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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

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. ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------

It's a big increase in one go, sure. But you'd think it should have gone up incrementally over the course of time, as you went out of the fourth, third, and second tiers, to the Liga Bwin, to winning it, then the Champions League. Out of interest, do you have the average ticket price from earlier years? Has it gone up? Just on a bit of a tangent, I'm assuming the likes of Benfica and Porto have much higher prices. So is this something the game can model accurately? Rising clubs see their prices grow, while slumping clubs start charging less. I think it would have a larger effect. It's only £9.35m a season, but you've won 4 Champions Leagues in the last eight years. You're one of the biggest clubs in Europe and have been for a while. So even looking at just that period it quickly adds up to about £75m. Include the cup games and it's probably closer to £100m. £14 is an absolute bargain. Imagine paying that little to see Liverpool or Manchester City. I have to pay nearly that much just for Thatcham Town or Hungerford.

That average price is surely a large part of the problem. Fair play for keeping it affordable to fans, but that's ridiculously low. Stick another tenner on it and that's nearly £10 million more a season, just for league games. £10 x 55,000 attendance x 17 league games = £9.35 million

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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

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.

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. ----------------------------------- 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. -----------------------------------

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. -----------------------------------

How is the Hall of Fame looking? Guess you must be near the top of most of them now.

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. ----------------------------------- 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. -----------------------------------

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.

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. -----------------------------------

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. ---------------------------------------

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. ---------------------------------------

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.

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.

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. ---------------------------------------

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. 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. --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------

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. ---------------------------------------

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. ------------------------------------------