The True Story of a Footballing Legend.

[Peacemaker7]

Undoubtedly though, the highlight of the 2007-2008 season for Kilmarnock was the great Champions League run. The title may not be coming back to Rugby Park, but Inter Milan were. There was intense excitement in the town, indeed in virtually the whole of Scotland, as they geared up for potentially fantastic night of European football. With Celtic having reached the last sixteen of the UEFA Cup – Rangers having gone out to Werder Bremen in the round of 32 – things were looking good for Scottish football. Indeed, Celtic would reach the Quarter Finals, but would go out on away goals to PSV. A decent enough effort. Yet the UEFA Cup is of little meaning these days, and all eyes were firmly focused in Rugby Park. Even if few expected any kind of Scottish success.

MacLeod though was in the process of building a half decent team in Ayrshire, and Inter would be foolish to think this was going to be a walk in a park, even if the Killie manager did admit he felt his side was still some way short of where he ideally wanted it to be. The new signings of Maloney and Accardi were in the side along with the truly excellent D'Agostino but it was the, now, Old Guard who were to come through for Kilmarnock on a truly memorable night for all of Scotland. A tough, highly entertaining first half was drawing to a close, when Nacho Novo latched onto the ball on the edge of the Inter six yard box and blasted it beyond Igor Akineev and Killie took a sensational lead into the half time break. The second half was as tight as the first and it was fair to say Inter had the best of it. Five minutes from time, Novo turned provider as he whipped the ball across the area and there was Peter MacDonald to knock the ball home and Duncan MacLeod's side had done Scotland proud.

Whether a 2-0 lead would be enough, was a matter of some debate in the media. Twenty six minutes into the return in Milan, those who feared the worst had their fears reinforced as Inter went ahead. Killie though were not rocked and refused to be bullied by the Italian giants. Five minutes from half time. Novo was upended in the box, D'Agostino blasted the ball home from 12 yards and the match was surely now as good as over. Six minutes after the break, MacDonald sent Killie into a stunning lead on the night, but Inter soon equalized thereafter. It was not to be the Italians night though, and ten minutes from time Jose Antonio Reyes was red carded and that was that. Kilmarnock had reached the last eight of the Champions League, where they were paired with Valencia. It was certainly turning into a fairytale.

Once more the first leg was at home, and things looked to be on course when MacDonald sent Killie ahead after just six minutes. On the half hour though, as Kilmarnock looked well in control, an act of utter folly from Steven Whittaker saw him dismissed from the field of play, and now Killie were in trouble. One minute after half time, the inevitable happened as David Villa gave his side a precious away goal. Just as it looked as if MacLeod's side might hang for a draw, which could offer a small glimmer of hope for the return, Villa struck again and the task facing the fading Scottish Champions looked ominous. In football though, there is always hope and one minute from half time in Valencia, Peter MacDonald silenced the home support with a fine goal. The dream was back on, and another Killie goal would turn the match on it's head. The Spanish side though were not for buckling, and controlled the match for long spells in the second half. Injury time came, and just as Killie were preparing one last push, so Salvatore Ferraro headed the ball past Graeme Smith and into his own net – the dream was dead.

There was though to be some consolation for Kilmarnock in a season which in many ways was an excellent one. Hearts were overcome after a replay in the Scottish Cup quarter final, and four days after losing out to Valencia, Celtic were seen off by two goals to one at Hampden. Dunfermline would be the opponents as Kilmarnock defended their last piece of silverware but in the end it was not much of a Final – unless you were a Killie fan – as the holders ran out 5-0 winners and so MacLeod picked up his 4th trophy as a manager after a highly exciting season. There may not have been the success of the previous campaign, but Duncan MacLeod firmly believed his side was getting better and that before too long, the SPL flag would be flying over Rugby Park once more.

[Peacemaker7]

Real Madrid were coming to Rugby Park. Ok so it was only a pre-season friendly, it was hardly the biggest match Kilmarnock had ever played, but in the MacLeod household at least there was much excitement at the arrival of a team they had all fallen in love with. There was though, a lot of work to be done before that match on July 12th – two days after Isabella turned sweet sixteen and stunned her parents by announcing that she and Derek had gotten engaged to be married. The announcement of course caused more than a bit of consternation in the MacLeod household, as one might expect that such a young couple who had decided to effectively commit their whole lives to each other would – even if that was a rather naïve assumption in the modern world.

In his autobiography On and Off the Park, MacLeod expressed that he had grave misgivings about such a relationship developing so fast. Isabella though had thwarted all their protests. It was not as if, she claimed, they were getting married right away! And besides, at her age her parents were also in a committed relationship and so they were just being hypocrites. Which in many ways was true, but it's always different for the parents. Alyson though was more pragmatic, and simply said if that was what they wanted, it was not for herself and Duncan to try and put a stop to true love. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be and there was no point standing in the way. As it happened, the engagement lasted six weeks before Isabella, in floods of tears, announced it was all over after someone had told he Derek had been seen with Felicity Munro – who was commonly known as the 'school bike'.

The relationship between Isabella and Derek seemed to be one of many ups and downs, Isabella seemed determined to live up to her assumed latin temperament, but eventually they would get married, settle down and produce quite a few grand-children, one of whom would eventually go on and become an international footballer himself. That though was in the future, and this was the present and July was going to be a busy month for the MacLeod clan. Not only were Real Madrid coming to town, not only had Isabella turned sixteen and gotten engaged, but Bethany got married – on the morning of the 12th of July. Needless to say, that was a pretty hectic and emotional day for the whole family, but the whole thing went without a hitch – apart from Isabella taking the huff because Derek wasn't playing against Real and apart from the fact Real won. At the end of the day though, everyone decided that the whole day had been fantastic and Isabella suggested they could do it all again next – when she married Derek. Which didn't go down well. And didn't happen.

Weddings, birthdays, engagements and tantrums aside, football was what made the MacLeod family tick and the little matter of trying to regain the SPL title from Rangers. They would have to do it though without the skills of the wonderful Gaetano D'Agostino. The Italian winger had been attracting attention from various club and when the Chairman went over his head and accepted and £18M bid from Liverpool for the player, MacLeod went ballastic.

'I felt at the time we simply could not replace a player like D'Agostino' MacLeod explained in his autobiography, 'the Chairman though £18M was a lot of money – I thought it was a pittance. It nearly caused me to quit the club'

That MacLeod did not quit the club was down to Real Madrid. The beleaguered boss was contacted by Madrid asking how much he would like for D'Agostino, and in a moment of utter frustration and anger he told them £40M.

'The next day they called back and told me they would pay.' Said a flabbergasted MacLeod, ' I did everything in my powers to make sure the lad chose Real. Which he did.'

Along with the near £20M from the Champions League run, Kilmarnock were a club with real – no pun intended – money to burn. And the first thing MacLeod needed was a replacement for the Italian maestro. Seven and half million pounds later, Danish left winger Thomas Kahlenberg was signed up from Auxerre and if he was half as successful at the club as D'Agostino had been then at least the club had come out of the situation with a fair profit. Real Madrid youngster David Moreno, just seventeen, was signed for a million pounds but it would be a while before he challenged for a regular first team start. MacLeod also snapped up strikers Emanuele Calaio from from Napoli and Steven Fletcher from Hibs, but both these players would eventually be deemed failures in their time at Rugby Park and would be sold on at the end of the season. Money was flowing out of Rugby Park as MacLeod almost seemed to be thumbing his nose at a Chairman with whom he was in real danger of falling out, but no-one could really argue against the £10M spent on Fiorentina's Anthony Vanden Borre. The Belgian international was an accomplished player and MacLeod felt he had a squad that would both challenge in Europe, and on the domestic front.

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, though, gang aft agley.

[HD]

As a famous man from Ayr once said...

Really don't know who to cheer for. Hope MacLeod gets a new job soon.

[Peacemaker7]

He'll move eventually. Already had offers from biggers clubs but I want to give him time to build a better rep. Hang on in there

[Peacemaker7]

As the 2008-2009 season got underway, Duncan MacLeod was feeling that perhaps the time was soon approaching where he would need to leave Kilmarnock. It was quite ironic, given that he had not been impressed by certain players who had come to him and expressed the exact same feeling. But hypocrisy is a great thing, and bosses can be as hypocritical as they like. Yet there were problems standing in the way of any move. Isabella was still in school, and it was hardly the best time to move her, especially if they chose to move abroad. There was also the problem she would probably resist any move away from Kilmarnock on account of her relationship with the young man – of course that could be easily resolved by bringing Derek to the new club, but MacLeod was far from certain the teenager was even ready for Kilmarnock yet, and was far from sure he ever would be.

An other problem lay with Alyson and her mum. Since her fathers death, her mother's health had deteriorated somewhat and as her only sibling lived in Edinburgh, Alyson would be reluctant to leave mother behind if they moved too far away – and Duncan really wanted to move abroad. Finally of course, he would not leave just for the sake of leaving. Only a club with potential would attract him, and he still felt he had a job to do here anyway. Already he had turned down Real Betis and Everton, both decent enough jobs, but a combination of the family difficulties and the fact he wanted at least one more crack at the SPL title meant he had little hesitation in turning those jobs down. They were not really that enticing when it came to the crunch. For this season he would stay at Kilmarnock, but he had vowed that if the club failed to make the Champions League, he would look to move elsewhere. One thing was for certain, Duncan MacLeod would not remain at Rugby Park indefinately.

The match with Real Madrid had hardly been a true test of the strengths of his current side, but a 3-2 win at Lyon, with new signings Emanuele Calaio and Paul Gallacher getting on target, as well as Peter MacDonald, was certainly encouraging. The final warm up match for the season saw Spanish lower league side Campillos travel to Rugby Park, and they were ripped apart by thirteen goals to nil. That though was exactly the idea, styled on the way Real Madrid used to prepare by ripping the mickey from inferior sides and thus building confidence. And confidence had to be built ultra fast, as the opening league match of the season was against reigning Champions Rangers. With 26 minutes gone, goals from Steven Naismith and Thomas Buffel had Ally McCoists side racing to victory and this was not the plan MacLeod had in his mind to start the season. Just after the half hour, Peter MacDonald hauled Killie back into the match, and as Rangers crumbled, so Shaun Maloney and Emanuele Calaio wrapped up a superb come back and an excellent three point start to the season.

A ruthless 3-0 win over Dundee United, the goals provided by Novo and MacDonald, seemed to suggest Kilmarnock were on course for a good season, but draws followed with Hibs and Falkirk, with a narrow and lucky 2-1 win over Inverness sandwiched in between and the season of frustration had begun. No Champion League football of course this season – a season that would see Celtic advance all the way to the Final of that particular competition – and so it was the UEFA Cup to which Kilmarnock's hope of continental success lay and in the first round of that competition they were paired with Austrian side SK Austria Karnten. A Calaio hattrick at Rugby Park eased MacLeod's side to a four nil win and at this point the Italian was looking a good signing indeed. Eventually though the manager would get frustrated with a player whom he believed flattered to deceive and he would be sold off to Barcelona. For now though he was in the side, and on the back of three successive - if far from impressive - league wins, Kilmarnock travelled to Austria where a Peter MacDonald brace completed the job.

The group stage of the UEFA Cup would not be easy, after Kilmarnock were drawn with PSV, Parma, Rennes and Wolfsburg. The home matches would be against Parma and Wolfsburg, and the group would kick for Killie in Eindhoven. Before that though, MacLeod caused more controversy in the League Cup 3rd round home tie with Ross County, by playing a virtual youth team and was accused of treating both County and the whole competition with contempt. Which, in fact, he was. It did though give the Killie support a chance to see player of, hopefully, the future – keeper Ray Marr was a hot tip for the first team one day, along with Belgian defender Roman Brillant who had been brought to the clubs youth system by coach Luc Nilis. Strikers Daniel Sturridge and Derek Meechan would make a few appearances in the first team this season, Meechan in particular playing seventeen times and bagging eight goals – although virtually all his non-League Cup appearances were as a substitute. Young left back Mark Brunton though would, the following season, make the break through to the first eleven following the shock departure of left back Pietro Accradi and would make the left back spot his own.

That was the future though and this was now, and the youngsters did themselves proud with a 3-0 triumph over their lower league opponents. In the Quarter Finals, Kilmarnock were drawn with Celtic, and people were more amazed when MacLeod stuck to his guns. Shaun Maloney and Salvatore Ferraro it's true, were in the starting line up, but youth players were in abundance, although Mark Brunton was sadly ruled out through injury. A fine display from teenage keeper Marr kept a near full strength Celtic side at bay as the match ended goalless and ended up going to a penalty shoot out. Both sides missed one from four, before David Moreno stepped up to for Kilmarnock's 5th, missed and Celtic progressed, although they would eventually lose to Rangers in the Final. MacLeod came under much criticism for treating the tournament with such contempt, but he remained unrepentant, even years later when writing his autobiography.

'The League Cup was an anachronism.' MacLeod explained, 'I simply didn't see the need to add even more matches to the players itinerary when we had much more important things to worry about. And for us, it worked, as it let us see just how ready, or not, our young and reserve players were for the first team. I think some people were just embarrassed that our youths beat them.'

[Peacemaker7]

The UEFA Cup certainly lacks the drama and glamour of its superior cousin, the UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless, Kilmarnock had drawn a decent enough set of teams, and progress from this group was never going to be an easy achievement. On the back of an excellent 4-0 away League win at Motherwell, MacLeod led his side to Eindhoven to open their four match group campaign against PSV. The nature of these groups is strange in itself, and it was uncertain how the balance of home and away matches would affect the outcome of a group that few people dared to call. In the end though, Kilmarnock won this match with ease, a brace from the ever impressive Peter MacDonald and rare goal from the hopelessly erratic Steven Fletcher making sure that progress to the knock out round had certainly been give a dramatic boost.

Last season, so many points had been dropped after Champions League away days and a trip to Tannadice was possibly not the ideal after a trip to the Netherlands. So it proved, as United ran out 2-1 winners against a very lethargic Kilmarnock side and not for the first time in this season, Duncan MacLeod was far from amused with the efforts of his multi-million pound side. Youngster Daniel Sturridge showed his promise in the following match at home to Hibs with a brace in a good 3-1 win, but it would be a while yet before the English teen made a major breakthrough to the first team on a regular basis. That match set up the visit of Parma in the UEFA Cup, a match that would be Italians opening in the group. After five minutes Shaun Maloney sent Kilmarnock ahead, but this was not going to be a stroll in the park for either side. Kilmarnock at times looked good and at times looked woeful – a perfect reflection of their season – but eventually, with nineteen minutes left to play, Kahlenberg made it 2-0 and the three points seemed secure. Until Parma scored four minutes later. It was, however, false hope and Killie held on for the points that virtually guaranteed a next round place.

With reigning Champions Rangers at Ibrox next, fears were for another loss but this time the Kilmarnock players responded well and gubbed Ally McCoist's side by four goal to nil with a scintillating performance. MacLeod was furious.

'The players today showed exactly what they can do' He told the press after the game. 'It makes me wonder why the hell they don't play like this every week.'

Wins over Inverness and Falkirk followed before the trip to France to take on Rennes. The French side had already drawn away to Wolfsburg, beaten PSV three one at home and lost two nil in Parma. This was a match they needed to win. A 22nd minute Calaio goal though ensure that they lost and Kilmarnock had put their qualification beyond all reasonable doubt. The final match with Woflsburg was merely a formality for Killie, but they nevertheless won by 5-0 and so ended with a 100% group record. Defeats to Aberdeen and Hearts though after both those European matches had done their title hopes no little damage, but a hard fought 2-1 win over leaders Celtic almost made up for it.

The knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup paired Kilmarnock with another Dutch side in the shape of Feyenoord. After a great defensive performance from the Scots side in Rotterdam, Feyenoord snatched an injury time winner that set things firmly in the balance, with the balance hanging slightly in the Dutch favour. Peter MacDonald, who at times was edged out of the side by allegedly more talented players, came to the rescue at Rugby Park with a 10th minute goal that levelled the match on aggregate and made for an intense match. In injury time, Kilmarnock did to Feyenoord what Feyenoord had done to Kilmarnock in Rotterdam, and again it was Peter MacDonald who bagged the winner. Millions had been spent on misfiring forwards and he was a bloke who was worth peanuts showing them how to do their job.

The draw for the last sixteen set Rugby Park alight, as MacLeod's side were paired with the mighty Barcelona. A 14th minute Eto'o goal at Rugby Park though virtually killed the tie as Kilmarnock were powerless to score against the Spanish giants. By half time in the second leg, Barcelona were two nil up, three on aggregate and Kilmarnock's dream was over. Yet they wouldn't be a Scottish side if they didn't add a bit of drama and eight minutes after the break right back Iraola, signed in the January transfer window, at least gave Kilmarnock a bit of pride. In injury time, the useless Calaio snatched a sensational equalizer but it was way too late for Killie to make what would have been the come back of all time and indeed, the UEFA Cup run was over in typical Scottish, heroic fashion.

Iraola had not been the only big name signing in the January transfer window, as MacLeod moved to stengthen a side that he believes was playing well below itself, and needed a bit more quality – and consistancy – to keep pace with Celtic. Goalkeeper Asier Reisgo, winger Antonio Cassano and Argentine striker Matias Vuoso all made their way to Rugby Park, and all played their part in another senationally tense and exciting end to a Scottish League campaign. This time though, it would come down to just Kilmarnock and Celtic. Hearts had tried to keep pace with the leaders but had found the challenge just too much, whilst Rangers had a woeful season and would eventually finish in 5th place – the result being that Rangers legend Ally McCoist would lose his job after Chairman David Murray sold the club in probably the most dramatic development for the Glasgow side in a very poor season.

[Peacemaker7]

Coming hot on the heels of the draw in Barcelona which ended Kilmarnock's European hopes for another season, was a trip to Celtic Park in what was being billed as a potential league decider. With nine matches to play after this – and the sides to meet once again after the split – such sentiments were really rather silly but a win for either side would certainly put them in a strong position. Kilmarnock though were still suffering the effects of their Euro dissapointment and Celtic strolled to an easy enough two nil win. That result moved Celtic eight points clear at the top of the SPL table, but Kilmarnock did have two matches in hand, which effectively made the gap just two points. Mind you, the points still had to be won.

Both sides won the following weekend to keep the gap at those eight points, and then before Celtic played again, Kilmarnock played their two matches in hand, against Aberdeen and Dundee United and despite the tightness of the scheduling, picked up all six points and the race was on. In the final match before the split, Celtic were at home to Aberdeen whilst Kilmarnock's fourth match in eight days saw them travel to Motherwell. With two minutes left to play at Fir Park, 'Well were a goal up whilst Celtic had seen off Aberdeen easily. As it looked like the gap was increasing to a probably uncatchable five points, Derek Meechan came off the bench and equilized on the 88th minute. It was still of course far from a great result, but the first match after the break was Celtic at Rugby Park.

Talk of title deciders was the rage all week, and to be fair if Celtic came to Rugby Park and won, they would be seven points clear with four matches to play and to all intents and purposes the title race would more than likely be over. The task then for Kilmarnock was abundantly clear – don't let Celtic win, and indeed beat them. The occasion was certainly huge, but this was a Kilmarnock side that had battled with some of the biggest names in Europe in recent times, and they were not going to be overawed. Duncan MacLeod had been far from happy with a lot of his sides performances this season, but two goal from Vuoso in the first half was enough to secure a vital win, and it looked like the title race was going to the wire.

Yet as Celtic eased to a 3-1 home win over Motherwell, so a Roman Brilliant own goal gave Aberdeen a point at Pittodrie, and the gap was back to three points, with three matches left for each team to play. It looked like Kilmarnock had blown it as Celtic travelled to Ibrox to face a Rangers side in the middle of a take over battle. Ally McCoists dissapointing side battled hard though to hold their bitter rivals to a goalless draw, whilst at Rugby Park a Matias Vuoso goal with 89 minutes and 28 seconds on the clock gave a rather lethargic Kilmarnock a vital win and the race was starting to become nailbiting. With both sides winning their penultimate matches, once more the SPL title race would go down to the final day. Celtic had a tough trip to Tynecastle to face a Hearts side who had finished in a clear third place, whilst Kilmarnock would travel to Ibrox to take on a Rangers side whose new board had sacked legendary former striker McCoist on the very eve of the match. That development simply added more fuel to an already explosive afternoon of football in which the SPL title for 2009 would be decided.

Rangers looked every bit a side who had just finished a dissapointing for them 5th in the table, and who had just sacked their manager. They were a side in chaos, and Matias Vuoso made them pay with a glorious first half hattrick. Duncan Meechan came off the bench in the second half to add a fourth and Kilmarnock could now relax and wait for the result from Tynecastle. If Hearts could even gain a draw, Kilmarnock would be Champions for the second time in three years, but a 36th minute strike from Nicky Adler – a player on loan from Nurnberg – was enough to give Celtic the win at Tynecastle, and along with it the SPL title. In midweek Celtic travelled to Dortmund to take on Valencia in the UEFA Champions League Final, attempting to repeat their triumph of what seemed like a 100 years ago now. When Scott Brown gave the Celts a 6th minute lead, it looked like they were about to achieve the impossible but two minutes later Valencia were level and eventually went on to win the match 2-1 after extra time. Another glorious Scottish failure was recorded for posterity.

The season though still had one more game to play, as Kilmarnock headed to Hampden attempting to become only the fifth different side in Scottish Cup history to win the tournament three times in a row, alongside Rangers, Queen's Park, Vale of Leven and Aberdeen. If last season's final had been a dissapointing one sided affair, this years was even more so as St Johnstone were brushed aside by six goals to nil and a season which Duncan MacLeod described as one of the worst in his managerial career, ended in success. Perhaps MacLeod was being harsh, after all to come runners up in the League, win the Cup and a decent run in Europe cannot be sniffed at, but MacLeod always felt that his side had failed to show the kinds of consistancy of performance needed. The summer though had come, and it was time to have a well deserved break from the rigours of the game. And from the speculation that was mounting over the future of a manager who was attracting attention from some big names.

[Peacemaker7]

SPL Final Table 2008-2009

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Celtic | | 38 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 71 | 24 | +47 | 84 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Kilmarnock | | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 73 | 25 | +48 | 83 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Hearts | | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 77 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Aberdeen | | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 48 | 51 | -3 | 56 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Rangers | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 54 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Motherwell | | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 49 | 55 | -6 | 46 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Hibernian | | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 38 | 47 | -9 | 45 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Inverness CT | | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 34 | 57 | -23 | 40 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Dundee Utd | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 37 | 52 | -15 | 39 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Falkirk | | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 35 | 54 | -19 | 38 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | St. Mirren | | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 34 | 64 | -30 | 37 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | R | Gretna | | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 28 | 50 | -22 | 30 |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[HD]

So, I presume Ayr have made their way through the divisions by this point in time?

[Peacemaker7]

Last I checked they were in Division Three

[Peacemaker7]

The sacking of Ally McCoist had not gone down too well with the Rangers support. Here was a man who had been a legend in his playing days, and unlike John Grieg before him had actually delivered a League title as well as a couple of decent runs in Europe. You could point to the fact that Rangers had eventually come 5th in the League as good reason, but amidst all the chaos of a take over battle thats about as good as a club in turmoil might expect. Nevertheless, for whatever reason and whether the fans liked it or not new Rangers chairman Nicky Baxter decided he wanted McCoist out, and his own man in. Baxter's 'own man' turned out to be Duncan MacLeod.

That Duncan MacLeod was the number one target to lead Rangers into a new, post-Murray era, was hardly a surprise. To have guided Kilmarnock to five domestic trophies plus a last eight in the Champions League was no mean feat. MacLeod may still in many ways be learning the game – after all he had only be a manager in his own right for three years – but there was little doubt that man has as much talent off the park as he ever had on it. The big question though was, what could Rangers offer the manager to make him take the short move to the palatial fields of Ibrox. The answer was, probably a lot and probably nothing and it was a debate that was to go on in the press for days as the speculation mounted.

Two weeks after the Scottish Cup Final of 2009, Glasgow Rangers made an official approach to Kilmarnock with the view of acquiring that club's manager. The speculation turned to a media frenzy, and most people agreed that MacLeod was the right man to re-establish Rangers as a force in Scottish football. Duncan MacLeod, who had been used to being in the media spotlight as a player, was once more at centre stage on the Scottish footballing scene. And he was loving every minute of it. As he said in his autobiography,

'As a player, I would have been lying if I said I had not lapped up the adulation of the crowds. As a manager it was no less a fact. I had been linked with the biggest club job in Scotland, and I was front page on every paper, every news headline. I wasn't letting this moment just pass me by!'

And so, amidst intense speculation, and much weeping from the Kilmarnock support, Duncan MacLeod accepted the call from Rangers. Accepted that is, the call for an interview and the press were in our force as MacLeod and his entourage pulled up in blue Jag outside the main entrance to Ibrox Stadium and after posing for a few photographs, being greeted by the chairman, gleefully made his way inside for the talks that would decide his future. His future, Rangers future and Kilmarnock's future. And as fate would have it – or rather as media speculation would have it – the man being lined up to replace MacLeod at Rugby Park was no other than former Killie player – Ally McCoist.

Years later, MacLeod would state that perhaps Kilmarnock should have turned to Gary Holt. Holt was someone MacLeod could not stand, in his autobiography On and Off the Park he actually described Holt as 'an interfering halfwit'.

'Every time something happened at Rugby Park in my time at the club, there was Gary Holt sticking his big fat nose in. For instance, when D'Agostino went to Real, Holt was in the press saying how this was a massive mistake – same with other players who left. I phoned him one day and asked did he want to do my job? The bastard didn't even have the decency to apologize for his stupid and ignorant remarks. In fact it became so bad that at one point I considered legal action. Then I realised he simply wasn't worth it.'

Needless to say Gary Holt was never part of any managerial team Duncan MacLeod ever assembled. Holt did threaten legal action himself over the comments MacLeod made in his book, but never followed through on it. By that time, no-one had a clue who Gary Holt was and why he was making these statements about one of the greatest legends in the Scottish game – and Holt slinked away into the background. That though was the future, and this was now and a decision had to be made on the more immediate future. As MacLeod stated though in his autobiography, the decision made itself and he really just milked the situation for all he could get out of it at the time.

[HD]

Gary Holt is, indeed, a ****.

[Peacemaker7]

He's really ****ing me off. Wish you could kill people in the game.

[HD]

Wish you could kill him in real life.

[Peacemaker7]

The move to Rangers seemed to have taken up the interest of the Scottish sporting press, who were already on a high after Celtic's glorious run to the Champions League Final. Celtic were regarded as clear favourites to retain the SPL title in the new season, but a MacLeod move to Ibrox might change all that and make the league more competitive. Blindly, as they usually do, ignoring the fact that both Hearts and Kilmarnock had been more than involved in recent title battles, the latter actually winning one. That the Scottish media were blind to clubs outside their precious Old Firm was perhaps highlighted by the fact that as Duncan MacLeod was being driven away from Ibrox in his blue Jag, which the press made a big deal of ever forgetting that Kilmarnock also play in blue, the headlines were already being written claiming that MacLeod had signed a three year deal for the Glasgow club.

MacLeod though was in no mood to reveal anything much to the press, merely telling them that he was considering Rangers offer and would come to a decision in due course – after his families two week holiday in Spain. In fact it wasn't so much a family holiday as Isabella had wanted to stay behind to spend some time with Derek, and Bethany was due to deliver a baby in a few weeks and the couple had wanted to get their home ready for the new arrival. For the first time in over twenty years, the MacLeod's had gone on holiday alone as a couple, and the increasing realization that they were moving on in years struck them with a venom. In round about two months – all being well – they would be grandparents, and the days of their youth when they had been starry eyed and in love, the world being their oyster, seemed like a million years ago now.

The Scottish media were hugely impatient as they waited for MacLeod to return, and had already printed rumours of seeing Ally McCoist in talks at Rugby Park and seeing as there had be no news on any other Rangers candidates the deal was done and the names of the players whom MacLeod would be luring to Ibrox grew by the day so that if he had signed every single one of them not only would Rangers be bankrupt, but they would have to field at least four different teams. Three days after returning from holiday, MacLeod once more made his way to Ibrox Stadium, without speaking to the press and the following morning Kilmarnock Chairman Michael Johnston issued a press release stating that Duncan MacLeod had just signed a new four year deal with the club, and would be going nowhere.

Pandemonium broke out in the media, and amongst both sets of supporters of the relevant clubs. The Kilmarnock fans were, of course, ecstatic at the news, the Rangers support dissapointed and the media were stunned. Many conspiracy theories emerged as to why Duncan MacLeod had rejected a move to Rangers, all them total bullcrap. MacLeod himself refused to comment at the time beyond saying that it had been an 'honour' to be considered for such a prestigious job, but that his future still lay at Rugby Park. In his autobiography On and Off the Park, though MacLeod revealed that he never had any intention of going to Ibrox.

'Of course it's always nice to be approached by allegedly bigger clubs, its nice to have your talents recognized. I went to Ibrox for an interview for two main reasons. Partly, out of respect for them having offered me the position, but mainly because I wanted a new deal at Rugby Park, and from that perspective, it worked a treat.'

With the speculation over – Rangers would eventually stun the media even more by appointing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as manager – MacLeod set about strenghtening the squad he believed was not far short of making a real impact, wrenching the title back from Celtic and making another decent show in the Champions League. With the saga of the move to Rangers having barely died down, MacLeod put himself right back in the headlines again as he acquired the services of Rangers dynamic midfielder Kevin Thompson, and turned the world upside down by bringing former Kilmarnock favourite Steven Naismith back to Rugby Park. As part of the deal, Steven Fletcher and Paul Gallacher went in the opposite direction and at the start of July MacLeod completed a triple Ibrox pull as Chris Burke signed out of contract, a deal that had been completed many months before.

During that summer, Emanuele Calaio – who had scored 29 goals in his 35 Kilmarnock appearances - was shipped off to Barcelona for just £6M. MacLeod had felt the player simply wasn't giving enough and he had to go, even though his strike rate was reasonable by any standards. Anthony van den Borre, who had been making no secret of desiring a move to a bigger club also went to Barcelona, for £15M and Nacho Novo, who had become an icon at Rugby Park but had been struggling to get into the side in the past six months or so, also returned to his homeland, but his destination was a bit less high class, as he went to Osasuna. One player though MacLeod had not wanted to lose was left back Pietro Accardi, but when Palermo came in the player insisted he wanted to leave and in the end the £3.8M fee was almost daylight robbery. Accardi's move though did open the door for Kilmarnock youth Mark Brunton, aged just seventeen, to stake a claim for a first team spot and he claimed it with a vengeance.

Apart from the Ibrox trio, three other significant players were amongst that summers signings. Italian defender Paolo Cannavaro arrived from Napoli, for a bargain fee of less than £3M, Albanian midfielder Lorik Cana arrived from Marseille for just under £15M and Brazilian striker Julio Baptista became the biggest signing of the summer in the UK as he arrived from Fiorentina for a Scottish transfer record £20M. At the end of August that fee was almost made back, as MacLeod continued to show his shrewdness in transfer dealings as Thomas Kahlenberg went to Juve for £15M. The support were not overly happy at some of the players leaving, but as MacLeod explained, it was the players who wanted to leave and he was not going to stand in their way.

The money having come and gone, the dealings were done and the new season was ready to get underway. This would be a huge season for MacLeod, who really felt he had assembled a side of quality that had a combination of continental class and Scottish grit. They had come so close to snatching back that title, surely this would be their season again. Yet as the season got underway with a friendly against Liverpool at Rugby Park, no-one knew at that time that this would indeed be MacLeod's last at Rugby Park. Bigger things were calling, and this time MacLeod would be listening.

[Peacemaker7]

Apart from the big name arrivals, which had gotten the Rugby Park supporters in a frenzy of expectation, there was also the little matter of the UEFA Champions League. This time, as League runners up, Kilmarnock would have to qualify, from the second round stage. Interestingly though, the recent success of Scottish clubs had seen their co-efficient rise to 6th place, which meant next season there would be three sides in the Champions League and three in the UEFA Cup. Scotland, thanks mainly to Celtic and Kilmarnock, with a little help from Rangers - Scotland were back in the big time European wise. Even so, for this season Kilmarnock still had two obstacles to overcome before reaching that pot of gold and after a 1-0 loss to Liverpool and a one all draw with Norwich, things were hardly going fantastically well as the club headed out to Slovakia for their match with Slovan Bratislava.

This was certainly not the easiest second round tie MacLeod's side could have gotten, and coming so early in the season there were fears it might be just too much, too soon for a side still needing time to gel and get match fit. Only five minutes were on the clock though when returning prodigal Naismith sent Killie ahead and seven minutes later Kevin Thomson added a second and the players – as well as the fans – could start to relax. Thomas Kahlenberg got in on the act on nineteen minutes, six minutes later Naismith added a second for him and two goals in two minutes from Matias Vuoso sent Kilmarnock in at the break with a fantastic six nil lead, all fears and doubts had been washed away and this whole tie was dead and buried. After the break, Vuoso and Naismith completed their hattricks, Maloney and Derek Meechan also struck late on and a fabulous ten nil triumph handed out a warning to the rest of Europe that this side meant business.

Before the return a week later though, Killie went to Tannadice for the opening SPL game of the season and if their supporters were expecting a nice easy start to the season, they were in for a shock as United eased to a 2-1 win and already the Killie challenge was in tatters. Slovan were seen off three nil in the return to set up an exceptionally tough third round meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.

A four nil win over St Mirren had eased Killie fears a little and at two nil up at half time against the French outfit in the first leg at Rugby Park – goals coming from Naismith and a Charlie Grant penalty – things were going well. On the stroke of halftime, Sylvain Armand was red carded for Paris, but just two minutes after the break the match was turned on it's head as PSG grabbed a vital away goal. Despite having only ten men, that goal seemed to inspire the French outfit and the second half was turning into a real struggle with the Paris return looking ever more dodgy. Nine minutes from time, Naismith to the rescue and a two goal cusion was secured for what was sure to be a nerve-racking return leg. Before that, two more hard fought league matches saw a ding dong battle at Pittodrie which MacLeod's side eventually won by four goals to three, and then a Steven Naismith goal was enough to see off Celtic in a crucial match at Rugby park and although it was far from impressive stuff, the points were being won and Steven Naismith was revelling in his return to the club.

In Paris, it was the same story as before. An extremely tight affair, but on twenty two minutes Ferraro headed home a Kahlenberg corner to effectively kill the match and the French side were far from impressed when Mario Yepes was red carded after an hour, claiming a conspiracy against their players. It was far from beautiful but in the end it was enough to see Kilmarnock through to the group stages of the UEFA Championship League for the second time. There was mixed reaction when they were drawn out with CSKA Moscow, Stuttgart and MacLeod's former club, AC Milan. It was a tough group, but it was also a group that gave Kilmarnock a great chance to reach the last sixteen. But for that, they would certainly need to up their game.

[Peacemaker7]

Pietro Accardi's departure to Palermo did not go down well with either the fans, or with some players in the dressing room and seemed to threaten the harmony amongst the players. MacLeod though was happy enough to give seventeen year Mark Brunton a try out for a regular spot. The youngster had done well last season in the reserves/youths as well as the League cup, and he would go on to make thirty five appearances for the side in the season ahead, equipping himself well and actually gaining two full caps for Scotland in the process. MacLeod was well able to contain his players disappointment, and four league wins on the trot, with a Champions League group stage opening three one win at home to CSKA sandwiched in the middle, was more than enough to make sure the Kilmarnock support kept faith.

The team may have made a less than impressive start, but things were now picking up. The youths, bolstered by a couple of reserves and fringe players, would go all the way to the Semi-Final of the CIS League Cup, before battling to a brave defeat to eventual winners Celtic. Strike force Matias Vuoso and Julio Baptista were combining well, as they showed by both scoring in a 2-0 win over Rangers in mid September as Arsene Wenger battled to get his newly rebuilt side competing at the top of the table. Kilmarnock though had much bigger fish to fry than Rangers, as Duncan MacLeod paid his first competitive visit to the San Siro since his playing days with Milan ended. A hugely brave and spirited performance almost sent the Kilmarnock fans home happy, until a Ricardo Oliveira strike nine minutes from time secured Milan a most valuable win.

The Kilmarnock record of dropping points after big away days in Europe continued with a disappointing nil all draw at home to Motherwell, but the players picked themselves up for a superb march on Tynecastle as they thumped Hearts by four goals to two, Maloney and Naismith the heroes with doubles each. Naismith was on target again at home to Stuttgart, adding to an early Baptista goal in a comfortable two nil win at Rugby Park, but after another two dropped points in a draw with Dunfermline and a win against Dundee United, the return in Germany proved a much harder affair. Kevin Kuranyi, who had returned to his home town club in the summer, a £10M deal from English Premiership side Sunderland, put Killie to the sword with two excellent goals, but Baptista and Vuoso did their bit to make matters even until a very late strike from Vagner Love secure all three points for the Germans. Kilmarnock were finding out just how tough, and heartbreaking, European football can be.

This time though, a return to league action saw Killie ease to an easy three nil winover St Mirren to stretch their unbeaten league run to eleven since that opening day defeat and sit themselves firmly at the top of the SPL, calling on the pack to catch them if they could. The run kept on with a win over Aberdeen before a tough, and highly important trip to Moscow saw Kilmarnock come home with an amazing three nil win and had set themselves up to reach the last sixteen for the second time. That though would not be an easy ask. Stuttgart sat on nine points along with Kilmarnock, whilst Milan seemed secure on twelve. A draw, indeed, a win even at Rugby Park might not even be enough to see MacLeod's side progress to join a Celtic side, who despite a 2-1 defeat in Greece the previous evening had secured their own place in Europe's elite. Very early goals in Germany saw the home side race to an easy 3-0 win over CSKA and no favours therefore were forthcoming from Moscow.

There was a hugely charged, intense atmosphere inside Rugby Park and as news filtered through from Germany so the tension around the ground could be cut with a knife as half time approached and neither side had breached the deadlock. Whilst a draw with the likes of Milan would not be a bad result, on this particular night it would mean the difference between reaching the ultimate goal of Europe's elite sixteen or a place with the also rans. With the fans starting to bite down to the bone of their fingers, eight minutes remained till half time when Cana fed Vuoso wide left and his cross was headed into the net by strike partner Baptista and Rugby Park exploded. Three minutes later, as the Italians struggled to catch their breath, so an Italian played his part in their downfall as Cassano delivered a perfect cross for Vuoso this time, and Killie went in at the break with a two goal cushion and the last sixteen beckoned.

Milan could not believe they were behind, and suddenly realised that it was they who were now in danger, having looked almost certain to progress, of dropping into the UEFA Cup. Ten minutes into the second half, Julio Baptista flicked a cute little ball to Vuoso but as the Argentine pulled the trigger, so German intervention by Metzelder saw the striker hit the deck and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Immediately the whole Milan side were surrounding the referee, knowing that their whole campaign could be about to go up in smoke. The man in the middle though was having none of it as he calmly waved them all away, Andoni Iraola stepped up and from 12 yards blasted Kilmarnock into the knock out stages of Europe's premier club competition. Milan were clearly rattled and never recovered their composure. Just to make sure, Julio Baptista added a fourth and the task was completed. A superb night for Scottish football as this tiny nation's clubs would make up one eighth of the elite group left in the tournament.

[Peacemaker7]

As they headed to Livingston on the 2nd of January 2010, Kilmarnock were top of the League, having lost only one match and looking strong. Celtic though could not be discounted. They were clearly a good side – after all they had reached the Champions League Final last season and were in this last sixteen again this time – but MacLeod insisted his side was better and should have what it takes to remain at the head of the pack. And to bring home an unprecedented fourth successive Scottish Cup. Although Livingston tried to make a show of it, the reality was that despite the final scoreline only being two nil to the visitors, this was a match Kilmarnock had dominated from start to finish and there was only ever going to be one winner.

Four league wins and a draw later, MacLeod and his SPL topping side welcomed the visit of second placed Celtic to Rugby Park – and sent them home with their tails firmly between their legs. Although Julio Baptista's 11th minute strike had been quickly equalled, the Brazilian struck again to give Killie a half time lead. It was probably way too early to call this a title decider, but when Derek Meechan's 69th minute goal ensured all three points would be kept at Rugby Park, the press were falling over themselves to claim Kilmarnock's succession to the throne was complete. Duncan MacLeod though, as you would expect, refused to rule out Celtic's chances of retaining the title and promised that his players would not be dropping the pace any time soon.

The January transfer window had seen one major arrival at Rugby Park, as Rangers out of favour Scottish international right back Alan Hutton was signed on for £1.6m. Hutton had been signed mainly because of fears about the departure of Iraola who had suggested he might quite like to move on, but that did not transpire in the end, although the player would eventually move to Manchester United in the summer. Derek Riordan, who had been released by Celtic, had been snapped up in November on a free, but his impact was minimal. The main talking point for the Kilmarnock support in that month of January had been the departure of three key players. Shaun Maloney headed to Fiorentina, Antonio Cassano was off to Milan but the biggest loss was Matias Vuoso to Chelsea. Almost thirty million pounds had been raised by these three sales, but apart from Hutton, the only other players who came in were Peter Lennartsson and Levi Porter from affiliate clubs Elfsborg and Leyton Orient.

The fans were not amused by the departure of Vuoso, who would still end as the second top scorer in the SPL come the end of the season, only two goals behind Hearts Roman Bednar but MacLeod insisted the player had wanted to leave and the club had enough strike power to cope. As Mark Brunton had done with the left back role, and as Ray Marr would do in goal after injury to Mark Brown, so youngster Derek Meechan would have to step up to the plate and prove his worth. The supporters were not convinced, but as the window closed so there were no more signings and Kilmarnock still sat top of the SPL moving in the crucial month of February.

The draw for the last sixteen had been, in many ways, kind to Kilmarnock sending them to play a side they had beaten last season – Feyenoord. Derek Meechan, determined to show the fans he could do the job, and Kevin Thomson were the heroes in Rotterdam as Kilmarnock took a two one lead back to Rugby Park, where English teenager Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to stake his claim for the first team, with a 76th minute goal to secure Kilmarnock a place in the last eight. Celtic had overcome Barcelona on an astonishing 5-2 aggregate scoreline, and the press were starting to lip their licks at the prospect of an all Scottish Final. Well, there was no harm in dreaming after all. Any such thoughts were swept away as Celtic were given the task of defeating Lyon, whilst Kilmarnock's route would be blocked by Chelsea.

******************************************

As Kilmarnock arrived at Stamford Bridge on the 31st of March 2010, they stood just one win away from securing the SPL title having gone the whole domestic season so far with just one defeat in the league and that League Cup Semi loss to Celtic. Chelsea were riding high in third place in the English Premiership, and therefore the match, according to their media, was a foregone conclusion and Killie may as well not bother turning up. Whilst Kilmarnock travelled to London for what was seen as the much harder task for the two Scots clubs, so Lyon flew into Glasgow and delivered Celtic a body blow with a well fought two nil triumph. At Stamford Bridge, Kilmarnock battled away hard against their supposedly superior opponents but on 33 minutes Joe Cole eventually breached the Killie defensive line. When Riccardo Carvalho made it two with just sixteen minutes left, it was starting to look bleak. With nine minutes left to play Chris Burke, in for the injured Steven Naismith, sent a cross into the box hat Meechan somehow managed to head on to substitute Sturridge and Killie had a vital away goal. Four minutes later though there was much consternation in the Kilmarnock camp, as Iraola was given a rather harsh second yellow card and the Scots side were down to ten men for the last five minutes. More importantly, the influential Spanish right back would of course now miss the return match.

Kevin Thomson, Derek Meechan and Julio Baptista were all on target against Dunfermline in the final match before the 'split' and that was enough to make sure Kilmarnock were crowned as Champions of Scotland. It had been, compared to recent seasons, relatively easy and MacLeod would see his side eventually finish on 99 points, and just one league defeat in the whole season – which is not something to be sniffed at. Celtic's attempts to rescue their Champions League hopes were to go up in smoke as they lost out two nil in Lyon and now all that was left for them was the Scottish Cup Final – which would be against Kilmarnock.

So Chelsea arrived at Rugby Park, arrogant and proud, **** sure that the side which had just secured the SPL title would be swept aside and they would join fellow English sides Blackburn and Liverpool in the Semi-Finals. Kilmarnock though had other ideas. Derek Meechan had not been setting the heather on fire, but he had been slowly racking up the goals and as each match passed he was starting to look better and better as getting a run in the side for the first time bolstered his confidence. Only seven minutes were on the clock when Naismith crossed into the area and Meechan flicked his header beyond Chelsea keeper Cech and Kilmarnock had the lead, and were also ahead on aggregate virtue of the away goals rule. Chelsea though were not going to let that little fact daunt them and created chances of their own but with half an hour gone, Moreno on the left this time set up Baptista and the Brazilian gave the new Scottish Champions a sniff of glory.

You would expect a Chelsea onslaught, but nine minutes into the second half, an innocuous little through ball from Lorik Cana found Baptista on the edge of a crowded area and from nothing the Brazilian sealed the match with a glorious left foot strike. Chelsea were beaten. You could see it in their eyes, in their body language. They had nothing today, and they would leave with nothing. But what they would leave with in the end stunned even those players who, on the night, knew they had been well and truly beaten. As the match reached the 90th minute, as the home fans bayed for the referee to blow for full time and secure their place in the last four, so Kilmarnock pounded forward again, Baptista unselfishly set the ball up for substitute Peter MacDonald and the nearly forgotten man of Rugby Park sent the home fans into further ecstasy. As the man with the board indicated three extra minutes, the Chelsea players clearly slumped. They just wanted this awful nightmare to end, but now the Kilmarnock fans wanted the night to go on and on. Their side were in control, playing brilliant football and they never wanted this to end. As the clock edged towards the 93rd minute, so Baptista, who had been inspirational, finally got the hat trick he deserved as the Chelsea defence stood and watched him blast home from eighteen yards and the night of absolute glory was completed.

As a manager, Duncan MacLeod would have many more nights of such glorious victory, many more trophies to add to his glowing CV, but this was one night neither he, nor the Kilmarnock support would ever forget. His players had done him proud and now they stood just 180 minutes from a Champions League Final place. Standing in the way of that date with destiny would be the conquerors of Celtic. It was a set of matches all of Scotland were relishing.

[Peacemaker7]

Between the magnificent win over Chelsea and the Semi-Finals with Lyon, Kilmarnock only had two more matches to play. A hard fought 2-1 win over Hibernian at Hampden Park secured a fourth successive Scottish Cup Final for Duncan MacLeod and his team and then an incredible match at Pittodrie saw Kilmarnock run out winners by five goals to three after what MacLeod described as one of the worst defensive showings of his time at the club. MacLeod was far from amused and told the players in no uncertain terms that if they played like that in Lyon four days later, they would be ripped to pieces. The team were shown the videos from the two matches against Celtic, and from that they were left in no doubt as to the enormity of the task ahead. They might well have beaten Chelsea, but that was now in the past and they could not afford to go into this tie with anything less than 100% concentration.

Lyon, under the managership of Alain Perrin, were on the verge of securing themselves a third consecutive La Ligue title, their ninth in the last ten years. Their recent European record though was relatively poor, this being the first time under Perrin's reign that they had progressed beyond the group stages of the Champions League. Their main threat would come from Brazilian Fred, and in defence they had a player who was no stranger to the Scottish game – former Rangers player Karl Svensson. Gordon Strachan, who would be sacked as Celtic boss at the end of the season, declared that Lyon had not been anywhere near the same class as the Barcelona team his side had ripped to shreds in the last sixteen and he could not understand why Celtic had lost to them. With the groundwork done, the threat taken seriously and the players in right frame of mind, Kilmarnock could win this tie and push themselves to verge of immortality. But it was not going to be an easy week.

In Lyon, Kilmarnock battled bravely in the first half and were more than a match for the French Champions. Neither side though could make the breakthrough as defenses held firm and the sides went in at then interval at nil all. An away goal could prove crucial, and a nil all draw these days is not always a great away result, but MacLeod was happy with the way his players were playing and all they had to do was give forty five minutes of the same and half the battle would be won. Four minutes into the second half, Fred parted the Kilmarnock central defence and looking suspiciously offside, thundered the ball home to bring the Lyon support to their feet. He had been the man the Kilmarnock managerial team had warned about and he had just shown that warning was justified.

Yet Kilmarnock were not out of it by any means. Whilst a one goal defeat would not be great, it would only be marginally worse than nil all – either way they still had to win at Rugby Park. As the celebrations in the stands at Stade de Gerland were still continuing, Moreno raced down the left, crossed the ball to Meechan on the edge of the area and although he had to turn to bring the ball under control, he hit sweet 18 yard shot beyond the outstretched arms of French keeper Remy Vercoutre and Kilmarnock had a goal that was worth Meechans weight in gold – at the very least. The Lyon lead had lasted just four minutes. Both sides made further chances to score, but the first ninety minutes came and went and as the referee brought an interesting match to an end, that Meechan goal had handed Kilmarnock a very slender advantage.

Just seven days later, Lyon travelled to Rugby Park for a match that was for both clubs, extremely huge and extremely nerve racking. The previous evening, Liverpool has murdered Blackburn Rovers 4-0, overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit, and if MacLeod's side could do him a turn, they would face and fascinating match with his former club in what would surely be an incredible final in Athens. Before the Kilmarnock support could buy their tickets for Athens though, there was a little matter of Lyon to be taken care of. The French side, as they had proven at Celtic Park, were no less dangerous away from home and only a fool would think Killie simply had to turn up to win.

Kilmarnock started brightly as their fans tried to inspire their side to glory. The clock had not reached 10 minutes when Naismith flicked a ball into the path of Meechan on the right hand side of the area and although the angle was acute, the young striker somehow got the ball beyond Gregory Coupet, and Kilmarnock were not in the driving seat. If the fans had doubted the youngsters ability to step into the breach, surely now all those doubts had been assuaged. And it was all Kilmarnock, wave after wave breaching down on the Lyon defence and the French could do little about it. A ball played over the top by Cannavaro fell at the feet of Meechan, who had stayed just onside, lifted the ball over Coupet and surely now only the end of the world could stop Duncan MacLeod proudly leading his side out in Athens to face the mighty Liverpool.

If Lyon were going to do anything in this match, if they had the guts to fight and claw their way back in, they had to do it quick but as half time came Kilmarnock were still in control and the French seemed clueless. They need a goal, and they needed it quick. Three minutes into the second half Coupet took a goalkick – straight to the feet of Kevin Thomson whose neat little pass sent Baptista clear and the keeper could do nothing to stop the highly talented Brazilian from sending a Scottish side into the Champions League Final for the second year in a row. As the Kilmarnock fans celebrated, the match was won now. There was no way back for a Lyon side who had been outplayed, out manoeuvred and eventually would be out of the tournament. Six minutes from time, Milan Baros finally broke the Kilmarnock defensive line, but for Lyon it was merely a consolation.

On the 19th of May, Duncan MacLeod would follow in the footsteps of Jock Stein and Gordon Strachan as he led his side out to play in the final of the most prestigious club tournament in football. And there to meet him, on windy May evening, would be his former club, a club he himself had helped to win two English titles, a side who themselves had been Champions of Europe no less than six times. A side who had just clinched a second successive English title. The Auld enemy would go into action, and it was a final no-one would ever forget.

[HD]

FFS, c'mon Liverpool.

[Peacemaker7]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HD:

FFS, c'mon Liverpool. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Peacemaker7]

Before marching on Athens, Kilmarnock had four league matches to get out of the way to round up a quite marvellous SPL season for them. With three places to fight for in the Champions League, 4th place Hearts had already fallen too far behind to catch the Old Firm and would have to settle for the UEFA Cup, which as Cup Finalists Celtic and Kilmarnock had already clinched places in the superior tournament, would see the bottom three of the top six enter, with the 7th placed side in the Inter toto – Europe was certainly going to be an interesting place, full of Scots next season.

Next season though was still a million miles away and Duncan MacLeod had the problem of keeping his side focused on three largely meaningless matches, when most of the players probably had more than one eye focused already on Athens. It probably helped that, after gubbing Dunfermline 3-1, Kilmarnock's final three matches were against all the sides directly below them in the league. A final home match of the season, against Celtic, saw a carnival atmosphere inside Rugby Park, Salvatore Ferraro scored the only goal of a game that was not the best of the season, but the home fans didn't give a damn as they gave their manager and their players a standing ovation and stayed singing in the ground so long after the final whistle that it seemed they would never go home. A thrilling 3-2 win at Tynecastle was followed by an excellent showing at Ibrox against Wenger's ever improving Rangers side, Derek Meechan bagging both the goals and Kilmarnock were set for their day – or rather evening – in the Greek sun.

Words are impossible to describe the atmosphere inside the Spyros Loius stadium in Athens as the teams ran out in front of 66,105 fans – with millions more watching on TV - for the one of biggest nights of their lives. MacLeod was happy, because with no suspensions – which would have been rather cruel – and no major injury worries he could field his strongest side, and then it would be up to those players to prove to their manager, their fans and most importantly themselves, that this was a match they could win. It would be the third time these sides had met since MacLeod took over, with one win apiece. But those other fixtures had been relatively meaningless friendlies – this was the real thing and the stakes were impossible to compare.

Liverpool are a side oozing with talent. Despite a weekend defeat in their final domestic match of the season, going down 2-0 to West Ham, they had nevertheless secured the English Premiership title for the second successive season. Last season, they had reached the Quarter Finals of the Champions League, and seemed destined to defend the trophy they had won by a goal to nil against Valencia in Rome in 2008, but somehow inexplicably lost out to Middlesbrough on aggregate – Valencia eventually going on to beat Celtic in the Final. This season they had come through an initial group containing Koln, Heerenveen and Steaua Bucharest with relative ease, although Heerenveen did hold them to two draws. Sporting of Lisbon were overcome in the round of the last sixteen and for the second year in a row, Liverpool had English opposition in the last eight, this time in the shape of Newcastle. A 1-0 loss at St James' Park had alarm bells ringing but Dirk Kuyt provided the two goals at Anfield to overcome that deficit and secure a Semi Final place against Blackburn Rovers. Once again, Liverpool lost an away first leg by a goal to nil against fellow Premiership opposition, but in the return they were sublime and crushed Blackburn by four goals to nil and had taken what they believed was their rightful place in Europe's premiere footballing event for clubs.

On the night of Wednesday the 19th of May 2010, Liverpool would deploy their troops in a traditional 4-4-2 formation; a side which needed little introduction but as each players name was called out, so the Liverpool fans tried to bring the roof down.

The Defence

Goalkeeper: Ilker Casillas (28) Spain (88 caps) One of the best keepers in the world, Casillas had just joined Liverpool at the start of this season after spending the previous twelve years of his career with Real Madrid. Tomorrow (20th May) would be Casillas 29th birthday, and he hoped to thwart the man who, as young boy, he had cheered as a hero from the stands of the Bernabeu – Duncan MacLeod.

Right Back: Jamie Carragher (32) England (33 caps) Carragher has spent his whole career on Merseyside with Liverpool and was a well respected and well loved player, with a host of medals to show for his efforts and was as determined as anyone else to add another Champions League gong to his collection.

Left Back: Christian Chivu (30) Romania (78 caps) A highly talented player, who arrived at Liverpool two seasons ago from Internazionale for a whopping £18M.

Central Defence: Daniel Agger (25) Denmark (37 caps) Strong reliable defender, not always consistant in his performances, has been at Liverpool for five years and must be doing something right to remain in the team so regularly.

Central Defence: Andrea Barzagli (29) Italy (56 caps) Has been at Anfield now for four years since a £5m move from Palermo. Barzagli is a solid, no nonsense defender, who if he lacks finesse makes up for in physique. A hard player for any striker to deal with.

The Midfield

Wide Right: Dirk Kuyt (29) Holland (60 caps) Primarily a striker, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has chosen to use Kuyt's undoubted flair and creativity on the wing, to pose a severe test for young Kilmarnock left back Mark Brunton.

Wide Left: David Jiminez Silva (24) Spain (7 caps) One of the youngest, and least experienced players in the Liverpool side, but has devastating pace and is an excellent crosser of the ball. If he has a weakness, its that he tends to drift out of games, but on a night like this he cannot afford that luxury. Was part of the Valencia side that beat Celtic last season, and will be out for a rare Scots double.

Central Mid: Steven Gerrard (29) England(89 Caps) An iconic player for both club and country, Kilmarnock will need to work hard to close Gerrard out of the game and if they can will have undoubtedly won half the battle.

Central Mid: Xabi Alonso (28) Spain (58 caps) The almost perfect partner for Gerrard in helping control the centre. Alonso is a suberb player who will sit in and make it very difficult for the opposition to get a foot hold in the midfield area, whilst Gerrard sets up the play.

The Strikerforce

Right Forward: Ryan Babel(25) Holland (26 Caps) Kuyt's international team mate has been one of the weaker links in the Liverpool side. Has tremendous pace, but is not the best of finishers in the game. Should be easily dealt with by the Kilmarnock defence and that will seriously dent the Liverpool chances to score. Then again, they do have plenty of other options.

Left Forward:Fernando Torres (26) Spain (69 caps) A player who needs little introduction, Torres can be deadly as shown by his impressive tally of 41 goals for Spain. There is very little to pick holes in with Torres game, but he is the main goal threat with Kuyt pushed wide and if he can be kept under control, Liverpool may just struggle. But that is no mean feat.

Subs: Pepe Reina (GK); John Arne Riise; Javier Mascherano; Peter Crouch; Sergio Ramos; Jermaine Pennant; Raul Garcia.

A strong, experienced defensive quartet, with a keeper of world class repute behind them. It will not be easy for Kilmarnock to break this lot down, but as Newcastle and Blackburn have shown, they are not invincible. The midfield just oozes class, composure, talent, strength. An abundance of quality that shines through, and although Silva may be the weakest link on the left, you can expect most of the Liverpool play to come down the right, but Silva will play his part and will have to be watched very carefully. Up front, Torres is deadly and can pounce from anywhere. The biggest weakness in this Liverpool side though is Babel, who simply doesn't seem to be in the same class as the other players. Nevertheless, all round this is an extremely experience, accomplished and highly talented side and it will need a monumental Kilmarnock performance to get anything at from this match. And if things do start to go wrong, the bench is always there with exceptional talent who can turn any match around.

[Peacemaker7]

Kilmarnock arrived in Athens as clear underdogs. It couldn't be any other way. Liverpool were a side who, on their day, could beat anyone and most people in the English media did not expect Kilmarnock to stand in their way. When I say most, I mean all of course. And even although every single person in Scotland wanted Kilmarnock to win, very few really believed, deep down, that they could go where Celtic had failed. In Scottish football the heart often rules the head, and the heart is more often than not broken. But not always. Not always.

And Scottish football was on the rise. It was true the World Cup qualifying campaign had been a bit of a disaster, yet currently the side was not doing too badly in the Euro 2012 campaign. Scottish clubs sides had suddenly roared back onto the scene and people could no longer sit back and laugh at our league. We had beaten most of them. And wait a minute here, you only had to look at the Kilmarnock results in Europe under MacLeod and you would realise something – Liverpool had no damn right to be arrogant. This was NOT David v Goliath, and anyone who didn't think Kilmarnock had a chance going into this match were either utterly stupid, unpleasantly biased or clinically insane.

Standing at the verges of greatness, nay of immortality itself, the Kilmarnock side that would do or die for the chance to be legends would also take to the field in the classic 4-4-2 formation of battle. And the men who would be heroes, were perhaps not all household names throughout Europe as Liverpool were – but they could be. And as each name is called out over the loud speakers, look into their eyes, into their souls and see, is greatness written there. Or failure.

The Defence

Goalkeeper:Ray Marr (19) Scotland (Capped at U-21 level) A product of the Kilmarnock youth system, Ray Marr did not expect to be running out for the full side on a night like this for quite a few years yet - if indeed ever. Yet as keepers like Riesgo failed to impress, and regular starter Mark Brown was put out of the side by injury, so Marr was thrown into the lions den. And stayed there. This will be only his 33rd first team appearance for Kilmarnock, but already he is looking a decent young keeper who may one day play for the full Scotland side. This will be a huge test, but don't be fooled – this guy is ready for it.

Right Back: Andoni Iraola (27) Spain (4 caps) The former Athletic Bilbao man is a great player. He is fast, strong, great technique and full of talent. The fact he only has four caps for his country is an utter disgrace and one can only think they either have someone better – who must be incredible – or their manager is blind. And that man is actually sitting on the Liverpool bench – Sergio Ramos. The man who is allegedly better that is, not the blind man.

Left Back:Mark Brunton (18) Scotland (2 caps) Brunton, like Marr, could not possibly have believed that he would be running out on the field of the Champions League Final at this stage in his career. When Pietro Accardi left for Palermo, Duncan MacLeod took a chance on a young man who was, and is, far from the finished article – and it paid dividends. This will be the teenagers 54th appearance of the season, and he hasn't let anyone down. Brunton has pace in abundance, if his delivery of the final ball is not always perfect, if he does not always pick up his man in defence, these are but mere blips and the real travesty of the season was that he failed to win the PFA Young Player of the Year. Tonight he has a chance to ram that down their big fat ugly faces.

Central Defence:Paolo Cannavaro (28) Italy (capped at U-21 level) Quite possibly the most astute signing Duncan MacLeod made in his whole career. Cannavaro is not the greatest defender in the world, or even his country. In fact he might not even have been the best defender in Scotland during his time there. But his partnership with fellow countryman Salvatore Ferraro was an immense one, and they have formed an almost telepathic understanding that has gone a long way in securing the success this Kilmarnock have had this season.

Central Defence: Salvatore Ferraro (26) Italy (uncapped) Few people in Scotland had heard of Salvatore Ferraro when Duncan MacLeod brought him to Kilmarnock for the princely sum of £180,000. To say he has never put a foot wrong would be a downright lie, but Ferraro has been a player of great determination in the blue and white stripes, and what he lacks in skill he more than makes up for in effort. His, and Cannavaro's contribution to the Killie cause would be seen when the Champions League dream was named with them both in it, albeit Ferraro was named on the bench, kept out by Lens Frederic Gomes.

The Midfield

Right Wing: Steven Naismith (23) Scotland (23 caps) When Naismith was sold to Rangers on virtually the first day of Duncan MacLeod's tenure at Rugby Park, few expected to see him in a Kilmarnock top again, and certainly not quite so soon. Yet his return to Rugby Park was by no means a sign of failure – but rather a sign of success. At Rangers, Naismith had been a great player, twice winning the clubs player of the year as well as a PFA Young Player of the Year in 2007. His goalscoring rate has not been as prolific at Rugby Park as it was at Ibrox as MacLeod prefers to play him wide right, but there is not doubt this is an extremely talented player and someone Liverpool will definitely have to keep an eye on.

Left Wing: David Moreno (19) Spain (capped at U-21 level) Another youngster, Moreno was given his chance in the side after the January departures of Antonio Cassano and Shaun Maloney. Signed from Real Madrid, Moreno is an exciting young prospect and will no doubt go on to play for his country, and a bigger club than Kilmarnock. He is not the fastest of wingers perhaps, but at times this season he has been outstandingly brilliant for someone so young, and it's this youthly enthusiasm that Liverpool will have to be wary of.

Central Mid: Lorik Cana (27) Albania (37 caps) Cana had been enjoying a successful career in France with first PSG and then Marseille before arriving at Rugby Park this season. He is arguably the most talented player his country has ever produced and whilst some may say that would not be hard, they have clearly never seen Cana play. A defensive player, he has not found the net since his arrival in the summer, but that is not his task. What he does, and does well, is win the ball, hold it up and play the telling pass. Cana allows other players to play.

Central Mid: Kevin Thomson (26) Scotland (8 caps) The former Hibs and Rangers player has been handed a far more creatively attacking role by MacLeod, and with a midfield partner like Cana, Thomson has positively revelled in this role. He won't score a lot of goals, it's not his style, but his freedom to roam sees him set up the strikers and his play and service to the front men has been nothing short of magical at times.

The Strikers

Right Forward: Derek Meechan (20) Scotland (Capped at U-21 level) In many ways, it is very hard for a young striker to break into the team. A striker can play brilliant football every week, but if he never puts the ball in the net, whats the point in being a striker? Meechan had made 58 appearances for the Kilmarnock first team in two seasons – thirty two of those coming on from the bench. That fact may well put his 34 goals in some perspective. There were many amongst the Rugby Park support who believed that Meechan simply wasn't good enough, that he was only in the team when he was – which was not very often from the start – partly because of the silly U-21 rule and partly because of his links to the MacLeod family. Derek had a lot to prove, and slowly but surely he is silencing his critics. He is a striker who has an abundance of pace, and although he may not be what you would call a poacher, he had the remarkable ability to produce goals from impossible situations. He can also hit a mean freekick.

Left Forward: Julio Baptista (28) Brazil (25 caps) Whilst the Liverpool side is undoubtedly sprinkled with world class players, Kilmarnock it could be argued have only one such player. Julio Baptista. It is true that the Brazilian perhaps did not have the best of times in Florence, and many people audibly gasped when MacLeod spent £20M on him, but he has more than paid that back. And considering the success Scots teams have had in recent seasons in Europe, you can hardly say that's just because of the league he plays in. But if you do, just consider this – Baptista is the Champions League's top scorer.

Substitutes: Mark Brown (GK); Alex Pearce; Charlie Grant; Marius Risse; Daniel Sturridge; Peter MacDonald; Chris Burke

There is little doubt, when it comes down to a straight comparison, the Liverpool defence carries much more experience. Yet the quartet sitting in front of Marr have something a bit more than experience – they have self belief. If you don't know that, ask AC Milan. They do. The midfield also lacks experience, many will say it lacks the skill to compete with the best. Yet over and over again they have proven that this simply isn't true. There is a guile and grit there that many teams underestimate, and come away with bruised egos and broken hearts. Up front, Baptista and Meechan have formed a partnership that has become deadly, supplied by a vivacious midfield and they will definitely pose a threat, even to such an intimidating Liverpool back line.

So the gloves are off, the talking is over and it's time for Kilmarnock to stand tall, to go and do Scotland proud. We are all rooting for you, bring us the success, the glory we crave........ and you will be heroes.

[Peacemaker7]

The atmosphere inside the ground was incredible – it seemed like the whole town of Kilmarnock were here, which got the chairman to wondering where these bastards had been every other Saturday before the side had become this good. Not that it was actually any of his business of course. The anthems of both nations were played, the dire dirge about saving a Queen from whatever it was she needed saved from, and Flower of Scotland belted out and it was only after this that someone pointed out they don't play national anthems at the finals of club competitions. But it was too late now.

The referee, Switzerland's Massimo Busacca called the captains to the centre and tossed the coin. Kilmarnock won the toss and elected to play into the fairly the strong wind, and Liverpool got the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final underway, and from here there was now no going back, no place to hide. It was stand up and be counted, do or die, what ever over used and worn out cliché you could think of. Both sides seemed cagey, there was no early goal and on five minutes Steven Gerrard had the first shot that could even remotely be called an effort on goal but it was high and wide and was never troubling Marr.

Marr sent the goalkick up field, Baptista won it on the edge of the Liverpool area was adjudged to be fouled by Carragher as he attempted to play the ball right to Meechan, and Busacca awarded Kilmarnock a free kick, right on the 'D', almost directly in front of goal. Derek Meechan paused over the ball, then curled a superb effort over and round the wall, beyond the left hand of Casillas and as the fans in blue went wild in the stands, Kilmarnock had taken a sensational six minute lead – and Derek Meechan had finally won over any fan who had thought him unworthy.

Meechan had another chance a minute later, but this time Casillas saved his effort and already you could tell Kilmarnock were up for this match big time. Indeed, it was fifteen minutes into the game before Liverpool made another serious attempt on the Killie goal, but Agger's effort was even worse than Gerrard's and the wind certainly seemed to be playing it's part in this match. A few minutes later, Ferraro caused panic in the Killie defence as he muffed his clearance, but Cana was on hand to make amends and the Italian got away with it.

Chances were few and far between, the match fizzling out in the high winds. Half time was approaching as Moreno robbed Carragher on the Kilmarnock left, over 46 minutes on the clock, knocked the ball back to Brunton who lofted it forward to waste the last few seconds of a first half that had been largely dissapointing. Baptista picked up the pass, going nowhere, then unleashed a ferocious shot that took Casillas totally by surprise and Kilmarnock would go in at the interval with a two goal lead and unless Liverpool could get out of neutral, this match was over. Indeed, just two minutes into the second period, it looked as if the Liverpool players had suddenly realised they were in a game. Brunton needlessly gave the ball away, Kuyt slipped the pass to Torres and the Spaniards effort sailed harmlessly well over the bar. But it was a warning nevertheless.

Yet still Liverpool were having problems, although Xabi Alonso did force Marr into a save from a fine free kick. On 53 minutes, it was Gerrard's turn to be careless, having nowhere to go playing the ball back to Barzagli. Derek Meechan had seen it coming, nipped in ahead of the Italian. Meechan had acres of space as he sprinted clear of the Liverpool defence, Casillas rushing out to close him down the young striker lobbed the ball over the Spanish international, thudded softly into the back of the net and with the stadium clock showing 52 minutes and thirty four seconds, Duncan MacLeod's future son in law had won him the UEFA Champions League of 2010.

Kilmarnock though were given a scare when Iraola had to go off injured a couple of minutes later and Charlie Grant had to fit into the right back position. Liverpool scored three minutes later through Steven Gerrard as they tried to make a game of it at last, but that was all they were going to get out of this match, despite a grandstand finish, and an arrogant substitution by MacLeod as he withdrew Baptista and sent on Peter MacDonald for the final few minutes. Liverpool by now were a spent, beaten force and although the match had not really lived up to expectations – they rarely do – Kilmarnock survived, more than survived if truth be told, the last four added on minutes, the referee brought the match to an end and Scotland had a new band of heroes to worship.

It had been, when all is said and done, a supreme effort form the Kilmarnock side. Each and everyone a hero, and they returned to Scotland to be greeted by thousands lining the streets of Kilmarnock. They were given a fanfare the Old Firm can never enjoy because of their petty minded and immature fan base – and they still had another match to play out, to end a season that no-one in Kilmarnock would ever forget.

Hampden Park was the setting, and in many ways it was fitting that the opponents were a Celtic side who last season had also been Champions League finalist and who over a million years previous had echoed Kilmarnock's achievement. Celtic though had not come to Hampden to make up the numbers, they had come to spoil the party. No side had ever won the Scottish Cup four years in a row – Duncan MacLeod was about to add another notch in his legendary career. Celtic tried, Kilmarnock were tired, but it was the boys in blue who triumphed. An early Baptista goal was cancelled out by Tomas Peckhart but as the second half wore on, when you would expect the midweek exertions to catch up on Kilmarnock, it was they who got stronger and stronger, late goals from Cannavaro and Derek Meechan etched Killie into the record books once more and a glorious season drew to a glorious end.

It had been a supreme season, a season of legend and Duncan MacLeod felt it was as far as he could take a side that was surely still well short of it's peak. Perhaps MacLeod should have stayed, defended the trophy, but like the host of players streaming into his office he had had enough of Scotland and wanted to move to a bigger, more testing stage. Last season, the rumours had abounded about Rangers, but MacLeod had stayed. The Kilmarnock fans felt sure the rumours this season – both Barcelona and Arsenal were the hot tips to be MacLeod's new club – would prove no more than that and their saviour would stay and lead them to more glory. But this time, they were wrong.

Eight days after guiding Kilmarnock to an unprecedented Fourth Scottish FA Cup, eleven days after that glorious night in Athens, Duncan MacLeod handed in his resignation to Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnson. MacLeod had had an offer he felt was simply too good to turn down, the chance he felt to make an even bigger name for himself in the world of football. He had enjoyed his time at Kilmarnock – he had loved this club since he first came here as a ten year old boy, had learned to play the game he loved here, and earned his managerial stripes here. But it was time to go, and although when he retired, he would come back to live near the town, he would never again be involved in with the club he loved the most.

[HD]

oh, **** off.

[Peacemaker7]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HD:

oh, **** off. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry

I do appreciate you reading though, know it can't have been easy and you are my only reader it seems

Still, the Killie days are over you can relax

(Unless you hate the next team )

[HD]

I'm sure others are reading, but presumably your sad face will draw a few out of the woodwork!

[HD]

I'm sure others are reading, but presumably your sad face will draw a few out of the woodwork!

[Terk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HD:

your sad face will draw a few out of the woodwork! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not a chance!

[BobBev]

I'm not reading this either, and even if I was I wouldn't let on - can't stand all this fishing for compliments nonsense.

[Peacemaker7]

My ego demands it!

[Peacemaker7]

If last summer had been hectic in the MacLeod household, the the summer of 2010 was in many ways utter chaos. Duncan MacLeod – and his lovely wife Alyson – were deciding on a move to Barcelona or London, Isabella would turn eighteen in July, had announced she was pregnant at the end of May and declared that she and Derek would be getting married on her birthday. She also said there was no chance of them moving with her parents – but in the end, on that point at least, she would be utterly wrong. The Barcelona link though was causing the most consternation as the euphoria of the end of the season died down and the MacLeod's starting looking to the future.

'Dad, you really cannot go to Barcelona' Isabella had protested when Duncan broke the news to his family that he had had an offer to manage the club. 'It simply wouldn't be right'

Duncan had reminded her a job was a job, but deep down he knew that he really agreed with her. Sure, other people had made the jump from one of Spain's great rivals to the other, but Duncan wasn't sure he could and in the end he was saved from doing so as another offer came in just at the point he was thinking he might need to stay at Kilmarnock. Staying at Kilmarnock would not be an utter disaster, but Duncan had come to the point where he knew he needed to move on. He was fed up with signing quality players, only to find bigger clubs come in and poach them at the end of the season, or even earlier. And he had still not forgiven the Chairman for the deal with D'Agostino, which he felt had undermined his very position as manager at the time.

With the family in uproar, Duncan and Alyson left them to their worries and made the trip south for an interview with his new prospective boss, to suss out the club and to find out about living arrangements. All went well, they were both happy and impressed by all they had seen. With Bethany and her husband and now nearly year old son, also named Duncan, staying near to Alyson's mum – who anyway seemed to be recovering some of her vigour – there was no desperate family worries there, and they would only be 'down the road' in England. The biggest worry was Isabella, who although eighteen, seemed to have little idea of what she wanted to do with her life apart from marry Derek. The MacLeod's were not too sure about leaving their youngest daughter behind, but in the end it became a moot point anyway.

The contract signed, the deal done and the Kilmarnock support still in two stages of shock, three weeks after guiding his home town club to the pinnacle of European football, Duncan MacLeod was proudly unveiled at a press conference in London as the new manager of English Premiership giants - a side who rather ironically had just lost in the English FA Cup Final - Arsenal. Having finished their first post-Wenger season in a dissapointing 7th place – and thereby only entering the Inter Toto Cup – Arsenal had quickly dispensed with the services of German Thomas Schaaf, and turned a bit nearer to home to revive their flagging fortunes. And to complete the circle – well triangle really – a couple of weeks later Kilmarnock announced their new boss – former Rangers manager Ally McCoist.

Arsenal were a club in need of a good spring clean, and almost the first thing MacLeod did was clear out most of what he considered to be a rather poor bunch of youth and reserve players. And it wasn't just the unknowns who felt the MacLeod bite, as some big names were shown the door as well, the biggest of which saw Robin van Person head to Inter for £30M and Emmanuel Adebayor to city rivals Tottenham for £20M. The new broom was sweeping clean, in order to make room for the new influx of MacLeod approved players and the Arsenal support held their breath to see if the man who had once denied them a league title by scoring a final day hattrick against them, could restore them to days of glory. It was a big ask, but if Duncan MacLeod couldn't do, then no-one could. Probably.

[HD]

Oh, come on. Arsenal amongst my least liked teams as well

[Peacemaker7]

I've never managed Arsenal before in any version of the game. Wasn't 100% sure but it seemed that Barcelona would not be the kind of job to take and Arsenal grew on me. You can't really hate Arsenal - they aren't good enough

[WLKRAS]

Arsenal?

* spits on the floor in disgust *

[HD]

To be honest, much of my distaste for them dissipated with the departures of Pires, Ljungberg, Vieira and Henry. If Lehmann goes I'll be neutral!

[Terk]

I despise Arsenal as well, purely because of Michael Thomas in 1989.

[Peacemaker7]

Lehmann was one of the first players out the door.

I've never really been a great Arsenal fan myself. In fact, apart from actually Arsenal fans, I don't really know that anyone has a 'soft spot' for them. Weird.

My prefered choices would have been, at this stage, of the choice available round about the time he decided to move, were Fiorentina and Napoli but they came just too early and by the time the season was over the jobs had gone. I wasn't missing a CL final!

[Peacemaker7]

The playing staff were not the only ones affected by the MacLeod brush as the likes of Liam Brady, Pat Rice, Steve Bould et al were shown the Emirates Stadium door. And is was, unsurprisingly, to Kilmarnock that MacLeod turned first for his new troops and officers, with the rather remarkable upshot that Brady and fellow former Arsenal coach Colin Lewin would end up at Rugby Park. Small world indeed.

It was probably inevitable that assistant Julen Guerrero would follow MacLeod south as the two had built up a great relationship with each other, and indeed the Spaniards contribution to the Kilmarnock success could not be underestimated. Alan Robertson, Stuart McLean and Luc Nilis also joined the Arsenal coaching staff, along with Killie physio Alex MacQueen as MacLeod brought in men he knew and trusted. Money was no object – within reason – despite Arsenal's huge debt, but that was well under control and did not bear consideration. The biggest problem facing MacLeod in the first few weeks of signing talks was the impending participation in the Inter Toto cup, for which many of his new signings would not be eligible.

It was probably little surprise to most observers that one of the first signings Duncan MacLeod would make at Arsenal was that of Kilmarnock striker Derek Meechan. Yet the performances of the youngster in the final six months of last season had more than justified his move, and it would be interesting to see how he would cope in a much tougher league. Ray Marr and Mark Brunton – the cream of the Rugby Park youth in MacLeod's time there – were also lured south and fellow Kilmarnock players, Kevin Thomson and Lorik Cana also arrived on the July 1st transfer date. Alex Pearce, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Naismith would also eventually find their way to London to play for Arsenal by the time the window shut at the end of August.

Other signings MacLeod made in his first summer in London included, Xabi Prieto, Cristian Zaccardo, Didier Digard, Kasper Schmeichel, Anton Ferdinand and Stewart Downing, but eclipsing them all on the sixth of July, MacLeod unveiled to assembled press Barcelona's Lionel Messi – for a fee reported to be over £45M. Messi's arrival came at the time when Arsenal fans were whining about the departures of some players they had claimed were the core of the club, but they were soon smiling after the capture of the enigmatic young Argentine, who was sure to set the Premiership alight with his sublime talents.

There was little time for friendlies, and as the negotiations went on to bring in new players, so those players that were at the club had to prepare for an Inter Toto meeting Beitar Jerusalem in late July, with many of the new signings not having been signed in time to beat the registration deadline. Nevertheless, Arsenal had more than enough to see of the Israeli's in the first leg at home, thanks to braces from Meechan and talented young Mexican striker Carlos Vela – who had spent a season on loan at Celtic – Vela also scored the only goal of the second leg and Arsenal were safely into the UEFA Cup where they would face up to Omonoia Nicosia of Cyprus. A final warm up match in Sienna saw Derek Meechan grab the only goal of a tight game that saw Lionel Messi amongst others make a relatively unimpressive debut.

Omonoia were easily beaten in Cyprus, Meechan, Vela and Hleb on target but the result was slightly blemished by the dismissal of Alex Pearce. In the return, Omonoia would end the match with just nine men, Arsenal were awarded two penalties and Lionel Messi bagged his first goal for the club in an easy 6-0 win and Duncan MacLeod's season was truly off and running with a first Premiership match away to Bolton sandwiched in between those legs, a hard fought, far from impressive 2-1 win from MacLeod's men – Meechan again on target. The Arsenal fans were starting to feel a little bit more relaxed, and MacLeod felt his side was starting to settle in. There was though, a helluva long way to go in a season that had barely begun.

[Peacemaker7]

The draw for the UEFA Cup 1st round pitted Arsenal against Norwegian side, Odd Grenland. A far from tough ask to reach the group stages. Arsenal though were a team who were set to confuse the utter crap out of any one who observed them on a regular basis. There was no doubt that this was a side now teeming with talent, but displaying that talent week in week out was to prove a little bit too much of an ask

MacLeod's second match as a manager in the English Premiership was also to be away from home, at a Manchester City side who last season had battled hard to avoid relegation. After the win at Bolton, this was expected to be another three points and when Didier Digard gave Arsenal the lead on just four minutes that was exactly the way things seemed to be going. City though fought back, as the Arsenal players surrendered and goals from Bojinov and Farfan saw the Manchester side to a narrow, but well deserved win. It MacLeod did not understand the enormity of his task before, it was clear he did now.

Yet the enigma that was to be Arsenal this season was shown in the very next match, the first league match at home for Duncan MacLeod. As the side struggled to break down Everton, so four minutes from half time Derek Meechan sent Arsenal ahead, two minutes later he made it two and in first half top stoppage time Steven Naismith added a third. A quite incredible five minutes of football for Arsenal. After the break Naismith and Steven Thomson were on target as Arsenal drove home the emphatic win, and the home support went home convinced their side were destined to be Champions.

Another first half struggle ensued at home to Fulham, before second half strikes from Naismith and Carlos Vela secured a third league win out of four and MacLeod was slowly winning over any fans who still remained doubtful about his appointment. Odd Grenland posed little threat as Arsenal raced to an easy 3-1 win in Norway but at Blackburn the home side fought to a 2-1 win that was hardly the most exciting match to watch. Lionel Messi seemed to be finally starting to settle as he banged in a brace in a 2-0 home win over Norwich, before another 3-1 win over the Norwegians saw Arsenal into the UEFA Cup group stage.

The draw was fairly mixed, Lille, Lillestrom, Dortmund and Alaves would be Arsenal's opponents and most observers stated that qualification should be straightforward for the English side. A Lorik Cana goal was enough for Arsenal to take all three points in Middlesbrough and Watford were all too easily beaten three nil at the Emirates and Arsenal were posing a real threat that the top of the EPL. But that was all about to change, as the wheels came off the MacLeod band wagon in a spectacular way.

[Peacemaker7]

The UEFA Cup groups for Arsenal started with an away match in Norway against Lillestrom. This should, to all intents and purposes, have been an easy win for the London side but on the night the Norwegians proved stubborn opponents and held out for a respectable nil all draw. A two each draw away to Charlton followed, before two very late Lionel Messi strikes overhauled an early Norwich goal in the Carling League Cup 3rd round and that set up a huge match with Tottenham at the Emirates.

One thing that Duncan MacLeod had never experienced with Kilmarnock as a manager, was a local derby. Which was hardly surprising given there were no other professional football teams in Ayrshire. The would be the first London derby of his time at Arsenal and the fans demanded that the side not lose. Which they didn't. After a frustrating first half, Derek Meechan fired Arsenal ahead two minutes into the second, and twelve minutes later Messi bagged what would be the winner, despite a late Tottenham rally. It was all going rather well for MacLeod, Arsenal sat second in the table and things were looking good for an assault on the title. A visit to Wigan soon changed all that as MacLeod's side seemed bereft of ideas and rather tamely went down by 2-0. The manager admitted later it could have been a whole lot more, and such a performance simply was not acceptable.

A trip to Birmingham in the Carling Cup saw Aston Villa defeated two nil to set up a fascinating Quarter Final encounter with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Before that though, fellow title challengers and reigning Champions Liverpool arrived at the Emirates Stadium. MacLeod's former club were no doubt still hurting from that Champions League Final defeat and wanted revenge on the man who plotted it. As Arsenal huffed and puffed, so they got it thanks to Raul Garcia goal after just five minutes. It was a huge blow to the Arsenal title push, but worse was to follow as the side now headed to Old Trafford and although they didn't play overly well, a third successive league defeat was inevitable, as the side from the south went down 2-1.

Having lost three consecutive League matches in a row, and only being saved from worse humiliation by virtue of the Carling Cup win over Villa, Arsenal had plummeted to 7th place in the League and MacLeod was not a happy man. Two consecutive UEFA Cup group matches though took the players, fans and managements minds away from the seeming faltering title challenge. Alaves came to the Emirates and bore the brunt of an Arsenal side still reeling from the tirade of their manager. Naismith with a brace, Meechan and Ferdinand were all on target and Meechan missed a late penalty as well, but Alaves were nevertheless well beaten by four goals to one. A trip to Lille could have been tough, but Derek Meechan provided both goals in a 2-1 win, Lille's goal coming courtesy of Didier Digard who clearly forgot for whom he was playing.

December was a huge month for Arsenal, as they would face twelves matches, including the win in Lille. The visit of Newcastle was highly important, as a fourth successive league defeat might well end any interest the side had in the title race, but on 55 minutes Carlos Vela grabbed the only goal of a nervy encounter and the wheels were back on the bandwagon. Derek Meechan added two more goals to impressive tally in an easy win at Bristol City and the German giants Dortmund came to Emirates to round of the UEFA Cup group stages. Alex Pearce, who had quietly edged his way into the central defense in recent games, popped up at a corner on nine minutes to head his first ever Arsenal goal and four minutes later Kruska put the ball in his own net and Dortmund were in trouble. Just how much trouble they were in was not really fully underlined when Carlos Vela made it three nil seven minutes from halftime, and late strike by Luis Gabriel Rey gave the Germans a bit of hope for a match they simply had to win.

I was though to turn out to be false hope. When Derek Meechan had arrived at Arsenal, few observers really believed he was yet ready to take on a role in one of the worlds strongest leagues. Even his manager, and future father in law, had taken a fair while to be convinced about the young lads talents at Kilmarnock. Yet in that last six months in Scotland, he had shown a small spark of what might be to come, and in the Champions League Final he had finally shown he was a player with great potential. On a wet and windy evening in December, as Christmas approached once more, Derek Meechan finally came of age as a striker and showed that he might even be able to come close to matching his legendary managers achievements as he rattled in five second half goals against Dortmund and Hleb contributed as well in stunning nine one win over the Germans.

The result had been astounding, Dortmund were sent packing in total humiliation from the UEFA Cup and Arsenal would now face Italian side Catania in the round of the last thirty two. That though was a long way off and it was important to keep the League campaign going, which they did with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to West Brom. At Stamford Bridge, a remarkable League Cup Quarter Final ensued that would have people talking for months – well days anyway – to come. Alex Pearce, having realised he now enjoyed scoring, headed his side into the lead after just eight minutes but seven minutes later Luuk Otto pulled Chelsea level. Eight minutes from the interval Lampard put Chelsea into the lead and the second half was a frustrating time for Arsenal as Chelsea looked there for the beating, but still held their lead. Chelsea were heading to the Semis when Messi played the ball forward to Vela and from almost the edge of the park, some thirty five yards or so from goal, the little Mexican chipped the ball breathtakingly over the keeper and we had extra time.

It was a goal as good as any that had ever been scored before, but nine minutes into the extra period it all counted for nothing as Otto sent Chelsea back in front. As the Chelsea fans celebrated, the matched moved passed the 118th minute and seemed lost as Arsenal won a free kick on the left hand side of the area, just a couple of yards outside. Up stepped Derek Meechan, and as he had done in Athens, so he did at Stamford Bridge as he curled the ball home and the match went to a penalty shoot out. In the end though, two spectacular goals for Arsenal would prove not to be enough. Every player had scored their spot kicks as Xabi Prieto stepped up needing to score to send the shoot out to sudden death. His effort though went sailing over the bar and despite two of the best goals any of the watching crowd would ever see in their lives, Arsenal went out of the Carling League Cup.

A 2-0 loss at West Ham followed in the League before 2010 was brought to close with a fine 3-0 home win over Bolton. Arsenal, along with at least six other sides including Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, were still in the mix of the title race, but they would need to start showing a lot more commitment to the cause if they were to keep their hopes alive. January 2011 arrived, and with it of course the inevitable transfer speculation and activities, which would almost certainly involve Arsenal. MacLeod felt he needed someone to partner Meechan and help take some pressure of the young lad. Naismith, Messi and Vela had all been used up front, but none of them had impressed to a great degree and Messi was much more needed on the left wing. Duncan was also on the look out for a right winger, having been totally frustrated with Hleb and Prieto, and when Fabregas handed in a transfer request and was sold to Milan for £30M, that was one more position MacLeod needed to fill. It was going to be a hectic January, but that was just the way the manager liked it.

[Peacemaker7]

Fabregas was not the only player on his way out of the Emirates Stadium in January of 2011, although he was the biggest name to do so, and brought in the most money. Valon Behrami, Kolo Toure and Filippo Gallon were all never going to get a look in as far as MacLeod was concerned and another £22m was added to the Arsenal coffers from the sales of these three fringe players. That money though would not be staying in the Londoners bank account for very long and MacLeod moved to plug the gaps he felt exisited in his fledgling side.

Fellow Scot Shaun Maloney, who had been inspirational at Kilmarnock, was brought in from Fiorentina for a feee of £10M. Maloney had had a decent time in Italy to begin with but had recently seemed to go off the boil and return to the UK especially under a manager he knew well, could only do him good, and he would surely fill the gap on the right. Still looking for the ideal strike partner for Meechan, MacLeod turned to Bulgarian international, and former Hearts striker, Branamir Kostadinov who had enjoyed two excellent seasons in Spain with Deportivo and appeared to be a player who would contribute well to the Arsenal cause. Another player who had excelled under MacLeod at Kilmarnock was tempted to join his former manager in London, as left back Pietro Accardi joined up from Palermo. Accardi though would have to bide his time, as young Mark Brunton was holding down the left back role. Duncan though realised that the youngster would need support and cover was vital.

Although Kevin Thomson had filled in with decent showings besides Cana in the midfield, he was no Fabregas, and MacLeod felt he needed a higher quality player than the Scot to dominate that vital area of the side. The managers target has been Bayern Munich's highly talented nineteen year old Marc Hopp, but the Germans were reluctant to sell and MacLeod turned instead to Brescia's Argentine midfielder Damien Tissone. By the end of January though, MacLeod finally struck a deal, and Hopp arrived at the Emirates in a deal with over £28M. The young German though was well capable of proving he was more than worth his fee.

With squad starting to look quite capable of challenging for honours, 2011 started with back to back 3-0 wins over Manchester City in the League, and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, Derek Meechan bagging five of the six goals, and the young striker was starting to become a bit of a favourite with the Arsenal support. The absence of Fabregas, before the arrival of Hopp, certainly seemed to show as Arsenal struggled to a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, before stuttering to a 2-1 win at Fulham. The arrival of Chelsea at a time when the side seemed to be lacking some drive was a bit worrying, but in the end Kostadinov and Meechan provided the goals in a useful 2-1 win that kept Arsenal firmly at the top of the Premiership table.

A 1-1 draw though followed at home to Blackburn, before a narrow single goal triumph in Liverpool against Everton. The points were being won, the football was not of the highest quality as the side faced up to Chelsea once more, this time at Stamford Bridge in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Any fears the Arsenal support may have had though were soon swept away as goals from Maloney, Messi and Kostadinov swept their side to a 3-1 triumph – and a 5th round meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Marc Hopp was finally signed and made his debut on the 2nd of February at Norwich, but this was another match in which Arsenal failed to impose their authority, although in the end the one goal to nothing win was gratefully accepted.

Two nil wins over Middlesbrough and Watford kept Arsenal at the top of the table, before a far from inspiring 1-1 draw with Italian minnows Catania in the UEFA Cup, Shaun Maloney securing that vital way goal. There would be though, no FA Cup triumph for Arsenal this season. At Old Trafford, as the sides went in at half time all square at one all, there was everything to play for. An inexplicable second half collapse from the Londoners though saw United romp to a 5-1 win, and if the Arsenal players had never felt the wrath of Duncan MacLeod they certainly had after what he later described as the worst performance in his managerial career to date. It was a performance that Duncan MacLeod simply would not accept and if these players valued their careers at the club, it had better never happen again.

[Peacemaker7]

After the 1-1 draw in Italy, Catania came to the Emirates Stadium on the back of Arsenal's five one humiliation as Old Trafford. The shell shocked players had clearly not got over such a mauling, but an Alex Pearce goal three minutes from half time was enough to see Arsenal scrape through to a last sixteen meeting with West Brom. After a win over Charlton, the derby at White Hart Lane was to end in a one all draw, Mark Brunton putting the ball into his own net, a feat that didn't go down too well with the Arsenal support. Brunton though had had a decent season and all was forgiven soon enough.

In the UEFA Cup, the ever improving Kostadinov nagged a brace against West Brom, Meechan and Messi were also on target and although West Brom did manage to win the second leg by a goal to nil, it was Arsenal who reached the Quarters with relative ease in the end. After a two nil win at home to Wigan, there followed a vital period for Arsenal in terms of their success for this season. Liverpool at Anfield, and Manchester Unites at Emirates in the League were intertwined with the UEFA Quarter final legs against German side Leverkusen. Liverpool came first, and after a goalless draw, Kostadinov sent Arsenal ahead three minutes into the second half. The away supports joy was short lived – less than sixty seconds actually, before Peter Crouch equalized. With both teams still battling hard for the title, a win here would be crucial but just as it looked like heading to a draw, Mark Brunton was adjudged to have fouled Crouch in the area. The referee awarded Liverpool a penalty, Brunton was red carded and Fernando Torres gave the home side a valuable three points.

In Germany, Leverkusen proved no match for MacLeod's side as Maloney and Kostadinov secured a first leg win and the Derek Meechan put Manchester United to the sword as he banged in all four goals as Arsenal made up for their FA Cup defeat. A 1-1 draw at home to the Germans was far from impressive, but it meant Arsenal were in the Semis against another German side, Duisburg – and bang on course to face Manchester United in the Final. Always assuming United overcame Marseille. The French club would be at home in the Final if they themselves were the winners.

Perhaps the match of the season was about to take place though at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal arrived at the home of their London rivals five points clear of them at the top of the table, with six matches to play. Manchester's City and United, as well as Liverpool, were all still very much in the title hunt, but common belief was that if Arsenal could beat Chelsea the title would surely be theirs. At the end of the day though, Chelsea were to prove just too good on their own patch as they coasted to a hard fought 2-0 win, and Alex Pearce failed to help his sides cause by being red carded on 56 minutes. Entering the final five matches, only seven points seperated the top five clubs, but Arsenal held pole and all they really had to do was win them all and the title would be theirs.

Portsmouth were seen off easily enough by 3-0, as both Liverpool and Manchester United blew their last remaining titles hopes with defeats and the Newcastle's impossible hopes were finally killed off once and for all as Arsenal triumped by a single goal at St James' Park. Manchester City's one all draw at Old Trafford signalled that the title race had suddenly become a two horse affair between Arsenal and Chelsea. Duisburg were overcome by three goals to two in Germany before Bristol City almost upset the apple cart as they came to Emirates, Alex Pearce was dismissed again after just three minutes, City took the lead three minutes later and suddenly the Arsenal players were under the cosh. Meechan though came to the rescue with goals on thirteen and sixty tow minutes. With Chelsea having lost 3-0 to City in Manchester, Arsenal only needed to win at West Brom in their penultimate match to claim the title that at one point had looked a forlorn hope.

Duisburg were duly seen off by 2-0 to send Arsenal to a UEFA Cup Final in Marseille that would indeed be against Manchester United. At West Brom though, neither side could score and with Chelsea beating Fulham, the title battle would after all go to the final day. Arsenal were three points and eight goals clear of their rivals and would be at home to West Ham, whilst Chelsea wenmt to mid table Blackburn. A swing of eight goals was highly improbable, but certainly not impossible and it was up to the Arsenal players to ensure there were no final day slip ups. West Ham did not make things easy for themselves as defender Kirk Broadfoot – who of course had played under MacLeod at Kilmarnock – was red carded after just seventeen minutes and Derek Meechan proceed to teach the Hammers defence a lesson with a fine hattrick, Digard was also on target and the match was won at a canter by four one. It didn't matter, but for the record Chelsea had lost in Blackburn and Arsenal were crowned English Champions for the first time in eight years.

The UEFA Cup Final turned out to be every bit as tense as you might expect. Rio Ferdinand sent United in a 21st minute lead, but PFA Young Player of the Year and Premiership top scorer with 27 goals Derek Meechan equalized fifteen minutes later. Both Lionel Messi and Lorik Cana had to go off injured which did not help the Arsenal cause and on the 101st minute of a pulsating match, Cristian Zaccardo put the ball into his own net and the UEFA Cup went to Old Trafford. Three days later, United suffered a Final dissapointment themselves as the lost out to Liverpool in the FA Cup and so with Chelsea having won the Carling League Cup only Manchester City had of the top five in the League, had failed to win a trophy.

Honours spread, but the main award had gone to Arsenal and Duncan MacLeod had made an instant impact on the English game. The Arsenal fans for sure were hoping this would be the first of many for the Scot, and of course were looking forward with eager anticipation to next season when they believed they might well have a decent chance of challenging for the Champions League......

[Peacemaker7]

English Premiership Final Table - 2010-2011

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Arsenal | | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 66 | 28 | +38 | 80 |

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| 2nd | | Man City | | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 74 |

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| 3rd | | Chelsea | | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 74 |

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| 4th | | Liverpool | | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 66 | 39 | +27 | 72 |

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| 5th | | Man Utd | | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 71 |

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| 6th | | Newcastle | | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 65 |

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| 7th | | Portsmouth | | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 62 |

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| 8th | | Tottenham | | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 51 | 44 | +7 | 56 |

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| 9th | | Everton | | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 56 |

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| 10th | | Wigan | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 52 |

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| 11th | | Watford | | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 51 | -8 | 49 |

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| 12th | | Blackburn | | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 45 | 52 | -7 | 47 |

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| 13th | | Charlton | | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 53 | 59 | -6 | 45 |

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| 14th | | Middlesbrough | | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 42 | 60 | -18 | 44 |

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| 15th | | Bolton | | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 41 |

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| 16th | | West Ham | | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 40 |

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| 17th | | West Brom | | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 44 | 60 | -16 | 36 |

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| 18th | R | Norwich | | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 27 | 60 | -33 | 33 |

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| 19th | R | Bristol City | | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 32 | 62 | -30 | 31 |

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| 20th | R | Fulham | | 38 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 38 | 71 | -33 | 27 |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | |

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</pre>

[Peacemaker7]

For the MacLeod family, the summer and later part of 2011 would be another hectic time. Isabella, who would be nineteen in July, announced to the family her marriage to long time boyfriend and UEFA Golden Boot winner, Derek Meechan on the 28th of May. It was hardly a surprise to anyone, as Isabella had been desperate to get married since she was eight years old. Although at that time she had wanted to marry Mr Rogerson, the school janitor, who was a saintly old man of 73 and died the following year. Isabella had been fanscinated with weddings, loving the dressings up and fineries and although her marriage to Derek lasted a lifetime, they actually went through a further three ceremonies of re-commitment, simply because Isabella loved weddings. Even when her 4th child, Robert James, announced he was gay and was going out with some hack London theatre actor, Isabella insisted that they should celebrate their commitment via marriage.

For her own marriage though to Derek, there was only one place that Isabella had in mind. Never one to do things by half, she had the wedding of a Princess in the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. Getting permission for such a venue had not been easy, but their link to the Madrid 'aristocracy' certainly helped, and the wedding of the decade even made front page headline in some local Madrid papers. Isabella looked radiant and happy, Derek looked simply relieved to get it over with and get back to the job he loved so much – scoring goals. Two weeks after the wedding, the couple announced they were expecting their first child in November.

Stuart Derek Meechan, Duncan MacLeod's second grandson, came into the world on the 7th of November 2011, exactly one week, three hours and fifteen minutes before his cousin, a girl, was born to his Aunt Bethany. It was a delightful, if perhaps stressing, time for the grandparents as their extended family grew. Bethany had already decided on a name for the child, but had been nervous about how her parents would react. In the end though, it seemed almost fitting that the healthy, chubby, dark haired baby was named in honour of an Aunt she would never know. Mhairi Alyson McGrath would not suffer the problems of her departed relative, but she would in her own life have her own griefs to worry about. With a fifteen month old baby, and a newborn, the McGrath's would have a hectic time but they felt the closeness in ages would be good for the children in the long term.

But summers pass and before too long it was back to the grind for both Derek and Duncan. With a Champions League campaign to mastermind, plus of course the defence of the title, there was the inevitable hectic transfer activity at the Emirates Stadium – as indeed there would be around the continent. All the Arsenal leavers were fringe players, as for the first time in his managerial career Duncan was able to hold onto his key players. This was the real reason he had felt the need to leave Kilmarnock, as much as the need to prove himself on a bigger stage. It had been frustrating to sign quality players for that club, only to see them move on a year later to a 'bigger' club.

Of the players leaving, the biggest names were Stewart Downing who had failed to make any real impact on the side, and Hleb who had also not been overly involved after the January arrival of Sean Maloney. And although the side was established and none of the key players had left, nevertheless Duncan believed the squad would need a little bit of strengthening and besides competition for places was always a good thing. Arturo Vidal, Jeremy Toulalan and Adriano (of Seville) were all big money buys and also coming in were Javier Flano, Sultan Cem and Kilmarnock youth product Roman Brillant who had enjoyed a fairly successful year at Anderlecht. It was probably the quietest preseason transfer wise for MacLeod to date - although the net spending was still some £33M - but those players who had come in would undoubtedly add depth to an already strong squad and the warning to the other sides was, catch us if you can.

[HD]

Hope the squad doesn't get stale!

[Peacemaker7]

Ha

I'm more worried the AI will crack my tactic.

[Peacemaker7]

The first 'big' match of the season of course was the Community Shield at Wembley. Romain Brillantn and Sultan Cem both made their competitve debuts for the side, but it was Cem who made the headlines. As a quiet but enthralling first half drew to a close, it was Cem who thundered the ball home and Arsenal were ahead. In first half stoppage time, with Liverpool still stunned by the Arsenal goal midfielder Marc Hopp fired in a second and the London side were on the road to victory. Dirk Kuyt did give Liverpool hope eleven minutes after the restart before Cem fired in another two for a glorious debut hattrick.

Cem and Hopp were the scorers again in an opening day two nil league win over Watford at Emirates. Cem was becoming an instant hit with Arsenal fans, and Hopp was showing signs of greatness as well. And away to Manchester City, it was Cem who was on target for the third successive match. This time though, there was only defeat for the Champions as City scored twice to take all three points.

Liverpool were the opponents again back in the League, goals from Kostadinov and Maloney enough for the win and then it was the Champions League that took centre stage. Arsenal had drawn a relatively tough group, containing Lazio, Benfica and Red Star Belgrade. Lazio would be Duncan MacLeod's first opponents in the competition since leading Kilmarnock to glory, but despite a 42nd minute goal from Shaun Maloney that gave Arsenal a half time lead, things in Rome were proving to be a struggle. It was former West Ham striker Dean Ashton who levelled things ten minutes into the second half and it looked like a point apiece would be the order of the day until Lorik Cana stole all three for his side with a fine strike deep into injury time.

Back in the league and despite another brace from the highly impressive Cem, MacLeod's side could only draw at Portsmouth and a Zaccardo own goal cancelled out Cem's strike at Bolton as Arsenal drew again. Red Star proved no match for the English Champions, Cem with another brace, Alex Pearce heading home from a corner and Derek Meechan finally getting his first goal of the season, albeit via the penalty spot.

Indeed Meechan - who had been voted UEFA Striker of the Year - had so far been a shadow of himself as Cem had taken all the plaudits. A win over Middlesborough was followed by a dissapointing 3-2 loss at West Brom and it was becoming clear to see that Arsenal were not firing on all cylinders. As Sultan Cem picked up an injury that would keep him out for just about a month, so at home to Newcastle Derek Meechan suddenly came to life with both goals in the two nil win.

A Shaun Maloney penalty was enough for a 1-0 win in Lisbon over Benfica before a hugely dissapointing showing at Stamford Bridge saw MacLeod's side go down 2-0. A titanic battle with Portsmouth followed in the Carling Cup, Arsenal twice coming from behind before winning out on penalties. And as Derek Meechan continued to struggle to find his form, so the youngster found himself on the bench at home to Blackburn. His place was taken by Mexican Carlos Vela and he made his own claim for a regular starting berth by firing in four goals in a five nil win - Lionel Messi the other scorer.

At the end of October, Arsenal lay 6th in the league after a shaky start. A long way to go of course, but it was clear one or two players were not playing to their full potential and come January, if they did not pull their socks up, they just might find themselves looking for another club.

[Peacemaker7]

A second successive English Premiership title would not be coming to the Emirates Stadium however. There were just too many careless dropped points, with almost surreal home defeats from the likes of Derby and Watford making any hopes of retaining the title impossible, as in the end Manchester United ended four points clear of Chelsea and MacLeod's side had to settle for what was after all, a fairly dissapointing third place.

A 4-0 hammering at New Anfield to Liverpool in the Quarter Finals meant the Carling Cup would also not be in Arsenal hands this season. And despite twice leading against Aston Villa in the FA Cup Semi Final, Arsenal eventually went down by three goals to two and Villa went on to lose to Tottenham in the Final.

It was to Europe then that Arsenal's hoped of any silverware lay, and after the dissapointment of last seasons UEFA Cup Final loss, there was high hopes that the side could more than make up for that this time round. The group stage was comfortably overcome and in the last sixteen Arsenal took on French side Lille. An easy 2-0 win in France was followed by a crushing 3-0 triumph at the Emirates and the Quarters were reached without breaking too much sweat.

Valencia would be opponents, and a 75th minute first leg strike from David Villa gave the Spanish a slender, but precious advantage. The second leg though, Valencia were no match as Sultan Cem levelled the tie after 20 minutes and a second half brace from Derek Meechan saw Arsenal into the Semis where they would might well have been drawn with Chelsea - or Kilmarnock. In the end though, it would be Barcelona who stood in the way of Duncan MacLeod and third successive European final.

Things were looking fine when Derek Meechan sent his side ahead after 22 minutes of the first leg at Emirates, but Barcelona were not about to lie down and Ronaldinho levelled right on half time. A vital away goal for Barca, and on the night there was no further scoring. With just five minutes gone in the second leg, Samuel Eto'o sent Barcelona ahead on the night and it was now starting to look bleak for Arsenal hopes.

The Spanish giants though had not counted on Derek Meechan. The young Scot had been mainly overshadowed by the quite excellent Sultan Cem this season, but at the Nou Camp he put in a quite stunning performance as he put Barcelona to the sword with four fantastic goals and MacLeod would proudly lead his side out on the 23rd of May at the Nuevo Mestalla in Valencia.

Standing in the way of a second Champions League triumph would be none other than Ally McCoist - and a Kilmarnock side who, no longer Champions of Scotland, had nevertheless hammered Chelsea on a 5-2 Champions League Semi Final aggregate. It promised to be an occasion that no-one would forget and it would also be the last match Duncan MacLeod would have a football club manager.

[Peacemaker7]

As Duncan MacLeod led his Arsenal side out to face Kilmarnock in the Final of the 2012 UEFA Champions League, an amazing ten of the eighteen man squad had previously played for the opposition side. Although no-one knew it, or even expected it at the time, this would be the last match Duncan MacLeod would spend in charge of a club side. That though was irrelevant, and there were no clue's beforehand that this would be the case.

Kilmarnock, whom MacLeod had led to Champions League glory only two years ago were still under the management of Ally McCoist, but had stumbled to third place behind the 'Old Firm' in the SPL this season. They though had been boosted by an inredible 5-2 aggregate win over Chelsea in the Semi-Final and were more than confident they could win this match.

Twenty one minutes into the Final, that confidence was given a huge dent though, as defender Salvatore Ferraro put the ball into his own net and Kilmarnock would need to find something special now. Nine minutes later Sultan Cem made it two nil and the match was as good as over. Kilmarnock tried, but it simply wasn't good enough and seven minutes from time Didier Digard headed home from a corner to secure a second Champions League triumph for MacLeod.

Amidst the euphoria of the Champions League success, just as there had been at Kilmarnock exactly two seasons earlier, there would be shock and dismay at the Emirates Stadium as Duncan MacLeod sensationally quit the club to take up the role as manager of Scotland. The MacLeod's had not entirely settled in London, and with Alyson's mum suffering a stroke and her health failing badly, it was time to move back nearer home and the Scotland job came at exactly the right time.

Scotland, who had missed out on the 2010 World Cup Finals, had also just missed out on the Finals of Euro 2012 and turned to Duncan MacLeod as the man to restore their ever flagging fortunes. It was a move MacLeod could not turn down and his third job in football management would also turn out to be Duncan's last.