The 4th Uprising - "To My Narod Slaski"

[SixPointer]

To My Narod Slaski

First of all I want to give my thanks to a certain few people who helped create this save.

@Bigpole

for his fantastic polish league database, without this the save simply couldn't happen. Great work and greatly appreciated.

Michael Itner

@Michael Itner Aka Riddler on steam. I'm sure this is his identity.

for all of his fantastic databases which allowed me to create a vast eastern European database for the save. 

@Rikulec 

for answering my one million questions about Polish, football and running by my countless attempts to find the right manager.

@Cheez3y

for his OFK Beograd save which helped inspire me to do my second eastern Europe that i will write about.

@_Ben_, @Sheriff7, @13th Man, @Hootieleece 

all for inspiring different elements that I will add to improve my writing.

Think that captures everyone who played a part along with a polish guy from my work. if anyone else comes into ill be sure to thank there input.

The database

Safe to say I have all the bases covered this time around. I have all of the nations from eastern Europe that are in close proximity of Poland, but also this time I have added major nations playable as well therefore if I need manager progression I can move to Europe's elite clubs. A few people on the Odd save had asked me about moving club. I tend to be a one club man but now have the option if it presents itself.

The Club - Ruch Chorzow

Ruch Chorzów were founded in 1920, turbulent times in eastern Upper Silesia. 'We're not German; We're not Polish; We're Silesian.'  This is a common refrain from members of the Silesian minority in the industrial region of Upper Silesia in southern Poland this is especially true to the Psycho fans of Ruch Chorzow. "that the newly emerging concept of a Silesian 'nation' receives its most concrete support from the terraces of Ruch Chorzów, where, over the last few years, provocative banners have been displayed, reading slogans such as 'To My Naród Śląski' (It's Us, the Silesian Nation); 'Oberschlesien' (Upper Silesia - in German); and even on one occasion, 'Dziś Kosovo: Jutro Śląsk' (Today Kosovo: Tomorrow Silesia)."

Warsaw might be Poland’s capital and its most successful footballing city in recent decades with Poznan, with their odd title, as its main rival, but historically both are in the shadow of Silesia (Śląsk). This isn’t simply down to the fact that the two main clubs in Silesia, Ruch Chorzów and Górnik Zabrze have won the most championship trophies either. 

The Katowice conglomeration is home to a number of clubs plying their trade in the top tier. But when Silesia was the country’s richest region under communism it regularly had six clubs at a time in the top tier - Ruch, Górnik, GKS Katowice, Polonia Bytom and Szombierki Bytom and Zagłębie Sosnowiec. Now all but Gornik and Piast play their football outside the top tier.

In 1989, the top three teams were Ruch Chorzów, GKS Katowice and Górnik Zabrze. Amazingly, since the collapse of communism in the same year, no team from Upper Silesia has won the league. However, Śląsk is still regarded as the country’s footballing ‘hot-bed’ despite not a single league title having returned here since 1989. This demise is captured all to well by Ruch Chorzow who have 14 polish titles a record equal to main rival Gornik and Legia if you include this years title in real life, who now play in Poland's 4th tier.

A decorated trophy cabinet cast against a downward spiral in league history. This is mainly down to financial mismanagement. The club has, for a while now, suffered from financial problems, but it was the hefty loans taken out by president Dariusz Smagorowicz during their final season in the Ekstraklasa which finally saw the issue finally begin to spiral out of control. Even the forced sale of a number of key players over the last few years has failed to keep the bailiffs at bay. As the rest of the III Lifa started their 2019/20 season this weekend, Ruch were nowhere to be seen. Their opening two games, against Zagłębie II Lubin and Rekord Bielsko-Biała, have been delayed by at least a month, while striking administration staff were joined last month by striking playing staff – some of whom theoretically are now in a position to legally terminate their contracts with the club.

Major task on my hands to rebuild the damage done, but it really gives another edge to the save and increases the difficulty off the task, unlike at Odd where I had become financially the strongest team in Norway very quickly, I think here it’s going to steady growth with a lot of balancing acts.

One of the main things that drew me into Ruch of course was their fall from grace, but also their rivalries. We have the Silesian battles to look forward to. Gornik is a real highlight due to both clubs success as leading titles in Poland, Katowice is the capital of Silesia, so this is another great spectacle to look forward to. There are plenty derbies as well something am extremely passionate about coming from a city that only has two teams in it, I know how great these games matter. But another rivalry is another one to get excited about for a few reasons.

The closest Ruch have come to winning the league since 1989 (the most recent Upper Silesian team to do so) was in the 2011-12 season, when they finished second, a point behind surprise winners Śląsk Wrocław (based in Lower Silesia, the formerly German area which is now predominantly Polish). Third placed Legia Warszawa had led the league for most of the season, including at Easter when they hosted Ruch Chorzów with just a point separating the two teams and six matches left to play.

An unlikely away win for Ruch would have made them huge title contenders and, as we have seen, this would have gone a long way towards restoring regional pride. A 15th league title would have seen Ruch move clear of local rivals Górnik Zabrze to become the most successful team in Polish football outright. Since 1989, both teams have been tied on 14 league titles each.

Adding extra spice to this match was the political dimension, with fans of Legia Warszawa (the army team) widely seen as ultra-loyal Polish nationalists, If Ruch Chorzów are the 'Polish Barcelona' then Legia Warszawa are the 'Polish Real Madrid'

Facilities are below average in every area. The stadium is in ruin but there is more to it than that. The new stadium in Chorzów, promised by mayor Andrzej Kotala back in 2013, still hasn't come to fruition. Using one of the oldest stadia across professional football in Poland, Ruch had a major disadvantage in recent years and some reasons for not starting the new build are puzzling if not dubious. So they have been massively let down on that front and the fans regularly protested.

The academy for its average nature has produced some talents recently

Grabara was sold to Liverpool in 2015 for 250k he has potential to become polish number one.

Bargiel was sold to Milan for 300k but failed to make the grade and has declined but shows there is potential to make money.

Bogusz went to Leeds for 180k and really looks a fine player and a real bargain for them.

The last example of recent times is this young man who was snapped up from the youth team last season.

The Aims

Short term goals are to repair the clubs damaged finances and get it back on a level footing. Of course climbing the tables is an immediate goal as well as beating all my Silesian rivals on the way. rising up the leagues will only help the money situation. Along with growing the academy players, buying bargain or potential players and selling them on for profits. I had thought about going for only Silesian players but it limits the realism so I have no restrictions.

After reaching the top its all about regaining the title of Poland's most successful club, The issue there is legia, Wisla and Gornik have a massive advantage to gather more titles before Ruch even have a chance of adding which adds to the overall goal. The race is on....

European football is always the holy grail, as it stands quarter finals is a best for us, in both Europa and Champions league.  After eliminating West Germany's Wuppertaler SV, East Germany's FC Carl Zeiss Jena, and Hungary's Budapest Honvéd FC, they reached the quarterfinals. There, they fell to Feyenoord, with the Dutch side going on that season to win the trophy.  Ruch's best season ever, which was almost matched next year, when the Chorzów club won their 12th Championship, reaching once again the quarterfinals of a UEFA competition, this time the European Cup, today's Champions League. So I think I have to really push Europe in the long term, no eastern European team has won the UCL since 1991 when Red Star won it.

Finally I would like to deliver the new stadium that was promised to these die hard fans from the industrial heart of Poland its the least I can do. all of this coupled with the desired playing style which ill cover in the next update should keep me going until FM22

Welcome to the 4th Silesian uprising!

Research

As always I invest a lot of time in my team choice ive tried to cover as much without going on to much. I will add my small findings for further reading for anyone who cares to delve more into this fallen polish giants history, political views, glory years and the tragic fall.

Ruch Chorzów SA (Ruch Chorzow FC) history (footballhistory.org)

Silesian Football (inyourpocket.com)

The 100-year Itch: Ruch Chorzów’s battle for survival – Piłka.UK – Polska piłka po angielsku (home.blog)

THE 'POLISH BARCELONA': THIS IS RUCH CHORZÓW — IBWM (inbedwithmaradona.com)

Poland: Total disaster in Chorzów? Not yet, but close – StadiumDB.com

Up Next

Ill be back with my manager choice, something again I put a lot into as @Rikulec now knows only to well 

I don't want to drag this post out so ill cover that and the squad and potential tactics in the next update.

Edited June 7, 2021 by SixPointer

[13th Man]

You’re back with another career! This one sounds quite interesting, both from the challenge of turning the club around and all the rivalries and politics. Even if the politics can’t really show up in game, Ive learned from my Livorno save that it can certainly add depth to the narrative.
I’m looking forward to learning more about Polish football and now I’ve already learned about the Silesia region and it’s unique identity in Poland.

[Sheriff7]

Welcome back.

[deltablue]

Interesting idea.

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, 13th Man said:

You’re back with another career! This one sounds quite interesting, both from the challenge of turning the club around and all the rivalries and politics. Even if the politics can’t really show up in game, Ive learned from my Livorno save that it can certainly add depth to the narrative.
I’m looking forward to learning more about Polish football and now I’ve already learned about the Silesia region and it’s unique identity in Poland.

Thanks! Yeah I love to learn as much as possible about the club. And all the politics and rivalry’s are key to the background of the club. 
On a side note my last Easter European save from last years game was Banik Ostrava another Silesian team! 
 

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

Welcome back.

Thanks as always mate 👍🏻

 

8 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Interesting idea.

Thanks. I like my fallen giants. But this one has me really excited due to the depth I’ve been able to add from the research. I haven’t even got to the stage of showing the manager permutations and how that’s increased rivalry as well and also made the challenge more testing 

[Fudal]

As a Polish-American I will be following this very closely, while most people are aware of the politics of the Silesian region, I didn't realize the striking similarities between Ruch Chorzow, Athletic Bilbao, and Barcelona. I hope you will make something of these links in this save. I'm really looking forward to how this goes!

[Hootieleece]

Interested as always in your work.

I have continued playing the Grenoble save, but moved clubs and brought Nesselquist Ball to Torino in Italy. I just don't have the time to write.

But I will probably start another "Career" after school finishes for the year and I get grading done. 

Until then I will await updates with much impatience!

 

[Rikulec]

Great to see the thread finally up, especially knowing how much thought and research you've put into this. Best of luck mate!

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, Fudal said:

As a Polish-American I will be following this very closely, while most people are aware of the politics of the Silesian region, I didn't realize the striking similarities between Ruch Chorzow, Athletic Bilbao, and Barcelona. I hope you will make something of these links in this save. I'm really looking forward to how this goes!

Glad to hear that! I will try my best to do so! There policy isn’t as strict as bilabo as am not limited to only Silesian players but there is of-course a heavy bias towards them which I’ll do my best to recreate. 

[SixPointer]

12 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Great to see the thread finally up, especially knowing how much thought and research you've put into this. Best of luck mate!

Thanks very much! Well after all my questions and queries you have known it’s been in the waiting for a while. There is only one surprise coning for you. 

[13th Man]

14 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Thanks! Yeah I love to learn as much as possible about the club. And all the politics and rivalry’s are key to the background of the club. 
On a side note my last Easter European save from last years game was Banik Ostrava another Silesian team! 

Definitely deepens the immersion when you get into the history etc.  And yeah, I'm only a recent regular on the site (I think I started lurking on the tactics board right around your Atalanta tactics thread mid COVID, not sure) so Odd was the first career of yours that I followed...and I was even late to that.

14 hours ago, Fudal said:

As a Polish-American I will be following this very closely, while most people are aware of the politics of the Silesian region, I didn't realize the striking similarities between Ruch Chorzow, Athletic Bilbao, and Barcelona. I hope you will make something of these links in this save. I'm really looking forward to how this goes!

Well, I guess I'm not most people!  I'm generally knowledgeable about history, but I'm realizing that Eastern Europe is my blank spot when it comes to both history and geography...Now I get to learn more even than I expected from this thread.  (In case this comes off as passive aggressive - because internets - it's really not!)

[Fudal]

1 minute ago, 13th Man said:

Well, I guess I'm not most people!  I'm generally knowledgeable about history, but I'm realizing that Eastern Europe is my blank spot when it comes to both history and geography...Now I get to learn more even than I expected from this thread.  (In case this comes off as passive aggressive - because internets - it's really not!)

I meant that most people of Polish descent know about Silesian politics, but don't worry you didn't come off as passive aggressive! 

[SixPointer]

55 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

Definitely deepens the immersion when you get into the history etc.  And yeah, I'm only a recent regular on the site (I think I started lurking on the tactics board right around your Atalanta tactics thread mid COVID, not sure) so Odd was the first career of yours that I followed...and I was even late to that.

Well, I guess I'm not most people!  I'm generally knowledgeable about history, but I'm realizing that Eastern Europe is my blank spot when it comes to both history and geography...Now I get to learn more even than I expected from this thread.  (In case this comes off as passive aggressive - because internets - it's really not!)

Well this style off football coming up will be a little different to Odd

[karanhsingh]

Interesting concept, best of luck with this!

[nie jem frytek]

On 07/06/2021 at 02:45, SixPointer said:

The closest Ruch have come to winning the league since 1989 (the most recent Upper Silesian team to do so)

That's not true https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_Ekstraklasa#Championship_round

[SixPointer]

46 minutes ago, nie jem frytek said:

That's not true https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_Ekstraklasa#Championship_round

Yeah the date of the article I used caught me out there!! Pardon me and I apologise to all PIAST FANS. I didn’t mean any detriment to there achievement!  I did find research of Silesian football pretty scarce considering how successful it is. but I do apologise for this 🙃

 

 

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Interesting concept, best of luck with this!

thanks very much  

[john1]

Good luck  Will keep a close eye on this  

[SixPointer]

12 hours ago, john1 said:

Good luck  Will keep a close eye on this  

Thanks my man should hopefully have a update out tomorrow with a manager choice 

[Bigpole]

I love when people from europe put an effort to do a polish save (like secondyellowcard did with building a nation with polonia warszawa) so huge respect with doing all the research.

The club you've chosen it's perfect for fallen giant type of save, top 3 in all-time polish table, club with really good reputation and decent facilities and fantastic potential (competitive region and clubs nearby).

They had 3 consecutive relegations from top tier to 4th tier so it's quite remarkable really.

And in Chorzow there is former national stadium - Stadion Śląski, former home of polish national football. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_Stadium

 

And I'd add two more former players to the mix 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michał_Helik current Barnsley starter, current international (atm rotation rather than first team but with decent potential)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Warzycha - known poland due to him being Ekstraklasa top scorer in 88/89  in Ruch's shirt, but he's a Panathinaikos legend, their top scorer and probably one of the best foreigners to play there. Unfortunately, he wasn't really that good in national team which is a shame really.

His most iconic goal

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, Bigpole said:

I love when people from europe put an effort to do a polish save (like secondyellowcard did with building a nation with polonia warszawa) so huge respect with doing all the research.

The club you've chosen it's perfect for fallen giant type of save, top 3 in all-time polish table, club with really good reputation and decent facilities and fantastic potential (competitive region and clubs nearby).

They had 3 consecutive relegations from top tier to 4th tier so it's quite remarkable really.

And in Chorzow there is former national stadium - Stadion Śląski, former home of polish national football. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_Stadium

 

And I'd add two more former players to the mix 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michał_Helik current Barnsley starter, current international (atm rotation rather than first team but with decent potential)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Warzycha - known poland due to him being Ekstraklasa top scorer in 88/89  in Ruch's shirt, but he's a Panathinaikos legend, their top scorer and probably one of the best foreigners to play there. Unfortunately, he wasn't really that good in national team which is a shame really.

His most iconic goal

I always invest a lot of time in my club choice and research. I had fancied ruch on FM20 but opted for Banik Ostrava due to a trip I took to the Czech Republic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Warzycha I’m sure I read somewhere that the fans turned against him as he wanted money due to him during a crisis time with moneys. I heard the  psycho fans weren’t best pleased. 

Edited June 9, 2021 by SixPointer

[haier_fm]

Can't wait to be reading through this journey! Any initial ideas how you are going to set up your team tactically?

[SixPointer]

38 minutes ago, haier_fm said:

Can't wait to be reading through this journey! Any initial ideas how you are going to set up your team tactically?

all will be revealed shortly 

[SixPointer]

The 4th Uprising - To My Narod Slaski

Manager News

I really put a lot of effort it’s this part of my start up. I strive for as much realism as possible throughout the game. Therefore, I always play as a real-life manager rather than create a fictional character. I take some time trying to find someone that matches the ideals and plans for the save ahead, then edit that real person out of the game and match them as best of my ability when making my manager. I also use the editor to create real life scenarios to move the current manager out of the way if he has been successful the season before. Special thanks to @Rikulec who helped vastly here but in the end he is in for a surprise also...

Skra Czestochowa have relieved the manager of his duties.......

Lukasz Bereta finished 3rd last season with Ruch Chorzow, narrowly missing promotion some feat from a 29 year old in his first season at the helm. This however has done enough to secure a move up a division and a small move north. His assistant who has been with him throughout his short manager career has joined him. Ruch were compensated 20K which is what they would get after my research off trying to hire him.

As you can see its not a long journey. Keeping himself within the Silesian Voivodeship. Not a direct rival to Ruch, however the bigger club of Czestochowa, Rakow are a rival so. The reason I made this club choice for him to go to was geographical and also performance based as Skra had a poor second season after promotion into the second division so it was time for a freshen up.

Now who is the man to fill the void......

The search actually took a ridiculous amount of time so much so that I considered playing as the current manager. A few key things I was looking for :

• Silesian born or at least had ties to the club in the past, or even another Silesian club
• A good age to be taking on this kind of task anything over 40 was out. I tied in with the clubs pervious young appointment
• A good attribute spread to suit the football I wanted to play but still with work to be done
• Someone who already had manager experience
• Not from higher up in the leagues due to being unrealistic

Doesn't seem a lot to ask for, well you would be surprised at the shortage of candidates. Some ex players looked good ideas before digging deeper. Then I settled for a manager who was mentioned as favourite for the job but he had very little Silesian ties which made me abandon the save. The main reason being when looking at a striker at a club in the division I checked the manager and found someone who ticked everything.

Career Stats

Manager Info

This guy ticks nearly every box, think the only thing missing was he never played for Ruch Chorzow. Nice attribute spread along with the correct level of coaching badges. He played almost his whole career at one club and almost the whole time in upper Silesia. A former lower league striker who turned caretaker manager the under 18 then first team its already a nice progression.

Born in nearby Knurow he is no stranger to goings on in the region and the significance of football here. A small 18 minute drive would have him at the home of Ruch Chorzow. Also in the picture is Rybnik which is where he has spent most of his footballing life. A town well know for its coal mining exploits and energy sources is shares many of the same kind of people as Chorzow.

Almost like for like, A few tweaks had to be done to make it work, on the coaching side the goalkeeping is superior. On the mental side both knowledge brackets are probably higher than what I would imagine his to be. But you have to use up the points so best I can do.

Playing Style

I had a few ideas here but seeing as Odd was more a counter attacking type of style I thought well its time to test myself in other ways. So am looking to play possession football, I don't want to nail it down to tiki taka am more going down the root towards total football.  A few reasons I want to try implicate positional play there for creating overloads, rotations of positions etc. I don't want to replicate Pep but of course he is the master of it as much as I admire his style when I play I tend do go more Kloppish. Coupled with all this I plan on being more detailed with my training, and player development I usually keep this to myself and instead keep to a story now I plan on showing more of how I play the game much like I do with my tactics. Training wise am going to try follow tactical periodisation coupled with my usual individual regimes along with this am going to try and create a club DNA much like I did at Heerenveen.

• First touch
• Passing
• Technique
• Anticipation
• Composure 
• Decisions
• Off The Ball
• Teamwork
• Vison
• Balance

These will be the key attributes I desire for every player, now of course in the polish 4th tier their will have to be some room for manoeuvre. The level wont be blessed with complete players, but I feel it adds to the challenge and the story as the leagues are climbed the style improves and leads us to becoming the best technically gifted football side in Poland which @Rikulec stated isn't well know for teams playing this certain way bar a small showing from Lech Poznan. I don't have any systems as off yet but I have a few ideas noted down.

What is Positional Play? - YouTube

What is Positional Play? – Breaking The Lines

Positional Play & The Third Man Concept (developingthefuture.club)

» Understanding the Tactical Periodization Methodology (spielverlagerung.com)

What is Tactical Periodisation? - YouTube

These resources will be quoted and screenshotted throughout the save when it comes to specific aspects of the save.

[Rikulec]

I have to admit I've never heard of this guy.

[Hootieleece]

Great Stuff!

Nesselquist ball is alive and well in Italy....

Slovakia is my next updates destination for which I should start posting sometime this week.

Training is important. Are you going the "Luzern" route?

[_Ben_]

I’ve been away from FM for a week or so and have missed this but…wow. A wonderful opening. Personally, with not a huge amount of time left on the ‘FM cycle,’ I couldn’t get as involved as you have here! Will be following with interest. 

[Sonic Youth]

I played in Poland on an earlier FM a while ago now, and one of the things I built up was getting Poland to have 3 Champions League spots. I left Poland when all my star players wouldn’t resign, leaving me short of getting the 4th spot. Was trying to overtake either France or Portugal in 5th (can’t remember who now).

[SixPointer]

7 hours ago, Rikulec said:

I have to admit I've never heard of this guy.

I did say it’s was a surprise 

[SixPointer]

6 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Stuff!

Nesselquist ball is alive and well in Italy....

Slovakia is my next updates destination for which I should start posting sometime this week.

Training is important. Are you going the "Luzern" route?

The plan is to play low tempo anti nesselball. 
 

Luzern definitely gave inspiration to the training idea. Also the slight tweak in the writing style. 

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I’ve been away from FM for a week or so and have missed this but…wow. A wonderful opening. Personally, with not a huge amount of time left on the ‘FM cycle,’ I couldn’t get as involved as you have here! Will be following with interest. 

Well Odd had went bored on me. The plan is to update less frequently but with more key information so I can keep up game speed. 

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I played in Poland on an earlier FM a while ago now, and one of the things I built up was getting Poland to have 3 Champions League spots. I left Poland when all my star players wouldn’t resign, leaving me short of getting the 4th spot. Was trying to overtake either France or Portugal in 5th (can’t remember who now).

It’s somewhere I’ve long looked into so am no ready to give it a good go. Sounds like you had done well with it! 

[haier_fm]

I really like how you have set up your save. Good luck on this, will be supporting all the way from Leipzig!! 

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, haier_fm said:

I really like how you have set up your save. Good luck on this, will be supporting all the way from Leipzig!! 

Thanks man. It’s been a good start! Just needing some time to write up the first instalment 

[Carambau]

...Just catching up! Very interesting choice

[SixPointer]

11 minutes ago, Carambau said:

...Just catching up! Very interesting choice

Thanks my man. Had my eye on them for a while now just needed to time it right! 

[SixPointer]

The 4th Uprising - To My Narod Slaski

First Tactical Setup

Extremely basic setup, no flashy overloads or intriguing game plans at this time. Just a balanced system that looks to keep possession well. The only probably unique thing at the minute is the wing combinations, one side being a classic inverted wide man backed with a supporting full back and the other a more modern-day inverted wing back and winger. 

There are a few reasons why I haven’t gone all guns blazing into a full system with everything I want to achieve. First off all am not sure exactly how to fully create everything I want to see from my full tactical plan, so I will use this as a base tactic to try certain things out to see if it gives me what I want to see and how it combines with other areas.

My players aren’t ready yet to go full tilt into my vast tactical plan I need to slowly change and bring the changes in and allow them time to learn it. I need to win the league in my eyes to be successful so I have to do this while being competitive therefore, I can’t just come in and thrust a brand of positional football with a hint of total football thrown into a team that will take some time to adjust as I could end up with a poor start until they gain total familiarity.

Also its clear that players at this level wont have all the key attributes to pull of such football instantly, but like previously its key to compare to the sides around you in the league, all my  players could have 8 for passing but I need to use that in context within the level am playing as 8 overall could be better than most sides in the league.

I will start pre-season with this system and slowly add and adjust to eventually build my full tactical philosophy, after all we are compared to the great Catalan club in political style, so I thought why not implicate some of their football philosophy and use some principles form their most famous managerial son. Polish Pep anyone? not a recreation but certainly from the same school of thought one of his disciples if you will.

Squad Analysis

Goalkeepers are a real strong point in the squad, however strangely our best keeper has been sent       out on loan for the season. I am assuming it was a financial decision before I arrived at the club. Justas well there is two young keepers capable of battling it out for number one slot along with a loan keeper from Cracovia provides cover although am not keen to use him as I gain no chance of ever getting him permanent due to finances.

Tomasz Nowak looks set to start the season of as number one. he is certainly better of the two overall but he also matches the idea of playing from back and is far superior in this department. He can really use this season to make some great strides in development and hold onto the jersey full time when Lech returns.

Bit of a mixed bag in defence in terms of depth, Plenty solid players in first choice but beyond that some strengthening is required. On the whole I am happy with what I have inherited. A lack of great technical players on the ball but was to be expected at this level and will be something I need to build which is all part of the challenge here.

Another strange loan deal as young Starzynski would be ready to challenge Kowalski for the left back slot his deal leaves us short at left back so this area is a priority. Kowalski is aging but still has quality and does provide an element of being good on the ball, if he was a CB I would be happy with his ball playing stats.

Right back is full of depth and quality with Bedzieszak a great option as full back solid defender who does the basics well and can provide a decent cross, with Lechowicz backing him up who provides stern competition and is much of a muchness in style of player.

Kasolik is probably the one exception to the rule in terms of being the one centre back capable on the ball and could be the man I look to for being the first line of build up play, Kawula matches him well as a partner as he is physical out school defender would be a stretch to call it vidic and Ferdinand but the same sort of balance between them. Beyond these two is a problem as Slota has a lot to learn and Kulejewski is physically very poor although he has everything else required. At least one centre back is required.

Centre of the park is a carefree zone at the minute for Roland Buchala a vast array of talented players. If anything could look to shaving a few players here to free up space for the weaker areas. There is a great blend of player here as well, which will help as I look to build the tactical idea their will be certain aspects' that change game to game in make up of the midfield so its key to have all these options.

Mokrzycki and Wyroba gives the midfield two great balance to start off with. both technically adept both intelligent to suit the style required in heart of the team. Physically both have enough to dominate in the engine room.

Mokrzycki is the more defensive type that will break up play, but is also comfortable on the ball and more than capable in my possession based style. Not your standard juggernaut ball winner more of an all round centre midfielder.

whereas Wyroba has the ability to be a creative force from the number 6 & 8 he also could be trained to be a libero if that becomes an element of the system and he could well become a ten. He is definitely one of the best players at the club and someone I will look to build the team around.

beyond these two Jakub Nowak offers a real technical spark from the number 8 & 10 a real gem of a player possibly the brightest talent of all the squad, only issue is he has just came back from a serious long term injury so it may take time to get him back up to speed. His pace is a real asset on top his supreme abilities. Not as rounded as the other two but gives that element of flashness to the midfield.  

These 3 players already give me 3 fantastic options across midfield which can allow me to build various types of midfield 3's each one compliment each other perfectly.

This young man also joins in with the 3 to make am an extremely strong midfield, of a similar mould of Nowak. He will definitely be given game time and a chance to prove himself! 

All in all these 4 are going to provide strong midfield and still with more depth behind it. Possibly need to add one or two more defensive minded players just to give it the perfect balance. Of course keeping a hold of these players will become a problem as you can already see there quality is all to see at this level and the club isn't in a position to not sell.

A section of a team I have not had to pay much attention to for a long time due to the fact my last few tactical set ups have been based around using wing backs as the main width of my sides, so this should prove interesting. The wide men is another area of strength, the only issue being that its an aging area of the squad.

By far the best two players at the club, a couple of older heads from Bytom in Silesia who both kicked off the professional careers at the club. So, they don’t only bring their obvious talents and experience to the younger stars in the team they can also educate them on the local footballing passion and what it means to play for such a historic club with a proud heritage in Silesia.

Jano is the ideal wide man I need for my tactical ideal, highly creative and ticks all the boxes when it comes to the clubs DNA. I love the fact he cuts in from both wings as well so I could use him a bit like Pep used Sane a winger but who likes to cut in at the last minute and hit shots. His versatility is going to be key.

Fozzy is actually more suited as a number 10 but again his versatility is key and as club captain, I will look to him to drive the team forward from the centre of the pitch. Possible shadow striker/Treq seems to be tickling my fancy here for him. Some experimenting is definitely required.

Well to offset our two aging stars young Tomasz Mamis joins the list of ever impressive youngsters at the club probably the brightest star as he has everything required in his role and then some more. Yet again his versatility will be key, at this point I could easily use all three of these and rotate them throughout the game. also, all three could be deployed has false 9's if that’s a road I go down it also allows me to give some thought to being strikerless. 

outside these 3 there is cover in the shape of Paszek and Kwaseisneki, but both are major downgrades to these 3 so I may move both on and look to bring one player of more quality in to give me 4 good options.

This leads us onto the focal point, Clearly a weak spot in terms of numbers. Swikszcz provides cover but not great at that and needs a loan deal to get some first team football in his legs. The wide men can take some of the burden but I think that would lead to only having one striker who likes to penetrate the back line directedly which funnels play and restricts options were he to get injured.

Idzik looks like the man to lead the line, billed as a poacher but clearly has more to offer than that. Surprisingly, he actually has a good makeup of the things required for the club DNA I am trying to build. Can be deployed as the man to break in behind but also, he is more than capable of being a striker that drops and links play as well as being hardworking and aggressive to lead the press without the ball. The main issue was he was a wanted man and contract was running out so....

 I broke the bank a little to keep him at the cub. I found it essential so had to make my move. In the back of my mind at least he doesn't leave for free and means it could well prove to be a better long term investment.

Transfer Business

Profitable start although I cant take credit for all that work. Paszek, Biskup and Kwasniewski all moved on for a combined total 7.2k by no means a fortune but enough to make room for a couple players to be added.

Bargain find in a key area! missing only one of the key DNA markers as he lacks anticipation but isn't a far off having a decent standard off it. He now gives us another option at left back and with his skillset is more than capable of being first choice and also very comfortable on the ball which will suit the times that I do invert his side.

Another bargain from league rivals, Versatility in the forward players is already high at the club and this young man is no different. Capable of playing wide and in the number 10, but mainly he gives us a more technical approach at the number 9 slot. Has most of the key ingredients to match our DNA. Starved of interest from clubs higher up the food chain so hopefully its a sign a profit can be made as well.

Roland Buchala returns to his old club to bring his protégé to Ruch Chorzow. A player he has groomed since his time as under 19's manager. Being a striker himself he has put a lot of work into him already however Ruch couldn't afford the fee so he has to make do with brining his star youngster on loan. Another technical striker option looks to be an ideal fit for the style of play already just at 17. mentally he is miles ahead for his age.

A basic loan deal here to give a left footed option at centre back. Free of charge so risk free. Does the basics well. There is a few players out there i was chasing on free contracts but couldn't afford at the time of his arrival so for now he will be a cover option. 

Different story on this loan deal, Kowalski ticks all the boxes and will most likely be a starter depending on how the current partnership pans out at the start of the season. Again there is players shortlisted that were my more permanent solution to the lack of quality at centre back but for the team being its no viable to bring them to the club at his time of arrival.

Left back and striker was definitely an area needing addressed, and with centre back being bolstered temporary am happy to go with this. There is a few players identified for long term approaches when cash comes available their is also a few free agents who I hope will lower wage demands as they go longer without a club. so business isn't closed but for now am happy.

On the whole am delighted with the squad, a good blend of talented youngsters with a good few seasoned pros. The vast majority of players are suited to the style as well, defensive could do with some technical upgrades but on the whole most will be able to buy into the style of play and philosophy.

Player Development & Training Model

This is going to be a very key area of the save, Something I never covered a lot of in pervious saves, mainly because my training knowledge is considerably basic compared to my tactical. I have however done a lot of studying while being on 12hr nightshifts (filling boats with pipes for offshore pipelines is boring) so I am no prepared to give training a real go. My previous style was the Ass man running training and I would tweak it when I see problems in games then I would run individual training am not saying I never got results like this. But I think it’s time for me now to up my game. Mainly due to the fact player development is going to be a key source of first team players due to financial restraints it will also be the best way to get out of financial trouble.

My plan is to use training to further create the philosophy and install my principles at the club, all be taking on a version of tactical periodization to implement this. I don't want to get to bogged down with depth at the minute here, a few reasons am still learning myself how I will implement this, another reason is similar to the tactical aspect I need to introduce it slowly to the players, so they can adjust and benefit from it rather than become injured. But above is an example of a tactical periodization week, of course there is various styles I can use but ive made a basic cycle which for the time being.

So here is my first run at a general tactical periodization week. I have built it so it covers most of the key principles but I will in the future breakdown my principles into the groups of Main, Sub and Sub sub principles but ill have a go here without listing them all. I wanted to get the post out and as I'm still studying the concept ill do a further training post in the future once I start adding more variety to schedules for more specific cycles here I just wanted to cover it all so the players find there feet and boost tactical familiarity. 

Monday

Whole team covering possession in the morning working on the ball, getting the legs moving again and training the main principle as we will look to dominate the ball as a main focus. In the afternoon its sub sub principle work and should be filled with rondos and small sided games of one and two touch with the team split into smaller units with increased specificity.

Tuesday

Defensive day, in the morning its a tactical briefing and preparing the defensive style for the next match players working on shape and roles. Then afternoon the whole team works on a general defensive session to aid with the organisation. A extra session is added as intensity increases towards a full acquisition day. Defending from the front is sub principle as it splits the team into smaller units but still trains as a whole but it trains a more specific area this time being the forwards.

Wednesday

Attacking day, mirror of the defensive day with a preparation in the morning then a general attacking session to train the full attacking organisation, the extra session this time is again sub principle as the team is split into smaller units but trains as whole playing out from the back, but there is more emphasis on the defence making it there specific session.

Thursday

Transition Thursday! team works all morning and afternoon transitioning from defence to attack and from attack to defence, working on pressing high and restricting space. This is classes as sub principle due to the fact the teams are split into positional units but train as a team as both work on transitioning. The extra session is attacking patient which again is Sub principle as they spilt into units to attack and defend against each other. This is the most intensity all week as we reach 45%

Friday

The day I struggled with most in the end I just went for a tactical morning to do the final preparations for a the game the next day, which makes sense at this point. But I may shift this to midweek in the future. Set the tone for the week by outlining the game plan then training the plan through the acquisition days.

Saturday

Game day!

Sunday

recovery and reflection day, players come in to aid with the fatigue and then we look back over the previous game to see what worked and what needs work suppose this is a element of match tactics to help set the tone of the week ahead.

This is my first go and since ive already worked out some more stuff so it will definitely be an area I look to improve as I continue my studies on the philosophy. But here I feel ive covered all the basics in what attributes we need to train, along with styles of play that are key and tactical concepts that players need to learn. The player development should get hit just with this but when more specific schedule cycles come into play as the team grows familiar this will only help increase this coupled with the individual training and mentoring and player traits that will be covered in greater detail later on.

Backroom Team

Along with this I think more than ever I need to align my coaching staff with my beliefs, naturally due to our complex style of play and how key am making the training ground and player development with this is set about employing a new backroom team there wasn't much at the club so there was room for me to stamp my mark. of course staff can also make you a nice profit.

This opened up a little room in the budget.

Good few incomings

As state I tried to align my staff with the philosophy, of course not easy at this level but I feel I ticked at least one box on each of the additions, That may be the formation, playing or tactical style or the mentality most have at least two that match the idea at the club. This is something I hope to improve throughout the save and will be monitored closely and updated regularly.

Season Preview

The bookmakers reckon we will be in the mix for promotion, Can we go one better than last year I would say so. The key players highlights our two old heads as being the best wide men in the league. Lech our keeper is the best between the sticks but he is on loan. Banach the centre back is someone Roland Buchala is a keen admirer of but cant tempt him away from his new club.

What a pre-season! The early signs suggest good things from Buchala. Huge Silesian victories against arch-rivals Gornik Zabrze and the last polish champions form Silesia in Piast. Throw in a win against LKS Lodz and a couple good local draws against GKS Tychy and GKS Jastrzebie and its gives us some fantastic preparation for the season ahead.

First blood to Ruch albeit in a friendly.

Against Piast there was already a few small tactical shifts..... not as much as what happened in the league games but you will need to wait for that till next Sunday as I will write up the first half of the season on my next day off. Its been a blast already ten games in that's all I will say.

Thanks for reading as always input is very grateful.

SixPointer

Edited June 21, 2021 by SixPointer

[haier_fm]

I love how you use the Inside forward and the shadow striker to get into space created by the DLF. I presume you want to start off attacks and build up on the left side (due to the IWB-Mezzala-Winger combo) before unleashing the right side, right?

I wonder if you have your DLF move into the left half-space, could add another body into the overload.

Speaking of which, did you set any player instructions? Really interested in how you have set up your team so far...

Looking forward to next Sunday!

[13th Man]

What??? Even you are abandoning 3atb for the 4-2-3-1???  Must I go on alone???

In all seriousness, it’ll be interesting to see your style in a different system. Also, while I have tended to spend a fair amount of time on training, you’ve inspired me to actually come up with a plan. In real life I have a lot of strong opinions but never applied them to FM. Not that I need to get into more detail in this game, but…

[SixPointer]

15 minutes ago, haier_fm said:

I love how you use the Inside forward and the shadow striker to get into space created by the DLF. I presume you want to start off attacks and build up on the left side (due to the IWB-Mezzala-Winger combo) before unleashing the right side, right?

I wonder if you have your DLF move into the left half-space, could add another body into the overload.

Speaking of which, did you set any player instructions? Really interested in how you have set up your team so far...

Looking forward to next Sunday!

In all honestly it’s a very basic set up. Nowhere near as complex as you think. It was more about just getting the players ready to play possession. The left side is designed to overload but in all truth it was a trial  to see how well they combine. The complexity of the systems will start to grow as the game advances already in the league am mixing between two formations. And a range of roles. This system used in pre season is already altered vastly 

[SixPointer]

2 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

What??? Even you are abandoning 3atb for the 4-2-3-1???  Must I go on alone???

In all seriousness, it’ll be interesting to see your style in a different system. Also, while I have tended to spend a fair amount of time on training, you’ve inspired me to actually come up with a plan. In real life I have a lot of strong opinions but never applied them to FM. Not that I need to get into more detail in this game, but…

It was time my friend. 3 saves on my beloved 3 at the back. But that’s not to say there won’t be a 3 at the back when in possession. My tactical ideas this time will be heavily influenced by in possession shape and out of Possession due to the fact I try to install some positional play. I had thought about a 343 similar to TUCHEL which would give me possession football but in the end of think ODD covered 3 at the back. 

[13th Man]

12 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

It was time my friend. 3 saves on my beloved 3 at the back. But that’s not to say there won’t be a 3 at the back when in possession. My tactical ideas this time will be heavily influenced by in possession shape and out of Possession due to the fact I try to install some positional play. I had thought about a 343 similar to TUCHEL which would give me possession football but in the end of think ODD covered 3 at the back. 

No worries of course! I moved to 3atb as an experiment after flirting with it a bit but never committing. Variety is the spice of life and all that…More interested in seeing how the DNA project goes.
And anyway, I’ve got a nice 3atb system  going now so I don’t need your help anymore anyway! (He said like a petulant child before turning and stomping  away to hide the tears just now starting to roll down his cheeks…)

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, 13th Man said:

No worries of course! I moved to 3atb as an experiment after flirting with it a bit but never committing. Variety is the spice of life and all that…More interested in seeing how the DNA project goes.
And anyway, I’ve got a nice 3atb system  going now so I don’t need your help anymore anyway! (He said like a petulant child before turning and stomping  away to hide the tears just now starting to roll down his cheeks…)

It’s something I done a while back with heerenveen but I was a little naive back then but I would say that was the save that got me on my way tactically. 
 

you have to take credit for your own system I merely wrote the Atalanta thread. You’ve made a whole system and applied it with sucesss. I can’t take any credit for that dude. 

[Hootieleece]

The 4-2-3-1 wide can have problems but if you have better players it can help hide them.....from experience, but if the right players are in the right roles it can win a lot with "good" players. See my Clermont save from last year. A 3 star MC DLP led Ligue 1 in assists and key passes and scored a few goals two over multiple  seasons and couldn't become an International for France. (Damn Pogba) but when you play true wonderkids/world-class players you see why they are.

I guess I am going to be the next guy in the tactics lab....adapting Vertical Tiki-Taka to some exotic formations with a little team that might...

 

I am also going to play a friendly against Ruch this upcoming Preseason.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Hootieleece

[13th Man]

5 hours ago, SixPointer said:

It’s something I done a while back with heerenveen but I was a little naive back then but I would say that was the save that got me on my way tactically. 
 

you have to take credit for your own system I merely wrote the Atalanta thread. You’ve made a whole system and applied it with sucesss. I can’t take any credit for that dude. 

You know what? I will take credit! But the Atalanta thread was definitely the starting point even if Opera Football is definitely different.

Looking forward to your take on training/development in this save though! 4-2-3-1 gives you a lot of options…though I guess any formation does and it’s only one element of a tactic.

[karanhsingh]

Good start, even if the tactics are much too sane / normal for what I was anticipating 

[Rikulec]

To be honest there's no way Ruch would be playing a friendly against Górnik. I'm curious to see how tactical periodisation is going to work for you, adapting it for FM is an idea I've had in the back of my mind for quite some time now as well.

[SixPointer]

11 hours ago, 13th Man said:

You know what? I will take credit! But the Atalanta thread was definitely the starting point even if Opera Football is definitely different.

Looking forward to your take on training/development in this save though! 4-2-3-1 gives you a lot of options…though I guess any formation does and it’s only one element of a tactic.

Who said it’s gonna stay 4-2-3-1 😉 base starter my friend! 

am glad you drew inspiration from the Atalanta thread that was the idea! But opera football is your brand 👏🏻

[SixPointer]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Good start, even if the tactics are much too sane / normal for what I was anticipating 

The fun is just about to begin my friend. The first ten games has already thrown up a shift!

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, Rikulec said:

To be honest there's no way Ruch would be playing a friendly against Górnik. I'm curious to see how tactical periodisation is going to work for you, adapting it for FM is an idea I've had in the back of my mind for quite some time now as well.

I gathered that but it was purely for the money 🤣 

General Training is a area a rarely get into mainly because I get overwhelmed and and end up with injuries. Normally it’s the ASSMAN with small tweaks. So with the tactical periodisation its gives me structure to build off and gives me something to research. Similarly to when years ago I started using real life tactics to translate into fm so that I knew what I was wanting to see. That change my tactical outlook and brought me on massively so the thinking is hopefully this will do the same in terms of training.  

[Rikulec]

8 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

I gathered that but it was purely for the money 🤣 

General Training is a area a rarely get into mainly because I get overwhelmed and and end up with injuries. Normally it’s the ASSMAN with small tweaks. So with the tactical periodisation its gives me structure to build off and gives me something to research. Similarly to when years ago I started using real life tactics to translate into fm so that I knew what I was wanting to see. That change my tactical outlook and brought me on massively so the thinking is hopefully this will do the same in terms of training.  

I've been a coach for four years now and I only got the idea to become one because of FM and how it sparked my interest in football tactics, so I can tell you it's quite a good way to get you into it and for you to start learning.