[BOTB] SongQuest III - Seven Sensational Seasons

SongQuest III
Seven Sensational Seasons

Another season of Celtic football is upon us.



With the Hoops' European adventures already underway and the domestic campaign just around the corner, it's time to launch the next edition of SongQuest.



Theme

As the title suggests, this SQ is going to celebrate a selection of some of the most memorable seasons in the club's history. Although we could go all the way back, have decided to set this as a post-Jock Stein era comp.

When the Round is announced you can pick any song by any artist of any genre, so long as that song was originally released in the 2 years of the season in question.

So for example, say it was for the Lisbon Lions season (which was the very first one off SQ's some aulder heids may recall), you could enter any song that had been originally released in either 1966 or 1967. It doesnt have to be just from July through to May either. Those 2 years will suffice.

Hope that makes sense, but if not sure by all means feel free to ask.

There are obviously different reasons why a season may be special. It can be about unquestionable dominance throughout, it could be a season full of memories and nostalgia, or it could all come down to one defining moment.

What will those seasons be?






Format



The format for this season will also be a little bit different.

Let's just say there was a little bit of inspiration taken from the World Cup, lol. Instead of being a gradual stage by stage process of elimination, this comp will be divided in to 2 Stages: The Group Stage and the Knockout Stage.

The Group Stage

So, just like in the World Cup where a disappointing first round may be just to clear the cobwebs, so to soeak, in this comp everyone will be divided up into Groups and will go through 3 Rounds of songs, and each compete in a mini league over those 3 songs to determine who progresses.

So noone will be eliminated until 3 Rounds have been completed.

This means that one bad early round may not necessarily be fatal.

At which point, at least the top 2 from each Group will progress to the knock out stage. There may be more, depending on numbers that sign up, there may be Wild Card spots, but will get to that once know the size of the Groups for certain.

So, irrespective of how many enter at the start, after the 3 Rounds, this will be where the cut is made and, at least half the field will be eliminated at the one time.

The Knock Out Stage

Pretty sure everyone can figure out what happens here, lol.





When

Am looking to post the First Round songs on Thursday or Friday.

Will post the First Round season at some point this weekend, at which time people can start sending in entries, but there will be at least 4 days for people to put their proverbial thinking caps on.

However, for now just putting this out there, to put the word out and invite people to be part of this.



Why Be Involved?

Why Not? What else have you got going on when on here anyhow? lol.

It's always a good bit of banter, and along with the regular names, new and returning players are always very welcome to join in.

The invitation is open to all!

Tagging some of the usual suspects (and a couple that popped in my head):

@JC Anton @Idioteque @obafgkmlt @Caroline1989 @Tim-Time 1888 @Pinstripe @Heb Celt @Scotia @CookieMonster @Vinnie BBQ @Big els @Mr Shelby @Moustache @Drakhan @Marty McFly @Tulf @borobob @NorwichCelt @Deebo67 @Vertie @Marie @The Prof @Officer Doofy @Swervedancer

And of anyone knows * Minty, Papa etc are calling themselves nowadays also obviously, lol.

Come see if you can take the crown from @Keano88 and knock him off his perch!

​

 

Sounds like a great theme @Taz! In

 

Nice one Taz, I'm up for this especially as I don't think I've been in a third round before

I know Minty calls himself @The GOAT BOTB Player now

Wish I was in the Lisbon Lions one, Hendrix burst onto the scene those years.

 

In x

 

In

 

Away on holiday tomorrow, so will give it a miss this time..

 

Whn are you back? Notice @Mr Shelby saying he is going away also but will be able to keep tabs on this. I can delay the start of this for a little while if its not an ideal time, or if it is just you, could mak an exception, like with Drak in the last comp. Just an idea.

 

In

 

Back on the 10th mate, but don’t delay for my sake.. but if you give the first year I could get a submission in.. and would try and get on to vote.. depends how good the WiFi is in the Hoops Bar..

 

Aye count me in

 

Count me in, good pal.

 

sounds good .

 

I'm in.

 

First Round

1978/79

'Ten Men Win the League'


Danny McGrain is held aloft the night 10 Men won the League

Times were not so great after the glory days of the Jock Stein era. The Big Man himself had survived a near fatal car crash but which left the club in the hands of caretaker Sean Fallon, and perhaps every bit a seismic shift was the departure of Kenny Dalglish for Liverpool.

Celtic were still struggling to get their footing back, although now under the helm of Cesar himself, Billy McNeil. It was a team that on paper should have been far better than what had been seen. The likes of Bobby Lennox, Danny McGrain, Shuggy Edvaldsson, Tommy Burns and a young and raw Roy Aitken on the club's books, think it's fair to say that the team were underperforming.

On paper.

In reality it was a different story. In the aftermath of Dalglish's departure Celtic had struggled through the 1977/78 season, and that situation only got worse when Danny McGrain suffered what appeared at the time an innocious ankle injury that would not see him kick a ball competitively for not much short of 18 months. Lennox was being used increasingly sparingly by his old skipper and while those brought in to fill for these were clarly not to the same standard. That would be impossoble at the best of times. I mean, how can you find a like for like replacement for someone like Danny McGrain? Simply, you can't.

What was clear, Celtic were underperforming as the 1978/79 season was well underway and headed toward Christmas that year.​

On the 23 December 1978, Celtic had lost 1-0 to Morton, which meant that the Bhoys would have sat down to Xmas Dinner, no doubt with a few appropriatly chosen wors from Cesar, and aware that in a league table topped by Dundee Utd followed by Partick, Aberdeen, R******, the Hoops had now also been leapfrogged by Morton.

Sixth. In a 10 team Premier Division.

I would like to think that Xmas Dinner may not have sat well with them that day. As fortune would have it. they would have basically the next 2 months to digest it and have a good hard think about what was happening, what was going wrong and what needed to change to fix the situation.

The Scottish winter pretty much shut down football until March. In the intervening period, Celtic managed to play a scarce number of away friendlies, including in Portugal, while the weather was playing havoc back home. The heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures made things very complicated for all clubs, not just Celtic, and even though they had managed to squeeze in 2 Scottish Cup games prior to the end of February, the league had been at a stand still since before Christmas.

And as if the weather wasn't bad enough, Margeret Thatcher had been voted into office.

Yes, times were not good, bhoys and ghirls.

But it wasn't all bad news.

The break had afforded McNeill the time needed to sort things out. To the relief of everyone, Danny McGrain was finally back and ready for action, which would have handed everyone around the club a massive boost. Meanwhile Celtic had been busy in the transfer market also, bringing in the quality of record signing Davie Provan for £125,000, and Murdo MacLeod from lower division, Dumbarton.​

Hail, Cesar! Billy McNeill in 1979 had a lot on his plate

It worked. It was the chance to get the team firing. Heading into the last few months of the season players, staff and fans alike were going to be fully tested with fixture pile up and congestion. But it mattered not. Aside from an exit at the next round of the Scottish Cup, the Hoops barely stumbled from that point on, dropping just 7 points the rest of the season, including winning the last 10 consecutive games straight.

It all culminated in a match at Paradise on May 21 1979.

A transport strike had prevented many that thought they may have been able to tune in on tv to watch it all unfold. As fortune would have it, a snap TV strike that day meant that it would not be televised. History is one thing. Had to be there, is another. As it turned out the drama would unfold in front of an attendance of approximately 52,000 - roughly 30,000 shy of what had been expected before all the strikes kicked in.

R****** were hunting down a back to back domestic treble, but Celtic had their noses in front in the league. Indeed, this game was actually the rearranged new year's derby that had been postponed because of the weather. For Celtic, there was no choice, no option, nothing less than a win would be enough, as this was to be Celtic's last league fixture. The visitors, on the other hand, arrived at Parkhead needing only to avoid a loss and the title was theirs for the taking. A win or a draw would suit them fine, as they still had a couple of games up their sleeve.

Things took a downward turn when the visitors went 1-0 up against the run of play after 9 minutes and it would stay that way heading into the break. 45 Minutes to save the season.

Those in attendance faith would have been tested even further on 51 minutes when Johnny Doyle saw red for kicking out at a R****** player and was given his marching orders. A goal down. Now a man down. Celtic could not draw. They had to win. It would take 2 goals without reply with a man down. It did not look good.

But for players it is different from us supporters. Because as players they have the ability to impact a game. One such was the raw Roy Aitken, having the game of his life. He had already hit the crossbar in the first half, but now with the team flagging he was simply inspirational, driving forward, unleashing shots, lifting not only his teammates but giving very fan in attendance belief that they could get back into this.



The Inspirational Roy Aitken celebrates his equalizer​

On 66 minutes it happened. Aitken managed to get onto the end of a Provan pass in a goal mouth scramble and suddenly it was 1-1!

Roared on by the Celtic faithful in the old Jungle, the Bhoys were in this and were going to give it absolutely everything.

Eight minutes later, the Bhoys hit the front, when George McCluskey managed to hook the ball home after yet another Roy Aitken shot has been deflected in his direction. 2-1!

While the Jungle was still celebrating, R****** managed an almost immediate reply, when from a corner Bobby Russel saw his shot go in off the post. 2-2.

With time fast running out, the brave Bhoys in green and white continued to press and push, almost exhausted but determined not to give it up now - not now that they had fought so hard to just get back into it. Again Aitken was thick in the action, seeing yet another brilliant effort of his being superbly saved. It was a reprieve only though, for with 7 minutes remaining a cross from McCluskey drew a parried save from the R****** 'keeper, only to see th ball go in off of one of Colin Jackson for an own goal.

Celtic were now 3-2 up and even with Celtic Park jumping, veryone knew that it would only take one slip up for the visitors to get back on level terms and take the draw that they needed. One slip up and euphoria would turn instantly to disaster. Celtic were valiently holding on as R****** pressed and pushed more men forward, searching for that vital goal as the Bhoys, exhausted, outnumbered and on their last legs doing everything to keep them out.

With just a minute to go, the ball is punted forward and out of the danger area by Tom McAdam, one of Celtic's unsung heroes that day, finding Murdo MacLeod, who was able to bring the ball under control. Maybe nowadays the tactic would have been to run the ball down into th corner and either see out time or punt it into the grandstand to buy up a few valuable seconds. But 35 yards from goal, MacLeod let loose with an unstoppable shot, as the ball cannons into the top corner of the goal!

To say that the place erupted is an understatement. The Jungle erupted! The joy overflowing. 4-2! The job was surely done now. Seconds later the final whistle blows, and some of the players were running around, others on their knees, from sheer exhaustion as much as it was in relief and unbridled joy of having clinched the title in the most dramatic and, very likely, never to be repeated way possible.

They had written their chapter in history.

It is a shame that because of the transport strike that day that there were not more there to witness it, and equally a shame of the snap TV strike that there was no TV there to cover the match either. All we have is the gritty photos that captured the euphoria on the terraces and on the pitch, those newspaper articles to recount the events and days like this when legends are made.

Roy Aitken had scored one, his deflected shot had resulted in another, had hit the woodwork and brought out a superb save. By all accounted he had been everywhere that night, proverbially covering every blade of grass. He had played an absolute blinder. It wouldn't be the first time he had been the inspiration for the Hoops, and most assuredly would not be the last.

But every one of the 10 Men Who Won the League deserve their place in this story, their place in our history, and a result that even thinking about it almost 40 years later, even for those not there, who may not yet had started school, nevermind being on the other side of the planet.

The sheer magnitude of clawing back from 6th to 1st in less than 3 months, capture the league championship with so much riding on that one game, and not least of which, to deny our erstwhile city rivals their chance at back to back domestic treble, can and never will be forgotten.​

Let's get this party started!

Round 1 Songs


Hopefully this will inspire some great choices, are there are no shortage of quality tunes from those years to pick from.

Only 1 song per artist, on a first come, first served basis.

Also, you can use newer versions of the song by the original artist, ie, like a live version etc, so long as the original release was in the years nominated.

So to this Round, those taking part will need to submit a song that was originally released in 1978 or 1979.

Good Luck!​

 

Round 1 has just been posted mate.

 

Of course it is, lol. Jkn.

I know, I'm just being an

Its open to everyone, @Marie . Just giving people some time to think of what song they want to use and can submit anytime between now and Thursday or Friday (havent decided when the cut off will be just yet), so loads of time.

 

I’m sure not Marie..

 

Song entered

Prob my favourite band

Great years to start