partickthedog

Not quite sure why Mansell has been promoted above Roy. Neither has achieved a great deal, but Roy seems to get himself more involved and to be more intelligently intentional in his play rather than wandering about aimlessly. Not quite sure why either or both of them have been promoted above Coulibaly.

It also damages our club's generally good image, and prejudices our ability to occupy any moral high ground that might be available. "Followers of big Glasgow team think that they are so important and untouchable that it is clever and/or funny to go to the stadium of a 'wee team' and treat it with contempt". We have complained bitterly when we have been on the receiving end of this, and it is sad that we end up putting ourselves in the same camp as the bully/billy b(h)oys.

That’s a relief

Very impressed by Miles mentioning "Narnia" in his JagZone interview. Would not have thought of him as being a literary type, but he must like a good Storey. Any ideas? Maybe "The Lion, The Fitz and the Wardrobe" and the sequel "Prince Bannigan"?

Then you should be BAuld Jag

Surely Storey rather than Fitzpatrick would be the one to make way for Coulibaly?

Shows the importance of scoring twice!

Will make belated attempt at quick summing up of how the team played. To be fair on all of us who attended and have not posted, it was a difficult game to report on, as much of it was thoroughly unmemorable. A shallow shelving end stand means that you are quite far away from the pitch to start with, and the way the game panned out almost all of the action was at the far end and consequently difficult to see. In the first half Inverness had an attack that lasted far longer than it should have, as we kept presenting the ball back to them until Hazard finally gathered a bouncing long range shot which could have been awkward. In the second half Storey broke into the box and had a clear sight of goal but was closed down and blocked off before he could pull the trigger. And that was about it in terms of the major action we saw close up. The result was everything on Saturday. It was nothing like the classic 4-0 demolition of a then very strong Inverness team, with Ryan Stevenson and Gary Fraser leading the way, or even the 3-2 win with the Buchanan double and Archie's goal of the century, running the length of the pitch with two 1-2s and slotting the ball home, before the team had to hang on as a sickness bug led to players dropping like flies. I could probably even now remember more of these two games than what happened a couple of days ago. Hazard was solid, although I would like to see him claiming more crosses. He did not have any difficult saves to make, and had no chance with the goal. Elliot was combative, covered well for other players and made one superb crunching tackle.He might have done more to stop the cross for the goal, but that is perhaps being a bit harsh. Penrice was again in timid mode and even though he was a wing back with less defensive duties, he was still not attacking the box and the byeline with the elan he was showing earlier in the season. Was unlucky that conceding possession at the corner flag led to a goal at the other end, but very lucky that his misjudged header at the death confused the Inverness striker who let the ball bounce off him to safety. However, bonus points for managing to slip some dry humour about Christie Elliott into his pre-match Jagzone interview! Anderson was the epitome of the experienced and commanding centre back and it was impressive how in his first game he could take control of the situation and talk everyone else through. His goal was a welcome bonus and assuming that his fitness will improve to enable him to last 90 minutes, the only concern would be his lack of pace. Just not sure if he could be so effective as one of two rather than three centre backs, and that might limit our options if we wanted to field a more attacking formation. Saunders and McMillan (like Anderson) are very reassuring and intelligent players. No doubt they are not perfect, but they seem less prone to the crazy goal-conceding mistakes that have dogged previous centre backs this season. All the defenders willing to take a booking for the team, so a certain level of streetwiseness, but of course you can only do that once each per game, and even then suspensions will come knocking. Bannigan and Slater composed, and combined well for the first goal. Controlled the game first half, but seemed to fall out of things in the second half. There was a lengthy worrying period when we continually handed back possession, and perhaps we were looking for one, the other or both of them to step forward and keep the ball to close down the game in the manner of Banzo's classic performance away against St Johnstone in the week before his serious injury. McCarthy made a few tackles, though otherwise had little noteworthy impression on the game and could not improve the ball retention. Harkins took time to settle, but once he did he began to get on the ball and helped see out the last minute by running round 3 Inverness players. Spittal was popping up all over the place in the first half and had a few attempts at goal. Cannot remember seeing much of him in the second half but I am sure that he was grafting away in the manner he has done of late. Fitzpatrick took his goal brilliantly and did really well not to foul the Inverness player who lost control of the ball. He also set up Spittal well in the first half. Otherwise he was fairly quiet, but you always feel that when he bursts into the action he is going to achieve something. Storey was his normal self, a few mazy runs with little end product. In the second half, neither forward player was able to keep the ball down the other end of the park for any length of time. Reading it back, the above sounds a bit more negative than it is meant to be. There were no outstanding performances, but there was plenty to appreciate, especially in the first half. The second half was uninspiring but the team held together. Job done and done well, but no reason to get carried away. Fantastic to celebrate an away victory, and that long dark journey down the A9 is totally transformed by the warm glow of success.

Being technically pedantic, I do not think that they are fake Thistle, but rather genuinely only half Thistle.

Just trying to unpack my limited memories of Chris Turner for Barney's benefit. Midfielder. Sean Welsh type build, so more of a link up player than a hard tackler. Northern Irish under 21 cap or caps, so may have already played in same team as Jonny Tuffey. Came on as a substitute against Livingston and all I can remember about his goal was that it had a touch of class. I think he showed control and balance to take himself away from the defenders, and slotted in a very cool finish. For a short time we thought we had a potentially seriously good player on our hands. However, he could never seem to get himself match fit and just sort of faded away. He almost wrote himself into our history books. You will see the League tie against Rangers mentioned above. Steven McKeown equalised Kris Boyd's opener. Turner came on as a substitute deep in the second half when Thistle were giving as good as they got at 1-1. Turner was within an inch of reaching a cross to slot it into an empty net with time running out. It was a bit like Euro 96 when Gazza just failed to connect with a cross at 1-1 v Germany. The fine line between being a Jags legend and another also ran that Barney has forgotten!

Chris Turner scored a very good goal away against Livingston in a cup tie. Made it 2-0 for us after Marc Twaddle opened the scoring.

Quite impressed by the predictive text on my iPhone. Just type nt and lo and behold ntambwe NT vessels make the most noise!

Archie had quite a few sendings off in his career. I think that there was at least one other case where he lost it at Forthbank. Struggling to remember the precise detail. It was near the end of that dreadful season when we almost went down to the fourth tier. Early in the game Archie gave away possession and Stirling scored as a result. Archie was angry with himself and the world in general, and the next time a Stirling player came towards him, Archie just wiped him out and was shown the inevitable red card.

For some reason, reading your post made me realise for the first time that HARKINS is an anagram of KRISHNA.

Thanks TJR. Some fascinating stats and amazing competition names in there. Interesting to see Mark Roberts, Damon Gray and Stevie Lawless riding high in the lists. What was the public response to competitions like the Lord Provost's Rent Relief Fund Cup? Presumably we played Clyde relatively frequently, so there would be no great novelty factor. Would attendance be similar to a League/Scottish Cup game, or would there just be a few hardy or benevolent souls or anoraks like me or balaclava wearers like Auld Jag?

I think that Miles was a bit miffed because his team mates had been laughing at his ridiculous snood.

I make it 8. Elliot and Cardle are English and Hazard is Belgian.

Just catching up on the Fitz Statz. Would I be right in saying that Aidan has scored on his debut for Thistle in 3 separate Cup competitions? Away v Albion Rovers in the League Cup Away v Stranraer in the Challenge/Irn Bru Cup Home v Stranraer in the Scottish Cup That must be some sort of record.

As regards Brexit, at least we can be grateful for Ntexit. And having Cammy Bell as a backstop would have avoided the possibility of a hard border

The net-bulging header against Morton was memorable...... though not quite as memorable as the concession of possession which gifted a goal away against Inverness. At least that did bring Banzo on to the pitch.

Flares go well with ceilings

AndyMac, if you keep going back (rather liked the rhyme there), it becomes a question of whether you believe in a Creator God or the Big Bang theory.

Methil Elated Spirits Just hope we're not Leven on a jet plane.

I am 57 years old and look younger! I proffered a £10 note with no attempt to defraud and did not produce any ID. Was totally mystified to receive £5 back!

I suppose I would generally be classed as a Clappyhapper, trying to find positives, and while a committed supporter, usually viewing my Thistle football through a lighthearted lens. This next comment should not be construed as saying that Archie should still be manager. His time, though much appreciated, had certainly come and gone. However, I thought that my daughter put it well recently in saying that when Archie struggled, you felt like you were suffering with a friend, but with Caldwell, you feel as though you are suffering with a stranger. I am not one for invective or condemnation. Gary Caldwell is the wrong person in the wrong place. He should recognise that and leave our club. Hopefully he will find a place where he can flourish. If he is too close (or closed) to be able to recognise this for himself, then the Board has to recognise it for him.