Say Aye to a Killie Pie

[leckuno]

Pre-Season

So Pre-Season has gone really well and we have played against some big teams which is good. The only loss came against Olympiakos and even then it was still close at 1-0

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These results actually make me think we might have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League first round if the draws go our way.

Transfers

Players Out

So the main two transfers going out were Lee Erwin going to Sheffield Wednesday for £2.5 million. He was going to be second fiddle this season to Nelson and Gobbi so was happy to sell him to bring a good amount of cash in.

Next out was Jordan Jones who was a big player for us but Cardiff came in with an offer of £8 million which to a club like Kilmarnock is far too good to turn down as it will really help us strengthen the team and really help the bank balance since the board will only give us 55% of the fee for transfers.

Players In

So coming in we had a large number of players coming in for free which you can see below but the main signing of the summer was Lewis Macleod from Brentford for £1.5 million who will run the game for a few year hopefully.

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Next up is the Europa League qualifiers so hopefully we can progress. I may also try and get in another 1 or 2 players in depending on how we get on​

 

[leckuno]

August

Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round 1st leg

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A nice easy game to start the qualifying and our new signings show what they can do straight away

Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round 2nd leg

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A tougher game than we expected but we pulled through and got the win with Gobbi and Nelson showing why they are both the main strikers this year

Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round 1st leg

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What a performance from Gobbi grabbing a hat-trick against the team that finished 6th in Ligue 1 last season.

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Back to the league and in our first game we destroyed Celtic and wouldn't give them a chance. They had just sold 5 of their strongest players from last season.

Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round 2nd leg

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Nelson getting us off to a solid start and then we managed to hold on. We are now I round away from European Group Stages.

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An excellent performance back in the league with us having to rotate the squad with games coming thick and fast

Europa League 4th Qualifying Round 1st leg

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An excellent performance against a really strong opponent and Gobbi gets another goal and he is only 16.

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Lewis Morgan gets a goal on his debut for the club and Nelson grabs another 2 goals.

Europa League 4th Qualifying Round 2nd leg

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McBurnie scores the all important goal and Kilmarnock have now qualified for the Europa League group stages!!!!

Summary

Its been a hectic month with 9 games thrown in. The highlight of the league games has got to be the 3-1 win over Celtic as I like to think its more the quality of the players I've brought in rather than the players they've lost.

For the Europa League it is fantastic to have qualified as the money will help the club and make the club more attractable for players an staff.

The group we have been drawn in for the Europa league is actually ok and I feel we may have a chance of grabbing 2nd spot.

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In the transfer market we brought in an additional 3 players. Lewis Morgan comes in from Celtic on Loan who will provide more cover for down the left wing.

For permanent spots we signed Jack Hendry for £400,000 from Celtic after he only made 7 appearances last season. He will be going straight into the first team. Ryan Gauld has also been brought into the club for £1,100,000 from Sporting CP who will again go into the first team.

Glad to be filling the team with Scotland Internationals so feel we should be able to challenge for the league again this year with the experience we have brought in.

Most importantly though Jamie Nelson has been recognised with a Scotland Call up at just 17.

League Table

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[leckuno]

September

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A bit of rotation needed here after the mental month of August and they duly delivered with McBurnie getting a brace

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Williams showing what he can do down the wing with grabbing 2 goals and Gobbi getting back on the score sheet again

Europa League Group Stages

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What a performance for or first game in Europe and we run out well deserved winners with 3 youngsters getting on the score sheet.

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What a game at Ibrox and Nelson grabs 2 goals. He should hopefully get his Scotland cap soon.

League Cup 2nd round

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The reserves run out well deserved winners and we progress to the next round

League Cup Quarter Final

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Iain Wilson grabbing a great goal on his step up from the reserves to see us into the semi final.

Summary

Its been an excellent month 2 wins against Rangers which I just couldn't imagine at the start of the save.

We also went undefeated in the league and showed that we are to be feared in the group stages of the Europa League.

We have come on leaps and bounds since we started and the new signings are starting to pay dividends. Lets see where this season takes us ​

 

[leckuno]

October

Europa League Group Stages
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What a game as we get 3 points from the team I was expecting to run away with the group. The youngster keep scoring.

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Jamie Nelson keeping his run going so hopefully another Scotland call up soon.

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One of our favourite teams to play now as we can usually get a big result and 4 goals with 4 different scorers which shows the depth at the club now.

Europa League Group Stages

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Up against the team I was thinking I was going to compete for second spot with and its another 3 points. We are going to fight for top spot right to the end.

League Cup Semi Final

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Jamie Nelson coming on as a sub to get the equaliser and take the game to extra time. We went on to win 5-4 on penalties with ex Celtic defender Hendry scoring the winning penalty

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A bit of rotation in this game and we managed to ****** the 3 points with a comfortable win

Summary

An excellent month as we go the full month undefeated. In the league we have opened up a 7 point gap at the top of the table.

In Europe we had 2 amazing wins over teams I was expecting to have tougher games against but we will see what happens when we are away from home though but we are off to the best possible start.

An amazing win over Celtic in the league cup sees us go up against Aberdeen in the final so fingers crossed we have a good chance to win it.

I have also signed a new contract that will keep me at the club until 2021. The board have also given me an extra £10,000 a week to spend on wages and an extra £2,000,000 to spend on transfers in January.

League Table

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[leckuno]

November

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We rotated a good amount here with an important game coming but and the boys delivered and secured a big win

Europa League Group Stages

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An excellent draw away from home as a point was good enough to secure European football after Christmas which is untold of usually in Scottish football.

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First defeat of the season but going to Celtic Park is always going to be tough and its even tougher 3 days after a European tie.

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We bounce straight back with a win with Nelson scoring a last minute goal.

Europa League Group Stages

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An outstanding win with Nelson getting his first European hat-trick.

Summary

A month which saw us come to our first defeat in the league but considering it was to Celtic I'm quite happy. We now have a 6 point gap at the top of the table so hopefully we can hold onto it.

In Europe we go marching on and secure the next round which will have its own financial benefits. The final game next month will see who comes out in first place as there is only a point between me and CSKA.

Nelson finally got his first cap for Scotland as well so hopefully he can continue to add to that.

League Table

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