KILMARNOCK
PREDICTED LEAGUE FINISH: Eleventh
LAST SEASON: 9th, 39pts
NOTABLE INS: Paul Cairney (Hibernian), Mark Connolly (Crawley Town), Jamie Hamill (Heart of Midlothian), Josh Magennis (Aberdeen), Lee Miller (Carlisle United), Tope Obadeyi (Bury)
NOTABLE OUTS: Kris Boyd (Rangers), Sean Clohessy (Colchester United), James Fowler (Queen of the South), William Gros (Oldham Athletic), Rory McKeown (Raith Rovers), Antonio Reguero (Ross County), Jeroen Tesselaar (St. Mirren), Jude Winchester (Cliftonville), Michael Gardyne (Dundee United, end of loan), Jackson Irvine (Celtic, end of loan), David Moberg Karlsson (Sunderland, end of loan), Vitalijs Maksimenko (Brighton & Hove Albion, end of loan), Barry Nicholson (retired), Darren Barr, Ismael Bouzid
LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (departed players crossed out): Samson,
Off the field, Kilmarnock appear to have finally got things in order. A deal with the bank a few months ago effectively wiped out their debt, at last allowing the club and their fans to focus completely on the playing side of things.
Some might wish that they were still distracted.
2013-14 will not go down as one of Killie's better campaigns. They didn't manage three consecutive games without defeat once. Manager Allan Johnston didn't manage to work out who his strongest eleven were until about December, and then seemed to forget that vital information after a few weeks. They only pipped Hibernian to survival by winning their last two matches, including a victory at Easter Road on the final day.
Kris Boyd scored the winner in both those games. He popped up with the decisive goal on three other occasions. Only once did they win a game without him hitting the target. Boyd scored twenty-two league goals last season; his teammates managed only twenty-three between them. Have I painted a clear enough picture yet? Atlas thought he had it hard, yet I doubt he'd have managed to carry this Kilmarnock team on his back like Kris Boyd did.
And the striker has only gone and buggered off back to Ibrox, taking his goals and his leadership with him. That's a hell of a hole to fill - figuratively speaking, given that he lost a lot of weight in the last twelve months. He's not the only player who needs replaced, not by a long shot. Fifteen have departed Rugby Park this summer, including a number of regulars from the end of last season; defenders Vitalijs Maksimenko, Jeroen Tesselaar and Sean Clohessy, midfielder Jackson Irvine, attacker Michael Gardyne. None of them were particularly special and could be easily upgraded by a manager with an eye for a player. But the man known as 'Magic' has signed 12 players on loan or permanently since he was installed in the dugout. Only one, Alexei Eremenko, remains. That doesn't bode well.
Johnston has already brought in three attackers, none of whom will come remotely close to filling the Boyd void. Veteran target man Lee Miller at least has a pedigree from his days at Aberdeen, but only once did he reach double figures for the Dons. He's far more effective as a fulcrum for his fellow forwards - who will be either youngsters Rory McKenzie and Ross Muirhead, who have promise but are yet to prove that they belong in the Premiership, or newbies Josh Magennis and Tope Obadeyi. The latter couldn't get a game for League Two Bury last season. Magennis, meanwhile, is well known to Scottish football fans as that huge bloke who ran really fast for Aberdeen and St. Mirren, but never seemed to do so in the right direction.
Killie are not in much better nick at the other end of the pitch, excepting goalkeeper Craig Samson. It's not a good sign when Jamie Hamill can expect to walk into the team. Johnston badly needs Lee Ashcroft to continue his impressive development in central defence, and for another new face, ex-Crawley stopper Mark Connolly, to form a solid partnership with him. Connolly can't be any worse than he was the last time he played in Scotland - he made a solitary appearance on loan at St. Johnstone in 2010, where he was hooked at half-time. Bolton once paid £1 million for him, so there must be some talent there. Can Magic unlock it?
Manuel Pascali is of course another option, as well as in midfield, but the Italian has slowed dramatically since his broken leg in 2012; he's now useful only for his experience. Meanwhile, at the time of writing, there isn't a single out and out left-back in the squad. Jamie McAllister, now 36, has been on trial all summer and may be the best they can manage. If not Hamill may start the season on that side.
As has been so often the case in recent years, the bright spots are the youngsters. Hard-working midfielder Craig Slater was electric last season and should only get better. He'll have to do a lot of running for Eremenko, who has been a shadow of his previous self in his second spell here, and whose lack of a pre-season (he only signed a new deal this week) means that he's probably a long way short of peak fitness. Meanwhile. there are high hopes for young attacker Greg Kiltie, only 17. The aforementioned Ashcroft could yet be joined at the back by Ross Barbour or Mark O'Hara, both of whom seemed to fade from view last year after getting their chance from Kenny Shiels.
But there's precious little case to be made for positivity here. Johnston has gambled on bringing in players like Magennis and Hibs failure Paul Cairney and succeeding where others have failed with them, but the ex-Queen of the South boss has done nothing to deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Kilmarnock will struggle once more. The longer that Johnston has the reins, the greater the possibility that their 22 year run in the top flight comes to an end in the summer of 2015.
THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1993 in italics)
Goalkeepers: Conor Brennan, Craig Samson
Defenders: Lee Ashcroft, Ross Barbour, Mark Connolly, Jamie Hamill, Mark O'Hara
Midfielders: Paul Cairney, Sammy Clingan, Ross Davidson, Alexei Eremenko, Manuel Pascali, Craig Slater
Forwards: Chris Johnston, Greg Kiltie, Josh Magennis, Lee Miller, Rory McKenzie, Robbie Muirhead, Tope Obadeyi
THE BEST XI?
L.
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