stuartmccallsfall 4 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 on the tele. Pity I wont see it but just thought Id post anyhow. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle3594077.ece Ian McCall was given the daunting description yesterday of the man who can deliver silverware to Partick Thistle. His chairman, Allan Cowan, believes that the manager can win a trophy for the Glasgow club, but in the short-term, McCall has already won some vital silver. The Irn-Bru Scottish League first division side’s fine 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox on Wednesday night will ensure that Partick bank up to £300,000 from the replay on April 13. To a club that just announced a £450,000 loss at their annual general meeting last night, that is lifesaving income. Partick have been operating on a strict budget since relegation from the Premier League in 2005. McCall, though, has been given some help to build a larger squad than most of his first division rivals, and it showed in Thistle’s impressive neutralising of a Rangers team that was on the verge of losing an unbeaten 22-game domestic run when Damon Gray put Thistle ahead halfway through the second half. Kris Boyd rescued a replay for Rangers but also ensured that Partick will profit from another meeting. Thistle took in £120,000 as their 40 per cent share of the 36,000 Ibrox gate but will keep 60 per cent of the share of the replay – with Firhill set to be filled to its 12,000 capacity, that would land them more than £100,000. The match will also be screened live on television, which will add another £82,500. Partick are currently £1.2 million in debt and rely on a £100,000 deal to lease their Firhill ground to the rugby union side, Glasgow. “We are so proud of the performance of our team,†Cowan said yesterday. “They made all 3,000 of our supporters at Ibrox very proud, while they in turn played the twelfth-man role superbly. The value of this cup run and the earning of the replay is massive to our club. For once the [poor] surface at Firhill would give us a home advantage - while Rangers are still the favourites, maybe now this is not in such a clear-cut way.†Thistle intend to keep the majority of the Firhill seats for their own supporters, rather than turn the ground over to Rangers fans. “The feeling is that we may be able to fill every seat of the 6,250 in the Jackie Husband stand with our own support,†the chairman said. “That would allow Rangers the north stand and we will have to assess the old main stand and see what would be best. But no decisions have been made at this stage.†Cowan’s prediction that McCall will land a trophy one day may be bold – audacious, if he took Thistle to their first honour since winning the League Cup against Celtic in 1971 – but there is little doubt that the manager showed at Ibrox with his organisation and tactics that he has come a long way since his Dundee United side were thrashed 7-2 in the semi-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup in 2005. McCall did to Walter Smith what Rangers have been doing to European opposition this season – he made his team hard to beat and denied the hosts room to work. “We now have a manager who, one day, will guide us to silverware, and hopefully that will not be in the too distant future,†Cowan said. “Ian has built a young team with a few old heads, and they are only going to get better. We look forward with some relish to Rangers coming to Firhill.†Indeed, McCall is also full of optimism that Thistle can still summon up a victory when Rangers cross Glasgow. “I would have taken a draw before the game but the way the tie panned out, if we could have held our lead for another five to ten minutes, we may have won,†the manager said. “I felt the younger players like goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey, Scott Chaplain, Gary Harkins, Marc Twaddle and Damon Gray were outstanding. It is easy to come and work hard at a place like Ibrox but I thought the way we retained the ball and tried to pass it showed real guts and belief. We really passed the ball and in this respect Harkins was immense. He had one nutmeg against a Rangers player that was superb and his composure was great. “There have been a lot of shocks in both cups on each side of the border, and though maybe Ibrox is not the best surface, Rangers will get a real shock when they come to Firhill because it is awful. Maybe Rangers are a victim of their own success with all these games coming thick and fast. But we have played 20-odd games at Firhill and only lost twice, so with a full house at our place, hopefully it will be Firhill for thrills again.†McCall also praised Gray. The teenager is on loan from Hibernian and will see the Edinburgh club about extending that deal, which runs out on March 31, to the end of the season. “Damon may be only 19 but he is a natural finisher,†McCall said. “He may need to add a lot of things to his game but he can certainly finish and last night he showed he has the nerve to do that on the big stage.†Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebells-r-blue 8 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Who is showing the match? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfc72 0 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 You have to laugh at the Chairman saying they may fill the whole 6250 of the stand absolutely no chance they will, they couldnt even turn out for a legend of a manager at the club for them in John Lambie for his testimonial but forgot its when the glory hunters come back for 1 game so it could happen We will only receive 2000 tickets for the game unless they can get a health and safety certificate for the Main Stand and we would receive 1000 extra tickets. The game will be on Sky as the figure is £82,500 SKY pay each team that figure to show the game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_ni 12 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 well at least thats one thing, i hate having to listen on the radio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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