[FM17] The Wicker Man Reboot or: Arrgghhh Not the Weans

[Wavelberry]

The Wicker Man is a seminal horror film. In it Edward Woodward plays a devout Christian police officer who travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a girl. On the island he finds himself at odds with the Celtic paganism practiced by the inhabitants and finds his investigation hampered by the islanders. Eventually he finds the girl and saves her from being sacrificed only to find out that he has been set-up and it is who is to be the sacrifice. The film ends with him being burned alive in the titular wicker man and I'm absolutely not sorry for spoiling the ending of a forty+ year old film. It's excellent. Go watch it.

Fast forward to 2006 and there was an ill advised reboot of the film staring Nicholas Cage. The island is now somewhere near America, it is an all woman island and Nicholas Cage punches out quite a few of them (once dressed as a bear). The film is dreck but does have this inspired piece of acting towards the end...

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The point is that reboots never work It is in this spirit then I look to resurrect and reboot a career I had last year where I took over Wick Academy and tried to bring glory to them by only playing the players I found and the youngsters I groomed. I was relatively successful and even got them out of the Highland League before a crisis of faith caused by being run over by a former goalkeeper led me to lose my mind and move to Sweden. I have unfinished business in Wick. I owe it to the people of that wee town in Caithness, I owe it to Big Gaz, I owe it to @Pompeyboyz's cat and most of all I owe it to myself.

The story is a simple one. I'm leaving my cozy little place just down the road from Hampden for the north coast and footballing redemption and I'm not coming back until I bring Wick Academy with me. There will be tears, there will be failure and there will likely be more attempts on my life from disgruntled ex-players. With Big Gaz by my side, however,I can begin the search for the next Kieran Forbes knowing that I can weather anything that lies ahead. It's a one way ticket north provided by @Morrissey's excellent Scottish pyramid expansion.

Let's go.

[Morrissey]

That Nick Cage reboot though...*shudders*

Good luck!

[Wavelberry]

Seems like Danny Marshall read last year's thread...

[Wavelberry]

Who else could score the first goal in the first friendly of my reign?

 

[Wavelberry]

Wick Academy Pre-season 2016 Update

 

Here we go then and it was easy enough to slip back into the Wick hotseat. Harmsworth looked as beautiful as ever but before I could even contemplate the first pre-season matchday I needed to take stock of the team and say hello to faces old and new...

The strengths and weaknesses screen seems to suggest that we have a hole down the right. We do lack a decent RB but we actually have some excellent options young and old at RW so I'm not too worried about that. Overall the same issues seem to be there that were there last year. Defensively a bit meh but with some really decent options in CM and up front. Leadership seems to be an issue among the senior squad but some of the youngsters I have already marked looked like the could be future Captain/Leader/Legends. 

The senior squad features some old faves with Sean McCarthy, Sam Mackay, Richard Macadie and Big Gaz all present and correct. These four will form the spine of this Wick reboot as why change a decent formula? I'm hoping that one of the CBs step up but both Stevens were inconsistent as owt last time out and the pre-season friendlies have shown me nothing to suggest that it won't be the same this time out. Andy Hardwick is new and may find himself in sooner rather than later if the Steven boys revert to type. The Allan boyz look like they will provide excellent wing service but I'm not sure where Steven Anderson came from. He looks like one of the best players here but he is not a name I'm familiar with from last year despite his history saying he's been at the club for two seasons already.

Into the U20s for some Year 0 mining and already 7 prospects have been tagged and taken part in pre-season. The attacking midfield triumvirate of Smith, Stokes and Andy Mackay look like the hottest prospects and will definitely get game time in the first team this season. Mark Reynolds at RB isn't anything special at all as far as potential is concerned but the lack of decent RBs in the squad means he'll be getting a chance to prove he's better than rated. Unfortunately there is no Kieran Forbes DMesque gem to build the team around. It'll be my greatest wish for the first intake.

Onto the friendlies then and 7 wins and 1 defeat is pretty decent going. The wins against Falkirk and Peterhead were especially good due to the Second XI playing 45 and 60 minutes of both those games respectively so to beat two teams in the League is a big deal. Big Gaz has been in good form which warms my heart and the 21yo Marc MacGregor also bagged a few. Finding a replacement for Big Gaz was the biggest issue last year so if MacGregor can grow into his role it'd be a big boost for the years ahead. Speaking of forward planning goals for YPs Stokes and Andy Mac were noteable moments from a steady pre-season as well as a capacity crowd at Harmsworth for the Sheffield Utd friendly. The appetite for football in Wick is voracious and I am ready to feed it...

This is my first XI and the lack of a DM and Ross Allan being an excellent RW means I lose the man-doing-the-splits-waving formation of last year. Farquhar gets an early opportunity to nail down the defensive CM role as he has leadership of 15 and is captain but that's definitely a role that's up for grabs. Very pleased with the look of my front four.

The bench strength of my front four is the most pleasing factor of my second XI. CM is steady without being outstanding, while Hardwick and Manson are decent options at the back. I am worried by the callow nature of the other two in the back line and envisage this being the main issue in this first season.

Onto the season expectations then. We're predicted 2nd which I think is a bit harsh given that Wick finished 5th last year with 60 points. For comparison the top three of Cove, Formantine and Brora finished with 89, 85 and 85 respectively while Turriff in 4th finished 8 points ahead of us as well. Luckily the board just want top half which I reckon we can get. I'm aiming for top six and a cup run in this first season and not to get pumped by Brora.

So onto the season then. We start in the North of Scotland cup away to Halkirk in a winnable first fixture before the Highland league crams six games into August. It's not a particularly easy start with Champions Cove coming to Harmsworth in just our 4th game of the season followed by a trip to runners-up Formantine. Trips to Fort William were always a struggle for me last year as were Deveronvale. The last game at the month against Strathspey might be welcome relief given that we face off against 3 of the 4 teams who finished above us last year and this is before Harry Redknapp has even had a chance to hang out of his car window and talk about triffic players to Sky Sports News on Deadline Day. We don't do things the easy way in Wick. 

To complete the pre-season preview I present to you advice I received from the only member of the backroom staff I spared from my initial cull. It took all my willpower not to fire him on the spot...

[Wavelberry]

July/August 2016 Update

So it begins then. A North of Scotland cup match to start and then six league games scheduled to start. Pretty quickly we're going to see whether this reboot is going to suck as hard as that dream sequence opening to The Wicket Man where Nicholas Cage rescues a ghost girl from a burning car. Or something...

It started off pretty well as my captain, Macads and young MacGregor sealed a 3-0 win against Halkirk. It did look like it was going to be a frustrating 1-0 game with them coming back but once we got the second we could've got four or five. As it was we scored just the three to seal a home tie against Inverness Athletic in which I played most of the Second XI debuting several of the YPs. It was MacGregor's day again though as his brace put us through to the semi-finals and we're only two games away from my first trophy already.

The league proved to be slightly more frustrating. My fears about going to Fort William were well founded as we defended poorly to allow them back in twice to cancel out Big Gaz's goals. A solid home win agains Turriff was followed up with a decent 1-1 draw against the Champions in a game we had the better of. Then it went mad in Formartine as the defence entered clown car mode. 1-0 down, 2-1 up, 3-2 down, 5-3 up and finally winning 5-4 in a breathless game. Their striker Conor Gethins was unstoppable. I could do nothing with him in the first half as he tore us to shreds but we slowly came back and Sam Mackay was the unlikely hattrick hero to seal a nerve-wracking win. After all that it was inevitable we'd draw a blank against Strathspey at home. A frustrating end to the month.

Unbeaten start then but valuable points dropped. The defence is proving to be as inconsistent as feared but we've shown we have the attacking prowess to get points. No reason why we shouldn't be top six so far from what I've seen.

We start September with our North of Scotland cup semi-final against Forres before we take on four league game assignments. Three of them are away and the home game is the first derby of the season against Brora. Another tough month ahead.

Spare a thought for poor old Sam Mackay though. Scores a hattrick and still people gripe...

[Wavelberry]

September 2016 Update

Three away games, two cup matches and a heated derby match against Brora are here to take our mind off the impending world apocalypse...

Let's start with the North of Scotland Cup where the second XI delivered a spanking against high-flying Forres with the game won at half time and notable for John Smith getting his first ever goal for the club. We will take on Rothes away for a chance of early silverware...

The Scottish Cup ended in disappointing defeat though as Spartans eased past us. Was not an impressive display.

The league started badly after the Forres victory as both Fraserburgh and Deveronvale saw us off. The defence was looking particularly leaky so I dropped both Danny Mackay and Hardwick for Grant Steven and Manson ahead of the big Brora game. It proved to be a meh decision as we conceded two goals again but cometh the hour cometh the Gaz as he fulfilled every Wick boy's dream by nailing a hattrick. It was a breathless performance going forward and John Smith rounded it off with a goal of the season contender. We travelled to Forres for the last game of the month after being bought back down to earth by Spartans. I decided to go very compact and defensive given our run of conceding 9 goals in our last 4 games and it payed dividends as we smothered the game with boring possession and then had MacGregor deliver a sucker-punch at the end of the game to put a much more positive gloss on the month.

Inverurie are setting the early pace and have already opened up a five point gap on 2nd. We're not too far off the top six so far but I need more defensive discipline if we're going to really keep pace. I don't think I have it though.

Just the four games in October but one of the them is the massive cup final away to Huntly and an early chance to put some silverware in the Harmsworth Park trophy cabinet. We should beat Rothes at home but two potentially tough trips to surprise package Keith and good ole Buckie will test just how top half we're going to be.

Still I have achieved something. The holy three positive social media tweets. Bow down before me!

[Wavelberry]

October 2016 Update

 

Cup final, cup final, CUP FINAL!

History beckons. A chance to be a hero within two months of the reboot. A chance for this to be a glorious retelling rather than a rehashed old...

Oh for ****'s sake.

We were leading 2-0 at half-time. It was in the bag. Then we conceded two sloppy goal, one of which was just 8 minutes from time, and then we lost on pelanties. ****ing devo'd. Ass Man said to not be too hard on them after losing on pelanties but I tore into them in like Nicholas Cage losing his ****.

 

I spat the wine in his face, flicked him a V and then sat angrily in the car as Big Gaz drove me home.

Better news in the league however as we had two wins outta two and kept two clean sheets. A dominant brace of games which were very pleasing. The brace of friendlies after saw 45 minutes for each XI and I nearly tore the second XI a new one after their near capitulation to Wick Groats. A win is a win though and we carry on. No Buckie game though as it was moved.

5th place with a chance to go 2nd is pretty decent actually. Inverurie have a game in hand as well so are still well out in front and TBH I don't want to be anywhere near the title yet. Let me enjoy these quiet and homely times in the Highland League before pressuring me for a title. Please?

Four games in November or Trumpember as we'll forever know it know. We take on Buckie and Nairn away before vote day and then our next two games in the post-fact world see us look for revenge against Huntly and then have a crack at Lossiemouth. Ten points should be within our grasp.

Also, injury recovery news of a 16 year old who has played twice moves two residents of Wick to tweet. What a time to be alive.

 

[Wavelberry]

November 2016 Update

The month where **** would never be the same again. How did Wick fare?

An unbeaten but an annoying ***** of a month where we tossed away three points twice. The Lossiemouth game was egregiously like the Huntly cup final game which made the win in the game before even more hollow. I wish I could feel again... I kinda still do though as the YP year dot boys are turning in okay as well as David Allan who has turned up at RW and looked pretty decent.

We're still very much in touch despite throwing away points. Well on course thus far...

A trip to the leader's will probably decide whether we have a title destiny but I reckon we'll get five points winning against Fort William drawing the previous two games and then being seen off by Turriff. Because I expect the worst.

Meanwhile, up the league, Brendan wins MOM for the second month running at least despite being 5pts behind Hearts. I'm not saying it's fixed but...

[Morrissey]

#WestCoastBias

A decent, solid start - pity about the cup, but hey ho! Got a bigger playoff to aim for...

[Jimbokav1971]

18 hours ago, Wavelberry said:

 

 

My only issue with this is that I was only able to like it once, so please accept a big  ands a round of .

[Wavelberry]

December 2016 Update

It's nearly Christmas and therefore people up and down the land are requesting the things they really, really want.

Turns out Brora and Rangers wanted new managers. Brora had been sitting in 11th so it's not a surprise and the sacking of Warburton did the Gers a power of good as the won the Old Firm derby with nobody in charge. I reckon it was Joey Barton's stirring words wot won it for 'em. As for me, all I wanted for Christmas was points.

And I ended up with one more than I expected although Turriff could have and should have beaten us so my predictions were spot on. The Inverurie game could've gone either way but was a little bit disappointed not to beat Clachnacuddin especially as we were at home. Ach well.

Lost my HOYD to Peterhead but did get 1.6k compo. Already got a new guy in but he isn't as good.

Down to 3rd and ten points off the pace now. That's fine as we're nowhere near good enough to go up but I would like to get back to winning ways. We are 12 unbeaten though which is a club and league record

Four games in January with Deveronvale and Formartine the visitors to Harmsworth and trips to Cove and Strathspey. Worryingly though I can't seem to offer anyone part-time contact renewals so this could all end very quickly with my best players on non-contract terms. I'm hoping it will right itself but...

[Wavelberry]

Reached an issue an not sure what to do. I can't offer semi-pro contracts to anyone because of a restriction in the database which makes this impossible. The only options is to use RTE to make the professional and then go from there. Is this a save killer or should I go on?

[Pompeyboyz]

First off, welcome back to Wickers Worlds....my poor pussy would be proud

And second of all, is the database restriction a real life one or an error that has cropped in?

[Wavelberry]

Not a real life one. An error I believe.

[Wavelberry]

I have decided how to proceed with this save now. Hold onto your hats...

[Wavelberry]

"Gavin... Gavin!"

I blinked my eyes slowly and deliberately as the mention of my name shook me out of me reverie. Where was I? What was I doing? 

"Are... you okay? Do you need some water or something?" a broad Scottish voice asked but it wasn't a familiar one. Gone were the familiar vowel mangling Glaswegian sounds I was accustomed to. Instead they had been replaced by a low, deep Highlander brogue. I looked across from me and saw the face of a man, his face etched with concern and a slight worry, looking straight back at me.

"I'm sorry Paul, I was just thinking of how the season might play out if you hire me. Lost in a dream of a North of Scotland cup final," I smiled warmly trying to convince the chairman of Wick Academy that I still was in possession of all my critical faculties. I knew exactly where I was now. A small office in a small town on the north-east extremity of Scotland. Harmsworth Park stretched before me visible from the window behind Paul Murray, the Wick Academy chairman, while in front of me his small yet imposing desk was a raft of papers, my job application visible at the very top of them. This was my job interview and I'd nearly blown it already. Lost in a world of Big Gaz Weir hattricks and impressive 17 year old Richard Macadie wannabes.

"I understand pal," he nodded slowly, slightly ameliorated. "I've often get lost in my own thoughts. I remember one time me and the wife were heading to that Cadbury's World place in Birmingham. A real land of chocolate it was and..."

"...Gavin??? GAVIN!!" His shouting bought me back again.

"I'm sorry, you were talking about the land of chocolate?"

"That was ten minutes ago," Paul frowned. He looked dangerously close to asking me to leave. I needed to bring this back.

"Yes, of course, sorry it's just I've got so many ideas for how to take Wick on that I just keep getting lost in them. I can almost see how the first five months would play out..."

"With a North of Scotland cup final eh," Paul gave me a manly slap on the shoulder from across his desk making me wince in the process. I managed to turn that wince into a watery smile as he laughed.

"Yeah, absolutely," I agreed.

"And I'm guessing we win it eh?"

"Well, I can definitely see us making the fans happy in the derby anyways..." I laughed along with him trying to change the subject. A vision of a 2 goal capitulation and penalty defeat flitted briefly across my mind.

"Gavin, can I be honest with you?" Paul asked. I nodded slowly to show that he could and as I did I noticed that I was wearing the most awful brown shoes. Brown shoes with a blue suit? What the bloody hell was I thinking? "When I first saw your application I thought it was a joke, but having spoken to you and heard how much you've thought about the job I can't see any other course of action but to give you a shot."

He stood up from behind his desk and extended his hand.

"You mean..." I began as I followed suit and brought my hand to his.

"Welcome to the club... Gaffer."

I shook his hand and stood dumbly as he opened up his desk draw and produced two small glasses and a bottle of Old Pulteney. He poured quickly with the grace of a man who was familiar with the ritual. I hoped that didn't mean he hired and fired regularly.

"Thank you for the opportunity," I said as I took my glass and clinked it against his.

"No bother at all. I'm looking forward to seeing how you reboot the club. I love a good reboot me. Did you ever see that Wicker Man reboot they did with your man Nicholas Cage?"

"I'm familiar with it," I muttered and took a large swig of the whisky hoping and trying to get back to my lovely dream world of a Wick where I had been but minutes ago. It was no good though, as quickly as it was upon me the dream had gone. I was back in reality now and reality was ready to start...

[Wavelberry]

Wick Academy Pre-pre Season Update 2016/17 Season

 

 

So I couldn't see a way of running the save as it was without either using the RTE which I thought would ruin it or just having all my good players leave as soon as they moved to non-contract terms. Neither situation was particularly desirable so in the end I plumped for making the necessary alterations in the editor and restarting (or rebooting, if you will) the save. So we go back to the beginning which unfortunately means the YPs from before are now dead, the fans doubt me again and I've basically lost five months of my life. On the plus side though I have a chance to right some wrongs. Long live the new guys.

So the newer YPs are here. Andrew McKay still exists so he must be a bona fide person which is nice for him. There doesn't seem as much talent in this lot as there was first time around but I do have a DM which is exciting for me. I do love a good DM.

And the first mistake of the previous reality has been righted. How could I have a pre-season and not have this majesterial cup?

 

 

 

[Wavelberry]

Played two friendlies so far and lost both Big Gaz and McGregor to 2 month long injuries. Maybe I'll start again. Again.

[BoxToBox]

Groundhog Day in the North of Scotland...... I can't imagine a Kieran Forbes running about kicking the **** out of everything that moves not being a massive improvement to the movie.

[Wavelberry]

20 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Groundhog Day in the North of Scotland...... I can't imagine a Kieran Forbes running about kicking the **** out of everything that moves not being a massive improvement to the movie.

Kieron could've ended that film in ten minutes by just putting a well -timed reducer on everyone who deserved it.. TBF there aren't many films that couldn't be improved by young Forbes kicking the **** out of something. Alien would've ended at the dinner table.

[Wavelberry]

Wick Academy Pre-Season 2016

 

When Steven Gerrard was muttering those immortal words 'we go again' a few seasons ago he had Norwich and an away win in mind rather than actually playing the game they'd just played against Man City again. However, given the way the season panned out he probably would've wanted to play that Man City game again and again because that was pretty much as good as it got for Liverpool and Brendan. Not me though. Rewriting the past is just asking for trouble but sometimes you have no choice, so, we do indeed go again. All the way back to pre-season...

A pre-season of yes and noes and absolutely no maybes. The main news from this run of friendlies (aside from our glorious bronze rendering of a dead cat on a plastic medal) was the injuries to Big Gaz and McGregor within two days of it all beginning. This meant that David Allan played up front for the first team and our lack of any strikers meant the second team went for a classic mid noughties Scottish 4-6-0. It kinda worked. Allan nailed 5 in one game which was pretty impressive but overall pre-season was a bit disappointing compared to the one I'd imagined upthread. We lost to all the sides above us and beat the sides below us. The Dunfermline game was a bit impressive seeing as it was the second XI but overall it was an average run of friendlies. Disappointingly average.

My first XI holds no surprises for aficionados of the Wick project. The Steven boys are at the back, old Seany Mc tends the goals while Macads, Mackay and Big Gaz make up the rest of the spine. Gaz's injury means that David Allan will have an opportunity to stake a claim up front and if he can replicate his 5 in a game stylings from pre-season then Big Gaz may have a wait to get back into the side.

The second XI is a little bit more exotic with Nathan Leitch the Kieron Forbes apparant at DM. He got a 7+ against Dunfermline which filled me with much more joy than Allan's fiverfer earlier in the run. A few good youth prospects are there early doors though and a few more have pitched up pre-season especially with the injuries.

The memory of the final of the North of Scotland cup can be erased early on with a defeat to Orkney and then we have a run of six games in just 17 days in the league to round out August. We face the top three from last season in this start as well as the kings of the Highland league in my imagination earlier in the thread in Inverurie. This looks like a very punishing start and if Forres and Narin aren't feeling generous we could likely have a pretty stodgy start on our hands. Why are we doing this again?

One reason might be the promise of another trophy as, for some reason unbeknownst to anyone, we're in the Aberdeenshire cup as well. This didn't happen before. Maybe this reality won't be so bad... What's that? Richard Macadie's pregnant? 

OH FOR ****'S SAKE...

[Pompeyboyz]

7 hours ago, Wavelberry said:

Wick Academy Pre-pre Season Update 2016/17 Season

 

And the first mistake of the previous reality has been righted. How could I have a pre-season and not have this majesterial cup?

 

 

 

I am glad to see that the great annual celebration is returned to the Northern Coast of Scotland

[Wavelberry]

July/August 2016 Update

The more things change the more they stay the same except with two cup competitions to get our teeth into we found ourselves with fixtures rearranged all over the place and having played seven games in just three weeks. How did we fare though in this grittiest reboot of a reboot shorn of the talents of Big Gaz and Mark MacGregor?

Let's start with the North of Scotland Cup seeing as I got the final in the previous reality. We bashed Orkney up in the first round, getting my reign off to a winning start in competitive fixtures, scoring all the goals in the first half. Invergordon proved to be tougher opponents on their visit to Harmsworth in the following round but Mark MacGregor's return from injury was marked by a typically blootered finish and we kept them at arms length to earn a semi-final spot against Buckie. So far, so good...

The Aberdeenshire cup was a weird bonus that we didn't get last time around but we have also got to the semi-final of that as well. It had looked like Strathspey and us were heading to inevitable pelanties/extra time etc when Ross Allan just popped up and scored with virtually the last kick of the game. This was the first trophy I won in last years save so I want to try and win it especially as it seems totally arbitrary as to when we enter it. We have Clachnacuddin in the semis to conquer before we can think of silverware here though.

Onto the league then and this was a very good month. We played a friendly in the two week gap between competitive fixtures and it was nice to see Bob Hoban (such an old man's name) get his first ever goal in it before the serious stuff started. The squad was rotated quite heavily due to the quick turnaround of games so to come out of the month unbeaten and only conceding two goals is great. The Cove performance was particularly pleasing and the one time where a 'don't get complacent' teamtalk worked brilliantly when David Allan nabbed our second to see us safe. David Allan had quite a good month leading the line but it took Big Gaz to return from injury and rescue us a point against Inverurie at home. With both him and MacGregor back I have good rotation options up front and if it's not those guys scoring then Sam Mackay can always be relied on to smash in one from outside the box which is what he did at Forres to see us take 13 from the 15 points on offer this month. A good start indeed.

We sit third at the moment, level on points with Brora and just a point ahead of early surprise package Keith. Champions Cove are top despite their defeat to us but both we and Brora can overtake if we win our game in hand. The only difficulty is that our game in hand is against each other. Inverurie must be wishing the other reality still exists though. Eight points clear by the end of 2016 in that one and languishing in midtable here. Oh fate, you are awful. It does, however, turn out that it doesn't matter what reality you are in if you are Fort William; you're **** whatever.

An action packed September awaits with six games scheduled for now but all subject to change. We start with the first of our cup semi finals against Clachnacuddin before having the pleasure of Deveronvale's company at Harmsworth in the league. We then take on a Buckie double-header with them coming to us in the North of Scotland Cup and then us heading over to them in the league. The thrice rearranged Brora game is now scheduled for a wild Wednesday night showdown with the aforementioned shitepots of Fort William rounding off the month. That game will definitely move due to the Scottish Cup round being scheduled to be that day but whether we'll have to wait till October to see their lovely little faces... well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Speaking of waiting and seeing this journo clearly doesn't take notice of the things he sees and instead will make up any story to get clicks. We've, obviously, signed naebody.

[Wavelberry]

September 2016 Update

Cups, cups, so many cups. I could well do with a cup of tea after this month but will we be going into October in or out of the three cup competitions we found ourselves in.

Lets start with the Aberdeenshire Cup and we marched into the final after putting Clachnacuddin away with David Allan's brace. We'll take on Lossiemouth for the title but it might not be our first...

In the North of Scotland Cup we also won by two goals although we were 2-1 down before a half-time rocket stirred them into life. Sam Mackay got two in the ten minute spell that saw us storm ahead with Allan and Anderson chipping in as well. We'll face Rothes for a shot at North of Scotland fake redemption.

Our final cup assignment of the month was a dull 0-0 against Turriff. We'll welcome them back to Harmsworth for a replay and are still in all the cups so far.

The league form wasn't too bad either. Our first defeat to Deveronvale was disappointing as the second XI proved their callow nature by going 2-0 down in the first half. Andrew Mackay scored his first ever Wick goal but we couldn't get back into it. Big Gaz Weir put Buckie away in the second game of our double-header grabbing two impressive goals before a disappointing 0-0 draw to our bitter riacls. They went down to ten men and everything but we couldn't make it count. The month ended with a frustrating 3-2 win against Fort William. First-half we were sublime but the second-half was something else as Fort William dragged themselves back into it. We managed to see off the comeback to end the month with a creditable 7 points from 12. 

We sit joint second then at the moment but we've got a few injury problems ahead. Macadie is out for five weeks having picked up a thigh strain against Fort William which means that either young Chris Tew (YP 0.4) will play his position or we'll have to go for a formation change. Sean McCarthy has also been out injured all month having picked up an injury before the Devornvale game. Danny McCarthy has proven to be an able deputy despite his mistake leading to Deveronvale's winner but that is also a big blow for us. To be in touch and playing well is good but David Allan has also dropped out of the squad for now. I had a go at him after two rubbish games and he blamed my tactics so I binned him for the Fort William game. We'll see if he comes back for the raft of finals ahead...

So it's a cuptacular start to October. We start with our replay against Turriff before our two finals. The North of Scotland cup comes first and then we take on Lossiemouth for the Aberdeenshire cup. Both games are at home so it is advantage us but stuff like that usually spells disaster so we could end the first week of October out of them all... In the league, well... we take on Rothes and Turriff because familiarity doesn't breed contempt in the Highlands while Keith try to spice things up by not being one of those teams. This could be a month of cup wins and points or Rothes and Turriff could ruin my life.

Speaking of ruining things: poor Mark Warburton. I swear he's not this mouthy in real life but it doesn't matter as Derek McInnes gave him the ultimate pimpslap back. He got sacked before the beginning of December in the other reality but he could well go before in this one with his team sitting 11th. 

[Wavelberry]

October 2016 Update

With more cups to worry about than a bra-inspector let's get straight into a huge month. Two finals with the promise of two trophies and a chance to progress in the Scottish Cup were the prizes. How did we do?

Not well to start with. The replay, which let me point at was at HOME to Turriff, was an absolute stinker. We were 2-0 down by half-time and playing awfully before David Allan managed to get us one back. I thought we might be on the brink of a comeback but Turriff quickly got a 3rd and we faded quicker than Just For Men's reputation the second someone you know starts using it. Ahead of of a chance of North of Scotland Cup redemption this was not ideal. Sam Mackay also got injured in this match and was out for the rest of the month.

But it didn't matter because this time we were CHAMPIONS! In a previous world we threw away a two goal lead but the story would not be the same this time around. An cagey first half was quickly forgotten in four second-half minutes with Anderson tucking in the opener and then Big Gaz absolutely smashing one in from outside the box off the underside of the bar. That deflated Rothes and we claimed the trophy. We somehow also managed to avoid a sending off despite six bookings and instead Jim Duff got two yellows and marching orders just before time for the Rothes boys. Victory was ours and I celebrated hard. Just two and a bit months and the first trophy was in the cabinet but we had no time to wait. Our second final was just three days away...

And we eased to the trophy here as well. Jim Read had a bad game for Lossiemouth as he gave away the pelanty which David Allan smacked home and then got himself sent off in the 43rd minute to absolutely leave Lossiemouth up the creak. James Pickles had made it 2-0 twenty minutes before that though with a cracking second (clearly a rule to score a screamer if you get the 2nd goal in a cup final) and Lossiemouth had no answer. A double. An actual double and October wasn't even in double digits. I celebrated so much I blacked out and woke up naked in the harbour. It was worth it though.

Onto the league then and it was kind of a case of after the Lord Mayor's Show. We drew a blank at home to Rothes and could've probably played for another 90 minutes and still not scored; the game after against Turriff was the polar opposite as we gained revenge for the cup beating by giving them a simple 3-0 pasting at their house (notable for Chris Tew's first goal for the club and the 'got and get revenge team talk working). Keith ruined the month with a classic, scrappy 1-0 win where we gifted them a pelanty and then couldn't take one of our thirty billion chances. A frustrating 4 from 9 then showcasing the lack of consistency in the squad.

It is close in the league. We're only three points off the top in what looks like a four way tussle at the moment. Inverurie have come roaring back, tapping into the memories of realities past, while Brora and Buckie sit level at the top. I reckon we should definitely be looking for top four but I feel we lack the consistency to maintain a challenge if one of those teams above us go on a run.

Trips to Clachnacuddin and 5th place Fraserburgh are on November's menu as well as a visit from Strathspey. We'll need 7 from 9 if we're title serious.

Speaking of serious I thought this headline was harsh on a Scotland side getting a 1-1 draw at Wembley. Have you seen Scotland lately?

[Wavelberry]

November 2016 Update

All the cups are done and now we have to concentrate on the boring, boring league. Is it a boring league?

Well... kinda. Boring in the sense that we are an inconsistent bunch of bastards and won't be doing anything in the league in this form. We drew a boring blank against Clachnacuddin, got a last minute winner at home to Strathspey and then lost well against Fraserburgh. Four lucky points that could easily have been two and we're dropping of the pace.

So we drop back with average form and see Fraserburgh get up right behind. Buckie get a three point lead and December is now a huge month for our ambition. We need to get consistent stat but I just don't think it is in our players.

December sees us take on three sides near the bottom and a trip to Inverurie. Anything less than nine points will spell the end of our title tilt and that must be our aim.

Meanwhile our fans don't have a clue who to blame for our latest defeat...

[Wavelberry]

December 2016 Update

Well here we are, back where we started from... Or ended from... Or whatever... Anyway, after today, it's all a brave new world...

The month was not the greatest. 7/12 was 2 off of what I'd said we'd need if we were going to challenge and I think it's clear that we'll finish in the top six but won't be winning no titles.

We started with an extremely gutless defeat to Huntly where Big Gaz's goal was as good as it got. That was two in two as far as defeats were concerned and I started to get antsy. My mood was improved slightly as we put Lossiemouth away fairly comfortably with a Steven Anderson double (who seems to be finally settling into his IF roll on the left) but then went south as Inverurie seemed to show us how far off we were. It was looking awful as we laboured against their early goal but throwing all caution to the wind saw us get a 92nd minute equaliser courtesy of Macads and we escaped with a point. In the final game of the month we were comfortable as owt as we went 4-0 up within an hour but two late goals reminded us of the work we have to do. All in all an okay month but not a month of champions.

Still fourth as Brora drop below us and Fraserburgh rise above. Buckie now have a six point cushion and look in prime position to seal the title while Cove and Rothes have already replaced managers. Not a surprise from the former champions especially as they languish well off the pace in 11th right now. 

The new year brings a big away day and derby match in the battle for the top four as well as a trip to Formartine. Our erstwhile champions and Forres will come to Harmsworth and I reckon we already need maximum points to stay in the title hunt. As it is I reckon we'll get six.

Especially with the injuries we've got. David Allan being out for the rest of the season is a big blow despite his flaky personality.

Somethings never change though and December is Mark Warburton leaves month no matter what reality we're in. Poor guy should head back to London...

 

[Wavelberry]

Interesting to note that I have exactly the same amount of points this time around than earlier on in the thread ending December with 35 points from 19 games.

Dunno what that says about the game, Wick or my management...

[Pompeyboyz]

Congrats for the double cup wins.

Hopefully the new year will spark a little push...but you don't really want to go up on your first attempt do you?

[Morrissey]

Good progress Wavelberry!

I'm off to see your boys in the flesh this Saturday - Stirling Albion vs Wick Academy in the Scottish Cup. Will see if I can get you a picture or two!

[Wavelberry]

Right. We're gonna try one more time with this. All installed and all working. The previous goes were clearly just me pretending in my head. Now I'm really going to Wick and really going to win the league etc...

Previous issues with the save file seem to have been ironed out and my transfer to a new laptop seems to have worked as well so for the third and final time. Let's Wick.