The East Kilbride FC Thread

[bpek]

Go into the industrial estate opposite the main entrance on the main road and then just come down stairs and cross the road but be careful it's a bloody busy road

[johnmc80]

Can anyone suggest the best place to park near the ground for our cup game on Saturday?

Someone suggested Calderglen Park, but it looks like there's a barrier.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Best place is at the new farm pub. 5 min walk through and miss most of traffic from the park.

[Sjafc]

Very distasteful in regards to Martin. He worked his socks off and took the players and club on a incredible journey. The trophys and records set don't lie. Credit to the playing and coaching staff tho for achieving what they did even tho they fell at the final hurdle.

 

The proof will be in the pudding as I can't see any board members or the owners commenting on situation as it would be very amateurish and foolish

There's no secret that a deal was done in regards to bonuses etc. But let's not forget the success they had and we all know in football success comes at a price

 

[johnmc80]

Very distasteful in regards to Martin. He worked his socks off and took the players and club on a incredible journey. The trophys and records set don't lie. Credit to the playing and coaching staff tho for achieving what they did even tho they fell at the final hurdle.
 
The proof will be in the pudding as I can't see any board members or the owners commenting on situation as it would be very amateurish and foolish
There's no secret that a deal was done in regards to bonuses etc. But let's not forget the success they had and we all know in football success comes at a price
 

Nobody on here has ever questioned his record or the work that he done with ek. It was first class. As you say, results are there to see. The problem most folk on the forum had with him was his general arrogant attitude that usually came across. I stuck up for him more than most last year but even i had a few cringe moments with some of the stuff he was coming away with. Bottom line is he done a good job. Was a penalty kick away from getting club where they want to be. But he still managed to piss 99% of folk on here[emoji51]
If he was promised bonus money then he is due it. Good luck to him.

[FitBawFan1]

12 hours ago, bpek said:

As i said if they got promoted he was on 30 grand

Can you tell us where your getting your info? Or are you just stirring it up?

[bpek]

Why on earth would i want to stir it up its actually the talk of East kilbride pubs at the moment i new all this a fortnight ago it's not new news in ek it's only coming out now because he has been to the Scottish football authorities about it, trust me

[Baxter's Nutmeg]

23 minutes ago, FitBawFan1 said:

Can you tell us where your getting your info? Or are you just stirring it up?

The newspaper article seems to back up bpek's information.

[Baxter's Nutmeg]

I see it wasn't Paul Thompson who reported it, which is unusual? Perhaps afraid of upsetting anyone?

[bpek]

Honestly what's wrong with people, you will also have noticed that nothing is coming out of kpark now if it does it's all good that's down to a top coach /manager in Billy stark he won't be disrespectful to any other teams or coaches because he is top notch

[shawfield shed boy]

Cant believe BS took over at EK. Lovely wee club n that in terms of the tea lady and match day volunteers but rotten from the core if recent media stories true....

 

Stark wont need money from his career and cant imagine he.ll need the hassle either with broken promises in 12/24 momths...

 

Interesting few weeks n months ahead

 

 

[The_Judge]

East Kilbride FC are pleased to announce the signing of former Hibernian striker Ross Caldwell.

[The_Judge]

Scottish League Cup - Group G

East Kilbride FC 1 - 3 Hamilton Academicals

Winter (pen)                MacKinnon, Longridge, Crawford.

Was great to get the new season up and running with a home match against Premier league Hamilton.  Recent signings McCann and Ferris started the match with only McBride for McLeish and Stevenson for Capucho deviating from out strongest lineup from last season.

We had a great chance in the first couple of minutes after good work by Winter but new signing Ferris delayed before finally poking wide.  The same player had the next decent chance but again couldn't find the target.  After that The Accies took control of the match and enjoyed the bulk of possession, testing McGinley on a number of occasions.

In terms of shot stopping the EK goalkeeper looked safe as houses but it was a daft blunder trying to control a simple ball with his body (rather than handling) that led to the first of two corners from which Hamilton took the lead six minutes before the break.

In the second half EK fared better with our creative players seeing a little more of the ball and actually making Hamilton's back line work a little.  In spells Adam Strachan showed his ability and rattled the crossbar from a 25 yard free kick.  Two EK players appeared to be closing in but it was Ferris who could only hit the side netting.

EK then drew level from the penalty spot on 69 minutes after a needless foul by Sariss.  Winter despatched the kick and for the next ten minutes it felt like it was end to end before Longridge put the visitors ahead.  Crawford put the seal on Hamilton's victory with a third in stoppage time.

The Hamilton fans were excellent and their team were deserved winners but EK can be pleased with their efforts.    Bingham may well be having nightmares about a chance he missed from six yards out into an empty goal after another fine save from McGinley.

Final note was that in the seats directly behind me were 3 or 4 football writers complete with laptops.  Was interesting to hear some of their views on incidents, etc.

Next stop Palmerston .

 

 

[CITY1974]

Hows Caldwell doin ? I liked him at City but fans got on his back and he lost interest..In the end his goals won us promotion in play off s ..Good luck to the lad i say

[The_Judge]

Saturday was his debut but he only got about 25 minutes.  Have heard some positive stuff about him so fingers crossed 

[CITY1974]

12 hours ago, The_Judge said:

Saturday was his debut but he only got about 25 minutes.  Have heard some positive stuff about him so fingers crossed 

Hes got something about him , you guys could be his last chance at senior lvl . Too many clubs have let him go ..I don t know if he thinks hes too good for part time or what... Hopefully for you guys he could be a 25 goal a season guy ..

[The_Judge]

East Kilbride triumph over Queen of the South on penalties [4-1] after a goalless draw in Dumfries.  Great result for the Kilby (and the LL).

Starting lineup was: McGinley, Stevenson, Russell (c), Proctor, Coll, Strachan, Gibbons, Hughes, Winter, McLeish and Caldwell.

Penalty scorers were Strachan, Ferris, Stevenson and McNeil.

[The_Judge]

Ooft!!  Talk about a bad day at the office.  A re-jigged back line featuring three back up players including a centre half playing at right back saw Albion Rovers go through them like a does of salts twice in the first five minutes.

Slowly but surely EK gained a foothold mostly via Adam Strachan who was far and away the home sides most effective player.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first with a flapped punch clearance (under no pressure) resulted in back to back corners and a third from Rovers.  David Proctor then gift wrapped the visitors a fourth as the day went from bad to worse.

EK then got two within a couple of minutes, the first from Winter at the second attempt after a clever pass from Gibbons.  The second an own goal from about 10 yards out.  Before it got any more worrying for Albion they restored their 3 goal cushion.  They also had the best of the remaining chances with a returning Joao Victoria doing everything but scoring.

For good measure it rained heavily for almost the whole match .

[Mattalum]

17 hours ago, The_Judge said:

Ooft!!  Talk about a bad day at the office.  A re-jigged back line featuring three back up players including a centre half playing at right back saw Albion Rovers go through them like a does of salts twice in the first five minutes.

Slowly but surely EK gained a foothold mostly via Adam Strachan who was far and away the home sides most effective player.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first with a flapped punch clearance (under no pressure) resulted in back to back corners and a third from Rovers.  David Proctor then gift wrapped the visitors a fourth as the day went from bad to worse.

EK then got two within a couple of minutes, the first from Winter at the second attempt after a clever pass from Gibbons.  The second an own goal from about 10 yards out.  Before it got any more worrying for Albion they restored their 3 goal cushion.  They also had the best of the remaining chances with a returning Joao Victoria doing everything but scoring.

For good measure it rained heavily for almost the whole match .

Summarised to perfection!

[Chris_the_rover]

Enjoyed the game yesterday

Have a soft spot for you guys hope you do well in the league again this season

Hopefully see yous again

[The_Judge]

East Kilbride gaffer Billy Stark has warned against complacency this season as they prepare to get their Lowland League title defence underway on Saturday.

Kilby dominated the league last term under former boss Martin Lauchlan, topping the table from start to finish, and ended up winning the trophy by seven points from East Stirlingshire losing just three times in 30 games and were only denied promotion to the SPFL after losing to Cowdenbeath on penalties in the play-off final.

Kilby are the bookies' favourites to retain their crown. However Stark is wary of the sides around them, as well as league new boys Edusport.

And ahead of their opener with Dalbeattie Star, the 60-year-old said: “Nothing will be plain sailing because we had a good season last year.

“It would be folly to think just because we won the league last year, we will win it again this year.

“We are there to be shot down and clubs will find that little extra against us, so we have to come to terms with that.

“All the teams around us have strengthened – Spartans, East Stirling, BSC Glasgow.

“But Edusport are going to be an interesting one. They are basically a full-time team. They train at Lesser Hampden every day, they are all French players who have come over, so that’s an interesting project.

“They are going to be nothing other than strong.

Barry Russell lifts the Lowland trophy for EK last season

“We train twice a week, they train every day so I would expect them to be real contenders.

“You look at East Stirlingshire, they scored a lot more goals than us last season.

“We’ve lost Joao Victoria, who was our top scorer, and that’s difficult at any level. If you lose a guy who guarantees you 20-odd goals, it’s very difficult to replace that.”

The vast majority of the title-winning squad remain and Kilby have signed the likes of Ross Caldwell, Aidan Ferris and Liam Coogans in the hope of finding the goals that can fire them to a repeat of their 2016/17 success.

Last season East Kilbride won their opening 14 league matches to take a stranglehold on the division by November.

It will be tall order to repeat that feat, but Stark – who has seen it all at the top level during his time with Celtic and Aberdeen, among others, over his career – isn’t fazed by the success EK enjoyed last season.

However, he admits he will put pressure on himself to be a success at K-Park.

He said: “I’m not going to say we are going to win 14 games in a row or anything like that. I’m only interested in winning the next game.

“If we win it, great, it’s history and we move on. If we lose it, we need to bounce back in the next one.  

“In terms of pressure, the outside pressures can be higher the further up the ladder you work.

“But it all comes down to how much pressure you put on yourself to be the best you can be – and that doesn’t change whatever level you are working at. You have to have a focus on what your ambitions are and keep working to them.

“The publicity the club got with the Celtic game and winning the league last year, I have to make sure that nobody has any sign of complacency and understand that other clubs are fighting to reach the level we want to reach.  There’s clubs who have equal aspirations, so we need to show that we are good enough to overcome that and get there in the end.”

It’s a hectic start to the campaign for Kilby, who have been competing in the Betfred Cup alongside SPFL sides.

The visit of Dalbeattie is closely followed by a clash with potential title challengers BSC Glasgow on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.45pm).

The meeting with BSC has been switched to K-Park at the request of both clubs and Kilby will play the away game later in the season.