| Full name | Partick Thistle Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Jags | ||
| Founded | 1876 | ||
| Ground | Firhill Stadium, Glasgow (Capacity: 13,079) |
||
| Manager | Jackie McNamara | ||
| League | Scottish First Division | ||
| 2010–11 | Scottish First Division, 5th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
|
|||
| Current season | |||
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and currently play in the First Division having being promoted through the play-offs at the end of the 2005–06 season.
Contents |
Partick Thistle Football Club were formed in 1876 in the burgh of Partick (then administratively independent of Glasgow into which it was subsumed in 1912).
The Club claimed their first piece of major silverware in 1921, when they won the Scottish Cup, having beaten Rangers 1–0 in the final.[1] In 1971–72, the Jags overcame favourites, Celtic in the League Cup final. Taking a dramatic 4–0 lead at half time with goals from Alex Rae, Bobby Lawrie, Denis McQuade and Jimmy Bone and although Kenny Dalgish pulled a goal back for Celtic, Thistle celebrated a 4–1 victory. Davie McParland's team were responsible for the Jags' greatest success in their history. Thistle also enjoyed relative success in League competition during the 1950s/60s/70s, finishing third in the top tier in 1948, 1954 and 1963.
The clubs fortunes declined during the 1980s, and during the 1990s increasing financial problems threatened to put the club out of existence. In 1998, the club was close to going bankrupt, and it took a fan based effort to keep them afloat with the "Save the Jags" campaign. Despite avoiding financial oblivion, Thistle were relegated to the third tier of Scottish Football in 1997–98, and only narrowly avoided a further relegation the following season, finishing in eighth place.
The start of the most successful period of the Club's recent history came with back-to-back promotions under John Lambie in seasons 2000–01 and 2001–02. In order to comply with the then Scottish Premier League guidelines, the terraced section behind the North section of Firhill was redeveloped. In its place a 2000 seater stand was constructed. The terracing at the other end of the ground has also since been removed, although nothing has, as of yet, been built in its place.
Following the successive promotions, Thistle secured their place in the SPL by finishing 10th despite being favourites for relegation.
Following John Lambie's retirement at the end of their first season in the SPL, Thistle struggled, and were relegated after Inverness, having won the First Division title, were promoted to the SPL upon being permitted to groundshare with Aberdeen. With Gerry Collins (Lambie's previous assistant) having been sacked during the previous season, the joint player-managers Derek Whyte and Gerry Britton struggled and were also dismissed mid-season in the First Division. Dick Campbell was appointed successor, but Thistle were relegated to the Second Division. Season 2005–06 saw the Jags return to the First Division through the newly introduced play-offs, having finished 4th in the league.
Between 1996 and 2006, Partick Thistle were promoted three times and relegated four times in what was an unpredictable decade in their history. They were the first team in Scottish football to be relegated from the top flight through successive subsequent relegations (excluding those caused by league reconstruction).
Despite starting well with the team's return to the First Division, Dick Campbell was sacked on 27 March 2007. A caretaker management team of Jimmy Bone and Terry Butcher saw out the season, before Ian McCall, a former player, was unveiled as manager.
McCall's first season saw Thistle finish 6th in the First Division, as well as a good Scottish Cup campaign. Thistle reached the Quarter Finals, drawing with eventual winners, Rangers at Ibrox before losing.
In the season 2008–09, Thistle exceeded expectation, finishing 2nd in the First Division, behind St Johnstone. Midfielder Gary Harkins received a nomination for Player of the Year, and won the Irn Bru Phenomenal Player of the Year. This season also saw Jonathan Tuffey become the first Thistle full international for several seasons, having been capped for Northern Ireland previously at U21 level.
Ian McCall left his post as manager in April 2011 for personal reasons and was replaced by Jackie McNamara on a caretaker basis. McNamara was appointed manager of the club at the end of the 2010/2011 season.
Originally playing in navy blue shirts and white shorts (similar to Scotland), the Jags are now best known for their red, yellow and black attire. In the season 1936–37, Thistle changed colours having initially borrowed kit from the rugby team West of Scotland Football Club. The Club mostly play in a variation of red and yellow hooped jerseys, although there have been other styles employed. In the early 1970s, they played in yellow tops with a red trim; in the 1980s and early 1990s vertical red and yellow stripes were used; and from 2004–2006 the kit was dubiously termed "the Jester kit" by the fans, with one half all red and the other half all yellow.
In 2009, a Centenary Kit was launched in the original navy blue style to commemorate 100 years at Firhill Stadium. In 2008-09 and 2009–10, Thistle used pink as the primary colour for their away kit, becoming the first football club in Scotland to do so. The 2008–2009 season they starred in silver and pink hooped tops, and the following season up until the present date they adopted a modern camouflage look.[2] The response to the kits was mixed, although they did sell particularly well among the female contingent of the support.
The current home kit bears a striking resemblance to the 1971-72 season League Cup winning top. It is mostly yellow, but with red pin-stripes and a traditional collar. The away kit, also released in season 2011-12 is black with a red and yellow stripe. Thistle's kits are produced by Puma and supplied through their commercial partners Greaves Sports in Glasgow.
In their early years, the side played in several places, including what are now the sites for: Partick Railway Station, Morrisons supermarket near the River Kelvin, and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The Club eventually moved to their present home in 1909: Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill district of Glasgow. Firhill Stadium currently consists of three stands the Main(Old)Stand built in 1927 which can seat around 2900 supporters, the impressive Jackie Husband Stand built in 1994 which can seat around 6500 supporters and the North Away Stand which can seat around 2000 supporters.Also on the South side of the stadium there is a grass embankment which was an open terrace in Firhill until its demolition in 2006.There has been plans to re-develop the South End of the stadium with a family stand and construction is due to get underway in the next few years.
Thistle's fanbase is derived mostly from Greater Glasgow, being based in the North-West of the city. During their most recent foray into the top flight of Scottish football, attendances frequently exceeded 6000, but in more recent years attendances have ranged between 2000 and 3000. Further afield, the club has an unaffiliated Global Supporters' Association called "The Nomads".
Thistle fans sing a number of songs during matches, some of which are relatively generic but others which are unique. Choruses of "Red and Yellow Army", "Mary fae Maryhill", "Over Land and Sea", "Forever and Ever" and "We've Followed the Thistle for Many a Day" are commonly heard in the singing section of the Jackie Husband Stand or "The Shed" as they are colloquially known, on match-days.
Glasgow's historical problems with football and sectarianism between (Rangers and Celtic) have led to an anti-sectarian outlook in the Thistle fans' repertoire. One of the songs "Hello Hello" (not to be confused with the Rangers song by a similar name) is an ironic attack on both songs which attack the Pope and the Queen, which are sung by fans of the other two clubs. Despite the intentions of the song, it has attracted criticism and the Club's Board have, in the past, appealed to fans not to sing it.
The Jags have a good following of University students, a consequence of the relative proximity to the Glasgow University and Strathclyde University campuses. The University of Glasgow's Murano Student Village is situated within 5 minutes of Firhill.
Thistle's traditional rivals include Clyde and more recently Airdrieonians/Airdrie United. The latter grew to greatest prominence during Thistle's promotion season in 2001–02, when the two sides were the main contenders for the First Division title. Airdrionians subsequently went bust and reformed as Airdrie United after financial pressures at the time.
Notable individual fans of Thistle include: Craig Ferguson, Ross King, Laura Kuenssberg and the fictional character "Daft Bob" Brown in George MacDonald Fraser's McAuslan stories.
MacBee is currently the sponsor of Partick Thistle Football Club, having taken over from Ignis for the 2011/2012 season. Puma are the shirt sponsors of The Jags, and have been since the 2008/2009 Season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
| Name | Years | Honours |
|---|---|---|
| George Easton | 1903–1929 | Scottish Cup (1920–21) |
| Donald Turner | 1927–1947 | |
| David Meiklejohn | 1947–1959 | 3rd in the Scottish League (1947–48 & 1952–53) |
| Willie Thornton | 1959–1968 | 3rd in the Scottish League (1962–63) |
| Scot Symon | 1968–1970 | |
| Davie McParland | 1970–1974 | League Cup (1971), Division Two (1970–71) |
| Bertie Auld | 1974–1980 | Division One (1975–76) |
| Peter Cormack | 1980–1983 | |
| Benny Rooney | 1983–1986 | |
| Bertie Auld | 1986 | |
| Derek Johnstone | 1986–1987 | |
| Billy Lamont | 1987–1988 | |
| John Lambie | 1988–1989 | |
| Sandy Clark | 1989–1990 | |
| John Lambie | 1990–1995 | Promotion to Premier Division (1991–92), Tennents' Sixes (1993) |
| Murdo MacLeod | 1995–1997 | |
| John McVeigh | 1997–1998 | |
| Tommy Bryce | 1998–1999 | |
| John Lambie | 1999–2003 | First Division (2001–02), Second Division (2000–01) |
| Gerry Collins | 2003 | |
| Gerry Britton | 2003–2005 | |
| Derek Whyte | ||
| Dick Campbell | 2005–2007 | First Division Playoffs (2005–06) |
| Ian McCall | 2007–2011 | |
| Jackie McNamara | 2011–present |
| Name | Career | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Rough | 1969–1982 | 624 |
| Davie McParland | 1953–1974 | 587 |
| Jackie Campbell | 1963–1982 | 579 |
| Willie Sharpe | 1939–1957 | 571 |
| Jimmy McGowan | 1941–1956 | 543 |
| Eddie McLeod | 1926–1940 | 495 |
| Willie Bulloch | 1909–1923 | 471 |
| Alex Elliot | 1927–1940 | 454 |
| John Harvey | 1951–1966 | 435 |
| Stewart Calderwood | 1926–1938 | 420 |
| Name | Career | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Willie Sharpe | 1939–1957 | 229 |
| Willie Paul | 1884–1899 | 186 |
| George Smith | 1953–1964 | 125 |
| Jimmy Walker | 1946–1957 | 121 |
| Johnny Torbet | 1924–1933 | 116 |
| Willie Newall | 1938–1945 | 101 |
| Dougie Somner | 1974–1979 | 101 |
| Davie Ness | 1923–1935 | 97 |
The following players have participated in Full Internationals for their respective countries whilst playing for Thistle. Statistics include all caps gained in their International career, including those before or after their Thistle careers.
| Name | Country | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jákup Mikkelsen | Faroe Islands | 71 | 0 |
| Stephen Craigan | Northern Ireland | 55 | 0 |
| Alan Rough | Scotland | 53 | 0 |
| Quinton Jacobs | Namibia | 28 | 4 |
| Jimmy Gibson | Scotland | 16 | 1 |
| Jimmy McMullan | Scotland | 16 | 0 |
| Neilly Gibson | Scotland | 14 | 1 |
| George Cummings | Scotland | 14 | 0 |
| Alex Forsyth | Scotland | 10 | 0 |
| Johnny Mackenzie | Scotland | 9 | 1 |
| Johnny Jackson | Scotland | 9 | 0 |
| Jimmy Davidson | Scotland | 8 | 1 |
| Kenny Campbell | Scotland | 8 | 0 |
| Jonathan Tuffey | Northern Ireland | 7 | 0 |
| Harry Chatton | Ireland/Irish Free State | 6 | 0 |
| Adrian Madaschi | Australia | 4 | 2 |
| Willie Paul | Scotland | 3 | 5 |
| Alex McSpayden | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Hugh Brown | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Jackie Husband | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Neil Harris | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Andy Kerr | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Tommy Ewing | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| John Hansen | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Nicky Walker | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Willie Howden | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
| Jimmy Kinloch | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
| David Mathers | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
| Fraser Dalglish | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
Thistle have participated in European competition on three different occasions. On the first occasion, they qualified having finished third in the First Division. They progressed to the Second Round of the Fairs Cup before being eliminated by Spartak Brno. They qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1972–73 after winning the League Cup the previous season, however Hungarian side Honved eliminated them in the first tie. Their most recent venture into European competition was the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, when they finished 4th with 4 points in Group 6.
| Year / Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1R | Glentoran | 3–0 | 4–1 | 7–1 |
| 2R | Spartak Brno | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–5 | |
| 1972–73 Uefa Cup | 2R | Honved | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| 1995 Intertoto Cup | Group | LASK Linz | – | 2–2 | – |
| Group | Keflavík | 3–1 | – | – | |
| Group | Metz | – | 0–1 | – | |
| Group | NK Zagreb | 1–2 | – | – |
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||