partickthedog

Remarkably little celebration from the players. Just a determination to put the ball back on the centre spot and get started again!

Although a strangely high number of red cards this season, we must have a far lower than average number of yellow cards. Would that be taken account of in perhaps reducing any potential fine?

From 1976 when a school friend first invited me to Firhill. It has been a long journey.

Kept wondering who Scott Fox looked like and then it came to me--Chistopher Dean of Torvill & Dean. Maybe inspire him by playing Ravel's Bolero before we take on Morton?

Did Martin Hardie score 40 plus?

The stramge thing was that despite those 2 heavy home defeats against St Johnstone and Gretna, due to decent results elsewhere, we were not far off top of the league and indeed I think we would have gone top a few weeks later if we had beaten rather than drawn with Clyde at Firhill, probably the only team in history to be top of a league with a vastly negative goal difference.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am delighted to say that I no longer need to bulk out the squad with expensive foreign imports and we can have a full team of Jags Kenny Arthur Jean Yves Anis Andy Anderson Davie Irons Alan Archibald Stephen O'Donnell Alex O'Hara Davie Elliott Isaac English Kemajl Avdiu Chris Erskine Supersubs John Arrol Moses Apiliga Pedram Ardalany Graeme Eaglesham Christie Elliott I envisage a flexible 4-3-3 formation with plenty of movement among the front 3 in particular. By moving the younger Alan Archibald out to left back I have incorporated the older Davie Irons in central defence and got StephenO'Donnell back over to the correct right side. My Thistle supporting career has come in two phases, an initial burst in the mid to late 1970s and total obsession from 1996 to now. There is a gap in the 1980s to mid 1990s and therefore while I know most of the names and approximately where and how they played, I am not sure who is left, right or middle. Accordingly if there is an expert from that period, perhaps you would be kind enough to re-arrange the team formation for me. Anybody else for the bench or to challenge for the first team?

Jean Yves has to be a good guy for his sheer entertainment value.

Have to agree with the man of the cloth here. In brief summary any claim for damages would have to arise out of a breach of contract or an actionable wrong (Scots Law word is delict though some may be more familiar with the English equivalent-tort). I cannot see any relevant contractual relationship here. Delict would require us to have suffered quantifiable loss naturally and directly arising from a breach of duty of care by someone who owes us such a duty. I am not sure how you could get any such action off the ground. Then again, maybe you were not thinking of training your litigious guns on Dunfermilne FC, Gavin Masterton, Jim Leishman, Sammy the Tammy or the SFL or the SFA. What about Craig Dargo for diving, Aaron Muirhead for bringing him down, Conrad Balatoni for being outjumped by Andy Barrowman, or Ross Forbes for missing the penalty. Sue them all jointly and severally and see how you get on!

Was watching my favourite non-Thistle player Andres Iniesta running the game for Barcelona as usual on Tuesday. Felt a bit sorry for him having to try to work with such an unimaginative and substandard player as Lionel Messi, and thought how much more effective he would be if played in combination with our own maestro Chris Erskine. Noted then that both Iniesta and Erskine begin with a vowel and soon had put together a team of half Thistle half others with vowel initiated surnames. Kenny Arthur Jean Yves Anis Andy Anderson Alan Archibald Stephen O'Donnell Mikkel Arteta Leon Osman Chris Erskine Sergio Aguerro Andres Iniesta Zlatan Ibrahimovic I would envisage this team playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Arteta and Osman in holding roles (with licence to one or other to break forward). Erskine, Aguerro and Iniesta would switch and combine like crazy behind Zlatan and no doubt tie any defence in knots. Love the thought of an Anderson/Archibald centre defence and my only small problem is having to play O'Donnell on the wrong side to accommodate the mercurial talents of Jean Yves Anis (playing as he did against Livingston and Falkirk, please). Would have liked to include a U surname but could only think of David Unsworth and John Utaka who do not quite make the grade. Any improvements on that team (while keeping a reasonable Thistle/others balance, but if you can do all-Thistle, then so much the better)?

Will every effort not be made by the powers that be to enable Dunfermline to limp to the finish line this season, especially as the end of the season is not that far off? I appreciate that it was the SPL rather than the SFL, but was this not the approach taken for Gretna? I cannot recall the precise detail but were not monies brought forward that would normally have been payable at the end of the season? Even if by the end it is a youth and coach team with Leishman and Jefferies on the bench, as long as they fulfil the fixtures, that should be enough.

Graeme Gibson?

Owen Coyle (spotted on Firhill Road).

I think you are OK, mate. Ticket sale in a fortnight's time, not today. Hopefully you will not have another football match clashing on the 23rd.

I think that Queen of the South gave us some money for Des McKeown. Does Super Des force his way into the team?

It otter be quite easy

Graeme (Graham?) Eaglesham

Get Derek Johnstone out of there!!

Stuart Ayton or Liam Bonar as in Bonar Bridge could replace Derek Johnstone

I did mention this one above. But your description is so much more eloquent!

Different style of goal. Would never win goal of the season but perhaps a place in a top ten showcasing every aspect of the art of goalscoring. Conrad Balatoni's header against Dunfermline (at 1-1 remember) crashing into the net right in front of the New Shed was truly inspirational. If one has to be chosen has to be by Chris Erskine, but which one? Best single shot strike v Airdrie, wonderful run and lob v Falkirk or finshing off Paton's crunching tackle and pinpoint crossfield pass v Raith? Then again, team goal Stephen O'Donnell with the incredibly cheeky dink has to be in the mix as well!

Another one lacking only Elgin & New St Mirren Park. Two of my hits are slightly dodgy. Pre-season friendly at Montrose and under-21 game at the old Firs Park (East Stirling). The rest are all competitive first team fixtures. Can also add Deveronvale as well as the now defunct (at least at the top level) Clydebank and Gretna.Have been to both incarnations of Airdrie, but not yet to Rangers Newco. Old grounds include Boghead and the former Bayview.

If you played for Inverurie Locos, then your equivalent of Hampden would be Central Station Park.

or Elliot Bunney the flying machine.

Anoter one from the dark days of the Second Division. Graham Connell rocket shot at Firhill against Inverness. If I can go off topic, the other memory from that game was towards the end when we were hanging on desperately at 2-1. Inverness won a throw in with seconds to go down at the corner where the turnstiles for the North Stand now are. Ballboy threw ball to Inverness player. He was so nervous and in so much of a hurry that he dropped the ball and it ran right away down the hill to waste a valuable half minute which was just enough to see us through.