Walking in a Katowice Wonderland?

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - 2023 Youth Intake

There's a potential gem in the youth intake, as 23a Alessio D'Agostino already looks pretty decent. Given how few goals we're scoring (just wait until the March update) it's tempting to throw him straight in. 

That being said, he was upstaged in the youth candidates v under 21 game. He managed a couple of assists, but 23c Cedric Gashi was the star of the show with all five goals in a 5-3 win.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Edited August 26, 2022 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - February + March 2023

Just awful. Six games in a row without even a single goal.

We somehow then managed to pull off an upset over Basel, but the form table shows that they're having a shocker and are even worse than us at the moment.

And immediately after that we of course went straight back to being terrible, and got thumped by St Gallen.

I hate this team, I hate these players, if I make it to the end of the season I think it's very unlikely that I'm going to stick around for another year.

  

Edited August 26, 2022 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - April + May 2023

We finally found a bit of form to end the season with a flourish, four wins in our final eight games, including a last day victory over Basel. This game saw (what I think is) our first goal from an academy graduate, as 20a Nicolas Archier came off the bench to nick himself a debut strike.

At the other end of the experience scale the Winterthur career of Ousmane Doumbia came to an ignominious end. Two missed penalties against Thun cost us a point, and he was very quickly booted out the door afterwards.

These 14 points helped us climb a couple of places and secure a comfortable midtable position, something which had looked out of reach in recent months. 

This does now create a dilemma about my future. In the last update I threw a little hissy fit had concerns about the future, now I'm wondering if perhaps I was a bit hasty and it is worth sticking around here a bit longer.

  

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - 2022/23 Season Review

We conceded 11 fewer goals than last year, and Elmedin Fazlic was a key part in that. He was voted the fan's player of the season. We've already agreed with Borussia Dortmund to bring him back again next year.

The next two players in the voting were also loanees, as our reliance on other team's players is probably a bit too high. Kristian Abazi (from Basel) finished as top scorer with 8 goals from the left-wing, and with a further 6 assists was also our second most creative player. Again, we've extended his loan to cover another season. On the opposite side Giuseppe D'Agostino was the top creator with 7 assists, while also scoring 5 times. He will also be back next year, but on a permanent basis. In February I noticed that Zurich were interested in him, and this led to seeing that his Internazionale contract was expiring shortly, so I pounced to snap him up.

Up front our strikers continued to underwhelm, with a combined 10 goals between them. Though all 4 of the goals scored by Sebastian Musiolik came in April and May, so perhaps there is still some hope for him.

A better league finish than last year, despite how poor things felt at times. We really need a proper sponsorship deal though to sort out our finances and give us a better chance of competing. Also, a decent cup run again would be nice. No more getting knocked out by sides several divisions below us.

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - Pre-Season 2023/24

Same expectations as ever, just don't get relegated.

----------------------------------

The only big departure was Roberto Alves. He'd been a regular in the first couple of years, before turning into a squad player. Last year he complained about not playing enough, so I gave him more gametime, but he was rubbish so I decided to get rid. 

----------------------------------

Most of these are loanees to give us options for the bench. 

Giuseppe D'Agostino was on loan with us last year and we've now paid it permanent.

Pablo Moreno on a free from Juventus is the big signing. He had a good record for their under 23s, so hopefully he can solve our goalscoring problems.

Spoiler

Marvin Spielmann was available on a free after being released by Young Boys. He had a good 2021/22, but barely played last year, so he'll have something to prove.

Spoiler

----------------------------------

I'm not convinced by this squad. Unless some sort of miracle happens and I can find a tactic which gets the strikers scoring, I think it'll be another miserable year.

----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - July + August + September 2023

On the eve of the season starting I was approached by Zurich. They finished 3rd last year and are playing in the Conference League, so it would have been tempting to move on. Ultimately, they went with Patrick Vieira instead.

  

And lo and behold, we then faced Zurich on the opening day. I wanted to show them they'd made a mistake, but a draw was probably a fair result. Next time out we thrashed Thun, and went top of the league.

It didn't last. Five consecutive losses wasn't the ideal follow-up and we ended September in the bottom two.

At least we had some joy in the Swiss Cup. There was no risk of embarrassment here, nearly full-strength teams were put out to ensure we didn't suffer another early exit.

  

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - October + November + December 2023

Patrick Vieira's time in charge of Zurich didn't last long, as he got the boot after little more than four months. His only wins came in the Swiss Cup and Conference League qualifiers (which ultimately they lost), and he picked up just eight points in 15 league games.

Zurich approached me again, but this time it wasn't so appealing (and the earlier rejection still stung) so I rejected their offer.

  

Our form over the last few months has been much improved, earning 16 points from 10 games and jumping up to just outside the European places. We are quite a few points off though.

Something's clicked up front and our attacking players are actually scoring goals, which is always nice. Summer signing Marvin Spielmann is paid much more than anyone else in the squad, but he's justifying that with 11 goals so far.

We've made it through the Swiss Cup, but needing extra-time to get past Cham after dominating them was annoying.

  

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - February + March 2024

Any hopes we had of pushing on in the new year disappeared pretty quickly. as our defence disintegrated in February and we went on a horrible run of form. 

The low point was a 6-2 home thrashing by Young Boys, but at least we got our act together after this and rebounded with eight points from the next four games.

We're somehow still in the mix for a European place (depending on the cup winners), as it turns out Switzerland has an extra spot allocated this year.

  

[DaneBramage]

Winterthur - April + May 2024

Never mind, back to being crap.

In the first half of the season we earned 21 points, and had a goal difference of -1. In the second half of the season we managed just 14 more points, with a goal difference of -19.

We were 10 points ahead of Zurich when I turned down the job interview. Under Vincent Kompany, they closed the gap to just one point.

A dismal collapse...

...but at least we're not Thun.

  

[DaneBramage]

Summer 2024

Sod Winterthur, I've had enough of them.

[DaneBramage]

Summer 2024

There weren't many jobs available at first, and those free were generally in the Hungarian and Romanian second tiers. I didn't want to to drop down a division so I ignored those, keeping an eye out for a top division opening instead.

Sure enough, one emerged pretty quickly, and when I declared my interest the fans were happy to install me as their favourite for the job. One successful interview later, and I was buying my plane ticket.

I'm off to Poland! 

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2024/25 Pre-Season

GKS Katowice had their most successful period in the late 80s/early 90s, which three Polish cup wins and a string of top three finishes. Those glory days are a long time behind them though, and by 2005/06 they were demoted to the fourth tier as punishment for financial and legal issues. Two straight promotions took them back up to the second level, where they stayed until relegation in 2018/19.

Which brings us to the start of this save. In this universe they've had much better fortunes over the last few years. Promotions in 2019/20 and 2021/22 have brought GKS Katowice back up to the Ekstraklasa, and they've now survived for two years at this level.

------------------------------------------

The finances are pretty good, though with less than two weeks between my appointment and the start of the season I won't be using any money on transfers yet. I'll see how things are going then act in January (though hopefully nothing too drastic will be needed. 

One place where we will need urgent re-inforcements is the coaching team, and the recruitment team, and the medical team. There are very few backroom staff at the club, so working on changing that is my first priority.

Spoiler

------------------------------------------

As expected. The Ekstraklasa has 16 teams, which play each other twice before splitting the top and bottom eight teams into the Championship and Relegation Groups. There's seven more games at that stage, and the bottom three go down. So I'm assuming we'll end up in the Relegation Group, and then it's a case of making sure we're stronger than at least three others.

------------------------------------------

This is my squad. I can't tell you if they're any good or not yet, but I do know that the best rated player (Lukasz Konefal, goalkeeper, 4.5 star CA) wants to leave, so that can't be a good sign.

------------------------------------------

Edited July 28, 2022 by DaneBramage

[Hanys]

Okay, that one was unexpected  

As someone who lives just next to Katowice and work there, I can tell that's as far from a wonderland as you can imagine. Some people like it for an interesting mix of socrealist, modernist and futurist architecture.

GKS, or GieKSa as they are called, are famous for beating Zidane's Bordeaux in 90s. Nowadays, however, if there's any attention they get, it comes from being kind of a cursed club. They dream of coming back to Ekstraklasa but keep failing, sometimes in a way that is beyond understanding like being 2-0 up against the worst club in the league but still losing 2-3 after conceding a goal from a half-line, burying the chances for promotion, or simply getting relegated to the third division despite actually aiming for promotion before the season.

Most of the people in Katowice, the capital of the voivodeship, actually support either Górnik Zabrze or Ruch Chorzów. GieKSa doesn't get that much attention even from their own city council.

Good luck!

 

[DaneBramage]

@Hanys Thanks for the info. Certainly sounds like a club that's been down in the doldrums for a while.

Ruch Chorzow aren't in an active league, so Gornik Zabrze will have to be my main rivals.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - July + August 2024

We're going with a positive 4-4-2 formation. It had mixed results in my time at Winterthur, but it's worked nicely for me elsewhere so it's worth another go.

Spoiler

------------------------------------------

We'd barely scraped together a coaching team by the start of the season, so an opening day draw was a fine result. But the follow-up to this was amazing and much better than I could have hoped for with four straight wins. 

This included an away victory at Gornik Zabrze, giving our fans a boost by beating our rivals on their patch.

We then suffered a heavy loss to Slask Wroclaw, which was probably my fault. Our goalie had been kicking up a fuss about wanting to leave, so I played the back-up for this game to teach him a lesson. It backfired badly.

Lukasz Konefal was swiftly re-instated back into the team, and we subsequently won again next time out.

Impressing early on at the other end of the pitch was Tiago Alves, with 3 goals and 2 assists so far.

Spoiler

Spoiler

------------------------------------------

Well, this is certainly unexpected. I think we can call these first few weeks a success.

------------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - September + October 2024

The good times continued as we picked up four more league wins, including a big victory over Lech Poznan. They've won the last four titles but are having a stinker of a season.

We did suffer the one loss though, away at Legia Warszawa. Incredibly, if we'd won this tie we'd have gone top, but instead they pulled out a small lead over us. It says a lot about how well the season has started that we've already won more games so far than I did in the entirety of last season at Winterthur.

One player making waves is 17 year old striker Hubert Podolski. Despite having never played a single minute of first-team football my DoF signed him for just over £100k from Piast Gliwice, and he's scored 4 goals in his first 4 games.

Spoiler

------------------------------------------

Lovely stuff. I don't know how this is happening, or how long it will last, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

------------------------------------------

Winterthur lie 9th in the Swiss Super League, with just one win from 13 games.

------------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - November + December 2024

With things going well I decided it was time to ask for a couple of upgrades.

Youth recruitment and junior coaching have both been improved to an adequate standard.

------------------------------------------

November went really well as our good form continued with three more wins.

But hopefully we won't be looking back at December as the month where it all went wrong.

We started the month with three games in a week, and I don't think I got my team selections and rotation right. We lost both league games without scoring, but the silver lining was progression to the next round of the cup after Hubert Podolski grabbed an extra-time hat-trick. We avoided defeat against our rivals Gornik Zabrze (even with four players missing due to suspension), but ended the year with a miserable loss.

------------------------------------------

Despite the poor December we're still 2nd in the table. Legia Warzsawa are still undefeated and pretty much out of sight at the top, but in reality we're looking downwards. 

After the winter break there are 10 more games before the league split, I'd like to think we've put ourselves in a good spot to qualify for the Championship group.

------------------------------------------

Three wins in a row have seen Winterthur climb up to 7th in the Swiss Super League.

------------------------------------------

[Hanys]

On 28/07/2022 at 18:59, DaneBramage said:

@HanysRuch Chorzow aren't in an active league, so Gornik Zabrze will have to be my main rivals.

Actually the biggest rivals would be Legia Warsaw. The region of Silesia developed some sense of its own identity, language due to history that was for quite a long time not shared with Poland. There's huge anti-Warsaw sentiment when it comes to sport rivalries, there's even a common feeling that it's always great to see Legia losing to any Silesian club, even if the winning side are your rivals. Legia is the main rival to all.

Others would be Zagłębie Sosnowiec, then Polonia Bytom and Piast Gliwice (most of the city of Gliwice supports Górnik, it's changing slowly to Piast though).

Fans of both Górnik and GKS are actually friendly towards each other, despite some competitiveness between the clubs. GKS have never been even a match for Górnik, having 0 titles to compare with Górnik's 14.

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Hanys
Typo

[deltablue]

Good stuff in Poland so far.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - February + March 2025

We've had a bit of a dodgy start to 2025, struggling along to picking up just 8 points from 8 games. It would have been even worse if Hubert Podolski hadn't almost single-handedly earned us back-to-back wins in February. 

In fairness to his strike partner Nikodem Zajac, he also played an important part in the other games we stole a point from, with the equalising goal in both. They're both in double-figures for the season now.

During March we hosted LKS Lodz twice. In the league we lost, but the silver lining was that when we faced off again a few days later we won to make it through to the cup semi-final.

------------------------------------------

We've slipped a few places down the table, but that's not a surprise. We were clearly overperforming earlier on and we're probably heading back to a more expected level.

We have down enough to clinch a top-half finish though. There's only two games left before the league split, and we're guaranteed a place in the Championship Group.

------------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2025 Youth Intake

Yeah, not an impressive group here. They lost the trial match 3-0 to our under 18s.

I left it to my AssMan to decide who to sign, and he picked up about half of them. But the terrible personalities and dodgy facilities make me doubt that any of these no-hopers will ever amount to much.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - April 2025

Having made it to the cup semi-final, we had three games scheduled in the space of seven days. I decided to rest my starting eleven in the league games to focus on the midweek cup tie.

The second-string won both of their games, while the first-choice were knocked out after a tame display.

So it didn't go the way I planned, but two league wins still has to be considered a good month. Though questions could certainly be asked about whether I know my strongest team or not.

------------------------------------------

Legia Warszawa are out of sight at the top, and it's surely only a matter of time before they're crowned champions. But 2nd-5th is ridiculously close.

The league splits now, and we're firmly inside the top-half. The top four qualify for Europe, so we're well in contention for this.

------------------------------------------

Edited August 12, 2022 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - April + May 2025

We performed well in the Championship Group stage. I was worried that we'd struggle with games against just the top sides in the country, but we held our own nicely. Three wins and three draws was a good return, and the only loss of the stage came on the final day.

It would have been even better if we could defend until the final whistle, but we threw away four points due to stoppage-time equalisers from Legia Warszawa and Jagiellonia Bialystok.

---------------------------------------

We exceeded all expectations in my first year in Poland, clinching European football at the first time of asking.

When we started the season so well I thought we'd generally fizzle out and drop to a more likely position, but it didn't happen. We never dropped below 4th all season.

We went into the Championship Group stage in 4th place, but jumped above Jagiellonia Bialystok into 3rd place when we beat them. When we lost on the final day I thought they'd re-take the position, but luckily they lost as well and we managed to retain the place.

In terms of European qualification 3rd or 4th place didn't matter - both go into the Conference League in the second qualifying round. But 3rd place earned us £881k prize money, over £250k more than the place below would have.

---------------------------------------

Swiss Super League - A late season collapse (just one point from the final nine games) saw Winterthur fall into 9th place, and the relegation play-off. It wasn't all bad news though, as a 1-0 aggregate win over Grasshopper Zurich ensured they stayed in the top-flight.

---------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2024/25 Season Review

Hubert Podolski had a storming debut season with 17 goals. 14 of these came in the league, and he was the Ekstraklasa's second highest scorer. He also had the best average rating in the entire division. Not bad for an 18 year old who'd never played a minute of senior football before joining us.

Spoiler

Goalkeeper Lukasz Konefal made the Ekstraklasa team of the season, but his time with us is coming to an end. He wanted to leave even before I joined, and I wasn't able to convince him to sign a new contract. He's off to Portugal on a free.

Spoiler

---------------------------------------

---------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - Season Preview 2025/26

Despite our 3rd place finish last year, we're only predicted to finish 10th by the media, while the board want a top-half finish. 

We probably over-performed last year, and the addition of Conference League football might make this season a bit more tricky, so I'd be happy with making the Championship Group stage again.

---------------------------------------

We had a couple of upgrades approved, with the standard of junior coaching going up to good, and in a few months our youth facilities will be rated as average.

---------------------------------------

The only significant leaver was our goalkeeper Lukasz Konefal, going after we couldn't convince him to sign a new deal. Other than that it's just a bunch of squad players and youngsters. 

---------------------------------------

Nikola Nenedovic will be the new number one (31 clean sheets in 89 games over the last four years in the Serbian top tier).

Luka Menalo will slot straight in on the left-wing. Legia Warszawa spent over £1 million on him a few years ago, but after a disappointing spell he was available for a cheaper sum. Had a good record in Croatia previously.

Jan Bamert and Aboubacar Cisse have both come in from Switzerland. They'll likely be starting on the bench, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're first-team regulars before too long.

Urh Bloudek was shortlisted for the Slovenian young player of the year, and will be a good rotation option for us.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

---------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - July 2025

With four games in 12 days the first-team took the league matches, while the back-ups played in Europe.

In the league, Luka Menalo scored twice on his debut to help us on our way to a good opening day win. The follow-up against Legia Warszawa was a much tougher tie, but we bounced back from going one-down to secure a point.

In the Conference League Aboubacar Cisse scored on his debut, but a 4th minute red card for Grzegorz Szymusic (and subsequent converted penalty) put us on the backfoot. We survived though, and added another in the second-half. A week later, we completed the job at home with a dominant performance.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - August 2025

Pathetic.

The rotation was working perfectly, until both sets of players forgot how to score goals.

Out of the Conference League, and three Ekstraklasa losses in a row.

Pathetic.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - September + October + November 2025

The upgrade to our youth facilities was completed, bumping it up to an adequate standard. To capitalise on this I then asked for the youth recruitment to be improved to a good level.

---------------------------------------

After the miserable run to end August, September was a lot more satisfying, with four clean sheets, seven points in the league, and progression in the cup.

But as soon as we entered October our form disappeared, and suddenly we couldn't score any goals again. 

Another cup victory snapped that streak, and we went on a decent run through November, until we faced Legia Warswawa and picked up our customary loss to them.

---------------------------------------

We're just past the halfway point of the regular season, and just in the top-half of the table. 

With the top two being out of sight and the other European contenders also having a decent gap over us, it looks like the best we can achieve this year is ending up in the Championship Group when the league splits at 30 games.

---------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - December 2025

10/10 for defensive work. We might not be scoring many goals, but four consecutive clean sheets meant we had a great month. Full points in the league, and progression again in the cup.

Against Rakow Czestochowa we were imperious at the back, not allowing them even a single shot.

After last year's heroics Hubert Podolski has regressed massively, with just 2 goals in 20 games so far. But at the other end of the pitch Nikola Nenadovic has settled in well with 16 clean sheets in 29 games.

---------------------------------------

Our top-half position is now looking a lot more stable, and some dropped points from the top-runners have opened the door slightly for a possible European finish.

---------------------------------------

Swiss Super League - Going into the winter break Winterthur sit 6th in the table, and they're definitely in the European qualification battle.

---------------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - January + February 2026

Just the one bit of transfer business this window. Luis Menalo looked like a great addition to the team when he scored twice on his debut, but this was the high point and he's achieved very little since. After a bad reaction to criticism of his form I decided to get rid, and making nearly a half-million profit on him was a bonus.

-----------------------------------

The return after the winter break was disappointing, but we were much better over the next few games. The win over Miedz Legnica was especially pleasing, both strikers and both wingers getting on the scoresheet.

-----------------------------------

No change in position, but the gap from 4th down to us in 7th has tightened with everyone dropping points in this time.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2026 Youth Intake

Not a great batch on the face of it. Not a huge amount of potential, and poor personalities all round.

I left the HoYD in charge of signing players, after a 1-1 draw in the trial game against the under 18s he picked up nine of them.

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - March 2026

Seven points from a possible nine is a good return, but I'm not happy about dropping points against Slask Wroclaw. We should be winning home games against struggling sides.

On the other hand, the cup win over Legia Warszawa was massively pleasing. It's the first time (in six attempts) that we've beaten them during my reign, we've made the semi-finals for a second time, and it's always nice to give the game an FMing.

Spoiler

-----------------------------------

We've jumped a couple of places up the table, and with three games left before the split we're guaranteed to be in the Championship Group.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - April 2026

The post-update curse struck with a disappointing home loss against LKS Lodz. This was followed up by another heavy loss, but this was more expected as we rested the first-team for the trip to Wisla Plock so they'd be fresh for the cup tie.

It proved to be the right decision, as we took apart Miedz Legnica with ease. The wingers were the stars of the show, Tiago Alves and Mohamed Medfai managing 4 assists and 3 goals between them as we secured our spot in the final.

The regular season was then completed with a win over the side at the bottom of the table.

-----------------------------------

We're in 5th place going into the split. Repeating last year's 3rd place appears unlikely, but not completely impossible.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - April 2026

We had a bit of a tough time during April, with all four of my starting attacking players being ruled out for a few weeks.

The biggest loss was Aleksander Lezon. He'd started the season in the ressies, but after 22 goals in as many games he was promoted to the senior squad. With 7 goals in his last 10 games this was a really bad time to get injured.

Spoiler

-----------------------------------

That being said, even with the back-ups playing upfront we've been doing well. We've had to dig in deep, stoppage-time goals earning results against both Lechia Gdansk and Legia Warszawa, and Hubert Podolski finally scored his first goal after an 18 hour drought.

-----------------------------------

Up to 4th place, one point ahead of Lechia Gdansk.

And our next game is against them, in the Puchar Polski final. 

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - May 2026

Not the most exciting way to win the Puchar Polski, but I will happily accept it. 120 minutes of a very even game didn't see any goals scored, thus sending the game to penalties. When we missed our first spotkick things weren't looking good, but Lechia Gdansk missed their next two to leave us even after three penalties apiece. Ultimately it went to the final pair of takers. Their player skied his effort, and Roman Lukashevich slotted his away to give us victory and my first trophy of this career.

  

Spoiler

 

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - May 2026

Four games in nine days is brutal, but with players coming back after injuries we got through it without too much trouble.

The 3 clean sheets were the key to getting results this month, as although goals were a little scarce, we did enough to go undefeated and pick up two more wins.

-----------------------------------

We'd already secured qualification for the Europa Conference League by winning the cup, but doubling down on that by finishing in the top four showed our strength.

In fact, we were unlucky not to finish even higher. During the Championship Stage we made up 12 points on Pogon Szczecin, finishing equal on points with a better goal difference and head-to-head record. Unfortunately, the deciding factor was points during the first stage.

  

-----------------------------------

While we're on the subject of wacky rules, this was a new one for me.

And here's the rule. Kinda wish I'd known of it earlier, definitely one worth keeping an eye on. Can't scoff at an additional half million. 

Though I can't seem to find this info recorded anywhere under the Ekstraklasa screen.

-----------------------------------

Swiss Super League - At the halfway stage the season was looking promising for Winterthur, but a terrible January (6 losses on the bounce) followed up a terrible March and April (6 losses out of 7) ruined their campaign, eventually finishing 8th.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2025/26 Season Review

Last year's top scorer Hubert Podolski had an awful year, contributing just 3 goals. 

There were goals from our other attacking players, but none of them truly stood out. Six players scored 6 goals or more, and Aboubacar Cisse was the only player to hit double figures with 11 goals.

In terms of creating chances, right-back Luis Pinheiro was star man with 11 assists, which helped win him 6 MOTM awards.

24 clean sheets in 49 games was a great return from Nikola Nenadovic in goal, earning him a first Serbian call-up.

-----------------------------------

A first trophy, and improved facilities. A very successful season.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2027/27 Season Preview

The board want a top-half finish, while the media expect us to end up in 6th place.

After making Europe two years in a row I'm hoping for the same again.

In Europe I'd like to get to the group stage, though there are some good teams in the qualifying rounds so that could be difficult.

-----------------------------------

A few squad players left over the summer, but no one from out strongest eleven. I'd have liked to keep Michal Skoras, but he knackered his knee putting him out of action for 9 months so it wasn't worth re-signing him.

-----------------------------------

Just the two signings at the moment, both on free transfers. I don't think either will be straight into the first-team, but both should still see plenty of playing time.

Spoiler

Spoiler

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - July 2026

The first competitive action of the season was in the Superpuchar Polski. As the reigning cup holders we took on the league champions Legia Warszawa.

Twice we took the lead, twice we were pegged back. But just like I won my first trophy via a penalty shootout, that's how I secured my second trophy as well.

  

-----------------------------------

A comfortable start to the league campaign as we beat newly promoted Cracovia, then beat last year's runners-up Lech Poznan. The score was 1-1 before we had a player sent off, and with ten men we managed to smash 3 more past them in the final ten minutes.

In the Conference League we dominated Knattspyrnudeild KR twice, but somehow went 135 minutes without scoring, leaving things a little tense at the interval. A goal immediately after the break settled any nerves, and once we grabbed a second the game was never in doubt. Spartak Moscow await in the next round.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - August 2026

Excellent results all round. Nine games in a month made for a very crowded schedule, so we used entirely different starting line-ups for the league games and the European games.

In the league we made it 5 wins from our opening 5 games, but lost the 100% record at game week six. We'd have gone top with a win, but conceded a 94th minute equaliser to Gornik Zabrze. 

I thought Spartak Moscow might be difficult, but after sneaking an away win with an early goal we demolished them at home. We brushed Aris aside just as easily, and with the job done in the first leg a couple of youngsters got the nod for the return tie. 25b Daniel Kowalski became the first academy graduate to make his debut and score.

-----------------------------------

With qualification for the Conference League group stage confirmed we were rewarded with £2.5 million. A large chunk of this (£1.6 million) was quickly put to use, an upgrade to our youth facilities which will take just over a year to complete.

-----------------------------------

Early days, but we're one of just two teams still undefeated. 

In Europe we've got a group I think we should qualify from. Olympiakos will be tough, Alashkert should be beatable, the games against FK Partizan will likely be the deciders. And last year we beat them home and away in the qualifying rounds, so I'd hope we can do the same again.

  

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - September 2026

You'd think that after such a busy opening to the season a break would do us good, but it wasn't the case. When we returned to action after the international week we suffered our first loss of the season, ending a run of 24 games without defeat.

Although the loss to Pogon Szczecin was disappointing, at least they're up near the top of the table. The draw with Wisla Krakow was worse, we dominated the game and if we'd had our shooting boots with us it could have been a cricket score. The league month wasn't a total write-off though, as the mini slump was halted with a good win over Lechia Gdansk.

The second-string continued producing the goods in the cup competitions, making a winning start to both the Conference League group stage and the domestic cup.

-----------------------------------

  

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - October 2026

Losing at home to Piast Gliwice was unacceptable, and a couple of harsh interactions with players afterwards took place to remind them I expected better. Luckily, this had the desired effect. Aboubacar Cisse hasn't scored enough this year, but he did go on to net in both of the next two games, as we picked up consecutive 3-1 wins in the league.

The cup side also stumbled, with just 1 point from two games in Europe. I didn't expect anything from Olympiakos, but the draw away at FK Partizan could yet be costly. I see them as the team we're competing against for the second qualifying spot.

Allowing Siarka Tarnobrzeg a 4th minute opener wasn't ideal, but any chance of a cupset was snuffed out by our 31st minute equaliser, and two second-half goals completed the job.

-----------------------------------

We sit third in both the domestic and European Conference Leagues. We still stand every chance of progression, I think the home tie against FK Partizan could be the decider.

  

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - November 2026

First interview offer I've received in a while. 11th in the Romanian league. No thanks lads.

-----------------------------------

Considering we've gone the whole month unbeaten I probably shouldn't be so annoyed, but the three draws are really frustrating.

Rakow Czestochowa aren't a good team at all, and we shouldn't be labouring to only take point from them. Although Lech Poznan are a good side, taking an 84th minute lead only to concede an equaliser less than 60 seconds later is enough to drive anyone mad.

In Europe we got an unexpected win against Olympiakos, and we should have secured qualification to the next round with a game to spare. Instead, we wasted the opportunity. 30 shots against Alashkert, 15 on target, no goals. Hubert Podolski was my top scorer in 2023/24, but has barely hit a barndoor since. He was the casualty of this poor result, instantly finding himself transfer-listed.

-----------------------------------

We temporarily went top of the Ekstraklasa, but have since dropped back into second place. Competition is fierce with the top four split by just three points.

Our final game in the Conference League is hosting FK Partizan, while Olympiakos play Alashkert. If we win we're through to the knockout rounds in first place, if we lose and Olympiakos win we're out. Draw and things get complicated. If Olympiakos don't win we're fine. If they win 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1, we're fine. If they score three or more and win with at least a two goal margin, we're out. The pressure is on.

  

-----------------------------------

 

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - December 2026

In the league we've been good. The draw against Wisla Plock was maybe less than we'd hoped for, but it wasn't much of a problem when we followed this up with a pair of wins. Aleksander Lezon had been on a bit of a drought up front, so I had a word of encouragement for him (breaking from my usual criticism style), and he repaid this with a double against Jagiellonia Bialystok. He's now on 15 goals for the season, and with 12 of those in the Ekstraklasa he's leading the scoring charts at the moment.

In Europe, we had a disaster. A 12th minute sending-off for Marcin Zych (19, AMR, ST) ended our participation in the Conference League, as we couldn't get a result with just ten men. This also ended his career with us, as following a stunning career of 14 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, and 1 red card, he was given a two week fine and released from his contract.

-----------------------------------

  

-----------------------------------

Swiss Super League - Only the tragic form of Grasshopper Zurich is keeping Winterthur off the bottom of the table. Six games without a win has left them in 11th place, and facing the relegation play-off. They have made the cup quarter-finals though.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - February 2027

Another interview offer rejected from another Romanian team. They're 6th in the league, but have made it through to the Conference League knockout rounds. 

-----------------------------------

On 18/09/2022 at 16:22, DaneBramage said:

Hubert Podolski was my top scorer in 2024/25, but has barely hit a barndoor since. He was the casualty of this poor result, instantly finding himself transfer-listed.

And off he goes, for a very good fee to the Hungarian second division. Chuffed that we're getting this much for him, although part of the profit (roughly £230k) did have to be passed on to his previous club. 

-----------------------------------

Three wins with 3 clean sheets is also nice to see, and we made a statement with the victory over Gornik Zabrze, who were in 1st place at the time.

Unfortunately we ended the month with a loss, conceding 3 times in the final 15 minutes against a rampant Lechia Gdansk side.

-----------------------------------

The win over Gornik Zabrze saw us overtake them and go top of the table, but the loss at the end of the month saw us drop back into 2nd.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - March 2027

More interest from Romania, this time it's Steaua Bucharest making the advance.

And this time, it's actually quite tempting. Four losses in the last six games saw them fall from top of the table to 4th, with a 9 point gap to the leaders. But then the league split took place, and points earned so far were halved. And now they're just 4 points behind, with a game in hand. They've made it to the Romanian cup semi-finals too.

I've applied for it. Can't hurt to test the waters.

-----------------------------------

Two clean sheets in the league led to a pair of wins, but the cup game was disappointing. We took the lead against Rakow Czestochowa, but for the second time this season we failed to beat them. I thought we stood a good chance of retaining the trophy, but it's not to be.

-----------------------------------

We've temporarily gone back to the top, but Lech Poznan are still to play and are on a great run at the moment.

-----------------------------------

Decision time...

  

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - March + April 2027

Decided against taking the Steaua Bucharest job. It didn't feel right at this time.

-----------------------------------

And immediately the team let me down and make me regret that decision.

-----------------------------------

Thrown it away. A six point gap to Lech Poznan as we go into the Championship Group, and with the form they're on it's likely insurmountable, even if we get our act together again.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - Youth Intake 2027

Nothing worth mentioning here, a pretty poor-looking batch of players. I left the contract offers up to the HoYD, he signed up nine players after a 2-2 draw with the Under 18s.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - April + May 2027

I can't complain about our form in this stage. 16 points from a possible 21 is good going, and 18 goals scored is pretty impressive. 

The only problem is that we needed to overhaul a six point deficit to Lech Poznan, and they didn't let up. Their victory over us was their 14th in a row, and it was this game that clinched them the title.

-----------------------------------

We ended up nine points behind Lech Poznan, but a whopping 17 ahead of Legia Warszawa.

In each of the last two seasons we picked up 65 points, so adding 13 more to this was a real improvement. But Lech Poznan were just on another level, one we couldn't reach.

We've made it into the second qualifying round of the Conference League again. 

-----------------------------------

Swiss Super League: Winterthur spent most of the season in the relegation play-off spot, and that proved to be their undoing. Home and away losses to Lugano in the play-offs saw them sent down 3-0 on aggregate.

-----------------------------------

[DaneBramage]

GKS Katowice - 2026/27 Season Review

There were a lot of good performers this year, though admittedly some stats are boosted by the second-string playing the European and cup games. 

Aleksander Lezon was top of our scoring charts with 21 goals, and the 18 of these in the league made him the Ekstraklasa's top scorer. Surprisingly though, he wasn't named in the division's team of the season. We did have three entrants, Nikola Nenadovic (12 clean sheets), Luis Pinheiro (5 goals and 10 assists), and Urh Bloudek (4 goals and 4 assists).

Luis Pinheiro (7.43 average rating) was named the Ekstraklasa player of the season, but in the Katowice fan vote he didn't even make the top three. Urh Bloudek (7.38 average rating) took this award, as well as the Slovenian player of the year trophy.

-----------------------------------

We received £1.3 million for finishing as runners-up in the league, and the board immediately used this to fund another upgrade to our youth facilities. We already have an improvement for these underway, so hopefully this won't interfere with that. In theory the first one should be completed, then the next one should kick in. It would be annoying if this meant it was all dragged out longer.

-----------------------------------