The 2019–20 season was Partick Thistle's second consecutive season in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2017–18 season. Partick Thistle also competed in the League Cup, the Scottish Challenge Cup, Scottish Cup and the revived Glasgow Cup. On 15 April, the SPFL voted to end the lower leagues in Scottish football due to the coronavirus pandemic and as a result Partick were relegated to League One after two years in the Championship, which the club decided not to take legal action against.
Season summary Following a difficult start to the season, Gary Caldwell was sacked as manager on 18 September after eleven months in charge. At the time of Caldwell's departure, the club had recorded two draws and three losses in the first five games of the league campaign and sat ninth of the ten teams in the Scottish Championship. On 23 September, Ayr United manager Ian McCall was announced as Caldwell's successor for a second spell at Partick Thistle, having previously managed the club between 2007 and 2011. Alan Archibald, who had been dismissed as manager in October 2018 after five years in charge, also returned to the club as assistant manager, with former Ayr United midfielder Neil Scally also joining the coaching staff.
McCall's first game in charge was Partick Thistle's quarter-final match against Celtic in the Scottish League Cup on 25 September, which Celtic won 5–0. Three days later the club achieved its first league win of the season with a 3–1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle, lifting them from the bottom of the Championship to ninth above Alloa Athletic. It was not until November that the team's first home win of the season was secured after a 2–1 victory over Greenock Morton, by which time the club had fallen back into last place.
In November EuroMillions lottery winner Colin Weir assumed overall control of the club after purchasing a majority of club's shares. Weir, who had won a £161 million jackpot in 2011 and had previously contributed £2 million to Partick Thistle, stated his intentions were to donate the majority stake to a fan group by the end of March 2020 to allow fan ownership of the club. Weir died after a short illness on 27 December, and was replaced by former chairman Jacqui Low in February 2020.
On 13 March 2020 all football in Scotland, including the Scottish Championship, was suspended until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. At the time of suspension Partick Thistle was in last place in the Scottish Championship, two points behind ninth-placed Queen of the South with one game fewer played. A proposal by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to end the season for all leagues prematurely in mid-April 2020, despite an objection from Dundee F.C., led Partick Thistle to announce a legal effort to overturn the decision. Following Dundee F.C.'s withdrawal of their objection and subsequent support for the SPFL's proposal, the club announced it would not pursue legal action due to the financial cost. With prize money and promotions and relegations decided on positions achieved at the time of suspension in March, Partick Thistle were therefore relegated from the Scottish Championship to League One, the first time the club had fallen to the third tier of Scottish football since 2006.
Competitions Scottish Championship
Scottish League Cup Group stage
Knockout round
Scottish Challenge Cup
Scottish Cup
Glasgow Cup
Squad statistics Appearances
|colspan="12"|Players who left the club during the 2019–20 season
Club statistics League table
League Cup table
Transfers
In Date Position Nationality Name From Fee 15 May 2019 MF Shea Gordon Motherwell Free 15 May 2019 DF Ryan Williamson Dunfermline Athletic Free 14 June 2019 MF Lewis Mansell Blackburn Rovers Free 21 June 2019 DF Thomas Robson Falkirk Free 26 June 2019 FW Kenny Miller Dundee Free 1 July 2019 GK Scott Fox Ross County Free 13 July 2019 FW Alex Jones Bradford City Free 24 July 2019 FW Mitch Austin Sydney FC Free 26 August 2019 DF Ben Hall Brighton & Hove Albion Free 27 August 2019 FW Dario Zanatta Heart of Midlothian Free 13 January 2020 MF Darian MacKinnon Hamilton Academical Free 15 January 2020 FW Zak Rudden Rangers Undisclosed 23 January 2020 FW Brian Graham Ross County Free 27 January 2020 DF Darren Brownlie Queen of the South Undisclosed 27 January 2020 FW Blair Lyons Montrose Undisclosed
Out Date Position Nationality Name From Fee 8 May 2019 FW Scott McDonald Western United Free 9 May 2019 DF Niall Keown Retired Free 14 May 2019 DF Christie Elliott Carlisle United Free 27 May 2019 FW Souleymane Coulibaly Étoile Sportive du Sahel Free 4 June 2019 MF Blair Spittal Ross County Free 10 June 2019 FW Ally Roy Airdrieonians Free 20 June 2019 GK Cammy Bell Falkirk Free 24 June 2019 FW Kris Doolan Ayr United Free 5 July 2019 MF Aidan Fitzpatrick Norwich City £350,000 6 July 2019 GK Aaron Lennox Montrose Free 12 July 2019 MF Andrew McCarthy Queen of the South Free 3 August 2019 FW Miles Storey Inverness CT Free 8 January 2020 DF Ben Hall Falkirk Free 16 February 2020 MF Callum Wilson Dumbarton Free 23 January 2020 FW Kenny Miller Retired Free 29 January 2020 MF Craig Slater Queen's Park Free 29 January 2020 DF Sean McGinty Greenock Morton Free 7 February 2020 MF Gary Harkins Stenhousemuir Free
Loans in Date Position Nationality Name From Fee 10 July 2019 MF Cammy Palmer Rangers Loan 18 July 2019 MF Raffaele De Vita Livingston Loan 2 September 2019 MF Reece Cole Brentford Loan 2 September 2019 DF Osman Kakay Queens Park Rangers Loan 20 January 2020 MF Jamie Barjonas Rangers Loan 21 January 2020 DF Lee O'Connor Celtic Loan 31 January 2020 DF Lewis Mayo Rangers Loan
Loans out Date Position Nationality Name From Fee 27 January 2020 FW Blair Lyons Montrose Loan
See also List of Partick Thistle F.C. seasons
References