Third Lanark AC

Hi Whitburn Jag,
                        First of all, welcome to the site and I hope you have the chance to look around and peruse the various comments / contributions to the very many different topics on view. Especially check out people's memories of old games and generally visiting Cathkin for the first time as the old place always seems to get the old emotions going for young and old alike!
If we had the money to rebuild, I think I would follow the pattern of the old ground. That is to say, a seated enclosure with adjoining pavilion ( minus 'Players' sign! ) on the north side opposite the South terracing with a capacity ranging from 500 - 2000 depending on how well the new team would be doing and at what level of football they would be playing. The Pavillion could be used as a Third Lanark museum and tea room / small restaraunt on match days. ( If St Mirren are leaving Love Street soon, then there should be buck shee / cut price seats available for any enterprise wanting to redevelop Cathkin methinks ). The present west end of the ground has a small risen pavilion already, not part of the original stadium of course, but this could surely be upgraded / developed and possibly used as new changing facilities with all mod cons inside for the players and coaching staff.
I agree the terracing could be made safer underfoot and a covered enclosure built on the southside, but this would involve cutting down too many of the trees and these should be kept as they give the ground a nice ambience at the moment. I disagree that the ends should be covered as I think a substantial part of the terracing with their classic barriers should be used to position massive great red and white Third Lanark AC banners and create a banner strewn, red and white amphitheatre type feel for the players, a la on the continent, when they play games. At least in this way, the old classic terracing could be kept fairly intact, and I do think this classic structure deserves to be preserved as it is, since it has managed to withstand the ravages of time and neglect fairly well over the part 40 years, dont you think? Remember, part of the allure of Third Lanark for visitors and old supporters alike is that the look and feel of the natural amphitheatre that is Cathkin Park with it's classic terracing, barriers and wide pitch, is still there, preserved in aspic for us all to see, a time capsule waiting for entrepeneurial, enthusiastic individuals to come along and at last ressurrect this great club. Here's hoping, along with many others I might add.
Finally, it stands to reason Cathkin would have to be newly perimetered off and security for the ground assured, but this would not prove too much of a problem as the natural line of the old boundary can still be traced and there would be enough land leeway to play with in order to place new turnstiles and perimeter fencing etc along the boundary way. The main problem would be actually securing the land from the council in some way, either through long lease back agreements or by buying it outright ( which I'm not to sure is allowed since the park has a special status I think. Not too sure on this so will have to check my facts. Apologies.) Of course, all this would need a substantial wad of cash so I hope you're an eccentric milionaire with a sense of history and  willingness to right a great historic wrong which took this great club away from us all.
Anyway, just a few ideas and sorry this has taken on War and Peace proportions! Got a bit carried away! If you would like info or an update on what's happening with the new team contact Matt 'Partick Thistle lad' as he and others have lots of progressive ideas on how to take the club forward more generally, ideas which we are all confident can be put in place in the fulness of time and help the resurgence of Thirds. Bye for now and look forward to reply.
                                Neil

Hi again Whitburn Jag,
                                Due to lack of computer in house tend to be a bit tardy with replies. Apologies! Slowly but surely more and more people are getting involved and showing a willingness to help the cause in any way they can. The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned. The general idea is to use people's talents, whether they be in administration, media work, writing skills, organisational abilities, knowledge of business models etc., and pull all these disparate talents together for the greater good of a resurgent Third Lanark. For example, Matt does pretty much all the admin for the team while me and a guy called George put together a small monthly programme/fanzine and try to do posters for upcoming games. We're using this season as a bit of a trial to see if we can get it all running nice and efficiently! It stands to reason that if we want the club to grow again, we'll at some point in the future need to have business plans in place and a strategy for taking the club forward if we want to be taken seriously by politicians and funding bodies, for it is they who have the power to help or hinder us long term. You can see then that there are lots of areas where people's talents can be used and maximised for the good of the club and it would be great if you felt in some of these areas you could make a positive contribution.
Anyway, try and get along to the next home game as we can all meet up and give you a general sense of what were trying to do. We go 't pub afterwards and chew the fat on all things Thirds and laugh at the thought of the normally mild mannered, cultured, urbane Matt turning into a complete raving dervish lunatic when he gets within shouting distance of the confines of his beloved Firhill!
Tattie bye fer noo.

Hi Matt...got the book on Sat...havnae put it down!! I was lookin at the crowds....in the pics....35,000 against Hibs in 1959...then 8 years later 250 0r 500...how sad is that....where did everybody dissappear to? Tragic man..tragic. I was in again on Sunday wi ma Maw and Da...Da can mind bein there wi a neighbour behind the goals at the West End...Thirds got a pen and the guy said 'oh he'll miss it watch this' and he did. Just canny get over the Hibs game and the crowds....jesus. Awesome. I mind bein at Firhill in 1967 or 68 agains Celtic and there was 35,000 there...scary comin oot at the end.  

I was fascinated wi the cottage and people up on the top or the top half....the games against Celtic 4-4.....Im gonni try and get the 2nd book. Thanks for the offer of the loan of the book. I'm also amazed at the 2 massive grounds bein so close to each other although ma Da said Queens never had a great support. By the way...there's now a massive f....off tree fell or been blown over right across the South East terracing....I take it the cooncil get aw the branches and trees cleared away?         

I got the 2nd Thirds book yesterday....phoned ma wife who told me it had arrived and I felt like a kid comin in and opening it. I didny feel comfortable using the words cottage although I was maybe thinking of Craven Cottage with the cottage at the same place as the Pavillion at Cathkin. It's fascinating stuff looking at the crowds, the TV cameramen up on the balcony of the pavillion, the little pie stand (if that's what it was) up in the south east corner of the ground, the pitch invasion at the Rangers game and the games against Celtic.

From what I can see the new stand was built around 1961/62 only to be the subject of financial shenanegans and eventually being vandalised. 

Aye, I remember the Thistle v Hibs game...I wasnae at it as I was playin that day (I got dropped the week after I went to the league cup final! so I didny want  tae get dropped again.)...anyway...there was 22,000 there at Firhill as it was hoped Thistle could maybe do the cup double...but Hibs won 2-0...(think John Brownlee got the first from a free kick) then went on to get humped 6-1 inthe final against Celtic. 

I'm still looking out for the next Thirds home game to come through for it..but first it's Almondvale on Sat..just along the road from me. 

It's great to see some old action shots of Thirds games tho! 

See ya.