Striking Problem.

i think your percentages are pretty fair. but i would argue that one of smolarek and zurawski would be listed as mids, and the other as a striker. and then there would be 2 strikers going going in addition to these 2. My guess is Matusiak being one, and then one surprise.

9 mids
Lewandowski
Dudka
Murawski
Kuba
Krzyenk
Gargula
Majewski
Lobo
Zurawski

3 strikers
Smolarek
Matusiak
one of (Janczyk, Zahorski, etc…)

usually Beenhakker wants one dubler for each player, meaning if we have 2 dmids he would want 4 to go. i only listed 3 because i would expect radomski to go who can also play that position.

the one problem i see with my pics here is that i have 3 attacking mids really –> zurawski, gargula, and majewski. that is probably a surplus unless on of them can play left wing. zurawski will not get dropped, and i think majewski will also go because he is a really good prospect. gargula has not been on the best form, but he has shown ability for beenhakker at times…..so i am not sure here. if the lineup that is chosen is a bit different than this it would surprise me….

*wouldnt surprise me (last sentence)

some good points. plus zewlakow can play leftback as well like you said.

and also, i agree, looking at the amc position, it would be hard to take those 3 guys plus roger if he is in the running.

there are going to be some tough decisions. ideally i would like one spot for each position (defender, mid, striker) reserved for a youngster. this is a tough thing to do, but i think its necessary to progress. these guys arent babies right, like majewski is 22. we call them youngsters but they should be more than ready to train full time with the squad and take over shortly. the bottom line is our u21 midfield is probably one of the best i have seen in some time (60 percent possession in England), great possession against russia and spain at home m- just no finish. Guys like Pawlowski, Grosicki, and Majewski were the main contributors of that….they should start getting familiar with the squad.

as Polish fans, i think our biggest problem is fear in putting in new younger players. but some of them come through quite well like Kuba, i dont think beenhakker will be as hesitant bringing at least 1-2 younger players along (Koko and Majewski being the best candidates, or front runners in his mind). we have to get ready for wc 2010 qualifying and euro 2012 as well. giving some of these youngsters tournament time at this age could be really beneficial for the bigger picture. I thik euro 2012 is more important than than euro 2008. as i would much rather go out in the first round here than in our own back yard. thats why i think the youth is an important addition. I hate it when our players first big tournament experience is like when they are all >25, its like they are obviously going to wet the bed right.

just a thought.

side note: Rzezniczak blundered for Legia today and was apparently at fault for a goal…..arghhh, whats going on

I’m agree, we need some new blood to challenge the senior and also to prepare our next tournaments. I will be interested to see U25 Poland team playing against the over 25 Poland team, what will be the result? Who will be include in each of this two teams?

Could somebody explain me why a guy like Matusiak was a great striker in 2006/2007 in international level, that good that an Italian first division team put some hopes on him (and some money) and now seems to be under the level of Brozek in the same league…

Also, why Brozek could be that good in Orange Ekstraklasa and can’t perform elsewhere? Why we have that few players who are playing on regulary basis in the majors leagues like England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany?

Posted from  Canada

Speaking of youth, i would really like to see Lukas Jutkiewicz bloodied in an international, though i realize that it’s not an everyday affair. After all, it’s his ilk that are going to be in the realistic running for representation in 2012. Denya199, inasmuch that the 2012 is more important then the 2008, for sure, and i wish that we had more youth prospects as well.

Also, anyone know what is happening with Fojut? I think he may get more game time in the Championship next season

In line with the thread of strikers and youth, i’ve heard a little bit about Zeyn Alabidyn S-Latef, and even though he’s only seventeen he might be one for the near future. Plays for the U-18’s at Sheffield United.

Witold,

Matusiak is a real mystery, i havent seen a player fall from grace so fast before. its sad because when he started out with the nt he looked like a complete striker: good height, fast, and had some technical ability that made him a good overall forward. He still has a great nt strike rate, but his transfers have hurt him mentally. he is no longer the same player, and he is having troubles recovering. going as far as saying he would retire from football if he couldnt regain his old for at wisla that he had at gks. sad story really. maybe if he went to Holland first instead of Italy he would of still been on a mental high and gotten enough time to do something. again though, either way a player shouldnt impload like that.

as far as not having solid players in good european leagues. well our players never seem to be able to cut it even at midtable clubs, not for long anyways. we dont seem to cater to technical ability, having strong rivals at clubs to compete with, etc….and this all hurts our players chances abroad in the end. its our grassroots programs that is the problem, we dont play or coach players to be modern players….so at the end they cannot compete in those leagues….nowadays since we are in the EU, we lots of young Polish players signing abroad from earlier ages (16-18), maybe this development will help establish some players in europe better? lets hope so.

M.Zurawski,

Jutkiewicz and some of the other players like Zeyn are very far from being able to play senior international football. Players of that age will get their chance later if they make it in senior football…..The ones you have been talking about havent even competed for our u21 team and dont even play senior football really - sure some players are good enough to bypass that, but not these guys. Not at the moment anyways…..Jutkiewicz hasnt done stellar in his loan move to the championship and doesnt get much time….Zeyn is very much a youth player still. u18 is below the reserves remember. these 2 guys still have a long ways to go despite Polish media hype (although i am really happy they are patriotic enought to want to play for us, because they are good enough for youth international teams at the moments). but for the senior teams its still a real long way. they should really concentrate on their club situations first. Fojut also has to break through before he is even mentioned for the nt.

the only guys i see being blooded in the coming months are guys like Majewski, Grosicki, Pawlowski, Kokoszka, Janczyk (who at least gets sub time)….guys who have done and shown something in the u21s and on the senior club level.

again M. Zurawski,

like lots of countries we have our prospects too, i mean our u18 team is nearly all signed at midtable western european clubs (Janota at Feyenoord, Krychowiak at Bordeuax, etc…) There are many prospects for us as well, but some of them are kind of too young to mention at this point. with the EU these guys have an opportunity to become much better players. but we really shouldnt be relying on the west to produce our players. we have a huge population and so much potential. For instance Podolski and Klose were produced from a very small pop of Polonia….I mean we have close to 40 million people. the amount of talent we waste is a sin really.

From the youth players in my opinion the only two that can get in the squad are Janczyk and Grosicki. They both have huge potential espesially Grosicki lately. Majewski is good but not too good. Jutkiewicz is a definate no becuase he cant even play for Plymouth, and sure S-Latef was praised by Larsson but he sure isnt impressing at Sheffield he doesnt even play regularly for the U 18.

No, of course, I’m not suggesting S-Latef or Jutkiewicz should be attached to the senior squad tomorrow and then thrown to the wolves, but i do think that young players, players that show potential, should be played as often as is reasonable on a large stage in order not only to break them in, but also gage their improvement. Friendlies, after all, are intended to experiment with squads. And do you guys know if there are any fifa regulations as to how many international friendlies a nation can play in an alloted amount of time? I was thinking about this earlier, because if there are no such regs. then why not arrange games with weak-intermediate opponents and exclusively play young talent? Just curious.

Dayna199-

Absolutely, for a medium-large European country, such as we are, there should be more quality coming though the youth system. Or perhaps the quality is there, but we don’t currently have the inferstructure to recognize and nurture it. I’ve read several interviews with players playing ‘abroad’ in the west, and when asked about the differences in coaching and discipline and such, between their polish teams and adopted teams, nearly everyone cites what springs from financial luxury; several pitches, artificial turf, multiple coaches, stricter dietary and discipline regiments, more organization, essentially better inferstructure. Which, of course, isn’t a surprise. I think the games in 2012 will be very healthy for a new generation of footballers in our country. New stadiums, pitches, ect. Out of curiosity, what sort of state is our scouting in? You mentioned our Polonia, and as such, does the PZPN adequately scout abroad in your opinion?

as for the attackers, I hope Leo will come to think it’s worth trying zuraw back at the position, instead of amc. the reports form Greece seem valid to me, that magic is above all a forward. can you think of the last game he played really well as amc? as a striker, at least he manages in Larissa. I’m getting convinced to this idea, because now neither do we have a big time striker, nor żuraw helpful to the team.

cheers

Posted from  Poland