Partick Thistle Football Club is a Scottish professional football club from the city of Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are actually based in the Maryhill area of the city, and haven’t played in Partick itself since 1908. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and currently play in the First Division after being promoted through the play-offs at the end of the 2005-06 season.
Contents
1
History
2 Current squad
3 Noted players
4 Managers
5 Support
6 Achievements
o 6.1
Honours
7 External links
History
Partick Thistle were formed in 1876 in the burgh of Partick (administratively independent of Glasgow until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city).
They originally played on what is now the site of the Partick railway station and Morrisons supermarket near the River Kelvin. They have had a number of other homes in Partick including at the site of the Kelvingrove museum and art gallery before finally settling at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill district of Glasgow in 1909. They had to move as their Meadowside ground was demolished to make way for a granary (which was itself only very recently demolished).
The club won the Scottish Cup in 1921 beating Rangers 1-0 in the final, and more famously they won the Scottish League Cup in 1971 by defeating Celtic 4-1 in the final. They have never won the Scottish Football League but have finished in third place on three occasions.
They won the Glasgow Cup five times, in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1961 and 1981.
They were traditionally one of the top clubs in Scotland, but since the mid 1980s they have declined.
In 1998 the club almost went out of existence. Faced with massive debt it looked as though they would certainly go bankrupt until the supporters organised a ‘Save the Jags’ campaign (the Jags being the club’s nickname). This managed to ensure the club’s survival although they were relegated to the Second Division that year.
In 2001 they won promotion from the Second Division to the First Division, and the following year they managed to win promotion from the First Division to the Scottish Premier League, the top division in Scottish football. They were relegated back to the First Division in 2004 having finished bottom of the SPL. The club’s aim at the start of the following season was to get out of the First Division and back into the SPL. Thistle instead were relegated to the Second Division. This was the first time a club in Scotland had been relegated from the top league and then relegated again the following season (Clyde and Dunfermline Athletic’s successive relegations in 1974/5 and 1975/6 were triggered by league reconstruction).
On 15 April 2006 Thistle secured their place in the playoffs by beating nearest rivals Stirling Albion 2-1 at Albion’s Forthbank stadium.
On 6 May 2006 Thistle secured their place in the playoff final by beating Stranraer 4-3 on aggregate, playing Peterhead in the final.
On 14 May 2006 Thistle won promotion to the Scottish first division due to a heroic performance against Peterhead in the first division playoff final. Thistle headed into the playoff decider with a 2-1 deficit to overturn, and the prospect of facing a home side likely to sit and protect their lead from the first leg. But the Jags squad was fuelled by anger and disappointment at throwing away a 1-0 halftime lead in the first leg. After conceding an early goal in the 5th minute from Peterhead’s striker Martin Bavidge, Thistle’s chances looked slim and they needed at least 2 goals for a chance of promotion. Goals from Thistle’s season-long goal hero Mark Roberts scoring his 22nd goal of the season and Billy Gibson’s dramatic injury time equaliser took the game to extra time. Thistle put on the pressure and created the best chances but couldn’t break through Peterhead’s strong rearguard. The game went to penalties and Thistle went through, winning 4-2. Penalties: Roberts (goal), Kilgannon (goal), B.Gibson (goal), Snowdon (miss) and Ritchie (goal).
The club recently had a planning application to develop the South Terracing area of Firhill turned down by Glasgow City Council. The development would have added an extra 1000-seater stand to the ground, as well as retail/office and residential units. The future of this development is as yet unresolved.
Current squad
No. Position Player
Scotland GK Kenny Arthur
Scotland GK Charles Samushonga
Northern Ireland GK Jonathan Tuffey
Scotland DF Scott Boyd
Scotland DF Steven Campbell (on loan from Rangers)
Scotland DF Sandy Hodge
Scotland DF John Kane
Scotland DF Scott McCulloch
Scotland DF John Robertson
Scotland DF Craig Sives (on loan from Hearts)
Scotland MF Darren Brady
No. Position Player
Scotland MF Simon Donnelly
Scotland MF Brown Ferguson
Scotland MF Billy Gibson
Scotland MF Jimmy Gibson
Scotland MF Adam Strachan
Scotland FW Graham Gibson
Scotland FW Pat Keogh
Scotland FW Stephen McConalogue
Scotland FW John McGoldrick
Scotland FW Mark Roberts
Scotland FW Derek Young
Noted players
Scotland Jimmy Bone
Scotland Chic Charnley
Scotland Alex Forsyth
Scotland Alan Hansen
Scotland Jackie Husband
Scotland Mo Johnston
Scotland Bobby Lawrie
Scotland Peter McKennan
Scotland Johnny Mackenzie
Scotland Alex Raisbeck
Scotland Alan Rough
Scotland Bill Shankly
Managers
Scotland Murdo MacLeod (1995-1997)
Scotland John McVeigh (1997-1999)
Scotland Tommy Bryce (1999-2000)
Scotland John Lambie (2000-2003)
Scotland Gerry Collins (2003)
Scotland Derek Whyte & Scotland Gerry Britton (2003-2005)
Scotland Dick Campbell (2005-present)
Support
The club’s fans traditionally come from the north-west part of Glasgow and pride themselves on being anti-sectarian in contrast to factions of the support of Rangers and Celtic. Their traditional rivals (other than the Old Firm) are Clyde F.C..
Achievements
Thistle’s best ever placing in the Scottish League is third place, which they have achieved on three occasions: 1947-48, 1953-54 and 1962-63. They have qualified for mainstream European competitions twice, appearing in the Fairs Cup in 1963-64 and the UEFA Cup in 1972-73. They also participated in the Intertoto Cup in 1995.
Honours
Scottish League Division Two:
o Winners (3): 1896-97, 1899-1900, 1970-71
o Runners up (1): 1901-02
Scottish League First Division:
o Winners (2): 1975-76, 2001-02
o Runners up (1): 1991-92
Scottish League Second Division:
o Winners (1): 2000-01
Scottish Cup:
o Winners (1): 1920-21
o Runners up (1): 1929-30
Scottish League Cup :
o Winners (1): 1971-72
o Runners up (3): 1952-53, 1955-56, 1957-58)
Glasgow Cup:
o Winners (7): 1934-35, 1950-51, 1952-53, 1954-55, 1960-61, 1980-81, 1988-89
Tennents’ Sixes:
o Winners (1): 1993
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