Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle Football Club is a Scottish football club from the city of Glasgow.

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 managed to win 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).

In early 2006 they received planning permission to build a new stand on the south side of their ground Firhill.

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 perfomance 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 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

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..

Famous players of the past include Bill Shankly, Alan Rough, Bobby Lawrie, Alan Hansen, Mo Johnston and Chic Charnley.