The Golden Neep IC

Puffskeins themed birthday party was a good attempt at just acquiring more of the fluffy things. This is why no pets as gifts is a good rule, I fear the place would be overrun with them if Ellie had her say.

[Montrose +]

Final match of the regular season! What a fly it's been so far, you've all been amazing. How ever this match goes, we'll be having drinks at the clubhouse to toast the end of the regular season (but you lot can go off for something more fun after).

Now onto the Falcons...I'm going to try and be professional about them but I don't have many kind words to say about the team they are right now. They have a reputation that's well deserved as one of the roughest teams in this league.

In my personal opinion, their coach and management encourages this aggressive hostile team culture and style of play to the point where they have tipped well over from just being a physical team. When I talk about setting an example as a team, the degradation of the falcons we've seen this season is exactly what I don't want us to ever be. You're all professionals and I'm proud that you've all managed to carry yourselves that way, so on Thursday go out and show them how real professionals play.

Falmouth Notes:

Chasers: Leyland is the one to watch out for usually when it comes to points but they're rather even across the board and like using their elbows to help them steal possession wherever possible. Now whether or not the League and even the Falcons management play Flint will be their test of character. He's their roughest chaser and puts together enough points that if they don't (and frankly they shouldn't) play him it'll leave a hole. But that's about as positive as I can be about the man, anyone who treats a teammate that way well...I would've hope that no team would stand for it. Yet while I dislike being wrong about that, I'm not surprised.

Beaters: Offensive, and Allen in particular is their rough one. Very spotty defense though and they will sacrifice defense to try and get big hits on opponents, even if it means their own or themselves getting hit. Which is how the beaters alone have taken 5 big injuries this season.

Seeker: Of their current starting lineup, Mather is the only one who gets my respect. Kenna, consider this your big challenge this season. Mather is a better seeker than this team deserves and has a success rate to keep him near the top of the league. Without half his snitches, this team wouldn't be in playoff position with all their losses. Fly hard, lass, and use our beater cover to your advantage. He's taken big hits this season and it's been 3 blocs since we've seen him play, so he should be ready to close the season. If they don't play him...their reserve is still learning and can be both outflown and tricked in the chase.

Keeper: Shingouz was a very respectable keeper in her day, but looks like too many big injuries so close together is signalling her career coming to a close. After Cameron (I don't need to say how that one went) they're down to their reserve keeper Cattermole. We've only seen her in 2 matches this season so she's hard to judge but based on those...well they need to find a starting keeper if they want to go further.

Falmouth lineup:

Reserves, time to shine.
Chasers: Maddock, Roger, Angus
Beaters: Lex and Kal
Keeper: Ada
Seeker: Kenna

Yes I know we don't have our captain or vice captain up there. But this is a rough beater-heavy team so I'm giving Lex this one to run, she knows the things they'll try best so follow her lead for this match.

Portree Match

Reminder that Dani has gotten us a box to watch this final Portree match. I know it's the Cannons, and it better not last as short as their last one because she went to enough trouble to get this for us. But it's their last match and this is our chance to see their reserves in action again before the second neep match.

Festive note

Importantly to me, it's a little lass's 5th birthday on the 15th. I'm sure in her excitement she's mentioned it to many of you though. Ellie's been very insistent on asking that the team pups (and the team) be invited too, so like Ava's birthday you and your pets are all invited. It's at mine, with a magiczoology theme or Beast Safari (even if it's more jungle than Sahara) as the bairns might put it.

Like with Ava's, there is no obligation to come and no gifts are needed (especially not animals as gifts).

Now that you've read all that: Let's put Falmouth in their place.

[Montrose+]

The Neep is behind us and what a start, team! I'm still in a good mood over it.

We're going into the very last bloc of the regular season here and I'd like us to end it strong to go into the playoffs on a good note. But before I give you the rosters or traditional strategy talks, there's some things to get in order first.

- Chasers, again, brilliant work against McCormack. If you can handle her like that every time then we're in excellent shape going forward. Falcons are a rough team though so I'm letting Lex loose on you lot to prepare you for dealing with that

- Lex, I want them able to play the match. Other than that...

- Micah and Ada, see Florrie for being cleared to play the Falcons

- Lennox and Kenna, we're doing some extra seeker training leading into playoffs. Other teams will be trying to take Portree's cue and shut you down, so let's prepare for that.

- Actually, anyone who's been listed as injured at all in the last 2 blocs, go see Florrie.

- And maybe even if you're not

[Georgi CC:Florrie + Shona]

If you still have the details for that cursebreaker, get another clearing for the match if you can. We can afford to wait through this bloc, I'd rather take this too seriously than too lightly.

[Lennox]

How are you doing, lad?

[Montrose +]

Alright team, time to face the Kestrels.

Next to us and Portree, Kestrels are up there in the league. Bonafide pros, and a similar mishmash of young and veteran players. With a 7-3 record and where they sit now, they’re heading to the playoffs and there’s a chance we see them again.

In contrast to the other Irish team, they don’t play big and brutal. But this has been an injury-prone season for them and they’ve taken a lot of big hits which seems to have been a stumbling block for them. But unlike Ballycastle their Coach is of a similar mind to me in that he cares more about winning than racking up the points, and as a result they’re tied third in the league on win records.

Roster: Starting lineup with Angus in for Jason.

Kestrels Notes:

Seeker: Lynch is force of his own, would have the second highest snitch % of starters if he hadn’t given it to falmouth last bloc. Lennox, if this was nearly any other team or seeker I would’ve rested you pre-Neep. It’s been long enough since that 94 run, and he’s clearly worked on that diving weakness he had back then but still doesn’t use dives much. I’d test out how he keeps up with them. Clean flier, isn’t a physical seeker or one that fouls, but he will lead you into his beaters’ path so that they can back him up, watch for that.

Keeper: A big injury messed his numbers early on and was rather average for the few blocs after, seems he took longer to recover than expected. But in the last 4 or so blocs we’re seeing him in much better form and he’ll be riding on the confidence from that 97% last match.

Chasers: Siobhan and Wiggins are their big scorers. Numbers-wise Wiggins lost out of that falcons match early and sakura hasn't scored much until that match so they look more even on paper than they are. Sakura has taken what seems to be the most big injuries of anyone this season...in the league. She’s young and keeps popping back but it shakes you and she’s become more and more bludger-shy as this season has gone on. Last bloc was the first time we saw her fly without that. I think she can be shut down with just interference bludgers and chasers getting in her space (Maddock? Want to try and handle her?)

Beaters: Defensive/interference type style that like to try and block lanes. We saw them at their best against the Falcons and that’s the sort of play you should expect from them. When on form they’re great at trapping chasers who don’t know how to deal with beaters with that style.

Final word

I know we’re guaranteed a great seed in the playoffs, but take the Kestrels seriously. Our last two matches have been messy. Impressive, yes, and ones that make the rest of the league realize that we’ve come only to win and cannot be taken down so easily, but also chaotic and full of injuries. People are starting to wonder if we can get very far in the post-season if we keep having matches like that. Hell, Portree must be wondering with the Neep looming.

They’re impressive and historical wins, but not sustainable for a whole playoff and Neep run. We’re not going to be the team who comes through the regular season with a win record like this only to fall apart when it starts to really matter.

We do not need the points. We don’t technically even need the match. But the Montrose Magpies do not roll over and we do not go without a big fight. We’ve just shown that with the last two matches. What I want from this match is something else.

I want a show of dominance

Every team will be watching us now to see what we do after two matches like that, if the great Magpies are on a downswing and clawing their way through the end of the season.

Make this clean, dominant, and a very big reminder that we’re still very much the team to try and beat.

Now let’s knock them out of the sky.

[Montrose+]

A few announcements before the lineup and strategy talk in a few days:

First. Ernie Macmillan is testing out a new motion capture technology, which you all have already seen and tested in a previous practice but Friday will be the more public test he’s doing. I know it’s the day before the match, but luckily we keep those practices light anyway.

Morning will be warmup then Gregor will be running you through some drills he’ll decide on. No new techniques, formations, or plays. Treat this as a public exhibition.

Kestrels are on the 24th. Do Not Get Injured before then.

Portree plays on the 20th. Dani, can we get a box for the team to watch from? Remember everyone, this is the last Portree match before the Neep. They might be saving some of their starters but since we’ve last faced them they have 2 new starters and are finally playing their reserves (of which 1 reserve is also new since the Fall Classic..)

Note for chasers: Special attention on their new chaser, Pepper. And McCormack. They gave her a break last match so she might be extra intense on this one.

Not an announcement but congratulations Jason on finishing what sounded like a truly mad Annual Broom Race. We’re all very proud of you for it.

[Gregor]

For Friday morning for the Macmillan lad’s demonstration, throw the normal practice plans out. We don’t know who he invited and I’d rather treat it as a public exhibition of sorts with just a smaller audience. Classic skills drills, the more movement the better, but I’ll let you plan and decide on what. Have fun with it, make the players look good.

And we have a few other things we’ll need to start talking about.

[Florrie]

Alright. Of these 4, who’s in the best flying shape for next match.

Maddock
Jason
Ada
Kal

Who: Anyone related to Scottish Quid/Affairs/Press/Books in general (so pretty much all of you if you want) and all current and past members of both teams (NPCs welcome!)
What: The release of the Golden Neep companion book
When: March 16th 8pm
Where: Portree and Montrose clubhouses
Warnings: Language maybe? Drinking

( Whizz Hard Books is proud to present... )

What: Just a few wizards taking in a football match (not a shenanigan to be found!)
When: 15 March 2000, Evening
Where: Celtic Park, Glasgow
Warnings: Football Shenanigans (drinking, language, a million questions, friend wrangling, Statute toe-ing)




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celtic (21-9-6) versus Kilmarnock (8-15-35)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Play Started: 2000-03-15 19:45 at Celtic Park, Glasgow
Attendance : 55,194
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celtic : 4
Kilmarnock : 2
Congratulations, Celtic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
( Only 90 minutes? And they never fly? )


(OOC: feel free to tag yourself!)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montrose Magpies (9-0-0 1.000) versus Wigtown Wanderers (4-5-0 0.444)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Play Started:2000-03-11 at Scottish National Stadium at The Lamb
Snitch caught in : 6 hours, 0 minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montrose Magpies : 950
Wigtown Wanderers : 940
Congratulations, Montrose Magpies
( It's always a sad day when they don't let us out of the stadium until after happy hour ends... )

[Montrose +]

Time to take on the last scottish team! We have a bit of experience playing with and against them from the charity match and unfortunately that means the opposite too so they will be a bit more ready for some of our tricks.

This is a mediocre write-off season for them (they’re 4-5), but it’s a rebuilding season for the league. They’ve got a firm grasp on 12th so this isn’t a playoff year for them, but that’s mostly because they haven’t been in any high scoring matches this year. In fact their top score was 350 with the snitch last bloc. Their offense struggles a bit too much with putting big points on the board for this ranking system I’m afraid. So on paper they are deceptively bad. Really, their season numbers look average to bad across the board and if we hadn’t played with them earlier and if you don’t look at the matches on an individual basis, it’s easy to believe that.

Wigtown Notes

Chasers: Better than they are at first glance frankly. Have suffered from some big injuries that seem to have thrown them off, and haven’t really been able to put together the points they need to push themselves up. The chasers alone though have held their own against some big teams and even been ahead before they lost the match on the snitch. You can tell from the fact that none of their matches have seen huge point differences (160 points is the highest final point difference of their season and that was with losing the snitch). Parkin is their big scorer and Maddox their main defense and support type, so hold off whichever of them you can.

Beaters: They had a promising beater in Okeke but alas too promising as Portree poached her a few blocs ago. The remaining ones are respectable but so far haven’t been anything to write home about.

Keeper: Another case of better than she seems on paper. She was knocked out early in one match and her stats have suffered since. Other than that match, for all but one other match she’s been a solid 80-90% keeper.

Seeker: Alright. Blythe suffers from poor timing, as they’ve lost a few matches within their grasp from that snitch. Although she oddly enough has had more success against seekers that were better than her in skill (Mather and Lynch most recently). She’s capable of coming through for them just hasn’t been consistent at all about it.

Lineup:

Chasers: Jason, Roger, Angus
Beaters: Kal and Georgi
Keeper: Ada
Seeker: Kenna

As for the team sporting pink this match:

It should be a surprise to none of you that I’m fully for it.

But this is not something mandatory or enforced, that would ruin the good spirit behind it. I do want to say though that if you are hesitant for any reason, that I hope you consider doing this for this match. At the very least in personal support of those in our Magpie family involved in this wave of pink that’s sweeping the League.

If you want to talk to any of the staff about it still, our doors are open. And if you have concerns about the PR side of things: there’s Alex.

Dani has ordered boots with pink, and there should be a stack of rosettes too. If you’re interested they should be somewhere by her office (or ask her) and will be around on match day in the locker room too.

Jason, I believe Mick and Dani may have something for you soon.

[Gabi]

Between Lorna's birthday just now and Florrie's coming up, I have never seen so much glitter everywhere. It's almost resistant to magic.

Is the night before the match still the big Pão de Queijo making night?

As mentioned here, Ernie and Dani set up a meeting this week to discuss with the Montrose staff Ernie running some tests during the Montrose Quidditch practice. After getting everyone in the room, a very nervous Ernie, carrying an accordion file folder and a large blue-print roll, asked everyone to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Once that was taken care of, ( he began... )

Woke up to screaming bairns going Co-là-breith math. At least they are learning their Gaelic.

And the best gifts so far this year are...

Spell-o-Taped in

[ Private to Friends and Family ]
[ooc: If you think your character is a friend and/or family, you probably are]

Nothing too fancy, but there will be some food and cake tonight if anyone wants to drop by and say hi. No gifts necessary, please. The bairns decorated the house and the cake.

[Montrose+]

Alright team this is a big month for us. We're nearing the end of the regular season and the first Neep on the 31st.

Since at this point in this season, with only 3 blocs left, we have a very solid grasp on a good playoff seed, I’m going to turn our attention to starting strong with the Neep. We are not going easy on the regular season teams, but we are going to try and save some of our strength for hitting Portree hard right off the bat.

Which means the lineups for this month are subject to change and up in the air but I will tell you ahead of time some of my plans for them so a few of you are prepared. Please note these are tentative.

Tentative line up notes:

Chasers: I don Wigtown will be Jason, Roger, and Angus. Maddock, listen to Florrie and heal well. We still have a lot ahead we need you for. Unfortunately nothing much to give you lot right now other than the Wigtown lineup, it’s all up in the air.

Beaters: Lex and Georgi, you’re on Neep. But Kal, I’m playing you for both Wigtown and the Kestrels. You’re more than ready for both. Who's playing which match with you is still to be determined but one for each either way.

Keepers: Micah is leading us into the Neep so Ada you’ll be getting one of the two regular season matches. I’ll get back to you on which.

Seekers: Lennox, normally I’d rest you for the match the week before the Neep, you’re going to be absolutely vital there, but that match is against the Kestrels. And Lynch is the only one experienced and levelheaded enough to give you any kind of a challenge. So that’s not one I can rest you on, unfortunately we’ll need you to play both those matches. So Kenna, I’m giving you Wigtown. We’ll talk about their seekers in detail later.

[Montrose Staff]

Regarding having a pink team at the match:

I’m going to say again, it’s not mandatory, I want people to do it in the spirit of support and solidarity not because it’s mandated.

But I want to support this how we can. Roger had a mention of pink boots in Jason’s entry, that and rosettes might not be a bad idea? Opinions? Whatever we do will need to be a rush order though.

And Jason wants the magpie on his robes to be a neon pink, I’ve told him I’m very happy for him to have that screw any fines. But seeing as he won’t have time to fiddle around with designs...Mick? Should be a fun project for a change. Take the practice uniforms and experiment so that Jason has options to choose from.

[PRIVATE]

To Do list:

• Follow up with Florrie - Maddock for the Kestrels match?
  
• Speaking of Florrie: bday gift + dinner
  
• Dinner at mum’s this week
  
• Work out tentative lineups for the next 3 matches (Wigtown/Kestrels/Neep)
  
• Line up considerations:
  
  • Maddock recovery time (out for Wigtown, ?Kestrels but if so then iffy on playing him for Neep)
    
  • Jason’s Broom Race
    
  • Need for starter rest
    
  • Captain or ViceCap needs to be in play for each match
    
  • Kestrels > Wigtown, unfortunate timing though
    
  • Neep lineup needs to be saved up where possible, but balanced with what’s reasonable to put reserves on
    
  • Lennox vs. Lynch needs to stay
    
  • Georgi/Lex: Which on wigtown, which on kestrels
    
  • Ada - Wigtown or Kestrels
    
  • Chasers - who the hell knows right now
  
  
• Buckle down on Portree research
  
  • Roberts era Portree (focus on the prime years)
    
  • Old Ballycastle - Pepper (+possibly Okeke)
    
  • Dig up Wigtown matches - Okeke
    
  • Galbraith in case (no way they don’t play McCormack) - Cannons (this will be painful to go through) + Wanderers if there’s time
    
  • Listen to Parkinson recordings Gregor dug up - their giant hasn’t completely found his spot in the BIL style of play just yet, there’s more that can come from him
  
  
• Celtics for Kai’s potential debut on the 15th
  
• Attend Portree vs. Cats
  
• Consider updating Potential Future Players list for offseason wants/needs
  
  • Revisit Georgi’s contract pending Peppard’s progress
  
  
• Ideally keep the top seed for the postseason run (fuck the Bats)
  
• Follow up on pink additions for the match (for players/staff)
  
• Find some extra pink to wear or charm something pink for self

( Memo from Montrose Magpies Public Relations )

(Please feel free to use this post as an IC/OOC, or we can treat it like a journal if your staff member/team player prefers the written medium.)

To all the “Pink” & Uplift Supporters:

Thank you to everyone who showed up at the Kenmare match. It was refreshing to see such a presence in stands. Rest assured we plan to keep this momentum going.

We are here. And we are not going away.

[WARD to MONTROSE STAFF & PLAYERS]

In taking a cue from Kenmare presence at their match, I would like to formally request that Montrose considers a uniform alteration as a statement of unity. After the Falmouth incident, we cannot afford to be silent.

As you know, I have been at the forefront of this movement. What I am asking for now is for Montrose to publicly show unity and support for those with muggle heritage and their loved ones.

Please stand with me. Let us all come out against Wigtown in black, white, and pink.

[//WARD to MONTROSE]

[WARD to COACH McG & SHONA]

And as I ask you to stand with me, I also realize that Maddock’s injury was unexpected. Although I had requested to be rested the week before the Annual Broom Race, please have no doubt that Montrose comes first.

I am fully prepared to start against Wigtown. I am ready to change, and even cancel, my Annual Broom Race plans. Please just keep me updated.

[//WARD to COACH McG & SHONA]

Are people familiar with Celtic FC? My baby brother is considering an offer from them...

[Merc]
I told Kai he can stay with us. Built in baby sitter and part time nanny?

I keep thinking there's no possible way that the season can get even more grinding and then I remember Montrose is up for three matches next month instead of two, and that we'll probably be on a week to ten days for turnaround for most of the next ten weeks. Three more league matches, two or three Neep matches, plus tournament play.

I'm going to be exhausted by the end of it and I don't even leave the ground during most matches.

[Lorna]

What are we doing for our birthdays this year? Do you think we can just take an evening off and go somewhere and do something fun, just the two of us? Or do we need to wait until May for a night off?

[Montrose +]

What I want for my birthday is for everyone to come away from the Wigtown match without injuries. I know you can't promise me that but I'd appreciate it if you tried.

Good Merlin. It's been a while since I've enjoyed myself so much at a match. I can't say I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing Montrose knocked off their pedestal even more, for novelty if nothing else, but what a battle of wills regardless, and a thoroughly earned victory.

Congratulations to young Mr. Wood on making it through in one piece, kudos to Mr. Draganov on your extreme versatility, and I hope Mr. Maddock's recovery goes quickly and smoothly. They'll be needing you for the playoffs, as well as for the Neep.

Thank you for showing us what a contest actually looks like. I think there were a few teams that needed the reminder.

( Morven )

( Owl deliveries for Lennox, Maddock, MG, and Roger )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puddlemere United (4-3-1 0.500) versus Montrose Magpies (8-0-0 1.000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Play Started:2000-02-24 at Exmoor
Snitch caught in : 4 hours, 6 minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puddlemere United : 170
Montrose Magpies : 220
Congratulations, Montrose Magpies
( Are they allowed to DO that? )

[Montrose]

Puddlemere time. They’re traditionally a powerhouse team, in the last asterisk season they did outrank us, and they have a long history in this league. This has been a...very up and down season for them. Some excellent moments and matches reminiscent of Puddlemere at their height...and some truly appalling ones. But they play clean games and there’s no way of knowing which Puddlemere will show up on the day so prepare for their best and hope we get their worst.

Puddlemere Notes

Chasers: Incredibly hit and miss this season really. Griffiths is their big scorer with Duke as their reliable second. Hawksworth is the support and weak link in the trio. Mostly, it seems, because he’s captaining from the back and letting the other chasers make the goals. Force them to use him by cutting off the passing through him, you’re likely to find he’s better with strategy than accuracy.

Beaters: Very good on the defense. They’re currently the team with the least overall injuries and aren’t bad at packing a punch at all. In fact there’s a couple matches where they’ve been downright brutal. Probably the most stable part of their team, and ones to watch out for.

Seeker: Solid enough on skill, but only about a 50% catch rate. Not on a great streak at the moment but has come through for Puddlemere when they really needed her more than a few times this season. But like Puddlemere as a whole this season...you don’t know which version of her you’ll get.

Keeper: Well...their old keeper was a very respectable one and for that he was obviously snapped up by a foreign team looking for a good keeper from a previously more regarded league. The upgraded reserve is Oliver Wood, I’m sure some of our younger players might know him 'and speak up if you have any input on his style) as the former Gryffindor captain for a few years there. My Aunt speaks highly of him and from what I saw of the few Gryff matches I attended in those years, he was definitely pro material in the making early on.

He might be young and lacking pro experience but don’t go easy on him. It’s his first match as an official starter, and he is going up against the top team. Intimidation is on our side, hammer him hard with shots.

Roster: Reserves got to shine last match. Starters, you’re all up.

They’ve been on a losing streak since the break and will be looking to redeem themselves and cement that playoff spot so watch out for a return to form. Any questions/ideas/comments?

[OOC Edit] And it'd be remiss of me not to mention and congratulate our Bulgarian beater. Happy Birthday, Georgi. Many happy returns, and may this be a great year for you. You'll have an owl coming for you today.

[Florrie]

Any birthday requests? I know I have 2 weeks but..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montrose Magpies (7-0-0 1.000) versus Chudley Cannons (0-7-0 0.000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Play Started:2000-02-11 at Scottish National (The Lamb)
Snitch caught in : 0 hours, 38 minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montrose Magpies : 340
Chudley Cannons : 0
Congratulations, Montrose Magpies
( First shutout since ... Chudley and somebody, I'm sure... )