east end jag

Having achieved very little of note during nearly two years as manager, Benny Rooney is replaced in March 1986 . Bertie Auld takes over until the end of the season but is not kept on as new controlling shareholder Ken Bates starts doing things his way. So a city holds its breath on the next managers appointment which will hopefully herald a new dawn for Thistle. And when the decision is announced, the new guy in charge is ex-Rangers striker Derek Johnstone. Letting go of its breath, the city's reaction is a very half hearted 'meh'. So what do you remember of DJ's nine-ish months in charge? I know this will be painful for some, but during his time with us did you get a chance to see him training the team in Ruchill Park and thought, wow, those training methods are revolutionary. Or did you leave Jaconelli's in disgust just before kick off one Saturday when Derek managed to order the last two fish for a sneaky supper he planned to wolf before taking his place in the dugout? Maybe your memory is as simple as seeing him pull up in his car outside Firhill and having a quiet chuckle as you realised that as he got out of the drivers seat, his trousers were the flares only a square would wear. This might be the most difficult one yet. Let's hear what our memories and opinions are of a man who's spell in charge was the very definition of the word flop.

Season 1983/84 ends with Peter Cormac resigning as the Board decide that a part-time, rather than full time, manager is required to meet the season coming up. Into the managers position, and the financial uncertainty which surrounds the club, comes ex-player Benny Rooney. Staying for two seasons, Rooney's time in charge is predominantly characterised as a struggle to stay in the division. Thistle fans at this time are getting pretty used to what now (and probably back then) felt like the wilderness years. But it was more than that. Benny, and erstwhile assistant Mike Jackson, must have a special place in the treasure trove of memories. Did Benny loan you a quid one Saturday before the game which you've never paid him back? During a chance meeting with him on Woodlands Road, did he tell a bewildered young you that we were two wins off going on a Liverpool-esq period of European football domination? Or did you watch opened mouthed as Benny, one grim November night, argued with a taxi driver while getting out his cab about the financial policies of Margaret Thatcher's Tory Government. Thank you to those who contributed to the Peter Cormac thread. It's now time to air your indifference on the guy who followed him.

After six years in charge of Thistle, Bertie Auld decides that 1980 is the time to move on and do something else, somewhere else. And off he goes to Hibs. In his place, the club appoint ex-Hibs player Peter Cormac. And his four year tenure as Thistle boss begins. So what do you remember and what are your stories from the 1980-84 management reign of Peter Cormac? Did his time in charge coincide with your only game in the Thistle reserves that you'd like to tell us about? Did Peter Cormac sit next to you in the University café and, over an egg roll and Irn Bru, tell you that a young guy called Maurice Johnston was gonna be the next big thing for Thistle? Or was a telephone call from you to the club office answered by Peter early one Wednesday and the subsequent conversation set you on a career path that you've never looked back on? Thanks for all the Bertie Auld stories, it's really great to read people's recollections and thoughts on his time at Thistle. Please now feel free to do the same with Peter Cormac.

It's June 1974 and Davie McParland shocks everyone with his decision to leave Partick Thistle after a disagreement with the Board of Directors. Appointed to replace McParland is Robert 'Bertie' Auld. Maryhill born, Bertie takes his first steps into management with Thistle following a distinguished playing career. Managing the club twice, 1974-1980 and briefly in 1986, Bertie took charge of over 300 Thistle games. But what do you remember about Bertie's Thistle? Do you have any stories about Bertie visiting your school on a Wednesday afternoon to let you know the importance of the green cross code? Was a rift in your family opened because he signed and played Brian Rodman, a player who was clearly never Thistle quality but your uncle thought was the missing cog in defence which could seal the league? Did a girlfriend tell you it's me or the Thistle team of 1978 and, 40 odd years on, your not sure you made the right decision to follow the advice of Bertie when you asked him on Maryhill Road what you should do? Or do you have something else just as special to recall or share about Bertie's time as Thistle manager. Now's the time to tell. A big thanks to everyone who contributed stories to the Davie McParland thread. Please feel free to do the same with Bertie Auld.

I realise David McParland was probably manager before some of us were born (or maybe just me!), but his time with us certainly included a number of highlights. I found this wee clip from ten years ago in which the man himself talks about being a player and manager at Thistle.

Apologies if this topic comes across as an indulgence too far. I thought it would be interesting, cathartic and, hopefully, entertaining to go through a list of our previous managers and give any recollections, opinions, stories or general observations you have about their time in charge of Thistle. Starting at Davie McParland, we take a week to recollect what they did and didn't do, could and should have done along with anything else of interest that happened for you during their time as manager. Especially interested in any personal interactions/stories you might have with or involving given manager. We'll then move onto the next person in charge. For the avoidance of confusion, we'll roll any multiple periods of being manager that individuals had (Lambie, Bertie and McCall ) into one. So get started. If you have a story about Davie McParland meeting you in the street, a letter he sent you after you wrote to the club or a time when he rolled out a pub and you saw him being sick in the street, now's the time to tell it.

I like Bannigan, l think he opens play and has a good range of passing which reminds me of the job Danny Lennon used to do for us. But the sending offs are getting too much. From the same area of the pitch, he got sent off today, against Ayr and, last season, Falkirk. It's a real pity because l would love to have seen him celebrate a win with the rest of the team at the end. But getting sent off in a fairly safe area of the pitch is really damaging. I hope McCall manages to get it sorted because, across 90 minutes, you'll struggle to find a player less likely to hide or go missing than Stuart Bannigan. Fact check and apology - Sorry, got mixed up with Bannigan and Harkins re: Falkirk sending off. It was only a yellow he got that day - sorry Stuart!

They didn't give a name but did say he was quick and the hope was that he would sign tomorrow. GC said that he does want more pace in the team and that this signing, if it happened, would address that as far as the forward position was concerned.

I really enjoyed tonight's session. Was set-up differently from the last time with, l think, slightly less people there. Only Gerry and Gary there from the club but they were both very engaging and it all felt a bit more relaxed than last time. I'll try and give a very broad summary of how l think it went and the content of the evening. Others can chip in and correct where l have picked things up wrong. Started with Gerry saying, with tongue in cheek, that it had been a quiet summer (getting a laugh from quite a bit of the audience) then telling us that hopefully things will start to move and become clearer in the next few weeks. He then handed over to Gary. Gary was very relaxed and spoke, l thought, really well. Went through the pre season training routines and gave an overview of what he was trying to do - Gary spoke about the lack of strikers making that area difficult to practice. His opinion is it had gone well to date and he was happy with things so far. Players had worked hard. He then went on to discuss how he has worked on an idea of what the players identify the club with/as and what they would want it to be identified as. This was agreed by the players and it will be the mantra they adopt in terms of looking to achieve and bond over the season. Intention of this is to create a common purpose which will be the motivation for working as a team and building a spirit and unity. After this he spoke about how we got ready for the two Hearts games - this was pretty in-depth as we looked at preparation techniques like video's, drills, intended positioning, targeting pitch areas/opposition players. This might sound boring but it was actually very interesting and peppered with people asking questions and making observations which Gary answered and gave his perspective on. It then developed into a very random question and answer session with player strengths, our defending corners, the new rule on bye-kicks and how the team position to maximise the change, possible signings, view on who we have signed, budget still available, the merits of the academy and how players transition from one to the other (and what they need to learn in order to move on), views on artificial pitches, not having a dedicated training ground, arrangements for loan players, thoughts on division opponents and our games to date were some of the questions l remember. But there were stacks of questions which Gary took and answered as well as he could. It then finished with Gerry thanking everyone for coming along and asking that we give Gary a round of applause. In all, about an hour and a half long with a positive vibe generally being the mood. Hope this is useful and, as l say, happy to have others disagree with my take or how l caught some aspects of the evening.

I know it's not a signing, but here's a wee article from the Derbyshire Times about Sam Scriven and his time on trial with us. https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/football/chesterfield-trialist-who-spent-time-with-gary-caldwell-s-partick-thistle-deserves-opportunity-says-former-manager-1-9876952

Highlights of the game from the Airdrie website. https://www.airdriefc.com/dtv1920/130719

More information https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/an-evening-with-gary-caldwell/

Not looking great for our Lochburn Park neighbours. www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/other-football/future-doubt-historic-scottish-non-16349820

What l took from last night was that he realised promotion wasn't going to happen very quickly after he was appointed. Knowing that, and identifying that the team needed a 'spine' to ensure we could better compete, he went to work on that. Part of the 'only spent a third' was put down to Gerry getting players out. He made a point of saying that player psychology is important in the modern game and on appointment our team was incredibly fragile. A significant element of the January recruitment seemed based on dealing with that and he mentioned Cardle, Anderson and McDonald as being good to have in the dressing room for dealing with this. My conclusion on this is that l don't think he ever thought one or two players would get us in a position to reach a play off position. He aimed for safety with his actions and anything else would have been a bonus.

When Caldwell spoke about Coulibaly last night l thought it was one of the questions he was most uncomfortable answering. Question was prompted by our poor goals scored rate between his appointment and Christmas. Coulibaly was a goalscorer, why not try him? Caldwell said he wouldn't be with us next season and spoke a bit about how a player from a few seasons before isn't necessarily the player you have now. When he gave a few examples of why the player wouldn't be in his long term plans, someone asked him why that wasn't made public (poor timekeeping, questionable attitude) he said he wouldn't hang a player out to dry in public. When it was further put to him that perhaps it would motivate the player to try harder if this was made public and help fans understand what was happening, Caldwell said he disagreed and that it would demotivate someone who, in an emergency, might be called on to play. I got the impression he would rather not bad mouth players in public but would be clear on if, or if they would not, be part of his plans going forward. Again, l hope l caught this right and it's of some help with this topic.

On the pressing opposition teams point Gary did show some film of games to illustrate this. Examples of dropping off and then getting tight. You could definitely see a difference between the start and end of season but it's hard to draw blanket conclusions on six or so selected clips. However what he also said after the clips was (something like) good players don't like being closed down, average players cant play at all when it happens to them and given the league we are in, pressing teams is vital - l think he then showed a Dundee United clip where we picked up the ball 4 or 5 times in their half from applying pressure when we lost the ball. In total this approach all fitted into his wheel type illustration graphic of how he wants his team to play (which l can't remember the four parts of) and the idea that you do what the team needs not what is best for you. Don't know if it's been mentioned elsewhere, and l only just remembered it, but he also said Spittal and Cardle would/have been offered deals. He wasn't sure if they would sign but he said they enjoyed being at Thistle. Again, hope this makes sense and apologies to anyone who was there that interpreted what was said differently.

Yes, sorry l phrased it badly. The point l meant to make was that Gary (and he said maybe Gerry as well) often ended pre season training thinking l'm not feeling sharp enough to start the season. This was something he would make sure wouldn't happen with us this year.

Evening started with Gerry introducing Gary Caldwell. Some jokes about PowerPoint. We then heard a 40ish minute presentation on Gary's football philosophy, how we played when he arrived, the changes he made, how we played after he arrived (pre and post Christmas) and his reflections on how we move forward along with how we prepare for games. Some stats and film accompanied each of the areas. Some of the points made through these areas that l remember were - players psychology is really important and needs to be managed with real delicacy. On his arrival this was a real problem area. - we didn't press other teams enough when we lost the ball. This is important to his philosophy and improved as he managed to shape the team more - he wanted a strong spine for the team and that influenced his transfer window purchases ( two central defenders, defensive midfielder and forward). - Questioned some of the teams dedication to the cause. Important they play for team not their own satisfaction. Spoke about you do what's needed for the team. - Acknowledged McDonald's influence - wanted to sign him earlier but McDonald took his time. Also said he was fitter than he had ever seen him. - Wasn't able to implement individual training plans to address individual weakness (spoke about Storey and crossing) given our situation ie fighting relegation, but will do this going forward. - will start pre-season early and have us ready to peak at the beginning of the season. That's what l remember of the Gary outline of where we were, where we are and what is gonna happen from here. Hope this is of some help to those not there and not too distorted for those who were!

Have to slightly disagree with how you've given Gerry's answer to the Doolan question. He said it maybe could have been handled better. I know it's only a subtle difference, but it certainly wasn't an answer which fully accepted that the way he was allowed to leave was poor.

Seven years ago, at Firhill on the last home game of the season, my daughter (who was 9 at the time) was the mascot accompanying Kris out onto the pitch. Before the last home game of this season l asked her if she remembered it and showed her the picture taken of her and Kris. She said yes and that he was really nice to her. My daughter doesn't take an interest in football now, but the foremost memory she has of Thistle (outwith me talking about them all this time) is you being a really nice, good guy on the day she was a mascot. Thank you for that Kris. I hope you're back at Firhill soon.

Daily Record website Website link Partick Thistle youngster Aidan Fitzpatrick is wanted by a number of English clubs including Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls top a list of sides from the English Football League who want to bring the 17-year-old south in the January window after an impressive start to his Jags career. The forward has scored three goals in 12 appearances since making his debut in the summer. He netted on his debut against Albion Rovers just minutes after coming on as a substitute in the Betfred Cup group match. He’s made nine Championship appearances so far for Gary Caldwell’s struggling side and was the first player born after 2000 to play for Thistle. He signed a new deal at Firhill which is due to keep him at the club until 2021. But with English clubs circling, Thistle could be in for a windfall which could help Caldwell bring players in as he looks to turn his side’s seasons around.

Seen this story about what sounds like a horror injury to ex- Jag Adam Strachan https://www.bscglasgow.co.uk/update-on-adam-strachan-match-vs-whitehill-welfare/

Watching some of the players here reminded me of my encounter with Thistle around this time. It was getting to the summer school holidays and l was at St Tams in Scotstoun. Three of us decided to walk down to Scotstoun Showgrounds to try and find anyone playing football to ask if we could get a game. When we got there the only people in the place were Thistle players, presumably at the start of pre season training, running around the track on the outside of the Jubilee Pitch, which is the one the Warriors play on now. After a wee while Lambie told the three of us we could take one of the team balls and play with on the pitch. As we took it in turns to blooter shots at the keeper, Lambie and Collins kept shouting at the players to run harder or catch up with whoever was in front of them. Anyway after about twenty minutes in what felt like blistering heat, we were taking our last shots at goal before getting ready to go back to school. The last shot, from the youngest of the three of us, was a big up and under which landed - without him noticing it coming - smack in the face of Mark McWalters. To say he was pretty angry and ready to sort the three of us out because he thought we meant it, is putting it mildly. Lambie, who along with the rest of the team had started laughing at McWalters, saw him making a beeline for the three of us shouted to him "If yid ah been movin' quicker it widnae huv went anywhere f*****g near yae Mark. Leave the boys alone cause it wiz an accident." Anyway the team stopped running shortly after that and started heading in to get changed. I remember wishing Sammy Johnstone all the best for the season but avoiding McWalters who still looked angry, before giving Lambie the ball back. As we gave the ball back to Lambie he patted my mate on the head and told him if his team could find their man with the pass as well as he'd found McWalters face then they'd have a good year!

Item number 8e what about the Civic Reception? http://www.accessglasgow.org/councillorsandcommittees/Agenda.asp?meetingid=12209

Just noticed the Council website has posted a report on this. Dont like the line in part 2 that says 'Their fifteen or so home fixtures in the Pro 12 League, Heineken Cup and Friendlies are currently played at Firhill Stadium (Partick Thistle) but a break clause in that agreement provides the opportunity for relocation for next season onwards.' http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/submissiondocuments.asp?submissionid=52033