Winchestia
14-07-2006, 20:27
Though a relatively new nation, and not nearly ready for international standard yet, football has a long tradtion among the athletic people of Winchestia. The history can be broken down into 2 eras: The early amateur era and the current professional era, now in it's 12th season.
As Winchestia is still a rather small country, it can only support 8 professional teams at present. They 8 clubs play in the 14-round Winchestia Pro League and also the single-elimination Winchestia Pro Cup. The league is "ring-fenced" (no promotion or relegastion) and this has led to many of the smaller teams from the amateur era being disbanded as they simply can not compete with the newer professional league.
The Professional Clubs of Winchestia
Teams in Wendle (captial of Winchestia):
Wendle City FC
Wendle City FC (or just City) was the first "official" professional club in Winchestia (though see Market Motors FC entry for why this the claim is in dispute). They swept all before them during the Wendle City League championships during the amateur era, winning 12 of 13 championships, and 8 or 15 All-Winchestia Cups. It was only during the last 4 years that they turned fully professional, before that many in the club had jobs in the Book Publishing industry, so important to Winchestia. Their dominance of the Wendle City League these last four years led to the formation of the Winchestia Pro League, so that other teams could have a chance in competing.
The era of professionalism hasn't been kind to City. After 3 league titles and 2 Cup wins in the 1st 5 seasons, they have slipped to the bottom of the League and routinely are in the bottom 2. Their current star man is Midfielder Drew Bevel, however even he isn't considered among the elite of the League. They play their home matches in the Winchestia National Stadium, which they share with Wendle Rovers.
Wendle Rovers
Wendle Rovers, usually just refered to as Rovers, were formed as an amateur club in order to directly compete with the rampant City. They had much success, even winning the Wendle City League on one occasion. They also were able to lift the All-Wincestia Cup twice during this era, beating their hated rivals City on both occations.
The professional era has been much kinder to Rovers then to their rivals City. Though they have only won the League and Cup twice, they are consistantly in the top 3 narrowly losing out to Kitchen FC in last years League. Team captain Wilfred Peiper promises more of the same as Rovers honestly believe they can win the double every year.
Kitchen FC
To understand the story of Kitchen FC, we must go back to the amateur era and the Wendle Culinary Institute. One year the enterprising students at this nationally known school decided that they wanted to enter the All-Winchestia Cup. Though many were gifted athletes, few had played football in the past and not much was expected. Sure enough, they lost in the first round to defending champions City, but not after FOUR scoreless draws forced a fifth replay and only then did they lose 1-0. The next year, the same group of studentes captured the imagination of the nation by reaching the final of the All-Winchestia Cup knocking off teams like Rovers and (the now defunct) Wendle Park. Though they lost that final to Market Motors 3-1, they came to represent the can-do spirit of Winchestia and their story became famous throughout the years. Sadly, the instructors at the WCI thought too much of the students attention was being used by the football team and disbanded it 2 years later.
One of those students, Marcos Cuba, became a famous and wealthy chef. When the announcent of a new professional league was made, Cuba inquired about buying in to a team. He ended up owning the third Wendle team outright, and in honor of his full-time profession, he named it Kitchen FC. They are the current holders of both the League and Cup and with star defenders Josh Pop and Jody Shawl, along with midfielder Orvile Sporer and captain and main goalscorer Ervin Firmin, they look set to do it again. In their early years they played all of their home matches at the former home of Wendle Park, but now split between there and the national stadium used by City and Rovers.
Teams in Higgleton (2nd largest city in Winchestia):
Higgleton United
The most controversial of the professional teams, Higgleton United is the only club that has no ties to the amateur era of Winchestia football. Based in the aristocratic North Higgleton (far better known for their cricket than their football) they spend more money on player wages than anyone else. This has netted them the best Goalkeeper in Winchestia (Nicolas Seruss) and the superstar striker Dallas Marayan, but the coaching staff's eye for other talent seems lacking as their midfield and defense always seem suspect. They are hated by many in Winchestia for their "aristocratic" ways, but are especially disliked by supporters of Marcheq and their local rival Market Motors. They have won 2 League titles and a Cup title, but nothing recently and there is talk of a takeover by the fans of the club tired of the inept performances from such a highly paid group of players. They play in the cavernous Higgleton Park, a stadium built to hold 50,000. This seems to many a waste of money as they get, at most, 20,000 people to their home matches.
Market Motors FC
Market Motors is based in the middle-class South Higgleton. Unlike Higgleton United, they had an extensive amateur history, annually winning the Higgleton League and going far in the All-Winchestia Cup (winning it three times). They were founded by the employees of a retail auto parts store (hence the name) and later populated by "employees" of the retail auto parts store, whose job description seemed to only be to play football (hence some supporters claim that they were the first professional club, not Wendle City).
Since the start of professionalism, Market Motors has won the League once, but is in the running this season as they are currently 2nd. They do not have many superstars, but generally play well together, defense being their specialty. Unlike United, they play in the much more modest Mano Road stadium where 8,000 supporters routinely show and shout their hearts out for their beloved team.
Teams in Other Areas:
Marcheq
The history of Marcheq is a colorful one. Based in the poor Tilse area of Winchestia, the Marcheq started as a street gang for bored youth. As part of a recruitment drive, they formed a football team and entered the All-Winchestia Cup. They were soundly beaten by Rovers 10-0. However, many of the Tilse residents found hope for themselves in the team and the next year many adults had joined the ranks. As the only team in Tilse, they applied to join the Higgleton League, but were rejected but the North Higgleton clubs who wanted no part of their "terrorist brats". This left the All-Winchestia Cup as their only chance for glory. Four years later, they duly won the Cup, and some of the senior leaders made contact with the up-and-coming politicians of Wendle. Today former members of the Marcheq hold key government positions, especially in law enforcement.
It was these government workers who brought back the Marcheq name for a professional club in the new league. Unfortunatly, the remote location of Tilse and the militant nature of their fan base scare away most of the good players in Winchestia and Marcheq has been in the basement of the league for some years now. The annual Marcheq-Higgleton United match in Tilse tends to erupt in violence, so much so that Higgleton United strongly suggest to their supporters to not go. Sadly, this is the legacy left by this club and some clubs (led by United) have suggested that they throw Marcheq out of the league.
Mikey Town FC
Mikey Town FC supporters feel that their club is the most overlooked club in Winchestia. Based in the sparsely populated Mikelville, they have as long a history in Winchestia football as anyone else. They entered the first All-Winchestia Cup but were beaten by City in the finals. Though they did later win the All-Winchestia Cup, the lack of a regular league for them to play in made this era unremarkable.
Known as Cup specialists in the professional era, they have actually won the leage once, three seasons ago. That year they won the double. Led by the fearsome midfiled foursome of Levi Pavin, Dallas Melland and the Hugos (Hartney and Weare), their supporters expect more big things from the club in the future. They also expect the media to ignore them in favor of those "losers" from Wendle City.
The Strongest
From the Grander Mountains comes The Strongest. The name refers not to their footballing prowess but to the fact that they feel the mountains make them stronger than those city-folk from Wendle and Higgleton. The Grandor Mountains are more famous for the rugby players they produce. Though they never participated in the All-Winchestia Cup or any of the regional amateur leagues, they had a reputation for playing "friendly" matches against the big sides of the time. In one famous match against Wendle Park, they had 4 players sent off in the 1st 10 minutes for violent fouls. Apparently the team chosen that day was actually the local Rugby XV who wanted "to show those wimps what REAL football was" in the words of the famous rugby star Al Ozburn.
As the Winchestia Pro League wanted the whole country to be represented, The Strongest were invited in under the condition that they curb their violent ways. Though they still play a rough brand of football (led by hardman defender Taylor Tinley) they actually can play some cultured football on occasion, and routinely use an attacking 3-4-3 formation. Besides Marcheq, they are the only team to not win any honors in the professional era, a streak that looks likely to continue as they are currently mid-table in the League and have been knocked out of the Cup already this season.
Winchestia Pro League Winners
1 Wendle City
2 Wendle City
3 Wendle City
4 Wendle Rovers
5 Higgleton United
6 Higgleton United
7 Kitchen FC
8 Market Motors FC
9 Mikey Town FC
10 Wendle Rovers
11 Kitchen FC
Winchestia Pro Cup Winners
1 Wendle City
2 Wendle Rovers
3 Higgleton United
4 Wendle City
5 Wendle City
6 Wendle Rovers
7 Mikey Town FC
8 Mikey Town FC
9 Mikey Town FC
10 Kitchen FC
11 Kitchen FC
As Winchestia is still a rather small country, it can only support 8 professional teams at present. They 8 clubs play in the 14-round Winchestia Pro League and also the single-elimination Winchestia Pro Cup. The league is "ring-fenced" (no promotion or relegastion) and this has led to many of the smaller teams from the amateur era being disbanded as they simply can not compete with the newer professional league.
The Professional Clubs of Winchestia
Teams in Wendle (captial of Winchestia):
Wendle City FC
Wendle City FC (or just City) was the first "official" professional club in Winchestia (though see Market Motors FC entry for why this the claim is in dispute). They swept all before them during the Wendle City League championships during the amateur era, winning 12 of 13 championships, and 8 or 15 All-Winchestia Cups. It was only during the last 4 years that they turned fully professional, before that many in the club had jobs in the Book Publishing industry, so important to Winchestia. Their dominance of the Wendle City League these last four years led to the formation of the Winchestia Pro League, so that other teams could have a chance in competing.
The era of professionalism hasn't been kind to City. After 3 league titles and 2 Cup wins in the 1st 5 seasons, they have slipped to the bottom of the League and routinely are in the bottom 2. Their current star man is Midfielder Drew Bevel, however even he isn't considered among the elite of the League. They play their home matches in the Winchestia National Stadium, which they share with Wendle Rovers.
Wendle Rovers
Wendle Rovers, usually just refered to as Rovers, were formed as an amateur club in order to directly compete with the rampant City. They had much success, even winning the Wendle City League on one occasion. They also were able to lift the All-Wincestia Cup twice during this era, beating their hated rivals City on both occations.
The professional era has been much kinder to Rovers then to their rivals City. Though they have only won the League and Cup twice, they are consistantly in the top 3 narrowly losing out to Kitchen FC in last years League. Team captain Wilfred Peiper promises more of the same as Rovers honestly believe they can win the double every year.
Kitchen FC
To understand the story of Kitchen FC, we must go back to the amateur era and the Wendle Culinary Institute. One year the enterprising students at this nationally known school decided that they wanted to enter the All-Winchestia Cup. Though many were gifted athletes, few had played football in the past and not much was expected. Sure enough, they lost in the first round to defending champions City, but not after FOUR scoreless draws forced a fifth replay and only then did they lose 1-0. The next year, the same group of studentes captured the imagination of the nation by reaching the final of the All-Winchestia Cup knocking off teams like Rovers and (the now defunct) Wendle Park. Though they lost that final to Market Motors 3-1, they came to represent the can-do spirit of Winchestia and their story became famous throughout the years. Sadly, the instructors at the WCI thought too much of the students attention was being used by the football team and disbanded it 2 years later.
One of those students, Marcos Cuba, became a famous and wealthy chef. When the announcent of a new professional league was made, Cuba inquired about buying in to a team. He ended up owning the third Wendle team outright, and in honor of his full-time profession, he named it Kitchen FC. They are the current holders of both the League and Cup and with star defenders Josh Pop and Jody Shawl, along with midfielder Orvile Sporer and captain and main goalscorer Ervin Firmin, they look set to do it again. In their early years they played all of their home matches at the former home of Wendle Park, but now split between there and the national stadium used by City and Rovers.
Teams in Higgleton (2nd largest city in Winchestia):
Higgleton United
The most controversial of the professional teams, Higgleton United is the only club that has no ties to the amateur era of Winchestia football. Based in the aristocratic North Higgleton (far better known for their cricket than their football) they spend more money on player wages than anyone else. This has netted them the best Goalkeeper in Winchestia (Nicolas Seruss) and the superstar striker Dallas Marayan, but the coaching staff's eye for other talent seems lacking as their midfield and defense always seem suspect. They are hated by many in Winchestia for their "aristocratic" ways, but are especially disliked by supporters of Marcheq and their local rival Market Motors. They have won 2 League titles and a Cup title, but nothing recently and there is talk of a takeover by the fans of the club tired of the inept performances from such a highly paid group of players. They play in the cavernous Higgleton Park, a stadium built to hold 50,000. This seems to many a waste of money as they get, at most, 20,000 people to their home matches.
Market Motors FC
Market Motors is based in the middle-class South Higgleton. Unlike Higgleton United, they had an extensive amateur history, annually winning the Higgleton League and going far in the All-Winchestia Cup (winning it three times). They were founded by the employees of a retail auto parts store (hence the name) and later populated by "employees" of the retail auto parts store, whose job description seemed to only be to play football (hence some supporters claim that they were the first professional club, not Wendle City).
Since the start of professionalism, Market Motors has won the League once, but is in the running this season as they are currently 2nd. They do not have many superstars, but generally play well together, defense being their specialty. Unlike United, they play in the much more modest Mano Road stadium where 8,000 supporters routinely show and shout their hearts out for their beloved team.
Teams in Other Areas:
Marcheq
The history of Marcheq is a colorful one. Based in the poor Tilse area of Winchestia, the Marcheq started as a street gang for bored youth. As part of a recruitment drive, they formed a football team and entered the All-Winchestia Cup. They were soundly beaten by Rovers 10-0. However, many of the Tilse residents found hope for themselves in the team and the next year many adults had joined the ranks. As the only team in Tilse, they applied to join the Higgleton League, but were rejected but the North Higgleton clubs who wanted no part of their "terrorist brats". This left the All-Winchestia Cup as their only chance for glory. Four years later, they duly won the Cup, and some of the senior leaders made contact with the up-and-coming politicians of Wendle. Today former members of the Marcheq hold key government positions, especially in law enforcement.
It was these government workers who brought back the Marcheq name for a professional club in the new league. Unfortunatly, the remote location of Tilse and the militant nature of their fan base scare away most of the good players in Winchestia and Marcheq has been in the basement of the league for some years now. The annual Marcheq-Higgleton United match in Tilse tends to erupt in violence, so much so that Higgleton United strongly suggest to their supporters to not go. Sadly, this is the legacy left by this club and some clubs (led by United) have suggested that they throw Marcheq out of the league.
Mikey Town FC
Mikey Town FC supporters feel that their club is the most overlooked club in Winchestia. Based in the sparsely populated Mikelville, they have as long a history in Winchestia football as anyone else. They entered the first All-Winchestia Cup but were beaten by City in the finals. Though they did later win the All-Winchestia Cup, the lack of a regular league for them to play in made this era unremarkable.
Known as Cup specialists in the professional era, they have actually won the leage once, three seasons ago. That year they won the double. Led by the fearsome midfiled foursome of Levi Pavin, Dallas Melland and the Hugos (Hartney and Weare), their supporters expect more big things from the club in the future. They also expect the media to ignore them in favor of those "losers" from Wendle City.
The Strongest
From the Grander Mountains comes The Strongest. The name refers not to their footballing prowess but to the fact that they feel the mountains make them stronger than those city-folk from Wendle and Higgleton. The Grandor Mountains are more famous for the rugby players they produce. Though they never participated in the All-Winchestia Cup or any of the regional amateur leagues, they had a reputation for playing "friendly" matches against the big sides of the time. In one famous match against Wendle Park, they had 4 players sent off in the 1st 10 minutes for violent fouls. Apparently the team chosen that day was actually the local Rugby XV who wanted "to show those wimps what REAL football was" in the words of the famous rugby star Al Ozburn.
As the Winchestia Pro League wanted the whole country to be represented, The Strongest were invited in under the condition that they curb their violent ways. Though they still play a rough brand of football (led by hardman defender Taylor Tinley) they actually can play some cultured football on occasion, and routinely use an attacking 3-4-3 formation. Besides Marcheq, they are the only team to not win any honors in the professional era, a streak that looks likely to continue as they are currently mid-table in the League and have been knocked out of the Cup already this season.
Winchestia Pro League Winners
1 Wendle City
2 Wendle City
3 Wendle City
4 Wendle Rovers
5 Higgleton United
6 Higgleton United
7 Kitchen FC
8 Market Motors FC
9 Mikey Town FC
10 Wendle Rovers
11 Kitchen FC
Winchestia Pro Cup Winners
1 Wendle City
2 Wendle Rovers
3 Higgleton United
4 Wendle City
5 Wendle City
6 Wendle Rovers
7 Mikey Town FC
8 Mikey Town FC
9 Mikey Town FC
10 Kitchen FC
11 Kitchen FC