I did an article in the Killie Hippo (Issue 49) that gave the facts of Killie’s average attendances since 1961. I did this partly because we were, and still continue to be, slagged off about our home attendances, but also because any discussion seems to be based on misinformation and myth. Below is the article as published. The all-important graph that accompanied the piece can be found here.
We’ll Support You (N)evermore
Kilmarnock’s dire financial predicament has recently turned the spotlight on to the attendance figures at Rugby Park. This is in part a reaction to the very public statements from incoming Chairman Michael Johnston placing the onus of reversing our fortunes squarely on the shoulders of the fans (whilst at the same time side-stepping the uncomfortable notion of attributing any responsibility for our situation to board members past or present), but also to the morbid fascination certain media outlets have with our club when they smell blood.
Johnston has stated that Killie must increase the fan-base at Rugby Park in order to eat into the debt we have accumulated through increased gate receipts. This has led to much speculation in the press as to the whereabouts of the “missing thousands” last seen in Kilmarnock in the late 90s and every match report now carries some swipe at our fans. According to one scribe Kilmarnock fans are “the most fickle in Scottish football”. Yet, these stay-away fans, it seems, can be our only saviours. We’ve even been treated to Derek Johnstone on Radio Clyde suggesting, with no sense of hyperbole, that “the empty seats in the Main Stand at Rugby Park is one of the saddest sights in Scottish Football.”! The exclamation mark is mine; he delivered this nugget with a straight face.
Do the hacks and pundits actually want us to go under? Perhaps not, but they certainly enjoy giving us a good kicking when they get the opportunity. This is nothing new. In April 1969, Kilmarnock played a friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt (ask your dad…) to mark the Club’s centenary. 10,500 turned up to watch this match provoking this, perhaps surprising, comment in the press: “Ayrshire doesn’t deserve a team of Kilmarnock’s calibre.”
Is such criticism justified? What exactly is a “good” crowd at Rugby Park? Do Kilmarnock FC suffer from an apathy in the town that is greater than in any other provincial town, or do Killie’s attendances simply reflect and change relative to the same factors seen elsewhere? The accompanying graph charts our average league attendances from season 1960/61 to last season, 2004/05. These are the facts, although they warrant some further investigation.
Logic and convenience would suggest we start from the early 1960s. This was the beginning of the modern football era and a time of relative competitiveness and stability in Scottish football. This was also, as it happens, the most successful period in the Club’s history and a useful barometer of the audience potential within the streets of Kilmarnock and surrounding areas.
The post-war boom in attendances in Scottish football was still evident at the start of the 1960s, with Killie’s average league gate being over 12,000 in 1960/61 although crowds of over 20,000 for Rangers matches in those days tended to skew the figures a little. Around this time Killie were consistently one of the main challengers for the Division One title (as it was then). The highlight, of course, was the league win in 1964/65, however Killie also finished runners-up in three of the four previous seasons. As Champions they finished third. Despite this good run, average attendances actually dropped slightly to less than 9,000 as the 1960s progressed, with a noticeable peak of just over 10,000 in the league-winning campaign. Closer inspection reveals however that, even in that year, some games were watched by less than 6000.
Willie Waddell left soon after the league win with Malky McDonald taking over for his second stint as manager, however he was unable to continue the success of his predecessor. Killie slipped to being a mediocre mid-table team, European football slipped from their grasp and the fans started to slip away. By 1968 some matches were being watched by less than 3,000 spectators. The Club’s fortunes on the field rallied at the end of decade under Walter McCrae, regaining European football through fourth and sixth place finishes, and many of the fans returned. Despite this, this was an uncertain time for Killie. The Club’s financial health “had never been worse” according to McCrae and, if gates didn’t improve further, part-time football could be a possibility. Things, though, got worse still.
Two poor seasons saw Killie flirting with relegation in 1970/71 and 71/72. Crowd numbers dwindled further to 3-4,000 for run-of-the-mill games and the inevitable move to part-time status became a reality. An ignominious defeat to Coleraine in the 1970/71 Fairs Cup also marked the end of Killie’s participation in European competition until the Cup Winners Cup in 1997! By 1972/73, Killie were down to a hardcore support of 2-3,000 for most matches and these loyal fans were rewarded with relegation to Division Two. Unsurprisingly, crowds dropped even further as Killie took their unfamiliar place in the second-tier of Scottish football, however there were hopes of a revival as the team, now led by Willie Fernie, immediately regained promotion to Division One.
The return of top-flight football saw an increase in attendances at Rugby Park with the highest recorded average (7022) since 1968/69. Certainly, the fact that there was to be the formation of a top 10 Premier League at the end of the season increased interest in the league; a 12th place finish, however, effectively relegated Killie to the new First Division. A similar pattern emerged over the next few seasons; Killie were promoted and relegated three times between 1975/76 and 1983/84. Interestingly, it was around this period that the price of admission became an issue with fans, contributing in part to the decline in attendances. For example, on reaching the new Premier League in 1976, the cost of a home match rose 40% to 70p. By 1979/80 it had over doubled again to £1.50. Replacing Fernie with Davie Sneddon then, after him, Jim Clunie did little to create stability at Rugby Park. These were hard times for Killie. Attempting to sustain top-flight football with a part-time team, whilst at the same time selling players such as Eddie Morrison, Gordon Smith and Davie Provan was proving impossible. Good periods did occur but any momentum created was lost just as quickly.
Crowd numbers fluctuated accordingly, however the overall trend continued downwards and by 1982/83 Killie could only muster an average gate of under 3,500 in the Premier League; Killie’s inability to compete at the top level was getting too hard to watch for many fans. Even the chase for promotion lost some of its lustre – the general consensus being that the team would only be relegated again in any case. Unfortunately, relegation to the First Division at the end of season 1982/83 was not, this time, followed by a quick return to the top league. Instead things got a whole lot worse.
The nadir for attendances came towards the end of season 1983/84. A miserable league campaign confirmed Killie weren’t likely to gain promotion any time soon and, as the season ground to its conclusion, the fans’ support hit an all-time low. On 28 April 1984 Kilmarnock beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 at Rugby Park in front of just 460 people.
Early in the next season Jim Clunie resigned to be replaced by ex-striker Eddie Morrison, and Bob Lauchlan succeeded his brother as chairman (did you feel that shiver run down your spine there…?). Attendances stabilised and even improved a little as Killie flirted with promotion in 1985/86. Yet the following two seasons were disappointing and the prospect of promotion seemed as far away as ever. Indeed, further relegation seemed more likely! The odd cup game aside, deep apathy had set in and the average gate at Rugby Park remained below 2,000.
Season 1988/89 was perhaps the most pivotal in the Club’s post-war history. Morrison was sacked early in the season and replaced with Jim Fleeting. Another dire campaign on the field was played out against a background of off-field turmoil as Fleeting’s brother Bobby headed a consortium attempting to buy the club. At the same time a rival bid involving Bill Costley, Alex Ingram and John Kerr muddied the waters. This battle for control still raged even as the team dropped into the oblivion that was the Second Division. Despite the Club’s low standing the promises of ground improvements and a return to full-time football by the Fleeting-led backers ignited a spark in dormant Kilmarnock supporters. As the 1989/90 campaign got underway the Fleeting bid prevailed and optimism abounded. New signings arrived – including Tommy Burns – and attendances grew as fans started to believe that Killie were on the up. The team clinched promotion against Cowdenbeath at Rugby Park on the last day of the season and over 8,500 were there to see it. The recovery was underway.
It is astonishing now to look at the attendance figures for that season. Only two First Division sides averaged gates higher than Kilmarnock’s 3257, and Killie’s gates were four times bigger than any other Second Division club.
The increase in attendances continued as Killie headed back into the First Division. 1990/91’s average of over 4,900 would put any current First Division side to shame. As the team was strengthened, aiming for promotion to the Premier League, this high level of support was maintained. Indeed one game in 1991 against Dundee drew over 7,000 fans – more than the rest of the First and Second Divisions combined! But with this backing came a rise in expectations and towards the end of 1991/92, with promotion not possible, Jim Fleeting resigned to be replaced by Tommy Burns.
Killie endured a roller-coaster 1992/93 season, but Burns’ team (labelled the “Dads Army” by our friends in the press) eventually achieved their goal by gaining promotion, again on the last day of the season, in a 0-0 draw with Hamilton at Rugby Park. This match attracted over 12,000 fans. After 10 long years the recovery was complete.
After rejoining the top league in 1993/94 Killie enjoyed steady progress – first retaining their position under Burns (just!) then gaining credibility and sustaining a mid-table position under Alex Totten. The return to the Premier league brought a further increase in attendances – incredibly the average in 1993/94 (9161) was the highest since 1965. The new stadium (completed in 1995) also helped foster a mood of optimism and broaden the appeal of the club to women and families.
Despite the recent success, a run of poor results during the 1996/97 season cost Totten his job and former player (and coach under Totten) Bobby Williamson took over. Williamson and his team, of course, entered Kilmarnock folklore mere months later when Killie lifted the Scottish Cup; their first major honour since 1965.
During Williamson’s reign the club enjoyed its most sustained period of success since the 1960s with the Cup win, a return to European football, a League Cup Final appearance, and fourth place finishes in the Premier League (or SPL as it had become) in three out of four seasons. The numbers watching Killie reflected this. Indeed the average in 1998/99 of over 11,500 was the highest since 1961! In many ways the departure of Williamson to Hibs signalled the end of this meteoric rise; the steady climbing of Scottish Football’s ladder that started with the Fleeting takeover had come to an abrupt halt. For Kilmarnock, this was it. It didn’t get any better.
Williamson himself believed he had taken Kilmarnock as far as he could. Murmurings from the stands were even suggesting as much before he exited to Easter Road and Jim Jefferies arrived to replace him. But this in itself is revealing. For a new breed of fans, fed on a diet of top-flight football, European nights and Cup final appearances, the notion that Killie had peaked was difficult to swallow. The idea that Killie were playing in a league they couldn’t win was at once a revelation and an absurdity. Even many older campaigners – well versed in the realities of Scottish Football – came to the conclusion that, perhaps, they had seen all there was to see. What was the point? To many, there wasn’t one and attendances started to fall.
This is strikingly similar to what happened in the aftermath of the league win in 1965. The descent suffered by Killie through the ensuing two decades should be enough of a history lesson, one hopes, to prevent Kilmarnock fans allowing it to happen again.
Yet football is a very different animal today than it was even 10 years ago. It is undeniably expensive and for several years the Scottish variant has laboured under the weight of mediocrity, even at the highest level. Kilmarnock have continued to perform well as a mid-table side under Jefferies yet rumblings of poor value for money and stagnancy persist. In such a climate retaining – nevermind increasing – your fan base is a difficult job. Despite what the press may say, however, this is a Scottish problem, not just of Kilmarnock.
The facts suggest that Killie are, in fact, a well supported team – at least as well supported as other provincial town clubs in the SPL such as Dunfermline, Motherwell, Falkirk, and Livingston. Our average support for last season, although less than the heady days of the late 90s, still compares favourably to our crowds historically since the late 60s. Like all clubs the team carries a latent support that manifests itself in periods of relative success and in one-off matches such as the Cup tie at Tynecastle last season. But this is true of even the biggest football clubs.
As it happens, as I write this, Hearts are top of the SPL, we sit 2nd and are playing some excellent football and scoring freely. For once the championship has an unpredictable feel to it. With a little extra support maybe we can achieve bigger and better things. It certainly couldn’t be any more timely as we need those extra fans now more than ever….to stick two fingers up to the likes of Derek Johnstone if nothing else!
Acknowledgement: as a relative youngster, my memories of Killie don’t go back much further than the early 80s. Therefore for many of the facts and figures in this article I am indebted to David Ross’ excellent book, Killie: The Official History (1994). This book was more recently issued (in a revised format) as Every Game: The New Official History of Kilmarnock Football Club (2001).
