Biscotti

Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 6 (2024/25) The last three seasons had all resulted in second place finishes. It was time to give a serious go at the title. Transfers The only outbound player of note was Hidalgo, who most definitely was a star for us but unfortunately I wasn't able to negotiate a more suitable release clause for him, but seeing as we picked him up on a free transfer it's still some wonderful business. Michael Ameyaw was also moved on despite having been a key figure for us over the previous five seasons because we made a slight change to the way we played and he was only really able to play in the AMC slot. For the incoming, we'll start with the big money. I know I overpaid a little on Nedim Sapina, but obviously we were paying a premium for bringing him in from a rival club. I still feel justified, though. Superb physical attributes and great work rate means he and Budzik have been back-and-forth for the starting spot this season. Villalba and Znaor were both brought in upon the departure of Hidalgo. Alexis Villalba slots straight in where Hidalgo left us, with Vinko Znaor joining us as a much taller option with more of a backup role. Andrea Ridolfi joined us as a prospect right wing-back and looked pretty decent when he was required to fill in for Brabec. Could well be a future star for us, but there's also a chance I've paid more than he's going to be worth. Last season I was using one of our youngsters as backup striker, but I never really felt that comfortable. Gonçalo Brandão comes to us as a rotation option, but honestly is probably on a par if not better than Sikora both physically and mentally. It will be interesting to see going forward if I start to favour the younger Portuguese player. The Season Our first run at the Champions League was going to be a very tough one, having to start in the Best Placed Second Qualifying round. FC Midtjyland were our first opponents, and we fairly comfortably dealt with them 2-0 in both legs. The Best Placed Third Qualifying round drew us against Sporting. A hard fought 2-2 draw at home was then followed by a tough 2-1 loss in Lisboa in which we led from the 21st minute until the 67th. I wasn't too downhearted, though, as this was always going to be a big ask. This meant we got ourselves into the hat for the Europa League group stage where we were joined by Lechia, but no other Polish teams. Lechia were given a tough - but not impossible - group containing Ajax, Charleroi and Hertha. We, on the other hand, got a much more difficult looking group of AZ, Lazio and Villarreal. I figured there was an outside chance of scraping second place if results went our way. In actual fact, we ended up topping the group without losing a game and this gave us a first qualifying round draw against Hamburger SV. Much like the Sporting game before, I knew we had a shot but it was going to be tough. We lost 3-2 in Hamburg, but with 2 away goals, I knew we definitely had the odds in our favour for the return. It wasn't to be, however, as an own goal 8 minutes into the match was swiftly followed by a second Hamburger goal and we just sort of gave up. Possibly my most disappointing match of the season . That left us to look at the league. From matchday 6 we never dropped below second. Despite a few slips, we entered the Championship Group with a rather comfortable lead of 7 points at the top of the table over chasing Legia. Things were not sealed at this point, and avoiding a loss to Legia when we met again was essential. Better still, an emphatic 3-0 win meant we actually confirmed our title against Legia with 2 still to play. This puts us into the Champions playoff for the Champions League next season, meaning we are just a single win from making it into the Group Stage and at a minimum guaranteeing us a spot in the Europa League groups. League | Championship Group Players of the Season James Balogun (DL) - This season I switched from an attacking central midfielder to a holding Half Back. Balogun was a large beneficiary of this as it gave him much more freedom to push forward from the back. Mariusz Sikora (ST) - Not quite as good for Sikora this season, but with reliable back-up available he actually played about 10 fewer games this time out. Still scored more than the magic 20 and was our top scorer. David Brabec (DR) - Brabec was already starting to shine last season, but this year with the better defensive shape he really was integral to ensuring we always had a man available when we were on the attack. Much like Balogun, he didn't contribute directly to many goals, but he definitely has a bright future with us. Artur Krzczuk (DM) - After a couple of seasons away on loan it was clear that Krzczuk was ready to be a big part of an Ekstraklasa side and he was a notable part of the reason I chose to switch to a DM system. more than 700 more passes attempted than any other player on the team and a 91% pass accuracy showed that he was the lynchpin through which all of our play flowed. This season I intend to do everything I can to remove his £3.5m release clause before it is too late. Best Eleven | Overall

Good to see you're still with us @rlipscombe and great work on getting that first step done All the best for Serie B.

Good luck @uroszila! Looks like a club with an interesting history. Always glad to see additional people starting.

2 in a row, because I was already most of the way through this season when I posted that last one Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 5 (2023/24) The board this season were expecting a top half finish along with the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League. Personally, I felt another finish in-and-around the top of the table and maybe scrape that second Champions League spot had to be my goal. I was looking to make it into the Europa League groups, but considering last season and that I was still a little short on squad depth I knew that would be tough. Transfers Plenty to talk about here, so I'll start with the outs. We made a bit of a loss on Niezgoda - he was brought in last year to be my backup 'keeper but towards the end of the season was a little disgruntled at the lack of games so I allowed him to leave. He only played a bit-part at Korona as well, so I think I was justified. Donnelly and Nawotka were both likely to play second fiddle to Brabec at right-back, and neither would be happy as a backup, so they were both moved on as well. Also both at a loss, but our financial stability is pretty well set at the moment. Chakvetadze came to us on a free last season but spent it out on loan due to him being difficult to fit in around the foreign player limits. This season he stepped into the first choice left-back position with a loanee as a backup. A 3m bid from a big team when his understudy was doing just as well was a no-brainer for me. Bochniewicz was our best centre-back according to my AssMan, but I'd found I wasn't playing him unless someone needed a rest, so again a good offer coming in required no thought at all. We doubled our money there too. Now for the ins. James Balogun would be the obvious place to start, as he's the big money man. He was the left-back we had on loan and as soon as the transfer of Chakvetadze was confirmed I made the move to secure this guy permanently. His technicals have a little way to go for what I ultimately need, but that Driven personality means he's an asset in the dressing room as well. Manuel Jesús Hidalgo came to us on a free but was demanding a contract that guaranteed him some first-team football. Slightly short for my preference on a centre-back, but his jumping reach wasn't bad at all. I neglected him for the first month or so of the season, but when he complained about lack of games I gave him the chance and never looked back. Unfortunately, he was called up to the Spanish U20 squad for the French Youth Invitational, meaning he missed our last game of the season. The final incoming player to highlight is Damir Kupreski. I wasn't really in the market for another central midfielder, as my starting pair were solid and I had good looking youngsters who could step in when needed. Kupreski didn't really excel in any particular area but is solid for any midfield role, and when I saw his Perfectionist personality I knew he had to be someone I got in. He didn't take long to establish himself as playing more often than not. The Season The Europa League was much as expected again, with us making the Fourth Qualifying round before being bested by FC Zürich. Not to be scoffed at, especially as I didn't feel like we had the depth to maintain a European campaign either. In the FA Cup, we made our first run of note, making it all the way to the final only to lose to Wisła Kraków. I wasn't too disappointed, as the cup is not my priority. I'd like to win it at some point, but seeing as we've leap-frogged it as our route into Europe it's not an urgency. At 20 league games in, Lechia were running away with the league, and we were embroiled in a 3-way battle for second place. We then went on a winning run which gave us some clean air while Lechia dropped points a couple of times. This meant that at matchday 27, when we went away to Lechia, we were 6 points behind them with a slightly worse goal difference. I was satisfied in second place at this point, but I also knew that if we were to pick up a win it could actually put us in with a chance of making a late challenge for the title. Then this happened. I was beside myself. I don't remember the last time I had a league game make me so incredibly happy. A 14 goal swing meant we also had considerably superior goal difference. Maybe it was on? Both us and Lechia were a bit scrappy, so when we met at their ground again for the Championship Group match we were still 3 points behind with the superior goal difference. A repeat performance might have disturbed the neighbours... It wasn't to be, though. We struck late to take a 2-1 lead in the 81st minute, but they came back to equalise on the 90th and the match finished 2-2. Not a disaster, but it meant we knew we needed them to slip up with just 2 still to play. Matchday 36 of 37 saw us away at Śląsk, while Lechia were away at last season's champions Lech. We ran out comfortable 4-0 winners, but Lechia also kept up their end with a 2-0 win. On to the final game. We were at home to third place Jagiellonia, who still had it all to play for as the Europa League spots were still really tight. Lechia were at home to Legia, who were also still in with that shot at the Europa League. 33' - We go ahead with a Kupreski penalty (1-0). 36' & 37' - Jagiellonia hit us with a quick double putting us behind (1-2). The other game is still 0-0, but it doesn't matter at all if we aren't able to win. 45+1' - Sikora levels things up for us. Still goalless in Gdansk as we go to half-time. 47' - Guillermo Rivas (a player I've had my eye on) put Legia 0-1 up. The score is still irrelevant if we don't win our game. 75' - Still no change and I throw on my first-choice left winger who was still not completely recovered from a knee ligament sprain. Desperation sets in. 90+1' - Jagiellonia are attacking us, but some sloppy control allows us to clear. Their centre-back pulls up injured while recovering the ball allowing Sikora to nip in and convert. No change in the other game. WE'VE DONE IT!!!! 90+2' - But Legia committed too many men forward and then misplace a pass. Lechia punished them with a swift break and break our hearts in the process. FT - I'm an emotional wreck and need to turn the game off for a few hours. League | Championship Group So we didn't win the league this time out, but we gave it a damned good try. I feel good about our future. I want to win the league next season, although I think a realistic goal is just to still be in the conversation come season's end. Our first run at the Champions League, too. I'd like to make the groups, but again I think a realistic goal is actually making the Europa League groups, maybe even getting out of them. Players of the Season Rafal Budzik (AMR) - Last season Budzik was on course to smash our assists record but he went off the boil a bit. This season he was much better, but honestly, I think his and the AMC slots are currently the most replaceable positions. I don't think I'm actively looking to replace, but if the right player comes up, who knows? Mariusz Sikora (ST) - I said at the end of last season that I needed someone to score 20 a season. Sikora's 32 (24 in the league) was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. I don't yet have a suitable understudy for him, and that concerns me. Maciej Sliwa (AML) - The third prong in our strong attacking line and our second top goalscorer. He did a lot better with injuries this season, only missing about 6 weeks of football, and it showed. My understudy for him is less of an inside-forward and more of a winger but has plenty of potential. I'm considering a tweak to my system for next season so we'll see if perhaps Sliwa is shifted to a more wing-based role instead of cutting inside. Best Eleven | Overall I'm thinking of switching to a DM based version of the same system I've been using. AMC has been a slot I've not been entirely happy with for a couple of seasons and finding the right replacement has proven a challenge. Playing with a DM will hopefully help shore up our back-line allowing Balogun and Brabec to push forward the way they both like to do. Otherwise, though, I'm just looking to add some depth. We have a couple of promising youngsters that have been away on loan this season who I need to have a long look at but otherwise, I'm happy enough with the squad. Budgets have been set pretty high, so I expect I'll still splurge on someone who I really don't need...

Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 4 (2022/23) Last season was such a success that I couldn't imagine doing it again, but I did feel like we ought to be up in that conversation again. The board were happy enough with mid-table, so there was no pressure on us to succeed. Transfers No really major ins this time around, although a few of those players I feel like I overpaid a little bit on what turned out to only be squad players for me. Gancarczyk's departure was certainly a disappointment, but it was going to be impossible to keep hold of him with clubs the size of Milan showing interest, so I took the decision to cash in. I already had other players ready to fill his spot in the squad, but they're not quite on his level. This time out it was Lech who ran away with the league, leaving second place tightly contested between ourselves, Bruk-Bet Termalica and Wisła Kraków. The battle stayed tight right to the end, but ultimately we just about scraped into back-to-back runners-up medals. The Europa League seemed like it should have been simple enough for us, but perhaps that was our downfall - losing out on away goals to FC Nordsjælland in just the third qualifying round. We're in the Europa League hat again this coming season, with the added incentive that the next cycle will have 2 Polish teams in the Champions League, so We're definitely looking to at least grab another second place. League | Championship Group | Europa League Jakub Moder (MC) - Once again the core to our entire setup. I'm hoping to have some competition for him in the near future, but at the moment our record transfer is still proving to be worth every penny. Mariusz Sikora (ST) - This lad was already in place as backup to Al-Harish, and with the Libyan leaving us Sikora stepped up to perfectly fill the space. That said, I really think I need a 20-a-season player in order to take the next step. Camora (DL) - Fans Player of the Season. Was still essential to us in bringing a degree of experience. Unfortunately he wasn't able to play week in and week out but after retiring at the end of the season he has moved into our U18 coaching setup and I'm hoping he'll be a part of the club for many years to come.

A quick update on my next season: It's only the 6th of August, but already I'm getting mail regarding the potential breaking of the assists record...

That's a shame, man. Sounds like you had a really good connection to the club so maybe it's worth giving it another go? Still a long way to go. That first season is so often the hardest.

Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 3 (2021/22) The media's initial odds made us one of 3 teams destined to fight it out for the relegation spots this season, but I told both the players and the board that I expected us to stay up. This season did not go as planned. Transfers Now that we are in the Ekstraklasa there is a lot more leverage for us to be able to use the budget we have, so use it I did. £1.4m for Box-to-Box midfielder Moder - brought in to replace the departing Czyzycki - was comfortably a new record signing for us. The other couple of slightly expensive signings (Budzik and Sikora) weren't quite as immediate to slot into the first team, but they're certainly not far away from being ready for that. Widzew fans must have been delighted to find their first five games were all to be televised and even more so to see the team come away with 3 wins and 2 losses from those 5. A winless October caused a ripple of concern for me, but we came back strong with a run onto the winter break that included wins over both Wisła and Lechia and suddenly I was wondering if perhaps we might even sneak into the championship group once the league splits. A 9-game winning streak (with only one clean sheet) followed and all of a sudden we were rushing towards the split and in contention for the title. Lechia were the team on pace with us, but a bunch of dropped points right at the end of the regular season meant we would be relying on them to make a mistake if we wanted to do the unthinkable. In the championship group, we managed 6 wins and a draw - including beating Lechia - in order to do our part. Lechia did just enough to hold us off, though, and we finished second place with just a one-point difference. I'm immensely proud of how well we did. Europa League awaits us next season, but I really don't think we have a deep enough squad to really make much of it. I'd definitely like another run at the top of the table next season, but I don't think I can realistically expect the same again. If we make the championship group again that ought to be considered a success. League | Championship Group Jakub Moder (MC) - The £1.4m man was integral to our season and won himself both player of the year and player of the season awards. Zakaria Al-Harish (ST) - The Libyan international was both top scorer and top assister for us this season from a lone-striker position. Janusz Gancarczyk (AM RLC) - Very rapidly improving. Spent most of this season out on the right wing, but I'm thinking of switching him to the left side this coming season to allow Budzik a bit more pitch-time. Camora (DL) - The experienced full-back was actually named foreign player of the year this season. I'm not convinced his physicals will allow him to remain my first-choice in the upcoming season, but he'll most certainly remain a competent backup and he's already signed on to coach our U18s. I'm hoping that in a couple of years he might even develop to the point of becoming my assistant.

Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 2 (2020/21) This time around the media had us up toward the pointy end of the table, but not actually expecting us to go up. Personally, I was really looking to be in the promotion picture - Really want to capitalise on our good financial position with a quick promotion. Transfers I've only included the transfers that were for money, as there were a ton of free agents who came in as reserves/ones for the future. There were some loans in as well, but the most games any of them played was just one, so they weren't exactly important. A very shaky first three games saw me wondering if perhaps I'd been a little ambitious, but we then went 13 unbeaten in the league in order to bring ourselves back into contention. We threw away points left and right, but so did everyone around us, resulting in quite a tight promotion race. With 4 games to go, there were still at least 6 teams that could make it into the 2 promotion spots. We were sat in first at that point, but I knew it was far from a done deal. Beating promotion rivals GKS Katowice on TV at their place was a huge factor in our ability to secure both promotion and the league win. More importantly (perhaps), was that ŁKS Łodz were indeed relegated as bottom of the Ekstraklasa, so we shall pass them on our way up. A cup exit in the first round to Ekstrakalsa side Wisła Kraków was no disgrace, but I think it's time to start making some progress there. Competitions | Position History Goalkeeper Kacper Chorazka, Wing-Back Tomasz Nawotka and Central Midfielder Mateusz Czyzycki (any guesses on pronunciation?!) were key figures for our season, but once again I don't know that we've got any proper superstars in our ranks.

I have just finished my second season at Widzew. Should be putting my report up later this evening. Took a little longer than intended because I jumped into the Susie on Tour round for the month.

They can be clicked on to be zoomed, don't worry

Shush you! I was hoping nobody would notice. It's fine though - we'll pass them as they come back down at the end of this season

We're full time at Widzew, but I've honestly been leaving it to my assistant and just making minor adjustments on occasion. I think that's still suitably realistic because I know for a fact there are plenty of RL managers who don't get too involved on the training pitch. As for mentoring, I'm still trying to get to grips with how it actually works now, so I'm mostly just using my assistants recommended groups. Once I get a handle on it I'll start doing it myself.

Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź | Poland | Season 1 (2019/20) Preseason expectations had us aiming for upper-mid-table. The squad looked pretty capable of achieving that although I didn't think a promotion push was likely to be on the cards. On the other hand, there was no shortage of money at the club, with ~£2mil in the bank a £1mil transfer budget. Unfortunately though, it's quite difficult to spend that kind of money (on worthwhile players) when you're in the Polish first division. Transfers We kicked off out of the gates pretty well, but the honeymoon soon ended and a few of the established players got their knickers in a twist over various things. It wasn't until the February transfer window (!) that we were able to clear out a couple of the troublemakers and settle the team into a style that was working for us. Finishing the season strongly helped us finish in a very respectable 5th place, and well positioned to make a push for those promotion spots with a couple of key signings over the summer. Competitions | Position History The key players for me were both youngsters. Marcel Piezcek acting in a ball-winning role and Michael Ameyaw who was our primary playmaker. They weren't especially spectacular, but the rest of the team were even less so, and as they're both young they are definitely players I'm looking to build around moving into next year. Your pronunciation test for this season: Jakub Wawrzyniak.

Edit: - Poland reset date is June 20th Adam Hanley | RTS Widzew Łódź (History ) | Poland | Opening Post (2019) I really enjoy linguistics. Both the correct pronunciation and the origins of words and phrases fascinate me. I'm a native English speaker who doesn't really speak any other languages, but I do try my best to pronounce non-English words as correctly as possible. Polish has always been one that I struggle with, so I figured what better way to try and improve than to surround myself with Polish names. Picking a team to use was actually quite easy. I work in the shipping department for a small electronics manufacturer and we ship all over the world, so I instantly decided I wanted to play this season somewhere that I regularly ship parts to, My first thought was the village of Kwidzyn, but as far as I could find they don't have a football team in a position to use for this challenge. As second choice, Łódź actually turned out to be a more interesting option to me, anyway - 3rd largest city in Poland and yet no top-flight teams. My persona for this adventure will be the first Dollingstown Legend - Adam Hanley. Widzew were once one of the biggest teams in Poland. Champions League Semi-Finalist in 1983, and back-to-back Polish titles in both 81/82 and 96/97, but after the 98/99 season where they were Ekstraklasa runner-up they've not had much success at all - finally ending in a bankruptcy in 2015 and demotion to the bottom of the pyramid. They maintain a fierce rivalry with local side ŁKS Łódź, who are also in the Polish first division, and a historic rivalry with Legia Warsawa who are currently in the Ekstraklasa. I join the club with a little over 16,000 season ticket holders and an 18,000 capacity all-seater stadium. This is a far cry from tiny little Dollingstown. I set my game up on Thursday evening at full launch and I'm only just now done with my initial familiarisation with the club/players. Time to finally advance the game past June 20th!