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With this site closing down in a few days, i would just like to say the above post from @Lindau sums up the forum and Thistle as a club for me. Robert never got home and many of the tributes from Thistle and fellow fans, including the plaque in the John Lambie Stand would not have happened if it wasn't for this forum. Thank you to everybody who contributed Robert and Eunice Watson.

Looks like you cannot "like" or otherwise react to an Admin post! This is just to say "Noted and Understood", and "Many thanks and much appreciated".

1. It 2.Is 3. Far 4.Too 5. Early 6. For 7. These 8. Predictions 9.Now 10. Morton

16 hours left. I will greatly miss each and every one of (most of) you. Admin, thank you for all the work you have put in to keep this forum going. I wish your family all the very best. Take care everyone Phil

Dougie Stewart, known to many around Firhill and a lifelong supporter of The Jags, died on 17 June 2025. In truth, the Dougie so many of us knew passed away some years before that date, victim to a cruel illness which effectively ended the life of a colourful and gregarious man and left a mere shell behind. Dougie made sure that the Thistle ethos was instilled in his son Craig and now Grandson Archie both of whom are regulars in the John Lambie Stand and at away matches. Who knows, his newly arrived Granddaughter Alba may also follow them in time. We laughed and suffered in equal measures, enduring the trials and travails of following Thistle and even added trips to follow Scotland…..with similar outcomes! Dougie will be greatly missed and I’m sure the sympathy of all fellow Jags goes out to all who loved this larger-than-life character who was taken far too soon. Once a Jag, Always a Jag! (Funeral details will be published when available.)

On a lighter note, a couple of decades ago, my daughter, then at school, was given a homework assignment to take an article from a newspaper and explain more about the story to the rest of the class. With perfect timing, she was able to choose an article entitled "No Rae of Sunshine at Firhill" or something similar, which told the story of Alex Rae scoring and then being sent off both as a player and a manager, and to give her own eye witness account.

Not sure how many have played but I did get talking to some German fans in The Shed many years ago. I worked in Germany in the late 80's for a short time and was interested to know how they'd managed to find themselves at Firhill. One of them had the surname Fissell and so decided to follow Thistle. He'd just named his new born son Patrick. I've told that story to my own son Eintracht, a few times.

Of course he does. Especially so when the guy everyone is moaning about is lying in a hospital bed in Mauritius. Do people seriously think that others, including Mark Wilson, haven't stepped up to help out? Can't believe the number of hand-wringing, clubs in chaos posts there are nowadays. God help us when we actually start playing games again and people have to deal with the inevitable rollecoaster season. Social media is just so febrile now - doom scrolling our lives away...

I think fans need to reflect on this too. There is a voracious and seemingly endless appetite for updates - full disclosure on everything. If there is even the slightest delay in info flowing out of the club, someone on social media makes assumptions and another baseless rumour takes hold. Yes, there is considerable scope to improve approach to communications, but sometimes things need to be kept private, and we all need to (re)learn to accept this.

Whoever the new manager is i hope they are a success and i will be doing what i have done for years and renewing my season ticket.

Final Standings Fawlty Towers wins! Congratulations FT. Nice to finish with a close competition. To all those that have gathered here over the years, thanks very much for your company. Adios amigos.

I won't be making it up until later in the week🙂

All the best to @admin and everyone else on the forum. I raise this virtual glass to everyone.

Seems the on-line Jags' world is having a go at anything Thistle do these days!

All the best to Robert, my ex French and Latin teacher! Here's a wee story (again): Back in season 70-71 we had a late afternoon kick-off match at Stranraer (they had no floodlights), and to get there it meant I had to dog school and miss my French lesson. I went on the NW bus, if I remember correctly. Outside Stair Park, as I was waiting in the queue at the turnstyle I heard "Hello, Anderson..." and turned to see Mr Reid looking at me, as he walked with a companion towards the stand, for which he surely had a complimentary ticket. Like me, he was dogging school that afternoon! We exchanged a kind of ""We'll say no more about this" glance. We met at many matches, home and away, over the years. Two other Jags diehard teachers from the same school were Hector McLeod and Ian Woodburn.

99 and out, what a pity 😔

The fascinating new discovery of Partick Thistle twin brothers from the 1870s; a chance letter, the birth of Association football in Brechin, and Partick Thistle's first-ever match north of the Tay... Partick Thistle's pioneering twins of Brechin! →

Original poster had no idea that this had happened. It's not even related. Can't believe I'm sticking up for Bobbyhouston, who must be the most compulsively tedious poster on this site, but that's unfair criticism. Anyway, best wishes to Ian Baraclough. Get well soon.

best wishes to him as he recovers https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/ian-baraclough/

It is far too early to say as most clubs have still got considerable recruitment to do. To my mind the success of next season at this stage is about the state of clubs finances, how much recruitment they have to do and how experienced their mananager and what the club leadership is like and even that only indicates a range of where each team is likely to finish. St Johnstone and Ross county are probably best placed to compete for the league. Difficult to see them not being in the top 2. Raith and Ayr are pretty stable in terms of finances and management so probably going to be in an around the playoffs. Dunfermline have money and a decent manager but need to recruit well so again around the playoffs. All 3 teams are probably at best 3rd but at worst 7th Morton have just resolved their financial issues and having the most experienced manager in the league means they will be around mid table. I expect they will be at best 4th but no worse than 8th. Airdrie again look stable. Don't have the same turnover of players as last season so I expect them to towards mid table. Probably at best 6th and worst 9th Arbroath have a lot of optimism but they don't have many players under contract, even less who can play at championship level and have quite inexperienced co-managers. So I expect them to be around the relegation spots. At best they are 7th and at worst 10th. Queens Park have a lot of cost cutting to do with a novice manager so I expect they will also struggle. Like Arbroath at best 7th and at worst 10th We are cost cutting, have an inexperienced manager, unproven recruitment team and a board that don't look like string leaders. So more in common with Arbroath and Queens Park then the other teams in the league. Were we probably have an advantage is we still have a decent core of a starting 11 and arguably 3 of the best defenders in the league plus some pretty decent wingers so don't face the same scale o recruitment as Dunfermline, Morton, Arbroath and Ross County. So we are probably are the most difficult team to predict were we finish as we could be anywhere from 3rd to 9th. Recent actions indicate we will be at the lower end of that range but if we get our act together we could well towards the upper end.

Over and above not winning thru in the play offs the biggest disappointment for me was that the fans were unable to say goodbye to Ethan in a befitting manner.

Out of likes for the day but this is the best post on the forum for a very long time. It also shows that it could be a place where good things happened, not just somewhere keyboard warriors fought their often mindless battles. Rest easy Robert.

How does anyone know if it will be ‘more of the same’ if BG is appointed? I’m sure he has his own ideas and might want certain players & style of play. Him & MW inherited a pretty average unbalanced squad, so it’s impossible to guess how things might change.

Bonus points if they know the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow. 😆

A mixed reception for Reading, Budinauckas and Rae. With regard to the two players they look decent and sensible signings to me. As far as Rae is concerned I think this is a positive signing. I preferred Wilson over Graham for a number of reasons that I have already expressed. Rae, though not a particularly popular individual, has always to me seemed totally committed to what he does. If we ever wanted someone to toughen up the Jags both physically and mentally, well we have that person now. Definitely a culture change in the offing at Firhill. I think Rae's qualities sit well with Wilson"s and they should make a good team. As with all signings time will tell. Must go and get my season ticket now.

Stop being reasonable. There is no place on this forum for sensible non judgemental posting like this. Patience isn’t permitted and there is no where in your post where you laid blame on a senior position at Firhill.

I do think with st Johnstone and Ross county battling it out for promotion ( no other team in the league stand a chance ) this is the time for the team to go through a transition . Feels like the core of the team that has made the play offs the last few years is breaking up and rebuild needed . Key will be getting the right mixture of youth and experience to ensure that we don’t get pulled too near the bottom - very easy in this small league - as the rebuild will take at least 1/2 years . Patience will be required by all .

My mate says the site has signed a pre contract with Ayr and from 1st July will become weareayr.net. Well was a mate of a mate but good enough for me…

From what I’ve heard (from a very good source) Massively reduced offer, weeks after he’d heard nothing and had to call club himself. Its not him going that seems the issue, it’s the fact a long serving legend at club has been left in limbo and treated pretty poorly is the issue.

Not itk and won't speculate about why Graham left. But when BBG first came to Firhill i could never have dreamt what he would do for Thistle both on and of the park. A great player for us and took the women's team to a couple of top 6 finishes in the premier league and a cup final, he will always be a legend at Firhill, but now it is time to move on. Let's hope that we can find at least one player in the not to distant future that can replace him.

Given we have just started the new accounting period for the club and season tickets go on sale the issue of finance/budgets raises its head. So far the strategy from the club has seen walk up ticket prices increase, season ticket prices increase and Jagzone subscriptions increase. Personally I can tolerate this but with the caveat that we need this to be part of a break even budget and see much more efficiency from the off the pitch team. A lot has been made of getting better deals for sponsorship than the ones that have been in place so it will be interesting to see who takes over from Clydebuilt as main shirt sponsor (I appreciate we won't be told how much more the new sponsors are paying). As well as increasing revenue there will need to be a reduction in spending and the area that looks likely to take a hit is the playing budget. The Board took what it believed was a calculated risk last season for reasons that have been well documented but that is no longer an option and I will be interested to see what the plan is. I expect TJF (in their role as one of the trustees) to be holding the board's feet to the fire with regards to the budget.

Not sure I follow the thinking that says 'it was ok for the club to be in a mess the problem was telling people' Barraclough's injury is completely unforeseen, a private matter and equally would have demanded the attention of the board and the staff since it occurred about a week ago. However not setting budgets, poor comms, no strips, lack of plans for 150th year etc are all issues that have pre-dated last week and equally are not related to the football department. We have also had issues in the football department that occurred pre-Barraclough's injury such as why was our head coach recruitment so protracted? What is happening with Brian Graham? We have a long path to correct the situation but the first step is admitting there are problems. I can't believe that any of the current board weren't sighted on these issues or supporters opinions prior to TJF but it appears as though they only sprung into life when TJF went public which gives the impression that they were living in their own wee world. So personally, I fully agree with TJF's actions, a strong fans body needs to be able to hold the club board to account and raise fans concerns as it appears the only way in which standards will improve.

Nollyoaks?

Seeing as the fella is on his honeymoon I'm not sure the title thread is totally appropriate. Or maybe a wee bit too appropriate? Eta after today's news please ignore the above frivolous comment.

This time last week, we couldn't even spell his name, never mind having a picture or a bio to speak of! Today, we're delighted to present 1930s winger FRED HINCHLIFFE whose grandson was Craig Hinchliffe, Thistle goalie from around 15 years ago... Fred Hinchliffe →

Bannigan should be thanked for his service and shown the door. We don’t need someone who can only pass a ball sideways or backwards. Not to mention the lost head moments in crucial games.

Was away yesterday and had forgotten that it was the designated last day of the Forum. It still seems to be here! Just in case it will soon vanish, I would again want to thank Admin for providing this platform for us and to wish him and his partner good health and happiness. Best regards also to all other posters. However, I am hoping and expecting that this is not the end, and that like Dr Who we will regenerate in some new form ready for more adventures. I think that I am in the same boat as @ChiThistle in indicating a willingness to be part (but not all!) of the solution, but having no relevant experience and no real idea of what would be involved. Having not heard back yet, I am hoping that, along with Dougie Imrie, I failed the selection process and that a more qualified management team is soon to be announced once all "i"s have been dotted and "t"s crossed. If not, still happy to play a minor role and will look forward to hearing further in due course.

If tonight is to be the end, then please accept my fullest appreciation for providing this site over the years.. It was a godsend to me while I was working overseas and has been a source of wonderful information and opinions since coming home. For these alone I will forever be thankful. Most importantly, though - very best wishes to you `and your partner. The Jags may be part of all our DNA, but when it comes to a reckoning, health and family are much more important. Good Luck, Good Health and may the best of times still be ahead for you and your partner.

Hold tight. P&B are offering me a player/assistant admin deal. I’m mulling it over. Very……..slowly…..

I have been (and still am) a sceptic about the Sporting Director appointment, not conceptually, but more on grounds of affordability with our limited playing budget. However, I do of course hope that it is a great success. Given that it is in place, if Mark Wilson is to be the new Head Coach (and I make no assumptions and have no inside knowledge), then I have a feeling that this is a combination that could work. Both he and Ian Baraclough come across as personable, intelligent, willing to learn, slightly understated and not taking themselves too seriously and not having to be the main story. Maybe we are at the beginning of a "quiet revolution" in terms of how the squad is recruited and developed. This will inevitably take time and I will try not to be too quick to rush to judgment.

When Graham goes, perhaps the club will adopt the Achive stance and he leaves on 99 goals.

Peak rumour mongering and gossip on this. It's pathetic. Whoever is leaking to the press or whatever is triggering this should be ashamed of themselves. We shouldn't know there's a shortlist of four. We shouldn't know Brian Graham has turned us down. This isn't how recruitment is conducted.

What about Jim Slavin, he must have come close?

Myself and Chris at his induction. A great guy of the park as well as on it.

He couldn’t fire them up to beat any of the bottom three teams and we stumbled across the finish line with less of a points advantage to the fifth placed team than it was when they started in temp charge. Fresh faces and ideas required imo.

Can we skip the swimwear round?

May the best man win!

Just to echo how much of a godsend this forum has been (well mostly, not necessarily after a disappointing defeat!) but as a hub for discussion with fellow fans since I think the tail end of the first Mccall era about 15 years ago. Through promotion season 12-13 and ensuing years up in the Premiership, this forum was fantastic to have especially when I studied then lived & worked in Germany for a few years. Though I don't know many of you in person I'm bound to have seen some of you at Firhill, in the pub, or laterally serving in Alan Rough Lounge last season (guy that resembled Prince William if you must know). Admin, thank you for all the time & effort you have put into this which is far too easily taken for granted - it has not gone unnoticed 👏

As I have said, it is in the club’s interest to get his wages off the books as quickly as possible. We need to invest them in someone who wants to play for Partick Thistle.

UNDERDOG POINTS!!!!!