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Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club from
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at
Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football and former rugby union, rugby league and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhil ...
in the
Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...
area of the city, and have not played in
Partick Partick (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to the north Broo ...
since 1908. The club have been members of the
Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As well ...
(SPFL) since its formation in 2013, having previously been members of the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
. Since 1936, Thistle have played in their distinctive red-and-yellow jerseys of varying designs, with hoops, stripes and predominantly yellow tops with red trims having been used, although in 2009 a centenary kit was launched in the original navy-blue style to commemorate 100 years at Firhill. Since 1908 the club have won the Scottish Second Division (third tier, now
Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...
) twice and the
Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
(second tier, now the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
) six times, most recently in 2013. Thistle have won the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
in 1921 and 1971 respectively. In 2013, they became inaugural members of the newly-formed
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
under the management of
Alan Archibald Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish association football, football coach and former player, who is currently a first-team coach at Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts. Archibald, who played as a Defender (football)#Centre back, def ...
, and remained there for five consecutive seasons. During this period, Thistle secured major investment and, in 2017, finished in the top six of Scottish football for the first time in over three decades. In the 2020–21 season, Thistle won
Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...
, the third tier of the SPFL structure, and returned to the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
, having been relegated from there in 2019–20.


History


Formation and early years

Partick Thistle Football Club was formed in 1876 in the burgh of
Partick Partick (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to the north Broo ...
, which was at that time administratively independent of Glasgow (Partick was not subsumed into Glasgow until 1912). The club's first recorded match (and victory) took place in February against a local junior team, named Valencia. The location of this match, and thereby Thistle's first home ground, was recorded as 'Overnewton Park', which is thought to have been located next to Overnewton Road, just south of
Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...
. Having established themselves as the most popular team locally ahead of the likes of Partick F.C., in 1891 Partick Thistle joined the Scottish Football Alliance, one of several competitions set up immediately after the formation of the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
in 1890. The club won the Second Division championship in 1897 and were elected to the First Division. The following season they were re-elected after finishing in eighth place. In 1900 they were elected back to the top level, having finished as Second Division champions again, but were relegated the following season and then promoted in second place in 1902. This would be the last time Thistle changed their division for almost 70 years. Since joining the Scottish professional leagues in 1893, Thistle had been an unpredictable side, spending four years in the First Division and five in the Second, winning promotion three times. It was during the 1902–03 Scottish Division One season that Thistle set their highest finish in the Scottish league structure, finishing 8th in the table with 19 points. In the following 33 years, they moved from home to home, using parks at Kelvingrove, Jordanvale, Muirpark, Inchview among others. In 1897 they moved to
Meadowside Meadowside was a association football, football ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle from 1897 until 1908. History Partick Thistle moved to Meadowside from Inchview Park ...
, where they played until 1908. After being homeless for over a season, they moved to their present home,
Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football and former rugby union, rugby league and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhil ...
, in the
Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...
district of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. They played their first home match at Firhill, on 18 September 1909, in a 3–1 victory against Dumbarton Harp.


Cup success and league progress

In 1921 Thistle won the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers 1–0 in the final. Johnny Blair scored the only goal of the game, which was held at
Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
. The Jags reached the final again nine years later, facing the same opposition, but Rangers won 2–1 in a replay following a 0–0 draw in the first match. In 1935 the Jags won both the
Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...
and the Charity Cup, competitions that were taken seriously at the time. Although it was over 30 years before Thistle achieved further cup success they not only maintained their top tier status during this period but finished third in the league in 1947–48, 1953–54 and 1962–63. On 23 October 1971 Davie McParland's team secured the club's most famous result against
Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...
's Celtic in the League Cup final at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
, Glasgow. 62,470 fans watched Thistle take a dramatic 4–0 lead at half time with goals from Alex Rae, Bobby Lawrie and Jimmy Bone amongst the many emerging talents in the Thistle squad including Alan Rough, Alex Forsyth and Denis McQuade.
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
pulled a goal back for Celtic, however the final result was never in doubt as Thistle eased to a 4–1 victory. Ironically before the match, former
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
sport broadcaster Sam Leitch stated that "In Scotland, it's League Cup final day at Hampden Park, where Celtic meet Partick Thistle, who have no chance."


Decline and "Save the Jags" campaign

Thistle's fortunes on the pitch declined during the 1980s. Although the club had experienced difficult times before, having dropped into the second tier of Scottish football twice in the 1970s, they had bounced straight back up on both occasions. The relegation of 1982 led to the club's first sustained period outside the top tier since the late 19th century. Between 1986 and 1989, Thistle were owned by Ken Bates, chairman of Chelsea, whose intention was to use Thistle as a
feeder club In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...
for the English team; however few players moved between the clubs during those years, which were also unsuccessful on the field (they finished 8th in the second tier for five seasons running between 1985–86 and 1989–90). Although this period of exile ended with promotion in 1992, mounting financial problems, including a debt of over £1.5 million, threatened to put the club out of existence. In 1998 in particular the club was close to going bankrupt and was only kept afloat by the fan-organised "Save the Jags" campaign. Despite avoiding financial oblivion Thistle were relegated to the third tier of Scottish Football in 1997–98 and only narrowly avoided a further relegation the following season, finishing in eighth place.


Revival under John Lambie

In 1999 John Lambie commenced his third period as manager of the club and under his stewardship Thistle enjoyed a brief revival, winning back-to-back promotions in 2000–01 and 2001–02, the second of which earned the club a place in the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
. SPL guidelines at the time stipulated that clubs would only be eligible for promotion to the league if their stadium had a minimum 10,000 seated capacity. To comply with these guidelines the terraced section at the north end of Firhill was replaced with a 2000-seat stand. Speaking in 2004, Thistle chairman Tom Hughes argued the club did not at the time require a stadium with such a large capacity and building the new stand 'seriously affected
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
competitiveness'. Thistle maintained their place in the SPL under Lambie by finishing 10th in 2002–03, despite being favourites for relegation.


Successive relegations and play-off promotion

Following Lambie's retirement at the end of the 2002–03 season, Thistle struggled. Gerry Collins (Lambie's previous assistant) was sacked mid-season and replaced with joint player-managers
Derek Whyte Derek Whyte (born 31 August 1968) is a Scottish former association football, footballer, who played for Celtic F.C., Celtic, Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, Aberdeen F.C., Aberdeen and Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle. He also won twelve ...
and Gerry Britton. This change was not enough to revive the team, and Thistle were relegated at the end of the 2003–04 season after
Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
, having won the First Division title, were permitted to groundshare with
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
. In season 2004–05 the team continued to struggle and Whyte and Britton were dismissed mid-season. Dick Campbell, their successor, was unable to avoid relegation to the Second Division. He did return the club to the First Division the following season, through the newly introduced play-off system, having finished 4th in the league. This brought to a close the club's most unpredictable decade, in footballing terms at least: between 1996 and 2006 Thistle had been promoted three times and relegated four times. They were the second team in Scottish football to be relegated from the top flight through successive subsequent relegations, excluding those caused by league reconstruction, after St. Johnstone in the 1980s.


Ian McCall's first tenure (2007–2011)

Despite starting well upon returning to the First Division, Dick Campbell was sacked on 27 March 2007, following a succession of poor results. A caretaker management team of Jimmy Bone and
Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...
saw out the season before Ian McCall, a former player, was unveiled as manager. McCall's first season saw Thistle finish 6th in the First Division and embark on a successful
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers after a 1–1 draw at Ibrox, Thistle lost the replay 2–0 at Firhill. League form further improved in season 2008–09 with Thistle exceeding expectations to finish 2nd in the First Division, behind St Johnstone. This season saw midfielder Gary Harkins win the Irn Bru Phenomenal Player of the Year and Northern Ireland's Jonny Tuffey become the club's first full international for several years. McCall quit his post as manager in April 2011, citing personal reasons.
Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional Association football, football Sports agent, agent, and former football player, player, Manager (association football), manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playin ...
was initially appointed as caretaker manager before being made full-time manager of the club at the end of the 2010–11 season.


Jackie McNamara (2011–2013)

McNamara and assistant Simon Donnelly guided Thistle to a sixth-place finish in 2011–12 season. The following season Thistle started well and emerged as promotion candidates, competing with
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
and Greenock Morton for a place in the following season's top flight. On 29 January 2013 the club gave permission to
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
to speak to McNamara about becoming their new manager. The following day McNamara and his assistant Simon Donnelly resigned, to become the new management team at United. Along with Donnelly, Jackie McNamara brought goalkeeper Craig Hinchliffe, Paul Paton and Chris Erskine to Tannadice. Thistle were second in the league at the time and, because McNamara was under contract, compensation was owed to the club.


Archibald era and the Scottish Premiership (2013–2018)

On 30 January 2013,
Alan Archibald Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish association football, football coach and former player, who is currently a first-team coach at Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts. Archibald, who played as a Defender (football)#Centre back, def ...
was appointed as the club's interim manager, with former Thistle player Scott Paterson as his assistant. On 22 March, the duo were given the job on a permanent basis signing a one-year rolling contract. The following month on 20 April 2013, the club clinched promotion to the
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
having sealed the First Division championship with a 2–0 victory away to
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
. The title win meant Thistle returned to the top flight of Scottish football for the first time in nine years. The team also lost the Scottish Challenge Cup final to Queen of the South on penalties in April 2013. Thistle's initial return to the Premiership had mixed success. The team managed to maintain a relatively positive away record, however it was months before Thistle finally secured a home win, with them beating
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
3–1 at Firhill in February 2014. Thistle managed to avoid the relegation and play-off spots, eventually finishing third-bottom, following a 4–2 win away to Hearts at Tynecastle. Thistle announced the club were completely free of debt in November 2015. The 2015–16 Scottish Premiership season saw Thistle secure long-term contracts for many of their key players, including Kris Doolan, Callum Booth, Tomáš Černý and Mustapha Dumbuya. On 7 May 2016, Thistle secured their Premiership status with a 2–0 away victory to
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
, with goals coming from Steven Lawless and Kris Doolan. This result meant that Archibald overtook former manager Davie McParland as the record holder of top-flight victories. On 8 April 2017, Thistle beat
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
1–0 to secure a place in the top six for the first time since the league split was first introduced to the Scottish top flight in 2000–01. In the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership, Thistle finished in 11th position, narrowly avoiding 12th place with Ross County being automatically relegated. Thistle subsequently went into the Scottish Premiership play-offs against Livingston, who had finished second in the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
in their first season of returning to the league. On 17 May 2018, Thistle lost the first leg 2–1 away at
Almondvale Stadium Almondvale Stadium, also known as The Home of the Set Fare Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a association football, football stadium, located in the Almondvale area of Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. It has been the home ground of Scottish ...
, with Kris Doolan getting Thistle's goal. Livingston then came to face Thistle at Firhill on 20 May 2018. Livingston won the away leg 0–1 after Keaghan Jacobs scored in the 46th minute. Thistle were relegated to the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
after a stay in the top flight of five years. Subsequently, speculation surrounded whether or not Archibald would remain as Thistle's manager. On 24 May, Thistle announced on their website Archibald would remain as Partick Thistle's manager going into the Championship next season. As a result of Thistle's poor season, a number of players were not offered a new contract by the club including captain Abdul Osman, Callum Booth, Steven Lawless, Mustapha Dumbuya, Paul McGinn and Ryan Scully. Transfer listed players were Adam Barton, Niall Keown and Miles Storey. Australian midfielder Ryan Edwards triggered a relegation contract clause, allowing him to leave the club immediately. After a poor start to their 2018–19 Scottish Championship season, Archibald was sacked as manager on 6 October 2018 following a 2–0 loss to Ross County, leaving Thistle 8th in the Championship.


Gary Caldwell (2018–2019)

On 15 October 2018, Thistle announced that former
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
and
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
international Gary Caldwell had been appointed as Archibald's replacement. Chairman Jacqui Low said "Put simply, he plans to build a strong defence that allows us to then push forward and play attacking football." Thistle's first season in the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
after relegation was a difficult one; the club were one of the promotion favourites but after a poor first half of the season they were sitting bottom by December and facing the possibility of back to back relegations. Caldwell performed a large squad overhaul in January including the key signing of Scott McDonald who went on to score 7 goals in 13 games. Caldwell managed to turn the season around with the club finishing in 6th position and avoiding further relegation to League One with a 3–0 away win to Queen of the South thus removing the threat of the relegation play-offs. Although safe, Caldwell released striker Kris Doolan who ended his decade-long stay at the club after being informed that his contract would not be renewed. Other players to depart included Miles Storey, Scott McDonald, Niall Keown and Souleymane Coulibaly. From June 2019 and during the run up to the start of the 2019–20 season, a consortium led by Chinese American billionaire Chien Lee and American businessman Paul Conway looked to buy Partick Thistle, with talks going on throughout the beginning of the season. Partick Thistle Trust, a supporters group and the single biggest shareholder at the time with 19.28% of the club, released a statement urging shareholders not to support the potential takeover bid. By November, the takeover had not taken place. Thistle made another poor start to the Championship season, picking up two points in the opening five games. Following a 1–1 draw away to Arbroath, Caldwell was sacked as manager.


Ian McCall return (2019–2023) and club takeover

After the sacking of Caldwell, Partick Thistle appointed Ayr United boss Ian McCall as their manager on the 23rd of September 2019. On 21 November, Euromillions winner Colin Weir completed the takeover of Partick Thistle, instead of the consortium led by Chien Lee and Paul Conway. Weir purchased a majority shareholding and a holding in land at Firhill, Weir then immediately gave the land back to the club. Weir's takeover included the plan to gift the shares of the club back to the fans, to ensure Partick Thistle became a fan owned club, with a Working Group of The PTFC Trust and Thistle Forever plus an interim board overseeing the transfer of shares. After Weir's takeover the club announced that the plans for Partick Thistle's own training ground were to be shelved with the focus instead on completing the takeover and transfer of shares to the fans. In December 2019, majority shareholder and lifelong Jags fan Weir died at the age of 71. McCall made several changes during the January 2020 transfer window, including bringing in the likes of Brian Graham, Zak Rudden and Darren Brownlie, with veteran striker Kenny Miller among those leaving, but Thistle continued to struggle. Thistle were knocked out of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
, and later lost in the
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,League One side Raith Rovers. Scottish football was stopped in March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, at which time Thistle were in last place in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
(two points behind 9th place Queen of the South, although Thistle had a game in hand). A vote was subsequently taken to curtail the Championship, League One and League Two seasons, which meant that Thistle were relegated to League One. After talks of league reconstruction (which would have prevented Thistle being relegated) fell through, and following an anonymous donation, Thistle joined a legal action by Heart of Midlothian (who were relegated from the
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
) against the SPFL. After a hearing at the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
, a
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
arbitration panel ruled that the SPFL had acted within its powers and therefore confirmed the relegations of Hearts and Thistle, meaning Thistle had now been relegated twice in the space of three seasons, dropping from the Premiership to League One. The 2020–21 Scottish League One season was a stop-start affair due to COVID-19 and shutdown mid-season for a number of months before restarting in March, with the clubs agreeing to a further reduced 22-game season rather than the 27-game season originally planned. After a mixed first half of the campaign in League One, Thistle went on a fantastic run of form in April, winning six games and drawing two, as they secured the 2020–21 Scottish League One title on 29 April 2021 after defeating Falkirk 5–0 (their first trophy for eight years) and promotion back to the Scottish Championship at the first time of asking. Thistle manager Ian McCall described the title win as the most satisfying of his career. On their return to the Championship Thistle finished 4th in the league securing a promotion play-off place. Thistle lost 3–1 on aggregate to eventual finalists Inverness in the Premiership to end the 2021–22 season. Thistle made a good start to the 2022–23 season, sitting top of the Championship after the first 10 games. However, a poor run of form followed. Despite picking up slightly in later weeks, following back to back home defeats to Hamilton Academical and Cove Rangers and a 3–2 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish cup, manager Ian McCall and assistants Alan Archibald and Neil Scally were sacked with Thistle sitting 5th in the Championship table. It was also confirmed former player and hall of famer Kris Doolan had been appointed interim manager.


Kris Doolan (2023–2025)

After the departure of McCall it was announced that former player and club hall of famer Kris Doolan would take over as interim manager with Paul MacDonald as his assistant. After winning twice away at Ayr United and Dundee and a goalless draw with Arbroath as interim, Doolan was appointed permanent manager of Thistle on 3 March 2023. In Doolan's first game as permanent manager, he guided Thistle to a 3–0 home win over Raith Rovers. Thistle finished the 2022–23 season in 4th place under Doolan, meaning they entered the play offs at the quarter-final stage. Thistle won the quarter-finals 8–3 on aggregate over 3rd place Queen's Park, becoming the first ever 4th place team to progress past this stage in the Premiership play offs. Thistle then followed this up with an 8–0 aggregate win over 2nd place Ayr United in the semi finals, to advance to the Premiership play off finals. Thistle faced Ross County in the playoff finals. Despite winning the first leg 2–0, Thistle lost the second leg 3–1, taking the tie to extra time, no winner could be found and the match went to penalties, which Ross County won 5–4, meaning Thistle remained in the Scottish Championship. In Doolan's first full season in charge, Thistle finished 3rd in the Scottish Championship, meaning they once again entered the Scottish Premiership play offs. Thistle beat 4th place Airdrie 3–2 on aggregate to progress to the play-off semi-finals, where they faced 2nd placed Raith Rovers. Thistle lost the first leg at home to Raith 2–1, but won the away leg 2–1, meaning the tie went to extra time. No winner could be found by either side, therefore the tie progressed to a penalty shootout, which Raith won 4–3. Thistle struggled for consistency in the 2024–25 season, spending much of the season in 4th place. Following a poor run of form Doolan left his position as manager on the 18th of February 2025.


Mark Wilson (2025–)

Following the departure of Kris Doolan, Thistle confirmed that the duo of men's first team player and captain and Partick Thistle Women's team manager Brian Graham and Thistle under 18s coach Mark Wilson would take interim charge of the first team. On 31 March, following six games in charge including three wins and three draws, Thistle announced that the interim duo of Graham and Wilson would remain in charge of the first team until the end of the 2024–25 season. On 7 April Thistle confirmed the appiontment of former Northen Ireland and Motherwell manager Ian Baraclough as the club's first ever sporting director. Following back to back wins over Falkirk and Livingston, Graham and Wilson guided Thistle to the play offs with a 4th place finish. After losing the first leg of the play off quarter-finals 1–0 at home to Ayr, Thistle won the away leg 2–0 to advance to the semi-finals, in which player-manager Brian Graham scored his 99th and 100th goals for the club. In the semi-finals Thistle lost both legs 2–0 to Livingston, ending the club’s season. On 30 May 2025 it was confirmed that Mark Wilson would become the permanent head coach of Partick Thistle. Brian Graham was initially offered the position as a player coach role but turned the offer down.


Club crest and colours

The first crest to appear on a Partick Thistle kit was a thistle design, and every logo since has featured a thistle. The thistle appeared first in 1902, then again in 1909. It remained until 1978, when a new logo with the thistle housed inside a roundel was used. A modernist logo with the thistle on a rectangle was introduced in 1990, and the current crest was introduced in 2008. The Jags flirted with a number of colour schemes in their early years. From their inception until 1900 the kits were predominantly blue with red and white trimmings. There was then a brief period in which the players wore an orange and black striped top with white shorts and black socks. This was replaced in 1905 by a colour scheme close to that used by
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
, before the club reverted to the predominantly blue kits in 1909. In season 1936–37 they changed to, and settled upon, the red-yellow-and-black attire for which they are best known, this change having been triggered initially by the club borrowing kits from the local rugby union team, West of Scotland Football Club. In 2008–09 and 2009–10, Thistle became the first football club in Scotland to use pink as the primary colour in their away kit. In 2008–09 this took the form of silver- and pink-hooped tops. During the 2014–15 season, Partick Thistle supported the Breast Cancer Care Charity by wearing a black and pink away shirt, with the charity ribbon on the shirt. The partnership saw a portion of kit sale revenue being donated to Breast Cancer Care. For the 2019–20 season, Partick Thistle released their new away kit which featured a Rainbow flag design under the sleeves to show support for the
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
movement. By doing so, they became the first Scottish club to incorporate the flag on a football jersey. Club executive Gerry Britton said: "We are really pleased with how the strips look and hope the supporters will like them as much as we do. We were very clear when putting together the design, that we wanted to make a statement about inclusivity and that’s what inspired the rainbow feature on the away shirt." It gained global publicity, including from
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
goalkeeper Hope Solo.


Stadium

Before moving to the
Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...
area in 1909, Partick Thistle hosted their home games over numerous sites in and around
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
including
Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...
, Jordanvale Park and Muir Park. In 1897, the club moved to
Meadowside Meadowside was a association football, football ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle from 1897 until 1908. History Partick Thistle moved to Meadowside from Inchview Park ...
, near the
River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
. However, in 1908 Thistle were forced to vacate the area to make way for a new shipyard. After playing at numerous other grounds in Glasgow,
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
,
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...
,
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and even
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
for over a season,Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p197 Partick Thistle moved to their present home,
Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football and former rugby union, rugby league and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhil ...
, in 1909, when they purchased some spare
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...
land in Maryhill for £5,500. The stadium consists of three stands: the Main Stand which was built in 1927 and can seat around 2,900 supporters; the Jackie Husband Stand, which was built in 1994 and has a capacity of approximately 6,263; and the North Stand, renamed the ''John Lambie Stand'' in 2018 in tribute to the legendary club manager who died that year, which can house just over 2000 supporters. On the south side of the stadium there is a grass embankment, known to home fans as "The Bing", which had been open terracing until this was demolished in 2006 due to the stand failing to meet the criteria of
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
safety regulations. There have been various plans to redevelop the south end of the stadium but thus far none have come to fruition. Firhill has been used by other football teams and for rugby over the years. Between 1986 and 1991 Clyde ground shared with Thistle, following their eviction from
Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oat ...
. Hamilton Academical also ground shared for two spells over seven years, following them being forced out of Douglas Park in 1994. In December 2005, Firhill also became the home of Glasgow's professional rugby union team,
Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
, when they moved from their previous base at Hughenden. After returning to Hughenden in 2006, the Warriors took up a two-year residency at Firhill from the start of the
2007–08 Celtic League The 2007–08 Celtic League (known as the 2007–08 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh Pro14, Celtic League season and the second with Magners as title sponsor. The season began on 31 August 2007 and finished on the weekend ...
season. This was extended in April 2009 for a further five years. Glasgow Warriors left Firhill after the 2011–12 season and moved to Scotstoun Stadium. During the 2012–13 season the ground was also used by Celtic's under-20 squad as their home ground, but following Thistle's promotion this stopped for the 2013–14 season. During the 2013–14 season, the Main Stand was re-opened to seat the high number of away supporters. In one instance, the North Stand was used for
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
supporters as fears grew over fire dangers. During early June 2016 the Main Stand was renamed The ''Colin Weir Stand'' in honour of Colin Weir who was made the first ever patron of Partick Thistle after making numerous donations to the club's
youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...
, the ''Thistle Weir Academy''. On the Glasgow Subway network, Kelvinbridge and
St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with ...
are within 15 minutes walk of the stadium. The A81 road (Maryhill Road), leading to Firhill Road, runs from the M8 motorway and is also the route of several local buses from the city centre. and , served by trains from Glasgow Queen Street, are the nearest railway stations to Firhill, but are not particularly close; the walk between the two sites takes around 30 minutes.


Training facilities

For many years, Thistle struggled to find a permanent training ground at which to base themselves. Subsequently, the club relied on independently owned facilities that usually restricted Thistle's ability to train freely. As of 2014, the club trained at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
's ''Garscube Sports Complex'' on the northern periphery of the city (near
Bearsden Bearsden ( ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. The Roman Empire, Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of ...
,
East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...
). Thistle's fortunes improved however in April 2017, the month they secured their top-six Premiership status. Millionaire couple Colin and Christine Weir invested in the club again, allowing plans for a new £4 million purpose-built training centre for the club to use as a permanent base. Thistle expected to lease this from the Weirs' company ''Three Black Cats''. In July 2018, it was announced that the new training facility would be named after Thistle's 1971 Scottish League Cup final manager Davie McParland, who died just days after the announcement was made. The new facility was to be located near the town
Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...
. Plans for the new facility were abandoned in December 2019 as the investment money was instead used by Colin Weir to purchase the club and to operate a fan-owned business model. A short time after this announcement, Weir died at the age of 71. In preparation for the 2020–21 Scottish League One season, Thistle trained at Burnbrae Stadium in
Milngavie Milngavie ( ; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngavie is a commuter t ...
, which is the home of
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club
West of Scotland FC West of Scotland Football Club is a rugby union club based in Milngavie, Scotland. Founded in 1865, West of Scotland are one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, and one of the founding members of the Scottish Rugby Union. West have enjoyed ...
.


Notable former players

All former players or managers listed have been inducted into either the Scottish Football Hall of Fame or Partick Thistle's own Hall of Fame. These include players who participated in both the 1921 Scottish Cup final and the 1971 Scottish League Cup final.


Scottish Hall of Fame

*
Alan Hansen Alan David Hansen MBE (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. Regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time and one of Liverpool's best ever centre-backs, he enjoyed a highly decorated ...
*
Mo Johnston Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish former football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored ...
* Alan Rough


Club Hall of Fame

Partial list of those in the Club Hall of Fame. * Andy Anderson *
Alan Archibald Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish association football, football coach and former player, who is currently a first-team coach at Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts. Archibald, who played as a Defender (football)#Centre back, def ...
* Kenny Arthur * Bertie Auld * Gerry Britton *
Jackie Campbell John Campbell (born 27 February 1946) is a Scottish former professional association football, footballer. He played his entire career at Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle for whom he played 578 times in all competitions as a Defender (associa ...
* Chic Charnley * Nobby Clark * Kris Doolan * Neil Duffy * Chris Erskine * John Harvey * Bobby Houston * Jackie Husband * John Lambie * Bobby Law * Danny Lennon * Peter McKennan * Johnny MacKenzie * Davie McParland * Denis McQuade * Alex O'Hara * Alex Rae * Doug Somner * Kenny Watson


Club culture and fanbase

The club has a relatively modest fanbase which is mostly centred around Northern Glasgow, although they do have pockets of fans from across the globe. Being in close proximity to a large student population the club attracts many new fans from the local universities. The club prides itself on being
non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...
and, therefore, not involved in the
Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
division. Since the 1980s, the club has a small hooligan firm called the ''North Glasgow Express''.


Rivalries

Although the club competes with neighbours Rangers and
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
, due to the vast differences in team size and fortunes those rivalries are not reciprocated. The "Glasgow derby" is therefore contested with Clyde, sometimes dubbed the "Old Firm alternative". One of the fiercest rivals were Airdrieonians with past violent clashes between fans including Airdrie's Section B group, however this rivalry has faded with time. Strong rivalries also previously existed with
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
due to the geographic proximity and controversial ownership in the past (with plans which almost saw both clubs bankrupt); and also
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
. The club has a more modern rivalry with Morton, which stemmed from the 2012–13 title race; Thistle won the First Division and Morton finished runners-up. More recently, coinciding with fellow Glasgow side Queen's Park's rise up the leagues to the championship, a smaller rivalry has been created between the two, although it has not been established as a real derby yet.


Chants and songs

Thistle fans sing songs during matches, some of which are relatively generic but others which are unique. Choruses of "He Wears Number 9", "Rellow Army", "Mary fae Maryhill", "Over Land and Sea", "Forever and Ever", "We've Followed the Thistle for Many a Day" (to the tune of ''
The Wild Rover "The Wild Rover" (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 1173) is a very popular and well-travelled Folk music, folk song. Many territories have laid claim to having the original version. History In the English Folk Song and Dance periodical "Folk Music Jou ...
''), "Oh Maryhill is wonderful", "We’re a well known Glasgow Football Team", "Super Ian McCall", "We score when we want" and " Gerry Britton is the King of Spain" are commonly heard in the singing section of the home support, in the John Lambie stand. The song ''Return to Firhill Road'' recorded by The Lambie McParlands (Ian MacKinnon, Neil Donaldson and Ciaran Black) is a more recent addition to the match day songs.


Notable supporters

*American actor
David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...
said he is a fan of the club, and likes the club's values. Mr Hasselhoff also met some of the team for a live TV interview. *
Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...
born actor
Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes: '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' The Full Monty'' (1997), '' Ravenous'' and ''The World Is Not Enough'' (both 1999), '' There's Only One Jimmy Grimble'' (2000), '' ...
( Trainspotting,
The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is set ...
and
The 51st State ''The 51st State'' (also known as ''Formula 51'') is a 2001 action comedy film directed by Ronny Yu, written by Stel Pavlou, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans, Step ...
) is also a famous supporter, stating he would rather watch the Jags than watch
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
or
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. *
Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for having hosted the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014). He is the winner of ...
, former host of the popular American chat show ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
''. *The historian
Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson
was a supporter while growing up in Glasgow. * Laura Kuenssberg,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Political editor. *''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' actor Chris Fountain. *Jack Revill, DJ from Glasgow better known as Jackmaster. *Former Tennis player
Colin Fleming Colin Fleming (born 13 August 1984) is a British retired professional tennis player who specialised in doubles. As part of the Davis Cup team, he won eight successive doubles matches to help Great Britain into the World Group. He also won his ...
is a self proclaimed Jags fan, following in his family's footsteps as he attended games when he was younger and kept track of Thistle's results while on tour. *Former Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
was pictured wearing a Partick Thistle scarf on a train and has mentioned the club in the past.


Sponsors

The club's main sponsor is Just Employment Law, taking over from Kingsford Capital Management. MacB resumed sponsorship of Partick Thistle in the summer of 2012, and subsequently signed a two-year extension, keeping them as main sponsors until the end of the 2014–15 season. Scottish security system company Alarmfast also started sponsoring Thistle for the 2014–15 season. Thistle's kit maker is Irish manufacturers O'Neills, having replaced Spanish company
Joma Joma Sport, S.A. is a Spanish sports clothing and shoes brand. History Joma was founded in 1965 by Fructuoso López to produce shoes for general use. The brand name comes from the given name of Fructuoso's first born son (José Manuel). In 196 ...
at the start of the 2020–21 season.


Mascot

Partick Thistle's current mascot is a
sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
-shaped character named Kingsley, and was designed by the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
-nominated artist David Shrigley. Kingsley was unveiled on 22 June 2015 to coincide with Thistle's new sponsorship with
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
-based investment firm Kingsford Capital Management. Kingsley succeeded Jaggy MacBee, a bumble bee who had been the club's mascot from 2011 to 2015, as part of the club's sponsorship with Scottish beverage company MacB. Prior to that the mascot was a brightly coloured toucan called Pee Tee. Kingsley gained widespread notoriety online, having trended worldwide on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, as well as being publicised by major networks such as
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'',
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and
TIME Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
. The launch, and subsequent pictures, appeared across the UK media including in
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
, The Times,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
, The Herald, and
Talksport Talksport (styled as talkSPORT) is a sports radio station in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned by News Broadcasting. Its content includes live coverage of sporting events, interviews with the leading names in sport and entertai ...
. Partick Thistle's general manager
Ian Maxwell Ian Maxwell (born 1956) is a British businessman and co-founder of the think tank Combating Jihadist Terrorism. In the 1990s, Maxwell was acquitted of charges of criminal financial malpractice relating to the business practices of his father, pu ...
hailed the success of Kingsley in drawing attention to the club, stating that the worldwide interest and TV coverage amounted to the "biggest amount of publicity from a sponsorship launch in Scottish football history". The Kingsley mascot has become a major source of merchandising potential for the club, with demand outstripping supply.


Community trust


Partick Thistle Women

Thistle Weir Ladies Football Club was officially founded as part of the Thistle Weir Academy in 2014, having previously existed as part of the Charitable Trust for one year prior to that. In October 2018, the team gained promotion to the Scottish Women's Premier League 2 (SWPL 2), which is the second highest tier for women's football in Scotland. In January 2019, the club rebranded as Partick Thistle Women's Football Club. The team train at the Firhill Complex in Maryhill, but play their matches at Petershill Park in Springburn.


Thistle Weir Youth Academy

In October 2013, millionaires and long time Thistle fans Chris and Colin Weir donated £750,000 to Partick Thistle to set up a new advanced youth academy. The academy was named the Thistle Weir Youth Academy. Graduates of the academy include James Penrice, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Jack Hendry and Kevin Nisbet.


Current squad


First-team squad


Club staff


Boardroom


Coaching and backroom staff

Source:


Managers


Individual achievements


Most appearances


All-time top goalscorers


Honours


Major

*
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1920–21 **Runners-up (1): 1929–30 *
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
: **Winners (1): 1971–72 **Runners-up (3): 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59


Minor

*
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
/
Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
, second tier:Known as second division prior to 1975 **Winners (6): 1896–97, 1899–1900, 1970–71, 1975–76, 2001–02, 2012–13 **Runners-up (3): 1901–02, 1991–92, 2008–09 *
Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...
/
Scottish Football League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...
, third tier: **Winners (2): 2000–01, 2020–21 **Play-off Winners: 2005–06 *
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2012–13


Other

*
Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...
**Winners (7): 1934–35, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1960–61, 1980–81, 1988–89 **Runners-up (11): 1888–89, 1900–01, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1917–18, 1919–20, 1932–33, 1936–37, 1959–60, 1966–67, 1968–69 * Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup **Winners (3): 1926–27, 1934–35, 1948–49 **Runners-up (7): 1904–05, 1915–16, 1917–18, 1940–41, 1950–51, 1955–56, 1959–60 * Summer Cup: 1945 * Glasgow Dental Hospital Cup: 1928 *West of Scotland FA Cup: 1879 *Yoker Cup: 1881, 1882, 1883 *Partick Championship: 1884 *Greenock Charity Cup: 1893 *Paisley Charity Cup: 1936 *British Cup-Winners' Challenge: 1921 * Tennents' Sixes: 1993 (last winners) * Coronation Cup: 1928, 1929 * ARR Craib Cup: 2012


Club records

*Highest record home attendance: 49,838 vs Rangers, Scottish First Division, 18 February 1922 *Most league appearances: Alan Rough, 410 *Most league goals in a season: Alex Hair, 41, 1926–27 *Record defeat: 0–10 v Queen's Park, Scottish Cup, 3 December 1881 *Record victory: 16–0 v Royal Albert, Scottish Cup 1st round, 17 January 1931 *Record points total: 78, Scottish First Division, 2012–13 *Record transfer fee paid: £85,000 to Celtic for Andy Murdoch, February 1991 *Record transfer fee received: £350,000 from
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
for Liam Lindsay, June 2017 / £350,000 from
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
for Aidan Fitzpatrick, July 2019


European record

Thistle have participated in European competition on three different occasions. On the first occasion, they qualified having finished third in the First Division. They progressed to the second round of the Fairs Cup before being eliminated by Spartak Brno. They qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1972–73 after winning the League Cup the previous season; Hungarian side Honvéd eliminated them in the first round. Their most recent European campaign was the
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition of the tournament administered by the UEFA. It saw Strasbourg and Bordeaux win their semi-finals to advance to the first round of the UEFA Cup, the latter eventually finishing runners-up. It also ...
, when they finished 4th with four points in Group 6.


References

;Sources *


External links

*
BBC Sport: Partick Thistle

''Evening Times'': Partick Thistle

"Grasping the Thistle"
– 2002
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
documentary on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
{{Authority control Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1876 Football clubs in Glasgow 1876 establishments in Scotland Scottish Premier League teams Scottish Football League teams Scottish Cup winners Scottish Professional Football League teams Scottish League Cup winners Partick Maryhill Fan-owned football clubs