I pondered long and hard before including such an obvious cliché as 'Yo-Yo Years' in this chapter's title but with Killie changing divisions NINE times in just eleven seasons - all ten in this chapter plus the last in the previous - there was no other way to describe this period. The drastic reduction in the numbers in Scottish football's top division from eighteen to ten in 1975 meant Kilmarnock became a team usually too good for the First (second tier) division but not good enough for the top flight Premier. Yet it produced some wonderful players, some who went on to fame and fortune elsewhere and some who stayed at Rugby Park and achieved legendary status with the fans. It also produced a new club 'anthem,' one that has stood the test of time, still chanted lustily today. Even if it has absolutely no connection with either football or Kilmarnock whatsoever. It brought the ridicule of an application for a managerial vacancy from a former Miss Scotland and when salvation was sought not even the Killie-supporting Archbishop of Canterbury possessed friends in high enough places to provide it. Though if anyone thought this decade was bad they may have revised their ideas had they any inkling of what the next few seasons would bring.
CORRECTIONS
Once again poor image reproduction has forced me to try and compensate from elsewhere. As for the reference to 'Paper Roses' in 1973-74 I have heard far too many tales from far too many people about how, where and when the song originated as THE Killie anthem to get involved any more now than I did 25 years ago. I mention the deaths of Jimmy Williamson and Willie Connell of the 1929 cup winners during the 1981-82 season. I can confirm that Connell was indeed the last survivor of that famous team.
Next
The Twilight Zone - Killie Reach Rock Bottom 1983-1989
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