Looks like Wicks has joined Joe Funicello at Thormerica: Knattspyrnudeild Þórs hefur samið við 29 ára gamlan bandarískan markvörð Josh Wicks að nafni. http://www.thorsport.is/thorsport/D10Master.aspx?D10cID=ReadNews2&ID=7418
The Icelandic 1. Delid season ended last weekend and Thór won the league as well as promotion to the top flight. Wicks started 8 league games and 1 Europa League game.
Good news is he's starting regularly in the top flight, bad news is he's giving up over 2 goals per game: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/josh-wicks/leistungsdaten/spieler_69803.html
He spent their last 3 games on the bench: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/josh-wicks/leistungsdaten/spieler_69803.html
According to a preseason game matchreport on their official website Wicks seems to be trialing with swedish third tier club AFC United. He apparantly had little to do in the game but showed alot of quality in the sequences where he was involved. The game was against the american PSC Academy which has been written about in other threads on here. A funny sidenote is that the match report refers to the team as "PSC Team Brochure". I guess whoever was writing the report was given some kind of leaflet with that as a headline and assumed it was the full name?
Wicks sign with AFC United. Although the obviously very error-prone AFC website calls him "Wilks" in their announcement.
Success for Wicks and his AFC United as the club is promoted to second tier Superettan next season. The club is actually run in a very unusual way by a controversial russian bus-company owner and millionaire who fled from his homeland, changed his name and refuses to give his previous name since people might still be after him!
I have had the chance to watch Wicks play a couple of times now at the start of this years Superettan. So far I would say that he has started out very well, he made a decent amount of high quality saves and couldn't do much on the goals conceded when I watched. The team is doing good overall too, with two wins and two losses so far in their first Superettan season in the clubs current shape. Granted, newly promoted teams tend to overperform early on in the year but the team is filled with alot of experienced player from this level so I think there's a decent chance of them staying up from what I've seen so far.
First red card of the season for Wicks this weekend! I'd love to know the details around this one. AFC United were up 2-1 over Assyriska. An AFC United player was sent off for a second yellow in the 79th minute. Another AFC United player received a straight red in the 88th. Wicks then got a yellow at 90+1' and another in 90+2' (presumably for arguing?). Playing 8 v. 11 and without a real GK (they had used all their subs), they somehow scored a third goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time and won 3-1.
Here you go: I guess the lesson to be learned here is to never sarcastically clap your hands at a referee
They were FC Cafe Opera for most of their history. Which had to rival Go Ahead Eagles for best name in European football. (Then they merged with Väsby IK to become Väsby United, and then with Athletic FC to become Athletic FC United.)
Staying with AFC United in 2016 http://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/josh-wicks-fortsatter-i-afc-547724.aspx
I watched most of the game between AFC United and Ängelholm yesterday. It was a potential matchup between three yanks abroad, however Tristan Bowen remained on the bench where he has spent most of his time so far this season (around 90 minutes played 6 games into the league). Ryan Finley and Josh Wicks both started for their teams and one would have hoped that this would have meant alot of situations where both the forward and his opponent goalkeeper was involved. However, this was not to be as Finley was almost completely invisible in this game. Granted that this might have been his toughest opponent so far but it was the worst game I've seen from him. All is not negative though as he still has an scoring rate of 0.49 goals per 90 games played in the league so he has been doing well overall so far. Wicks didn't have that much to do, maybe he could have pulled off a great save on one of the goals he conceded but I think overall he has a pretty solid reputation as one of the most reliable keepers in Superettan, the commentator of the game even said this. AFC United is looking really good in general as a team and seem very likely to get promoted at the end of the year which I guess would be a nice return for Wicks to the bigger stages after alot of years out in the wilderness.
The biggest paper in Sweden did a top 5 ranking of Superettan keepers a few days ago. They point out that there are no real standouts in the league this year in the position, but that instead there's a larger bunch of capable professionals. And out of those Wicks was ranked in second place and here's a direct translation of what they wrote about him: "Another keeper with alot of games under his belt and who's also very visible and - even more - audible during the matches. Controls his defence with an iron fist, dominates the penalty area and can come up with game winning saves. Also has great power in his right foot. I'm willing to overlook the recklessness that sometimes sneaks into his game."