Winter of '63

Much better performance and a deserved win although Falkirk were a poor side - we are short of players but I prefer giving our youngsters a chance than their job lot of anonymous English Lower League Plodders. O'Ware and Slater are decent signings who are an upgrade on Devine and Edwards...Penrice and Gordon stepped up their games...Spittal and Storer threatened a few times but didn't quite open up their defence. I'm not convinced that Elliot is good enough at right back nor that Storey is a sole striker...his pace did stretch their defence but he fired in crosses to no one and was caught offside umpteen times. Erskine had an excellent game...I'm sure Denis McQuade would have enjoyed seeing the goal...reminiscent of one of his specials. A moving tribute to the Partick Thistle Legend, David McParland and great to see most of the 1971 team back at Firhill...it brought back some wonderful memories...and reminded me that supporting your team is far more than just about a game. Jury still out about the prospects for the season.

We were 6th at New Year.

My first look at the team this season was a real shock to the system. I thought we had the core of a side which would at least make the play-off position which is the minimum acceptable for a Thistle Side and with a fit Bannigan and some more depth to the squad, would be genuine promotion prospects. However today's performance showed the same faults as last season but worse. Lots of possession, ponderous build-up , few clear chances, easy to defend against - in his post-match interview Archie correctly identified that we moved the ball too slowly - when is he going to do something about it? Craig Slater looked a good player - strange substitution; Erskine tried very hard and showed a few flashes; young Fitzpatrick wanted to go forward...that was about all the positives. I never expected I would see Elliot dribble along the bye-line and lay on a goal - a catastrophic error; Keown was rusty/not very good; McGinty was a really bad version of Dan Seaborne; Penrice was awful and lacking confidence; Gordon's sole contribution was one good tackle - McCarthy did far more in his short spell - why are we playing an inferior loan player?; Spittal has ability but didn't show it; Storer can make an incisive pass but is an atrocity waiting to happen. I was baffled at the almost universal acclaim for re-signing Storey on this Forum and Pie & Bovril. He was desperately poor last season - he can run quickly but can't pick out a pass or cross and is a dreadful finisher...a sclaffed shot and heading wide with the goal gaping today with repeated failures to look up and find a team-mate from good positions. Last season I kept posting that although we hadn't played well the opposition didn't look a better team - that wasn't the case today. Fantastic Strike from Shankland - I almost applauded.

Although Davie McParland played in all the games my father took me to at Firhill back in the 60's, I was too young then to appreciate how good a player he was, I do remember how highly he was thought off both for his ability but also the manner he conducted himself and not only by Thistle fans. 587 Games and 110 Goals speaks for itself. I has just started to go to games regularly on my own when he took over as Manager in 1970 - he transformed a team which had just been relegated into an exciting side of home-grown youngsters which surged to promotion...and then the best time ever to be a Thistle fan within the space of a few months in 1971 the John Gibson inspired win against Rangers, the astonishing 8-3 game against Motherwell, the dramatic 5-1 Quarter-final victory against St Johnstone and of course that glorious day at Hampden , winning a trophy in the most sensational game in Scottish Football History. I don't really get greatly affected by the death of people I have never met but I was genuinely sad to read of Davie McParland's passing. He gave me my best ever memories as a Thistle Supporter. He is the Partick Thistle Legend...but sadly I always had the feeling that he was never fully recognised by the Club. Let's hope that the new Training Ground is a fitting legacy for him.

Cerny was a very competent Keeper. I commented previously that he, Erskine, Doolan & a fit Bannigan were undoubtedly players of Top League calibre so I can hardly blame him for moving on. Unfortunately, the combined efforts of players and management last season did not reach even the low bar which would have avoided relegation. He does have a reputation as an ace time-waster which is not a quality I admire but I always thought he was just slow and laborious in taking goal kicks, even when we were losing. I was more concerned about his failure to release the ball quickly - he always waited until all outfield players were congested in a small area of the pitch before launching a hopeful punt towards the head of the tallest opposition defender. I didn't know whether to be pleased or annoyed when he actually had a few quick throw outs in the game against Livingston. Last season was not his best but considering that the two worst goalkeeping blunders I saw at Firhill were by McLaughlin of Hearts and Bain of Dundee - they were Scotland's Keepers against Mexico - it adds to my bewilderment that we managed to get relegated.

The injured players, or at least the midfielders, didn't return. Banzo played a few games at the beginning of the season and there were indications that he would be back after the Winter Break; Fraser finally recovered from injury but almost literally didn't kick a ball for us...apart from the one that whacked that Celtic Fan; and Osman did come back but chose to lie down "injured" while Dundee equalised. Around this time last year when Sean Welsh was released, several posted on here to the effect that we had plenty midfielders but I had reservations about the fitness history of Bannigan, Fraser & Osman, the capabilities of Barton & Edwards and the inexperience of McCarthy. There's no doubt we suffered from injuries but that doesn't absolve Archie from responsibility for not foreseeing and solving the problems.

Last night I watched the video of our 5-0 victory against St Mirren in the League Cup at the beginning of the Season. Erskine, Lawless, Doolan & Spittal were superb. I don't know if that's the Partick Thistle way...but it's definitely the way I would like Partick Thistle to play. Stuart Bannigan was in the side...the only warning sign for the season which unfolded was Abdul Osman stupidly getting himself sent off. Somehow we ended up getting relegated - St Mirren were promoted...I'm still trying to get my head round this and don't have even the remotest idea of what might happen next year.

I got a bit riled by the "Archie Out" Parrots who were on here every time we lost a game...or even when we lost a goal. The most vociferous and repetitive seldom seemed to go to games and their suggestions for replacements were pretty ludicrous. Sacking a manager is not a guarantee of a improved fortunes - I think the statistics show it usually doesn't make much difference. Ross County sacked two managers and went down, Hamilton held on to Canning and survived. West Brom, Stoke & Swansea all sacked their managers and were relegated. My view was that Archie deserved the full season - sadly he failed. I was however a regular critic of many of the obvious flaws in the Team which were clearly down to management failings. They have been raised on here over and over again. I would add that on Sunday, Cerny for the first time had been told to release the ball quickly to our back four whereas for the rest of the season he waited until all 20 outfield congregated in a small area of the pitch before punting the ball upfield for us to lose possession. However, building from the back only works if you have quick full backs or wingers who can commit defenders rather than whole-hearted but limited players like McGinn & Elliot. There is no reasonable argument in the harsh world of professional sport to keep Archie on after his failings this season. In any event, whoever takes over is likely to face a very tough task. I suspect that almost all the current squad will not be at Firhill - Cerny, Erskine, Doolan and a fit Bannigan deserve to be playing in the top league but if they are here with McCarthy & Penrice (and maybe Spittal) we have the basis of a team which might actually challenge for promotion. However, the thought of watching Storey, Edwards and Elliot again is not inspiring and I'm not sure that it will be easy to recruit players who are actually better than Devine, Woods & Sammon far less of the quality of Osman, Dumbuya or Barton (before this season.) Of the suggested candidates, Jim Goodwin has done quite well at Alloa and comes over as a determined and focused guy. I actually warmed to him a bit when I heard him as co-.commentator when we played Airdrie in the League Cup at the beginning of last season - he knew a huge amount about every one of our players. I'm not very enthused about any of the other candidates but who knows. Giving Archie the chance to put things right is not the worst option. I am still coming to terms with how avoidable relegation was, even considering how poor we were. I think surviving this season was far easier than getting promoted next year will be.

We have sleep-walked into a desperately disappointing and potentially disastrous relegation. The most galling thing is that we wouldn't have had to have been very much better to have avoided this but we spurned so many opportunities to escape that we deserved to go down. I don't necessarily go with the line that our players didn't try...they just don't have the right mix of ability and nerve. Other than the full backs, I reckoned that the side selected was our best line-up, we tried to pass the ball and switch play but the fundamental flaws in this side were still there...we just don't make many clear cut chances. Neither McGinn or Elliot can beat their man or put in a decent cross and that makes it relatively easy to defend against us. When we started shelling high balls into the box, I knew the game was up. It feels like the end of an era. I'm sure Doolan and Eskine will be far more gutted at what happened than any supporter but they both had poor games today....Lawless had probably his best game ever and no doubt will find a club in the top League. McCarthy did not have a good game but he should have played more particularly in the first half of the season - it might be best for him to move on. Cerny is a good keeper - why wasn't he told before today to release the ball early instead of punting it up the park? Of the rest, Booth is a decent left back, Barton has shown only glimpses of his ability on the ball but been very poor in midfield, Spittal has potential and had an excellent game today...I wouldn't miss any of the others if they didn't play for Thistle again. Presumably, there were off-field issues but I am mystified why Gary Fraser was given an extension to his contract and then sent on loan while a journeyman in Woods played every game?...and why did Dumbuya not play either when he is better than McGinn and Elliot?...and what happened to Abdul Osman? In the Season's defining moment he lay on the ground supposedly injured and left the space for Dundee to score their equaliser which sent us on the downward spiral to the Championship. Archie is a real Thistle man and I hoped it would turn out differently but unfortunately there have been too many faults that can only be put down to managerial errors.

This was the first game I saw at Firhill...we were on a long unbeaten run and as I have mentioned on here before there was uproar when the half-time results went up on the old scoreboard as we were top of the League...and then came the Winter of '63

It's a draining experience supporting Patrick Thistle. Tonight was the season in miniature - we started reasonably well, the opposition didn't look a better team, we didn't make many clear chances, we lost a soft goal and we didn't get the break that might have got us a point.. I haven't been to any away games and I miss out on Old Firm games but only Dundee in the first game at Firhill have outplayed us...and we won that game. I haven't actually seen us play well or embarrassingly badly this season, just a whole series of frustratingly ordinary performances. Barton looked classy then disappeared, not for the first time this season Erskine's substitution lessened the prospect of us creating chances, Doolan is more likely to score than Sammon, Storey has not been a good signing, we missed McCarthy & Booth...and how was Edwards voted Man of the Match? He runs about like a terrier after the ball but seldom wins it, he lacks composure on the ball, he seldom plays an incisive pass or runs past defenders...he has been a regular in the side for most of the season which has frequently been over-run in midfield. We have beaten a poor Hamilton side twice at Firhill, they have lost a fortune and their best players , they have stuck with their uninsp[ring manager and they have lost 8 of their last 9 games...and they are safe from relegation. Even with the flaws in the team, we should have done better...our League position reflects the failure of the management and players to step up to show the character and ability to win matches when it matters. We haven't been good enough this season but we can still stay up...if we do, the Club will have some tough decisions to make to improve the performance of the team.

We started quite well, scored a good goal and finished strongly in the last 10 minutes but we did next to nothing for most of the second half - a draw was a fair result. County looked a better side than Hamilton but if we can't win these games, we won't stay up and won't deserve to. We might make the play-off but my confidence that we will beat the Championship side is not high. The backing from the Thistle fans was impressive and you couldn't fault the team for commitment...Chris Erskine in particular gave everything and was a threat. McCarthy again looked a decent player though he faded a bit. However, we lacked composure and incisive passing - Barton and Spittal showed brief glimpses that they have the ability but they just haven't contributed enough this season. We really missed Booth's deliveries from the left wing...Elliot had a poor game and his crossing was dreadful. I have never been convinced that Sammon is a great asset to the team and he was pretty hopeless tonight. I never expect Storey to make a good cross or pass or do anything other than run quickly in the direction he;s pointed. It's very disappointing that the strong position we were in this time last season with money in the bank from the top-six finish and the sale of Liam Lindsay has been squandered on relegation standard signings and injury-stricken players. The split certainly generates exciting and meaningful games at the end of the season though.

There was a genuinely supportive atmosphere , I was pleased with the side Archie picked, we came back from losing a goal and won 3 absolutely crucial points. I was however less upbeat about the day than I might have been. We probably deserved the win and Hamilton were not particularly good but the key substitution was Templeton going off - apart from the goal he was involved in creating four clear chances with our defence posted missing. In the previous four seasons, I thought we were clearly a better side than several in the Division and didn't think we deserved to be relegated...I'm not sure that's true this season. Cerny, Erskine & Doolan are still good players but getting older, Osman, Dumbuya & Barton are no longer the assets they were and Bannigan may never recover. Booth is a decent full back and McCarthy looks very promising but pretty much the rest of the squad is of a standard which is likely to struggle to avoid relegation. We pass the ball quite well but it is a repeating pattern that we get into good attacking positions but don't make many chances. Sammon did ok but his clumsy touch when Erskine put him through shows he is not the solution. I still think we have a reasonable chance of avoiding the drop mainly because the other sides are not any better than us . If we stay up, we will have to find a way to improve.

I can't remember if it's two or three times that Motherwell have not been relegated from the top League despite finishing bottom. They escaped the drop because Falkirk didn't meet the SPL Stadium criteria but the following season voted to relegate Thistle when Inverness didn't have a compliant stadium...and Motherewell were in Administration. They have benefited from being a favoured club whereas Thistle have had to take their medicine so it's hardly surprising that they have had a little more success...and our record in Cup games has been absolutely abysmal for the past 40 years.

It's an Omen!

My understanding is that the post-split fixtures will be (not necessarily in this order) Motherwell - Home - 3 St Johnstone - Away - 3 Dundee - Away - 0 Hamilton - Home - 3 Ross County - Home - 3 I have added the points taken from the corresponding fixtures this season - just the 12 and Dundee have a far worse home record than we do. We are apparently nowhere as good as any of these sides, trailing a massive one point behind Ross County and with Hamilton (1 point), Dundee (2points) and Motherwell (3 points) all on tremendous form over the last 5 games. We are as good as relegated , I'm not sure it's even worth playing the games. I think our only chance it to tempt Csaba Laszlo away from Dundee United - he has turned their season around after they sacked their under-performing manager.

My half-time text report to a Thistle Fan in England read - Even Game- Dopey Goal - Osman having a nightmare - we just need a lucky break - don't think we will get it. I can recall truly awful performances (both 0-4 defeats to Clyde) when it was clearly time for Whyte/Britton & Dick Campbell to go - today's performance was nowhere near that bad - in fact we played not too badly - some outstanding defensive blocks from Killie defenders, the ball not falling to a Thistle player in the box, MacDonald handling outside the area meant we didn't get the draw we deserved . Although Steve Clarke'assessment that we huffed and puffed is accurate he did accept that his side was pushed back in the second half - I can't remember a single threat to our goal from the League's form side. It doesn't hide the flaws - our passing isn't sharp enough, our crossing was poor and we lack a goal threat. And what has happened to Abdul Osman? He used to be an effective defensive shield but today he hardly won a header or tackle and his passing was dreadful. Under no pressure, he let the ball run under his feet, from the throw in he conceded a needless foul and our defence fell asleep to lose another soft goal. I have reservations about Barton in midfield but I thought he should have replaced Osman far earlier. The Bench was not crammed with game-changers - Sammon was again ineffective and I would also have had Doolan on earlier (preferably at the start). Andy McCarthy had an excellent game . The whole Club - Board , Management, Players and Fans - have sleep-walked into a Relegation Paralysis and we desperately need to get a win from somewhere to break the spell. I'm not convinced the other teams in the bottom six are any better than us so I haven't given up on survival yet. When leaving Firhill today, I heard someone loudly proclaiming that he wanted John Hughes in - I'll never be that desperate.

In the context of the importance of the game, the 4-0 loss to Ross County was possibly the worst defeat in the entire time I have supported Partick Thistle...the loss to Ayr United in the Play-Off game is the only one I can think of which comes close. The management and players have let us down very badly. I sensed we were in real trouble when Ian McCall who is the only Jags-Minded Pundit and a friend of Archie commented recently that for the first time he was worried about Thistle. Had he heard that the spirit at the club was not good? It's a shame but Archie has lost his way this season - what previously came over as quiet determination now sounds passive and uninspiring. We picked up additional money for finishing sixth last season - not a fluke, we were clearly the sixth best side in the League. We also collected a reasonable transfer fee for Liam Lindsay. There were warning signs towards the end of last season but these funds have not been applied to good effect. Bannigan, Fraser & Dumbuya are talented footballers but with known injury problems. Storey has pace but little footballing ability - Sammon has been ok but neither of them fit the quick passing and movement style of play which has made Thistle worth watching over the last seasons. I don't particularly rate many of our players - McGinn and Woods are journeymen, Devine lacks composure, Keown was decent last season but less impressive this year, Edwards is not very good, Barton poor in midfield and his confidence looks shattered. I would liked to have seen more of McCarthy and I haven't ever seen Penrice play. I want to see players with skill and creativity but whether through injuries or non-selection Erskine, Doolan, Lawless and Spittal have not contributed enough - the fact that Lawless's commitment as an emergency left back is noteworthy speaks for itself. Osman has been a declining force for some time but his defensive cover was missed when he wasn't playing. However, the defining moment of the season was late in the game against Dundee - Osman who clearly prides himself on his physique, lay down "injured" leaving the space for their crucial equaliser. It's been a disjointed season - players out injured ( why is Bannigan's fitness a secret?) and Old Firm games, International Weekends and weather postponements has made attending Firhill an irregular occurrence. The most galling thing is that in most games although we haven't played well, I didn't leave Firhill thinking that Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee were better than us - Hamilton, Ross County and St Johnstone were worse. The standard in the Championship seems to be poor this season, and if we finished eleventh, I would expect us to win. Posters who are accusing the players of lacking fight seem to have themselves already accepted we are relegated, with the Training Complex abandoned and the club confined to years in the lower Leagues. I haven't given up yet - we have taken 12 points out of 15 from the post-split fixtures - but the general negativity does not bode well. The worst thing about the season has been the gleeful "I told you so" enthusiasm of some posters after every bad result, simply parroting "Archie must go"" without any insight into the problems or sensible suggestions for a replacement - Steve Clark, Jack Ross, Peter Houston, John Hughes?? Sacking a manager is no guarantee of improvement - Owen Coyle was not a success at County or John Hughes at Raith. The most fervent and repetitive critic has not as far as I can tell been at a single game this season. They are all going to feel stupid when we finish the season with six successive victories

A dreich day with driving rain and a sodden pitch...but it was a poor quality game with both sets of supporters a bit quiet. It's been a strange season...I'm not sure that I have actually seen us play well this season but in the home games against Hibs, Hearts & Aberdeen, I didn't leave Firhill thinking they were better teams that us. Aberdeen were less impressive than any time I have seen them since we were promoted - one shot on target speaks for itself. I have never been a fan of Christie Elliot but he was playing well before his injury and had an excellent game today. Booth struggled in the first half though he did improve in the second...but credit to the entire defence - other than two chances in the first half, Aberdeen didn't look like scoring...even in the last 5 minutes. Woods and McCarthy did a lot of grafting in midfield and matched the highly rated Dons midfielders...young Andy's performance did make me wonder why he hasn't played more often particularly when Barton & Edwards were so ineffective there. We didn't look much like scoring either...I don't think Sammon had a meaningful touch of the ball in the whole game...Storey and Edwards will surely produce impressive sport science statistics with all their running but they repeatedly fail to play the right ball. I was a long way from the incident but when Erskine was going through, I had no doubt it was a foul and the only question I had was if it was a red card...a little surprising that the ref waved play on. I suppose it was a decent point...but the losses with those late goals in the two previous games have put us under real pressure.

I have missed a few Home Games and haven't been to any Away Games but the first half performance on Saturday was the best I have seen us play this season - we retained possession and looked a much better side than Dundee. Dumbuya, Osman & Erskine although not at their best made important contributions. They faded in the second half as did the team as a unit. I rate Barton as an outstanding talent in the sweeper role and would like to see a formation which allows him to play there...but not in midfield. I can see a case for Storey & Edwards as impact substitutes but neither would be in my best starting line-up. I would be happy to see McCarthy & Penrice given more game time - we could do with some young legs for later stages of the game.

I think this might have been when Woods hit a raking crossfield pass to an unmarked Thistle player in yards of space - unfortunately it was Kris Doolan who was on the touchline waiting to come on as substitute. I don't have any issue with or interest in Osman's clothing sideline but for someone with such a muscular physique , I'm more concerned about the time he took to get up from a knock which left a gap in the lead up to their goal. There is some legitimate criticism to be made of Archie's management, particularly fitness/stamina and the repeated loss of late points and goals. However, I don't have much time for Posters who seem to take a gleeful delight in calling for the manager's head without any further insight...but maybe that's because they don't actually seem to go to any games.

We fluked a win against Dundee earlier this season with two late goals so I guess this was payback today. It's a movie we have seen far too often - we played reasonably well in the first half with success down both wings - Storey and Booth had loads of space to run at Dundee's hopeless right back . We moved the ball quite well without making many clear chances. I'm not sure why we changed our formation - Storey was ineffective in the second half. Dundee were a poor side and low on confidence. Instead of keeping a grip of the game - a second goal would surely have ended the contest - we sat deeper and encouraged Dundee to come forward with our midfield failing to win the ball or play it out of defence. Osman, Woods & Dumbuya ran out of steam and Edwards yet again made poor choices and had little influence on the game...and on one of the few occasions when we had the chance to play in their half, he let the ball run under his foot and out of play- from a good attacking position, we almost immediately conceded the equaliser. The most galling thing was that a win would have taken us above Dundee and St Johnstone and 4 points clear of Hamilton - instead we let Dundee take a huge confidence boost. The League Table doesn't look good - what a wasted opportunity!

Could this have been a game in the Summer Cup Competition which ran for a couple of seasons in the 1960's ? It would explain the short-sleeved shirts.

Thanks for the updates Northjag though it's a bit disappointing that the Club has again not provided any information on a player's recovery from injury. I think I have only seen Banzo play for about 20 minutes this season when he came on as a sub against Hearts...it was enough to remind me of his ability to link up the play with quick incisive passes. As a midfield talent, he is way ahead of Edwards, Barton & Osman...that is close to 2 seasons he has been out but if he comes back at anywhere near his previous form, he will be a major asset.

This is a good question...the only one I can add is Forest Green. Too late in posting this! And they are Forest Green Rovers so we are going backwards.