Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Alex Dyer.[2] The club has won several honours since its formation in 1869,[3] most recently the 2011–12 Scottish League Cup after a 1–0 win over Celtic at Hampden Park.[4]

Kilmarnock
Full nameKilmarnock Football Club
Nickname(s)Killie
Founded5 January 1869 (1869-01-05)
GroundRugby Park
Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire
Capacity17,889[1]
Main ShareholderBilly Bowie
ManagerAlex Dyer
LeagueScottish Premiership
2019–20Scottish Premiership, 8th of 12
WebsiteClub website

Kilmarnock Football Club is currently the oldest football club in the Scottish Premiership, and are also the oldest professional club in Scotland.[5] Home matches are played at Rugby Park, a 17,889 capacity all seater stadium situated in the town itself. Kilmarnock took part in the first ever official match in the Scottish Cup against the now defunct Renton in 1873.

Kilmarnock have a long standing football rivalry with fellow Ayrshire side Ayr United, with both teams playing frequently in the Ayrshire derby in which both sides first met in September 1910. Kilmarnock have long been the most successful side in the Ayrshire derby, winning 189 times in 256 meetings.

The club have qualified for European competitions on nine occasions, their best performance coming in the 1966–67 Fairs Cup when they progressed to the semi-finals, eventually being eliminated by Leeds United. The club is also one of only a few Scottish clubs to have played in all three European competitions (European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup).[6]

The club nickname, Killie, is the Scottish slang term for the town of Kilmarnock.

History
See also: List of Kilmarnock F.C. seasons

Formation & early years
A history of Kilmarnock FC's overall league position from 1895 to 2019

The club's foundation dates back to the very earliest days of organised football in Scotland, when a group of local cricketers looking for a sporting pursuit to occupy them outside of the cricket season looked to form a football club. On 5 January 1869 the club was founded during a general meeting at Robertson's Temperance Hotel on Portland Street.[7] Originally they played a game more similar to rugby and these origins are reflected to this day by the name of the club's home ground – Rugby Park. The difficulty in organising fixtures under this code and the growing influence of Queen's Park soon persuaded them to adopt the association code instead. At this time, the club played games in a number locations including Holm Quarry, the Grange on Irvine Road and a location close to the current Rugby Park.

Following the formation of Scotland's earliest football clubs in the 1860s, football experienced a rapid growth but there was no formal structure, and matches were often arranged in a haphazard and irregular fashion.

Queen's Park, a Glasgow club founded in 1867, took the lead, and following an advertisement in a Glasgow newspaper in 1873, representatives from seven clubs – Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern and Granville – attended a meeting on 13 March 1873. Furthermore, Kilmarnock sent a letter stating their willingness to form the Scottish Football Association.

That day, these eight clubs formed the Scottish Football Association, and resolved that: The clubs here represented form themselves into an association for the promotion of football according to the rules of The Football Association and that the clubs connected with this association subscribe for a challenge cup to be played for annually, the committee to propose the laws of the competition.

Kilmarnock also competed in the inaugural Scottish Cup tournament in 1873–74. Their 2–0 defeat against Renton in the First Round on 18 October 1873 is thought to have been the first match ever played in the competition.

Kilmarnock joined the Scottish League in 1895 and after winning consecutive Second Division titles were elected to the top flight for the first time in 1899. In 1920 Kilmarnock won the Scottish Cup for the first time beating Albion Rovers at Hampden. This was followed soon by their second success in 1929 where they beat massive favourites Rangers 2–0 at the national stadium in front of a crowd of 114,708 people.[8]

Late 20th century

In 1964–65 Heart of Midlothian fought out a championship title race with Willie Waddell's Kilmarnock. In the era of two points for a win Hearts were three points clear with two games remaining. Hearts drew with Dundee United meaning the last game of the season with the two title challengers playing each other at Tynecastle would be a league decider. Kilmarnock needed to win by a two-goal margin to take the title. Hearts entered the game as favourites with both a statistical and home advantage. They also had a solid pedigree of trophy winning under Tommy Walker. Waddell's Kilmarnock in contrast had been nearly men. Four times in the previous five seasons they had finished league runners-up including Hearts’ triumph in 1960. Killie had also lost three domestic cup finals during the same period including the 1962 League Cup Final defeat to Hearts. Hearts had won five of the six senior cup finals they played in under Walker. Even the final they had lost was in a replay after drawing the first game. Hearts' Roald Jensen hit the post after six minutes. Kilmarnock then scored twice through Davie Sneddon and Brian McIlroy after 27 and 29 minutes. Alan Gordon had an excellent chance to clinch the title for Hearts in second half injury time but was denied by a Bobby Ferguson diving save pushing the ball past the post. The 2–0 defeat meant Hearts lost the title by an average of 0.042 goals.[9][10][11] Subsequently, Hearts were instrumental in pushing through a change to use goal difference to separate teams level on points. Ironically this rule change later denied Hearts the title in 1985–86.[12] This is the only time to date Killie have been Scottish champions.

Decline in the 1980s brought relegation to the Second Division. Killie returned to the top division with promotion in 1993. They lifted the Scottish Cup for the third time in 1997 thanks to a 1–0 victory over Falkirk in the final.

The club have qualified for European competitions on nine occasions, their best performance coming in the 1966–67 Fairs Cup when they progressed to the semi-finals, eventually being eliminated by Leeds United. The club is also one of only a few Scottish clubs to have played in all three European competitions (European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup).

21st century
Kilmarnock playing against Celtic F.C. in the 2012 Scottish League Cup Final in which Kilmarnock beat Celtic 1–0

Kilmarnock reached the 2007 Scottish League Cup Final,[13] but suffered a 5–1 defeat in the final by Hibernian. After selling Steven Naismith to Rangers for a club-record fee in August 2007, Killie struggled in the 2007–08 Scottish Premier League, finishing in 11th place with 40 points. In January 2010, Kilmarnock were second bottom of the 2009–10 Scottish Premier League, with last placed Falkirk just two points behind. On 11 January 2010, Jim Jefferies left the club by "mutual consent" and Jimmy Calderwood was appointed manager. Kilmarnock then achieved a first win in nine years against Celtic. Continued poor form, however, meant a final day showdown at Rugby Park with Falkirk for SPL survival. Kilmarnock began the game with a two-point advantage over their rivals and a goalless draw on the day was good enough to secure top-flight football for another year. They ended the season with just 33 points, their worst points finish in the SPL.

After Calderwood left the team at the end the season, Mixu Paatelainen was appointed manager for the next two years with an option for a third.[14] Despite being the favourites for relegation that season, Kilmarnock finished the season in fifth position. Paatelainen left Kilmarnock to become manager of Finland and his assistant Kenny Shiels was appointed manager. Kilmarnock progressed to the 2012 Scottish League Cup Final with wins against Queen of the South, East Fife and Ayr United in an Ayrshire derby at Hampden. Kilmarnock won the League Cup for the first time, as they defeated Celtic 1–0 in the final. Dieter van Tornhout scored the only goal six minutes from time, with Cammy Bell named Man of the Match.[15] In June 2013, after three years at Kilmarnock Football Club, manager Kenny Shiels was sacked by chairman Michael Johnston after a "mutual agreement" between the two.[16][17]

Allan Johnston signed a two-year contract and was appointed manager on 24 June 2013, with Sandy Clark as the assistant manager.[18] Sandy Clark left his role in the summer of 2014 with the club looking to go in a new direction, and ex-Killie player and former Hearts manager Gary Locke was appointed as his assistant.

Allan Johnston was sacked in February 2015 after informing the press of his intention to leave in the summer, before discussing this with the board. Gary Locke was placed in interim charge, before signing a three-year deal in April 2015.[19] Kilmarnock went on to lose seven of their final eight games of the season, but were spared the play-off spot after a 4–1 win over Partick Thistle. The 2015–16 season would prove difficult for the team. Gary Locke was removed from his position as manager in February 2016, with Lee Clark being appointed as his replacement.[20] Despite a small uplift in form, the team finished in 11th place and faced a relegation play-off against championship side Falkirk in order to stay in the top flight. Despite losing 0–1 in the first leg, Killie fought back and comfortably won the second leg 4–0 (4–1 on aggregate), securing the club’s status in the Scottish Premiership for another season. Clark would leave Kilmarnock for a return to England with Bury in February 2017, exactly a year after his arrival.[21] Former Rangers player Lee McCulloch, assistant to both Locke and Clark, was placed in temporary charge until the end of the season, achieving an eighth place finish.

The following season saw another poor start, with an early defeat to rivals Ayr United in the league cup group stages, followed by a disappointing start to the league campaign. McCulloch was sacked in September 2017 with the club rooted to the bottom of the table. In an unexpected move, Kilmarnock appointed former Chelsea and West Brom coach Steve Clarke two weeks later. It was Clarke’s first involvement with the Scottish game in 30 years. His appointment saw a dramatic upturn in form, with the club ultimately finishing in fifth place, earning him the SFWA Manager of the Year award in the process.[22] The 2018–19 season saw Kilmarnock celebrate their 150th anniversary, and the team continued their strong form in the league, both home and away, culminating in a final day fixture against Rangers at Rugby Park. Kilmarnock won the match 2–1 and the result secured a third place finish in the league, which guaranteed Kilmarnock European football for the first time since 2001. The season's results also set a new record points total for the club and their highest placed finish in the league since 1966. The following day, Clarke was signed by the Scottish FA to become the head coach of the Scotland National Team.

Ownership and finances

The majority shareholder of the club as of May 2020 is Billy Bowie, who oversees all operations of the club. In May 2018 Kilmarnock made a landmark move by appointing Phyliss McLeish, the commercial director of the QTS Group, becoming the first female board member in over 20 years. The same month saw the club appoint its second female member of the board, Cathy Jamieson, a former MP for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun district and a life-long Killie fan after she was nominated by The Killie Trust Initiative l, who raised over £100,000 to have a member of the trust on the board.

The club became debt free in 2017 under Bowie after former chairman Michael Johnson oversaw the club running into financial difficulty.

Ayrshire Derby

Kilmarnock's biggest rivalry is with their South Ayrshire neighbours Ayr United and together they contest the Ayrshire Derby. The fixture has been played 256 times since their first meeting on 14 September 1910. Killie have won on 189 occasions.

Colours and badge
The 150th Anniversary Badge from 2018–2019

The earliest known Kilmarnock kit from 1879 consisted of an all blue jersey with white trousers. The shirt bore a crest which was described as "a hand, index and second fingers upright, thumb outstretched, other fingers enclosed over a palm" (an adoption of the historic Clan Boyd chief's heraldic crest). The hand rested on a bar over a ball marked KFC. Between 1887-1890 Kilmarnock wore black and white striped tops. Thereafter, the club has predominantly played in blue and white striped or hooped shirts with either blue or white shorts. The club have also occasionally played in plain blue and plain white tops; this was suggested by Ross Quigley whom at the time was one of the first directors of the club, although the kit was later changed to the hooped style in 1920. The club's away colours have varied greatly over time. Yellow is generally regarded as the club's main third colour; but white, red and purple away kits have also appeared in recent years.

Between 2008 and 2014, the club manufactured their kits under their own sportswear brand, 1869. Following this, Italian company Erreá was the manufacturer. The current shirt sponsors are the locally based QTS Group with American company Nike manufacturing the kit, which can only be bought from their own store at Rugby Park.

The club badge is a modernised version of previous club badges. It features a ball bearing a hand in a blessing position, flanked by two red squirrels. The club's Latin motto, 'confidemus' ('we trust'), is written above the badge (similar to the Clan Boyd heraldic motto, 'confido' ('I trust')). The club adopted the badge in 1993 after The Lord Lyon decreed that the previous badge, based heavily upon the town crest, was in breach of ancient Scottish heraldic rules.

In October 2018 the club unveiled a special badge for the club's 150th anniversary.

Mascot

The clubs mascot is a squirrel named 'Nutz the Squirrel' due to the squirrels on the clubs crest and the Boyd coats of arms. In the past the Rugby Park side was home to two mascots as the Killie Pie mascot at the time was a regular at the clubs ground on matchdays.

Stadium
Further information: Rugby Park
Rugby Park stadium, situated on Rugby Road, home of Kilmarnock FC

Kilmarnock first played football matches at the present Rugby Park site in 1899. Despite this, the venue is actually Kilmarnock’s fourth home ground. The Grange, Holm Quarry and Ward's Park all hosted matches before the club moved to Rugby Park in 1877. This was not the present stadium, but one situated close by near South Hamilton Street. This ground was shared by cricket and rugby teams – sports which Kilmarnock had played previously – and the connection with rugby gave the ground its name. This name was taken with the club when they moved to their present stadium.

During 1994–95 season the stadium capacity was significantly reduced as three new stands were constructed; the Moffat Stand, the Chadwick Stand and the East Stand. Their completion brought the capacity of the stadium to 17,889.[23] The stadium opened on 6 August 1995, in a friendly match against English champions Blackburn Rovers. Mike Newell hit a hat-trick as the home team lost 5–0.

A FIFA 2 star FieldTurf artificial pitch was installed at Rugby Park for the start of the 2014–15 season. The pitch is capable of hosting rugby matches as well as football. A new artificial hybrid surface was installed during the 2019 close season.

In February 2019 Kilmarnock received approval to install a new safe-standing section in areas of the East and Moffat stands. The installation process was completed in early December of that year.[24]

Panorama of Rugby Park looking towards the Chadwick (Away) Stand

Players

First Team Squad
As of 15 June 2020[25]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 DF Aaron McGowan
5 DF Kirk Broadfoot
6 MF Alan Power
7 FW Rory McKenzie
8 MF Gary Dicker (captain)
9 FW Eamonn Brophy
10 MF Greg Kiltie
15 MF Mohamed El Makrini
17 DF Stuart Findlay
18 DF Calum Waters
No. Position Player
22 DF Ross Millen
23 MF Dom Thomas
27 FW Nicke Kabamba
29 MF Chris Burke
31 FW Innes Cameron
32 DF Tomas Brindley
33 MF Ally Taylor
34 GK Curtis Lyle
52 FW Kyle Connell

Reserves and Academy

Notable Graduates

Coaching staff
PositionName
Head of Football OperationsJames Fowler
ManagerAlex Dyer
Assistant ManagerAndy Millen
Goalkeeping CoachBilly Thomson
Head of MedicalAlex MacQueen
Sports ScientistRoss Hughes
Head of Academy RecruitmentAlan Mahood
Academy DirectorPaul McDonald

Managerial statistics

Information correct as of matches played 29 May 2020. Only official Scottish League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and European Competition matches are counted

Name Games Wins Draws Losses Win % League Scottish Cup League Cup Promoted
Charlie Smith (1895–1902) 159 86 26 47 54.09 0 0 0 0
Barrie Grieve (1906–1910) 141 41 33 67 29.08 0 0 0 0
James McDonald (1910–1919) 343 131 73 139 38.19 0 0 0 0
Hugh Spence (1919–1937) 807 312 159 336 38.66 0 2 0 0
Jimmy McGrory (1937–1945) 108 45 23 40 41.67 0 0 0 0
Tom Smith (1945–1947) 77 18 20 39 23.38 0 0 0 0
Tom Mather (1947–1948) 37 15 6 16 40.54 0 0 0 0
Alex Hastings (1948–1950) 77 27 16 34 35.06 0 0 0 0
Malky McDonald (1950–1957) 297 137 57 103 46.13 0 0 0 0
Willie Waddell (1957–1965) 389 215 76 98 55.27 1 0 0 0
Malky McDonald (1965–1968) 141 67 30 44 47.52 0 0 0 0
Walter McCrae (1968–1973) 256 93 63 100 36.33 0 0 0 0
Davie Sneddon (1973, 1977–1981) 164 65 44 55 39.63 0 0 0 1
Willie Fernie (1973–1977) 184 66 49 69 35.87 0 0 0 2
Rab Stewart (1980, 1984) 3 3 0 0 100.00 0 0 0 0
Jim Clunie (1981–1984) 179 58 52 69 32.40 0 0 0 1
Eddie Morrison (1984–1988) 188 65 46 77 34.57 0 0 0 0
Jim Clark (1988) 2 1 0 1 50.00 0 0 0 0
Jim Fleeting (1988–1992) 162 68 43 51 41.98 0 0 0 0
Tommy Burns (1992–1994) 112 48 32 32 42.86 0 0 0 1
Alex Totten (1994–1996) 98 31 21 46 31.63 0 0 0 0
Bobby Williamson (1996–2002) 246 89 67 90 36.18 0 1 0 0
Jim Jefferies (2002–2010) 327 117 65 145 35.78 0 0 0 0
Jimmy Calderwood (2010) 23 7 4 12 30.43 0 0 0 0
Mixu Paatelainen (2010–2011) 34 15 6 13 44.12 0 0 0 0
Kenny Shiels (2011–2013) 95 27 31 37 28.42 0 0 1 0
Allan Johnston (2013–2015) 66 20 10 36 30.30 0 0 0 0
Gary Locke (2015–2016)[26] 43 11 10 22 25.58 0 0 0 0
Lee Clark (2016–2017)[21] 44 10 13 21 22.73 0 0 0 0
Lee McCulloch (2016, 2017) 30 8 8 14 26.67 0 0 0 0
Steve Clarke (2017–2019) 79 40 17 22 50.63 0 0 0 0
Angelo Alessio (2019) 22 8 6 8 36.36 0 0 0 0
Alex Dyer (2019–) 15 4 2 9 26.67 0 0 0 0

Club records

Honours and accolades

National

Other

Source:[29]

Hall of Fame

2014 Inductees
  • The Founding Fathers - Founders of Kilmarnock Football Club
  • Kilmarnock FC 1964-65 Squad
  • Hugh Allen M.B.E. - Club Physiotherapist 1968-2002
  • Willie Culley - All time record goalscorer
  • Alan Robertson - Most Scottish League Appearances
  • Mattha Smith - Scottish Cup Winner 1920 & 1929

2016 Inductees

2018 Inductees

Club anthem

The song "Paper Roses", originally a hit by American singer and activist Anita Bryant, was adopted by Kilmarnock fans as their own club anthem. American singer and actress Marie Osmond, who is famous for recording this song, surprised the fans in February 2013 and performed at Rugby Park along with a meet and greet session, signing autographs for the players and fans.[30]

See also

References
  1. "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. "Alex Dyer named manager until end of season". Kilmarnock FC. 30 December 2019.
  3. "Official Website of Kilmarnock FC". www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk.
  4. "Celtic 0–1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 18 March 2012.
  5. "Who are Scotland's oldest professional football clubs".
  6. "Killie in Europe!!". killiefc.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  7. Ross, David (1994). Killie: The Official History. Harefield: The Bath Press. ISBN 1-874427-75-5.
  8. Ross, David (1994). Killie: The Official History. Harefield: The Bath Press. ISBN 1-874427-75-5.
  9. https://footballpink.net/2013/09/22/killies-final-day-victory-breaks-hearts/ Archived 30 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Killie’s final day victory breaks Hearts
  10. "1965-04-24 Sat Hearts 0 Kilmarnock 2". www.londonhearts.com.
  11. cb76kfc (10 July 2008). "Hearts 0 Killie 2 (24/04/1965)" – via YouTube.
  12. "Hearts History 1964 – 74 www.heartsfc.co.uk". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  13. "Football – Scottish Cups – Kilmarnock 3–0 Falkirk". BBC. 30 January 2007.
  14. "Football – Mixu Paatelainen is named as the new Kilmarnock manager". BBC. 23 June 2010.
  15. "Celtic vs. Kilmarnock – Football Match Report – March 18, 2012 – ESPN".
  16. "Kilmarnock part company with manager Kenny Shiels". BBC Sport. 11 June 2013.
  17. "Spiers on Sport: the unjust sacking of Kenny Shiels". The Herald. Glasgow.
  18. "Allan Johnston Joins Kilmarnock". qosfc.com.
  19. "Kilmarnock: Gary Locke confirmed as permanent manager". BBC Sport. 3 April 2015 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. Sutherland, Jonathan (15 February 2016). "Lee Clark: Who is the new Kilmarnock manager?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  21. "Lee Clark: Kilmarnock boss to quit to join Bury". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  22. "Clarke is manager of the year". SFWA. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  23. "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  24. "Kilmarnock U16s safe-standing section is British first". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  25. "First Team | Kilmarnock FC Squad | Player Information". Kilmarnock F.C. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  26. "Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke resigns after Hamilton loss". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  27. Known as second division prior to 1975
  28. "Ayrshire Cup". www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  29. "Kilmarnock Football Club History". www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk.
  30. "Marie Osmond visits Kilmarnock Football Club". Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
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