Kilmarnock F.C.
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| Full name | Kilmarnock Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | 'Killie' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1869 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Rugby Park Kilmarnock Ayrshire (Capacity 18,128) |
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| Chairman |  Michael Johnston |
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| Manager | Jim Jefferies |
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| League | Scottish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 11th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" are the oldest professional club in Scotland. Home matches are played at Rugby Park. They are currently members of the Scottish Premier League and are managed by Jim Jefferies.
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[edit] History
The club's foundation dates to the very earliest days of organised football in Scotland, when a group of local cricketers looking for a sporting pursuit to occupy them outwith the cricket season formed a football club in 1869. Originally they played rugby rules, but the difficulty in organising fixtures and the growing influence of Queen's Park F.C. soon persuaded them to adopt the association code instead. These origins are reflected to this day by the name of the club's home ground - Rugby Park.
Although not amongst the founder members of the Scottish Football Association in 1873, Kilmarnock did join in time to compete in the inaugural Scottish Cup tournament in 1873-74. Their 2-0 defeat against Renton in the First Round on October 18 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. For much of their history they have been one of the most successful clubs based outwith Scotland's major cities. They have reached the Scottish Cup final eight times, winning the trophy on three occasions. Despite five appearances in the final , they have yet to lift the Scottish League Cup.
The club's greatest success was in 1965 under the management of Willie Waddell. On the final day of the season, they travelled to face Hearts at Tynecastle requiring a victory by two goals to nil (due to the competition being decided by goal average at that period if teams were equal on points) to win the league at their opponents' expense. A memorable 2-0 win saw Kilmarnock crowned Scottish League champions for the first, and to date only, time.[1] This capped a period of tremendous consistency which had seen them occupy runners-up spot in four of the previous five seasons.
After a period of decline in the 1980s which saw the club relegated to the Second Division, Killie have returned to prominence, holding top division status since being promoted in 1993 and lifting 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 tournament 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 Winner's Cup & UEFA cup).
Killie finished the 2005/06 season in 5th position, after a season which at several points they seemed to be challenging for 3rd place. However, after selling top scorer Kris Boyd to Rangers in January 2006, Killie had to rely on goals from young attacking midfielder Steven Naismith, striker Colin Nish and winger Danny Invincibile. After taking only 1 point in the first four post-split games, Killie beat Hibernian 3-1 to leapfrog Aberdeen into 5th place.
Kilmarnock started the 2006/07 season brightly despite losing 4-1 away to Celtic on the opening day.[1] Young striker Steven Naismith scored a contender for goal of the season against Hibernian in August before going to Arsenal for a trial.[2] Rangers dropped their first points to Killie in four years after a last-minute Naismith penalty earned a draw for Kilmarnock.[3] In September Jefferies suffered his worst defeat as Killie manager after a 5-0 loss at Motherwell.[4] Killie are ensured of a top 6 finish for the 2nd season in a row, whilst a tremendous run in the League Cup has ensured a place in the final[5]. Rolf Harris and Steve Lima have recorded a special version of 'Fine Day' with the Killie Choir to celebrate the club reaching the final, and the song is now available for download[6]. Unfortunately for Killie fans, their team was comprehensively beaten 5-1 in the final by Hibs.
[edit] Club records
- Oldest professional club in Scotland
- Biggest win: 13 - 2 v Saltcoats Victoria, Scottish Qualifying Cup 2nd Round, September 12, 1896
- Worst defeat: 1 - 9 v Celtic, Scottish League Division 1, August 13, 1938
- Highest home attendance: 35,995 v Rangers, Scottish Cup Quarter-Finals March 10, 1962
- Most capped player: Joe Nibloe (11 for Scotland)
- Most League appearances: Alan Robertson (484, 1972-88)
- Most League goals: Willy Culley(149, 1911-23)
- Transfer fee paid: £340,000 for Paul Wright from St Johnstone, March 1995
- Transfer fee received: £2,000,000 for Steven Naismith to Rangers, 31 August 2007
- Fifth Largest Stadium :18,128
[edit] Managers
- Hugh Spence (1919-37)
- Jimmy McGrory (1937-45)
- Tom Smith (1945-47)
- Tom Mather (1947-48)
- Alex Hastings (1948-50)
- Malky McDonald (1950-57)
- Willie Waddell (1957-65)
- Malky McDonald (1965-68)
- Walter McCrae (1968-73)
- Willie Fernie (1973-77)
- Davie Sneddon (1977-81)
- Jim Clunie (1981-84)
- Eddie Morrison (1984-88)
- Jim Fleeting (1988-92)
- Tommy Burns (1992-94)
- Alex Totten (1994-96)
- Bobby Williamson (1996-2002)
- Jim Jefferies (2002-present)
[edit] Honours
- Scottish League Champions (1): 1964-65
- Scottish League Runners-up (4) :1959-60, 1960-61, 1962-63, 1963-64
- Division Two (2): 1897-98, 1898-99
- Scottish Cup (3): 1920, 1929, 1997
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals (1): 1966-1967 losing to Leeds Utd 4-2
[edit] Current squad (season 2008-09)
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- For recent transfers, see List of Scottish football transfers 2008-09.
[edit] Notable former players
See also Category:Kilmarnock F.C. players
- Steven Naismith
- Kris Boyd
- Alex Burke
- Ian Durrant
- Bobby Ferguson
- Gary Holt
- Gus MacPherson
- Ally McCoist
- Kevin McGowne
- Jim McIntyre
Dylan Kerr- Tommy McLean
- Gordon Smith
- Paul Wright
Dragoje Leković- Gary McSwegan
[edit] References
- ^ 1964-65 Scottish League Champions. killiefc.com.
