[FM17] We didn't underestimate them, they were just a lot better than we thought.

[BoxToBox]

Nothing quite like the feeling of a youngster coming through and having a big impact.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

May 2022

 

 

 

***FA Cup Final***

Its the 5^th final for Pogon and they've finished on the losing end the last four times, most recently three years ago as Jagiellonia beat them 1-0 in extra time. This time its probably going to be tougher as we face one of the big three in rivals Lech and they'll want revenge after we beat them 4-0 in the league a few weeks ago. We have two players missing – Stachowiak (GK) & Rapa (DR) otherwise I can field a strong team:

 

3232 Wingbacks: Leszczynski, Kolinger, Wieteska, Colley, Gucek, Puchacz, Makowski, Kowalczyk, Kozak, Listkowski & Sanogo (Bach, Nauber, Martuszewski, Aytov, Piotrowski, Letniowski & Jovic)

 

We give ourselves a mountain to climb from the start as Smektala heads in Lech's first cross of the match. The rest of the match is actually quite disappointing despite us giving Lech a good game. There are few shots from either side in the first half but it opens up in the second Listkowski sees our best chance saved while we also hit the post. The Lech keeper played well but its incredibly frustrating to lose a tight match to such an early goal.

 

 

 

 

 

With the FA Cup over its back to league action as we look to avoid relegation. A win at home to Bruk-Bet should just about do that but a FA Cup hangover means the team look clueless. Bruk-Bet seem more motivated and batter our goal from distance. A good shot ten minutes in sees them in the lead while they add a second later in the half when another long shot deflects into the path of Chodyna. We improve in the second half but create nothing and fail to register a single shot on target as I hand more fines out.

Despite the defeat we are more or less safe from relegation as we travel to Cracovia. Four games left and I'm going to use them to give some of the fringe players a chance, not that we have many. For the third match in a row we concede an early goal, for the third match in a row its the opposition's only real chance of the match and for the third match in a row we fail to get back in the match. At least we create a few chances and test the keeper this time with Adamkiewicz hitting the bar with a header late on.

Its another poor start at home to Wisla Plock but this time the opposition don't score before the team wake up. Once they get the passing going we look the more likely to score but it takes a set piece before the break as Nauber sees the keeper get fingers to a header with Kolinger on hand to tap in. We didn't concede early in the first but we do in the second although hats off it was a rocket from just outside the box. The team keep working though and 18yo Jovic is back on the scoresheet as he pulls away from his marker before firing into the far corner to seal a much needed win.

Last home match of the season and I start both 18yos up front but its another of the youngsters who makes headlines as Starzycki finds the net from 35 yards. Its a fairly even match overall though and Arka convert a cross in the second half to earn a draw.

The youngsters get another chance in the last match of the season and its a comfortable win as both 18yos up front get on the scoresheet while Starzycki fires in from the edge of the box.

 

 

 

***Manager News***

I haven't met the expectations in the league but thats been offset slightly by reaching the FA Cup final. The board are satisfied with my performance and offer me a new two year deal with my current one running out.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2021/22 Season Summary

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

Legia again set the pace at the top but Wisla Krakow continued their good form from the end of last season along with Lechia to keep them honest. Lech were a little off the pace but led the chase of the expected sides. All in all we were the only side expected to finish in the top half that disappointed. Down at the bottom Slask were also disappointing as they didn't just get dragged into a relegation battle but propped up the table after the early part of the season. While we missed out on the Championship group it was Korona who benefited nicking the final spot ahead of Zaglebie Sosnowiec.

 

The story of the Championship Group was Lech dropping just two points (6 wins, 1 draw) to overhaul the top three and lift the title for 9^th time. Legia & Lechia had to settle for European places while Wisla Krakow crashed & burned in style picking up just five out of 21 possible points. They survived to finish 4^th on goal difference ahead of KGHM Zaglebie and that proved vital when Lech lifted the FA Cup as they claimed the last European place.

 

Last year Slask dragged themselves away from relegation after the league split but neither Chrobry or Slask looked like doing so this season as they picked up just one win between them. Ahead of them the other six were really close up to the last couple of matches but with them all safe from relegation it was just a case of going through the motions.

 

 

Polish FA Cup

Two big names fell in the 2^nd Round this season. Legia can at least point to the fact they lost on penalties to fellow Ekstraklasa side Bruk-Bet but Lechia had the humiliation of losing to a Second Division team. Bruk-Bet's run continued all the way to the Semi Finals where they met Pogon but we despatched three Ekstraklasa sides in a row enroute to the final. The other half of the draw saw Lech with a relatively straight forward route to the final including a 6-1 defeat of Second Division side, Bytovia in the semis. An early goal in the final was enough for Lech as they did the double and lifted the FA Cup for the 7^th time.

 

 

Awards

Fair Play Award: 1^st Lech, 2^nd Lechia, 3^rd Zaglebie Sosnowiac

Foreigner of the Year: Kevin Friesenbichler (27yo Austrian ST) – Lech

Player of the Season: Kevin Friesenbichler (27yo Austrian ST) – Lech

Player of the Year: Rafal Wolski (29yo Polish ST) – Lechia

 

Top Goalscorer

1^st Kevin Friesenbichler (27yo Austrian ST) – Lech – 28 goals

2^nd Patrik Petrous (20yo Czech ST) – KGHM Zaglebie – 21 goals

3^rd Rafal Wolski (29yo Polish ST) – Lechia – 13 goals

 

Goal of the Season: Blazej Starzycki (21yo Polish MC) – Pogon vs Arka

 

Manager of the Season: Thomas Zdebel (Gornik)

 

Team of the Season

GK – Mande Sayouba (28yo Ivorian GK) – Lech

DR – Ivan Runje (31yo Croatian DC/DR) – Jagiellonia

DC – Rafal Janicki (29yo Polish DC) – Lechia

DC – Plamen Galabov (26yo Bulgarian DC) – KGHM Zaglebie

DL – Jason Davidson (30yo Australian DLC) – Lechia

MR – Hugo Videmont (29yo French AML/AMR) – Wisla Krakow

MC – Francisco Junior (30yo Bissau-Guinean MC/DM) – Lechia

MC – Jakub Plsek (28yo Czech MC/DM) – Jagiellonia

ML – Jaroslaw Smektala (21yo Polish ML) – Lech

ST – Kevin Friesenbichler (28yo Austrian ST) – Lech

ST – Marcin Listkowski (24yo Polish ST) – Pogon

Sub – Cristiano Figueiredo (31yo Portugese GK) – Wisla Krakow

Sub – Matej Chalus (24yo Czech DC/DR) – Lech

Sub – Robert Janicki (24yo Polish AMRC) – Lech

Sub – Kacper Chodyna (23yo Polish MR/MC) – Bruk-Bet

Sub – Yaya Sanogo (29yo French ST/AML) – Pogon

Sub – Eneko Boveda (33yo Spanish DR/DL) – Lechia

Sub – Patrik Petrous (20yo Czech ST) – KGHM Zaglebie

 

 

 

Club Review

 

Ekstraklasa – 10^th (2^nd in Relegation Group)

FA Cup – Runners Up

 

After finishing 7^th last year the media had us down for much the same position this year. The board also expected top half and a place in the Championship Group. Too many draws early on had to battling in the Relegation Group though but a decent finish saw us in the equivalent of 10^th place overall which isn't too far away from 7^th. This left the board slightly disappointed but a FA Cup final appearance improved their mood leaving them satisfied with the season overall.

 

Despite making an effort to cut the wage bill what I saved seems to have been sucked up by agents, tax & bank interest for the overdraft. Overall expenses increased slightly from approx £6.8m to £6.9m while income also increased slightly from £4.8m to £5m. This meant we lost around £1.9m before transfers which is very similar to last year. In terms of transfer we had approx £3.2m of player sales (Mainly from selling Dankowski, Zuta & Helik) but we also spent approx £1.4m leaving us with a excess of £1.8m which meant overall we just about broke even this year (Loss of £90k). This leaves the bank £2.7m in the red which isn't good, especially if we have to sell two or three players every season just to stand still.

 

 

Squad Review

 

  

 

Goalkeepers

Stachowiak found his form after a poor end to the previous season and established himself as my preferred choice once again despite being in decline. A torn groin muscle ended his season early and with his contract up he has probably played his last game for the club. Leszczynski spent a lot of time on the bench but stepped up after Stachowiak got injured and put in some solid performances to earn another one year contract.

Adam Stachowiak (35yo Polish GK) - 25 apps, 32 conceded, 7 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.86

Rafal Leszczynski (30yo Polish GK) – 19 apps, 13 conceded, 9 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.94

 

Fullbacks

On the right new signing Gucek had a decent season but couldn't dislodge Rapa as my preferred choice. A couple of bad injuries + a leave of absence broke up Rapa's season and there are signs he is declining which probably contributed to a dip in his performances but overall he still had a solid season. On the left Amanovic started very poorly this year and after another bad injury I lost patience with him and signed another player. New signing Puchacz stepped up to claim the starting role registering a solid season while the more defensive Martuszewski joined in January. Our wing backs system doesn't particularly suit him but he did a decent job of adapting.

Cornel Rapa (32yo Romanian DR) – 19 apps, 0 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.92

Luka Gucek (23yo Slovenian DR) – 22 (1) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.82

Tymoteusz Puchacz (23yo Polish DL/ML) – 25 (4) apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, Ave Rating: 6.97

Aleksa Amanovic (25yo Macedonian DL) – 8 (3) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.58

Piotr Martuszewski (22yo Polish DL) – 12 (3) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.84

 

Central Defence

Kolinger was again the pick of our DCs although he didn't reach the standard he set last year. Wieteska was always expected to play a big role but he had a fairly average start to the season before finding his feet and finishing strongly. New signing Nauber slotted in as a squad player and had a decent season but as expected he is a little short of quality. This left Mostwik as our other natural option but much like the previous season he was disappointing in a few early games. I despatched him to the reserves for much of the year before giving him another chance during the run in. He showed some improvement but I'm still far from convinced that he has what it takes to be a starter. With the switch to wing backs natural DM, Makowski did a good job of filling in at DC before Xmas and may even be better suited to DC than MC in that system. January saw the arrival of Gambian International, Colley and he proved to be generally solid although prone to odd bad games.

Denis Kolinger (28yo German DC) – 34 (1) apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 7.01

Mateusz Wieteska (25yo Polish DC/DR, DM) – 23 (4) apps, 4 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.98

Gerrit Nauber (30yo German DC/DM) – 28 (4) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.94

Jedrzej Mostwik (21yo Polish DC) – 8 (4) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.73

Omar Colley (29yo Gambian DC) – 15 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.93

 

Midfield

Makowski & Aytov again shared the holding role in the middle. Makowski is more physical while Aytov offers a bit more when we have the ball but both had decent seasons in their own way. The fans really took to homegrown Kowalczyk this year as he showed significant improvement to be the pick of the midfielders. Piotrowski also found his feet this year after three poor seasons as he covered DLP, WBR & BWM. The main attacking MC was again Kozak and he showed a little improvement from the previous year but still needs to work on his consistency while Letniowski moved infield from ML to provide his main backup. This left 21yo Starzycki who was in his first season with the senior squad but he didn't look out of place. I'm still deciding if he is more suited to a DLP or attacking role but for now he is capable of covering for both. 18yo DM Bartosik also made a few appearances and there are signs he is knocking on the door of the main squad but he will have to be patient.

Rafal Makowski (25yo Polish DM/DC, MC) – 26 (2) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.95

Vladimir Aytov (26yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC) – 29 (7) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.87

Jozef Kozak (21yo Slovakian AMC/MC) – 23 (12) apps, 7 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.92

Sebastian Kowalczyk (23yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 28 (4) apps, 4 goals, 4 assists, Ave Rating: 7.03

Jakub Piotrowski (24yo Polish MC/DM, MR) – 25 (14) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 6.84

Blazej Starzycki (21yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 8 (13) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.91

Arkadiusz Bartosik (18yo Polish DM/MC) – 1 (2) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.73

 

Wingers

With Fulop & Pesic being sold and the switch to wing backs it meant we didn't really need wingers. Listkowski returned to his natural ST role and Letniowski found a new home as an attacking MC which left new signing Wrobel a bit out of place. At 21yo it did him no harm to be playing for the reserves but looking ahead he needs to fit the formation which means he'll probably have to play as an attacking WBL.

Juliusz Letniowski (24yo Polish MLC/MR) – 20 (8) apps, 3 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 7.01

Tomasz Wrobel (21yo Polish ML) – 1 (1) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 8.10

 

Forwards

I was of the opinion that Listkowski was better as a winger but he made me eat my words this season as her returned to his natural ST role in style. King of the assists and only Sanogo scored more goals as he was arguably our best player this year. Sanogo was his main foil and a good player for most of the season before a late dip in form after returning from a broken arm. Zwolinski was the third option but again disappointed to the point where he was shown up by two 18yos. Searching for cover I recalled Adamkiewicz from his loan spell in January and it proved to be a good choice although his rise to the first team was somewhat tempered when he strained his knee ligaments in March. His loss was a chance for Jovic to step up and he also made a strong case for being in the main squad next year.

Yaya Sanogo (29yo French ST/AML) – 30 (1) apps, 11 goals, 7 assists, Ave Rating: 7.12

Marcin Listkowski (24yo Polish ST/AMC) – 25 (10) apps, 8 goals, 12 assists, Ave Rating: 7.12

Lukasz Zwolinski (29yo Polish ST) – 10 (10) apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.62

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (18yo Polish ST/AMR) – 6 (4) apps, 3 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 7.10

Slobodan Jovic (18yo Montenegrin ST) – 7 (5) apps, 6 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.98

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2022/23 Pre-Season

 

 

 

Players Out

Seven players left the club at the end of their contracts from the reserve & youth teams but just the one from the main squad after the upheaval over the last year.

Adam Stachowiak (35yo Polish GK) – Released at end of contract

Time at Pogon: 5 years, Apps: 165, Clean Sheets: 52

Unfortunately age was catching up with him and getting rid of his high wage is a bonus.

 

 

Once again I might have to sell a couple of players to raise some cash and several players have clubs watching them as the transfer window opens:

Mateusz Wieteska (DC) – Major interest from Gornik & KGHM Zaglebie

Denis Kolinger (DC) – Minor interest from KGHM Zaglebie & Berlin-Kopenick Dammfeld (German Second Division)

Jedrzej Mostwik (DC) – Major interest from Arka, Cracovia, Korona & Piast

Cornel Rapa (DR) – Minor interest from Hammarby (Swedish Premier Division)

Aleksa Amanovic (DL) – Major interest from Arka

Vladimir Aytov (DM) – Major interest from Dundee (Scottish Premiership)

Jakub Piotrowski (MC) – Major interest from Korona

Jozef Kozak (MC) – Major interest from Dundee, minor from Alessandria (Italian Serie B)

Yaya Sanogo (ST) – Major interest from FC Midtjylland (Danish Superliga), minor from Elche (Spanish Second Division) & Legia

Marcin Listkowski (ST) – Major interest from Cracovia, Gornik, KGHM Zaglebie, Inverness CT (Scottish Premiership) & Osijek (Croatian First League) + minor from Dundee & US Orleans (French Ligue 2)

Lukasz Zwolinski (ST) – Major interest from Piast & Slask

 

The ones I would like to sell are Amanovic who is now 3^rd choice at DL & Zwolinski who constantly disappoints up front. I'm also open to selling Mostwik (DC) who doesn't look like making it as a regular starter while Cornel Rapa is again feeling homesick and after having a leave of absence in January its only fair I let him go this time.

 

Early offers came from Scottish clubs as Dundee bid £250k for Aytov while Inverness CT suggested £225k for Listkowski. Over the next couple of weeks two Russian clubs made offers Wieteska while Auxerre wanted Kowalczyk for £235k.  All far too low though and all rejected.

 

 

With friendlies underway the more serious offers arrive on my desk. I offered Amanovic out and got three bids which I accepted. We didn't get much for him but he was surplus to requirements and it got him off the wage bill:

Aleksa Amanovic (25yo Macedonian DL) – Sold to Bruk-Bet for £24k (£35k)

Time at Pogon: 7 years, Apps: 86, Goals: 1, Assists: 3

 

Striker Zwolinski soon follows him out the door in similar circumstances:

Lukasz Zwolinski (29yo Polish ST) – Sold to Piast for £51k (£63k)

Time at Pogon: 13 years, Apps: 225, Goals: 45, Assists: 1

 

 

The next round of offers sees me reject a £275k one from FC Utrecht (Holland) for Kowalczyk & a £675k bid from KGHM Zaglebie for Sanogo. I do accept three offers although one is a loan from a Romanian club for Rapa which he ends up rejecting. I'm fine with that, if he chooses to stay for one more season before leaving at the end of his contract it'll be even better.

 

Jedrzej Mostwik (21yo Polish DC) – Sold to Piast for £275k (£350k)

Time at Pogon: 2 years, Apps: 25, Goals: 2, Assists: 0

Despite looking good on paper and having potential he just wasn't performing on the pitch although I am having second thoughts that he might be close to making a breakthrough. That said with Pawlowski joining on a bosman we really can't offer him the game time he needs.

 

Jozef Kozak (21yo Slovakian AMC) – Sold to KGHM Zaglebie for £1.1m (£1.5m)

Selling one of your star players isn't normally recommended but we need to sell a couple of players and midfield is the area we have good depth in with several younger players pushing for places. It was also a tough decision to sell him to a league rival but we need the money and he wasn't exactly outstanding on the pitch so I'm confident we can replace him.

 

 

 

Players In

Two bosman deals join us after being agreed last season:

 

Tomasz Wroblewski (22yo Polish GK) – Signed on a bosman from Legia

A product of the Legia academy but never broke through to the main squad. He had a loan spell in the First Division a couple of years ago where he looked fairly solid but it remains to be seen if he can make the step up. He is a well rounded keeper with a good attitude but my staff feel he lacks a little quality. On paper he is similar to Leszczynski and I'm hoping we can get some improvement out of him over the next couple of seasons.

 

Lukasz Pawlowski (21yo Polish DC) – Signed on a bosman from Legia

Pretty much the same story as Wroblewski, Legia academy, didn't make the first team, one spell out on loan. Pawlowski is the defender I actually tried to sign last summer but the DOF couldn't agree a deal. Far from the finished product but good basics, plenty of potential & a good attitude. Will start as a squad player but could be a long term replacement for Kolinger if he improves in the next couple of seasons.

 

 

With those two arriving I actually have no plans to buy anyone. With no transfer budget I'm stuck with freebies anyway but I'm fairly happy with the squad. We have strength in depth both in defence & midfield and although I'm spotted a couple of good MCs they really wouldn't improve what we already have by much. Up front I'm gambling on our two home grown 18yos but given our financial woes I need to feed the younger players in gradually. That said I maybe wouldn't say no to one good ST to support Sanogo & Listkowski.

 

In the end it didn't matter whether I wanted to bring any players in or not as the option got taken out of my hands (See Below).

 

 

 

Club News

The club received another takeover offer part way through the friendlies which put us back under a transfer embargo

 

 

 

Friendlies

With Lech doing the double last season we get the chance to face them again in the Super Cup. This leaves us time for just three friendlies as we host Lyngby (Danish Superliga) before travelling to Dubnica (Slovakian Lower League) and returning to face newly promoted Miedz (Ekstraklasa). It was three good wins in the end but Dubnica gave us an early scare before the team raised their game, particularly Jovic who ended the match with two goals & three assists.

 

 

 

Super Cup Final

We again faced rivals Lech and unlike the FA Cup Final we didn't give away an early goal. As Lech edged possession and shots we arguably created the better chances albeit they weren't clear ones. We didn't take them though and midway through the second half a good move saw Lech score the important opening goal. They added a second as we pushed for an equaliser and that was that. Disappointed to lose but it was a good performance aside from our failure to put our chances away.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2022/23 Season Preview

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

Once again just minor changes in the media odds. The three L's are still expected to fight it out at the top. Jagiellonia's odds have edged out a little, Wisla Krakow's have come in a little, we are still in the mid table group while the promoted teams are expected to struggle.

 

 

 

Board Expectations

Its as you were with he board and they are on a par with the media & my own expectations.

Polish Ekstraklasa – Top Half

Polish FA Cup – Quarter Finals

 

 

 

Pogon Szczecin Squad

After the changes last year so far its been a much quieter transfer window as the squad is taking shape. Three fringe players left, Stachowiak got released and we sold Kozak while two young Polish players came in on bosmans. With money an issue I'm also turning to our youth team for cheaper squad options. We have talent in there I've just got to be careful to feed them in gradually. Starzycki made the step up last season while strikers Adamkiewicz & Jovic made an impact towards the end of the season. This year I've added four more to the main squad to give it depth.

Overall I've registered 20 players (Max 25) while we also have six U21s. In terms of the rules we have four club trained players (three needed) and 13 nation trained (eight needed) not including the U21s. In terms of formations I seem to have virtually fully moved to a wing backs system which explains the lack of wingers in the squad while it makes good use of our depth in midfield.

 

Goalkeepers

With Stachowiak leaving we have no clear number one but we have three 2.5* players looking to take their chance. Leszczynski has been the reliable backup for the last couple of years while new signing, Wroblewski will be looking to establish himself. However both might have to give way to a fast improving 18yo. Home grown Hinc has come on in leaps & bounds whilst on loan last season and with 5* potential he could be claiming the number one jersey sooner rather than later.

Rafal Leszczynski (30yo Polish GK) – 1 Cap

Tomasz Wroblewski (22yo Polish GK)

Jozef Hinc (18yo Polish GK)

 

Fullbacks

It was all change on the left last year as two new DLs joined us and they will again share the work. Puchacz is better suited to the wing back role while Martuszewski is more defensive but is working on the attacking side of his game. On the right Rapa is starting to decline and wanting to end his career back home in Romania but for now he is still here while Gucek is the alternative. I've also promoted 20yo Pustelnik who had a frustrating season out on loan last year with not much game time. He is a two footed player who can play on either side of the field. A small pacy player who needs work on the technical side of his game. We also have 21yo winger Tomasz Wrobel who I signed last year. He really doesn't have a place in the wing backs formation but is working on training as an attacking option at WBL.

Tymoteusz Puchasz (23yo Polish DL/ML)

Piotr Martuszewski (23yo Polish DL)

Cornel Rapa (32yo Romanian DR) – 5 Caps

Luka Gucek (23yo Slovenian DR)

Radoslaw Pustelnik (20yo Polish DR/DL)

Tomasz Wrobel (21yo Polish ML)

 

Central Defence

Not much change in the middle from the end of last season. Kolinger, Wieteska & Colley are the main starters while Nauber and new signing Pawlowski offer solid replacements. Pawlowski has already shown in the friendlies that he seems ready for the first team. Like Kolinger his main strength is in the air whereas the other three are more rounded. I also have the option of using DM Makowski who is probably more suited to DC than MC in the wing backs system.

Denis Kolinger (28yo German DC)

Omar Colley (29yo Gambian DC) – 45 Caps, 5 Goals

Mateusz Wieteska (25yo Polish DC/DR, DM)

Gerrit Nauber (30yo German DC/DM)

Lukasz Pawlowski (21yo Polish DC)

 

Central Midfield

Kozak has gone but with two youngsters promoted we have eight players fighting for three starting places. Makowski & Aytov are the main defensive MCs but we also have 19yo Bartosik who made a handful of appearances last year which might see Makowski switching to DC. New club captain, Kowalczyk is our main DLP, natural winger Letniowski proved he could play the attacking role last year while Piotrowski is a good squad player capable of covering BWM, DLP or WBR. I'm still undecided whether Starzycki is better as a playmaker or a runner but he can cover both while I've also promoted a potential star in 19yo Kolodziejczyk. After a good season on loan last year he is the main reason I sold Kozak, much like Starzycki I'm not sure if he is better as a playmaker or runner but for now he can cover both while we see if he can realise his potential. If that wasn't enough we still have no less than eight players in the reserves/U18s who potentially could be first team players in the future.

Rafal Makowski (25yo Polish DM/DC, MC)

Vladimir Aytov (26yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC)

Arkadiusz Bartosik (19yo Polish DM/MC)

Jakub Piotrowski (24yo Polish MC/DM, MR)

Sebastian Kowalczyk (23yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

Juliusz Letniowski (24yo Polish MLC/MR)

Blazej Starzycki (22yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

Daniel Kolodziejczyk (19yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

 

Strikers

Zwolinski has left and with the transfer embargo I haven't been able to bring anyone else in. That leaves us with two main players and two youngsters who made an impact towards the end of last season. Listkowski really broke through last year from a squad player to a starter as he provides the foil for Sanogo. Adamkiewicz is a potential star but it isn't clear what type of role suits him. An athletic player with some vision he is capable of taking over from Listkowski in the creative role but he can also play an advanced role or a defensive one. Jack of all trades, master of none? perhaps and I need to find a way to get the best out of him. I don't have the same issue with the other youngster, Jovic. He is clearly an out & out striker with an eye for goal. Not a typical pacy striker but has good movement and he is far from useless in the air.

Yaya Sanogo (29yo French ST/AML)

Marcin Listkowski (24yo Polish ST/AMC)

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (19yo Polish ST/AMR)

Slobodan Jovic (18yo Montenegrin ST)

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

July/August 2022

 

 

 

***Club News***

The transfer embargo gets lifted late in July as the investor pulls out.

 

 

 

***Transfer Window Report***

 

 

Players Out

Last season I was receiving offers for players on an almost daily basis but this year despite interest it was relatively quiet.

 

Several of the reserves/U18s went out on loan while in terms of first team players I turned done a few loan offers for rotation/backup options but did accept one for 19yo DM Bartosik as I didn't feel I could give him enough game time. The window mostly revolved around two first teamers though.

 

32yo DR Cornel Rapa has been wanting to return to Romania for a while but it proved to be a long winded process. In pre-season he rejected a loan contract from a Romanian First League club so when another made a loan bid I turned it down. This led to him becoming unhappy before a deal finally got done on deadline day. We didn't get any money for him but he has been a good servant to the club, was starting to decline, had less than a year on his contract and got to go home to Romania.

Cornel Rapa (32yo Romanian DR) – Sold to FC Voluntari (Romanian First League) for £0.

Time at Pogon: 6 years, Apps: 158, Goals: 6, Assists: 21

 

The second player was home grown 24yo midfielder Sebastian Kowalczyk. Having established himself as our first choice DLP last season offers were coming in for him from all over Europe on a regular basis. From the ones I remember this included clubs in Holland, Scotland, Portugal, Turkey & Russia as well as some of the bigger Polish clubs. All were sub standard though with the pick of them being one for around £450k from Legia and all were rejected. Kowalczyk didn't seem bothered at all by them and just got on with it.

Then with two hours to go to the transfer deadline the chairman steps in and screws me over big time by accepting an offer for him from Legia. So not just content with selling our best midfielder who we also needed for the home grown quota but he gives me two hours to find a replacement.

Sebastian Kowalczyk (24yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – Sold to Legia for £625k (£775k)

Time at Pogon: 9 years, Apps: 91, Goals: 5, Assists: 12

 

 

Players In

I was basically happy & settled with the squad. Scouting had continued but we were limited in terms of money while I was also aware any players I signed would mean less game time for our young fringe players. Hinc (GK), Pustelnik (DRL), Kolodziejczyk (MC), Adamkiewicz (ST) & Jovic (ST) have all looked capable and just need time on the pitch to develop.

 

I did look for a ST so one of Jovic/Adamkiewicz could go on loan but couldn't find anyone suitable and tbh both youngsters were looking decent on the pitch.

 

Although Rapa leaving was a loss it was planned for and I'm hoping its a case of one step backwards, two steps forwards. Gucek will be first choice on the right while 20yo Pustelnik has an opportunity to step up after a frustrating season on loan last year. Even if he fails midfielder Piotrowski has been trained to play MR/WBR while DC, Wieteska is also retraining on the right so we have options.

 

Kowalczyk leaving so close to the deadline though was a different matter. I hadn't planned for it at all and it left me with a problem. Technically we had seven players competing for three starting places so we should be able to cope with six midfielders however when you look deeper we could have problems. Aytov is a bit too defensive to be a DLP and with Makowski also playing DC he is needed as the BWM. Piotrowski is also covering WBR unless 20yo Pustelnik proves himself, Starzycki did ok last season but its a big ask for him to become the number one DLP and I'm not sure he is ready or ever will be. That leaves 19yo Kolodziejczyk who has just been promoted to the first team and is possibly better as the MC(a).

 

I considered recalling Bartosik from loan but it doesn't help as it would only release Aytov and he isn't a DLP. Looking at the reserves/U18s I know I said we had depth but few are ready to make the step up. The closest one is 21yo Robert Kmiecik who is in a make or break season on loan in the first division which he can't be recalled from.

 

This leaves me staring at a disorganised shortlist full of midfielders who haven't been scouted very well due to other positions being more needed. Looking at the free options players seem either too defensive or too attacking. The standout player is a 24yo AMC who was released by our parent club, Lyon but he isn't a DLP, possibly more a AMC/ST. One player who might be able to do a job is 31yo Austrian Sascha Viertl but I'm not convinced he is any better than what we have already.

 

The loan list isn't much better with the pick of the options being 28yo Bolivian international Danny Bejarano who has been dropped into the reserves by fellow Ekstraklasa side, Jagiellonia. From the scouting done he already has a few cons, has been very average over the last couple of seasons in the Ekstraklasa and you have to wonder if he would be good enough when Jagiellonia have dropped him.

 

That leaves us with money options and we don't have much to spend. Most of the good options seem to be DM/BWMs currently or AMCs while the ones that might be ok just haven't been scouted enough. All in all I decide to just muddle through at least until the January window.

 

 

 

 

I'm looking to improve on our poor start last year and we have a good chance of starting with a win in the opening match, home to Arka. Early on it looks like we are working out the cobwebs but we still control the match while Arka limit us to long shots. Just before the break we get hit with a sucker punch while it goes from bad to worse early in the second when Wroblewski lets a long shot drift past him (Kinda wishing I played one of the other GKs at this point). Our young goal machine side foots a cross in to get us back in the match before Kowalczyk's deflected effort from the edge of the box flies in. We finish strongly and Wieteska heads in a free kick to seal an opening day win. The stats tell a story though as Arka recorded two goals from three shots while neither side managed to create a single half chance.

Away to Wisla Plock I give Wroblewski another chance in goal and he looks more secure as we are under pressure early on. We defend well though before delivering a sucker punch ourselves later in the half when Listkowski frees Sanogo on the break and he calmly places wide of the keeper. Wisla prove to be tough opposition though and don't lie down creating a few half chances. Our failure to clear the ball after Wroblewski saves well results in an equaliser which I can't really complain about as 1-1 is a pretty fair result. 18yo Jovic has other ideas though as he confidently fires a low cross into the bottom corner to claim the points.

Next up is our former feeder club who were promoted last season. With a FA Cup match in a few days I choose to rotate the squad which sees Adamkiewicz make his first start of the season up front after a hattrick for the reserves in midweek while Kolodziejczyk makes his debut in midfield. A tight game sees Colley break the deadlock when he powers in a header from a corner while Sanogo forces the ball in off the keeper to make it two before the break. With Blekitni only threatening from distance we just go through the motions in the second half to make it three wins from three.

Away to Arka in the FA Cup second round and I give debuts to home grown Hinc (GK) & Pustelnik (WBR) as well as new signing Pawlowski (DC). Arka have the better of possession & shots but we create better chances as Sanogo puts one into the side netting while Pustelnik blasts a volley wide. Pawlowski has looked solid though and heads in a free kick to mark his debut. That looks to be that but Arka push hard in the final stages grabbing an equaliser with minutes to go to take us into extra time. Very little happens until late on when Listkowski is freed only to see his shot come back off the post as the game goes to penalties. We aren't great at penalties and when Wieteska sees his opening effort saved I'm starting to fear the worst. Listkowski & Letniowski confidently slot in though while Hinc saves penalties three & four. Pawlowski blasts in our fourth which leaves Nauber with the chance to win it but the keeper pulls off a fine save. Sudden death and Piotrowski's effort is saved leaving Arka to go on & win it. Overall a good performance, a little disappointed not to win but its somewhat tempered knowing the winners will face Legia in the next round.

The team are still tired as we travel to Jagiellonia forcing me to rotate more and that seems to affect our performance. Both teams struggle to create chances with the key moment a long shot on the stroke of half time which comes back off the bar, Kolinger misses the clearing header leaving a tap in. I probably shouldn't be too disappointed as on paper this is a match we should be struggling in.

Since the FA Cup defeat we seem to have forgotten how to score. We should be beating Miedz, comfortably, but we struggle to create chances despite controlling the game. The best of our efforts come from set pieces with Nauber heading the only clear one over the bar.

The month ends with a top of the table clash but I'm not confident given Wisla Krakow are the club coming closest to breaking the big three. Sanogo has been poor the last couple of games so I drop him in favour of Jovic while 19yo Kolodziejczyk is also given a start in midfield. We've been off the pace early on recently so I aim for a higher tempo, more direct start and it works when Jovic drives into the box before getting clattered. Wieteska missed his pen in the FA Cup but he confidently drills this one down the middle. Chances are few & far between but Krakow gift us another penalty on the stroke of halftime, this time Wieteska goes for the top corner slotting in off the inside of the post. We seem to be in the lead without doing an awful lot but finally a proper goal is scored when Jovic continues his rise to cult star heading in a Gucek cross to take us back to the top of the league.

 

 

[endtime]

Good start, I'm surprised nobody's tried to sign Jović.

[Cougar2010]

On 23/05/2017 at 20:37, endtime said:

Good start, I'm surprised nobody's tried to sign Jović.

He isn't that good tbh, just has a habit of scoring:

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

September 2022

 

 

 

***Lightbulb Moment + Correcting a Mistake***

Ok, lightbulb moment first. Despite selling players I was a little confused why our finances weren't in better shape. Turns out every time we've sold a player we've lost out on a fairly large chunk of the transfer fee which has gone to the player/agent/previous club. Can't do anything about it now but its something to be aware of in future.

As for the mistake well it turns out Rapa is still here. On deadline day we accepted an offer from a Romanian club and Rapa trotted off home. It was an International window so we didn't have any games and I wasn't paying much attention after concentrating on replacing Kowalczyk. Anyway on the 5^th September Rapa & his agent reappear at my door informing me that he has rejected the contract offer from FC Voluntari and would also like to withdraw his transfer request as he is happy to stay at Pogon.

I have no issues with him staying for a bit longer, it perhaps holds Pustelnik back a little but it means Piotrowski can concentrate on DLP more and solves our potential midfield problem.

 

 

 

 

First match after the International break is one we should be winning. Rapa will have to wait his turn as I promised Pustelnik some game time on the right while Starzycki takes over from Kowalczyk as the DLP. Early signs are it was going to be difficult to break down a defensive Korona but we get the breakthrough from a really unlikely source. A free kick is squared to Makowski and his shot takes one bounce before sneaking into the corner. Its soon two as they give up a soft penalty when Pustelnik gets tripped back peddling to get onto the end of a cross. With a comfortable lead it was just a case of going through the motions to record another win.

We might be top of the league but so far we've been playing teams we should be mostly beating. Next up is the first of three matches against the big three but also the one that is possibly beatable. Overall its a tight game with defences in control and in truth we just don't create enough as Lechia take the points via a long shot towards the end of first half.

Away to Legia always one of the toughest matches of the year and I'm not surprised we lost but I'm really disappointed with the performance. First goal was a deflected shot, second a result of a deflected cross and third right after I had given them a kick up the arse at the break.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

October 2022

 

 

 

The draw hasn't done us any favours this year as we face the big three one after the other. Away to Lech their normally solid keeper gifts us the lead when he flaps at a corner leaving Pawlowski to nod in but they push hard and level before the break. So far this year the strikers have been struggling and Listkowski is yet to find the net but he breaks his duck in style early in the second half. His first goal I can't help but feel the keeper could have again done better as he gets a hand to the shot before he wins & confidently slots in a penalty. He completes his hattrick on the break as he holds off a defender to fire in before a soft penalty sees him add a fourth sealing a massive win.

Back at home Gornik are a top half side but currently struggling towards the bottom. It looks like a good chance to build on our win over Lech but Gucek goes and gets himself sent off for a reckless two footed tackle just 13 minutes in. It gets worse as while we are reorganising Gornik convert a clear chance. We survive until halftime which gives me a chance to make more changes and we cope better in the second half with Puchacz forcing in an equaliser. Gornik push hard for a winner late on while we also come close from set pieces but in the end I think both teams are happy with a draw.

Away to rivals Cracovia we don't have a good record having lost all three matches to them last season. We start well though and Sanogo scores his first goal from open play in eight matches with a turn & shot. Cracovia push hard towards the end of the half and grab a deserved equaliser. The second half is tight but we have the best chances late on as Adamkiewicz blasts his straight at the keeper while Sanogo skies his well over the bar as we have to settle for a draw.

We end the month unbeaten but its three draws in a row as we fail to take our chances. Bruk-Bet nearly get lucky early on when Kolinger gets hacked down just outside out box. The referee doesn't give a foul allowing Bruk-Bet to play on but Wroblewski saves well and that trend continues for much of the match as most decisions go against us. We do create enough chances to win it though with Sanogo the main culprit as he sees two late shots saved.

 

 

[AceAvenger]

Great thread! Good to see Pawlowski getting involved in the goal scoring front early on in his career. Looks like you have a genuine goal threat from set-pieces with his height.

[Cougar2010]

21 hours ago, AceAvenger said:

Great thread! Good to see Pawlowski getting involved in the goal scoring front early on in his career. Looks like you have a genuine goal threat from set-pieces with his height.

Yeah we do have a fair bit of height in the squad but it seems to be all or nothing.  DCs, DMs & Sanogo are massive while the wing backs, midfielders & other forwards are quite small.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

November/December 2022

 

 

 

Home to Zaglebie we are missing a few players due to injury & suspension which leaves us a little light on the bench. It doesn't seem to matter on the pitch though as we play well & create chances but our problems continue up front as we can't put the ball in the net. Midway through the second half Zaglebie take the lead despite not having a shot on target when Wieteska deflects the ball past Hinc which just about sums up the match. Jovic once again is the striker that turns up though as he comes off the bench to get on the end of a through ball and slot past the keeper to earn us a draw.

After the International break we have a good chance to get back to winning ways away to Sosnowiec. They look like frustrating us early on as they keep ball but from our first real attack a blocked shot falls to Piotrowski who drives in from the edge of the box. They possibly edge the match as they put us under pressure frequently but don't create a clear chance while Hinc looks in fine form as time & again he confidently handles what comes at him. Just as it looks like being a nervy finish Kolinger flicks on a corner and Aytov smashes a shot through the crowd to break our bad streak. Concerns remain though that the strikers are not delivering and I have the scouts working hard looking for replacements.

Home to Wisla Plock is another we should be winning but I know from the first whistle its going to be a problem. The team just can't be arsed and manage just three shots in the first half. A soft penalty in the second half sums up the match as I read the riot act to the team.

Our problems continue away to Arka as we struggle to break them down. At least we look comfortable in defence as its one chance for each side. Arka hit the post with theirs just after the break while ours comes late in the game when Adamkiewicz has a shot tipped past the post.

Blekitni up next and our attacks continue to be inept. Two chances for each side as Wroblewski saves one while the other is well wide. For us Jovic seems to have picked up whatever is affecting the other strikers while Wieteska hits the side netting but thankfully Aytov heads in a corner to earn us a win.

Last match before the winter break is home to Jagiellonia and after struggling against defensive sides I hoped they would give us a little more space to attack. In the end there wasn't much difference as both defences were well in control. Jagiellonia had a lot of long shots and one half chance that Wrobleski saved while we created a couple of half chances. While the other strikers are terrible at least Jovic can be semi relied upon as he heads in a Rapa cross. Our second half chance comes from a corner in injury time as Nauber sees a header cleared off the line but it doesn't matter as we scrape another win.

 

 

 

***Club News***

Another bid, another transfer embargo as we get closer to the mid-season window.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

Winter Break (January 2023)

 

 

 

***Club News***

The transfer window didn't get off to a good start as we were still under a transfer embargo. The takeover seemed to be going well this time, then it wasn't, then it was again and finally:

 

Even with the takeover complete more time was wasted with the new chairman deciding whether to keep me on or not but finally the embargo was lifted:

 

 

 

***Players Out***

It was surprisingly fairly quiet in terms of interest with just a few players attracting attention.

 

Norwich City (English Championship) made a £275k offer for DM, Makowski which I swiftly rejected while Genoa (Italian Serie A) made an insulting £100k offer young GK, Hinc. I chose to reject it which he wasn't happy about but he is going to have to get used to it unless a team meet his release clause of £700k. I was hoping to build a team around him but with bigger clubs taking an interest I suspect he'll force a move eventually.

 

More interesting news though was that 32yo DR Cornel Rapa has had a total U-turn from wanting to return to Romania and actually signed a new contract. I'd like to think the club having new Romanian owners helped but it probably didn't. Anyway with Rapa staying I let Pustelnik go out on loan as did a couple of other reserves.

 

 

 

***Players In***

My only real target in the window is a striker as we are really struggling up front. Sanogo has only managed three goals in 15 matches inc one penalty, Listkowski four in nine but all in the same match, Adamkiewicz has yet to find the net in 14 which leaves Jovic and even he has only got five in 14.

 

Being under a transfer embargo though was a massive pain in the arse and although I did some scouting I couldn't sort out targets before competitive matches got back underway.

 

 

 

***Friendlies***

Seven friendlies this year and a real mixed bag organised by my AM. We started & finished against Polish clubs from lower divisions while inbetween we hosted three German teams (including two from the top division - Wolfsburg & Augsburg), a friendly against a Cypriot side whilst on a training camp there and a trip to Slovakia to face a top division team.

Performances & results were also mixed as I tinkered with both tactics & personnel. We played well against Wolfsburg despite losing and found our scoring boots towards the end with Listkowski, Sanogo & Adamkiewicz all finding the net more than once, hopefully a sign of things to come.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

February 2023

 

 

 

***Transfer Window Roundup***

There isn't a massive amount to report, in terms of outgoings another reserve player went out on loan while I turned down loan offers for fringe players in the first team. I didn't receive any further offers for first team players, on reflection it makes sense since most other windows will have closed in January.

 

In terms of incoming I was heavily focused on finding a striker which wasn't easy given our limited budget. I also had a secondary problem though when MLC, Letniowski damaged his achilles in training which puts him out for the rest of the season.

 

I bounced between looking for another MC & ST as well as considering MRs with a potential switch in formation.

 

I struggled on all counts, especially when the DOF failed in a bid for a young Polish striker. With deadline day on the horizon I blew most of my budget on a striker that I hope can solve our problems up front while also promoting 19yo MC Krzysztof Trzebiatowski to provide an extra body in midfield. I feel like I overpaid but his wages were fairly cheap so overall maybe not too bad:

 

Maciej Wilk (22yo Polish ST) – Signed for £375k from Wisla Krakow (Ekstraklasa)

A product of the Krakow academy but almost all of his first team experience has been on loan. Two seasons in the first division were followed by a year at Zaglebie Sosnowiec last year where he scored 11 in 18 starts. Not the finished article yet but already capable of making an impact and has a good attitude. Not sure of his best role yet but initial signs are he should be able to play as either a support or advanced striker.

 

 

 

 

Its a tough start to the competitive matches away to Wisla Krakow but once Sanogo blasts an early chance wide we might as well have gone home. Wisla Krakow aren't much better as they decide crossing to a team with three strong defenders is a good idea but eventually one pays off when Wieteska deflects the ball into his own net in the second half. A second yellow for Rapa and a late second wrap up a disappointing match as I hand several fines out.

Away to Korona I'm looking for a better performance but we are very much second best as we spend a lot of time defending. Our passing is poor & we struggle to get into attacking positions. Korona create several half chances which Hinc is equal to as we scrape a point.

After two poor performances I switch to a 4141 as I look to keep the ball better. It doesn't work as we can't get hold of the ball, can't pass the ball and once again spend much of the match defending against a team struggling towards the bottom of the league. The defence does ok but one late half chance sees Miedz take the points and I'm feeling a little lost as to what to do as nothing seems to work at the moment.

 

 

[Cougar2010]

Sorry to anyone reading that I haven't updated but I didn't want to while Photobucket was having issues.

Now that it seems to have fixed itself updates will resume.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

March 2023

 

 

 

***Youth Intake***

16 players join on youth contracts and its a mixed bag. There doesn't seem to be much in the middle with players falling into one extreme or the other. At the important end four players stand out with striker Adam Gawecki & defender Mikolaj Kowalczyk looking the most likely to have a good career.

  

 

 

 

 

If our poor form wasn't bad enough March sees back to back games against the big three L's. Home to Legia first and I throw Wilk straight in up front as I look to fix our goals problem. After three poor games we actually play well, keep the ball and frustrate Legia in defence. Both sides struggle to create chances but we have the lead just before the break when 19yo Kolodziejczyk strikes a sweet free kick from just outside the box. The second half sees much the same as Legia create nothing while both Listkowski & Adamkiewicz miss chances to give us a cushion. In the end though it doesn't matter as we claim a massive & much needed win.

Home to rivals Lech next who have sacked their manager and are struggling in mid table. Again we play well with Wilk partnering Sanogo up front although we are possibly helped by Nauber injuring their star striker in the first five minutes. The chances fall the wrong way round though as Wilk plays Sanogo through to miss another before Puchacz picks him out with a low cross. This time Sanogo forces it in although he does his best to hit the keeper with it. With the lead the defence do their bit to limit Lech in the second half as we make it two wins from two against the big teams.

The third match is possibly the hardest against an attacking Lechia side who use a 433 formation. Its a close match with just a couple of half chances for each side that weren't taken before a late long shot from Lechia finds the top corner. I really can't complain about winning two from three against the big three but an injury time corner sees Colley flick on for Nauber at the back post before his header is clawed away by the keeper.

Away to Gornik old problems return as we can't get the ball and struggle to keep it. It isn't helped when the defence allow Desporov time to turn and give Gornik the early lead. Later in the half Listkowski gives Wilk his first clear chance since joining and he fluffs his lines with a weak effort. Minutes later though he makes up for it by getting on the end of a Listkowski cross and powering a header past the keeper. All to play for in the second half and Gornik look the more likely but subs improve things with Sanogo's physical size working for us up front. We finish strongly but its one clear chance each with a draw the fair result.

 

 

 

 

***Manager News***

Lech sacked their manager at the beginning of March and I fielded an odd question from the media about it but didn't hear anything until later in the month when I got offered an interview. Its one of the big three but I'm not sure I'm that interested, especially given they are Pogon's rivals. It would kinda be like moving from West Ham to Arsenal but I'm no worse off hearing what they have to say so I attended.

 

Before they have a chance to offer or not offer me the job Pogon step in and offer me a new deal forcing me to choose. The potential Lech job didn't really interest me that much and I'm keen to continue the progress with Pogon so sign up to a new improved contract.

[endtime]

Top 8 looks nailed on, and with the points halved after the split anything can happen, especially if you can replicate your post-split form from last season.

 

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask if you play with player attributes hidden and only use the octagon and scout/coach reports to evaluate players?

[Cougar2010]

2 minutes ago, endtime said:

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask if you play with player attributes hidden and only use the octagon and scout/coach reports to evaluate players?

I don't play with attributes totally hidden but I use the fog of war option so they have to be scouted.

The octagon has become my first port of call in the last few years to give me an overview of a player followed by the scout/coach reports to look at the strengths/weaknesses.  I not really sure how much I look at attributes, I certainly do sometimes, maybe if choosing between 2/3 players who are quite similar I'll highlight the role I want them for and look for any low key skills.  Also if I have a player doing something strange on the pitch I'll look at his attributes to try to figure out why.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

April 2023

 

 

 

 

Four matches to go in the regular season and we are just about assured of a place in the Championship Group. A win over rivals Cracovia would be enough but we are missing both main DMs as Aytov & Makowski have picked up knocks. Piotrowski fills in for them living up to their rep by giving away a freekick inside 10 seconds. A little later he does better though as he drills in a half cleared corner to give us the lead. A deflected Gucek cross & a corner headed in by Kolinger gives us a cushion before the break. I took the opportunity to give 19yo MC Trzebiatowski his debut while Listkowski even breaks his goal drought before Cracovia slot in a late consolation.

KGHM Zaglebie are another top half side who are struggling to make the Championship group but its another tough match of few chances. Both sides rattle the woodwork in the first half before we take the lead in the second when Sanogo sweeps in a Listkowski cross on the break. KGHM soon equalise when a wide free kick is headed in but both Wrobel & Wilk come off the bench to combine for a late winner from an even game.

Home to Sosnowiec is my 100^th game in charge of Pogon and I use it to give 19yo Trzebiatowski his first start in midfield. I'm really not sure how he fits into the team, he isn't defensive enough to be a DM/BWM, not creative enough to be a playmaker and not attacking enough to support the strikers. All in all he is the very definition of a supporting midfielder and we just don't use that type of player in my setup. However what he ends up doing well is the simple things, making himself available to pick up the ball off the defence and moving it on to the more attacking players, perhaps thats what we've been missing to give the team balance. In terms of the match we batter them in the first half with Starzycki winning a penalty for an off the ball incident during a corner before playing Wilk in to make it two. Sosnowiec are poor and its a case of just going through the motions in the second half, we probably should have scored a couple more but we never looked like losing.

Last match of the regular season and its an interesting one. For us its just about the points but they are only worth 50% next week while for Bruk-Bet (who are 9^th) a win could possibly see them overhaul our rivals & current champions, Lech consigning them to the relegation group. In the end an early goal from Listkowski as he swept in Rapa's low cross was enough as Bruk-Bet rarely threatened.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

April/May 2023

 

 

 

***Championship Group (Part 1)***

 

 

The four wins to finish the regular season have done us the world of good and put us within one point of a place in Europe. 4^th place might even be enough but the FA Cup final is between Legia & Lech so no guarantee.

 

Home to Wisla Plock first and its the sort of match we need to win if we are going to claim a European place. However I know from the off we are going to have problems as the team just don't turn up. The defence again do well though before Wisla take the lead through a deflected shot in the first half. I give them a kick at half time but its a bit of luck that sees us level when Kolinger is bundled over in the box during a wide free kick. I push for a winner but it doesn't look like coming as Wilk plays Sanogo through only to see him blast over the bar. Late in the game though Sanogo gets his foot to a drilled Rapa cross to get us out of a hole.

  

 

Away to Jagiellonia is a tough match but another we really need to win. Again I know from the start we are going to struggle, there is just no urgency from the team, no pressure on the opposition and we aren't getting the ball forward quick enough. Jagiellonia take the lead through another deflection as a freekick hits the wall enroute to sending Hinc the wrong way. We actually create enough chances in the second half to win comfortably but only grab one back as Sanogo tucks in a rebound. Late in the game a deep freekick sees Kolinger push over an opposition player as we slip to a frustrating defeat.

  

 

Lech next and our problems continue going forwards. Their star striker gives them the lead with their only shot of the first half as we struggle to create chances. We push in the second half and two late chances fall to Sanogo, the first saved while a second comes back off the bar. Wilk also has a late goal ruled out for a tight offside but overall we just aren't creating enough and aren't putting our chances away.

  

 

There is some good news as Legia have won the FA Cup meaning the top four in the Championship Group get European football next season but the bad news is three of our last four matches are against teams above us.

 

Wisla Krakow are next and they are close to breaking the Lech/Legia/Lechia domination at the top of the division. With nothing to lose Jovic is back on the bench at the expense of Sanogo while I give Wrobel a rare start in midfield. It proves a good choice as his first time pass sees Martuszewski stand a ball up to the far post for Wilk to nod down and Listkowski to confidently slot in. Krakow are a good side though and soon peg us back with a good passing move. Listkowski puts us back in front with a deflected shot but Wisla are again level before the break. An early lead in the second half comes from an unlikely source as Rapa heads in a deep cross and that triggers a switch of formation from Krakow. Moving to 343 doesn't help them though as we defend deep and counter with quality. We have space and create chances, Wilk heading in two crosses to seal a massive win.

  

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

May/June 2023

 

 

 

***Championship Group (Part 2)***

 

Three matches to go and a lot of teams are vying for the European places. Krakow have just beaten Legia which more or less gives them the title which leaves five teams battling for three places. Away to Lechia and the prize for the winners is pole position going into the last two matches. Any hope of us claiming it though is gone early when Wieteska gifts them the lead when pissing around with the ball on the edge of his own box. They add a second through good football before Wieteska gifts them a penalty when he pushes a player off the ball. With the match long gone its just going through the motions in the second half before Martuszewski picks up a second yellow late on to wrap up a truly terrible performance.

  

 

With our last match being away to Legia home to Gornik is one we can't afford to lose but we are behind early to a soft shot from the edge of the box that Wroblewski should have easily saved. We are level just before the break as a loose ball in the box drops to Sanogo to tap in but all the good work is ruined when Wroblewski lets another soft goal in. We push for an equaliser but the team don't look interested and they've literally thrown European football away.

  

 

Last match of the season and we have an outside chance of making Europe but it would be a massive shock as we have to beat Legia away from home while they also need a draw to guarantee a place. We give ourselves a chance when Wilk's early turn & shot creeps inside the post but Legia are quickly level. Both teams look dangerous coming forwards but Legia have a bit more quality and create chances. We ride our luck a little before it swings our way when a free kick is cleared and when it comes back in two defenders go for the same ball with the ricochet falling to Colley who slots in. We come within 20 minutes of a European place but Legia respond and have an equaliser when they finally put a half chance away. Listkowski puts a late header over the bar while Wilk pulls a shot wide but neither were really chances as we come up just short.

  

[AceAvenger]

What a shame you missed out on Europe! only by a point too. I really like the style of the Polish league, splitting up into two halves for the latter stage. It means if you want to win it you have to duke it out with the big boys. Same thing with avoiding relegation, you have to fight for your life with others who are doing the same.

I can't wait to see what happens next year.

[AceAvenger]

What a shame you missed out on Europe! only by a point too. I really like the style of the Polish league, splitting up into two halves for the latter stage. It means if you want to win it you have to duke it out with the big boys. Same thing with avoiding relegation, you have to fight for your life with others who are doing the same.

I can't wait to see what happens next year.

[felzon]

What an amazing journey 👏

 

[Cougar2010]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys.

I've had some PC issues and I honestly just haven't felt like playing much the last couple of weeks.

A new PC is on the way though (Old one was 6 years old) and should be built by next week by which time I hopefully will feel like getting stuck into a new season.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2022/23 Season Summary

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

We made a good start but once the league settled we dropped a little off the pace as Lechia recovered from a poor start to join Legia & Jagiellonia at the top. In the last few seasons Wisla Krakow have looked the most likely to break the big three and a late run saw them climb from mid-table to lead the way as the league split. Gornik also made a late run to take their place in the Championship Group, Lech were disappointing but just made it the right side of the line which left Wisla Plock as the surprise team to finish top half. Missing out were KGHM Zaglebie who had a poor finish which saw them drop from 7^th to 14^th over the last ten matches. Korona were also poor as they went from mid table to relegation candidates but it was Zaglebie Sosnowiec that propped up the table for much of the season.

 

The teams that were in form going into the league split continued to impress in the Championship Group. Lech closed the gap to those above, Gornik won four of their seven games to claim a European place but it was Wisla Krakow who made the headlines as the broke the dominance of the big three to win their 14^th title and the first since 2010/11. The other five teams had mixed results which led to a close finish. Legia & Lechia did enough to claim European places as Jagiellonia & ourselves missed out on the last day of the season.

 

In the Relegation group KGHM Zaglebie finally showed their quality to pull away from the relegation zone leaving the other teams all with mixed results. Zaglebie Sosnowiec won a couple and were within touching distance of safety but never really looked like getting themselves out of trouble. Above them Arka lost their last four to see them sweating on the final game between Blekitni & Korona. A draw would have seen all three finish on 23 points with Arka going down on goal difference but in the end Blekitni got a late winner to complete a disappointing season for Korona.

 

 

Polish FA Cup

After a couple of seasons of shocks the big teams hit back this year with only one of quarter finalists from outside the top division. Both semis went to away goals as defending champion's Lech beat Korona while Legia edged past Wisla Krakow. It was the first time that the historic rivals had met in the final since 2016 but the 7^th in total. Legia had won four of the previous final meetings and they added another this year with an extra time win to lift the Cup for the 20^th time.

 

 

Awards

Fair Play Award: 1^st Lech, 2^nd Blekitni, 3^rd Lechia

 

Foreigner of the Year: Patrik Petrous (20yo Czech ST) – KGHM Zaglebie

 

Player of the Season: Hervin Ongenda (27yo French ST) – Wisla Krakow

 

Player of the Year: Mateusz Wieteska (25yo Polish DC) – Pogon

 

Top Goalscorer

1^st Hervin Ongenda (27yo French ST) – Wisla Krakow – 19 goals

2^nd Kevin Friesenbichler (29yo Austrian ST) – Lech – 18 goals

3^rd Nabil Alioui (24yo Moroccan ST) – KGHM Zaglebie – 17 goals

 

Goal of the Season: Marco Toscano (25yo Italian MC) – Cracovia vs Arka

 

Manager of the Season: Gheorghe Hagi (Wisla Krakow)

 

Team of the Season

GK – Alfredo Rangel (24yo American GK) – Lechia

DR – Pol Llonch (30yo Spanish DR, DM, MC) – Wisla Krakow

DC – Mateusz Wieteska (26yo Polish DC/DR, DM) – Pogon

DC – Ivan Runje (32yo Croatian DC/DR) – Jagiellonia

DL – Jonatan Straus (28yo Polish DL) – Jagiellonia

MR – Roland Sallai (26yo Hungarian AMC/AMRL) – Legia

MC – Ismael Bennacer (25yo Algerian MC/AMC) – Wisla Krakow

MC – Rafal Wolski (30yo Polish AMC, ST/AMR) – Lechia

ML – Petteri Forsell (32yo Finnish AMLC/AMR) – Gornik

ST – Hervin Ongenda (27yo French ST/AMC) – Wisla Krakow

ST – Lukas Julis (28yo Czech ST) – Legia

Sub – Grega Sorcan (27yo Slovenian GK) – KGHM Zaglebie

Sub – Jason Davidson (31yo Australian DLC) – Lechia

Sub – Adam Czar (22yo Hungarian MR) – Legia

Sub – Dominik Hofbauer (32yo Austrian MLC) – Arka

Sub – Kiril Despodov (26yo Bulgarian AMRL, ST) – Gornik

Sub – Petar Mamic (27yo Croatian DL/DR) – Gornik

Sub – Kevin Friesenbichler (29yo Austrian ST) – Lech

 

 

 

Club Review

 

Ekstraklasa – 5^th

FA Cup – 2^nd Round

 

In the league we probably exceeded expectations overall as most saw us finishing top half but outside the European places but I can't help but feel we threw away a good chance to face continental opposition next year. The board were pleased with our league position but disappointed at crashing out in the FA Cup which left them satisfied with the season.

 

Financially as you would expect a good season on the pitch led to more money off it as income rose from £5m last year to £5.9m this season. I also managed to cut expenses slightly as they dropped from £6.9m to £6.6m but this still meant an overall loss of approx £700k (Down from a £1.9m loss last season). We also brought in transfer income of approx £2.4m (Mainly from the sale of midfielders Kozak & Kowalczyk) while spending about £750k. This gave us an excess of around £1.65m on transfers which meant the club made an overall profit of about £1m this season. The takeover added a £1.82m loan to the club but overall this means little as the main aim is to make the club profitable before transfers

 

 

Squad Review

 

  

 

 

Goalkeepers

New signing, Wroblewski had a steady first year rotating with youth graduate Jozef Hinc. Hinc is improving rapidly and was probably our best keeper this season but bigger clubs are taking notice. I've already turned down a bid from Genoa which upset him but they haven't gone away while other French & Italian clubs are also keeping an eye on him. This left Leszczynski playing reserve football this season but it leaves me with a problem, I would normally release him but if Hinc leaves I could probably do with keeping him as backup to Wroblewski.

Jozef Hinc (18yo Polish GK) - 18 apps, 17 conceded, 3 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.92

Tomasz Wroblewski (23yo Polish GK) – 20 apps, 18 conceded, 10 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.84

Rafal Leszczynski (31yo Polish GK) – 1 app, 2 conceded, 0 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.80

 

Fullbacks

On the right after some confusion Rapa ended up staying and had a decent season but has significantly declined over the last couple of years. Gucek should be replacing him but was fairly average and despite looking good on paper might not be up to the task long term. On the left Puchacz had another solid year but the same couldn't be said for Martuszewski who saw a dip in form. He really doesn't suit the wing back role which may mean I have to look for a more attacking wing back to replace him. That left Pustelnik who was disappointing initially and got sent out on loan once Rapa chose to stay. He was also poor on loan and its looking like he may not make it at this level despite what my staff think (Poor spread of attributes).

Cornel Rapa (33yo Romanian DR) – 17 apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 6.86

Luka Gucek (24yo Slovenian DR) – 19 (2) apps, 0 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.73

Tymoteusz Puchacz (24yo Polish DL/ML) – 20 (3) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.93

Piotr Martuszewski (23yo Polish DL/DC) – 19 (1) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.78

Radoslaw Pustelnik (21yo Polish DR/DL) – 3 (6) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.68

 

Central Defence

Wieteska continued to improve and finally realised his potential as he claimed our “Player of the Year” award and was named in the “Team of the Season”. Behind him new signing Pawlowski slotted straight in and there wasn't much to choose between him & Kolinger, Nauber or Colley as they shared the workload.

Denis Kolinger (29yo German DC) – 22 apps, 1 goal, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.97

Mateusz Wieteska (26yo Polish DC/DR, DM) – 26 (1) apps, 4 goals, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 7.04

Gerrit Nauber (31yo German DC/DM) – 23 (3) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.93

Omar Colley (30yo Gambian DC/DL) – 26 (2) apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.92

Lukasz Pawlowski (22yo Polish DC/DL) – 16 (3) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.92

 

Midfield

Makowski & Aytov again had decent seasons sharing the BWM role although Makowski's form dipped a little this year. With Kozak & then Kowalczyk leaving there was a fair bit of rotation in front of them. Starzycki stepped up to share the DLP role with Piotrowski where there were both solid rather than impressive. Letniowski rotated with promoted youth player Kolodziejczyk in the attacking role before a major injury at Xmas put him out for the season. This allowed more game time for Wrobel and although his average doesn't look great he was out of position when he came off the bench. Youngster Bartosik spent a disappointing season on loan while 19yo Trzebiatowski made his debut but I'm not convinced he'll make the first team.

Rafal Makowski (26yo Polish DM/DC, MC) – 24 (5) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.84

Vladimir Aytov (27yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC) – 17 (10) apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.87

Jakub Piotrowski (25yo Polish MC/DM, MR) – 22 (11) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.90

Blazej Starzycki (22yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 21 (8) apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, Ave Rating: 6.96

Juliusz Letniowski (25yo Polish MLC/MR) – 11 (8) apps, 0 goals, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 6.89

Tomasz Wrobel (22yo Polish ML) – 6 (16) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.74

Daniel Kolodziejczyk (19yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 14 (4) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.81

Krzysztof Trzebiatowski (19yo Polish MC/DM) – 1 (1) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.80

 

Forwards

We seemed to struggle for goals this year, especially from the forwards where both Sanogo & Listkowski were poor when it came to putting the ball in the net. Sanogo was especially bad when chances came his way up to the point where I'm considering letting him go. Youngster Jovic showed an eye for goal but he is far from ready to be a regular first teamer while Adamkiewicz is more of a creator than a scorer. This led to Wilk joining in January and while he isn't the goal machine I wanted he did score his fair share.

Yaya Sanogo (30yo French ST/AML) – 24 (6) apps, 8 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.78

Marcin Listkowski (25yo Polish ST/AMC) – 23 (2) apps, 8 goals, 5 assists, Ave Rating: 6.82

Maciej Wilk (22yo Polish ST/AMR) – 12 (2) apps, 6 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 7.00

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (19yo Polish ST/AMRC) – 10 (6) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.75

Slobodan Jovic (19yo Montenegrin ST) – 8 (10) apps, 5 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.72

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2023/24 Pre-Season

 

 

 

Players Out

Seven players were released at the end of their contracts from the reserves and youth team while one reserve left on a bosman. I wasn't too bothered, I was 50/50 whether to offer him a new deal or let him go and whilst I was deciding Blekitni offered him a contract. From the first team just the one player was released:

Rafal Leszczynski (31yo Polish GK) – Released at end of contract.

Time at Pogon: 4 years, Apps: 35, Clean Sheets: 16

Backup keeper who had dropped to 3^rd choice so no need to keep him around.

 

 

I have no real plans to sell anyone at this stage but I was forced to make two promises prior to the transfer window opening while Hinc is also trying to force a move to a big club.

No 1 – Promise to sell Sanogo (ST) if Jagiellonia make a bid

No 2 – Promise to sell Puchacz (DL) if Wisla Krakow make a bid

I'm not really keen to sell Puchacz but I'm coming around to the idea of cashing in on Sanogo as he isn't really justifying his high wages.

 

In the end I had plenty of offers but they were all for the same three players:

Mateusz Wieteska (26yo Polish DC/DR, DM)

There were a lot of bids for Wieteska from a number of clubs, particularly from Ural (Russian Premier Division) who tried several times. The most they offered was around £900k inc add ons but unless a club meets his release clause of £1m I have no intention of selling.

Rafal Makowski (26yo Polish DM/DC, MC)

Much like Wieteska a number of clubs made offers with FC Viitorul (Romanian First League) probably the keenest. The highest bid was around the £750k mark but also like Wieteska unless a club meets his £1m release clause I'm not letting him go.

Marcin Listkowski (25yo Polish ST/AMC)

A couple of clubs in Turkey and a couple of other Ekstraklasa clubs made bids but all for less than £500k which is not even in the ball park for a club trained player.

 

 

One player did leave though after once again asking to return home – Cornel Rapa. This time he did agree a deal and its probably about the right time for him to leave as he is no longer a starter and we have two youngsters pushing for a place.

Cornel Rapa (33yo Romanian DR) – Sold to CS Luceafarul Oradea (Romanian Second League) for £0

Time at Pogon: 7 years, Apps: 172, Goals: 7, Assists: 24

 

 

 

Players In

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for this off season. The problem I have is that Pogon have a number of younger players on the fringe of the first team but overall we have far too many fringe players and not enough starters. Anyone who I bring in has to be starter material and be able to improve our first eleven but thats not easy on a transfer budget of £135k.

 

Anyway I raid the free market and five out of contract players accept my trial offers:

Giulio Maggiore (25yo Italian DM, MC)

A solid all round midfielder who I think might be a good DLP. I tried to sign him on a bosman a few months ago but the extra fees were more than we had available as a transfer budget.

Aleksander Waniek (24yo Polish AMC)

One of the better Polish options available for free after being released by his Italian club. A good technical player who likes to run at the defence. With most of our midfielders being creators he might fill a hole but early signs are he isn't as good as I first thought.

Toni Kristic (22yo Croatian AMC)

A young, talented AMC but the question is how good. Plenty of scouting left to do on him before I decide if he is worth signing.

Marko Kolar (28yo Croatian ST)

Can play as either a DF or AF and has a good goalscoring record.

Michal Banik (23yo Polish ST)

Again one of the better Polish players available for free this summer. More of a support striker than a goalscorer but worth a look at.

 

After assessing the players I instruct the DOF to make offers for Maggiore, Kristic & Kolar. Unfortunately he fails with offers for all three, I'm hoping they'll drop their demands closer to the end of the window.

 

 

 

Friendlies

The AM arranged four as we seemed to tour Europe. After away games to second tier Russian & German sides we hosted one of the top Scottish teams before ending with a match against a Slovakian lower league side. We played well in all the games creating plenty of chances and even found time to trial a new 3421 system against Hearts.

 

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

 

2023/24 Season Preview

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

Legia again the favourites but defending champion's Wisla Krakow have joined the big three as possible winners. Behind them its pretty stable, we are outsiders along with the likes of Jagiellonia, KGHM Zaglebie, Gornik & Wisla Plock but the bottom half looks a little weaker than previous years and thats perhaps reflected in the odds.

 

 

 

Board Expectations

New board, old expectations as they stay the same as last year. To be honest they are about right and what we should be aiming for.

Polish Ekstraklasa – Top Half

Polish FA Cup – Quarter Finals

 

 

 

Pogon Szczecin Squad

So far a quiet transfer window, two players have left and we have several youngsters knocking on the door. I'll continue to give them opportunities to impress but I also want to try to bring in two or three players to strengthen the starting eleven. Tactics wise the 3232 Wing backs system continues to be my main option but I'm also working on a more attacking 3421 system as we struggled for goals last year, especially in games we should have been winning.

 

Goalkeepers

Out of all of our youngsters Hinc is the one that continues to impress. He established himself as a solid first team player last season and on paper he is our clear number one but Wroblewski gives us a solid alternative option. We also have no less than four other youngsters knocking on the door but none are expected to come close to the potential of Hinc.

Tomasz Wroblewski (23yo Polish GK)

Jozef Hinc (19yo Polish GK)

 

Fullbacks

New faces at fullback as I've promoted some of the younger players. On the right Rapa has left which leaves Gucek as first choice while backing him up is a player who has been out on loan for the last couple of seasons. Significant improvement has seen 19yo Tomasz Wawszczyk called up to the Polish U19s and he spent the summer as first choice at the European U19 Championship. Its a bit of a gamble but if he doesn't work out both Piotrowski & Wieteska can also cover on the right. That leaves Pustelnik who I had high hopes for but signs are he might have reached his limit so I've shipped him out on loan again for the season. On the left Puchacz probably deserves more game time than he got last season as the main option while we have three other options. Martuszewski was brought in as a DL but he is a bit too defensive for the WBL role and may well cover more as a DC this season. Natural winger, Wrobel continues to be an attacking option while I've also promoted 21yo Bochenek who is more of a natural wing back and might make it as a home grown squad player in the future.

Tymoteusz Puchasz (24yo Polish DL/ML, DR)

Piotr Martuszewski (24yo Polish DL/DC)

Radoslaw Bochenek (21yo Polish DL)

Luka Gucek (24yo Slovenian DR)

Tomasz Wawszczyk (19yo Polish DR)

Radoslaw Pustelnik (20yo Polish DR/DL) – Out on Loan

Tomasz Wrobel (22yo Polish ML)

 

Central Defence

No real changes in the middle although I'm looking to make minor adjustments this season. Pawlowski improved a lot last year and he is close to being a starter while I also want to give DL, Martuszewski a chance to play in the middle. With Colley & Wieteska main options this means Kolinger & Nauber will find their match time a little more limited this season.

Denis Kolinger (29yo German DC)

Omar Colley (30yo Gambian DC) – 51 Caps, 5 Goals

Mateusz Wieteska (26yo Polish DC/DR, DM)

Gerrit Nauber (31yo German DC/DM)

Lukasz Pawlowski (22yo Polish DC/DL)

 

Central Midfield

Lots of younger players but overall not much in the way of change. Makowski & Aytov are the more defensive options while Piotrowski, Starzycki, Letniowski & Kolodziejczyk cover the PM & attacking roles. 20yo DM Bartosik & 19yo MC Trzebiatowski are out on loan for the season as are a couple of talented reserves. Technically I think we have enough cover but I would like to add a bit more quality before the window closes.

Rafal Makowski (26yo Polish DM/DC, MC)

Vladimir Aytov (27yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC)

Arkadiusz Bartosik (20yo Polish DM/MC) – Out on Loan

Jakub Piotrowski (25yo Polish MC/DM, MR)

Juliusz Letniowski (25yo Polish MLC/MR)

Blazej Starzycki (23yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

Daniel Kolodziejczyk (20yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

Krzysztof Trzebiatowski (19yo Polish MC/DM) – Out on Loan

 

Strikers

Again its as you were at the moment as January signing Wilk joins Sanogo, Listkowski & Adamkiewicz as the options. I've dropped Jovic back to the reserves and he might go out on loan as might Adamkiewicz if I can bring in another striker. I'm also still open to selling Sanogo but after failing to bring in Kolar I'm less keen as we might not be able to replace him.

Yaya Sanogo (30yo French ST/AML)

Marcin Listkowski (25yo Polish ST/AMC)

Maciej Wilk (22yo Polish ST/AMR)

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (20yo Polish ST/AMRC)

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

July/August 2023

 

 

 

***Transfer Window Report***

 

 

 

Players Out

It was mostly a fairly quiet window once competitive matches got underway.

 

I rejected a few loan offers for fringe players and accepted a few for reserve players.

 

Probably the only offer worthy of note was that Italian Serie A side, Empoli took an interest in 16yo DC Mikolaj Kowalczyk but I rejected their initial bids. That was until deadline day when they ramped up their offers, on the 5^th I decided to negotiate and they countered. At 16yo he has good attributes but he also has a lot of weaknesses, his technique is very poor, he can't pass to save his life, he is very unprofessional & very inconsistent. I might regret the decision but I decide to take the money:

Mikolaj Kowalczyk (16yo Polish DC/DR) – Sold to Empoli (Italian Serie A) for £60k (£99k) + 50% sell on clause.

 

Deadline day also saw Arka chasing my DLs. First they bid £100k for Puchacz which got a resounding “Get Lost” before switching to Martuszewski (£130k). That one was more worth considering and I might have even accepted had it not been made a couple of hours before the deadline.

 

 

 

Players In

It ended up a frustrating & messy transfer window as I struggled to find good targets. From the five players that came on trial in pre-season my DOF failed to sign the three I wanted. I hoped to have another chance later in the window but that wasn't to be:

 

22yo Croatian AMC Toni Kristic was even better than I originally thought and signed with Turkish Super League side Antalyaspor. His wages were high and would have made him the 2^nd highest paid in the squad behind Sanogo but he might have been worth it.

Italian midfielder Maggiore went to St Mirren (Scottish Premiership) on wages we could easily have matched but he wanted a massive signing on fee while his agent also wanted a big fee.

Finally there was Croatian striker Marko Kolar who scored a hattrick for us in a pre season game. Before we got another chance to make him an offer he signed with Helsingborgs (Swedish Premier Division).

 

That meant back to the drawing board and my focus was on strikers & attacking midfielders while I also adjusted the budget to increase the transfer funds. Another Italian AMC came & went on trial as he didn't live up to expectation before I made a decision as to which of the available strikers I wanted. My target was Slask striker Mateusz Szwed but after having an offer accepted he kept us waiting for over a week before rejecting the contract offer because he wasn't happy with the length of it.

With deadline day approaching my DOF again tried for Szwed but when I heard nothing back I was forced to switch targets on deadline day to Michal Banik who was on trial with us earlier in pre-season. With hours to go Szwed finally agreed a contract, thankfully Banik rejected our offer else we would have been overloaded with strikers:

 

Mateusz Szwed (23yo Polish ST/AML) – Signed from Slask (Polish First Division) for £275k

Another who started his career at Legia but after four years out on loan Slask paid £67k for him a couple of years ago. For his age he has a lot of experience (over 150 matches) and has scored a reasonable amount of goals but is hardly prolific. With no real weaknesses and a lot of good points he is a solid all rounder thats not that different to Wilk. Adamkiewicz will probably drop down to the reserves as Szwed joins Wilk, Sanogo & Listkowski who will all rotate.

 

 

With five hours to go on deadline day I really wasn't planning any other signings but one player has been staring me in the face all summer. I said I wanted players who could improve the first team so I couldn't ignore a 4* player who wanted to join:

 

Martin Rasner (28yo Austrian DM, MC) – Signed from Heidenheim (German Third Division) for £205k

Started at an amateur football academy in Austria before quickly moving on to FC Liefering (Austrian First Division) & then SV Grodig (Austrian Premier Division). Heidenheim picked him up as a 20yo and he has been there ever since as they have yoyo'd between the 2^nd & 3^rd divisions. A hard working all round midfielder who is similar to Maggiore who came on trial. I'm expecting him to be our main DLP which means Piotrowski can drop back to a squad role while it leaves Starzycki competing with Wrobel, Letniowski & Kolodziejczyk for game time. The fans noted that while they approve of signing Rasner we have too many midfielders, I don't disagree with them.

 

 

Overall I probably spent more than I intended, certainly more than my original transfer budget (£135k) but I hope I got two good players. Szwed was needed although I had hoped for better but Rasner is something of a luxury signing, only time will tell if they were worth it.

 

 

 

 

We start the season at home to KGHM Zaglebie who were disappointing last year. Both teams look a little short of match sharpness as the defences cope fairly well. Just the one half chance which falls to us in the first half so no surprise when the match ends 0-0.

I fit in a friendly to top up match sharpness against Russian Premier Division side, Ufa. Its a mixed performance where we play well in parts but also do some really stupid stuff which leads to two goals for them. I switch to the new 3421 in the second half and we create more chances with Sanogo putting two of them away. He could have had more while Listkowski missed three opportunities as last years problems reappeared.

Back to league action away to a team very similar to ourselves in Gornik. We get lucky early on when a quick break sees Despodov put into the side netting but once the match settles we are the better team. Chances are hard to come by though until just before the break when their keeper palms a Letniowski free kick away only for Puchacz to square for Wilk to tap in. Gornik change formation for the second half which causes us some problems but we defend well and seal the win deep into injury time when Wilk plays Starzycki through to slot in.

The tough games continue at home to the defending champions. We play well in the first half and are rewarded just before the break when Colley flicks on a corner for Nauber to fire in at the far post. Our lead is doubled in the second half when a mishit Gucek cross sneaks in at the near post but it then falls apart. Wisla Krakow switch formation to a 343 and we get sliced open far too easily despite Hinc's best efforts in goal. We hold on for a point but I'm really disappointed in giving up a 2-0 lead.

FA Cup next and we are away to Slask who finished 3^rd in the First Division (Their first since being relegated). We lost two players to injury as Wilk picked up a knock while Colley will be out for about six weeks. I also rotate with Bochenek getting a chance on the left and Adamkiewicz up front. While we have the better of the first half Slask look dangerous on the break but we have the lead before half time as a slight deflection sees a Letniowski shot go in. We look to be doing a good job of seeing out the match but it explodes in the final stages. A lost ball in midfield is played over the top for Szwed to hold off the defence and equalise while Slask are ahead minutes later through a corner. With nothing to lose I switch to the 3421 and late in the game 19yo Wawszczyk comes off the bench to provide the cross that Sanogo heads in. Extra time is much of the same as Slask miss a decent chance, Sanogo has a goal ruled out for a marginal offside before star striker Szwed scores their third on the break which proves to be a killer blow for us as we crash out for the second year running.

Away to Legia probably not the game I would have wanted after going out of the cup in extra time but we tend to do fairly well against their 442 lineup. I'm forced to make changes as we have a number of tired players but it doesn't seem to matter as we again match Legia. We are given an absolute gift early on when the keeper comes for a cross while the defender in front of him seems to be playing a pass back which rolls into the empty net. Sanogo rattles the post from the edge of the box as well during the first half but the key moment comes early in the second. Piotrowski drags the ball past a defender just outside the box before slipping it to Listkowski who this time finds the corner for his first of the season. With a 2-0 lead we are cruising, Legia see a good chance tipped over the bar late on but thats as close as they come as we bounce back with a massive win.

Wilk is back from his knock for the Blekitni match while I also give Wawszczyk his first start on the right. Its a game we should be winning comfortably and early goals come from Martuszewski after a half cleared corner & Wilk from a Wawszczyk cross. Its a good job as well given Blekitni dominate possession and miss two good chances – One saved by Wroblewski & the other hits the post. I adjust for the second half and we pull away with Letniowski firing in from the edge of the box & Wilk calmly slotting a second.

 

 

 

 

***International News***

We've had a few younger players called up for the age group squads while Colley was a full International when he joined us but I'm proud to announce that Maciej Wilk has been called up to the Poland squad despite never representing them at a lower level.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

September 2023

 

 

 

 

Away to Lech is never easy and we start well enough before throwing the match away. A poor clearance from Wieteska sees a shot drilled in from just outside the box and that seems to trigger a meltdown of extreme proportions. The team are incapable of keeping the ball, passing the ball, shooting or anything that resembles football. What makes it more frustrating is that Lech are only just slightly less rubbish as they create nothing but somehow take the win.

Jagiellonia are another team at a similar level to ourselves so I'm expecting a tight game after the International break. I shake things up following the Lech match making several changes which sees both Rasner & Szwed make their first starts. We start poorly as Jagiellonia have control but one ball won in midfield is quickly passed to Wilk who knocks it through for Szwed to chase, he takes one touch before drilling past the onrushing keeper to give us the lead. We end up defending for much of the game without really being in any trouble until it opens up in the second half. Sanogo sees a clear chance saved while Nauber puts a header over the bar. Jagiellonia switch to 433 in the final stages which gives us issues and its Hinc to the rescue as he saves one clear & two half chances before Sanogo again sees one saved in injury time. We hold on though to get back to winning ways.

So far this season we've been mostly playing teams expected to finish top half so the match against Odra Opole starts a series against teams we should be beating. That doesn't seem to make a difference though as we could have played all week and not created anything in a terrible performance. At the other end Odra Opole have one chance in the whole match as they convert a cross early in the second half.

Last match of the month and we are away to mid table Cracovia. Puchacz & Sanogo are missing with knocks which means a chance for Bochenek on the left. After a shaky start where Cracovia look the more dangerous we take the lead when Gucek finds a huge amount of room on the right and picks out Wilk who slots in. Cracovia are soon level though as a cross is flicked in. The second half is equally tight with few chances until Szwed comes off the bench and finds space in the box to fire in. Cracovia push hard for an equaliser but the late chances come our way as Piotrowski & Wilk both sees good chances to kill the match off saved.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

October 2023

 

 

 

Home to Bruk-Bet should be a win but their defensive setup proves hard to break down. We are rarely troubled at the back and dominate possession but it takes a few tweaks in the second half to finally make the breakthrough. It comes from 21yo Bochenek who finds space down the left and picks out Szwed at the far post who confidently heads in.

Piast next and they are better than I expected. An early lead helped them when a cleared cross deflected off the striker and was then driven in from the edge of the box. Up against a defensive side and not particularly playing well I fear the worst but Colley drags us back into it as he heads in a corner before the break. We improve in the second half giving away less possession and when the chance comes Wilk smashes a snap shot past the keeper to give us a just about deserved win.

We end the month away to Wisla Plock and I'm looking to continue the win streak. Szwed is in the supporting role this match but it doesn't seem to matter as he slots in from the edge of the box to give us the early lead. Listkowski bursts past his marker to make it two after the break before Letniowski scores a sublime free kick. Subs and a change of formation sees Wisla improve and they pull a goal back as we get sloppy at the back but Szwed fires in a fourth to seal another win.

 

 

[Benjoe]

Really good start to the new season as a perfect October sends you chasing Lech's legs. 

[Cougar2010]

14 hours ago, Benjoe said:

Really good start to the new season as a perfect October sends you chasing Lech's legs. 

You just know it won't last

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

November 2023

 

 

 

The month starts away to a struggling Lechia but they are still dangerous. Sanogo is back from injury but its one in, one out as Wilk tears his groin and won't be back until after the winter break. As always we seem to be on the defensive as Lechia dominate the early part of the match. I switch to a more defensive style which works well as we limit the space for their three strikers whilst also playing keep ball in the middle of the pitch. As Lechia chase the ball space opens up and we create several half chances but just can't convert one. The pick of them being one on the break for Letniowski who takes his shot early and sees it tipped over the bar while a late free kick results in a free header for Gucek which is also saved. Overall I'm fairly pleased, we could have attacked more but more than likely we would have got sliced open and lost so I'm happy with a point.

Home to Arka is another we should be winning and we never look like losing once Szwed plays Sanogo through to side foot in the opening goal. I gave Bochenek a game on the left and he turned provider in the second half as he picked out Szwed who tapped in a second as we eased to the win.

After the International break we are away to Miedz which is another we should be winning but after a steady start we are behind when Kolinger of all people is beaten in the air from a deep free kick. That is literally all that happened in a very boring first half where both teams were equally rubbish. It got worse in the second half when Puchacz gave up the most ridiculous penalty you've ever seen. He basically made a clean tackle in the box, got up to chase the loose ball and the striker ran into the back of him. To make matters worse Piotrowski got a second yellow for arguing with the ref before Hinc went & saved the penalty not that it mattered though as we had no chance of scoring on one of those days when the attackers looked clueless.

 

 

 

 

***Manager News***

My stock must be rising as another of the big teams offer me an interview. I attended and learned their finances are probably worse than ours with cut backs required in the near future. That doesn't go hand in hand with their high expectations so anyone taking the job will be on a hiding to nothing. Pogon force me to choose before I get to know if Lechia are making me an offer or not but its an easy choice as I sign a contract extension.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

December 2023

 

 

 

Away to struggling KGHM Zaglebie I'm looking to bounce back but after a steady start the match falls into a pattern. We have the better of possession as KGHM sit deep with two DMs forcing us to try & play through them before getting the ball forward quickly to their four attackers. Their way seems to be the more successful as Hinc saves twice to keep us in the match while Wilk sees a shot tipped wide. Early in the second half an angled shot sees Hinc palm the ball onto the inside of the post before it drops in and its all downhill after that. As we push for an equaliser they add a second when we lose possession in midfield before Wrobel grabs a late consolation drilling in from outside of the box. Worthy of note is the debut of 18yo DM Michal Czajkowski in the second half. He has been really improving rapidly over the last year and is pushing hard for a place in the first team squad.

The games don't get any easier as next up are the current champions and with Aytov out with a cold & Makowski not back from injury I give Czajkowski his first start. The match is something of a mirror image from the last game as Krakow control possession while we have a lot of success with direct balls forward, particularly down the right for Wilk to chase. Its one of those that sees the only clear chance of the first half but despite a good shot the keeper is favourite from a narrow angle. Wilk has another half chance before the break but this time fluffs his lines as he scoops the ball over the bar. The match swings our way in the second but it takes to 78 minutes to create a chance as Sanogo plays Letniowski through only to see him blast over the bar. Moments later we get kicked in the teeth when Krakow find the top corner from the edge of the box and that is that despite coming close to a late equaliser from distance. Overall a much better performance but its three defeats in a row which sees us drop away from the top.

Home to Gornik and the pressure is on, with Legia the last match before the winter break a loss here could mean five defeats in a row. Makowski is back from injury but the story is the complete incompetence of the team. Our inability to make a simple pass gifts Gornik possession time & time again in the first half. On the plus side either our defence play well or more likely Gornik are equally rubbish attacking. We do create one decent chance with players lining up to put the ball in the net Kolodziejczyk's weak effort is easily saved. We get a point but it feels like a defeat and I can't understand how we go from playing so well against Krakow to this rubbish.

We finish at home to Legia and I don't have much confidence given the recent run of results. Its another poor start as we again keep giving the ball away but the defence play well limiting Legia to distance. I tweak the tactics to a shorter passing style and the midfield slowly work their way into the match. When a chance finally comes it falls to Sanogo but he is slow to take the shot as the keeper narrows the angle. Just before the break he makes up for it though when Puchacz plays a short diagonal ball into him. The other side of the break it gets better when Colley flicks on a wide free kick for Wieteska to smash in at the far post. Legia rarely stretch us until late in the game and when they do Wroblewski pulls off two fine saves to end the year with a big win

 

 

 

[Cougar2010]

After spending a good portion of the weekend transferring all the images from Photobucket to Imgur I can get back to updates.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

Winter Break (January 2024)

 

 

 

***Players Out***

The bottom line is we have too many fringe players and some of them will have to leave sooner or later. This is particularly evident in midfield where we have at least 10 players competing for three starting spots.

 

Aside from the fringe players my main concern was keeping hold of 19yo GK Jozef Hinc with a number of French, Greek & Italian clubs circling. I'm also open to selling 27yo DM, Rafal Makowski who just isn't fitting in well to the 3232 formation. He is a great DM but in our current formation he has to either play as a BWM in midfield or as a DC and he seems very average at both. With 18yo DM Czajkowski also improving rapidly it seems like the right time to cash in.

 

Early on I get just the one offer as Portuguese Premier League side, Tondela bid £210k for DM, Makowski. I know I was ready to let him go but not for that sort of money.

 

As deadline day arrived across the rest of Europe Empoli (Italian Serie A) were clearly after a DM as they offered £275k for 18yo DM, Czajkowski and then when I rejected it £41k for 17yo DM, Zmuda. I considered the Zmuda offer but £41k is nothing and my staff think he could become a first team player.

 

The Polish transfer window opened on the 1^st February and there were rumours flying around that fellow Ekstraklasa side Jagiellonia are looking to make a move for Yaya Sanogo (ST) but the first offers came from elsewhere. KGHM Zaglebie offered £170k for Listkowski (ST) while Arka bid £135k for Piotrowski (MC). Both are good, solid squad players and while Listkowski hasn't been in his best form this season we need him for the home grown squad rules so both offers are rejected.

 

Jagiellonia do make a bid just before competitive matches get back underway but its not for Sanogo, its £80k for Puchacz (DL). Yeah, as if I'll sell my best DL to a league rival for £80k.

 

Just to round up the break the only two transactions worthy of note are both loans as 20yo ST Mariusz Adamkiewicz joins Benevento (Italian Serie A) while 18yo DM Michal Czajkowski drops down a division to Olimpia Elblag for the rest of the season.

 

 

 

***Players In***

Much like the summer if I bring anyone in it has to be quality over quantity and they must improve the starting eleven. With the bank overdrawn by £800k though it looks unlikely as my focus will be more on possible bosman signings for next year.

 

When the window opens the media think we are going to buy as we are heavily linked with no less than five players:

Marek Kodr (27yo Czech DC) – MSK Zilina (Slovak First Division)

Jakub Sevcik (21yo Czech ST) – Mlada Boleslav (Czech First Division)

Luis Oliveira (22yo Portuguese DL) – Benfica 'B' (Portuguese Second League)

Greg Cunningham (21yo English ST) – Burnley (English Premier Division)

Nathan Mayers (19yo English DL) – Liverpool (English Premier Division)

Aside from Sevcik who was heavily scouted before we signed Szwed last summer I've never heard of the other four but my staff do think we need more depth at DL. Personally even if I sell Martuszewski I'm happy with home grown Bochenek backing up Puchacz for now.

 

Scouting continues on potential bosman signings but no-one arrives before we get back to league action.

 

 

 

***Friendlies***

Seven friendlies this break and five of them are away to Polish teams in the First & Second Divisions. Inbetween are two big home matches though as we host FC Twente (Dutch Eredivisie) & Hannover (German First Division).

After failing to find the net in four of our last seven league matches I was pleased the team found their scoring boots again, especially Listkowski & Wilk who have been struggling recently. In the two big matches FC Twente were lucky to get one goal before a late penalty saw them snatch a draw while a long shot and a defensive error saw Hannover turn around a 2-1 deficit into a undeserved 3-2 win. Overall though I can't complain as we played well in most of the matches and return to competitive action with plenty of confidence.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

February 2024

 

 

 

***Manager News***

After the last friendly I get asked about the vacant Middlesbrough job in the English Championship. Something of a yo-yo club they were relegated from the Premier Division last year and currently sit just outside the playoffs which was enough to get the last manager sacked. He lasted about as long as the two managers before him (1.5 years & 1 year) which doesn't bode well for the next one. High expectations, low patience, I'm not sure its that attractive but they are described as rich and have a squad which is worth significant amounts of money although several want to leave due to relegation. I try to be respectful to both clubs with my answer and over the next week rumours start to gain traction both in England & Poland:

 

 

 

 

Not the easiest of returns to League action as we hosted rivals & current leaders, Lech. It was made worse as we were missing four players – Makowski (DM) was suspended while Kolinger (DC), Szwed (ST) & Wilk (ST) all picked up knocks during the last couple of friendlies. It was the same old problems early on as we struggled to keep the ball before three massive slices of luck changed the game. First Lech had a goal ruled out for a striker standing in an offside position before they gifted us not one but two goals. Sanogo capitalised when a defender took an absolute age to clear a cross before the keeper spilled an Aytov shot leaving Listkowski with a tap in. Letniowski added a freekick just before the break to put us in a strong position. Chances were wasted at both ends during the second half before Lech grabbed a late consolation which took a little gloss off a massive result to start 2024.

 

Away to Blekitni next and with two strikers out injured Jovic got a chance alongside Sanogo. He very nearly announced his return in style during the first minute as he played Sanogo through only to see the ball put the wrong side of the post. Half chances from Sanogo (Header just over the bar) & Aytov (Turn & shot saved) also went begging before the match settled down. Blekitni played defensive keep ball with a few shots from distance before I tweaked the tactics to encourage shorter & wider play. This improved our play but the opening goal came from an unlikely source when Rasner picked up a cleared corner, stepped forward and launched a rocket into the top corner. Just after the break Jovic was again the creator as he chased a ball down the right before picking out Sanogo who directed his header past the keeper. We had a couple more chances to extend our lead while Blekitni hit the post with their only real sight of goal late on as a good professional performance saw us close the gap at the top.

 

For the second match in a row Sanogo is on the end of an early chance but this time it was a tough header that was comfortably saved. We played well in the early stages with better chances wasted by both Listkowski (Shanked well wide) & Sanogo (Blasted over bar) before Jagiellonia worked their way into the game. Our play got worse as the match went on with disciplined defending keeping us in the match until a late flurry saw Jovic release Listkowski who fluffed his lines one on one while Piotrowski saw a half chance tipped round the post. Started well, finished well, can't complain with a draw given how rubbish we were inbetween but I feel like we missed a big chance to win against the team below us in the league.

 

 

 

 

***Youth Intake***

Looks like a pretty good one with several players who could make the first team in the future. My staff are very excited about winger Dominik Adamski but I have my eye on striker Cezary Kolacki who seems well ahead of others around his age.

  

 

 

 

***Transfer Window Roundup***

A surprisingly quiet window overall. I didn't have any plans to sign anyone but given the interest in our players I thought we would get a few bids.

 

I was forced to promise key defender, Mateusz Wieteska that we would except a bid from rivals & current leaders, Lech but nothing materialised which left loans as the only offers we received. A couple of younger players went out to get first team football as did 23yo winger Tomasz Wrobel from the main squad who joined Blekitni (Ekstraklasa) for the rest of the season. With plenty of options in midfield its a good opportunity for him to get regular starts in his more natural position out wide.

 

One notable deadline day move was Legia selling our former home grown playmaker Sebastian Kowalczyk to KGHM Zaglebie for £525k (£675k). I would have loved to have him back as would the fans but we couldn't afford the fee.

 

 

 

***Manager News***

Youth intake, transfer news, games and now more manager news its been a busy month. I initially didn't hear anything further about the Middlesbrough job until a couple of days before deadline day when the media linked me to Swansea City (English Championship). They are pretty much in the same boat as Middlesbrough, a yoyo club between the Premier League & the Championship with plenty of money and some good players but like Middlesbrough managers don't last long (Party due to being relegated from the EPL).

I keep my comments fairly neutral as I'm not that interested but almost immediately after an interview offer arrives from Middlesbrough. I decide to attend to see what they have to say and the month ends on a cliffhanger as I wait for a response.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

March 2024

 

 

 

***Manager News***

The rumours continue as I'm linked to another yo-yo club in the English Championship. This time its MK Dons but they yo-yo between the Championship & League 1 so not quite the same level as Middlesbrough & Swansea.

 

Talking of Middlesbrough I get a message saying they were happy with my interview but have decided to offer the position to former Watford (English Premier Division) manager, Danny Cowley.

 

The media are convinced I'm going to the Championship though with Derby County the next club I'm linked with. A solid mid-table club who seem to have a lot more patience with their managers. The last one recently left to take over at Swansea while the one before him was there for nearly four years before moving on to a bigger club.

 

 

 

 

The month starts with a lazy, poor performance at home to Odra Opole. They might be over performing in mid table but they are a team we should be beating. We made a steady start before giving ourselves a mountain to climb when Nauber deflects a cross into his own net. Szwed is back from injury & pulls us level when Sanogo slips a ball into the channel but thats about as much as we threaten. Odra are no better as they fail to register a shot on target leaving the match finishing in a frustrating draw.

 

Bruk-Bet are another team over achieving in mid table and another we should be beating. We played better than we did against Odra Opole but we had an unusual issue of taking a lot of long shots. The keeper got tested but thats all you can say about the first half. Bruk-Bet rarely threatened all game while subs seemed to settle us down in the second half. Listkowski came on for Sanogo up front got his foot on the ball a bit more to link play. That allowed the wing backs to get forward with Puchacz twice picking out Szwed to seal the win (The first was chested down & volleyed in while for the second he got up in front of the keeper to head in).

 

Manager less Piast put up a good fight but we took the early lead when a long diagonal ball from Listkowski saw Sanogo behind the defence confidently firing past the keeper. For much of the match we end up defending without really coming under pressure but Piast grab an equaliser in the second half from a blocked shot. They seemed to run out of steam in the final stages though with Listkowski slotting in a winner to complete a clinical performance.

 

The winnable games kept coming as rivals, Cracovia were up next but it was clear from the start that it wouldn't be easy. Just four shots in the first half (two from each side) tell you all you need to know but the breakthrough came early in the second when Kolodziejczyk ran onto Sanogo's flick on. With the lead I chose to sit back & defend as I suspected we would get sliced open if we chased the ball. It worked well with Cracovia limited to distance until late in the match when they finally create a clear chance only to blast over the bar as we held on.

 

Home to Wisla Plock should arguably have been the easiest match of the month but it was another half arsed performance where the team just went through the motions. Wisla Plock kept men behind the ball frustrating our attacks while looking dangerous from set pieces. We have Hinc to thank for keeping a clean sheet while one shot on target is far from good enough.

 

We finished the month home to an underachieving Lechia who could well find themselves in the relegation group very soon. Its another tough match but at least we played a bit better & kept possession well. Chances though were another story as we struggled to break down their defence while they probably had the better chances on the break. Overall no clear chances in the match though so no surprise it ended 0-0.

 

 

 

 

***Manager News***

Later in the month the rumours around the Derby job gather pace as the fans consider me a leading candidate.

 

 

and it isn't long until they offer me an interview.

 

 

Which seems to have gone well according to the media.

 

 

Derby think otherwise though.

 

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

April 2024

 

 

 

 

With a place in the Championship group secured it was all about the points in the last couple of matches. Miedz beat us earlier in the season though and were equally frustrating this time round. We limited them to long shots while lacking a cutting edge ourselves but eventually made the breakthrough with a direct ball that saw Sanogo hold off his marker & drill in. Rasner came off the bench and lifted in a fantastic free kick before we threw a comfortable win away. A diagonal shot saw Miedz pull one back before Wieteska gave away the ball minutes later leaving the striker one on one against Wroblewski. He saved the first shot but couldn't stop the rebound as we had to settle for a point.

 

The last match of the season saw us travel to Arka for what is becoming an annoying trend. A defensive side that we struggle to break down that occasionally threaten via a counter attack or set piece. I tweaked for the second half to try and improve our attacks but it took a deflected shot from Wilk to break the deadlock. While the first was a little lucky the second wasn't as Wilk rose at the back post to power a Puchacz cross past the keeper and this time we didn't throw the lead away.

 

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa Championship Group

 

It looks like only the top three will get a European place so it was vital we pushed on, especially at home to 7^th placed KGHM Zaglebie. We seemed to make a nervy start before Rasner struck a sweet free kick to settle the team down. A missed header from Sanogo saw KGHM pull level from a corner but we were soon back in front from a corner of our own. Colley flicked on for Wieteska who headed against the bar and in the scramble the ball crossed the line. We soon had a third when Sanogo side footed in a low cross from Wilk and that was pretty much the game until the late stages. KGHM created a couple of late chances which Hinc was equal to before Sanogo added a fourth from the edge of the box in injury time to seal a much needed win.

 

  

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

May 2024

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa Championship Group

 

There is a real split in the Championship Group and a win over Gornik would just about make it four teams chasing three European places. It was a tough battle but with no chances for either team Puchacz produced a moment of magic as he burst past the fullback, got to the byline and pulled the ball back for Szwed to fire in. The second half was equally tight until Szwed put his foot through a loose ball and found the inside of the far post to seal the win putting right in the title race.

 

  

 

The big news before the Bruk-Bet match was that Wisla Krakow had won the FA Cup which meant we were within touching distance of a place in Europe. With bigger games to follow it was important to seal that place against Bruk-Bet and they did their best to gift it to us. Wilk had already stolen one ball off a defender as they tried to play out from the back and the second time he drilled it past the keeper to give us the lead. Rasner then did his best to shoot us in the foot picking up two yellow cards within minutes of each other and I sacrificed Szwed up front to shore up the midfield. Letniowski gave us a cushion just before the break when his free kick deflected in off the wall and that was pretty much the game. We played keep ball and strangled the Bruk-Bet attacks in the second half to book a place in Europe for the first time in over 20 years.

 

  

 

With European football booked for next season we had nothing to lose in the last four matches. Home to Lech though was a different matter as two defensive sides found it difficult to break the opposition down. One half chance for each side was the closest either came as both seemed happy to settle for a draw.

 

  

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

May 2024

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa Championship Group

 

Away to Wisla Krakow we need a win to stay in the title race but it was a poor first half after Hinc went off early with an injury. Our stubborn defence limit Krakow to one clear chance with is shanked wide while we improved in the second half. Listkowski hits the post with our only real chance of the match before a deflected goal in injury time saw Krakow steal the points.

 

  

 

The loss to Krakow leaves the title between Lech & Legia which meant our last two matches were more or less dead rubbers so I chose to rotate the squad. Jagiellonia had nothing to play for either which left the match with a very much friendly feel about it. Both teams just went through the motions as shown by the fact that neither team managed a shot on target at all.

 

  

 

The last match of the season is away to Legia and while we had nothing to play for Legia needed a win to take the title. They made the perfect start as they scored from a corner in the first minute but I was pleased that the team didn't throw the towel in and gave them a game. Overall we had one half chance where Wilk tested the keeper while Legia had two clear chances scoring both to claim the title.

 

  

 

 

Whatever the result the important part was:

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2023/24 Season Summary

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

Legia made a slow start but soon joined the usual suspects at the top which included ourselves as we hung onto their coattails. The missing name at the top was Lechia who struggled all season in the bottom half of the table. Gornik had a dip mid-season but recovered to join Jagiellonia as regulars in the Championship Group which left two places and for a long time it looked like two surprise names would make it. A late run from KGHM Zaglebie saw them claim their expected place leaving Bruk-Bet as the surprise team at the expense of promoted Odra Opole. Down at the bottom expected mid-table sides Piast, Wisla Plock & Cracovia all struggled and found the relegation sides tough opposition.

 

In the Championship Group there was a mid table split from the start and that only grew during the course of the matches. Wisla Krakow & ourselves had mixed results but just couldn't keep pace with the top two. Lech went unbeaten but too many draws cost them as Legia won six out of seven to claim their 16^th title. As for the bottom four they were just going through the motions with nothing to play for but KGHM were the only team not to pick up at least one win.

 

The Relegation group was fairly close all the way through helped by a number of draws between the teams. Miedz were the pick of the sides with three wins & three draws to finish top of the group but steady mid-table side Cracovia failed to win any of their seven games as they dropped out of the division for the first time in twelve years. For three teams the second relegation spot went down to the wire as Piast beat Arka to keep their place while Wisla Plock & Blekitni faced each other. Blekitni just needed a draw at home but a goal in injury time saw Wisla Plock finally seal a deserved 1-0 win to send Blekitni down.

 

 

 

Polish FA Cup

Big draws in the Second Round saw Jagiellonia & Lech fall to Wisla Krakow & Legia while Odra Opole, Cracovia & Piast also went out to Ekstraklasa opposition at the same stage. Ourselves & Blekitni made it seven Ekstraklasa sides out in the Second Round as we both fell to First Division teams. This really opened up the draw for other teams but they couldn't take advantage as four Ekstraklasa sides made the semi-finals. Arka shocked Legia to make the final but Wisla Krakow had too much for them as they lifted their 5^th FA Cup.

 

 

 

Awards

Fair Play Award: 1^st Bruk-Bet, 2^nd KGHM Zaglebie, 3^rd Piast

 

Foreigner of the Year: Hervin Ongenda (28yo French ST) – Wisla Krakow

 

Player of the Season: Hervin Ongenda (28yo French ST) – Wisla Krakow

 

Player of the Year: Mikolaj Wydra (19yo Polish ST) – KGHM Zaglebie

 

Top Goalscorer

1^st Hervin Ongenda (28yo French ST) – Wisla Krakow – 18 goals

2^nd Marian Tsvetanov (22yo Bulgarian ST) – Legia – 17 goals

3^rd Jakub Arak (29yo Polish ST) – Bruk-Bet – 16 goals

 

Goal of the Season: Jakub Moder (25yo Polish DM/MC) – Piast vs Wisla Plock

 

Manager of the Season: Tomasz Kielbowicz (Legia)

 

Team of the Season

GK – Mande Sayouba (30yo Ivorian GK) – Lech

DR – Przemyslaw Szyminski (29yo Polish DRC/MC) – Legia

DC – Victor Massaia (32yo Polish DC/DM) – Lech

DC – Ivan Runje (33yo Croatian DC/DR) – Jagiellonia

DL – Simao Azevedo (29yo Portuguese DL/AMRL) – Wisla Krakow

MR – Robert Janicki (26yo Polish AMRC) – Lech

MC – Jordi Soria (25yo Spanish MC/ML) – Legia

MC – Marian Tsvetanov (22yo Bulgarian AMC, ST/MC) – Legia

ML – Aleksandar Mancic (20yo Serbian AML) – Legia

ST – Hervin Ongenda (28yo French ST/AMC) – Wisla Krakow

ST – Mikolaj Wydra (20yo Polish ST/AMC) – KGHM Zaglebie

Sub – Mykyta Shevchenko (31yo Ukrainian GK) – Legia

Sub – Taras Romanchuk (32yo Ukrainian DM, MC/DC) – Jagiellonia

Sub – Lukas Krejci (20yo Czech AMC/MC, ST) – Lech

Sub – Stoyan Tanev (22yo Bulgarian ST) – Legia

Sub – Kiril Despodov (27yo Bulgarian AMRL, ST) – Gornik

Sub – Gino Peruzzi (31yo Argentinian DR/DL) – Lechia

Sub – Michal Banik (24yo Polish ST) – Odra Opole

 

 

 

Club Review

 

Ekstraklasa – 4^th

FA Cup – 2^nd Round

 

In the league we made progress and claimed a European place which was not a massive leap but we were classed as outsiders while in the FA Cup we again disappointed crashing out in the Second Round. The board were obviously disappointed in the Cup performance but pleased with the League result.

 

Financially we went backwards despite doing slightly better on the pitch. Income stayed at about the same level (£5.9m) but expenses crept up from £6.6m to £7.4m meaning a loss before transfers of £1.5m. Wages & bonuses were slightly up, we had a bigger tax bill after making a profit the previous season while we had loan repayments following the takeover. We also didn't sell any major players last season with the minor transactions resulting in around a £150k deficit for the club leaving the total loss for the season of approx £1.6m. Its not good for a club pushing for European football and I could well be forced to sell a couple of players to balance the books this summer.

 

 

Squad Review

 

  

 

Goalkeepers

The season started with Wroblewski & Hinc sharing the workload but as the season progressed Hinc became the preferred option. The stats show why as Wroblewski conceded eleven & kept seven clean sheets from sixteen matches which is good but Hinc only conceded nine & kept fifteen clean sheets from twenty two matches.

Jozef Hinc (19yo Polish GK) - 22 apps, 9 conceded, 15 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.97

Tomasz Wroblewski (24yo Polish GK) – 16 (1) apps, 14 conceded, 7 clean sheets, Ave Rating: 6.95

 

Fullbacks

On the left Puchacz established himself as the clear first choice with his best season yet and he was arguably the player that made the most difference for us on the pitch when the chips were down. Backing him up home grown Bochenek had a steady first season in the main squad but he will need to improve if he is going to make it long term. The right saw Gucek improve from last season but his performances are still more average than impressive. I doubt there is more to come from him now so its a case of what you see is what you get which is less than I had hoped for a couple of seasons ago. After two seasons out on loan home grown Wawszczyk returned to provide an alternative option. At the beginning of the season I felt he was probably just a filler option who wouldn't make it long term but his hard working attitude has meant he is probably a better prospect than Bochenek now and could well challenge Gucek for the starting role next year. That left Pustelnik who went out on loan for the season. He did well at a lower level but with very little improvement in the last three years its time to cut our losses and he has already agreed a bosman deal to join Odra Opole (Ekstraklasa) in the summer.

Tymoteusz Puchacz (25yo Polish DL/ML, DR) – 27 apps, 0 goals, 7 assists, Ave Rating: 7.10

Radoslaw Bochenek (21yo Polish DL) – 11 (3) apps, 0 goals, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 6.80

Luka Gucek (25yo Slovenian DR) – 24 apps, 1 goal, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.85

Tomasz Wawszczyk (20yo Polish DR) – 14 (3) apps, 0 goals, 3 assists, Ave Rating: 6.92

Radoslaw Pustelnik (22yo Polish DR/DL) – OUT ON LOAN

 

Central Defence

There was a lot of rotation in the middle of defence this season as I tried to phase some players out while increasing the game time for others. Wieteska was once again voted the fan's “Player of the Year” but personally I felt his performances dipped slightly and others were probably more deserving. Kolinger was once again our most consistent defender while Colley improved to the level I expected from him. Nauber is declining but still offered decent backup while I tried to give Pawlowski a real chance to stake a claim for a starting place. Despite improving on paper it looks like a squad player might be the best he manages long term although given his main weakness is mental he may still make it. That left Martuszewski who I tried to convert from a defensive fullback to a DC. It wasn't a disaster but he was fairly average and I've decided to let him go as I look for other options.

Denis Kolinger (30yo German DC) – 25 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 7.08

Mateusz Wieteska (27yo Polish DC/DR, DM) – 27 (2) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.97

Gerrit Nauber (32yo German DC/DR, DM) – 12 (4) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.83

Omar Colley (31yo Gambian DC/DL) – 24 apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 7.04

Lukasz Pawlowski (23yo Polish DC/DL) – 19 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.85

Piotr Martuszewski (24yo Polish DL/DC) – 6 (4) apps, 1 goal, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.86

 

Midfield

It was the same old story on the defensive side as Makowski & Aytov again shared the workload. Aytov is better with the ball though and it was more noticeable on the pitch this season. With younger players pushing for places (Most notably 18yo Michal Czajkowski) Makowski might have to drop back to defence or move on this summer if I get a good offer for him. New signing Rasner was solid as he mostly rotated as the DLP with Piotrowski who again proved to be a good squad member. Letniowski was the first choice attacking MC and he had his best season yet to be the pick of the midfielders which left three of the younger players providing cover. Natural winger Wrobel was the most effective backup for Letniowski as the role suits a player who can run at the opposition defence but given we were overloaded with players he went out on loan after Xmas impressing at Blekitni. I had high hopes at the beginning of the season that home grown Starzycki & Kolodziejczyk would establish themselves as first team players but that doesn't look to be the case now. Starzycki seems to have peaked a couple of years ago and just hasn't reached the required level while there is still a chance for Kolodziejczyk but also signs that he has peaked as well. Two other home grown players (Bartosik & Trzebiatowski) have tasted first team action in the past but went out on loan this year but neither really impressed and it looks like their career lies at a lower level.

Rafal Makowski (27yo Polish DM/DC, MC) – 17 (6) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.83

Vladimir Aytov (28yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC) – 18 (8) apps, 0 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.94

Martin Rasner (29yo Austrian DM, MC) – 19 (5) apps, 3 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 7.05

Jakub Piotrowski (26yo Polish MC/DM, MR) – 20 (9) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.94

Juliusz Letniowski (26yo Polish MLC/MR) – 21 (4) apps, 5 goals, 4 assists, Ave Rating: 7.07

Tomasz Wrobel (23yo Polish ML) – 4 (18) apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.93

Blazej Starzycki (23yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 8 (11) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.77

Daniel Kolodziejczyk (20yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 9 (13) apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.77

Michal Czajkowski (18yo Polish DM, MC) – 1 (1) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, Ave Rating: 6.80

Arkadiusz Bartosik (20yo Polish DM/MC) – OUT ON LOAN

Krzysztof Trzebiatowski (20yo Polish MC/DM) – OUT ON LOAN

 

Forwards

New signing Szwed joined Wilk, Sanogo & Listkowski up front as they all shared the work load. Szwed was the biggest goal threat ending up top scorer but his form dipped towards the end of the season. Sanogo was arguably the best foil for him as he produced one of his better seasons but he isn't the most natural goalscorer while Wilk was also solid inbetween no less than four different spells out injured which affected his form. That left Listkowski who seems to be getting worse as he had a poor season and I may well look to move him on in the summer despite being home grown. Two other home grown players provided backup – Adamkiewicz eventually went out on loan where he was disappointing while Jovic mostly played reserve football but doesn't look to be building on his early promise.

Yaya Sanogo (31yo French ST/AMLC) – 20 (9) apps, 9 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 7.04

Marcin Listkowski (26yo Polish ST/AMC) – 16 (9) apps, 4 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.78

Mateusz Szwed (24yo Polish ST/AML) – 20 (5) apps, 11 goals, 2 assists, Ave Rating: 6.98

Maciej Wilk (23yo Polish ST/AMR) – 18 (1) apps, 8 goals, 4 assists, Ave Rating: 7.02

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (20yo Polish ST/AMR) – 1 (2) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.67

Slobodan Jovic (20yo Montenegrin ST) – 1 (3) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, Ave Rating: 6.73

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

2024/25 Pre-Season

 

 

 

 

 

***Transfer Thoughts***

After a couple of quiet windows I'm expecting more changes in personnel this summer. We've had a lot of youngsters given a chance in the first team over the last couple of seasons and with a lot of them not reaching the levels we had hoped its about time for a culling as I look to move them on.

Goalkeepers are also an interesting area where Hinc is clearly the keeper I want to keep but that may not be possible while there is a big question over Wroblewski being anything more than a squad player and with 21yo Mateusz Sledz knocking on the door we don't have room for all of them. Behind those three we also have two more 18yos who have first team ambitions so we aren't short of options.

 

 

 

 

 

Players Out

Eight players were released at the end of their contracts from the reserves and youth team while three other more recognisable names also left:

 

Piotr Martuszewski (25yo Polish DL/DC) – Released at end of contract.

Time at Pogon: 3 years, Apps: 42, Goals: 1, Assists: 3

Not my best transfer ever when I overpaid for Piotr three years ago. Too defensive to be a wing back, not big enough to be a DC meant he didn't fit in very well. Was subject to a deadline day offer a year ago and I wish I had taken it now to at least recoup some of the £400k I spent on him.

 

Slobodan Jovic (20yo Montenegrin ST) – Released at end of contract.

Time at Pogon: 5 years, Apps: 34, Goals: 11, Assists: 2

Some people might be a little surprised but a lack of improvement combined with Jovic becoming frustrated by a lack of football meant it was time for him to move on. He is a good goal scorer but his career lies at a lower level.

 

Radoslaw Pustelnik (22yo Polish DR/DL) – Signed for Odra Opole (Ekstraklasa) on a bosman

Time at Pogon: 7 years, Apps: 9, Goals: 0, Assists: 0

Another former youth player who never built on early promise. Has spent much of the last three seasons out on loan and his career lies at a lower level.

 

 

As the transfer window opens its Dutch clubs that move first with offers quickly landing on my desk:

Both FC Twente (Dutch Eredivisie) & NAC (Dutch Eredivisie) offer around £300k for Rafal Makowksi (DM) while PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie) offer similar for Marcin Listkowski. While I'm open to selling both players its got to be for decent money so I reject all the offers.

 

Key defender Mateusz Wieteska is also attracting interest with both Wisla Krakow (£275k) & Alaves (Spanish Second Division) (£245k) tabling bids. Wieteska shows no sign of wanting to leave & with the offers on the low side I'm happy to reject them both as well.

 

Just before games got back underway I got a chance to clear out our overstocked midfield. First newly promoted Gornik Zabrze made a non-negotiable offer for Starzycki. Its not much but with the only other interested clubs considering loans its a case of take it or probably release him for free at the end of the season:

Blazej Starzycki (24yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – Sold to Gornik Zabrze (Ekstraklasa) for £18k

Time at Pogon: 9 years, Apps: 71, Goals: 4, Assists: 5

I really thought Blazej would go on and establish himself as a solid first teamer after a couple of good loan spells. He had plenty of chances but just didn't improve enough for a team at our level.

 

Quickly following is a very good offer for a player who has been out on loan for the last couple of seasons:

Arkadiusz Bartosik (21yo Polish DM/MC) – Sold to Gryf Wejherowo (Polish First Division) for £91k (£115k)

Time at Pogon: 6 years, Apps: 5, Goals: 0, Assists: 0

Another former youth player who I thought might make it as a squad player but he just didn't improve enough after early promise and has been overtaken in the pecking order by 18yo Michal Czajkowski.

 

Finally two players whose careers are going in different directions went out on loan for the season. 20yo MC Krzysztof Trzebiatowski has had a taste of first team action but was always a long shot and is likely to be released when he finishes his loan spell at Pogon Siedlce (Polish Second Division). Going the other way is another player coming off our production line of goalkeepers – 18yo Marcin Bach. He has a real chance of making it at the club and his development will continue on loan at Chrobry (Polish First Division).

 

 

 

 

 

Players In

Much the same as last season we have too many fringe players as well as youth players pushing for places so anyone I bring in has to be first team material. Despite looking over the last six months I couldn't find any bosman deals that were any better than what we already had and with a short pre-season nothing happened before our European adventure started.

 

 

 

 

 

***Euro Cup Draw***

The First Qualifying Round of the Euro Cup saw 100 teams split into seven groups which were split further into seeded & unseeded groups. We were seeded in Group 1 threw up some potentially interesting opposition:

 

We were drawn 4^th out of the group and the unseeded teams left were St Joseph's (GIB), Derry City (IRL), FC Santa Coloma (AND) & Dungannon (NIR).

 

The Second Qualifying Round draw follows where we are an unseeded team in Group 8. That would normally spell danger but the seeded teams don't look too bad:

 

Is it a good draw? Who knows at this stage. Fola Esch are an amateur side from Luxembourg which means Dinamo Minsk from Belarus are the likely opposition. They are at a similar level to ourselves but have far more experience in Europe.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

 

2024/25 Season Preview

 

 

 

Polish Ekstraklasa

Legia are once again the favourites but Lechia are surprisingly still considered contenders after a shocking season last year. The same could be said about KGHM who have been off the pace the last couple of years but are still in the chasing pack of outsiders while a good season from Piast has seen them join the group. At the bottom Odra Opole are surprisingly below the two promoted sides despite only just missing out on the Championship Group last year but I imagine it will be a tough fight for all teams in the bottom half.

 

 

 

Board Expectations

No change in the expectations except the board want us to reach the 3^rd Qualifying Round of the Euro Cup which looks to be a tough ask.

Euro Cup - 3^rd Qualifying Round

Polish Ekstraklasa – Top Half

Polish FA Cup – Quarter Finals

 

 

 

Pogon Szczecin Squad

Several fringe players have left, perhaps more to follow. No-one has joined so far but there is still two months left in the transfer window.

 

 

Goalkeepers

Hinc has just about established himself as the clear first choice while Wroblewski provides a solid alternative. I've also added home grown Mateusz Sledz to the first team after three seasons out on loan. I thought he might fall short of being a first team player but he made significant improvement last year and could well challenge Wroblewski to be 2^nd choice which would help our home grown quota.

Jozef Hinc (20yo Polish GK)

Tomasz Wroblewski (24yo Polish GK)

Mateusz Sledz (21yo Polish GK)

 

Fullbacks

No change at fullback from last year for now. On the left Puchacz will be backed up by Bochenek but we do have a lack of other options. Wrobel offers an attacking threat while Pawlowski & Colley can provide defensive cover but I may look to add another DL, especially if we qualify for the Euro Cup group stage. On the right Gucek earned his first cap for Slovenia at the end of last season but I'm expecting Wawszczyk to challenge him for the starting role while Piotrowski & Wieteska provide solid cover from elsewhere.

Tymoteusz Puchasz (25yo Polish DL/ML, DR)

Radoslaw Bochenek (21yo Polish DL)

Luka Gucek (25yo Slovenian DR) – 2 Caps

Tomasz Wawszczyk (20yo Polish DR)

 

Central Defence

Its more or less as you were in the middle. Nauber will continue to be phased out in what is probably his last season at the club while Pawlowski is now established as a rotation option. I'm looking for new blood to add to the defence and we have two possible players in the reserves but I'm not convinced they are ready or ever will be. They are more likely to go out on loan this year which leaves Makowski possibly dropping back from DM as an alternative but thats if I don't sell him.

Denis Kolinger (30yo German DC)

Omar Colley (31yo Gambian DC) – 58 Caps, 5 Goals

Mateusz Wieteska (27yo Polish DC/DR, DM)

Gerrit Nauber (32yo German DC/DM)

Lukasz Pawlowski (23yo Polish DC/DL)

 

Central Midfield

I've had a bit of a culling in midfield but we still have eight players competing for three starting roles with another three youth players knocking on the door. Makowski and Aytov are once again the defensive options but 18yo Michal Czajkowski is pushing hard to be included which will probably see Makowski either dropping back to DC or be sold. Rasner & Piotrowski are the main DLP options although both are flexible enough to play other roles while Letniowski & Wrobel will share the attacking position. That leaves 20yo Kolodziejczyk whose career seems to have stalled over the last year. He provides extra cover across the middle and needs to step up when he gets the chance.

Rafal Makowski (27yo Polish DM/DC, MC)

Vladimir Aytov (28yo Bulgarian DM, MC/DC)

Michal Czajkowski (18yo Polish DM, MC)

Jakub Piotrowski (26yo Polish MC/DM, MR)

Martin Rasner (29yo Austrian DM, MC)

Juliusz Letniowski (26yo Polish MLC/MR)

Tomasz Wrobel (23yo Polish ML)

Daniel Kolodziejczyk (20yo Polish MC/DM, AMC)

 

Strikers

We are also the same up front where Sanogo, Wilk, Szwed & Listkowski all compete for starting places. 21yo Mariusz Adamkiewicz is also chomping at the bit for more first team action after being out on loan last year and I may have to sacrifice Listkowski or Sanogo to fit him in.

Yaya Sanogo (31yo French ST/AMLC)

Marcin Listkowski (26yo Polish ST/AMC)

Maciej Wilk (23yo Polish ST/AMR) – 1 Cap

Mateusz Szwed (24yo Polish ST/AML)

Mariusz Adamkiewicz (21yo Polish ST/AMR)

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

July 2024

 

 

 

***Euro Cup, 1^st Qualifying Round, 1^st Leg***

Pre-season is short enough in Poland but qualification for the Euro Cup has made it even shorter this year as our first match is before we even have a chance to play a friendly. Northern Irish semi-professional side, Dungannon are a team we should be beating but the squad is lacking match sharpness while we are missing both Kolinger & Piotrowski through injury for the first leg. Makowski starts in defence otherwise its a familiar line up and after a slowish start the squad soon find their rhythm. A strange early cross from Wawszczyk sees Sanogo on the end of a Szwed flick on before cleaner efforts quickly follow as Puchacz crosses for Szwed & Wawszczyk picks out Letniowski. By the time Sanogo adds a fourth its already game over as Dungannon struggle to even muster a shot. We probably should have scored a couple more in the second half but I've very happy with 4-0.

 

 

Before the second leg my AM booked us with an away friendly with SKN St. Polten (Austrian First Division). It was very much a fringe team that showed a clinical edge to beat them 4-0 with a hattrick by Wilk but it was also costly as Lukasz Pawlowski (DC) damaged his achilles tendon and will out until Xmas.

 

 

***Euro Cup, 1^st Qualifying Round, 2^nd Leg***

I rotate heavily for the return leg against Dungannon while both Kolinger & Piotrowski return from injury. A wide free kick nearly catches us cold as a header comes back off the bar but once the match settles we are in control. Many chances are wasted though before Szwed wins and scores a penalty early in the second half. We should have had more and it comes back to bite us when a long ball sees Dungannon in behind Kolinger but with a 4-0 lead from the first leg it doesn't matter as we cruise through to face Dinamo Minsk.

 

 

We fit in a friendly before the Euro Cup Qualifiers continue and its a bit one home to Swansea (English Championship). A rotated squad play ok but Swansea have a bit more quality picking up a 2-0 win.

 

 

***Euro Cup, 2^nd Qualifying Round, 1^st Leg***

I expected Minsk to be tough opposition but it was made worse by their 4231 narrow formation along with a poor performance from several of our players. Minsk dominated early on as we struggled to get out of our half but their goal came from a nothing shot that Hinc got a hand to but should have done far better with. It did allow the match to settle though as we worked out way into it before Sanogo saw a penalty saved. For much of the game it was really a midfield battle with neither side looking like scoring until Wilk came off the bench and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. A quick break saw him play a one-two with Szwed before confidently slotting into the far corner but Minsk were soon back in front although there was a hint of offside about it. The team didn't fold though with Wilk again firing in an equaliser and he even saw a third chance fly past the post in injury time. Overall I have to be disappointed given we allowed Minsk two goals despite them not creating any sort of chance in the whole match.

 

 

Before the second leg the league gets underway and we are home to Jagiellonia. Its a very much fringe team as I rest several but we seem to start well with Wrobel seeing a half chance saved from a narrow angle. After that though it settles into a midfield battle with neither side creating chances until Jagiellonia take the lead in freak circumstances. Wroblewski took a free kick from the DR area, Jagiellonia won the header in midfield with their striker turning and scoring from the halfway line. I try to push on in the second half but Sanogo puts one chance wide while Wilk came off the bench and saw another tipped over the bar. In the end I am far from happy with losing, especially the way they scored.

 

 

***Euro Cup, 2^nd Qualifying Round, 2^nd Leg***

I'm not confident travelling to Minsk after the last two matches but with a couple of tweaks the team are in a better position to deal with their formation this time round. The first half was again a midfield battle with few shots, never mind chances. The only notable moment was a quick break which saw Letniowski fire in only to be ruled rightly offside. Puchacz opened the match up early in the second half as he picked out Szwed at the far post who headed back across the keeper to give us the lead. Minsk only needed the one goal though and they pushed forward looking for it but that only served to give us space on the counter as both Wilk & Szwed saw good chances saved. A long ball saw Wilk first to react before being sliced down in the box as Szwed confidently slotted in a second while Kolinger headed in a free kick as we booked a place in the next round.

 

 

 

***Manager News***

A busy month ends with a shock as an unexpected offer lands on my desk.

Do I accept? It seems to be a good opportunity and the expectations don't seem unreasonable.

After four years at Pogon I've got them into Europe but we are still two rounds away from the Euro Cup Group Stage and hopes of making it look slim. 3^rd Round opposition are a step up from Minsk and then we have a playoff after that. Money at Pogon is also a huge issue and we have to sell one or two players every season for decent money just to break even. Because of that I suspect this is about as far as I can realistically expect to take them, they are unlikely to ever compete on the wages or transfers front with the likes of Legia never mind bigger European teams without serious investment.

Having had interviews last season with the likes of Middlesbrough & Derby perhaps the Poland job can provide me with a stepping stone to a much bigger team that is better equipped to compete in Europe.

 

Overall I've decided to split my time for now between both jobs but as soon as Pogon drop out of Europe I will probably choose to concentrate on Poland.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

Pogon Szczecin

Ekstraklasa

 

 

 

August 2024

 

 

 

Quite a bit of housekeeping to catch up on at the beginning of the month.

 

First up the Euro Cup 3^rd Qualifying Round Draw which sees us pitted against Dnipro (Ukraine). Looking at their team their players earn similar wages but like Minsk they are more experienced in European competition. They made the group stage four years ago but have lost in qualifying since, most recently to Legia in the Playoff Round last year.

 

 

 

***Transfer News***

I've turned down offers for a few players, most notably Wieteska & Listkowski as well as loan offers for Kolodziejczyk & Wrobel. A couple more of our talented youngsters have gone out on loan though for the season.

 

I've also decided that 22yo Bochenek (DL) isn't going to make a first team player in the long term and have been focusing on looking for a DL to replace him & a DC to cover for the injured Pawlowski. So far I haven't decided on anyone but two unattached players have joined us for a trial:

 

Zarko Tomasevic (34yo Montenegrin DLC)

A very experienced DC with 80 caps for Montenegro who could also cover the wing back role. On the slow side and certainly on the decline but would be a short term fix until Pawlowski recovered & would give me time to find a long term replacement for Bochenek.

 

Matt Clarke (27yo English DC/DL)

Released from Portsmouth (English League 1) after nine seasons at the club probably because he wants to play at a higher level. Determined, professional & strong in the air make for a good DC and aside from the language barrier he looks a good fit for the club but wages might be a problem.

 

 

 

***Euro Cup, 3^rd Qualifying Round, 1^st Leg***

I expected a tough game away in the Ukraine hoping for maybe a draw and an away goal perhaps but for whatever reason Dnipro just didn't turn up. We controlled much of the match and built a solid away lead with Letniowski's 25 yard effort the pick of them.

 

 

Before the return leg we had another league game and European football is having an affect as its mostly fringe players that took to the field. Gornik Zabrze played keep ball for much of the game while we created little as Adamkiewicz missed the best chance of the first half. Szwed came off the bench to make the difference as he burst past a defender before squaring for Adamkiewicz to side foot in before slotting home a penalty in injury time as we made hard work of a promoted team.

 

 

 

***Transfer News***

Its a busy time at the moment as I rejected two offers, accepted one and brought a player in. The two offers I rejected were a £38k one from Miedz (Ekstraklasa) for Wroblewski (GK) & a £350k one from Alaves (Spanish First Division) for Rasner (MC).

The one I did accept, after a bit of negotiating was for Marcin Listkowski (ST). The bottom line was I couldn't keep four first team strikers happy and we have a younger player waiting in the wings. Szwed & Wilk are both regular goal scorers while Sanogo chips in as well as offering a physical option up front. That left Listkowski as the odd man out and despite his creative skill he has been mostly very average over the last few seasons. Adamkiewicz now steps in as the 4^th choice striker which he'll be more happy with.

Marcin Listkowski (26yo Polish ST/AMC) – Sold to KGHM Zaglebie (Ekstraklasa) for £325k (£425k)

Time at Pogon: 11 years, Appearances: 151, Goals: 28, Assists: 23

 

Finally the player I brought in was one I had on trial:

Zarko Tomasevic (34yo Montenegrin DLC) – Unattached

His early career was mostly spent in Portugal before being picked up by KV Kortrijk (Belgium Pro League). Three years there were followed by seven at fellow Pro League side Oostende as he built up a lot of experience. Last season was spent at Tenerife (Spanish Second Division) where he was still a regular starter but he is clearly declining and is basically a short term cover option for us while Pawlowski is injured.

 

 

 

***Euro Cup, 3^rd Qualifying Round, 2^nd Leg***

3-0 up from the first leg with three away goals its surely a question of how many fringe players I include, right? I decided on four as Wroblewski is in goal, Makowski & Nauber in defence with Wrobel in midfield. We were on the back foot from the start though with Wroblewski making a couple of solid saves before Vakulko was left with a rebound tap in. Once the match settled down neither team create much until Makowski gives away a penalty for an off the ball incident during a set piece. We improved in the second half as the team went looking for a goal but both Wilk & Sanogo wasted good chances before the referee screwed us over again by awarding a second penalty for very little. Extra time and although we were the better team you know what was coming as Dnipro eventually work a 4^th goal to send them through as I decide how many players to fine.

 

 

 

***Manager News***

Out of Europe in shocking circumstances is the icing on the cake as my time at Pogon has come to an end. I resign to concentrate on my new role with Poland.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

 

 

 

Rival Nations: Russia, Germany & England

 

Current World Ranking: 57^th

 

Honours

World Cup: 3^rd Place (1974 & 1982)

Olympic Games: Winners (1972), Runners-up (1976 & 1992)

 

 

Recent History

Poland had a bit of a resurgence a few years ago as they made the semi finals of the 2018 World Cup (Lost to France then to Germany in the 3^rd place playoff) and the semi finals of the 2020 European Championships (Lost to Portugal).

That seems to have been the peak though as they just missed out on qualifying for the 2022 World Cup by one point before going on to have a disastrous European Championships this summer where they lost all three group games to Wales, Portugal & Albania. In fact the whole year has been a disaster as they also lost all three friendlies prior to the tournament (Spain, Scotland & Switzerland) which explains the recent nosedive in the World Rankings.

The rest of this year will be focussed on the European International League where we are in Division B, Group 2 along with Ukraine and Bosnia & Herzegovina which should mean some close matches before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers start next year.

 

 

Star Players

Wojciech Szczesny (34yo Polish GK) – 107 Caps

Roma (Italian Serie A) paid Arsenal (English Premier Division) £13.5m for him in 2017 but he never quite established himself as a first team player. A move to Argentina followed in 2021 as Boca (Premier Division) paid £4.7m for him and it proved to be money well spent as he has had three solid seasons as their number one lifting the Argentinian title twice.

 

Kamil Glik (36yo Polish DC) – 124 Caps, 4 Goals

After making a name for himself at Torino (Italian Serie A) Monaco (French Ligue 1) paid £7m for him in 2016. Eight years, over 300 appearances & two French Ligue 1 titles later the commanding centre back is still a force to be reckoned with at both club & national level even if he is showing signs of decline.

 

Piotr Zielinski (30yo Polish MC/DM, AMC) – 92 Caps, 7 Goals

His biography calls him a global superstar and I doubt anyone would argue. A world class midfielder who built his reputation at Napoli (Italian Serie A) before PSG (French Ligue 1) paid £71m for him in 2021. He lifted the European Champion's Cup with them in 2023 before moving on to Manchester Utd (English Premier Division) for £53m last year.

 

Arkadiusz Milik (30yo Polish ST/AMC) – 113 Caps, 69 Goals

Something of a journeyman before bursting on the scene at Ajax (Dutch Eredivisie) which prompted Napoli (Italian Serie A) to pay £26m for him in 2016. Three years later AC Milan (Italian Serie A) bought him for £23.5m and he seems to be getting better with age. Top scorer in Serie A last season with 33 goals in all competitions which was his best return since his Ajax days.

[Cougar2010]

Poland

 

 

 

September 2024

 

 

 

European International League (2024/25)

Poland got relegated from Division A in the 2022/23 season from a group containing England & Portugal. There are 12 teams in Division B split into four groups of three and we've been drawn in Group 2 with Ukraine and Bosnia & Herzegovina. We play each home & away over the next few months with the top team promoted to Division A and the bottom team relegated to Division C. As for the Polish FA they haven't set me any expectation for this competition for some reason.

 

 

 

Preview

I get thrown straight in at the deep end with two European League games. First we host Ukraine before travelling to face Bosnia & Herzegovina.

 

 

 

Squad Selection

A lot of the golden generation that made the semi finals of the World Cup (2018) & European Championships (2020) seem to have retired leaving the national team in something of a transition period the last couple of years. Some of the younger members of that generation still have a big part to play as they enter their 30s while others who are 32yo+ are going to need replacing over the next couple of years.

As for the next generation it doesn't look as exciting and certainly lacks the same quality. One player does stand out though and that is Man Utd winger Dariusz Soldecki. At 23yo he already has over 50 caps for Poland and is an established star valued at over £50m.

As for formations I would love to use wing backs like I did at Pogon but with a star player at left wing and a lack of quality attacking full backs its clearly not going to happen at the moment. I'm likely to look at using a 4411/442 for one shape with something like a 41221 with two wide winger/forwards either side of a lone striker as an alternative.

 

Goalkeepers

In goal 34yo Szczesny has been the regular number one for the last eight years but has declined a little which has dropped him into a group of seven players who all have a genuine case to be included. Of the seven five have caps while five are also under 27yo. Of the seven Szczesny has started the season in the best form while Grabara has done enough to keep his place. Dragowski was the third keeper to go to the European Championships but is in terrible form while many of the alternatives are either out of favour at club level or lack match fitness early in the season. This leads me to turn to uncapped 26yo Patryk Grejber who has made a solid start to the season both in the Ekstraklasa & in Europe.

Wojciech Szczesny (34yo GK) – Boca (Argentinian Premier Division) – 107 caps, 0 goals

Kamil Grabara (25yo GK) – Burnley (English Premier Division) – 4 caps, 0 goals

Patryk Grejber (26yo GK) – Wisla Krakow (Ekstraklasa) – Uncapped

 

Fullbacks

On the left 32yo Timothee Kolodziejczak has been the regular choice despite being more suited to DC while only two natural DLs have caps - 26yo Mateusz Holownia & 30yo Jonatan Straus. However they are both a little short of the quality you would want at this level and arguably on a similar level to Pogon's Puchacz who hasn't been capped. We also have three U21s who are also knocking on the door led by 19yo Rafal Lesniewski who could well be the long term answer. For this squad though both Kolodziejczak & Straus have done enough to keep their places. The right isn't much better in terms of either depth or quality. 26yo Robert Gumny is slightly ahead of the rest which is why he is approaching 50 caps while his two main competitors (Szyminski & Kedziora) are both more defensive and possibly more suited to playing DC. Of the rest the only other player with any caps is one I'm familiar with – 28yo Kamil Dankowski who I sold to Arsenal Tula three years ago while much like DL there are three U21s who are potentially in the mix including Pogon's Wawszczyk. I decide to stick with Gumny despite him being out of favour at club level while Kedziora beats Dankowski to the second spot.

Timothee Kolodziejczak (32yo DLC) – Torino (Italian Serie A) – 77 caps, 0 goals

Jonatan Straus (30yo DL) – Lech (Ekstraklasa) – 3 caps, 0 goals

Robert Gumny (26yo DR/DL) – Bournemouth (English Premier Division) – 48 caps, 2 goals

Tomasz Kedziora (30yo DRC) – Kaiserslautern (German Second Division) – 17 caps, 0 goals

 

Central Defence

Its a concern that 36yo Kamil Glik is still considered our best defender but I guess it shows the quality he has/had while Bielik & Bednarek are probably a little ahead of the rest. On the fringe of the squad there are five or six battling for spots including some that have already been considered at fullback. Glik is in good form while Bielik & Bednarek have just about done enough to keep their places. The 4^th spot is a straight fight between three over 30s who are in good form and have been capped before. 32yo Rafal Janicki & 33yo Bartosz Salamon are both a little unlucky to miss out as I go with 32yo Victor Massaia who has been in fantastic form for Lech recently and can also play DM.

Kamil Glik (36yo DC) – AS Monaco (French Ligue 1) – 124 caps, 4 goals

Krystian Bielik (26yo DC/MC) – Leicester City (English Championship) – 39 caps, 0 goals

Jan Bednarek (28yo DC) – Toulouse FC (French Ligue 1) – 36 caps, 0 goals

Victor Massaia (32yo DC/DM) – Lech (Ekstraklasa) – 2 caps, 0 goals

 

Central Midfield

In the middle we have two standout players who are well ahead of the rest and virtual automatic picks as long as they can walk. 30yo Zielinski is more attacking and suited to an advanced playmaker or runner role while 29yo Linetty is more defensive and suited to playing as a DLP/BWM/B2B. More concerning is that Poland haven't got one natural DM with any caps. Again there are three U21s starting to knock on the door while two older players are in the mix – Pogon's 28yo Rafal Makowski & 22yo Krzysztof Parzyszek. With Parzyszek in poor form its a straight fight between Makowski and 21yo Fieden who is in top form. I decide to leave Fieden in the U21s knowing how good Makowski is in his natural DM position and how good his attitude is even if he is perhaps a little short of the standard we want. We have a lot of options for the attacking roles but unfortunately many are in poor form while the one in good form is injured – 22yo Damian Sikorski. Patryk Gora & Sebastian Szymanski are currently in the squad and also the two that are in semi decent form so keep their places by default.

Piotr Zielinski (30yo MC/DM, AMC) – Man Utd (English Premier Division) – 92 caps, 7 goals

Karol Linetty (29yo MC/DM, AMC) – Sampdoria (Italian Serie A) – 80 caps, 5 goals

Patryk Gora (23yo AMC/MC, ST) – Lech (Ekstraklasa) – 2 caps, 0 goals

Sebastian Szymanski (25yo MC, AMC/DM, AML) – Lech (Ekstraklasa) – 8 caps, 0 goals

Rafal Makowski (28yo DM/DC, MC) – Pogon (Ekstraklasa) – Uncapped

 

Wingers

On the left we haven't got a lot of options although we have several players who can move out wide from the middle. 23yo Soldecki is the new superstar while three others compete to join him in the squad – Smektala, Kapustka & the uncapped Galazka. Smektala is currently in the squad and also in the best form so its an easy pick as he joins Soldecki. Its possibly worse on the right where only two players have caps – Janicki & Jozwiak while uncapped 23yo Slawik deserves to be in the discussion. Janicki & Jozwiak are in the best form and another easy choice as they keep their places.

Dariusz Soldecki (23yo AML) – Man Utd (English Premier Division) – 54 caps, 6 goals

Jaroslaw Smektala (23yo ML) – Rubin (Russian Premier Division) – 2 caps, 0 goals

Kamil Jozwiak (26yo AMRL/AMC) – Ufa (Russian Premier Division) – 14 caps, 0 goals

Robert Janicki (27yo AMRC) – Lech (Ekstraklasa) – 21 caps, 5 goals

 

Strikers

Up front 30yo Milik is the clear number one while behind him are six players who are more natural AMCs so could suit a lone striker role. It is a concern though that we seem to lack an out and out striker to replace Milik and probably the reason that 19yo Primel has been fast tracked to the main squad. Primel is in poor form though and if he is in the mix both Wilk & Szwed of Pogon deserve to be as well. Milik is in good form to keep his place but with all the AMCs struggling its a case of two from three who are in good form. 20yo Wydra is in the U21s and possibly not suited to a lone striker role which leaves Pogon's Szwed & 29yo Stepinski as the best of the options.

Arkadiusz Milik (30yo ST/AMC) – AC Milan (Italian Serie A) – 113 caps, 69 goals

Mariusz Stepinski (29yo ST) – BATE (Belarus Highest League) – 7 caps, 0 goals

Mateusz Szwed (24yo ST/AML) – Pogon (Ekstraklasa) – Uncapped

 

 

 

Friday 6^th September 2024 – European International League, Division B, Group 2 (1/4)

Poland (WR 56^th) v Ukraine (WR 51^st)

Starting Eleven (41221): Szczesny, Kedziora, Bielik, Bednarek, Kolodziejczak, Makowski, Zielinski, Linetty, Jozwiak, Soldecki & Milik (Massaia, Gora & Szwed)

41221 seems like the sensible formation given the players while we have a pretty clean bill of health. Glik had just recovered from a knock so I left him on the bench while Straus, Massaia, Szymanski & Janicki arrived later and were not quite 100%. Makowski made his debut as the DM otherwise its was a fairly familiar line up for the fans.

A missed header in the Ukraine defence sees Milik through in the first minute but he put the only clear chance of the match past the far post. Aside from that though Ukraine were actually the more attacking side early on but a few tweaks saw us get hold of the ball and we took the lead when star midfielder Zielinski curled a free kick into the top corner. A second followed when a low Jozwiak cross was deflected in by a defender as we looked comfortable. Ukraine gave themselves hope with a turn & shot from the edge of the box but they never really looked like equalising as we kept them to distance. While the second was a clear OG Gora deserved the third as his driven shot took a deflection on the way in.

Overall a pretty good performance although we didn't create enough chances but the important part was Poland getting the win after six defeats in a row. Makowski did his job protecting the DCs while Szwed looked competent up front when he came on.

 

 

 

Tuesday 10^th September 2024 – European International League, Division B, Group 2 (2/4)

Bosnia & Herzegovina (WR 47^th) v Poland (WR 56^th)

Starting Eleven (41221): Grabara, Gumny, Bielik, Bednarek, Kolodziejczak, Makowski, Zielinski, Linetty, Janicki, Soldecki & Stepinski (Glik, Gora & Milik)

I think part of my problem when I managed Australia was making too many changes from match to match so I only make four for the Bosnia game. I want to see how Grabara (GK) & Stepinski (ST) do while I rotate Gumny (DR) & Janicki (AMR) in.

Bosnia lined up in a horrible 4231 narrow formation which was always difficult to deal with but we coped well and took the lead when Gumny picked out Soldecki at the far post. Two deflections turned the match around for Bosnia as first a shot deflected past Grabara off Kolodziejczak then just before the break a deflected cross fell into the path of Krunic. Despite that we were much the better team and I switched to wing backs part way through the second half as I looked to cope with their formation. A corner saw Bielik head back across goal for Makowski to volley in an equaliser while we looked to have deservedly won the match when Gumny picked out the unmarked Stepinski late on. Bosnia didn't give up though and when we lost possession in midfield they created their only real chance of the match deep into injury time as we had to settle for a draw.

Overall we should have won, we were the better team and created more chances. I have no idea how Bosnia managed to score three but I'll take an away draw.