Jaggernaut

You might be on to something there. A young manager who's just hung up his boots, a squad of (mostly) youngsters, including a great young keeper, a player who can mesmerize everybody including his own team, a young striker starting to show how good he can be, a couple of young, gritty midfielders..... If it all came together again.........

Bobby Charlton writes that he used it many years ago when a journalist interviewed him and asked him how Old Trafford made him feel. So, maybe he's the originator, at least when the term is used for football grounds. Another interesting snippet from the book: Ferguson doesn't let his players relax with golf during the build-up to a match, as it slows them down physically and mentally. Hope Jackie reads this!

Then we'll just have to agree to live on different moral worlds, you on yours where you defend and express your support for "thieves, murderers and registered sex offenders" because they also happen to play for the team you support, and me on mine where I won't. And worlds with different definitions of "sanity". You don't sit in judgement, you've repeatedly claimed, but my comparison is "the most insane thing" you've read on the forum, and another poster's view is "moronic". You don't seem to get irony.

Actually, you're right; those kinds of exaggerated statements do appear OTT.

Funniest (though unintentional, I think) post that I've read here in some time. Unless you are referring to yourself ironically, then it's faintly amusing. This is a cute but desperate attempt by you to deflect attention away from your stated support of professional footballers being allowed to do what they like in their "private" lives, that it's of no consequence for their role as a footballer. It's perfectly clear, surely to you as well, that the private vs public distinction these days is not clear-cut, and when it comes down to something like standards of behaviour towards children, then the distinction is even less important. You can call my comparison of teachers and footballers as role models for children "insane" if you like, but you're the one that appears to be ranting, caught out by your own indefensible statement and now lashing out with little depth of thought. If you want to maintain a consistent position, you shouldn't care what school teachers get up to in their "private time", as long as their "interests" or "leisure preferences" don't manifest themselves in the classroom. Well, I do care, and I also care about what footballers, athletes, politicians, musicians, and others do when it comes to giving them any support, and certainly when it comes to suggesting to children that this is what they should aspire to.

DP, Hats off to you for your tenacious defence of KA, but I think you're being a bit dramatic. The worst comment that I remember seeing on here was that he was "average", and he's been getting plenty of recognition for his service and crucial saves. No "slating", as far as I can see.

Didn't there used to be a Down Jag on the old forum?

KA's best moment: The St Mirren penalty save mentioned above, or another great save at Somerset early on which we built upon to go and win. KA's worst moment: Standing like a Pompei statue at Pittordrie, looking for somebody to kick the ball to and allowing an Aberdeen player to run in and nick the ball off him to walk it into the net.

I've re-read it, and I stick by it. I think I'd want anybody who might be in a position to influence my child to have no criminal record, especially with regards to the kinds of crime that this thread relates to. I take it you don't go in for all this "family club" stuff, then?

I'm hoping that both Cairney and Rowser will significantly improve on last season's pretty dire score tallies.

Footballers, like musicians, film stars, are "heroes" to many youngsters, who aspire to be like them, even to live their lives like them. People, especially youngsters, are easily influenced by their role models. Would you say the same about your child's teacher; that all that matters is what the teacher did in the classroom?

Good find.

To be fair, I think there have been some cracking polos, t-shirts etc over the last couple of years. But also some stuff that I would never dream of buying, and that includes the Airdrie tribute black 'n' red/grey training tops etc. You're absolutely right, there should be more stuff that remains true to the Jags colours, although even I am happy to see the odd item that isn't obviously Thistle, but on closer inspection it clearly is! I looked in at Greaves earlier this week, but came away with nothing for the summer. But then I got it all during the season. Here's hoping for a new range of good stuff soon. Oh, including the tartan scarf!

Paranoid as I am, I wondered how getting into bed with a rival drinks company would be seen by the League Sponsor (Irn Bru). Then I saw that we've been sent as far away as possible on Jan 2nd....

And they wonder why there is less respect these days shown by offspring towards their parents!

I came to quite like him in the end, though he's not migratest Jags mascot.

Ah, that would explain a lot.

I guess we'll just need to agree to differ on that.

Topless anywhere between 18 and say, 35.

Arthur is a Firhill legend, no doubt about it. And in my posts above I praised his improvement in handling crosses and his penalty-stopping abilities. He was reliable in that he was around for a long time; no other team wanted him to the point where they actually came in and took him. Yes, he managed to hold off several temporary, mediocre replacements who, don't forget, were brought in for the very reason that KA was considered dodgy at times. That's not revisionism; it's the facts. Much the same thing happened to Roughie during his Scotland career. Nobody has said on this thread that other keepers don't have weaknesses. But I maintain that KA is behind the other three that I mentioned in overall ability. That's not flack. Or if it is, then KA's reputation and record should be strong enough for it to bounce off. Rough certainly has nothing to worry about.

I can't argue against the likely universal recognition of the colours. But many other teams (Albion Rovers in Scotland, Lincoln City, Lens, all those TAPIRAY) all play in red and yellow. But I'd say the long history of hoops distinguishes us even more.

Brill. It'll still make me ill at Firhill.

It would actually be quite interesting to stop a random sample of people in the street, give them a blank outline of a footballer and some coloured crayons, and ask them to do a simple sketch of "a Partick Thistle player". My guess is that around 85% of people (or at least those who knew anything at all about football) would draw red and yellow hoops, maybe 10% (at most) would draw stripes, 1% the jester, and the rest some other random assortment of colours. It would then be interesting to break down the results into different age categories of people.

That is true. In fact with KA in goal I used to feel that we had a good chance of coming out of a penalty against us without losing a goal. His handling of crosses also definitely improved in his last couple of seasons with us. A decent enough keeper, but behind Langfield, Tuffey and Fox in terms of all-round ability.

There are a few keepers that make you think that it'll be really tough to score against them even when you get the chance. The fat, toothless H*n Goram was one of them, and it has to be said that more recently Rab Douglas is another (his brilliant saves against us at Dens recently reinforced that view). Would the prospect of Kenny Arthur lining up against Thistle cause the same feeling of trepidation? Err, nah.