believed this, he said: "As a striker, I think that is a normal thought. "Once we got there, we saw a lot of people and happy Killie supporters. It was very nice to see, as they were really excited that day." And no wonder. Killie had never won the League Cup before and were playing in their first final since 2007, when Hibs trounced them 5-1 in the same competition. Despite the fact the odds were stacked against the boys in blue and white, fans were eager to make a day of it. Anything can happen in a one-off cup final. Maybe, just maybe, this was their year. "Our preparation then starts", continues Dieter. "We got the Celtic line-up. They were a big, physical team. For me, Victor Wanyama, Giorgos Samaras and Anthony Stokes were the most important and dangerous players for them. They all had the individual skills that could make a difference. "We went onto the field coming out to warm up - it was a special atmosphere. People were happy and excited for the game on a lovely sunny day. "Supporters from both Kilmarnock and Celtic were arriving and 50,000 people were singing - it was unbelievable." Fans will experience a lot of things in football, but they will never know exactly what goes on inside a dressing room minutes before the kick-off of a national cup final. Van Tornhout explains the mood was upbeat and there was an air of determination to go out and perform. "Kenny gave a last pep talk. Everybody was excited and positive to each other. "There were no real nerves, just healthy nerves and adrenaline. I was like everybody else, very excited and ready for the game." As the final eventually kicked off at 3pm, the one thing that stands out for Van Tornhout sat on the bench was the incredible performance of Killie stopper Cammy Bell, who was called into action early on. Killie defender Mahamadou Sissoko passed the ball straight to Hoops striker Gary Hooper, who just had Bell to beat. But the Dumfries man, who would pick up the MOTM award, made a great save to keep the scoreline at 0-0: "That moment was a scary one", said Dieter. "Cammy played his best game from what I saw from him. It was a class game from him. "I need to be fair and say that we were lucky (to be level at half-time). Celtic were pushing us back. We found it difficult to come out and only had a few chances through Dean Shiels." With Celtic dominating most of the possession in the second half, they searched for that killer goal to break the deadlock. Killie boss Kenny Shiels had the same aim in mind and as a result, he called upon striker Van Tornhout to come off the bench. "I was warming up and when the game passed 75 minutes, I was expecting to come on. Then the assistant coach made the sign to get myself ready. "I was not thinking much. This situation actually felt like normal, even when it is a cup final. Kenny told me to work like hell and to take my chances - he gave me a lot of confidence." Talk about taking your chances! On the 83rd minute of the match, with the teams still level-pegging, Dieter Van Tornhout's foreshadowing on the team bus came true. "Celtic were on the attack but they lost the ball. We created a nice build-up from behind from the right side to the left side - it was really nice play. "The ball was then in the last zone with Lee Johnson, who gave the perfect cross and I scored." Utter bedlam has just ensued in the Killie end. 83 minutes of nail-biting suspense has just been released into the Hampden air, as the fans celebrate what they believe is the winning goal of the final against Celtic. But Dieter recalls remaining focused. "That feeling...you just can't imagine it. Individually, but also as a group. It was just the feeling of scoring a normal goal because after, we had 10 hard minutes. They felt like 100 minutes! "But after the last whistle went, I started to realise: 'We have won the cup'. Just like that, Van Tornhout made himself a legend of the Killie family, as well as a legend of his own family. "My wife, parents in law and some friends were in the stadium. My wife was very proud, actually everybody was. We were all so happy for the club." As we sit chatting 10 years to the day since one of Killie's finest hours, which also happens to be Dieter's 37th birthday, the big man from Belgium had one final message to send to the Killie faithful, as well as a hope to manage the club one day. He concluded: "I just want to thank them all for the messages that I receive, even up to this day. "When it is my birthday, I get so many messages on Facebook. It is so nice. "Also, the club Kilmarnock is close to my heart. One day, my dream is to be head coach of the team and to give them a day like the cup final again. It is the most special club in the most positive way for me. "In the 10 years since, nothing special (has changed in my life). Just the honour and appreciation that I receive from the people in Scotland remains huge." Happy DVT day, Kilmarnock fans! https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-championship/kilmarnock-legend-dieter-van-tornhout-23415748
  4. It was Arfields birthday party so draw your own conclusions as to who and how many would be there.
  5. Hows about a tattoo of a big cock and balls on his napper? Total dobber.
  6. Good news. Has looked solid since he has been in the team.
  7. I'm not saying that at all. What I am trying to say is protocols are not a guarantee to stop or protect people from infection. They are mitigation. If we have broken protocols, and the punishment is X, then the same should be dished out to anyone breaking protocols regardless if a game is postponed or not. That is, it would be unfair to dish out a different punishment to a team who have broken protocols but can still put a team out. Like I said, you've either broken protocols or you haven't.
  8. The protocols are not a 100% guarantee that someone will not get infected. They are a means to mitigate and reduce the risk. Just like standing within 2 metres of someone for 15+ minutes is not a guarantee that someone would get an infection. This is becoming a "be careful what you wish for" for the league. If they hit us hard for a breach, same will have to apply to everyone thereafter. You either break protocol or you don't....end of story. Regardless if a game is postponed or not. You cant breach protocols a wee bit. Its a breach or not a breach.
  9. That'll be reference to the wildlife running about up there and not the football.
  10. Surely even they couldn't do something so egregious. Or can they?..... "Its ma baw and am no playin'" type of behaviour.
  11. Following a positive coronavirus test for Odsonne Edouard, Celtic officials are holding urgent talks with government health officials to determine whether or not the striker will have to go into a two week quarantine in France before getting the green light to travel back to Glasgow. (Daily Record) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54446263 If he's COVID positive he cannot and must not travel FFS.
  12. Correct.....but only if he no longer has symptoms.
  13. Self isolation when testing positive means no travel. Regardless of the exemptions. The exemptions only apply to those with no symptoms and no positive test.
  14. It appears that here are exceptions to this rule.....elite sport is exempt from this rule so long as the rules are adhered to. From the gov.scot website (link here https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-checks-at-borders/pages/sectoral-exemptions/) From 10 July, the following sectors have been included in the exemption from the self-isolation requirements work category list: elite sporting events - elite sportspersons and support workers on specified major sporting events. Read the detailed guidance for sportspersons and event organisers https://sportscotland.org.uk/media/5908/phase-3-resumption-of-performance-sport-step-4-final-draft-with-annex-a.pdf
  15. BBC report says he (Edouard) has to isolate for only 10 days!!! I thought it was 14 days from when you test positive? As for Donkey-ass-turd at the SPFL, will this delay a decision on the Killie v Well match or will they just do what they want anyway and change the precedence when it's the OF?
  16. I'd say the possibilities as to why this has happened are endless. Even the government measures (masks, social distancing, etc) are not a guarantee that we are all 100% safe from getting COVID19. Let's wait and see what the investigation brings.
  17. Likewise the Scottish Government when they stepped in to deal with "The Aberdeen 8". It wasn't a question them of being able to field a team or not.....the decision was made for the league and Aberdeen. If the NHS (Government body) say isolate, decision is made for league and us.
  18. Actually i was at Hampden. OK, I will rephrase what i said, .......a cup competition of lesser importance than the league.
  19. I would not have an issue with the youths playing. Its a diddy cup that should have been mothballed for this year anyway, Regardless of the financial implications. And I know that would have hurt a lot of clubs but the whole country is affected financially in someway. The extra dates could then have been used to catch up if league games were postponed for health reasons. Playing the youths will also give them experience they would not normally get.
  20. Gary Tallon. Was worse than a man short.
  21. Was that the game early January 1997 when it was actually a re-arranged game following a postponement when Ceptic had players on international duty? Clip below says 11 players out ill and/or injured.
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