Sunday 3rd December, 2017 at 10:00am
We continue our advent calendar look at each individual who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for Partick Thistle Football Club.
Each day, at 10am, we’ll reveal the next Jags legend as we remember their best moments as they immortalized themselves into Partick Thistle history.
Kenny Watson
Debut: 27/08/1980 v Queens Park
Appearances: 315
Goals: 54
Kenny arrived at Firhill in the summer of 1980 for a five figure fee as Jags manager Bertie Auld looked to build on four successful seasons in the Premier Division. Joining from Glasgow rivals Rangers, Kenny was seen as statement of intent for Thistle as they looked to cement themselves as a Premier Division mainstay throughout the 1980s.
The first glimpse of Kenny Watson for Jags supporters came in a second round League Cup tie with Queen’s Park. It took only two games for Kenny to get off the mark as he bagged Thistle’s goal in a second leg draw which saw the side progress to the third round of the competition.
While his debut campaign was a positive one with Thistle finishing 6th in the Premier Division, the 1981/82 season saw Thistle plunge through the trapdoor to the First Division. Kenny remained loyal to the Jags cause as the side looked to bounce back at the first time of asking. With Donald Park and Mo Johnston leading the charge in front of goal, Kenny chipped in with eight league goals, missing only one game throughout the bid for promotion. Despite losing goalkeeper Alan Rough in the first half of the season, Thistle still conceded only 45 goals during the league season, the third best tally in the division. Despite all this however, The Jags were unsuccessful in their first promotion attempt back to the Premier Division.
It looked more promising for the club in the 1983/84 campaign but, despite another healthy seven league goals from Kenny, the side came up short once again in the bid for a top flight place.
As things grew bleaker in Maryhill for the rest of the 1980s as Thistle slumped into a period of mediocrity with no serious promotion bids for the rest of Kenny’s time at Firhill. His career with the club was cut short as he suffered from numerous injury problems causing him to retire in his early 30s.
