Subscriber update: Summer coverage

The season may be over, but we will still be working hard here at The Thistle

And so another season ends – and that familiar sinking feeling in the gut is back, too.

Close, but no cigar: four words that seem to sum up the past few campaigns at Partick Thistle. So it was again this time around, with Mark Wilson’s men narrowly missing out on promotion to the promised land of the Premiership following Monday night’s 1-0 loss in Paisley.

That defeat to St Mirren understandably stings, and many of us are still smarting from it. But this is Thistle. We all know that it is only a matter of time before the bruises heal, optimism is restored, and we are ready to do it all over again.

Which brings me to today’s update. The 2025/26 campaign was a long season, and the players and coaching staff are enjoying a well-earned rest. But over here at The Thistle, we will be working throughout the summer to keep you up to date with all the latest goings-on at Firhill.

I took a few days off this week to recharge my batteries and normal service will now resume. The football may be over, but we have got loads planned for the coming weeks.

Subscribers can look forward to a lengthy exclusive interview with Sam Neave, director of the One Team In Glasgow documentary series, in the coming days. We will also be examining the 2025/26 campaign in detail in a series of articles analysing where the Jags got it right this term, and the areas that require improvement in the new campaign. We will be chatting exclusively to Mark Wilson to get his insight into his first full season in charge at Firhill, and we will of course cast our minds ahead to the new one, analysing the squad ahead of football’s silly season kicking off in earnest when the transfer window reopens.

All of this is to say that even though domestic football has stopped for now, we will still be working away and providing you with regular content. I’m aware that this is the first summer since The Thistle launched, and subscribers may be a little unsure what to expect. Hopefully this update puts a few minds at ease.

We will also be sending out a reader survey in the coming weeks to find out what we’re doing right, and other areas where we could be doing better.

Maybe you want to read about the women’s team. Maybe you’re happy with the matchday coverage, but you feel like there could be more analysis. Maybe you want more exclusive interviews, or you’re (perfectly understandably) sick of hearing from me and want more authors on the site. Whatever your gripe, we want to hear it. Honest feedback is what we’re after and there are no wrong answers.

And while I’ve got you: please allow me to extend my sincere thanks for all your support this season. This is still a fairly new project – and I’m still learning as I go too – but the backing we have received from fans has been nothing short of phenomenal. Launching The Thistle was a gamble, and, truthfully, you never really know how these things are going to go until after the fact. That so many of you are reading, sharing and engaging with our articles is humbling, and only reinforces my faith that this project has a long-term future.

So a huge thank you to each and every person reading this. Without your support, The Thistle simply would not exist. And I’ll reiterate what I wrote when we first launched back in September too: the more people that sign up and support The Thistle, the more content there will be. I’m proud of what we have produced so far, but I also know that there is so much more we can be doing.

The past nine months have been the most professionally rewarding of my career and if it were up to me, I’d spend all day every day covering the Jags. But that can only happen with your continued support. I know in this day and age that people are accustomed to reading online for free, but the fact of the matter is that quality journalism takes time and energy to produce, and I believe what we produce here is worth paying for.

I feel strongly that the vast majority of our content should be free-to-access for all supporters, but that depends on the support of others. No journalist likes putting up paywalls – at the end of the day, we want as many people to read our stuff as possible – but they are a reality of today’s media industry. And as much as I love Thistle and covering the club, I cannot work for free.

Anyway, that’s enough of the hard sell. If you’re able to afford the £3.99-a-month subscription (or £39.99 for a full year), it really does go a long way to keeping the project going. If you’re unable to do that, even taking out a free subscription helps to extend our reach. And I understand that times are tough. If you can’t afford a premium subscription at the moment, you can confidentially send me an email or reach out to me on Substack or Twitter/X and I can arrange access for you.

A big summer awaits at Firhill. And The Thistle will be there every step of the way.