Wick squad’s football knowledge put to the test by McLean
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Wick Academy’s away trips over the past season have not just been about trying to earn Highland League points – they have also given the squad a chance to show off their knowledge of football trivia.
Rob McLean, a commanding presence at the heart of the Scorries’ defence, has taken on the additional role of quizmaster as he puts his fellow players to the test with multiple rounds of questions on the team bus.
His football quizzes help to break up the journey while also being good for camaraderie. He compiles them himself, with a format of four or five rounds of 10 questions.
McLean (26), a PE teacher in Thurso High School, signed a two-year deal with Academy last summer after impressing with Thurso in the North Caledonian League and for High Ormlie Hotspur in county football.
“I sometimes get a bit of stick from the boys when I’ve had a busy working week and there’s the odd time I forget to do one,” he said. “But by and large we’ve usually got either a quiz or a game to play on away days.
“There are some big distances that you have to travel to away games and you’ve to fill the time somehow. It’s a really close squad, so it’s not as if there’s no chatter amongst us on the bus on the way down, but it’s just something to bring the boys together and get us all focused on one thing as opposed to breaking away into smaller groups.
“Right from when I started at the end of last season [2022/23] I tried to impose it straight away. I’ll either make a quiz with various rounds or there are various quiz games that I’ve got on my phone as well.
“It’s usually done in pairs so you’ve got a little bit of camaraderie and a little bit of competitiveness within pairs as well. It’s largely something that the boys enjoy on the way down, which is great.
“It usually takes 45 minutes or an hour off the journey when all the boys are focused on delivering their answers. Hopefully it’s just something that makes the journey a little bit more enjoyable for the guys.”
When asked to reveal the top quizzers in the squad, McLean said: “Owen Harrold is certainly someone who I would want on my team if I was doing the quiz. Ryan Campbell has got a really good football knowledge as well, so he’s quite handy in a quiz.”
McLean accepts that long journeys are an unavoidable aspect of playing for Academy.
“As players, it’s just something that you’ve got to buy into,” he said. “A lot of pitches throughout the Highland League this year have struggled between January and March and you’ve got to get the games played one way or another.
“Before you kick a ball at the start of the season, if you’re committing to be a Wick player you know what you’re signing up for in terms of the distances you travel.
“I don’t see it as too much of an inconvenience, to be honest. You know that at some point the fixture has got to be played, so whether it’s a Saturday or a Wednesday it doesn’t really affect how I approach the game at all.”
Have a go at 10 of Rob’s football questions
Wick Academy’s Rob McLean has shared 10 of his football questions for our readers to try.
It’s just for fun, with no prizes on offer. The answers appear at the bottom.
1 The Highland League title this year came down to goal difference between Buckie Thistle and Brechin City. How many goals separated the two sides?
2 Who was the only Academy player to register a hat-trick of goals in a single match this season?
3 Which Highland League team had the longest unbeaten run of games this season?
4 Which Academy player contributed the most amount of playing minutes this season?
5 How many Highland League teams have more than one word in their club name?
6 What was the original name of Rangers FC when they were founded in 1872?
7 Which current Scottish international was once team-mates with Academy’s Robert McLean – Kieran Tierney, Lyndon Dykes or John Souttar?
8 Which company was Scotland’s kit manufacturer in France ’98?
9 Wick Academy’s nickname is the Scorries. Name another football team with a bird as its nickname.
10 Guess the Academy player based on the following stats for this season: 24 appearances, 7 as a substitute, 5 yellow cards, 7 goals scored.
Answers: 1 Two goals. 2 Gordy MacNab. 3 Banks O’ Dee (19 games). 4 Ross Gunn. 5 Eleven teams. 6 Glasgow Argyle. 7 Lyndon Dykes. 8 Umbro. 9 Examples include Norwich City (the Canaries), Newcastle United (the Magpies), Brighton (the Seagulls), Swindon Town or Bristol City (the Robins)… 10 Kyle Henderson.
