partickthedog

Me, I suppose. I just enjoy a game of football on a Saturday and I go to support the team. I agree that Dundee is the most expensive and the least friendly venue, but that would not stop me going

As long as its not Brannigan

I'll be there. I have vague memories of much celebrated goals by Isaac English and Derek Lyle helping us to move off the bottom of the Second Division. You see, things were actually a lot worse a decade or so ago!!!

Agreed. Less than 2 weeks does seem incredibly short notice. We cannot all keep our lives on hold waiting for the Thistle powers that be to change their minds. As I now have an unbreakable engagement on the Saturday that will be a 150 game run of being at every competitive fixture brought to a juddering halt. How did that guy ever get to 500? Still no doubt for everyone like me for whom this is bad news, there will be somebody else who can go and for whom this is great news. Enjoy the game. At least I can now go to the British Touring Car race day at Knockhill (Fife again!) on the Sunday with a clear conscience.

He went down in instalments to let Scott McLean slide a weak shot past him in our 2-1 cup upset win over Livingston at Firhill. Thistle were in the 2nd Division and Livi in the 1st at that time.

Balatoni must be worthy of a song based on the theme tune for BALAMORY

I agree. Dorrans did not seem that well regarded at Livingston and even for a season and a half after his time with us was behind Snodgrass and others in the striking/attacking midfield pecking order. When he was on the bench, there was no great shout from the Livi crowd to bring him on, and when he was introduced no one appeared that excited or expecting him to do anything special. That really only changed in his last season at Livi (remember the Cup tie when he went head to head with Jonny Tuffey at his best, with honours just about even: one goal v several saves). It was at Thistle that he first learned to be a game changer and a match winner, so I agree that the seeds of his future growth as a player were planted at Firhill as much as Almondvale (could make rather an interesting tree!).

If they go by an indirect route, are they meanderthals?

Never heard of him, but does sound a bit like Nick O'Brick the renegade black dwarf in Prince Caspian.

Maybe they thought you were an inSergent

He certainly does! If only I could spell his first name. Serge was so much easier, but he was French.

Presumably they did not see Dundee as a good Korea move

It would be a pity to wipe out for ever the memory of his brilliant piece of play against Hamilton away (I think) when he headed the ball twice in a row straight up into the air (most impressive vertical take off since the Harrier Jump Jet). The second time the ball came down it landed at the feet of a Hamilton player who promptly scored.

Apart from one absolute screamer against Inverness!

England (Aaaargh), Mexico & New Zealand (32 teams divided among 9 people in the office, ladies get 4 teams each and gents get 3) Will Chris Killen start banging them in? Does Blanco still play for Mexico?

I presume this means no compensation as he would be gone for a Burton

Will be there (by car).

I can remember the excitement a few seasons ago when we "captured" Big Jim Smith from Stranraer

You'll have to get into training for them

Sorry, you're right! What I really meant to say was that this would complete my set of seeing a Thistle team play away against all senior Scottish football clubs. Hopefully we can draw St Mirren away later in the CIS or in the Scottish Cup. If I had been thinking straight a month or two ago I should have wanted St Mirren to be relegated instead of Falkirk (or Kilmarnock) as then I could have knocked their new ground off the list next season. I am perhaps rather foolishly taking Cowdenbeath as a given. Barring Armageddon, I will be there for our first away league game against them next season. My Montrose is also rather dodgy as I have only seen Thistle play a friendly there, not a competitive fixture. Now that I am in confession mode I have to concede that my East Stirling away game was an under 19 fixture (featuring Ricky Little etc) at Firs Park just before it was sold. Next time i will be more careful before making any bold claims!

Away to Annan in one and away to Elgin in the other to complete my set of seeing Thistle play at all Scottish senior football grounds.

I do not know much about him either but I vaguely recollect from one of the history books that he also had some link with West of Scotland Rugby Club and he was responsible for Thistle adopting West's red and yellow colours. To digress for a moment, has anyone else realised that the classic John Lennon/Yoko Ono song "So this is Christmas" gives special mention to "The Yellow and Red Ones"?

Uncage the bird! I cannot contemplate doing match reports without him. It would be fantastic if he could replicate on a more regular basis the incisive run and accurate shot across the keeper (by no means easy) which brought him his goal against a very decent Liverpool defence in the Alan Archibald testimonial. Come on Chris. We know that you can do it.

Would it not be more accurate to refer to Brazil as "the Yellow Cowdenbeath"?