That Was The Team That Was
Encyclopedia
That Was The Team That Was was a Scottish
television programme that documented successful time periods for Scottish football
sides. The show was broadcast on BBC One Scotland every Friday night (when there was a series ongoing) and has recently ended its third series. Its title is derived from the 1960's BBC satire
That Was The Week That Was
. Produced by Brendan O'Hara of BBC Scotland. The show was cancelled by the BBC and ended on 22 February 2008 as BBC Scotland confirmed that no more episodes of the show would be produced.
style, the programme is narrated by John Gordon Sinclair
and part-written by Chick Young
. It involves highlights of matches played by the featured side interspersed with recollections from former players and managers. A scrapbook style format, showing newspaper clippings, is used to cover events for which there are no television highlights, a particular problem in 1985, when a dispute between television companies and the League
led to a 6 month football broadcasting hiatus.
BBC Scotland have confirmed that a fourth series of the programme will not be made, making the third series the final series of the show.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
television programme that documented successful time periods for Scottish football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
sides. The show was broadcast on BBC One Scotland every Friday night (when there was a series ongoing) and has recently ended its third series. Its title is derived from the 1960's BBC satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
. Produced by Brendan O'Hara of BBC Scotland. The show was cancelled by the BBC and ended on 22 February 2008 as BBC Scotland confirmed that no more episodes of the show would be produced.
Format
Filmed in a documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
style, the programme is narrated by John Gordon Sinclair
John Gordon Sinclair
John Gordon Sinclair is a Scottish actor most famous for playing Gregory in Gregory's Girl. He was born as Gordon John but took the stage name 'John Gordon Sinclair' because Equity already had a Gordon John registered....
and part-written by Chick Young
Chick Young
Charles "Chick" Young is a professional association football pundit, who regularly appears for BBC Scotland on Sportscene and Sportsound...
. It involves highlights of matches played by the featured side interspersed with recollections from former players and managers. A scrapbook style format, showing newspaper clippings, is used to cover events for which there are no television highlights, a particular problem in 1985, when a dispute between television companies and the League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
led to a 6 month football broadcasting hiatus.
2006: The First Series
The first series, entailing 6 episodes, was broadcast in February and March 2006. The date provided is that on which the episode was first aired.- 10 February - ScotlandScotland national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
19741974 FIFA World CupThe 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
: Scotland qualified for their first World Cup since 1958 but, despite remaining unbeaten, were knocked out in the first round on goal difference.
- 17 February - Heart of MidlothianHeart of Midlothian F.C.Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
1985-861985-86 in Scottish footballThe 1985–86 season was the 89th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:With Rangers once again failing to mount a title challenge, manager Jock Wallace's second spell as manager ended in April when he was sacked and the club appointed Graeme Souness as player-manager,...
: After a 31 game unbeaten run, defeat in their last two fixtures saw Hearts miss out on a League and Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
doubleThe DoubleThe Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
.
- 24 February - CelticCeltic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
1987-881987-88 in Scottish footballThe 1987–88 season was the 91st season of competitive football in Scotland.-Notable events:Billy McNeill's second spell back in charge of Celtic began in style as they finished the season by winning the double of the league title and Scottish Cup...
: In their centenary year, Celtic gave their supporters fitting reason to celebrate by claiming a League and Cup double.
- 3 March - RangersRangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
1996-971996-97 in Scottish footballThe 1996–97 season was the 100th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season seen a playoff system introduced between the 2nd bottom club in the Premier Division and the 2nd top club in Division One.-Scottish Premier Division:...
: The Gers League title victory saw them equal Celtic's cherished long-standing record of 9-in-a-row, in a season in which they also won the League CupScottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
.
- 10 March - Dundee UnitedDundee United F.C.Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...
1986-871986-87 in Scottish footballThe 1986–87 season was the 90th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Notable events:In the first full season under the management of player-manager Graeme Souness, Rangers won their first league title since 1978, and also won the League Cup....
: Competing on 4 fronts, Dundee United played 67 games in a season in which they reached both the UEFA Cup and Scottish Cup finals, only to lose to IFK GothenburgIFK GöteborgIFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
and St Mirren respectively.
- 17 March - AberdeenAberdeen F.C.Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
1982-831982-83 in Scottish footballThe 1982–83 season was the 86th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:In a tightly fought contest Dundee United win their first and only title this season. The league remains undecided until the last day of the season with Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in contention...
: Aberdeen became the third Scottish side to win a European trophy when they defeated Real MadridReal Madrid C.F.Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
2-1 after extra time in the Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982-83The season 1982-83 of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Aberdeen FC in an extra-time victory against Real Madrid. It was the second and last time the title went to Scotland, following Rangers' victory in 1972.-Preliminary round:-First round:...
final in GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
.
2007: The Second Series
The second series, again featuring 6 episodes, was broadcast in January, February and March 2007. The date provided is that on which the episode was first aired.- 27 January - ScotlandScotland national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
1996: Craig Brown's side was the second Scottish team to qualify for the European Championship finals, which were held in neighbouring EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1996. - 2 February - HibernianHibernian F.C.Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
1991-921991-92 in Scottish footballThe 1991–92 season was the 95th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: RangersRelegated: St...
: Hibs were the subject of a hostile takeover bid by rivals Hearts' chairman Wallace MercerWallace MercerWallace Mercer was chairman of the Scottish football club Heart of Midlothian from 1981 to 1994.-Hearts:He is remembered mainly for improving the fortunes of Hearts during the early 1980s...
in 1990. From the verge of extinction they recovered to win the League Cup against Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline Athletic F.C.Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
just over a year later. - 9 February - CelticCeltic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
1997-981997-98 in Scottish footballThe 1997–98 season was the 101st season of competitive football in Scotland. Celtic halted Rangers in their bid for a record 10-in-a-row.-Scottish Premier Division:-Top scorers:-Table:-Top scorers:-Table:-Top scorers:-Table:...
: Celtic won the League for the first time since 1988 under DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
coach Wim JansenWim JansenWilhelmus Marinus Anthonius Jansen is a Dutch former association football player and manager.- Playing career :He spent most of his playing career with his hometown team, Feyenoord, between 1965 and 1980...
, in the process stopping major rivals Rangers from setting a new record of 10 League titles in a row. - 16 February - Raith RoversRaith Rovers F.C.Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...
1994-951994-95 in Scottish footballThe 1994–95 season was the 98th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season seen the re-introduction of the Scottish 3rd division, after an absence of 26 years, and also the introduction of three points for a win being awarded instead of just two.-Notable events:*Raith Rovers...
: Jimmy NichollJimmy NichollJames Michael "Jimmy" Nicholl is a Canadian-born former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Manchester United.He was mainly a right-back but could also play in other defensive roles...
's KirkcaldyKirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
side won their first major honour by defeating Celtic in the League Cup final and also earned promotion to the Premier Division through their league form. - 23 February - Leeds United 1973-741973-74 in English footballThe 1973–74 season was the 94th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with England...
: Don RevieDon RevieDonald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
's league-winning Leeds team were the first EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
side featured, however it contained numerous Scots, including Billy BremnerBilly BremnerWilliam John "Billy" Bremner was a Scottish professional footballer, most noted for his captaincy of the Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s. He has since been voted Leeds United's greatest player of all time and has a statue outside the South East corner of Elland Road...
, Joe JordanJoe Jordan (footballer)Joseph "Joe" Jordan is a Scottish football coach and former player and manager. He is currently first team coach for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, under manager Harry Redknapp....
and Eddie Gray. - 2 March - RangersRangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
1986-871986-87 in Scottish footballThe 1986–87 season was the 90th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Notable events:In the first full season under the management of player-manager Graeme Souness, Rangers won their first league title since 1978, and also won the League Cup....
: In 1986 Graeme SounessGraeme SounessGraeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
was appointed Rangers manager and, aided by transfer spending unprecedented in Scottish football, he led the side to their first League title in 10 years.
2008: The Third Series
The third series began on 8 February 2008. Unfortunately the series only consisted of three episodes as some producing problems at BBC Scotland HQ occurred and production of the show stopped. The final episode of the third series was aired on 22 February 2008.BBC Scotland have confirmed that a fourth series of the programme will not be made, making the third series the final series of the show.