Squad Watch: Week 4. Murawski Out, Who’s In?

It was a weekend of mixed feelings for all the Bialo Czerwoni fans. Our starting midfielder, Rafal Murawski, got injured and won’t help the team in the qualifiers against Northern Ireland and San Marino. In this article I look at possible replacements for Muras. On a positive note, a lot of Poles found the net this weekend, therefore proving they are ready for the Irish challenge.

Here’s how Poles performed this weekend (players called up for the upcoming games in bold):

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Dundee
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- on the bench against Newcastle
Wojciech Kowalewski (Iraklis Thessaloniki)- on the bench against Larissa
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- not in the squad against Fulham
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Slask, note 6
Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United)- 90 minutes against Celtic

Defenders:

Barosz Bosacki (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes, a goal and an assist against Le Mans
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metalist Kharkiv)- plays today
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- didn’t play against Agres
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 90 minutes against Sassuolo
Marcin Komorowski (Legia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Gornik, injury
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- didn’t play against Chimki
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- 56 minutes and a red card against Slask, note 4
Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Piotr Polczak (Cracovia Krakow)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 5
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht)- 90 minutes and a goal against Germinal Beerschot
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos)- 90 minutes against Asteras
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes against Panionios

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 6
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- 59 minutes against Cracovia, note 6
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 11 minutes against Werder
Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 5
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- came on in the 90th minute against Hoffenheim
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- on the bench against Vorskla
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- on the bench against Cracovia
Radoslaw Majewski (Polonia Warsaw)- 80 minutes and an assist against Slask, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 5
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)- 68 minutes against Arka, note 5
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)-plays today
Lukasz Tralka (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes and a goal against Slask, note 7
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 34 minutes against Arka, note 4

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Cracovia, injury
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- 90 minutes and a goal against Mons
Michal Janota (Feyenoord Rotterdam)- not in the squad against AZ Alkmaar
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes and a goal against Le Mans
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- not in the squad against Stuttgart., injury
Grzegorz Rasiak (Watford)- not in the squad against Ipswich, injury
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- 90 minutes against Blackpool
Ebi Smolarek (Bolton Wanderers)- came on in the 90th minute against West Brom
Lukasz Sosin (Anorthosis Famagusta)- on the bench against Omonia
Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)- 90 minutes against Wolfsburg
Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze)- 45 minutes against Legia
Maciej Zurawski (Larissa)- 90 minutes and a goal against Iraklis

Summary: Pawel Brozek’s absence won’t be the only problem that Leo Beenhakker will have to deal with before the game against Northern Ireland. Rafal Murawski broke his toe in Saturday’s game against Arka Gdynia and won’t be able to participate in the upcoming qualifiers. As Muras was a certain starter Don Leo will now have to restructure our starting eleven a bit. Unfortunately, our options at the position of a defensive midfielder look far from convincing. Firstly, there is Tomasz Bandrowski who was brought into the squad to replace his Lech teammate. Bander has earned a strong position in Lech’s midfield in the last few weeks and is one of Lech’s players most often picked up for praise by the local press. However, he’s a different type of player than Muras; he’s a typical defensive player responsible for winning the ball, but without the ability to create something in the offense. I think most of us remember the game against Slovenia where Bandrowski entered the field after the break. He wasn’t able to add anything to our offensive play then, he only passed the ball to the nearest teammate. If he was to be picked for the game against Northern Ireland Mariusz Lewandowski would have to acquire a more offensive role. The second option to replace Muras is Lukasz Tralka. As in Bandrowski’s case, there are some drawbacks regarding his candidacy. The main setback is that Tralka has almost no experience in international football. He played in two “Poland B” games and came on as a sub for the last fifteen minutes against Wales. He’s never played in a European club competition. He’s a more offensive player than Bandrowski, but he’s a bigger question mark at the same time. Leo is a huge fan of Tralka and it’s highly possible that the Polonia Warsaw player will start in the middle of the field alongside Mariusz Lewandowski. This would be the most important game of his life. Finally, there is one more option that Leo is probably thinking about. We may return to the M.Lewandowski-Dudka partnership, a one that turned out to be so prolific in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Dudka has finally acquired a strong position at Auxerre, though he plays as a left back there. He’s not as offensive a player as Murawski, but he has the ability to pass a diagonal ball to attackers from time to time. And what about that goal against Le Mans? What a shame he didn’t wait one week to do that. Moving Dudka to the middle of the field would mean the necessity of playing a backup centre back. I think Bartosz Bosacki would be a rather safe choice, remember that he played quite well against Ireland last year. To be honest, the third option is the one I would feel most confident with. On the other hand, it’s not the most offensive choice for the game we just have to win. As always, I would like to read your opinion on the subject.

I don’t know what would have to happen for Ireneusz Jelen not to start against the Irish. At the moment, he’s the best Polish striker out there. I hope Leo is aware that this is the perfect time to use Jelen. The only question is, should he start as the lone striker or on the right wing? This question should be resolved after a week of training when the national team staff will have learnt more about Kuba Blaszczykowski’s form and fitness. The Dortmund winger finally returned this week from an injury, but only played eleven minutes against Werder. His form is the biggest enigma right now in the national team. The fans will have to trust Leo’s judgement on that; after all, we haven’t seen Kuba in training, right? At the same time, it’s a no win situation for Leo. If he chooses to play Kuba, he may be accused of playing an unfit player. If he keeps Kuba on the bench, he may be accused of not using our most threatening weapon. It’s a riddle that Leo will have to solve before Saturday.

Finally, some small observations regarding the Squad Watch. Adam Kokoszka returned from an injury, which means he’s fit enough to take part in Bialo Czerwoni training sessions this week. There’s no change in Ebi Smolarek’s status at Bolton, which means we’re witnessing the worst time of his career (apart from the year when he was injured). Bolton’s manager, Gary Megson, said that he still hasn’t made a decision about permanent deals for loaned out players, but in Ebi’s case we can expect only one outcome. Jacek Krzynowek was benched for the first time at Hannover, hopefully it was an exceptional situation. Do you know what’s with Marcin Kowalczyk ? He hasn’t played in both Dinamo Moscow games this season; it’s very surprising after all the praise he received there last season. There were no news about him being injured in the Polish press. Michal Janota failed to even make the Feyenoord’s bench for a number of times now. I think he should consider a loan move next season. Just look what such a decision made for Dawid Janczyk. Our starlet is finally playing whole games and, what’s most important, scoring goals. A permanent deal would be advisable in his case.

Highlights: Ireneusz Jelen in a form of his life assist by Dariusz Dudka

A goal by Dariusz Dudka, an expression I’ve never thought I’d be given an opportunity to write

Marcin Wasilewski always had a nose for goals

Dawid Janczyk proving that moving to Lokeren was a good decision

Eighth goal of the season by Maciej Zurawski, a one that reminds us why once he was the most sensational Polish player

A nice shot from Lukasz Tralka