[FM20] Wick Can't Keep Doing This or: She's Turned the Weans Against Us

[Wavelberry]

Hello everyone. It's that time again. A new FM is out, @Morrissey has worked his Lower League Scottish Save magic and I have a brand new laptop so what else could I do? Go back to what I know, that's what.

Four years ago I had a save with Wick which was great. It's here. It was great. I had a blast and got promoted to League 2 and everything. Halcyon days.

In FM17 I tried again but it didn't really take hold as I ended up getting deep into trying to learn languages and all sorts.

In FM18 the save came back with a lust for revenge. It's here. It suffered a mild hiccup after one season and then it got going really well. I didn't achieve anything like I did in FM16 but more names were etched into Wick's storied history.

In FM19 I tried to recapture that glory but a change in personal circumstances, a broken laptop and then an 11 week jaunt from Land's End to John o' Groats meant I never got a chance to get into it so...

So here we are. In an even numbered FM which seems to bode well and I even got to stand in Harmsworth Park when I wandered past at the end of July.

Same gig as always. I will try to take Wick as high as I can, I will only use those who come through my youth system and I will doubtless fail miserably. So join me why not as I thump taps aff through the streets of Wick yelling about how bad it has all gone.

Let's gooooooooooooooo

[Wavelberry]

The Wick Academy Football Manager Hall of Fame

So here is where I will, given we have had four(ish) 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...

 

[Deisler26]

This is how I feel when I see a new Wick save

[Wavelberry]

Pre-Season 2019

Here we go then. It's pre-season time and the old faces are all still here. Garry Manson, the Grant Brothers, Richard Macadie, Marc MacGregor, Sam Mackay, Alan Farquhar... It's like slipping on an old pair of comfortable boots... Until you realise the boots are actually overrated and you need some new ones. Never mind. Let's see how we friendlied anyways.

A clean sweep. Bolton aside we didn't really play anybody so I am not counting chickens especially as I know how much the Wick Stalwarts like to crumble under pressure. Still, the Bolton result was most pleasing. We were 2-0 up at half time and only conceded two to them when I made changes. The MacGregor winner was just the icing on the cake. Other than that. GOALS. My home tactic appears to have goals in it.

As per usual I have three set ups. 'Home', 'Away' and **** These Guys Will Destroy Us

Home tactic is my FM18 formation that I enjoyed so much with added Tiki. Despite the huge red gaping hole in the middle it can put teams away (as long as it's pre-season and they are several levels below us). The tactic is sound, the personnel maybe less so, but we'll get to that.

For away games against oppo that we are on the same level as I am going for a nice fluid counter with the same formation.

And for those that will batter us we will shut the door. HARD.

Onto the squad then and the first, really upsetting thing, is that there was no youth DM to speak of. It's fine, I can wait... but I better get one in March. As is there are only four players that have been generated as 2019 intake and they have been noted above. George Miller looks the most promising along with Mark Macadie and Eli Michaeli who have profiles of a few more years so technically don't count as a youthers. Other than that it's a stalwart heavy opening line-up. We have clear gaps at DM and CB so we are praying to the FM Gods we get some of those types in the first intake.

We've been made 6-1 for the title and a sixth place finish. My worry is that like FM18 these guys have been overrated so suddenly I might be expected to challenge as I try to move them out and develop the weans.

The five year plan does suggest that the board may not be quite so demanding but we'll wait and see. On the face of it this seems a good starting point to allow me the time I need to develop the yoot.

Lotta leaders and influential players around. Again this is a blessing and a curse for someone intent on eliminating them all. I'm not saying I might have to reactive Order 67 but... I might have to reactive Order 67...

For now we've got a bit of a testing start. A North of Scotland Cup match against Buckie which I might sack off to the Second XI to make sure we're ready for the Fraserburgh home game before trips to Aberdeen and Keith and then home to Rothes to round out the month. No more dicking around then. It's time. We're back!

[Wavelberry]

August 2019 Update

Off we go then. Wick go again, this does not slip etc etc etc etc.

So, missing from this was our one 1-1 pelanty defeat to ****en Buckie Thistle (who else). I did as I said and played a Second XI and we even went 1-0 up. Buckie grew and grew in stature though and equalised quite quickly and then it was all hands to the pumps. We survived extra time and lost on pelanties which is no great loss especially if the gamble to play the Second XI meant we would beat Fraserburgh. We started well against them with Gordy MacNab giving us a 16th minute lead but it only lasted 20 minutes as slow-starting Fraserburgh got back into the game. I switched to a more countering tactic as the away side looked more dominant in the second half and it bloody worked as Allan restored the lead and MacNab MacNabbed another right at the death. A win. We are up and running. We followed it up with two hard fought away wins in the Aberdeenshire Cup and the league in Aberdeen and Keith respectively, the Allan/MacNab axis working their magic before we returned to Harmsworth to take on Keith. The Keith game was our first really good performance as we dominated them pretty much from the get go and then we went one better in the Aberdeenshire Cup QF against Formartine with Richard Macadie getting off the mark for the season another MacNab double. The boy is quickly becoming a Big Gaz style hero. 

Top o' the nascent league table with the only 100% record in the Highlands (of those who've played 3 games, suck it Lossie). Enjoy the hubris my friends because the nemesis cannae be far away. It's still extremely early doors although Formartine's board have obviously seen enough as, a North of Scotland Cup exit and one point followed by a battering by us meant, their manager received his marching orders on the bus back home from Wick. Bad times... for him. Good times for us though.

September follows August in both sequence and pattern as we play two cup games and three league games. Turriff are unbeaten so a trip there could be our first stumbling block and you can bet Fraserburgh will be out for revenge in the Aberdeenshire Cup. Away at Lossiemouth looks like it could be tricky too before we round off the month playing Civil Service in the Scottish Cup and then our arch-rivals Brora at home. Not sure what to expect yet. MacNab, Macadie and Allan look as good as they always have but already the Stevens have had a below 6.3 game each and Sam Mackay has not taken kindly to the DM role. It's never bloody predictable is it?

[Nobby_McDonald]

Christ that's a lot of cups.

[ManUtd1]

Good to see this back again.  Good luck! 

#UpTheWeans

[SRL88]

Should be interesting this. Definitely a good challenge.

[Wavelberry]

 

20 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Christ that's a lot of cups.

And I never win any of them...

14 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Good to see this back again.  Good luck! 

#UpTheWeans

Thanks

7 hours ago, SRL88 said:

Should be interesting this. Definitely a good challenge.

Interesting when I get my first DM love.

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 26/11/2019 at 18:47, Wavelberry said:

 

And I never win any of them...

 

You're only expected the semi finals in most of them.

[Larsson1888]

Looking forward to this. I played for them many moons ago. Still live in Wick too!!!

[Wavelberry]

September 2019 Update

Had a good start but the start means nothing in a marathon...

Probably not the best month overall with just the four league points and getting knocked outta the Scottish Cup but we did sneak through to the final of the Aberdeenshire cup with a chance for revenge against our arch-nemesis as we play them for the cup which is ironic for two teams miles away from Aberdeen but there we go. Not many goals this month as McNab's scoring streak has dried up but we are defending well.

We drop to third with the hated Brora top. We've had a decent start though still so canny complain thus far.

A good chance to get some points against a struggling Forres before we try and beat Brora for a cup. Two other league games against sides that have started poorly should mean we have a chance for a big month but we'll have to wait and see...

[Wavelberry]

October 2019 Update

A big month with an opportunity for a first trophy in a Wick save for me since 2016... No pressure...

A prefect month with a proper trophy and everything. We start with a steady win against the bottom side before travelling to Brora for our cup final. We took an early lead through McNab and held out well before Brora secured a late equaliser. This was against the run of play though and even though extra-time happened we got a deserved winner and secured the first trophy of this save and my first Wick trophy for around four years. We then had a stupid game against Clachnacuddin where McNab thrust us towards a three goal lead before we threw it away but Michael Steven secured us a win and then we got two 3-0s to finish the month. Fraser Whelan scoring for fun. Good work.

We top again and Brora have had a bad month. Good stuff. Inverurie look like they are hot on our tail though.

A tougher month that will test our title credentials. Fiver says we draw Formartine in the Highland League Cup as well...

[Wavelberry]

November 2019 Update

High off a cup win and top of the league. We are ripe for a fall aren't we...

We kinda had one too with Buckie getting lucky before Formartine seeing us away quite easily despite Gregor's consolation. We needed a response in the cup and we got one somehow. Formartine went ahead in the 5th minute but two late goals shoulda been enough for us to go through. We were in the midst of a wobble though so a 92nd minute equaliser so us into extra time but we prevailed thanks to Gregor's 2nd. The following cup game came and went and we absolutely stunk the place out on pelanties so I felt we might have been in the middle of a spiral but two very solid wins helped us see out the month in style. A mixed bag but a fairly decent one none the less.

Still top somehow and Brora won't go away, obviously. I'd say we have a five way fight for the title thus far and our defence is seeing us right.

A massive month with a cup semi against our rivals as well as seeing Inverurie at Harmsworth and a trip to Fraserburgh, Proper business end stuff already.

[andychar]

Just double checking...this is a Wavelberry Wick save right? Its going too well too early.

[Kanwulf]

You had me with the Limmy title/video 

Will keep an eye on this!

Edited January 14, 2020 by Kanwulf

[Wavelberry]

On 14/01/2020 at 18:58, Kanwulf said:

You had me with the Limmy title/video 

Will keep an eye on this!

It's a classic

 

On 14/01/2020 at 10:17, andychar said:

Just double checking...this is a Wavelberry Wick save right? Its going too well too early.

I did win a cup in my first season in FM16 so technically I am returning to form but, yes, I am waiting for the sucker punch any time now...

[Wavelberry]

December 2019 Update

Cup battles and matches against those around us. Are we serious or are we Wick?

A win sandwich on disappointing defeat bread means we're Wickly serious. Was annoyed to lose on pelanties to our arch-rivals especially as we went 1-0 up in the 88th minute and then conceded a free-kick equaliser a bloody minute later but we made up for it by squeezing out some excellent wins in the league. The Inverurie one at home was particularly pleasing especially as they have been doing quite well but that was tempered by the beating we took at Fraserburgh. Still, it's been a decent start and, if we could stop conceding goals, I would be pretty pleased.

I don't like this at all. Just over halfway through and top but Brora are sneaking as well as Fraserburgh. This is gonna go the distance.

A trip down the road to Brora looms large as we enter 2020. I've also sold Alan Farquhar as a thinning of the old guard starts early this year. You cannae stop progress...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Aberdeenshire is not just Aberdeen.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Aberdeenshire/@57.2194953,-3.9039944,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x48837fd867aed7d5:0x5035fdf449cde207!8m2!3d57.2868723!4d-2.3815684

[Wavelberry]

True but Brora or Wick are no where near Aberdeenshire.

[Wavelberry]

[Deisler26]

He has risen!

[Marios1999]

1 hour ago, Wavelberry said:

Leave the orthodox church out of it!

[Wavelberry]

So...

 

I made-a-mistake-a when I started this save as I didn't check whether I could offer part-time contracts. It was only when I got to negotiation time that I realised the 'offer amateur contracts only' box was tagged for me so... no point having a save if I can't keep ma youths. I then fell out of love with FM20 and did other things but I can't stay away. I've done some tactical readings and we're back which means we're starting again and no silverware has been won... I bet I don't win any in this save now.

 

Without further ado.

Pre-season 2019

 

Squad pretty much as first post except new youth prospects including

I squeed. It's a DM. A DM! Now I love this save unconditionally.

Pre-season was okay. Trying out a couple of different tactics. I think we're going to have to take the game to most teams so have a high-press possession based tactic to start. It wasn't actually delivering that many goals (as I used 5-3-2 v Thurso) but a few tweaks post Golspie seemed to suggest it could work. My defensive tactic did pretty well against Barnsley with only a 2-0 defeat. A decent pre-season then...

The two tactics are there. We'll see how we get on with them. I think I'll be tweaking as I get my head back around the FM20 way of doing things. Not certain we won't have a sticky start.

We're predicted 6th and board want top-half so we *should* be okay so far. We'll see how we get on.

The season starts with a tricky trip to Forres who can often throw a spanner in my works. Lossiemouth at home and Keith away round out the league fixtures for August and both look eminently winnable as do our two cup assignments against Ross County's U18s and Banks O'Dee. 

Here we go again.

[Deisler26]

Goddamn Keith

[Wavelberry]

August 2019 Update

A busy August and a squad that seemed a little brittle. How would we fare?

Boring, Boring Wick Academy. FIVE 1-0 wins. Defensively sound Wick Academy? I've never seen anything like it. Anyways, brass tacks. We started well enough against the U18s of Ross County, a nice and sensible win. Forres proved to be the difficult nut to crack I thought they would and a draw would've been a fair result but Roass Allan sneaked in at the last to get us off to a flyer in the league. A second XI took on Banks O'Dee and we were nearly eliminated but Gary Manson saved our blushes and then we dominated them in extra time getting the deserved win. Then came two absolute madness games. We were battering Lossiemouth and had gone 1-0 up early thanks to MacGregor who looked in the mood, however five minutes after half time Allan got himself sent off and we then had to backs to the walls it to escape with the three points. We were clearly the better team but the sending off nearly cost us. Unfortunately, in the next game against Formartine, Alex Depodé got himself sent off in the 42nd minute. We battled gamely to a 0-0 draw in the 90 but were too knackered for extra time and got knocked out. We then went to Keith who had started well and managed to squeeze a cagey game thanks to young CB Jason Geddes winning and then nervelessly converting a pelanty. The final fixture of the month was in the Aberdeenshire Cup as we took on Brora for the first time this season. This was a lot more comfortable and Davie Allan settled it just before half-time which was good for him coz he'd missed an earlier pelanty and was a 5.8 before he tucked the ball away. A satisfying end to a cagey month. We're winning, but we're not pretty

Of course the sour grapes emanating here are delicious. I was nice to him as well...

And it got me manager of the month which I didn't win in the previous save despite playing better football. It's defoz a results business.

Top of the nascent table wiht 3 outta 3 and the only 100% record in the league. Won't last but we'll enjoy it. Oh and Huntly have already sacked their manager. No ****ing about from those boyz.

September starts with Deveronvale coming to Harmsworth yet to win a game. Smells like an upset all over. We then travel to Inverurie for the semi-final of the Aberdeenshire  and then points unknown for our Scottish cup debut. Possible tricksy battles against Strathspey and Buckie round out the month. Five more 1-0s would do nicely...

[Wavelberry]

September 2019 Update

Could we grab ourselves cup glory and/or keep the form? Would we score more than one goal per game? Would we finally come crashing down?

We're not boring any more. The league went fine as the 'Home' tactic hit its stride and we dispatched both Deveronvale and Strathspey without too much concern. Inverurie saw us away in the cup as I played the Second XI and they couldn't respond after being 2-1 down at half time. We did rally at the end of the month though when we got rid of a strong Kelty Hearts side in an absolute banging game. It was 3-2 in the 84th minute when Grant Steven got himself sent off but MacGregor took matters into his own hands and put us in the hat for round 2 with style.

Five out of five. Can't ask much more at this stage...

A busy October on the road as we have to go to Buckie, Clachnacuddin and Turrif. Clachnacuddin might be okay but the other two are difficult trips. We take on Burntisland in round 2 of the Scottish Cup and end our league month at home to a resurgent Huntly. We also have an Aberdeenshire Shield game against someone. 

 

The month could be complicated as the bastards have started to show their hand. Just like two years ago the underperforming senior members of the squad are speaking out demanding new contracts but they are playing like dicks. Davie Allan has demanded one but wouldn't accept not being a star player despite playing crap. That kicked everyone else off including Farquhar who has played crap himself so I have already alienated most of the team leaders. Looks like fun times ahead...

[Wavelberry]

Farq's got his mates to start on me and I told them to **** off and put him in the reserves.

 

He took it well.

There is no way I'm allowing these boys to substandard perform and demand loadsa money. They cost me job by doing that in FM18 and if that means I have to Order 67 the lot of them in the first season I will. I will not be messed with.

[Deisler26]

God bless Order 67!