Comments on: San Marino-Poland 0:2. A Torture For Fans.

By: Pawel (drugi Cristiano Ronaldo i Franz Beckenbauer) i Polski Goral

Pawel (drugi Cristiano Ronaldo i Franz Beckenbauer) i Polski Goral — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:50:37 +0000

Poland can do better and so can Smolarek. What is Smolarek’s problem? Fish oil improves concentration and improves mental clarity if that is what Smolarek is missing.Even though he was trained in Holland, he does not show the same qualities of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Maybe Janota will turn out to be the new Smolarek? I hope not.

By: M. Zurawski

M. Zurawski — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:20:50 +0000

Oh, and according to the Bolton manager he will not be risking Ebi in tomorrows game. He thinks Smolarek needs more time to acclimatize to the physical level of the english game and is not yet match fit. While this may seem like a good thing, i’m not certain him getting his start against Arsenal(20th sept.) is a better alternative then throwing him in the fire against Fulham.

By: M. Zurawski

M. Zurawski — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:17:29 +0000

Ouch, i just watched the San Marino game and it wasn’t as good as i thought it would be… and i thought it would be pretty bad. It just all seems so passionless, muted, slow, getting it up there and then not knowing what the hell to do with it. Not good at all. I refuse to believe we don’t have a viable alternative to Saganowski. God bless him, he’s giving what he can, but it isn’t much… and to continually obstruct other players from filling a spot he isn’t doing anything with in the first place, well, that’s just wanton waste. We will need a much higher degree of commitment to defeat our southern neighbors. On a good note (for us) Rosicky had his knee give out on him in training again and MAY not be fit for next months qualifiers.

By: MarcinO

MarcinO — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:49:21 +0000

It would appear that Beenhakker is almost hesitant to call out certain players for their weak performances, like M. Lewandowski or anyone from the defensive core. This may be due to Beenhakker’s decisions and statements are influenced by the media. He avoids calling out any particular player for fear that he may get blamed for selecting that player.

I like what Robert Lewandowski has done so far. However, I will hold judgement until he plays a full season in the ekstraklasa and proves he deserves the hype with consistent goal production.

By: tomasz

tomasz — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:51:21 +0000

@zaraza
I agree, Beenhakker deserves criticism at the moment; he’s made mistakes that are clear to most of the fans. We haven’t played well since the friendly against Czech Rep. But there is a difference when you write “It was a mistake to play Piszczek as a striker, Wichniarek should be called up” and when you write “This fucking boastful Dutchman who steals Polish money was an enough idiot to play Piszczek upfront instead of calling up the only possible saviour of the national team Wichniarek”. I just think Leo deserves more trust and respect for what he’s done for the team. I think there was a huge improvement when he took over (winning the group ahead of Portugal, Serbia, Belgium and Finland, if that’s not improvement then nothing is). Of course, 2008 has been very bad for us, but let’s wait a month to make final judgements. And even if we lose, I’ll never offend Beenhakker in the way some media are.
@gregorio
I agree, everybody wants to get rid of Krzyniu forgetting that he was one of our best players in the last three games. As for Lewandowski, in a normal world such a hype would be something that a player is prepared for. But it’s Poland; remember what happened to Niedzielan or Matusiak? There was a similar hype and their careers didn’t develop as expected. We thought they had everything, just like Lewandowski now. Still, I hope you’re right and the young Lewy has different mentality.
@Witold
3 points is the minimum, I think Leo must win at least 4 points to end the criticism.

As for Jelen, it only shows the character (read stupidity) of his manager. He’s just pissed off that he can’t promote his client through the nt. It somehow supports Leo’s words that managers attack him because they can’t control him.

By: zaraza

zaraza — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:52:56 +0000

It looks like the story about Jelen refusing to play under Beenhakker was just media-generated crap:

“Nigdy z występów w drużynie narodowej nie zrezygnowałem i nie zrezygnuję. Gra dla Polski, barw mojej ojczyzny, była i zawsze pozostanie dla mnie najwyższym zaszczytem.” (Przeglad Sportowy)

By: Witold

Witold — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:58:38 +0000

Great article Tomasz, I didn’t see the game, but it is nice to read a good review.
@Zaraza: It is exactly what I think.
@Gregorio: A lot of people want to kick out Krzyniu, I was never among them, and as you say he’s been one of the brightest points of our team in the last two games. A lot of other players in our NT are worst than him and didn’t have as much criticism as him.
On october we need 3 points, and after we will have 5 months to find a solution to perform well against N Ireland

By: gregorio

gregorio — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:21:56 +0000

szałachowski actually can be an option for the nt, but krzyniu isn’t that dispensible.even thoguht he doesn’t even make the bench in wolfsburg, he’s been one of the brigthest points of our team in the last two games.

r.lewandoswski seems to handle the hype well. why not make some fuss about him. i kow it’s been just a few weeks, but look, the guy came from the 2nd div, he was acclaimed hot prospect, counted among best transfers. so, much preassure on him. then he scores in his debut in the cups. more preassure on him. then he scores in the league. voices rise that call him to the nt, in a critical moment. he doesn’t make it against slovenia, but is brought on next game – yet more preassure – and he scores! let’s, for once, have a player who is much counted on and doesn’t fail. such things happen across europe, why not this time in poland.
he has wise mentors: franz and leo. couldn’t be more lucky

By: zaraza

zaraza — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:09:23 +0000

I think some of the criticism of Beenhakker is a bit excessive but let’s face it, neither our results nor our style of play has really improved since he took over. Personally I would be fine with poor results in the short term if we at least saw some improvement in how we play, but if anything it’s just gotten worse…

Add to that his refusal to consider other opinions (immediately suggesting that we must be backwards when we don’t agree with him, remember “wyjdzcie z drewnianych hutek”?) and it’s not surprising that some people can’t wait to get rid of him.

By: tomasz

tomasz — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:52:49 +0000

@Brian
I’d like to see Dudka in central defence, but first Murawski/Bandrowski have to prove that they can replace him in midfield. The haven’t shown that lately. Szalachowski is an interesting option, but he mainly plays on the right wing and we’re desperately looking for a left winger. Krzynek isn’t a player for the future, but for now Leo must stick to him. Piotr Brozek deserves his chance at the moment. Janota: it’s too early at the moment, unless he plays regularly in the Dutch league.