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| Full name | Partick Thistle Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Jags The Harry Wraggs The Maryhill Magyars The Maryhill Margaritas |
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| Founded | 1876 | ||
| Ground | Firhill Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity: 13,079 (10,887 seated)) |
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| Chairman |  Allan Cowan |
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| Manager | Ian McCall |
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| League | Scottish First Division | ||
| 2009–10 | Scottish First Division | ||
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 Current season |
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Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow, Scotland. 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 after being promoted through the play-offs at the end of the 2005–06 season. At the end of season 2008–09 the side finished in 2nd place in the second year of Ian McCall's tenure as manager. They will participate in the Irn Bru First Division during the season 2009–10.
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History
Formation and Tradition
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). 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.
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 West of Scotland Rugby Team. 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.
Domestic Cup Success and League Progress
The Club laid claim to their first piece of major silverware in 1921, when they won the Scottish Cup, having beaten Rangers 1–0 in the final.[1] More famously, however, in the season 1971-72, the Jags overcame the huge favourites, Celtic in the League Cup final. Taking a dramatic 4–0 lead, before eventually winning the match 4–1, Davie McParland's team were responsible for the Jags' greatest success in their history. Thistle also enjoyed relative success in League competition during the 50s, 60s and 70s, finishing third in the top tier in 1948, 1954 and 1963.
Save the Jags
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.
Lambie Revival
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.
Successive Relegations and Play-Off Promotion
Following John Lambie's retirement at the end of the first season in the SPL, Thistle struggled and were relegated, after Inverness Caledonian Thistle were permitted to groundshare with Aberdeen (having won the First Division title). 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. The successive relegations were also the first time a side had been relegated from the top flight and faced a successive relegation in Scottish Football (excluding those caused by league reconstruction).
Despite starting well upon their 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.
Ian McCall's Tenure 2007-Present
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 the replay at Firhill.
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 Phenominal 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.
Support
With average attendances in the region of 2500-3000, Thistle's support base is primarily drawn from the north-west part of Glasgow, but it also includes strong followings in areas of Greater Glasgow and beyond, even having a Global Supporters' Association called "The Nomads". Given the historical sectarian troubles between the two largest clubs in Glasgow (Rangers and Celtic) the Thistle support are known to pride themselves on having an anti-sectarian outlook, which is reflected in many of the songs they sing.
The Jags have a good following of University students, given the relative proximity of Glasgow University and Strathclyde University campuses. This has led to mocking stereotype by some, but a significant number of students who adopt the team temporarily whilst in the City subsequently continue for the rest of their lives.
Thistle's traditional rivals (outwith the Old Firm) are 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 Title, with Airdrie subsequently going bust and reforming owing to financial pressures at the time. This held particular resonance with Thistle fans given the difficulties of their own Club only a few years earlier.
Before the Jackie Husband Stand was built, the area of covered terracing in its place was affectionately known by the fans as "The Shed" because of the atmosphere that was created in it, particularly at busier games. The Club recently renamed the area with the most enthusiastic singing fans "The Shed" in honour of this tradition and to try to restore some atmosphere to games in the face of declining attendances.
Thistle also has a handful of famous fans. CBS' The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson has said on television that the Jags were his team, and actor Robert Carlyle, from the Maryhill area, also takes his children to games at Firhill. One of the co-editors of the Scottish Football Fanzine, "The Away End", Ben Archibald, is a season-ticket holder and lifelong fan of the Jags.
Sponsorship
Ignis asset management [1] is currently team sponsor of Partick Thistle Football Club.
Current squad
As of 30 October 2009.
- For recent transfers, see List of Scottish football transfers 2009–10.
Managers
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Individual Achievements
| 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 | 116 | |
| Willie Newall | 101 | |
| Douggie Sommer | 101 | |
| Davie Ness | 97 | |
| Sam Kennedy | 94 | |
| Alex Wright | 1948–1962 | 85 |
Full Internationalists
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 | 61 | 0 |
| Alan Rough | Scotland | 53 | 0 |
| Stephen Craigan | Northern Ireland | 40 | 0 |
| James 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 |
| Jonny Jackson | Scotland | 9 | 0 |
| Jimmy Davidson | Scotland | 8 | 1 |
| Kenny Campbell | Scotland | 8 | 0 |
| Harry Chatton | Ireland/Irish Free State | 6 | 0 |
| Jonathan Tuffey | Northern Ireland | 4 | 0 |
| Adrian Madaschi | Australia | 4 | 2 |
| Willy Paul | Scotland | 3 | 5 |
| Alex McSpayden | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Hugh Brown | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Jackie Husband | Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Joe Harris | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Andy Kerr | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Tommy Ewing | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| John Hansen | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Nicky Walker | Scotland | 2 | 0 |
| Willy Howden | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
| James Kinloch | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
| David Mathers | Scotland | 1 | 0 |
Honours
Major
Minor
- British Cup:
- Winners (1): 1921
- Glasgow Cup:
- Winners (7): 1934–35, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1960–61, 1980–81, 1988–89
- Runners up (11) 1888–89, 1900–01, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1917–18, 1919–20, 1932–33, 1936–37, 1959–60, 1966–67, 1968–69
- Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup:
- Winners (3): 1926–27, 1934–35, 1948–49
- Tennents' Sixes:
- Winners (1): 1993
European Competition
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.
By Season
| Year / Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-64 Inter-Cities Fair's 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 | – | – |
References
- ^ Beware the Jags sting
- ^ Known as second division prior to 1975
External links
- Official Club Website
- PTFC.net Website
- Partick Thistle, The Early Years Website
- Partick Thistle Online Store
- IFFHS
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Partick Thistle F.C.
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