Super Ayrshire Killie

[leckuno]

October

Europa Conference League
Kilmarnock v Astana

Our first game in the league phase and it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be as we get very lucky as Astana score an own goal to give us our first 3 points.

St Mirren v Kilmarnock

The European hangover hits here as we just weren't at our best and it cost us.

Kilmarnock v Rangers

What a result here for us as we take our first point against either of the old firm.

Europa Conference League
Kilmarnock v Bodo/Glimt

One of the tougher games in my eyes and we were so close to taking a point from it so I am disappointed we were completely undone in the final minutes and its something we will need to learn from.

Hibernian v Kilmarnock

What a game here as we certainly didn't suffer from the previous European game here as Sonny Finch put in the best game of his career so far with a great hat-trick to get us the 3 points.

Kilmarnock v Dundee United

Dundee United have struggled massively since they came up so of course we struggle against them with Dickson getting the only goal of the game with a tap in.

League

We drop down to 4th here but as long as we finish in any of the European spots again I'll be happy.

November

Another 2 European games this month and Vitesse is going to be our hardest game of the group but we should be able to get something from our trip to Finland with VPS​

 

[leckuno]

November

Viaplay Cup Semi Final
St Mirren v Kilmarnock

We go one better this time around as we reach our first final as Armstrong is unbeatable here as he scores a great brace.

Europa Conference League
Vitesse v Kilmarnock

Things we looking good as we went in at half time 2 up after 2 good goals but the 2nd half we faced a different Vitesse side. I t was disappointing to lose the game in the final 10 minutes though.

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

A really poor game against Motherwell here as we are struggling to juggle European and league football

Kilmarnock v Livingston

We bounce right back in the league here with a great team performance in the first half with Dozzell scoring the pick of the goals.

Europa Conference League
VPS v Kilmarnock

In all honesty I expected this game to be an easy 3 points due to it being in Finland but we really struggled with the only goal coming from a set piece as Mayo headed home from a corner

League

Its still quite close at the top of the table between Rangers and Celtic with just the 3 points separating them at the moment but at least we have a 5 point gap over 6th at the moment

December

Its going to be a very busy month with 9 games this month. The cup final sandwiched in between the European games isn't ideal given our history but we will have to make it the focus since its our first final

​

 

[leckuno]

December

Kilmarnock v Aberdeen

Aberdeen have been struggling so far this season as we looked to take advantage of that here but we were only able to grind out a draw.

Celtic v Kilmarnock

What a huge point for us here as we take our first point off Celtic and its even better with it being at Celtic Park

Kilmarnock v Hearts

Our first win of the month here and it was all from a headed goal from Kerr after a lovely freekick into the box from Armstrong

Europa Conference League
Kilmarnock v CFR Cluj

A tricky game with a great result as we had a fight back to get it back to a draw before we get extremely lucky with an own goal right at the death to get us the 3 points.

Viaplay Cup Final
Celtic v Kilmarnock

Our first cup final and its great to see we gave Celtic a proper game here with staying just in it even though we were 3-1 down at one point but it gives us hope for the future

Europa Conference League
WSG Tirol v Kilmarnock

It looked like it was going to be a long night as we missed chance after chance in the first half but Danny Armstrong excelled just as he was needed with a great hat-trick to get us the 3 points.

St Johnstone v Kilmarnock

Taking an early lead here gave us hope that it wasn't going to be the usual post European heartbreak but St Johnstone then looked likely to break our heart before Nisbet stepped up and took it past a defender before burying the ball in the back of the net to get a point

Kilmarnock v St Mirren

We're back to winning ways here as our on loan strikers do the business here.

Rangers v Kilmarnock

Another huge point on the road here as we take our 2nd point form Rangers this season. Are things getting ready to change against the old firm with a win soon?

League

We hold onto 4th spot by a point but we do have a game in hand at the moment. Celtic seem to be running away with the league again now after stretching their lead to 10 points

Europa Conference League Phase

We managed a really impressive 4 wins out of 6 and just narrowly missed out on a top 8 position. It doesn't matter though as I never even expected to get this far so its all a win in my book.

January

January is always a quiet month thanks to a couple of weeks off due to the winter break. Its nice to get back into the Scottish Cup but an easier draw than Motherwell would have been nicer.​

 

[leckuno]

January

Kilmarnock v Hibernian

I take this as a good point with it coming so close after the Rangers game as our players were knackered and did really well to make sure we still got something from the game.

Scottish Cup 4th Round
Motherwell v Kilmarnock

We return to action with the Scottish Cup after 2 weeks off due to the winter break and its a dull affair as the players get back into the swing of things but thankfully a goal from Sonny Finch gets us into the next round.

Dundee United v Kilmarnock

Dundee Utd have been god awful since they got promoted and we made it very difficult for ourselves here as we let them take the lead at one point but thankfully in the 2nd half we were able to make our chances count and got the 3 points.

League

Nothing really changes in the league table after just two games this month

Transfers Out

We didn't have any players leave the club this season but Will Dickson and Tayo Adaramola were recalled by their parent clubs which wasn't fun as they were two big players for us

Transfers In

Jamie *******

We didn't really have nay need for a new keeper to join us this month but ******* still being available after being released by Chelsea seemed like a deal too good to turn down, especially with his new value after joining the club.

Ashotn Muir

I wanted a bit more cover down the wings and Muir who isn't the best player will come in as a respectable backup and City cover his wages as well.

Ryan Fraser

A real coup for the club in my eyes here as we snap Ryan Fraser up on a free transfer after Newcastle tore up his contract. He can play down both wings naturally and brings in a lot of experience with him from playing at the top levels.

February

Febuary is going to be a busy month as we mix cup games with the league and our run in the Scottish Cup could end with a trip to Ibrox here. In the Europa Conference League we will be playing against Sportklub Austria Klagenfurt which is a bit of an unknown for me so it will be interesting to see how it goes.​

 

[leckuno]

February

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

Jesus what a game here it had everything for what makes football great. In my opinion our defence was sloppy to concede 4 goals but our attack was brutal with their chances hitting the back of the net every time.

Livingston v Kilmarnock

Nisbet is on fire just now as he bags a hat-trick here with some excellent finishing.

Scottish Cup 5th Round
Rangers v Kilmarnock

Rangers still have the edge over us it seems as we'd done well to get back into the game but sadly it just annoyed Rangers as they replied straight away to knock us out of the cup

Europa Conference Knockout Play off Round
Sportklub Austria Klagenfurt v Kilmarnock

I wasn't sure what to expect with a trip to Austria and I certainly didn't expect this result as a quick fire double put us in command before Kerr got the 3rd to give us a great chance of getting through

Aberdeen v Kilmarnock

We took the lead very quickly with a great through ball but sadly Aberdeen got back in it and then we threw it away with a bad back pass.

Europa Conference Knockout Play off Round
Kilmarnock v Sportklub Austria Klagenfurt

With one foot in the next round we were made to work for it after they took the lead to give us a fright but the goal right at the end gave us that wee bit of security and it was needed after they took the lead again with the final kick of the ball.

Kilmarnock v Celtic

Sadly back to the usual result here against Celtic but we can blame the European game again.

Hearts v Kilmarnock

We at least get a point here but it was a poor game by our standards as we missed chance after chance.

League

We close the gap on Hearts to just 2 points now with a game in hand but Livingston are just behind us now as well.

March

Our squad is going to be tested again this month as we have a lot of games thanks to still being in Europe​

 

[leckuno]

March

Kilmarnock v Dundee

Our first win in 5 games in the league here but it was our wingers who really stood out here with their goals.

Europa Conference League Round 16
Kilmarnock v Bodo/Glimt

Stephen Kelly played the game of his career here as he came in for Dozzell as he ran the game from midfield for us and then popped up in the box twice to score two important goals to give us a good chance of going through.

Dundee v Kilmarnock

Our 2 game against Dundee and this time our strikers take the focus here to win the game for us in the final 10 minutes of the game for our first win after a European game for a while

Europa Conference League Round 16
Bodo/Glimt v Kilmarnock

We knew coming to Norway was going to be hard and we did really well to keep them at bay with them getting just the one goal to let us progress to the quarter finals

Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

Our 2nd win this month after the European game even though we were lucky with getting a penalty which Nisbett was able to convert.

St Mirren v Kilmarnock

2 minutes defined the whole game here with 2 very quick goals from the wingers.

League

We've had a very good month compared to Hearts as we've now made 3rd spot our own now and with 8 games to go we can hopefully hold onto it.

Youth Intake

The youth intake may look good here but sadly when you get down to it and look at the players there isn't really anybody who will make it up to the 1st team.

April

Just the 5 games just now until the split happens but the important games this month are against Ludogorets and can we get past them and into the semi finals.​

 

[leckuno]

April

Kilmarnock v Rangers

Sadly it was business as usual against here against Rangers as they run out winners yet again

Hibernian v Kilmarnock

A familiar story here where we get off to a great start before throwing it away and having to settle for a point.

Europa Conference League Quarter Final
Ludogorets v Kilmarnock

It was really disappointing to concede right at the end after a solid defensive performance but we will at least have home advantage in the next leg.

Kilmarnock v Dundee United

We rotated the squad here and its paid off as Dean Cuthbert becomes the youngest player and goal scorer for the club before Bobby Wales takes a rare opportunity to score a brace.

Europa Conference League Quarter Final
Kilmarnock v Ludogorets

With home advantage this time Kevin Nisbet scored to get us back in the tie but sadly after that our chances dried up and Ludogorets were able to get on the scoresheet again which sees them into the Semi Finals.

League

Hearts are closing in on us in 3rd now but whats interesting is the 9 point gap between the old firm now, could Celtic throw it away with 5 games to go.

Post Split

Its going to be some tough games to close out the season but we've beaten them all before apart from the old season so we have a decent chance especially with the 3 games at home.​

 

[leckuno]

The Final Run In

Rangers v Kilmarnock

**** you Rangers, one of these times I'm going to beat you and its going to be so sweet when it finally happens

Kilmarnock v Hearts

We bounce straight back but leave it really late to secure the 3 points with 2 goals in extra time to increase our lead over Hearts.

Kilmarnock v Aberdeen

Another very good result as we start to show that we are the best of the rest in the division already and now just need to overcome the big 2

Celtic v Kilmarnock

Well it happens again as we will need to wait until next season now to try again.

Kilmarnock v Livingston

We finish on a high in front of our own fans with a well worked set piece to get the 3 points.

League

A very good season as we improve on last seasons 4th spot. We still have some way to go though to catch Rangers and Celtic with us being 20 points behind Rangers and 29 behind Celtic

Budgets

We have a good increase in wage budget as we will be looking to bring in better players over the summer and a decent transfer budget that we can bolster as well with player sales.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Good progress on last season and quarter finals of any European trophy this early in your career is impressive and gives you something to build on. Looking forward to seeing how much you can close the gap on Celtic and Rangers next year.

 

[leckuno]

Good progress on last season and quarter finals of any European trophy this early in your career is impressive and gives you something to build on. Looking forward to seeing how much you can close the gap on Celtic and Rangers next year.

It was a very surprising season in Europe as we just kept going. I have the same problem as you do in your save with the big teams selling players for values I can only dream of and then reinvesting it straight back into the squad with quality players

 

[leckuno]

Season 3

Transfers Out

We have been busy with letting players going with the biggest being Luke Southwood but considering the amount of money we got offered for a player who signed on a free deal was a no brainer with us having a capable player there to step in already at the club. Dozzell was a key player for us last season but with players who have joined over the summer it made sense for him to go as he wasn't going to be starting and was on considerable wages. Joe Wright was the same and wasn't happy with his game time towards the end of the season and again it made sense to sell him. With that we have brought in nearly £9million to add to the transfer budget.

Transfers In

Noel Lopez

Our first player through the door and strikers was something I wanted to focus on and Lopez looks like he could be a **** of the player for us and was a bargain in my eyes as he joins from Castilla for just £1.5million.

Scott Wright

Not the best player but we sign Wright on a free transfer and will provide a lot of cover for us as he's a very versatile attacking player

Shio Fukuda

Another free transfer for us but who can turn down a decent Japanese player and I'm not totally confident of his star rating but hopefully he will improve our standing in Japan as well if we can get him in the national team.

Kofi Balmer

You'll notice a pattern as we have signed Balmer for free as he will come in and provide cover at the back

Somto Boniface

Another free transfer as Boniface looks like he can be a decent player going forward and just needs some development and game time which he'll be offered here.

Lucas Lavallee

We love a free keeper as we manage to sign another one this season and he is happy being the back up but may find himself in the first team at times as well.

Alex Robertson

Another young midfielder in through the door this time on a free again as he brings in a lot of international experience with him and can challenge for a starting spot

Alessandro Sersanti

Well its another free as we bring in the Italian midfielder to provide vital cover in the middle and to sell for a big profit in the next window if possible.

Armindo Sieb

To mix it up we actually spend another transfer fee here as Sieb joins from SpVgg Greuther Furth for £2.5 million as we look to improve our strikers again and he should hopefully do well in Scotland

Hannibal

The best signing of the transfer window in my eyes as we manage to snap up Hannibal on a free transfer. He becomes our highest paid player at the club by quite a bit but it will hopefully pay off and he can be a huge player for us.

Lewis Bate

We may have signed a lot of central midfielders this season but bate is an exciting young player who will get game time but more importantly in a transfer window or two we should be able to sell him for a decent profit as he joins on a free transfer.

Harrison Ashby

I was looking for a new RB to come in and after a lot of searching we found Ashby at Newcastle and he joins for £750,000 and hopefully he can develop as well since he's a Scottish player.

Adrian Kapralik

An exciting RW for us that can come in and add depth to the position and challenge Armstrong as he joins from Zilina for £650,000

Squad

With the players we've brought in this summer we have really improved the squad in my eyes. I'm still a bit worried about our defence in terms of quality but we are slowly improving it and will be the main area of focus over the next couple of transfer windows.

Tactics

I've decided to stick with a an attacking 4-2-4 as it has done so well for us over the last couple of seasons and hopefully can do the same again this time with our new players.

Friendlies

A mixed preseason here but we brought in a lot of players again so it was more about them getting use to each other and the tactics to get us ready for the season ahead so I'm not worried as at least we won some games this time.

Expectations

Well the board have upped their expectations after the last couple of seasons and we are now expected to qualify for the Europa League through the league positions now instead of avoiding relegation. We still have a bit of money left over to spend if we find the right players. You can also see that I have increased the wage budget as well with sacrificing some of the transfer budget to get the players in that we needed.

August

It wouldn't be an opening month without having to face one of the old firm as normal but it will come in the middle of Europa League qualifying which is actually against Galatasaray which won't be easy games.
​

 

[leckuno]

August

Hibernian v Kilmarnock

First game of the season and we still struggle to get one over Hibs here thanks to a poor challenge in the box which saw Hannibal get his first goal for the club.

Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

A much better performance here in the opening half hour as two of the old boys got on the score sheet to show why they haven't been replaced in this window.

Viaplay Cup 2nd Round
Hamilton v Kilmarnock

Our first chance to rotate the squad and it still wasn't the easiest of games as they struggled but Kerr did get the first goal before Sieb came on at half time to get the important 2nd game.

Europa League Playoff 1st leg
Kilmarnock v Galatasaray

With the first leg being at home it was vital to get a good result here and with Lopez scoring right after half time and it looked like we would be taking the lead to Turkey before they scored with 5 minutes to go.

Rangers v Kilmarnock

**** you Rangers as they pick up where we left off last season as they ran us riot in the first half.

Europa League Playoff 2nd leg
Galatasaray v Kilmarnock

What a game as the team even srurprised me with how well they played. The penalty was coolly slotted home to give us the advantage and then Hannibal got the 2nd as he proved that he will be a big player for us as we make the Europa League

Kilmarnock v Hearts

On a high from the last game then Hearts didn't stand a chance even with them taking the lead as we went for it and our attackers showed how dangerous they can be.

League

4 games in and we sit third as we are still within 3 points of top spot now we just have to try and stay there for the next 34 games.

Europa League Group

Well its safe to say that we've been given a tough draw but there are some points up for grabs as well so hopefully we can scrape through into the next round.

September

Well two games against the old firm this month which is never fun especially with the Europa League right before Celtic as well to make it a tough 3 games.​

 

[leckuno]

September

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

We need to tighten up our defence as we shipped a cheap goal to fall behind early but thankfully we have enough to get back into the game and get the 3 points.

Europa League
Kilmarnock v Maribor

The perfect start to our Europa League group phase as Nisbet shows he's not going to be so easy to replace this season with 2 good goals.

Kilmarnock v Celtic

The usual story here as any sort of result against Celtic eludes us yet again.

Viaplay Cup Quarter Final
Kilmarnock v Rangers

I was hoping for some cup magic here and it looked like we were going to go to extra time but Rangers just manage to get it right at the death of the game

Dundee v Kilmarnock

This time we get the early goal and then everything seemed to go wrong after Boniface got sent off as it let Dundee over power us in midfield to get their goal. We kept going though and with a few changes we got lucky with a penalty which Fukuda scored to get his first goal for the club.

League

Rangers are taking an early lead this season as they have a 4 point gap at the top but still a lot of football to play

October

6 games this month with 2 being ones we're really not looking forward to in Europe but at least we have easier games in the league this time​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Rangers are definitely proving to be the thorn in your side during the early days of your career! Hopefully, in time you'll reverse that!

 

[leckuno]

Rangers are definitely proving to be the thorn in your side during the early days of your career! Hopefully, in time you'll reverse that!

tell me about it. between them and Celtic I've only managed 3 draws and the rest I've lost, surely its got to change at some point though

 

[leckuno]

October

Europa League
RC Lens v Kilmarnock

Nothing too much to complain about here as we knew we were out of our depth.

Kilmarnock v St Mirren

With a larger squad we are able to compete better after European games now as Lewis Bate gets his first goal for the club before Sieb slots home from just outside the 6 yard box

Livingston v Kilmarnock

Sieb is on fire just now as he gets the win for us here with a brace but the sending off did make all the difference as we were struggling to break to them down to get a 2nd goal until then.

Europa League
Kilmarnock v Sporting CP

Well this was a very unexpected result here, especially after Sporting taking the lead early on but they have been having a poor season in the league. Sieb really steps up again here with a hat-trick so we now have a worry of how long we'll hold onto him.

Kilmarnock v Aberdeen

What an opening 10 minutes as we race to a 3-0 lead and after that Aberdeen never had a chance.

Kilmarnock v Queens Park

An unexpected result here but Queen's Park were on a high here after getting their first win but we should of really done better.

League

We're still in the hunt here and to no surprise Celtic have taken the lead at the top of the table again but at least we're just 4 points off.

November

A nice quiet month thanks to the international break so a nice even split between the league and Europe​

 

[leckuno]

November

Europa League
Fenerbahce v Kilmarnock

Another game where we can be proud of our performance even though we lost as its the result that was expected.

St Johnstone v Kilmarnock

We are really out of the European hangovers now as we put in a great performance as our strikers are on fire at the moment.

Kilmarnock v Hibernian

Its rare but we play a game where either striker scores but Ryan Fraser can always keep his cool with his experience to get us in the lead. We then had to rely on a penalty but again we can always rely on Hannibal to score from 12 yards out

Europa League
Shkendija v Kilmarnock

We took a gamble and rotated some players here but it was Fraser again who used all his experience to cut in off the right wing twice to get us there. Nisbett took a rare chance starting to score from the spot as well after he's fallen out of the starting XI.

League

Celtic are now starting to pull away at the top of the league but we're going head to head with Rangers now as it already looks like we should be finishing in the top 3 again

Internationals

We've had our first player called up for Scotland which is huge as its our 17 year old regen who came through our first youth intake with the club so its great to seem him make it there already.

He only went and made his debut as well and its great to see how much he's improved as he's become a key player for us this season and hopefully he's just the start of the players coming off the production line.

December

Its going to be a very busy month with 8 games to look forward to so rotation will be key with the games coming thick and fast.​

 

[leckuno]

December

Hearts v Kilmarnock

Hearts just didn't stand a chance here as our attacking players went all out and they just weren't able to handle them

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

We're just scoring for fun just now but its great to see Armstrong still such an important member of the first team since he's been with us since the start and just can't seem to be replaced.

Europa League
Kilmarnock v A.C. Monza

I wasn't sure how this game would go but from the start Lopez looked dangerous and was rewarded with an early go and we looked good value for the win but weren't able to get the important second goal so when the equalised I thought that could be it but Lopez did just enough to beat his man and poke the ball home for the 3 points.

Celtic v Kilmarnock

Well Celtic are still able to put us in our place when we're on a high as we round the game off with Gomez getting a debut goal from the penalty spot.

Kilmarnock v Dundee

Gomez is certainly showing what he can do as he battles Fraser for the starting spot down the left wing as he gets another 2 goals here for a great start to his Kilmarnock career as we bounce straight back.

St Mirren v Kilmarnock

Well this was just embarrassing as St Mirren absolutely dominated the game here.

Kilmarnock v Livingston

Thank goodness we didn't spiral after the last game as we look to build some confidence again after this result.

Queen's Park v Kilmarnock

We struggle against Queen's Park again and it was a horrible start after they scored in the opening seconds of the game but thankfully our strikers were able to come through with 2 goals in 2 minutes to stop another poor result.

League

Celtic have now extended their lead to 10 points at the top of the table but we're still going head to head with Rangers in the race for 2nd which shows how far we've come this season

New Signing

For some reason Sergio Gomez has been released by Manchester City and nobody has snapped him up so after bringing him in on a 4 week trail we have decided to snap him up on a free transfer as he can bring a lot of quality down the left wing for us for years to come

January

Our final Europa League group phase games as we look to try and qualify for the next round along with our first game in the Scottish Cup this season.​

 

[leckuno]

January

Scottish Cup 4th Round
Kilmarnock v Hearts

A nice easy win here to see us on or way into the 5th round but it was Robbie Deas who took home the MOTM award with his two headers.

Europa League
Bayer 04 Leverkusen v Kilmarnock

Leverkusen have really struggled in Europs so far this season and it shows here with how bad they were against us which was a real surprise but it was great to have been controlling the game before the sending off as well

Aberdeen v Kilmarnock

Back to the league with some squad rotation and Aberdeen gave us a shock by taking the lead with a cracking shot just 5 minutes into the game but thankfully their ex player came back to haunt them with Fraser getting the equalizer before a penalty gave us all we needed to secure the 3 points.

Europa League
Kilmarnock v SC Freiburg

Europe has been full of unexpected results this season and this is a memorable even though as we school Freiburg as they couldn't cope in the wet Scottish winter.

League

With only 1 game this month the only thing that's changed in the fact that we're now joint on points with Rangers.

Europa League Group Phase

An unbelievable campaign so far in the Europa League as we manage to squeeze into the top 8 on goal difference to make sure we miss a round of games.

Transfers

It was a quiet month in terms of transfers as we let 3 players leave the club with 2 of them only having joined in the summer but they were moaning about game time so it made sense just to cash in on them straight away.

We had only 1 player join the club and it was only because our left back Jordan Hackett got injured so we needed a proper replacement so with that we searched the transfer market and found ex Manchester United player Brandon Williams transfer listed for £850,000 by Feyenoord so we snapped him up and its even better since he can cover both sides at the back.

February

Another really busy month with 8 games again and its made even more difficult with back to back games against Rangers in the league then finishing it against Celtic​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Excellent performance so far in the Europa League this season, punching well above your weight. Be interesting to see how far you can go. Be great if you can pip Rangers to that runner up spot in the league as well.