 |
Your Archive Needs YOU! Page upload volunteers are urgently required; free time is precious for everyone but if you can spare some then please do get in touch → and play your part in helping to build an Archive for all of Jagskind to use and enjoy! Read more → |
| Brian Cassidy |
 Brian Cassidy was born sometime between 25th December 1964 and 24th December 1965, and is most likely to be Scottish. * The goalkeeper was introduced to Benny Rooney's Thistle in the summer of 1984. Aged 19 or 20, he was listed as a substitute for the one and only time on Wednesday, 1st August, 1984, in a 1-0 friendly win at home to Shrewsbury Town. There were no registered first-team appearances for Brian in his time at Thistle. His club-list included Partick Thistle, Glenboig, Stenhousemuir, Morton, Pollok and Cambuslang Rangers.
|
 This young 'keeper - who would be capped for Junior Scotland - vied with Andy Smyth as Thistle's reserve goalie at the beginning of 1984-85 and Benny Rooney put him on the bench for the first team friendly against Shrewsbury Town, John Brough being the main man. With no professional contract materialising, he stepped back to the juniors with Glenboig and might have thought that was it for his senior pro chances but, when Stenhousemuir found themselves short, Brian was drafted in on an emergency loan in November 1987. The following month, when Morton's Robin Turner required knee surgery, Allan McGraw drafted the 22-year-old Brian in as back-up at Cappielow for the rest of that season. Pollok did a lot of close season business in 1988, and this included Brian, returning once more to the juniors. He spent 4 seasons at Newlandsfield, where he was affectionately known as "no pass Cass!" The Central League Cup (1989-90) and the Central Sectional League Cup (1990-91) wins were two of his notable highlights, and Brian's saves in the latter grabbed the headlines, even though Kevin Inglis (another former Jag) scored the winning penalty. Ironically, it was a former Thistle 'keeper - Ronnie Lowrie - who ousted Brian as Pollok's #1 and, in the close season of 1992, he moved on to Cambuslang Rangers. He had only been at Rangers for a few weeks when he was sent off in a match against Shettleston and the manager, Alex Love, immediately put him on the transfer list, describing his behaviour as "unnaceptable". What happened next we wonder? |
| (WS/MD) |
click on image to enlarge (magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser)
