Kerching

By Iain Hepburn on Oct 3, 08 11:37 AM in daft

Supporting Partick Thistle has become a worryingly expensive business this season.

It's not that the club has whacked up ticket prices, although the pies have gone up by a couple of pence.

No, it's that, for the first time in all the years I've suffered through being a Thistle supporter, we've finally got a merchandise line that actually looks good. No, scratch that, looks fantastic.

This deal with Greaves is going to end up bankrupting me, because our new commercial partners and our kit suppliers have started filling the Partick Thistle Direct shop with a worryingly high quality array of tops, jumpers, scarfs, hats... all really decently made, high quality, top class looking gear.

Walk past Greaves and you're assaulted by this range of stuff in the window now. It's a nightmare. I live near Sauchiehall St and walking home means passing this window display nectar, luring me in and saying 'go on, buy a fleece top'.

The Sirens have nothing on our marketing team. Damn their eyes.

We've had some truly honking gear in the past too, which made it so much worse. 17 years of horrible, shiny, vinyl and nylon replica tops with thick advertising panels promoting drainage companies and carpet firms. A variety of kit-manufacturing no-marks. A veritable Who's Who of bargain bin sportsware firms.

Matchwinner. Secca. Arrow.

Now we've got Puma and Greaves turning out the sort of stuff I'm not embarrassed to buy for my dad's Christmas.

Real Scottish Football is a very expensive habit.