[FM19] Scorries Seem to be the Hardest Firm (Wick am I Gonna do to Make Weans Love Me?)

[Wavelberry]

For the last three years of Football Manager I have tried to take Wick Academy to glory using only the players that start there and then youth players who come through the system. All that can be found

https://community.sigames.com/topic/363758-these-weans-get-right-on-my-wick/ Here for FM16

https://community.sigames.com/topic/387793-fm17-the-wicker-man-reboot-or-arrgghhh-not-the-weans/ Here for the really rubbish FM17 version

https://community.sigames.com/topic/418824-fm18-wick-face-to-face-with-the-manager-who-sold-the-weans/ And here for last year's version

It's sad, so sad

It's a sad, sad situation and it's getting more and absurd...

 

So here we go again. Same ****, different year. Thanks to @Morrissey for his funky awesome Scottish database as usual and I will add no more as my intro to Wick in the 2016 thread sums it all up.

TO HARMSWORTH ONCE MORE!

[Wavelberry]

The Wick Academy Football Manager Hall of Fame

So here is where I will, given we have three years of this nonsense now, just briefly mention previous Wick alumni and mention players who this year's lot need to emulate.

Here are my top 5...

5: Big Gaz Weir (FM 2016): Not technically a youth player so I have linked the squad performance screenie from our last full season in League Two from this save. Gary Weir may have started at the club but given he is no longer in FM I think he deserves his place. Every youth save needs a stalwart member of the squad who starts in the team and Gaz played up front for five seasons and could always be relied upon to grab a goal. VIVA LA GAZ!

4: Clark Park (FM 2018): I have rarely had a youth striker I could ever rely on but in FM18 I got one. Clark has some great performances for my Wick team. His breakout 4 goal smashing of Lossiemouth  was a sign and the boy just kept banging in the goals and dealing with droughts with the kind of form that makes you wonder why ever doubted him. Was close to 100 for Wick before I ended the save. The Harry Kane of Scotland.

3: Kieran Forbes (FM 2016): I love a DM and Kieran was one of the best. Fouling for fun and forever scoring 7s until he was just below it in our League Two season. Possibly killed someone who tried to kill me and was the fulcrum of a side who pushed their way in to league football. What more can you say except 'thank you Kieran'. You were a legend whose name will be writ into Harmsworth law. Only third because he didn't influence as much as he could despite his ratings.

2: Declan Campbell (FM 2016): Sometimes you get a player who unlocks the whole potential of a side and Declan was that boy. Burst onto the scene with some eye catching performances and knitted the midfield and attack beautifully with goals and guile and was pretty much the reason why that 2016 vintage of Wick got promoted. One of the best youth players I have ever had the pleasure of playing with and God I loved him. 

1: Danny "Gorms" Gormley (FM 2018): What can we say about Gorms? In the longest Wick save he was the longest server: starting with all the original Wick boys, watching the side get decimated by Order 67 and then guiding a new generation through their baptism of fire. Always turning up; always performing. Scored goals, passed the ball with aplomb and just stayed reliable despite low star ratings. If Gorms could've been in the 2016 side who knows what could've been achieved. 

There are a few honourable mentions to go to Kevin Manson (FM18), Greig Stewart (FM16) and Sam Mackay (FM16) as players who really showed what they could do as well.

Who will challenge these guys this year? Let's find out...

[Wavelberry]

Here we go then...

And this is the entire team with added young uns promoted straight in.

Couple of decent looking people around. Tam Smith has an early opportunity to become a legendary figure like Gorms or Forbes before him. Euan Kelly also looks pretty exciting tbh. As for the rest well the usual suspects are here so expect much defensive hilarity unless this year Grant and Michael are better than they have been. It's gonna be a tough first season I think but hopefully there will be no way we have the best squad in the league so even after this year we should be okay... The lack of any experienced goalkeeper is worrying. This could be a tough first season...

 

[Timetxu]

May the gods have mercy on your soul..

[metallimuse]

Ya (tiny) dancer!

Loved previous years, hit the 'follow' button immediately!

[Wavelberry]

Pre-season 2018

Right-o then. Let's get this show on the road shall we? Friendlies first

19 for and 18 against then. Ayr and Bolton were outliers (God I hope they were outliers) but the way we collapsed in both games gives me some cause for concern. Not really sure my 16 year old goalkeeper is up to it but we are where we are and we'll work with what we've got. Some decent results and nice to see young Tam get an early goal and it was a beauty as well. Feel we're gonna need to score lots because the Steven boys are as they ever were and with no senior goalkeeper in the side I feel we're going to have a few goals going in. Weirdly both the McCarthy boys who have been part of the Wick team since FM16 are at St Duthus and the only two players they actually have. Strange...

This is how we're setting up at home anyways and this is the first team. I imagine it will be subject to change as the season progresses but this first year is all about getting to the first youth intake and demanding good performances from the stalwarts. The Allan boys look tasty on the wing and both Mackays have played well in pre-season. 

As far as the board are concerned we should be midtable and unlike last year where we ended up in all the cups after a few years this time we start in all the cups so maybe I'll have a chance at my first silverware in Wick since FM16.

Despite the midtable demand we've been predicted 5th in the league which is worrying given what happened last year so I might look to ship off some of the high CA underperformers (I'm looking at you Farquhar, Stevenses and Manson) early doors so I don't end up having to win the league in my second season and get fired again.  All the usual suspects are up here with us though.

Shipping Manson and Farqs out may well be a priority too as they are welly influential and not first choice. Sam, Davie and Macads being Highly Influential is fine for now as I look to mould the next few years around them.

August is always busy in the Highlands and we start off against an U18 side in the North of Scotland as Ross County are the visitors to Harmsworth. We also have a home tie in the Aberdeenshire with Huntly making the journey up while in the league we start off with a toughie against Buckie as well as having to go to our arch rivals for the first away game of the campaign. Keith and Rothes will be good early indicators of how **** we actually are as well.

Ready? Let's do this...

[Wavelberry]

It begins:

[DazRTaylor]

I loved this last season so will again follow and read with interest.

[Wavelberry]

August 2018 Update

A first month with at least six games and with the possibility of more if we could do well in the cups. Could we do well? Well, could we?

We could as it goes. The North of Scotland cup is where we started and we put in a professional performance against the youth of Dingwall with Mackay and MacGregor getting on the scoresheet. MacGregor continued his good form as we downed Buckie in the first league game of the season and I was surprised how little they offered us. I made wholesale changes for the Huntly game in the Aberdeenshire cup and Craig Gunn's early goal was as good as it got as the reserves showed why they were reserves. A trip to arch rival's Brora gave us a chance to make amends but it was frustration abound as Allan's pelanty was instantly equalised by a free kick outta no where. Euan Kelly grabbed his first proper goal for the club though to give us a precious win. The rest of the league month was taken up by draws. Cammy ****ING Keith picking up from where he left off last year by equalising for Keith and earning them a point before we dug in and earned a point in Rothes. Andy Hardwick got himself sent off like an idiot in the 66th minute just as we were starting to dominate. Annoying to drop points there but we are into the North of Scotland Cup Semis after getting cup revenge on Huntly. I am doubly pleased as the reserves went out and we parked the bus and got through with an own goal. HA HA HA.

Decent month that.

Second in the embryonic table with the biggest shocks for those who actually follow the real life league given Buckie are bottom without a win and Fort William have SEVEN points. We truly are in a new reality.

A double dose of Fraserburgh this month as we welcome them to Harmsworth in our semi-final before heading to them in the league at the end of the month. A trip to Clachnacuddin and a visit from Formartine round out as surprisingly quiet September after that manic August. I ain't complaining though...

[deltablue]

The legend returns. 

[Deisler26]

Hold me closer, Tony Danza!

Looking forward to this!!

[Wavelberry]

Thanks guyse. I will be Twitching a bit more of this save as well once I've got ma Twitch all working etc.

Two Tiny Dancer references though is good Elton John punning so far. I must admit to be being a little bit disappointed @deltablue that you didn't go for 'The Bitch is Back' though.

 

[Wavelberry]

September 2018 Update

 

A quieter month with less games. Right?

Nope, we at Wick want as many games as we can have and if there is a replay or extra time, we want it and if we can't have another game we want pelanties. Whatever is said we are through to the North of Scotland final by beating Fraserburgh and we'll face them again in the 2nd round of of the cup after we (eventually) dispatched Fort William. In league news we got three points in Clachnacuddin which was nice especially as all three scorers were 17 year's old.

We sit a comfortable sixth, unbeaten, with a cup final on the horizon. Can't complain about that... Buckie however...

October is mental. Eight games afoot with a cup final involved as well. Two Fraserburghs, two Deveronvales and the rest... Let's see what this ragtag WIck old guard can win...

[Pompeyboyz]

Oh yes, the great one is back...

But there is a certain friendly tournament missing

[Mbasnett6]

Love your saves man. Very much enjoying and following.

[phnompenhandy]

Terrific. New fan here - as an exiled Highlander I'll be following this. I hope my own journeyman career will bring me to the dizzy heights of the Highland League, in which case I'll be cribbing your career for tips!

[Wavelberry]

8 hours ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Oh yes, the great one is back...

But there is a certain friendly tournament missing

I ditched it last year because (and this annoyed the **** out of me) it counted as a tournament on the history stats for the year which made doing the reviews etc a lot harder as it skewed ratings for those kids who played those games and no others. If they go back as non-competitive I'll bring it back. Obviously. The cat must be honoured.

[Wavelberry]

Also the old biddies are moaning already. Farquahar is moaning about game time and Grant Steven is moaning about me calling him out for playing *****. Sake.

[Pompeyboyz]

1 hour ago, Wavelberry said:

Also the old biddies are moaning already. Farquahar is moaning about game time and Grant Steven is moaning about me calling him out for playing *****. Sake.

Normal service resumed then