93-?? Kilmarnock top flight run - a history.

[jagfox]

9 minutes ago, Elixir said:

Who?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Britton

[Dindeleux]

I was going to mention just that! Complete lack of integrity from Rangers. Saints conceded in injury time at home to Aberdeen on the penultimate weekend but managed to win at Motherwell on the final day, denying them second place, and I can remember more than one occasion when a busy away end erupted when false scores came through from Firhill and Easter Road.
The damage for us was done in the final throes of John McClelland's tenure. After Paul Sturrock took over, only the Old Firm, Aberdeen and Killie beat us over the last 27 games of the season. Three teams down was a killer though.
In 570 minutes of football between Saints and Killie in 1993 and 1994, the clubs managed 3 goals. Enthralling stuff.

I'm lost here guys. Did Rangers do this due to them already winning the league and not giving a f**k or was there another reason?

I do see that Rangers only won 2 of their last 9 games that season so they must've fallen over the line.

[jagfox]

1993/94 Was a season of consolidation for Thistle after our top flight return in the previous league campaign. A fairly sluggish start in the league didn't really get going until a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Rangers in September.  We then went on a decent run with excellent wins over Aberdeen and St Johnstone with Roddy Grant prominent in both, including a hat trick against his beloved Saints at Firhill. We also beat St Johnstone for the last time at McDiarmid Park up until a couple of seasons ago. 

Into the New Year we beat Celtic 1-0 at Firhill thanks to a Georgie Shaw goal just as Celtic were seemingly going down the tubes off and on the park. I remember this goal popping up on the News at Ten followed by Celtic in Crisis headlines. Halcyon days only equaled in 2012. Sadly that is the last time we've beaten Celtic at Firhill.

The rest of the season would see only five more wins taking us to the final day scenario mentioned earlier. The Jambos seemed to have forgotten that 0-0 draw would see both teams safe on the final day but we held on.

This season saw the end of the Firhill Shed following a 1-2 home defeat to those cuddly Govan bears and 1993/94 was also the last season of two points for a win.

The cups didn't create much of a distraction apart from the League Cup opener played against an Albion Rovers side managed by Celtic legend and grumpy old bookkeeper, Tommy Gemmell. This tie was played at Fir Park due to some issue with Cliftonhill (plus ça change). A two goal lead at halftime extrapolated into a remarkable 1-11 victory for Partick Thistle. After knocking out Morton we succumbed to Hibs on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw at Firhill.

The Scottish Cup saw a scrappy affair with Hearts at Firhill and we fell to a 1-0 defeat in January. 

We finished 9th and survived in the top flight to fight another season...or two.

 

[Flybhoy]

I remember in 1990 Kilmarnock bringing around 2000 fans to Annfield when they were in the old second division (then the third and lowest tier) with Stirling Albion and I remember thinking that they were a huge club with a massive fanbase who should have been in the top flight.

Since being in that top flight their support has slowly dwindled, season upon season to the point where they barely scrape that 2000 figure of fans at some home games now. As an outsider looking in and, going from comments from a few Killie fans I've spoken to and the general consensus from some on here is that it is 90% down to their utter wankstain of a chairman who is actively driving fans away from the club.

The damage MJ seems to have done and potentialy still doing to Kilmarnock is imeasurable, absolute wrong 'un who is slowly killing that club IMO.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Flybhoy

[I'm Brian]

5 hours ago, Dindeleux said:

 

I'm lost here guys. Did Rangers do this due to them already winning the league and not giving a f**k or was there another reason?

I do see that Rangers only won 2 of their last 9 games that season so they must've fallen over the line.

 

Something sticks in my mind about injuries to central defenders, but I think the real reason was that Killie were always Rangers 1872(RIP) favourite wee team, knew you were in a bit of bother and they just wanted to lend a helping hand. 

That same season Shaun McSkimming executed a Greg Luganis-esque dive to win a penalty at Rugby Park, in a Scottish Cup tie, that was heading to a replay down at Somerset.

Fair play to Killie though. over the years. It's been close so many times, but they always seem to find that one performance that pulls them out of the shit.

Spoiler

Jammy b*****ds

 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

I agree, the fall of our club in the last 10 years or so has been quite dramatic.

However I must temper this by guessing that our late 90s peak was possibly a bit "over and above" where we should expect to be.  Not really sure and I'm sure that will have offended some of my fellow Killie fans.

I'd certainly agree with your "over and above" description. Before we got TB, and more pertinently before the Fleeting Revolution, I'd spent nigh on two decades watching us bump up and (way) down the divisions. The best we hoped for was to be a yoyo club, between the top and second tiers. Happy days, mind, with the rivalries with the likes of Hearts, st mirren, And Partick.

The current annual search to find somebody - anybody - a little bit less Shiite than we are is becoming more than a bit depressing. As stated above, though, removing that ginger weasel would lift at least some of the gloom.

[shootingboots]

Rugby Park used to be a horrible venue for Aberdeen, we couldn't buy a win there.

Those times have changed. 

[Guest]

Only been to Rugby Park once, cracking away day though

Got the train down and we boozed in Fanny by the Gaslight before the game, pished as anything

1-1, The Ghost equalised with 5 minutes to go

http://www.afcheritage.org/matches/fixtures/mreport.cfm?fixture_id=5104&season=2009-10&squad=Senior

[tree house tam]

10 hours ago, Marr1 said:

You can ask  the same about Saints

We'd fucking stroll it. Unlike you diddies. 

[mps02]

Loved seeing Killin get hummed by Ayr 4 seasons in a row, the first was bliss. Picture the scene:second in the league behind oldco Rangers against a mince Ayr team who were struggling in Division 2 (at the time). Robert Connor was released by Killie and signed by Ayr. He scored after 6 minutes and Killie tried and failed to score against us. Following season Killie as cup holders drew Ayr in Scottish Cup at Somerset, and got tanked 2-0. Follow that by a truly magical hammering the following season 3-0 at Somerset, where Mr Kilmarnock, Ray Montgomery, got sent off! Then a 0-0 draw with us playing most of the game with 10 men only to win on penalties! Fantastic.
Killie have avoided relegation by luck for years. When it happens Killie will be stuck where Ayr are now (and St Minging soon enough) where Obscurity Knocks!!!

[Gaz FFC]

Speaking on behalf of all Falkirk fans I fucking love Killie. 

Just imagine how successful we could be if Killie weren't around to f**k us over constantly

[Gaz FFC]

4 minutes ago, mps02 said:

Loved seeing Killin get hummed by Ayr 4 seasons in a row, the first was bliss. Picture the scene:second in the league behind oldco Rangers against a mince Ayr team who were struggling in Division 2 (at the time). Robert Connor was released by Killie and signed by Ayr. He scored after 6 minutes and Killie tried and failed to score against us. Following season Killie as cup holders drew Ayr in Scottish Cup at Somerset, and got tanked 2-0. Follow that by a truly magical hammering the following season 3-0 at Somerset, where Mr Kilmarnock, Ray Montgomery, got sent off! Then a 0-0 draw with us playing most of the game with 10 men only to win on penalties! Fantastic.
Killie have avoided relegation by luck for years. When it happens Killie will be stuck where Ayr are now (and St Minging soon enough) where Obscurity Knocks!!!

Anybody else think he's masturbating posting this?

[mps02]

Not really, Ayr have very few decent memories of recent (since the '70s) times. Just nice to remember some fun times. You should try it sometime!

[Gaz FFC]

3 minutes ago, mps02 said:

Not really, Ayr have very few decent memories of recent (since the '70s) times. Just nice to remember some fun times. You should try it sometime!

We've no fun times over Killie.

Dunfermline however.......

[Ya Bezzer!]

1994/95 (I think).

Phil O'Donnell's first last game for Motherwell was at Rugby Park.  Rugby Park was still an oval terrace in those days, I think the only time I was there at the 'old' Rugby Park.

Apparently the deal with Celtic was all but done but I remember the away support singing "Please Don't Go (I Want You To Know)" to O'Donnell for a lot of the match.

Kilmarnock played in plain white shirts and blue shorts.  Tommy Coyne scored early in the match, Kilmarnock absolutely battered us for the whole of the rest of the match and we somehow hung on to win 1-0.

[Ad Lib]

I don't know what it is about teams in blue and white but Killie, much like Morton and that new club from Govan, are by some distance the biggest shitfesters I've seen at Firhill, save possibly Derek Adams' Ross County, who, aptly enough, played in (dark) blue and white.

[Hammer Jag]

I used to really look forward to playing Killie in the 90's. The games back then regularly had far bigger crowds than the fixture gets these days and it had a bit of rivalry to it.

Killie would usually bring 2000+ to Firhill and we'd be the same at Rugby Park. 

These are the two strips I always associate with the Killie - Thistle fixture

[Radford]

The Thistle win at McDiarmid mentioned earlier was John McClelland's last game. If you are a manager under pressure and choose to play yourself, it's probably better to not gift the opposition a goal.

[resk]

Terrific through ball that.

[Captain Material]

i started following killie about a year and a half before we got promoted i think. My dad took me and my pal all over scotland to see the Mighty blue and white, and eventually we joined a SA and bussed it, great times.

My favourite goal of that period was Paul Wright scoring an absolute rocket against Hibs on a Friday night on a televised game in late 96. That team was full of my killie heroes. Experience wise the absolute scenes at Easter Road when Jimmy MacIntyre scored late to take us to the SC final in 97, followed by the "Family Final" against our friends in Falkirk; and of course beating Celtic against all odds in 2012 in the League Cup final.

We were actually a proper team and proper club back in the 90s and early 00s, great crowds home and away, consistent, relative success, and then this p***k chairman/non-chairman and overall c**t comes in and runs the club into the ground. You could argue that we achieved it thanks to the runaway financials, but most clubs were the same.

We took some utter tankings too tho, i remember being feart everytime the OF came to town in their fancy buses and stars like laudrup and gascoigne, later with larsson etc etc. I always remember one of Di Canio's early games, it may even have been his debut, coming on as a sub and literally dancing through our defence to score a solo worldy.

Hearts felt like the other "big team" but i dont ever feel they had the beating of us regularly and we didnt fear anyone. We were actually a part of the league, we were important, and offered something to the game. Now, it just feels like we're just clinging on constantly. 

Rivalry wise, i always feel sorry for, and therefore have a soft spot for Falkirk, we seem to just edge you out when it comes to the crunch, that final day survival game was the worst i've felt at a game, especially when that lad poked the shot just over the bar with about 5 minutes to go, heart in mouth and shit in pants stuff. A*r can always, and forever, GTF. Won f**k all and never will. 

#KTID