The Great Big Kilmarnock Thread

[Savage Henry]

I think Killie and County should troll Motherwell and play out a 0-0 bore fest with neither side going past the half way line during the entire game.

[cass316]

I think Killie and County should troll Motherwell and play out a 0-0 bore fest with neither side going past the half way line during the entire game.

I think a draw is definitely on the cards.

[padster]

2000 season tickets sold for next season let's aim for 4000.

[cowboy]

2000 season tickets sold for next season let's aim for 4000.

i'd be surprised if it goes up by more than a couple of hundred after the current offer stops tonight. most people who want one will take advantage of the 50 quid off, and unless the club does something pro-active, like sack locke, not many more will buy. I know i'm not buying one this year

[Richie95]

2000 season tickets sold for next season let's aim for 4000.

I know quite a few people, including myself, who haven't got a ticket yet. 4000, does seem a bit too much. However, it still is achievable if we can build a good looking squad for next season.

[Estragon]

i'd be surprised if it goes up by more than a couple of hundred after the current offer stops tonight. most people who want one will take advantage of the 50 quid off, and unless the club does something pro-active, like sack locke, not many more will buy. I know i'm not buying one this year

I'm not sure if I buy this. How many were we told weren't coming back until MJ was gone? I don't think our crowd has improved a great deal since his departure.

Now we're to believe that people will flood back if Gary Locke's sacked? I'm not suggesting people have a moral compunction to attend football matches, but the reasons behind our dwindling attendances are more complex than the personnel.

I've got mine already. £50 aff Cheers Jimbo!!

[cass316]

I won't be back until MJ is gone.

I won't be back until AJ is gone.

I won't be back until Locke is gone.

I won't be back until Samson is gone.

I won't be back until they lower the price of a Killie pie to £1.10.

Absolutely numpties.

All they want is an excuse not to go.

NAPM was a prime example of this.

Moan moan moan.

Feck off ya greetin' faced cants.

[neutralfan80]

I won't be back until MJ is gone.

I won't be back until AJ is gone.

I won't be back until Locke is gone.

I won't be back until Samson is gone.

I won't be back until they lower the price of a Killie pie to £1.10.

Absolutely numpties.

All they want is an excuse not to go.

NAPM was a prime example of this.

Moan moan moan.

Feck off ya greetin' faced cants.

I won't be back til you stop posting

[cass316]

I won't be back til you stop posting

Gid.

We don't want your likes at the Theatre of Pies.

Edited May 17, 2015 by cass316

[Richie95]

I won't be back til you stop posting

I'm going to boycott your boycott.

[luluphooey]

Get Eremenko signed up and build the team around him....nobody wants to watch the guff hoofball we play

[PlayTheEasyBaw]

I think Barbour needs a year away (on loan) and then see what he's like!! I think he has promise - he has Defo shown that on a few occasions this season

If he goes away for a year and practices his passing, tackling, heading, throw ins, first touch, crossing, decision making then he will come back a better player for sure!!!

[PrestersKTID]

2000 season tickets sold for next season let's aim for 4000.

I wonder if that's actual tickets sold or if it includes all the free kids tickets.

We had sold 1000 on friday, 1500 on saturday night and 2000 by sunday. Amazing what guaranteed safety and a good deal does.

Surprised the club haven't at least run the deal till next week for the last game of the season when there could be a larger crowd. I would've said quite a few folk buy theirs last game of the season or open day time.

[theProdigy]

If he goes away for a year and practices his passing, tackling, heading, throw ins, first touch, crossing, decision making then he will come back a better player for sure!!!

I think that's a bit harsh!! I'd say he was quite probably our best player vs the Undead this season

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

Hard to disagree with Alexei here. Whether we should keep him or not is up for debate, but he's correct about our style of play. Strange to see that we pass in training, yet revert to longball in matches. Is it just the pressure that leads to the easy ball being played?

Alexei Eremenko did as much as anyone to maintain Kilmarnock's SPFL Premiership status with a hand in all four of their goals at Firhill on Saturday, but his demeanour after the final whistle created the very distinct impression that it may prove to be his parting gift.

The Ayrshire side may live to fight again in the top division after having found a way to halt a run of seven straight losses, but the Finnish playmaker saw little to smile about.

He is scathing about the collapse that saw their season conclude in yet another battle to avoid relegation. He signed a new contract last summer in the hope that he would have them challenging for a place in Europe and, aged 32, admits he will need some assurances from the manager, Gary Locke, if he is to stick around much longer.

Eremenko has not been a regular starter of late. He seems to have a particular bee in his bonnet at being left on the bench in away fixtures. More importantly, though, he insists there is absolutely no way he will consider extending his second spell at Rugby Park should Killie fail to commit to playing proper, passing football.

"I said a few weeks ago that the best way for us to get out of this was to avoid the long balls and play to feet," said Eremenko.

"My concern up until now was to help Killie stay up and thank God I was able to do that. Now, we'll see what can happen.

"One thing is for sure, though. I need to know what style of football Killie intend to play next year.

"If it's a style that doesn't suit me and I stay here, that would be no use. They would be wasting their money on me and I would be wasting my last years on the bench. I hope that they decide to pass the ball and play the kind of football that gets the best from me.

"If not, I will not stay. My thinking is that the next contract I sign will be my last one and I don't want to spend the final years of my career not enjoying my football.

"I'm not the kind of player who likes to try and win second balls and I don't like to look at it flying over my head, so we'll need to see.

"I'm sure Gary Locke knows my qualities and, in training at least, we're trying to pass it. I don't know what happens sometimes when we play games."

Eremenko, of course, will never be remembered as a midfield dynamo.

What he does possess, though, is a vision rarely witnessed here nowadays and the ability to deliver balls that give defenders nightmares.

It was his pass to Greg Kiltie on 24 minutes that helped break the deadlock. The home defender, Callum Booth, fouled Kiltie in the area as he was preparing to advance on goal and Jamie Hamill opened the scoring from the rebound after his initial penalty kick had been saved.

It was Eremenko's inviting cross from the right that allowed Tope Obadeyi to make it 2-0 eight minutes before the interval and his free-kick, a wicked delivery so awkward to defend, that the big Brummie gleefully converted to grab his second goal of the game.

Even after Conrad Balatoni had given Partick some hope with a terrific header, Eremenko got involved again when picking out Josh Magennis on the edge of the area. Mind you, the Northern Irishman still had plenty of work to do to turn Balatoni and send a low drive through the legs of the goalkeeper, Scott Fox.

There was great jubilation among the 1228-strong away support, but Eremenko claims that no-one in the dressing-room should be happy about how things have worked out.

"I don't know one man here who can put his hand up and say he has had a good season," he stated.

"A couple of months ago, we were looking at the top six and we end up fighting to stay up and avoid the play-offs. What went wrong?

"It was the same a year ago when we won our last game to survive. I'm fed up scrapping like that.

"Something needs to be done because you can be lucky for one or two years, but, after three or four, it's unlikely."

One of the biggest talking points of the weekend, of course, was the clash between Magennis and Hamill with 27 minutes on the clock. They had started arguing after the striker had conceded a cheap free-kick with a foul on Stuart Bannigan and it quickly spilled over with Magennis' forehead appearing to make contact with the former Hearts midfielder's nose.

"You know how Hamill and Magennis are," said Eremenko. "They are very temperamental and competitive, but I think that might have been a good thing for us because it helped to fire us up."

[theProdigy]

Hard to disagree with Alexei here. Whether we should keep him or not is up for debate, but he's correct about our style of play. Strange to see that we pass in training, yet revert to longball in matches. Is it just the pressure that leads to the easy ball being played?

If we were to keep him what would you say about getting him to sign a 2 year deal and getting him to do a bit of (youth) coaching with it??

That way he is getting a stable final contract and we are gaining in the fact that he is teaching our midfielders (and our youngsters) how to play 'Sexy Football'!! I'd be all for that tbh as we could gain a lot from that!!

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

If we were to keep him what would you say about getting him to sign a 2 year deal and getting him to do a bit of (youth) coaching with it??

That way he is getting a stable final contract and we are gaining in the fact that he is teaching our midfielders (and our youngsters) how to play 'Sexy Football'!! I'd be all for that tbh as we could gain a lot from that!!

We can't just give a coaching role to everyone over 30 though. Boyd should be player/assistant, Eremenko should be player/coach, Pascali should be too... etc etc. The players will, rightly, want extra remuneration for the added work they'll do, and then you have to ask how not training with the team as much will affect their fitness levels/performances.

[theProdigy]

We can't just give a coaching role to everyone over 30 though. Boyd should be player/assistant, Eremenko should be player/coach, Pascali should be too... etc etc. The players will, rightly, want extra remuneration for the added work they'll do, and then you have to ask how not training with the team as much will affect their fitness levels/performances.

I'm not saying we hand coaching roles to everyone!! I'd only give it to Boyd and Eremenko as they are good at their roles and Boyd had previously stated he was interested in coaching so why not try it!! Could mean one man less that we need to pay...

[Deefiant]

We can't just give a coaching role to everyone over 30 though. Boyd should be player/assistant, Eremenko should be player/coach, Pascali should be too... etc etc. The players will, rightly, want extra remuneration for the added work they'll do, and then you have to ask how not training with the team as much will affect their fitness levels/performances.

Does Eremenko have a fitness level?

[PlayTheEasyBaw]

If we don't keep a player like Eremenko then I would be asking serious questions of our club. It is probably a reflection of the dire standard of Scottsh football that we are in discussions about whether a guy with as much football talent as any player in the league should sign on again. No wonder he's querying the style of football though. He must have constant neck injuries watching the ball sail back and forth over his head.