If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
Our winless run advanced to ten games at Ayr. Following the 2-1 result, we are now just one point away from the drop down into the Third Division. After the loss to the all-conquering Gretna, Thistle fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season, and with just seven games to sort out the rot.
The Scottish Cup has a habit of springing upsets, and this year would prove to be no exception, with Rangers dropping out in the quarter-finals to Motherwell. Elsewhere, defending champions Dundee continued their run of good form defeating Arbroath 4-0, Falkirk accounted for Aberdeen 2-0, and Hearts moved into the final four with a polished performance against Morton.
Rangers would atone for their loss in the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 win against Dunfermline in the League Cup Final, coming from a goal-down to beat a 10-man outfit convincingly in the end.
On the same afternoon that we got our season back on track, Gretna achieved promotion for the second straight season.
After we returned back to the office at Bowmans Road, John Docherty announced that he would leave Thistle in his capacity as assistant manager at the end of the season. John had been a tremendous help to me in my first few years as the boss at Bowmans Road, and it will be sad to see him go. Although I don't expect him to take up the offer, I've offered him a position as a part-time coaching consultant for the 2006/07 season, where he can observe operations from a distance and 'trouble-shoot' whenever the situation may arise.
Although I have placed an official advertisement for the soon-to-be-vacant position of assistant manager, a viable replacement may already be in our ranks in the form of John Dennis, who is currently managing our youth team. Dennis demonstrates an acute understanding of tactical play, and has often made helpful contributions during our planning sessions. Even if I don't slide him into the seat next to me on the bench, John will be a handy fellow to have around.
After the game, Allan Maitland had the kindness to say that he thought Thistle would definately stay up in the Second Division this season and beyond. Allan is a first-class fellow and has always shown why he is considered one of the division's best managers in every press conference this season.
During the week, Celtic were finally knocked out of the Champions League over two legs by Juventus, with two English and two Italian teams progressing to the semi-finals.
On the recommendation of our scouts, I signed Georgian midfielder Gocha Jamarauli from Dimano Tbilisi. The 34 year-old midfielder will simply go by the name Gocha in the 2006/07 season, and will hopefully rub some of his experience onto our young lads. He signs a one-year contract, presumably before he rides off into the sunset and manages some club in Georgia.
The most pleasing aspect of this game was the zero scoreline for Alloa. It was doubly pleasing as Michael McGovern was back in between the sticks, having served his time on the sideline after missing another training session. Gretna are rumoured to be interested in his services for the 2006/07 season, but I want to see if Michael's attitude can improve at Bowmans Road first before I stamp his papers 'Never to play again'.
Falkirk upset holders Dundee in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and play in their first final since 1997. Their opponents will be Motherwell, who tipped out Hearts by the odd goal.
On April 20, John Docherty advised me that he was taking immediate sick leave from his position as assistant manager, although he hoped to return as a coaching consultant in the new season. At the end of training, all of the players spontaneously gave John a rousing farewell, with not a dry eye in the house. John Dennis becomes the acting assistant until the end of the season, when I will make a final decision on who to employ.
We'll have to fight off relegation without Ross O'Donoghue, who broke several ribs in the Brechin clash.
We then proceeded to play in argubly one of the most entertaining matches of the year, drawing 1-1 with Stranraer. There were no less than 40 scoring shots during the game (16 of them ours), and the performance from both goalkeepers was of Premier League quality.
Things are also heating up in the Scottish Premier League, with Kilmarnock threatening to become the first team since Aberdeen in 1985 to break the Old Firm's dominance of the title.
We ensured that we would stay in the Second Division in 2006/07 with a thumping 3-0 win against Arbroath. Connor Gethins and Dean Walker broke the game wide open with two goals immediately prior to the halftime break, whilst Markus Paatelainen made it official with a goal right on the hour mark. Fortunately for Thistle fans, we snapped out of our dreadful ten-game winless period just in time.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/5 - Arbroath 0 Thistle 3Scorers - Gethins 43, Walker 44, Paatelainen 60After 35 games6. Thistle 41 +17. Arbroath 41 -138. Dumbarton 37 -149. Alloa 36 -1910. Ayr 35 -22</pre>
Just three years removed from the Premier League, St Johnstone have fallen on hard times since and will be one of our opponents in the Second Division in 2006/07. Incredibly, six teams are still with a chance of promotion in the Third Division, with grounds sure to be packed for the final fixtures of the season.
Our season ended with a good win against the Raith Rovers, with Lee Hardy picking up a rare double. Alloa and Ayr will drop down to the Third Division after losing their final games, Alloa in particular had their destiny in their hands, and could have leapfrogged Dumbarton with a win, instead losing 4-1.
The day was a momentous one across the league. Dumfries will see Premier League football in 2006/07 after the Queen of the South beat Clyde 2-1 in a winner-takes-all affair. Stirling Albion were relegated to Second Division, where they will meet Peterhead and Montrose after the two clubs won promotion inside the last five minutes. Last but not least, Rangers won the Scottish Premier League title with one game to spare after Craig Levelin turned around what was seemingly a train-wreck just 119 days into the job.
During the week, Marco Pelosi, Ross O'Donoghue and Gavin Skelton earned selection into the Second Division Team of the Year. Barcelona won the UEFA Cup against Liverpool but required a penalty shootout to finish the job at Brondy Stadion.
Inverness CT will be plying their trade in the First Division in 2006/07 after losing a heart-breaker to Motherwell in a match were a loss meant certain relegation. Celtic eased past Kilmarnock to extend the Old Firm dominance at the top of the Scottish leagues - not since 1995 has a team other than Rangers or Celtic finished in the top two. To their credit, Kilmarnock finished in the top three of the Scottish leagues for the first time since 1966.
One of the duties to finish off the season was the signing of John Dennis as assistant manager for the next two years, after an impressive showing as caretaker in the last four games of the season. Whilst the response to the advertisement was strong, the calibre of the applicants did not outshine Dennis, who gets his first assistant position at the young age of 34...three years older than myself.
Arsenal won their first Champions League title with a 2-0 win against Juventus, who have now lost four finals in the competition since 1996.
Motherwell won the Scottish Cup in a 3-0 result against Falkirk in what was termed - rather unkindly - the 'Ugly Duckling final' by the press.
We decided to bid farewell to Jamie Dolan, Paul Gaughan and Tony McParland after their contracts came up for renegotiation. Dolan had given great service to the team in the first two years of its existence, totalling 53 games and 3 goals, and was influential as the senior player and captain.
At the gala presentation, Connor Gethins won his second player of the year award.
Season 2005/06 was a learning experience for everyone involved at Thistle....the next season will prove to be no different as we attempt to advance to the next rung of the ladder.
Pool A
7/6 - Ghana 2 Honduras 1
7/6 - Brazil 3 Croatia 1
13/6 - Brazil 2 Honduras 0
13/6 - Ghana 2 Croatia 0
20/6 - Brazil 2 Ghana 0
20/6 - Croatia 0 Honduras 0 Standings - Brazil 9, Ghana 6, Honduras 1, Croatia 1
Pool B
8/6 - Slovakia 3 United States 2
8/6 - Portugal 2 Algeria 0
14/6 - Slovakia 2 Algeria 0
14/6 - Portugal 1 United States 0
20/6 - Algeria 0 United States 0
20/6 - Portugal 0 Slovakia 0 Standings - Slovakia 7, Portugal 7, Algeria 3, United States 0
Pool C
9/6 - France 2 Paraguay 0
9/6 - South Korea 0 Turkey 0
15/6 - Paraguay 3 South Korea 0
15/6 - Turkey 0 France 0
21/6 - France 2 South Korea 0
21/6 - Paraguay 0 Turkey 0 Standings - France 7, Paraguay 4, Turkey 3, South Korea 1
Pool E
10/6 - Ireland 0 Argentina 0
10/6 - Australia 3 Japan 2
16/6 - Argentina 3 Japan 1
16/6 - Ireland 2 Australia 0
22/6 - Argentina 3 Australia 0
22/6 - Japan 1 Ireland 0 Standings - Argentina 7, Ireland 4, Japan 3, Australia 3
Pool F
11/6 - Mexico 2 Mali 0
12/6 - Italy 2 Germany 0
18/6 - Italy 1 Mexico 0
18/6 - Germany 2 Mali 0
22/6 - Mali 1 Italy 1
22/6 - Germany 2 Mexico 1 Standings - Italy 7, Germany 6, Mexico 3, Mali 1
Pool G
12/6 - Holland 4 Chile 0
12/6 - Sweden 2 United Arab Emirates 0
19/6 - Chile 3 United Arab Emirates 0
19/6 - Sweden 1 Holland 1
23/6 - Chile 1 Sweden 1
23/6 - Holland 2 United Arab Emirates 0 Standings - Holland 7, Sweden 6, Chile 4, United Arab Emirates 0
Pool H
11/6 - Norway 0 Jamaica 0
11/6 - England 3 Ivory Coast 0
18/6 - Ivory Coast 2 Norway 0
18/6 - England 2 Jamaica 0
23/6 - England 2 Norway 0
23/6 - Ivory Coast 3 Jamaica 0 Standings - England 9, Ivory Coast 6, Norway 1, Jamaica 1
Second Round
24/6 - Brazil 1 Portugal 0 (aet)
24/6 - Ghana 3 Slovakia 0
25/6 - Paraguay 3 Poland 2 (aet)
25/6 - Spain 3 France 1
26/6 - Italy 0 Ireland 0 (Italy won shootout 3-0)
26/6 - Argentina 2 Germany 2 (Argentina won shootout 4-2)
27/6 - England 3 Sweden 1
27/6 - Ivory Coast 3 Holland 1 (aet)
Quarter Finals
30/6 - Spain 1 Ghana 0
30/6 - Brazil 1 Paraguay 0
1/7 - Italy 2 Ivory Coast 0
1/7 - Argentina 2 England 0
Semi Finals
4/7 - Italy 1 Brazil 1 (Italy won shootout 4-2)
5/7 - Argentina 2 Spain 0
Playoff for Third
7/7 - Brazil 1 Spain 0 (aet)
World Cup Final
9/7 - Argentina 0 Italy 0 (Argentina won shootout 4-2)
The five-week return to Australia had been a blessing in disguise, as Sheena and I swapped a Scottish winter for the southern version. Long walks on the beach, fishing on the reef, visiting family members whom I had not seen for nearly two years...the batteries were well and truly recharged.
It wasn't all relaxation, as I had to face the Bowmans Packages board to personally report on the state of the club. On the whole, they were quite impressed with the rapid promotion of Thistle, and were especially delighted with the win in the Challenge Cup final.
After the formal meeting, I had a quite drink with my grandfather, the company chairman.
"How is it going, really?" he asked as he handed me an alcoholic beverage.
"Living in Scotland has been tough at times, although having Sheena with me makes it easier to bear. Life at the club is pretty good. There's plenty of capable people to share the load."
"Very good. And what of your relationship with the players?"
"You know what, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. They all want to do well at Thistle, although ultimately at the end of the day they all want to play in the Premier League. The tricky part will be trying to keep the core of the squad together and not get into a culture of selling as soon as we get a piddly little offer on the fax machine."
"No issues with player morale?"
"No...why do you ask?"
"You obviously haven't seen the back page of the British Football Weekly then" He handed a copy to me. Staring out at me was the headline:
My holiday well and truly ruined, the first thing I did upon returning to work was to call a meeting with Michael McGovern.
"Morning, Michael. How are you going?"
"Not too bad, skip. Although I think I know what this meeting is all about..."
"Well, you tell me."
Michael looked at me blankly for a moment. "Ah, skip....I mean..."
I threw the dog-eared copy of the newspaper in front of him. My Thistle Hell.
"You started every game you played last year, I gave you every bit of praise and encouragment, even when I had David Hay growing old on the sidelines. Any stage of the season, I could have sent you to Stranraer or East Fife or Queens Park on loan, but I didn't. And this is how you repay me?" Picking up the newspaper, I began to quote. "'In soccer terms, O'Connor is a neanderthal. Most of the time the club runs on autopilot whilst he hides in the office, makes his coffee and dreams of some beach in Australia.'"
McGovern, days away from his 21st birthday, looked like he would break into tears at any point.
"This isn't the first time you've done this to me either, Michael. Why are you so intent on wrecking what we've built at this club? Do you honestly think you're bigger than the club?"
Michael suddenly stood up as if to leave.
"Don't you run away yet, Mister-Irish-Eyes-Are-Smiling. What do you want? A carload of dancing girls? A secret bank account in Switzerland? Me to personally lick your arse in full view of the media after every game? If I remember correctly, you once said, and I quote: 'I'll be as loyal to those who are loyal to me.'" I could feel the heat rising into my head.
"Well, here's news for you, Mickey boy. You don't run this club, I do. I have a loan offer from Clyde, and have decided to send you out there for three months. Get out of here, and don't darken my door until November."
McGovern was shattered. As he began to walk out of the office, I called out to him one last time. "One last thing, Michael."
As he turned around with a 'What-the-hell-do-you-want-now' look on his face, I handed him a framed picture of his series of penalty saves in the Scottish Challenge Cup final. "I know this is pretty inappropriate right now, but I wanted to give you this for your birthday. Have fun at Clyde, clear the air a bit, and lets see if we can't sort things out when you come back.".
As McGovern left, I felt like the biggest ***** in the universe.
It was just another day at Bowmans Road, with the amount paperwork on my desk requring my immediate attention growing by the day. Scouting reports on each of our nine opponents in the Second Division, requests from schools in the district for resources, a photo opportunity for the squad with the Scottish First Minister (an election obviously not far on the horizon)...when suddenly, the peace and calm at the office was broken with a resounding boom. The lights flickered momentarily, and the air-conditioning shut down.
"What the feck was that?" shouted John Dennis from his office. The secetaries were hiding under their desks, whilst the scouts were running outside to investigate.
Just adjacent to my office window, a limousine had crashed into a power pole on the street and had destroyed the brick wall, with the remenants lying over my car. My priority though was to check for signs of life inside the vehicle.
"You feckless, good-for-nothing potato farmer..." mumbled a voice, presumably the driver. A consumed bottle of vodka was sitting on the passenger's seat, lid down. Scout Paul Aitken phoned an ambulance, whilst physio Phillip Yeates ran back to the building to get a first-aid kit.
The back window of the limousine suddenly shattered in a cascade of glass. With considerable effort, a person wearing a red tracksuit climbed out muttering foreign obscenities under his breath. His feet on the ground, he suddenly turned around to face the small crowd of Thistle employees gathered in the car park. He sported a thick handlebar moustache, a crewcut and had another bottle of vodka in his right hand. He bellowed in an awful, guttural accent:
"I am Gocha, and I am here!"
Fortunately for us, the remainder of the pre-season was far less eventful. The unofficial beginning of our season saw the draws for the two minor cups held. We would begin our defense of the Challenge Cup against newly promoted Montrose, whilst Stenhousemuir were slated to be our opponents in the League Cup. Both games would be played at home.
To replace Michael McGovern, we signed for $20,000 Rangers' second-string goalkeeper Graeme Smith, who was their goalkeeper in their League Cup final win last year. Graeme joins a three-way battle for the starting position with David Hay and Cameron Bell, who we signed from Peterhead. The only other signing we have made for Season 2006/07 is David Cowan, a defender/midfielder from Stranraer.
After an initial scare, we got our cup defense started on the right note against Montrose, although we did require two hours to get a result. Berwick will be our opponents in the second round.
The bookmakers of Scotland appear to have been taking notice of our club history, slashing our odds of winning the division from 33/1 in 2005 to just 5/2 for this season. However, we are far from favourites, with St Johnstone attracting the best odds, in front of Raith, Stirling, Stranraer and Brechin.
Two of our former players found new homes just prior to the start of the new season - Tony McParland has joined division contenders Ratih, whilst Paul Gaughan will wear the colours of Montrose.
We were quite lucky in the end to escape from Glebe Park with a point. Stephen Hampshire played another high-standard game for Brechin and gave our defenders trouble all day long.
Gocha played his first game, but had trouble communicating with his teammates and strayed from the patient, build-up philosophy of the side by taking far too many wild shots at goal, the majority of which were never even close. Another problem is the fact that he knows virtually no English at all (besides 'yes', 'no', 'good' and 'vodka'). I may have to employ a translator for him, or at the very least make an effort to learn some Georgian myself.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12/8 - Brechin 2 Thistle 2Scorers - McNicholl og 41, Walker 61 (Gibson 7, Hampshire 45)League Position - 6th</pre>
Our first win of the new season was a fairly comfortable affair against Peterhead, although aided somewhat by the fact we were playing ten men for 81 minutes after their captain picked up two early yellow cards.
An offer of $10,000 came through from Airdrie United for Mark Dempsie. Morton also expressed their interest in signing the 25-year old defender. With Mark playing so well at the moment, I was loathe to sell him at the first opportunity, and accordingly declined the various offers tabled by the two clubs. Having explained my rationale to him, Mark resolved to duplicate his efforts on the field to repay my trust in him.
With confidence high, we travelled up the road to Perth and found ourselves up by two goals at halftime. We utterly fustrated St Johnstone throughout the game, and were deserved winners in the end. Our opposition would be feeling quite disappointed, given that many people expected them to bounce straight up into the First Division.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">26/8 - St Johnstone 0 Thistle 2Scorers - Gethins 23, 41League Position - 3rd</pre>
The only sour news of the month was that Muray Watson had injured himself yet again, this time for two months with a broken collarbone. Muray has been injured on no less than ten occasions, and never on a playing pitch. I fear we may have no choice but to let the lad go once his contract expires if this rotten run of injuries continues. Working in Muray's favour was the fact that he had another two years to run at Bowmans Road.
The month ended with a good win against Berwick Rangers in the Challenge Cup. We now face off against Alloa in the quarter-finals, yet again at Bowmans Road Stadium.
For the first time in since 2004/05, our players have won the monthly awards for their divisions. Dean Walker has won the Player of the Month, whilst Marco Pelosi is a deserving winner of the Young Player of the Month. With the qualifying for Euro 2008, it was a pleasant surprise to lose Gary Dempsey for a little while after his call-up to the Ireland squad for their game against Estonia. Gocha and Marcus Paatelainen were also on international duty for their respective countries.
The best tonic for a loss early in the season is another resounding cup victory, and that's just what the doctor prescribed...we will now play Albion Rovers in the semi-final, whilst Partick Thistle and Ross County face off in the other qualifier. The League Cup match against Aberdeen has had to be postponed by a week in order to fit the match in the schedule.
In a high-quality game, Stirling posted an impressive 4-2 win, despite our gallant effort to level the match after falling behind very quickly. However, we suffered a major blow with David Bagan lost for two months with a damaged achilles tendon. He leaves big shoes for Gary Dempsey and Gocha to fill.
The semi-final of the Challenge Cup was our last assignment of the month, a tough trip to Coatbridge to face Albion. After falling a goal behind early, our boys finished much the stronger and fully deserved the final margin of victory. The final would be a battle of the Thistles after Partick advanced with a 2-1 win against the men from the north. For Partick, it is their first cup final since the 1972 League Cup victory against Celtic.
With two seperate strikes, Connor Gethins brought up two seperate milestones - his 50th goal for Thistle, and his 10th goal for this season. An outstanding contribution by a very handy player.
Quite a successful month all in all, despite the two league losses. We have another date in November to defend our cup title, and our team play in general has been outstanding.
Linear Mode
