| This facial expression has been adopted rather frequently by Allan Johnston and the Kilmarnock support this season |
It wasn't the most enjoyable week for Kilmarnock fans.
It started on with a home game, and it finished with a home game. First up, on a Monday night, they hosted a Celtic side who came into the game under considerable pressure. Ronny Deila's side were not only no longer top of the league, but they had fallen four points behind Aberdeen. They had picked up only one point from their previous two matches, their star centre forward John Guidetti was out of form, and now they had to play away from home, and on an artificial pitch to boot. They were very, very vulnerable.
And yet they won far more comfortably than the final score of 2-0 suggested. The visitors sprayed the ball around with ease...because they were allowed to. Kilmarnock seemed to think the clock had gone back a decade, that they were facing the likes of Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson rather than Stefan Scepovic, Kris Commons and Liam Henderson. Hell, even Scepovic, the misfit Serbian striker who cost £2.3million but was making only his third league start, scored. That's how bad Kilmarnock were.
If that level of tentativity was difficult to excuse, even against the reigning champions, then what happened on Saturday was even harder for the supporters to stomach. After a mediocre first half, they won a penalty against Inverness early in the second period. ICT's David Raven was sent off, and Alexei Eremenko dispatched the spot kick. One goal up, one man up, and at home. And they blew it. Spectacularly. Yes, Billy Mckay scored two stunning goals, but Caley Thistle were good value for their victory. Even with ten men, they controlled the game and created the better opportunities, without playing anywhere near their best football of the season. Killie, in contrast, seemed unsure whether to push forward or hang back after they scored; once the equalizer went in, they couldn't find any impetus to kick on again.
Part of that was Allan Johnston's fault. For a start, substituting Eremenko with twenty minutes left was inexcusable. Yes, the Finn struggles to complete a full match, but no-one else on the club's books has such an eye for a killer pass, or the enthusiasm for getting on the ball. With Caley Thistle a man short, there was sufficient space and time for him to operate, even if tired. Without him on the pitch, the defence had no choice but to resort to pumping long balls forward, for the remaining midfielders were completely unwilling to offer themselves.
The home support reacted badly to the switch, with a chorus of booing; they had seen this all before. The catcalls that greeted it were nothing, however to the response that followed Mckay's late winner. The Youtube video of the goal is worth watching - it's like 2,000 people at Rugby Park suffered a sudden acute attack of Tourette's Syndrome.
If 2,000 doesn't sound like a big number, that's because it isn't. The official attendance for this game was just 2,793. Yes, it was early January, in terrible weather, and with a negligible travelling support, but it's still dreadful. Kilmarnock have lost a huge proportion of their support in recent seasons. The last two games give a wee snapshot into why.
On the face of it, they're not doing particularly badly. They're seventh in the table, only two points off sixth. More importantly, sixteen points separate them from St. Mirren and Ross County. Given that they only avoided a relegation playoff last season, thanks to a win at Hibs on the final day, 2014-15 is a considerable improvement.
But Johnston's eighteen month reign has been pretty grim. It's not just the results - twenty wins in sixty-four games so far. It's the quality of the fare. If you want swashbuckling attacking football, this isn't the team to watch. Only in two matches last season did they score more than twice - both against a Hearts side in administration. There hasn't even been a cup run to shout about - they've won just once in five cup ties, and that was at home to Ayr United. In November, they caved in at Ibrox to the worst Rangers side of the last thirty years. That day they were unambitious and meek, too.
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| Killie were unable to hold onto the prolific Kris Boyd last summer |
At least they had Kris Boyd to shout about last season. And it's still less than three years since Kenny Shiels led the club to a League Cup triumph. But other than that, there's not been much excuse for excitement at this end of the A77. Yes, they've now been in the top flight for 22 consecutive seasons, but, aside from the League Cup and a solitary Scottish Cup in 1997, they've never finished higher than fourth, whilst only being in danger of relegation twice. They missed out on the top six in six of the last seven seasons. The last time they managed to win more than half of their home games was 2005-06. One can understand why the fans are fed up.
They were at least placated by Shiels, a passionate man obsessed with keeping the ball on the deck and 'playing the right way'. Cliched as that sounds, one would be hard pressed to find a spectator who enjoys the current, direct, style. I'm always wary of any team who insist on having a big, immobile lump at centre-forward; so keen was Johnston to have such a target man to play up front that he signed two this summer - gangly, clumsy Michael Ngoo, who has been injured most of the season, and veteran ex-Aberdeen striker Lee Miller, who looks a shadow of his former self.
It would be more forgivable if Killie's strategy was similar to that of Hamilton Accies' - both sides play on artificial turf, and the latter have had considerable success with percentage balls towards Mickael Antoine-Curier, with a quartet of buzzing attacking midfielders subsequently getting on the ball in advanced areas of the pitch. Kilmarnock are doing no such thing, however. Instead they support their centre-forward with Josh Magennis, who is like a Scud Missile - you point him in the right direction and hope for the best. Magennis has only three goals this season. The midfield lacks a player who can burst forward to join the attack quickly, with the exception of top scorer Tope Obadeyi, who is a very direct winger but who is far more intelligent than Magennis; he, however, has been injured.
Instead, it seems like Johnston's Plan A is 'pass to Eremenko and hope for the best', and his Plan B is 'punt it forward and hope for the best'. Dreams are not made of this.
| Killie fans were calling for Johnston's head all the way back in May, after a 5-0 thumping by Hearts |
Johnston does deserve credit for at least putting together a bunch who are superior to the likes of Motherwell, St. Mirren and Ross County. But another finish in the bottom half, with functional football, isn't keeping the fans happy. They're voting with their feet. And one worries that it might take even more than a new manager to entice them back.
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly
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