jagscast

The 11-1 against Albion Rovers was at Fir Park. Not quite the poetry you were looking for I'm afraid

Jaggy Advent 4th December =========== TODAY'S GAME =========== Sat-04-Dec-1886 Cliftonville [a] W11-1 FA Cup 3rd Round venue: ? att: 3000 scorer(s): Bob Robertson, Bob Marshall, John Young, Willie Paul (4), A. Johnston, Jerry Suter (3) SCOTS PROGRESS ON IRISH SOIL IN THE ENGLISH CUP ^ The Partick Thistle Football Club of 1880s vintage. Build-up: Today’s post takes a trip back to the quaint old age of horse drawn carts, steam train rides, cloth caps, top hats and extravagant facial hair creations. Yep, we’re travelling away back to the Britain of the 19th century, and to the very early days of the burgeoning Association Football game. Queen’s Park were co-instigators of the “oldest football tournament in the world” and indeed had contributed to the purchase of the original FA Cup trophy. They were Scotland’s only participants up until 1885–86 when Partick Thistle and Third Lanark joined them. On 31st October 1885 Thistle created history with their very first game in the tournament. At Old Hampden Park, our match against Queen’s Park became the first ever English Cup game to be contested by two Scottish teams. This served as little consolation after our 5-1 loss! Next season, a record number of Scottish Clubs entered the 1886-87 tournament, seven in all, with Queen's Park, Rangers, Partick Thistle, Third Lanark, Heart of Midlothian, Cowlairs and Renton all representing the game North of the Border. In the 1st Round, Thistle’s first English Cup victory was achieved on the 23rd October 1886 at “Hole-i'-th-Wall”, the home of Blackburn Olympic, with 2 goals from Willie Paul helping Jags to a handsome 3-1 victory in front of a 1,000 crowd. The poor gate meant that the trip to Lancashire had lost the club money, but the 2nd Round draw gave us a home tie with Fleetwood Rangers, and a healthy 3,000 at Inchview in late November pleased the treasurer. Another brace from the prolific Willie Paul inspired the Jags to an emphatic 7-0 thrashing of the Englishmen. This was the fifth game in a row in which Willie had scored – his move from wing back to centre forward was certainly paying dividends. The interest in this FA Cup business was building all around Partick. This was an exciting new adventure for Partick Thistle. Where would the English Cup draw take us in the 3rd Round? BELFAST was the unexpected answer! The Match: The Belfast Newsletter on Monday 6th December 1886 reported: “This match was played on Saturday on the Cliftonville ground, and was attended by an immense concourse of people. The weather during the afternoon was bitterly cold, and this fact, taken in conjunction with the soft condition of the ground surrounding the area occupied by players, it was thought, would have militated against the attendance; but not withstanding these considerations over three thousand spectators put in an appearance. The interest manifested throughout the match was of the keenest possible character, and the appreciation of the excellent form displayed by both clubs was enthusiastic and well deserved. The ground, owing to the recent rain, was in the worst possible condition, and its slippery state rendered play very difficult. Large pools of water covered the ground in several parts, and no small amount of merriment was occasioned by the frequent tussles for the leather which took place in these localities.” Despite shooting uphill in the first half Thistle were 3-0 up at the break courtesy of two from Willie Paul and one from Jerry Suter, just before half time. It was all Thistle in the second half and we were 10-0 up with just a few minutes to go. Cliftonville only scored when our goalie, Andrew Duff, left his goal towards the end of the game, “tired of having nothing to do” according to the Glasgow Herald. The Belfast Newsletter reports: “A short period before the call of time Baxter scored a goal for Cliftonville amidst great cheering. Almost immediately afterwards Suter sent the ball through the Cliftonville posts, thus making eleven goals for the Scotch team. At the call of time the score was – Partick Thistle 11; Cliftonville 1.” This was a match of many firsts. Willie Paul’s haul of four allayed with Jerry Suter’s three represents the first reported instance of two Thistle players having bagged a hat trick in the same match. To this day, the game stands as the only time that a Scottish side have played an FA Cup match in Ireland. The 11-1 victory stands as Cliftonville’s record loss. Thistle Team: A. Duff, J. Hendry, W. McLean, R. Robertson, A. Milliken, B. Marshall, J. Young, W. Paul, J. Marshall, A. Johnstone, J. Suter The Aftermath: Cliftonville proved to be warm hosts and the Thistle party were entertained in the Queen’s Hotel after the match. No doubt the craic was grand. Thistle received a 4th Round bye and all of a sudden we found ourselves in the 5th Round of the FA Cup – the last 16. A long and expensive round trip to London was not what the treasurer wanted but that’s what he got – an away game against Old Westminsters. We considered scratching the tie which would have been a first for Partick Thistle. On nine occasions we have benefitted from others scratching (conceding) but have never done so ourselves. Thankfully, after some diplomatic negotiations, it was resolved that the match would be played at the Oval, a neutral venue away from Old Westminsters home ground in Leyton, allowing for a bigger crowd and a worthwhile gate to aid Thistle with their costs. 3,000 turned up for the game in late January 1887, but still Thistle’s share of the gate did not cover the travelling expenses. To boot, a late goal in a fast and exciting game broke Thistle hearts, so ending our short but thrilling love affair with the FA Cup. However, Partick Thistle's reputation had been boosted far and wide, all over the British Isles, and, as a result, the club continued to grow in stature. Already, our days of public park football were well and truly in the distant past. This was to be the last season that SFA member clubs would take part in the FA Cup. A Hampden pitch invasion at this seasons 3rd Round tie between Queen’s Park and Preston North End was the catalyst but, in truth, the fundamental moral differences between amateurism and professionalism were closer to the heart of the matter when the SFA issued a terse statement on the 10th May 1887, which stated “that clubs belonging to this Association shall not be members of any other National Association”, a ruling which still exists to this day. Other results on 4th December:

Jaggy Advent 3rd December =========== TODAY'S GAME =========== Sat-03-Dec-1994 Hibernian [h] D2-2 SFL Premier Division - game 16 venue: Firhill att: 6048 scorer(s): Wayne Foster, Isaac English THE GRAND OPENING OF THE JACKIE HUSBAND STAND The Jackie Husband Stand jam-packed with fans ^ ^ ^ Build-Up: The way Thistle fans have watched games at Firhill has changed dramatically since we first moved there in 1909. In the early days at Firhill, spectators would watch the match standing in uncovered terraces in rain or shine. It was during these days that the home record attendance for Thistle was set – 49.838 crammed in for a 1-0 league defeat to Rangers. In 1927 the Main Stand was constructed and the terraces improved allowing the ground records attendance of 54,728 to be set in a Home Championships Game between Scotland and Ireland. In 1954 a roof was inserted above the terracing to create the shed, before in 1977 the Safety of Sports Grounds Act meant Firhill’s capacity was halved to 20,500. The implications of the Taylor Report recommended that all major stadia comply to all seated and the Jackie Husband Stand was constructed in only 8 months. It was named after Jackie Husband, a centre half who played over 350 games for the club and spent, apart from a brief spell to manage Queen of the South, over 50 years at Thistle. King of the throw-in, He did all the jobs at Thistle from playing to coaching, being a physio to just organising the kit. Sadly he passed away in 1992, but the stand ensures his memory lives on. The Match: Hibernian were the opponents as the Jackie Husband Stand was open for the first time. The game saw the debut of Nicky Walker and Wayne Foster, who had been involved in a swap deal with Craig Nelson and Willie Jamieson. Wayne Foster netted himself a debut goal in the first half, but the tables were turned in the second half when McGinlay and O’Neill gave Hibs the lead. It looked like they were going to take all three points from Firhill until Isaac English, in his last game for the Jags, came off the bench to grab a late equaliser giving Thistle the draw, but the game was a side issue after the opening of the Jackie Husband Stand. A new era in watching Thistle at home had begun. The Aftermath: Since the Jackie Husband Stand was opened in 1994, both terraces behind the goal have been demolished. At the North End is the North Stand, built to comply with the 10,000 seater rule in the SPL, while at the South End is the infamous Bing. During the 2000s, with the Main Stand costing more to keep legal with health and safety requirements, the Jackie Husband stand has taken on more responsibilities. It hosts corporate hospitality, from the start of 2006/07, contains the Police Control Room and for a period it even had a Ladbrokes in the concourse. In the summer of 2012 the North Stand was opened for Thistle fans to use as their new shed, allowing Jags fans the choice of two stands to view a game in. As for the season 1994/95 Thistle finished in 8th place in the Premier League. Other games on 3rd December:

Jaggy Advent 2nd December =========== TODAY'S GAME =========== Sat-02-Dec-1950 Celtic [h] L0-1 SFL Division A - game 11 venue: Firhill att: 40000 scorer(s): - LAST 40,000 CROWD AT FIRHILL Build-up: Thistle went into this Glasgow derby having lost three of their previous four matches. Their only win in that run being an extraordinary 5-4 defeat of Hearts after Thistle keeper Tommy Ledgerwood got injured, was then forced onto the wing and scored a goal. Thistle were the very definition of a Jekyll and Hyde team in those opening 10 league matches of 1950/51, having won 5 and lost 5. Celtic came into the clash at Firhill in third position and hoping to push on in the league. The Match: Few details are known about the match but the Glasgow Herald reports as follows “Even the most rabid Celtic supporter at Firhill Park must have sympathised with Ledgerwood when the ball was scrambled past him after he had for 80 minutes defied the Parkhead attack. In a phenomenal display of goalkeeping, which should have inspired his colleagues, he disposed of fast and tricky shots from all angles. Despite it’s one-sidedness the game was highly entertaining. On the frostbound pitch the pace seldom slackened, mainly because the Celtic wing halves, swift and sure in the tackle and persistant in attack, directed the ball into open positions; which simplified the forwards problem of acceleration. Thus the Parkhead forwards appeared to be surer-footed. They were certainly the more effective striking force with Collins and Weir(who scored) providing most of the excitmenet. Thistle’s only forward contributions were fleeting raids carrying no particular threat except when McKenzie or Walker had the ball. Apart from weakness at inside forward Thistle had shortcomings at wing-half. It was fortunate for the team that Forsyth, the backs, and the goalkeeper were in their most resolute form.” Thistle Team: Ledgerwood, McGowan, Gibb, Davidson, Forsyth, Hewitt, McKenzie, McCallum, O’Donnell, Sharp, Walker The Aftermath: Thistle bounced back from this defeat with wins against Airdrie and Third Lanark. Indeed Thistle would go on to lose only 4 of their remaining 19 league games as they finished 6th in the league, one place above Celtic. Thistle’s journeys in the Scottish Cup and League Cup would end in disaster crashing out in the First Round and in the Group Stages respectively, but it was in the Glasgow Cup they would enjoy most success. Third Lanark and Rangers were both defeated, Rangers through the toss of a coin, as Thistle secured their place in the final. The final was drawn 1-1 with Celtic on the 25th of September, but it would be until the 26th March 1951, Easter Monday, before Thistle prevailed 3-2. Thistle’s crowd of 40,000 for the game focused on today was not the norm for us, indeed it was our first home crowd that big in 5 years. It was a Glasgow derby, and maybe Rangers fans inflated the crowd, hoping to see Celtic lose, that argument loses validity when you realise they were playing away to Clyde on the same day. Sadly the days of getting a crowd that size for a Thistle home game are long gone. Other results on 2nd December:

Jaggy Advent 1st December =========== TODAY'S GAME =========== Sat-01-Dec-1979 Hibernian [a] L1-2 SFL Premier Division - game 16 venue: Easter Road att: 20632 scorer(s): Alex O'Hara GEORGE BEST'S EASTER ROAD DEBUT The crowd at George Best's Easter Road debut ^ ^ ^ Build-up: This may seem like an unusual way to start a Jaggy Advent Calender but this was an unusual game. Hibs went into this game bottom of the league with 1 solitary win in their first 15 games, a victory that had come at the end of August against Dundee. However, towards the end of November, Hibs Chairman Tom Hart, received a tip off from the Edinburgh Evening News that George Best was available to sign. Discussions were had and Best was signed for Hibs on a “pay per play” deal worth around £2,000 per game. An expensive gamble from Hibs, but one that paid off instantly as Best scored on his debut in a 2-1 loss to St. Mirren. Thistle travelled through to Edinburgh from the heights of 4th place, but in such a tight division they found themselves only 2 points ahead of 9th place. The impact of the Best signing were evident when the team arrived in Edinburgh. The streets around Easter Road were mobbed with traffic and fans filled the pavements heading to the ground. The Match: Thistle made two changes from the team who drew 1-1 with Dundee United the previous weekend, Ian Jardine and Ian McDonald came into the team with Jim Melrose dropping to the bench and Ian Gibson dropping out the side completely. George Best showed some magical touches early on spraying passes about and showing excellent control. Such skills were always going to lead to meaty challenges and McDonald was one who received such a ticking off. 10 minutes in and Hibs had a soft penalty. Callachan being nudged off the ball by Whittaker, giving Ally MacLeod the chance from the spot. He drove his penalty low and hard past Alan Rough giving Hibs the lead. This rejuvenated Thistle and they started to create chances. Park raced into the box but was unable to keep possession, Jardine crossed for McAdam to head just past, before Alex O’Hara missed a golden chance from a Brazil miskick, Ian Jardine setting the midfielder up. Thistle had a corner cleared off the line before an own goal doubled Hibernians lead. McNamara played a long high ball forward and, under no pressure from Hutchinson, Brian Whittaker tried to flick it back to Rough only to see it fly high into the net. Hibernian had the better of the rest of the half with Rough making a world class save from a George Best free kick. Into the second half and Hibernian continued to play well with Hutchinson heading close, while Best continued to weave his magic. In the 67th minute Thistle got a golden opportunity when Alan Brazil handled the ball inside the box. Colin McAdam stepped up to the penalty but it was well saved by McArthur. Thistle did eventually score when O’Hara slotted home after a Melrose shot was blocked. There was to be no more scoring and Thistle lost their second away game in three. Thistle Team: Rough, MacKinnon(Melrose 45), Whittaker, Campbell, Anderson, O’Hara, Park, Doyle, Jardine, McAdam, McDonald The Aftermath: In the rush to get interviews with Best, Thistle’s manager Bertie Auld was totally ignored by pressmen, highly unusual since he was usually a pressman’s dream with some of his quotes. Thistle headed West disappointed to lose the game but with £8,500 of the gate receipts(These were the days of shared gates!), after a crowd of over 22,000 watched the game. Hibs would only go on to win another 4 games in the league all season, and were relegated with only 18 points. When Thistle returned to Easter Road in May under 1,500 watched as Alex O’Hara scored the only goal of the game to secure Thistle the points. Thistle’s season became average and they drew 6 of the next 9 league games. They eventually finished in 7th only a point behind 4th, and made it to the Quarter Finals of the Scottish Cup. Other results on 1st December: Match details courtesy of the Evening Times and Glasgow Herald.

Hello there, The Jagscast and the Jukebox Rebel have formed an alliance for the month of December to bring Jags fans an Advent Calender with a difference. Instead of getting a small bit of chocolate behind every window, we will bring you a match from that day in question that Thistle have played in, usually with a landmark involved in it. We thought this would be a way to freshen it up, rather than doing the generic "player a day" mode. We hope you enjoy it and feel free to contribute with your memories from the game in question, it'd be wonderful to hear them. Additionally we'll link all the days together in the opening post so you can simply click to the next one, and it'll also be available online at the Jagscast blog, which is available in my signature. Happy Jaggy Advent! 1st December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__166469 2nd December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__166642 3rd December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__166832 4th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__166967 5th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167097 6th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167157 7th December: http://www.wearethistle.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/8977-jaggy-advent/page__view__findpost__p__167275 8th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167359 9th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167464 10th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167572 11th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167648 12th December: http://www.wearethis...post__p__167740

Thistle made it through November 2013 without picking up a single point. The last time we achieved this "feat" was September 2010. We then won 3 of the 4 league games we played in October

There will be a minutes silence before ALL Scottish Cup ties this weekend.

As some of you will already know, last night saw the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Jags held a "Meet the Manager" night. Archie and Maxi headed east to talk to a busy room of Jags fans about all things Thistle. The Jagscast were kindly invited along to record it, so we did. The audio is 2 hours long, which we appreciate is lengthy, but we didn't want to cut anything out. Not got time to listen to it all? No problem. We have prepared a brief summary covering a range of the issues discussed. The audio can be found on iTunes or Soundcloud - just search for Jagscast2013. The written summary is accessable at - http://jagscast.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/eeos-meet-the-manager-night-20th-november-2013/

Jordan Leyden, McDaid/Colina(not sure which) and Meechan with the goals.

You're right. We're currently researching a couple of things and hope to publish our findings on them in the next week.

Fritz will be on the South Drive prior to the game and in the Star and Garter after for anyone wanting to purchase their copy!

Ooft, that's incredibly thorough. Well done. Was just curious as I did a quick search myself through the history book(which I am aware has errors) and just wanted to see what sources you used! Keep up the good work!

What are you using as your source for that? I've used the official PTFC history book and still get 5.989 as my total.

The draw for the 4th Round of the Scottish Cup takes place, in Aberdeen, at Noon on Tuesday. Thistle will enter the tournament at this stage, played on 30th November Potential Opponents: Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Hearts Hibs ICT Kilmarnock Motherwell Ross County St. Johnstone St. Mirren Alloa Athletic Dumbarton Dundee Falkirk Livingston Morton Queen of the South Raith Rovers Ayr United Brechin City Dunfermline Athletic Forfar Athletic Rangers Albion Rovers Clyde Stirling Albion Fraserburgh Annan Athletic/Stenhousemuir - Replay Auchinleck Talbot/Stranraer - Replay Berwick Rangers/Culter - Replay 9th November Who do you want?

Excellent thread. Being, slightly, pedantic Gerry Collins won his first league game in charge 3-2 v Hibs. Lambie had retired the previous week after a 0-1 Dundee United home game.

Since 2000 only 3 SFL1 champions have gained more than 13 points in their first 10 games. ICT(09/10), St. M(06/07) and Livi (01/02)

44. Kilmarnock(7th) had 42.

Steven Campbell now with East Fife, I think.

Being pedantic but Davie Irons is the assistant at Carlisle, not manager: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24341295 Scott Boyd is, of course, at Ross County Marc McCulloch is at Forfar

Slightly different from last week's question in that it's not a simple yes and no question we ask this week: Who will be Thistle's highest assist maker in the league this season? Assist's for penalties will be the player who is fouled for the penalty to be awarded Current Standings: Stuart Bannigan - 2 Conrad Balatoni - 1 John Baird - 1 James Craigen - 1 Kris Doolan - 1 Stevie Lawless - 1 Aaron Taylor Sinclair - 1

Date of last away win v Scottish Clubs (Number of away games against them since) 31/10/81 – Rangers 2-0 (14) 14/08/82 – East Stirling 4-0 (0) 18/04/92 – Montrose 1-0 (0) 26/09/92 – Celtic 2-1 (8)* 13/11/93 – St. Johnstone 3-1 (13) 12/02/94 – Kilmarnock 2-1 (9) 15/10/94 – Dundee United 1-0 (5) 13/01/96 – Motherwell 2-0 (6) 23/03/96 – Hearts 5-2 (5) 25/08/01 – Arbroath 3-1 (1) 08/01/02 – East Fife 4-2 (0) 24/09/02 – Berwick Rangers 3-0 (0) 08/02/03 – Aberdeen 1-0 (3) 05/05/04 – Hibernian 2-1 (0) 09/08/05 – Brechin 0-0(won 3-1 on pens) (0) 01/10/05 – Alloa Ath 6-1 (1) 22/11/05 – Albion Rovers 3-1 (0) 10/12/05 – Stenhousemuir 4-1 (0) 29/04/06 – Dumbarton 3-2 (2) 03/05/06 – Stranraer 3-1 (0) 14/05/06 – Peterhead 2-1 (0) 26/09/09 – Inverness C.T. 3-2 (1) 31/07/10 – Annan Ath. 1-0 (0) 12/03/11 – Raith Rovers 2-0 (4) 22/03/11 – Stirling Albion 3-0 (0) 10/12/11 – Morton 2-1 (3) 17/03/12 – Queen of the South 5-0 (0) 07/04/12 – Ayr United 3-1 (0) 21/04/12 – Dundee 3-0 (0) 28/07/12 – Clyde 1-0 (0) 04/08/12 – Forfar Ath. 2-0 (0) 14/08/12 – Queens Park 5-4 (0) 15/09/12 – Livingston 2-1 (1) 02/03/13 – Dunfermline 4-0 (0) 16/03/13 – Hamilton Accies 2-0 (0) 30/03/13 – Cowdenbeath 2-1 (0) 13/04/13 – Airdrie 2-1 (0) 20/04/13 – Falkirk 2-0 (0) 10/08/13 – Ross County 3-1 (0) 31/08/13 – St. Mirren 2-1 (0)

6th October 1975. We've only played 2 games at Hampden against them since, the league games in 1994/95 We've only lost 2 of our last 10 meetings with Celtic at Hampden.

The Away "Hoodoo" With Thistle playing games this week at two venues we don't have much success at, Tannadice and McDiarmid Park, we thought we'd have a look into Thistle's away hoodoo's against other teams Number of visits since last competitive away win: 14 - Rangers 13 - St. Johnstone 9 - Kilmarnock 8 - Celtic* 6 - Motherwell 5 - Dundee United, Hearts 4 - Raith Rovers 3 - Aberdeen, Morton 2 - Dumbarton 1- Alloa Ath, Arbroath Livingston, Inverness C.T. 0 - Airdrie, Albion Rovers, Annan Ath, Ayr United, Berwick Rangers, Brechin City, Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Dundee, Dunfermline, East Fife, East Stirling, Falkirk, Forfar Ath, Hamilton Accies, Hibernian, Montrose, Peterhead, Queen of the South, Queen's Park, Ross County, St. Mirren, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion, Stranraer We have never played Elgin City competitively. * We defeated Celtic at Hampden in 1995, and haven't beaten them in 5 attempts since.

Nope. Been hit with a few technical grelims the last few weeks. The latest podcast(which is a bit noisy!), entitled "I missed it", is available on iTunes, SoundCloud and on the blog by following the link in my signature.