Poland-Northern Ireland Preview. Fighting For Our Lives.

I think Krzynowek sees that the team is hurting offensively and tries to move up to help leaving the back open. Its just his natural instinct taking over, and the last time I saw him play up front I was disappointed. Long distance shots everytime he was open in the middle of the field. He had time to look up, draw a defender and pass to an open player, but would shoot instead. He’s clearly one of the better players we have, but I’m not sure sticking him in as defender is the best choice. even if we have to use a right back or central defender, let’s get a younger guy some experience.

And Tomek, they may be out of the world cup, but how can you not root for them to put together a decent performance and at least make things interesting?

Mr. Jacek is done. He’s too old and the only reason Leo played him was b/c he wanted offensive minded players for a defensive minded Ireland. Next game against Slovenia Leo will play Gancz for sure. Brozek wasted to much shots, he just can’t finish. I think that was Polands ultimate downfall: they had no in form strikers. Lewy n Brozek have been sucking up lately in Ekstraklasa. Jelen is injured and I think Sagan could have done more. Honestly Leo should have put in Sagan instead of R lewandigno. Sagan would have put in all he had. And I think Smolarek replace Obraniak cause Ludo got banged up. And Roger wasn’t as bad as Brozek. And if M Lewy didn’t get that goal I would have said kick his ass off cause he almost cost another goal with that terribal backpass to Boruc.

Posted from  United States

I would prefer for them to start building a team for EURO 2012, than slugging around and counting on a little blink of luck to qualify for a tournament where we would get our asses handed to us by any random country.
Though I admit that I’ll probably not care at all for the WC 2010 then, especially since I hate the current Dutch team.

Posted from  Netherlands

Jacek has been doing this for years, and I almost threw a Tyskie bottle into my TV screen during Euro ‘08 against Germany for that BS. The guy has no idea what team work and working the pitch is. The second he gets the ball he puts his head down and just powers a shot and more than half the time sends the thing into orbit with Sputnik. How about the opening minute against Germany? 20 seconds in and we could capture a lead if he just taps the ball in or gets his foot more ontop of the ball. Instead he puts his foot underneath the ball on that cross and blasts it into the stands. Who does that? How does a professional footballer not understand the physics of the game and ball. He had one good play this whole game, and that was last first half dribbing around on the left side into the box and looking to do everything on his own until finally dumping it off and Obraniak beat the keeper that but damn defender was perfectly positioned to deflect it.

Sometimes his duck and pray power shots work (Portugal) but 99.999% of the time it gets put into the upper deck.

Fully agree with Casi there, bald Lewy suffers from the same disease though to a lesser extent.

Posted from  Netherlands

But to be honest the Polish media are extremely exaggarating here, like I said before on paper NI has a much better squad so this doesn’t come unexpectedly, yet they act like it’s one huge surprise.

If this was against San Marino than it would be a completely different history.

Posted from  Netherlands

It doesn’t matter what the media say. The players were out there acting like it was going to be easier than it acutally was. They were lucky to get the draw. They played well for a stretch there when they scored. But when the Irish got back into the game it was the same old sloppy play with no possession. This is what I mean though. They have no sense of team identity. The defenders should know their roles, the midfielders theirs, and the forwards theirs. Instead, its just ten men running around trying to do one thing while the rest of the team does its own thing. They need to get on the same page.

@Tomek from Holland. Yes I watched the same game as you. Tell me one time Obraniak and Balszczykowski beat their defenders. It was clear that once Ebi replaced Obraniak the play changed dramatically. Did _any_ of our attackers hit their mark, Ebi cleared the bleachers a couple times significantly in the final minute, you can’t take strikes like that late in the game (same for our number 18). Brozek played and made runs created chances as you say yourself. And at least Brozek was challenging on our only goal as opposed to Roger who couldn’t be bothered to make a run until the final 10 minutes and Lewandowski (No. 18) who couldn’t hit the side of the barn.

Posted from  United States

Obraniak beat the defenders a few times, had some good shots on goal and created some chances. I can’t see what he did wrong, and Leo shouldn’t have taken him off. And where did I see anything about Kuba? I said quite clearly he was crap.

I don’t call shooting 10 meters above the goal challenging but whatever floats your boot. And he did that a few times, while being a pure striker. I expect his shot to at least go the right direction.

Roger wasnt good, hope he improves at Athens.

Ebi improved the game though I’m confident it would go even better if he would play together with Obraniak instead of Brozek.

Posted from  Netherlands

Should have started with 3 up front. If you need to win a game you dont play with one striker. When we had 3 on then we looked good. Bast player for Poland – SMOLAREK!!!

Posted from  Greece

The plan was most of the pressure was supposed to come from the wings. People were all like Kuba and Obraniak were gonan rip N.I. a new one. The reason that plan didn’t work was Kuba. Although he is one of our best players, I think today he was the worst one on the team. He did nothing helpful. Smolarek did play good but Kuba needed to be subbed with Peszko. Too bad Beenhakker chose Wilk over “Mr. Clutch in Bruge match 90+3 scroring a goal Peszko”. I wouldn’t put Lobo in to sub Kuba but Beenhakker should have planned for the worse. You can’t expect your best player to play everygame great. Today for once Kuba played like shit and there was no one to replace him.

I think this step by step article with tables does a good job showing how we can still go thru. http://www.sport.pl/sport/1,65025,7006093,Co_musi_sie_stac__by_Polska_pojechala_na_mundial.html
lets just hope Poland plays better when they’re playing an actual soccer team and not a human wall in front of a goal…

I don’t understand all the criticism directed at Kuba. If you want to make a list of who was more responsible then you don’t start with Kuba. No one complains about Kuba when he plays for Dortmund. A player is only as good as the guys around him. One bad game does not make a career.

The game is what it is. This team showed once more that they can play at a high level for short stretches at a time. Motivation or fitness are the common excuses for that. If only they all could play as hard as Roger. Lack of Polish born leadership is the main problem. I’m not one to criticise a man who has spent more years in football than I have on this planet but Leo fucked up. The formation, strategy, and line-up can all be second guessed, granted its after the fact. Has Leo heard of a 4-4-2? Is he not aware of how the Irish play? How could you not have been prepared for a team known for tough defence that looks to counter attack. Gancarczyk and Lewy should have started. Let Leo manage his last game on Wednesday and then bring in the replacement to start building for the Euros.

I’m a little disappointed in some of the negative comments. A lot of bandwagon jumpers. Like I’ve said in the past, those who want to crown players as the greatest ever are the first ones to shit on them, and it only takes one game. The expectations of some of you are a little unrealistic. How is it an embarrassment if Poland don’t qualify? I would think its more embarrasing to get your ass handed to you on the world stage. Considering our league is semi-professional and laughably corrupt. Only a handful of our players are regulars for their clubs abroad. What did you expect? These are the same people that are outraged by the fifa rankings or the club rankings. I think a little reality check is in order. Its not my place to call anyone out but come on now some of the comments are down right ridiculous. Before the game, everyone is predicting victory and confident yelling “Go Polska.” During the game all I heard watching the game at the bar was people complaining about the tactics and the weak technical ability of the players. Pointing out the mistakes the players were making, second guessing every pass or shot, and comparing the level of play to the Premiership. That alone wanted me to get into fights with our own supporters. After the game, the diehard supporters are calling the players bums. Well the comments posted here speak for themselves and reflect the attitudes of the supporters. It feels like we do it ass backwards.

Making it into the WC is an accomplishment even if you get knocked out in first stage. Maybe one year we’ll get lucky and get crappy Central American and Africa and Asian teams in our group and not always those damn Germans. Plus if we dont get thru then we have no competive matches till Euro 2012. That’s 3 years worth of only friendlies. I’d rather have something fun to watch next summer. If Poland don’t qualify I’ll be reduced to cheering on Podolski, Klose, and Trochowski. Although the English and Dutch are fun to watch…

^Too bad the Dutch are complete assholes though, making it impossible for me to enjoy their play.

Anyway, to qualify we need to beat:

1. Slovenia: The easiest opponent, though they ALWAYS gave us problems. Still me simply must win this, since they pale compared to the next challengers:

2. Czech Republic: A team that is way past their glory, but still able to give us huge trouble. Not to mention they upgraded the team with Koller and Rosicky back. Though we improved as well. Not impossible but will be very difficult, especially in Prague. Jelen MUST be back for this, also hopefully Kuba will be as good as previous time against the pepiczkis again. Then we might fluke this. Maybe.

3. Slovakia: Probably the hidden relevation of the tournament, just like Russia in the previous one. Hamsik is just plain out amazing, completely craps over any player we have. The whole team is in the best form they’ve ever been. We’ll be needing a small miracle to win this. It’s ironic how something once seens as a team we’d comfortably beat is now easily the best team of the group.

Very challenging but we might scratch. An overhaul is needed though. Then we might scrap ourselves to the WC again. And I might start believing in the Polska again.

Posted from  Netherlands

Although there’s still a chance we could qualify through second place, I just don’t believe this group of players is capable of it.. I mean, they’ve proven over and over that even minnows are too tough for them.. I agree that we need an overhaul. The problem is that most of our up-and-coming talents still need at least another year to mature… Possible reinforcements:

- Jelen – will have recovered in time for the October matches, should go straight back into the starting 11
- Majewski – a creative central midfielder who’s capable of scoring goals, playing regularly at his new club
- Piszczek – We need an alternative in case Kuba is playing bad and Piszczek is certainly a better option than Lobo. Plus he’s quite versatile: he played very well on the left in Hertha’s last match. He hasn’t played much in Hertha’s starting 11 this season, however, that might soon change as his form is said to be improving. He would be a useful sub for tiring defenders as he’s very quick down the wing.
- Janota – It might be too early but I hope Beenhakker takes a look at him.
- Janczyk – apparently he’s prone to missing sitters so perhaps not really an improvement on Lewy.

Posted from  Canada

Being critical and complaining about our team does not make you a bandwagon jumper. All that means is you expect more from your team – you will not accept poor performance.
A bandwagon jumper says he will not support the team any more.
A poor supporter will be OK with poor results.
A true supporter will rip, complaine , and expect changes & improvement the next game & next game after that.
If they played well but get a bad result is one thing, but when it is a must win game and they play like they have no clue on what to do then you rip on them because you care about the NT.
In this WC qualifying group I expected them at the minimum to take second place but this now seems like a steep hill to climb.

Posted from  United States

It is an embarassment to miss out on a world cup especially after qualifying for the last two and qualifying for the first Euros in the country’s history. After all those years without a major tournament appearance to make three in a row seems like an upswing. But if all we have to show is three straight eliminations after the first round then how exactly do Poland deserve to cohost a Euro tournament themselves? And if this decline continues its gonna look like a total disaster football-wise regardless how the stadiums, hotels, etc. come out. I want people to remember the Polish Euro as much for how well the team plays as how good the country looks. Face it, that doesn’t look so good now.

@Tomek from Holland. Agreed, Obraniak and Ebi on the pitch at the same time may be the best solution. They may complement each other well, since I think as you say Obraniak is better creating chances with passes then with speed (he had some nice one touch give and go passes) and Ebi can make a run or beat a defender with the ball. They may form a better offensive combination. I was more upset with the play of No. 16 than No 15 (those two could do nothing right). Brozek made the run and pass on our goal, I still feel he has a good instinct for the goal. This team needs to find competent players to make runs and score goals and (as you say) not shoot far, high and wide of the goal.
Good Luck to us and lets hope they can make the final 3 matches enjoyable.

Posted from  United States

See I don’t understand how some people(mostly on polishsoccer’s forum) say we needed to forget the world cup and start from the beginning with new younger players for Euro 2012. Essentially we’ll just turn our U-21 and U-23 into the NT team. The younger players need to be intergrated in with the vets otherwise its going to be a complete train wreck and Polands FIFA ranking will easily drop to 150 or below. The importance of making it into the WC is Poland can’t be a host like Austria in Euro 2008 where they blow compared to the rest. We qualified for the last Euro when they awarded us the new one seeing as we could play, now if they see we ca’t even make a WC (which is way easier IMO)people will have doubts about Poland in Euro 2012. Scrapping Leo if we don’t qualify ok but scrapping the whole team is just retarded. Also @zaraza, i think Peszko might be a better option than Piszczek.

I’m disappointed like everyone but let’s not overreact here. We won’t be stuck with the deadwood for much longer. We have some talented new players in the pipeline, some of them are already starting to break through at club level. In a year or two our NT could look very different.

Posted from  Canada

Our qualifying group is still wide open boys. I’m thinking we are going to at least make it to second place for the playoff. You guys are already talking about 2012, jeez the 2010 qualification isn’t even close to being settled. You think Slovakia and Northern Ireland are taking the top two spots? There is still much to be decided.

Posted from  United States

Hieronim, you’re right the group is still open. However, if the team plays as they did then even a second place finish will be no good. Don’t forget, the second place team with the fewest points doesn’t go to the playoff round.

Don’t get me wrong, making it to the major tournaments is an accomplishment in itself, weak groups or not. But a common theme is starting to develop and has for some time. For the games that matter the most our guys always find a way to “have a bad game.” People don’t think highly of Polish players because that is the only time they are judged, major national team tournaments and European club competitions. A lack of the latter would suggests that performances at the World cups are of special importance. Those performances for Polish players trying to make a name for themselves in football circles around the world carry a lot of weight.

Bandwagon jumpers may have been the wrong term used. However, you see the point I was trying to make. As supporters, we can expect the best and scream until our faces turn blue and it doesn’t help the results. As a fan, I have come to accept the team for what it is and have lowered my expectations to what I believe are realistic standards. This way I don’t go through that hangover of a loss or a poor performance. That way any win is a nice surprise. You accept loses because they are a part of football but its how you lose games that matters. It just kills me to watch “professional footballers” play the way they do and then use their rolodex of excuses and stand in front of the supporters with a straight face. Nothing seems to work with this group of players, and I’m talking about the senior players (literally).

Our complaints go on deaf ears because the problems lay deep beneath the surface at the PZPN. Another thing that bugs the hell out of me is how our youth are being trained and coached. Right when kids start out playing they are being taught tactics that don’t help them develop their skills. Its like they are being taught from a young age that they are not good enough and have to play a counterproductive style just to win meaningless games. I think if at all levels more emphasis was put on developing talent and encouraging creativity we would see a lot better football. It has to begin at the grass roots levels first. Setting a high standard from the start will make it easier later on.