Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle

Full name	Partick Thistle Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Jags
Founded	1876
Ground	Firhill Stadium, Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Capacity	14,538
Chairman	Allan Cowan
Manager	Dick Campbell
League	Scottish First Division
2005-06	Scottish Second Division, 4th (Promoted due to winning the playoff)
Home colours Away colours

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.

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 Art Gallery and Museum 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 May2006 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).

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	SCO	Kenny Arthur
—	GK	SCO	Charles Samushonga
—	GK	NIR	Jonathan Tuffey
—	DF	SCO	Alan Archibald
—	DF	SCO	Scott Boyd
—	DF	SCO	Sandy Hodge
—	DF	SCO	John Kane
—	DF	NIR	Mark McChrystal
—	DF	SCO	John Robertson
—	DF	SCO	Craig Sives (on loan from Hearts)
—	DF	SCO	Barry Smith (on loan from Valur)
—	MF	SCO	Darren Brady

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	SCO	Simon Donnelly
—	MF	SCO	Brown Ferguson
—	MF	SCO	Billy Gibson
—	MF	SCO	Jimmy Gibson
—	MF	SCO	Adam Strachan
—	FW	SCO	Graham Gibson (on loan at East Fife)
—	FW	SCO	Pat Keogh
—	FW	SCO	Stephen McConalogue
—	FW	SCO	John McGoldrick (on loan at Albion Rovers)
—	FW	SCO	Mark Roberts
—	FW	SCO	Allan Russell
—	FW	SCO	Derek Young

Noted players

• Jimmy Bone
• Chic Charnley
• Alex Forsyth
• Alan Hansen
• Jackie Husband
• Mo Johnston
• Bobby Lawrie
• Peter McKennan
• Johnny Mackenzie
• Alex Raisbeck
• Alan Rough
• Bill Shankly
• Andy Murdoch

Managers

• John Lambie (1988-1989)
• John Lambie (1990-1995)
• Murdo MacLeod (1995-1997)
• Tommy Bryce (1998-1999)
• John Lambie (1999-2003)
• Gerry Collins (2003)
• Gerry Britton & Derek Whyte (2003 - 2005)
• 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..

The club also has many temporary fans, what with the ground being so close to the University of Glasgow. Many students from outside of Glasgow choose to follow Thistle while there, most ending up supporters for the rest of their lives.

Noted supporters

Gennario owner of gennaros duke owner of dukes and lifetime season ticket holder

Achievements

bottom of the SPL

Honours

Nothing

External links

• [1]