Kilmarnock: Alternative end of season review 2012/13
WAS the season successful or unsuccessful? That is the question which, at this part of the year, is always discussed amongst the Kilmarnock faithful. The answer this season will probably depend entirely on how optimistic or pessimistic you are. The season overall has had many highs and lows.
Despite finishing 9th in the SPL table, there have been many positives which have gone unnoticed amongst the results. The season has been good for the future of the club moving forward and hopefully, will be looked back on as an essential period of development and hard work.
The youth have managed to compete and get used to the SPL level. The club on the park is moving forward and it exciting that the players we are producing are good enough. The COG are furthermore getting stronger, to ensure the future of our club is placed in the fans ownership.
The negatives have mostly been around the lack of performances from more senior players, since they haven’t been able to take enough of the responsibility off the young players in order to improve results. This time next season, the foundation period will have made all the difference. As a club we are well ahead of many rivals clubs, on making the transition to focus on developing our own.
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Motherwell say farewell to "best team since 1991"
ON Sunday, arguably Motherwell’s best team since the 1991 Cup win, signed off in their final match at McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone.
Interestingly, McCall didn’t start with our strongest side, excluding Tom Hateley, Darren Randolph and Chris Humphrey from the squad. At first I put this decision down to the fact that they all had agreements with new clubs and McCall, doing the decent thing, didn’t want to injure them, however, he said after the match that both Hateley and Humphrey had failed fitness tests.
Darren Randolph was replaced in goals by his deputy, Lee Hollis. Hollis had a fairly mediocre match. Blameless for the goals lost, he only had to make some very routine saves. His distribution was good (has he been learning from Randolph?) but he needs to work on his kicking. Living in Randolph's shadow for so long, it will be interesting to see a more even fight for the No. 1 spot between him and a new 'keeper!
Motherwell attempted to stroll around the uneven park but were often caught out in a weak pass by an eager St Johnstone side.
Fraser Mullen disappointed at Hearts exit
ON the same day that David Goodwillie and Kris Boyd were linked with fanciful moves to Hearts, right back Fraser Mullen has surprisingly tweeted his disappointment at being told he no longer has a future at Tynecastle.
Mullen, 19, has been at the club since he was 12 years old and was part of the youth team graduates that have stepped up to the first team in Gorgie during this season. His debut for Hearts was against Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup last season, where he missed a penalty. Despite this, manager Paulo Sergio described the youngster as his ‘man of the match.’
Therefore the decision to release Mullen at the end of his current contract next month will come as a big surprise to Jambos who have seen him in action. Mullen’s technical ability alone makes him stand out from the other options in the right back area next season - Dylan McGowan and Jamie Hamill - who played at RB at the weekend. Hamill’s distribution in the weekend’s derby defeat was particular painful to watch, constantly punting aimless balls forward.
Mullen, 19, has been at the club since he was 12 years old and was part of the youth team graduates that have stepped up to the first team in Gorgie during this season. His debut for Hearts was against Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup last season, where he missed a penalty. Despite this, manager Paulo Sergio described the youngster as his ‘man of the match.’
Therefore the decision to release Mullen at the end of his current contract next month will come as a big surprise to Jambos who have seen him in action. Mullen’s technical ability alone makes him stand out from the other options in the right back area next season - Dylan McGowan and Jamie Hamill - who played at RB at the weekend. Hamill’s distribution in the weekend’s derby defeat was particular painful to watch, constantly punting aimless balls forward.
Mullen made his debut against Auchinleck Talbot
Mullen said on Twitter: “Not being offered a contract for next season at hearts. Enjoyed being at the club since I was 12 but annoyed the way last few months ended with the injury. Absolute gutted at leaving some of the boys gona miss them a lot.”
Ayr United: A season to forget
TO say this has been a long hard season for Ayr United is an understatement. Early exits in all cup competitions and a seventh place finish in the third tier of Scottish football is a massive disappointment.
Crowds started the season at the average 1100-1200 per home game and then faltered to roughly 800-900 at the end of the season. A fifth of Ayr’s support walked in disapproval by the end of the season. Though even the lowest attendances at Somerset Park were enough to have the second biggest crowd behind Queen of the South this season.
Many have deemed this season as the worst ever and supporters of a certain vintage relate to this poor season to the dark days of the 1980s.
Back then the Honest Men flirted between the third and second tier and it is a predicament Ayr are trapped in now but this season Ayr have fallen further back. Despite having a high budget for the division and a fundraising effort in January to lure four high profile players to Somerset Park did not change the fortunes of the club.
Brian Reid’s first season in charge yielded a seventh place finish in Division Two. The following year Ayr gained promotion. The hope amongst the Ayr faithful is that Mark Roberts can overcome his hard birth in football management and learn from his mistakes like his predecessor did.
Hearts 1-2 Hibernian: A new focus on youth
WHETHER by design or necessity, there was a refreshing feel to the Edinburgh Derby on Sunday with the number of youngsters on the park for both sides.
This is one of the most positive aspects to come out of the game which will please Pat Fenlon, the emergence of a new crop of youngsters getting their chance at Easter Road. Alex Harris in particular has impressed in recent weeks, Ross Caldwell prolific against Hearts at youth level bursting on the scene with the winner yesterday. Danny Handling has also been given his chance, and Jordan Forster who admittedly I knew nothing about had an excellent game at centre half.
In the difficult last few years the decision to build the new east stand and invest in training facilities has been much maligned with performances on the park well below the standards the fans expect. So it is positive to see signs of progress on that side. The Hibs youth sides have been successful for some time and there’s something about seeing talent which has been nurtured within the club, out on the park for the first team which gets the fans particularly excited.
Lets give Motherwell Fir Park send-off they deserve
TO say last Saturday's game versus Inverness didn't go to plan is a bit of an understatement. With a solitary point needed to secure second place in the SPL, and having given Terry Butcher's side a hiding on the previous three occasions this term, it seemed like a foregone conclusion for many in Claret and Amber that this would be the game to nudge The Well over the finish line.However, when Billy McKay grabbed his second of the game to make it 3-0 to ICT with just under a half hour played, the script was well and truly ripped up and thrown away in the Highland bluster. While I imagine there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from some parts of Lanarkshire, being three goals behind at that juncture didn't really phase me.
Having been dragged to Glasgow on a shopping trip with the Mrs, I had a rare Saturday where I was depending on Twitter for my football fix, while feigning interest in the wares of various shops on Buchanan Street. I'd forgotten just how frustrating Saturdays in retail used to be, with busy shops and just people in general getting in the way of keeping up to date with the scores. By the time we were making our way back to the car, James McFadden had pulled one back, and from there I sensed that The Well would get back in to it.
Peter Pawlett will now be a marked man by referees
IMAGINE the scenario. Derek McInnes has led Aberdeen to a Scottish Cup final in his first season. For 85 minutes the Dons have had Neil Lennon's Celtic on the ropes, but they just can't quite get the ball over the line.
Peter Pawlett picks up the ball in midfield. He skips over Scott Brown, dances through the challenge from Victor Wanyama, jinks past Joe Ledley, and bares down on Fraser Forster's goal.
He's one on one with the goalkeeper. He steadies himself, ready to pull the trigger, send 20,000 Dons fans into ecstasy, and end 19 long years of hurt.
Charlie Mulgrew barges into him, knocking Pawlett off his stride, and sending him sprawling to the deck. To you and me it's a penalty, but all eyes are on the referee.
What if that referee is Craig Thomson, who has twice been in charge when Pawlett has tried to con him into awarding a penalty?
Perhaps it is John McKendrick, who has already booked Pawlett for diving when in the colours of St Johnstone. Or Alan Muir, who may have had to explain himself to Scottish FA beaks this week after deeming Pawlett's swan dive at Dens Park worthy of a penalty.
With five minutes to go in a cup final, knowing the criticism that would come your way for wrongly pointing to the spot – especially when it's Celtic and Neil Lennon you're awarding it against – can anyone say with confidence the referee would award the spot kick knowing Pawlett's reputation?
Peter Pawlett picks up the ball in midfield. He skips over Scott Brown, dances through the challenge from Victor Wanyama, jinks past Joe Ledley, and bares down on Fraser Forster's goal.
He's one on one with the goalkeeper. He steadies himself, ready to pull the trigger, send 20,000 Dons fans into ecstasy, and end 19 long years of hurt.
Charlie Mulgrew barges into him, knocking Pawlett off his stride, and sending him sprawling to the deck. To you and me it's a penalty, but all eyes are on the referee.
What if that referee is Craig Thomson, who has twice been in charge when Pawlett has tried to con him into awarding a penalty?
Perhaps it is John McKendrick, who has already booked Pawlett for diving when in the colours of St Johnstone. Or Alan Muir, who may have had to explain himself to Scottish FA beaks this week after deeming Pawlett's swan dive at Dens Park worthy of a penalty.
With five minutes to go in a cup final, knowing the criticism that would come your way for wrongly pointing to the spot – especially when it's Celtic and Neil Lennon you're awarding it against – can anyone say with confidence the referee would award the spot kick knowing Pawlett's reputation?
Some things are more important than football
THE tragic death of Kilmarnock fan James Haswell after collapsing during Hibernian’s visit last Sunday brought the conclusion of the Scottish Premier League season into sharp perspective. No-one should ever go to the football and not come home and thoughts and prayers go to Mr Haswell’s friends and family. Great credit must go to the medical and security team at Rugby Park for all their efforts and the match officials and both management teams made absolutely the correct call in abandoning the game.
Before tragedy struck both teams had served up a fairly entertaining 54 minutes that had the modest crowd and the few watching at home pleased they had not subjected themselves to the dirge that was Manchester United versus Chelsea. Both teams gave youth a chance and the increasingly impressive Alex Harris gave hibs the lead with a well taken goal from a sublime Ryan McGivern pass.
Before tragedy struck both teams had served up a fairly entertaining 54 minutes that had the modest crowd and the few watching at home pleased they had not subjected themselves to the dirge that was Manchester United versus Chelsea. Both teams gave youth a chance and the increasingly impressive Alex Harris gave hibs the lead with a well taken goal from a sublime Ryan McGivern pass.
However, Kilmarnock continued to pass the ball well and had exciting youngsters of their own, in particular the excellent Chris Johnston and the Rugby park side equalised ten minutes later. James Mcpake, who looks less and less like the inspirational leader who dragged us to safety last season and increasingly like most Hibernian centre halves of recent times made a mess of defending a long ball and expert poacher Kris Boyd defied his excessive weight to manoeuvre an excellent volley beyond Ben Williams.