Isaac Smith

Central Defender - Podbeskidzie
20 May 2028
Saturday
Process

Marked for Isaac Smith

93 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Konrad Forenc stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Konrad Forenc and Podbeskidzie agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Maksymilian Sitek gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Loan watch

Maksymilian Dziuba counts the days

“I watch every Podbeskidzie game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gornik Leczna runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

The dugout

When it matters, Wojciech Słomka plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

In brief

Back issues
92 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

1 May 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Maksymilian Sitek keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Krzysztof Kolanko has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Podbeskidzie they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Philipp Sonn gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radosław Kanach is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Oskar Tomczyk has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podbeskidzie will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

In brief

90 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Konrad Forenc is on it.

Market

No place for Damian Byrtek in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Damian Byrtek has his answer from Podbeskidzie; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

The Kajetan Szmyt talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Podbeskidzie know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Artur Bogusz asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Match

Continental football is in reach for Podbeskidzie

45 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.

The dugout

A door opens for Szymon Brańczyk

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

Market

Krzysztof Kolanko runs his contract down

4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Podbeskidzie money.

In brief

87 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

27 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Oskar Tomczyk keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Podbeskidzie, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

When it matters, Krzysztof Kolanko plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

The Maksymilian Sitek talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Podbeskidzie know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

84 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Only the photograph left for Krzysztof Kolanko

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Krzysztof Kolanko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Podbeskidzie the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dalibor Takáč stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Dalibor Takáč and Podbeskidzie agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Artur Bogusz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artur Bogusz, and the manager let it.

Market

Podbeskidzie and Marcin Urynowicz are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

In brief

82 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

21 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Konrad Forenc is on it.

Squad

Piotr Samiec-Talar named player of the week

One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Piotr Samiec-Talar has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.

Market

The shop window has Artur Bogusz in it

Podbeskidzie have let the market know Artur Bogusz can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

Market

The Kajetan Szmyt talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Podbeskidzie know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Richard Nagy knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Richard Nagy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Match

Podbeskidzie have something to play for

Position 5 on 45 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.

The dugout

Szymon Brańczyk has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Szymon Brańczyk has written the date down.

In brief

81 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Klāvs Bethers

There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Podbeskidzie — 7.79

1 for Radosław Kanach, marked 7.79, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.

Player ratings

Oskar Tomczyk scored one and made one — 7.98

Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.98, and 2 involvements.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Oskar Tomczyk the difference as Podbeskidzie beat Korona

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oskar Tomczyk. 3‑1 against Korona, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

One of their own: Oskar Tomczyk

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Transfer targets

Mirosław Tabor stays at Cracovia as time runs out

A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Podbeskidzie will try again when the window opens; Cracovia may not be selling by then.

Match

Podbeskidzie settle it inside twenty minutes

2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Korona spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.

Squad

Piotr Samiec-Talar is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.25 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

In brief

79 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

31 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Damian Byrtek: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbeskidzie have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Nobody wants to play Podbeskidzie right now

4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Carlo Evangelista

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Podbeskidzie have done the hard part with Lugano, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A move Jakub Nowiński would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jakub Nowiński is living that version at Podbeskidzie, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie rebuffed over Przemysław Mizera

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Piast have kept their man, and Podbeskidzie go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Kamil Jakóbczyk

At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Match

Kajetan Szmyt sends Podbeskidzie past Piast

It finished 1‑0, and it was Kajetan Szmyt’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbeskidzie.

In brief

78 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

24 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Podbeskidzie make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Podbeskidzie have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Slask tell Podbeskidzie: Wiktor Kamiński is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Piotr Samiec-Talar the difference as Podbeskidzie beat Wisla Krakow

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Piotr Samiec-Talar. 1‑0 against Wisla Krakow, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Marcin Urynowicz ran the middle of the pitch — 7.38

He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 7.38, and not one of them will make a highlights package.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Piotr Samiec-Talar

Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Piotr Samiec-Talar is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.23 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

In brief

76 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Transfer targets

$180.0K settles it between the clubs for Mirosław Tabor

Cracovia have accepted the money. What Podbeskidzie do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Market

Wiktor Gromek hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Podbeskidzie can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Luca Sonzogni

Podbeskidzie asked and Mantova said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

Podbeskidzie see off Legia

Three points for Podbeskidzie, 1‑0 the final word against Legia in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Both jobs done by Dalibor Takáč — 6.90

A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 11 actions, 6.90, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kajetan Szmyt

Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Appearance number 100 for Klāvs Bethers

100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

In brief

75 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Igor Woś puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Podbeskidzie, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Podbeskidzie get the job done against Ruch

A 2‑0 win over Ruch, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Piotr Samiec-Talar was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.25. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt in the eights

A performance of 8.22 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kamil Jakóbczyk

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Luca Sonzogni is in the works

Podbeskidzie have made the call to Mantova. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

73 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

20 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Kornel Osyra out for 19 days

19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Podbeskidzie lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Cracovia take the points off Podbeskidzie

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The team sheet said everything about Konrad Forenc

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Konrad Forenc.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Krzysztof Piszczek to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

Podbeskidzie pick somebody else ahead of Konrad Forenc

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Player ratings

Maksymilian Sitek runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Klāvs Bethers knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Klāvs Bethers trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

72 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

13 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Kornel Osyra

26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Oskar Tomczyk’s goal not enough for Podbeskidzie

Oskar Tomczyk scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Gornik Zabrze, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

No hiding place for Klāvs Bethers

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Klāvs Bethers, and the manager let it.

Squad

Piotr Samiec-Talar reaches 200 appearances

200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

The dugout

Krzysztof Piszczek: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

The form table has caught Konrad Forenc

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podbeskidzie will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

In brief

70 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

29 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

Artur Bogusz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Daniel Dziwniel gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Kajetan Szmyt sends Podbeskidzie past Slask

It finished 1‑0, and it was Kajetan Szmyt’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbeskidzie.

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.16. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

The dugout

Podbeskidzie pick somebody else ahead of Daniel Dziwniel

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

The dugout

A satisfied Krzysztof Piszczek

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Krzysztof Piszczek could afford to be generous.

Player ratings

Piotr Samiec-Talar was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

In brief

69 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

22 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The cup run ends for Podbeskidzie

0‑1 against Jagiellonia, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Player ratings

Maksymilian Sitek runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Podbeskidzie

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Isaac Smith

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Podbeskidzie come up short against Lech

Lech left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Appearance number 200 for Maksymilian Sitek

200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

Squad

Oskar Tomczyk signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Oskar Tomczyk and Podbeskidzie agree another 4 years.

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout Daniel Dziwniel dropped after a run of poor form
  • The dugout Daniel Dziwniel knocks on the manager’s door
68 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

15 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Kamil Jakóbczyk

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Konrad Forenc is on it.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Damian Byrtek is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Krzysztof Piszczek chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

The dugout

Podbeskidzie pick somebody else ahead of Maksymilian Sitek

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Match

No goals between Podbeskidzie and Pogon

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Pogon will be the happier side with the point.

Looking ahead

Kamil Jakóbczyk goes back to face Lech

Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Kamil Jakóbczyk’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Podbeskidzie needing him to play as if none of it matters.

In brief

67 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A goal and an assist for Lucjan Klisiewicz — 7.99

Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.99 beside his name.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Piotr Samiec-Talar the difference as Podbeskidzie beat Zaglebie

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Piotr Samiec-Talar. 3‑2 against Zaglebie, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

One of those days for Piotr Samiec-Talar

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Marcin Urynowicz in the eights

A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jan Majsterek

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Podbeskidzie at the halfway mark

Half the programme played, position 9, 22 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Konrad Forenc

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

In brief

  • Squad Kajetan Szmyt makes the team of the month
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout A promise honoured for Jan Majsterek
66 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Klāvs Bethers

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Podbeskidzie come up short against Korona

Korona left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

200 appearances for Josema

200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Artur Bogusz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artur Bogusz, and the manager let it.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Krzysztof Piszczek to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Isaac Smith

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Podbeskidzie told Isaac Smith something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

In brief

64 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Uri Lima damages knee ligaments — 14 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 14 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

3 goals for Kajetan Szmyt

The match ball belongs to Kajetan Szmyt, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match

Kajetan Szmyt the difference as Podbeskidzie beat Piast

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kajetan Szmyt. 3‑1 against Piast, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Kajetan Szmyt at his very best

Marked 8.26. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Podbeskidzie.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kacper Gach

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Maksymilian Sitek

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Podbeskidzie keep their word to Konrad Forenc

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

In brief

63 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Uri Lima

22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Kajetan Szmyt was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 31. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Piotr Samiec-Talar the difference as Podbeskidzie beat Wisla Krakow

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Piotr Samiec-Talar. 1‑0 against Wisla Krakow, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Piotr Samiec-Talar at his very best

Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Podbeskidzie.

Squad

Krzysztof Kolanko reaches 100 appearances

100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

The dugout

Krzysztof Piszczek has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Krzysztof Piszczek on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

Artur Bogusz dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

In brief

61 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

27 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Kamil Zalewski damages knee ligaments — 24 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 24 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Podbeskidzie come up short against Legia

Legia left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Kacper Gach gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Krzysztof Piszczek left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

The form table has caught Jan Majsterek

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

The terraces

The glare is on Konrad Forenc

Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Piotr Samiec-Talar

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

60 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

20 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Kamil Zalewski

31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kajetan Szmyt

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

No hiding place for Daniel Dziwniel

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Dziwniel, and the manager let it.

Match

Podbeskidzie get the job done against Ruch

A 1‑0 win over Ruch, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Piotr Samiec-Talar at his very best

Marked 8.17. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Podbeskidzie.

Player ratings

The game went through Dalibor Takáč — 7.31

Marked 7.31 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.

The dugout

Krzysztof Piszczek has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Krzysztof Piszczek on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

59 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Uri Lima

51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Podbeskidzie win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 98th minute. Gornik Leczna will replay every second of the added time for a week.

The dugout

Piotr Samiec-Talar: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbeskidzie have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Piotr Samiec-Talar takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Squad

The step up is real for Isaac Smith

At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Transfer targets

Sergio Diez turns down Podbeskidzie

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Eibar keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Podbeskidzie see off Gornik Leczna

Three points for Podbeskidzie, 4‑3 the final word against Gornik Leczna in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Piotr Samiec-Talar at his very best

Marked 9.75. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Podbeskidzie.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Isaac Smith
  • Player ratings One of those days for Kajetan Szmyt
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
57 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

30 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcin Biernat breaks a bone — 27 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Damian Byrtek asks to leave Podbeskidzie

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

The dugout

Mateusz Kizyma says Podbeskidzie went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Piast tell Podbeskidzie: Przemysław Mizera is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The dugout

Konrad Forenc gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Piotr Samiec-Talar beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie try to borrow Diogo Pinto

Santa Clara have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief

55 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Marcin Biernat out for 43 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbeskidzie will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Richard Nagy puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Podbeskidzie, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Kamil Jakóbczyk beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

The goals have deserted Podbeskidzie

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podbeskidzie can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Charlie Setford

Podbeskidzie asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The dugout

No hiding place for Josema

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josema, and the manager let it.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Podbeskidzie

7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

In brief

  • The dugout Somebody else is better right now than Konrad Forenc
  • The dugout Konrad Forenc has become a man the manager trusts
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
54 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Marcin Biernat out for 50 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbeskidzie will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Isaac Smith signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Isaac Smith commits to Podbeskidzie for another 4 years.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Rafael Melo

Podbeskidzie asked and OFI said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The dugout

Podbeskidzie pick somebody else ahead of Daniel Dziwniel

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Market

Krzysztof Kolanko is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Podbeskidzie has been clear about where Krzysztof Kolanko stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

Josema knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Podbeskidzie, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Krzysztof Piszczek: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

53 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A fracture rules Marcin Biernat out for 57 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbeskidzie will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Josema: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbeskidzie have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Transfer targets

Igor Nolewajka due for a Podbeskidzie medical

Everything agreed with Gornik Zabrze, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Isaac Smith stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Isaac Smith and Podbeskidzie agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Transfer targets

Bohemians 1905 tell Podbeskidzie: Rigino Cicilia is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Lucjan Klisiewicz

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Podbeskidzie come up short against Pogon

Pogon left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Piotr Samiec-Talar

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

52 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Marcin Biernat breaks a bone — 64 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market

Michał Bednarski moves on

Slask pay $250.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Krzysztof Blaszczykowski

Podbeskidzie asked and Wisla Krakow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The terraces

Podbeskidzie supporters have found a favourite in Kamil Jakóbczyk

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Kamil Jakóbczyk has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Kajetan Szmyt sends Podbeskidzie past Zaglebie

It finished 2‑0, and it was Kajetan Szmyt’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbeskidzie.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Kajetan Szmyt

7.94, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Podbeskidzie had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Rigino Cicilia is in the works

Podbeskidzie have made the call to Bohemians 1905. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

51 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcin Biernat breaks a bone — 71 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Michał Bednarski has said yes to Slask

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Podbeskidzie have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Gornik Zabrze tell Podbeskidzie: Igor Nolewajka is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The dugout

No hiding place for Isaac Smith

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Isaac Smith, and the manager let it.

Squad

Szymon Brańczyk signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Szymon Brańczyk commits to Podbeskidzie for another 5 years.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Wojciech Szymczak is in the works

Podbeskidzie have made the call to Lech. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie try to borrow Szymon Blaszczykowski

Slask have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief

50 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Maksymilian Sitek

17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

78 days out for Marcin Biernat after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Podbeskidzie will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Kuba Wiśniewski asks to leave Podbeskidzie

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Podbeskidzie promote Grzegorz Blaszczykowski from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Grzegorz Blaszczykowski has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Jan Zalewski steps up from the Podbeskidzie academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jan Zalewski has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Podbeskidzie promote Arkadiusz Linetty from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Arkadiusz Linetty has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

7 new faces, and Podbeskidzie are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Kajetan Szmyt's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

In brief

48 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Maksymilian Sitek damages knee ligaments — 33 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 33 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

A fracture rules Marcin Biernat out for 95 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbeskidzie will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Real improvement from Isaac Smith at Podbeskidzie

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Isaac Smith is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Podbeskidzie walk away from Kacper Duda

$240.0K was the most the club would pay and Wisla Krakow were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Transfer targets

Partizan tell Podbeskidzie: Marko Lekić is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie try to borrow Klāvs Bethers

Catania have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Srđan Hrstić is in the works

Podbeskidzie have made the call to Altach. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

The dugout

Michał Rakoczy gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Michał Rakoczy is on it.

In brief

47 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Maksymilian Sitek

41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A fracture rules Marcin Biernat out for 104 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbeskidzie will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Kamil Jakóbczyk is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Transfer targets

Rafał Janicki due for a Podbeskidzie medical

Everything agreed with Gornik Zabrze, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Market

Podbeskidzie sign Josema for $620.0K

The paperwork is done: Josema joins from Gornik Zabrze in a deal worth $620.0K. Now comes the harder part.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie make their move for Kacper Duda

$240.0K on the table at Wisla Krakow. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

$620.0K for Josema, and Podbeskidzie supporters approve

Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Josema from Gornik Zabrze for $620.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.

Transfer targets

Podbeskidzie rebuffed over Krzysztof Blaszczykowski

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Wisla Krakow have kept their man, and Podbeskidzie go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

43 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Maksymilian Sitek damages knee ligaments — 70 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 70 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

The dugout

Bartosz Martosz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

When it matters, Konrad Forenc plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Isaac Smith knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Isaac Smith trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

42 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Maksymilian Sitek

78 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Kacper Gach in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbeskidzie this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Marcin Urynowicz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marcin Urynowicz, and the manager let it.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kornel Osyra is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Kajetan Szmyt is still paying for one afternoon at Podbeskidzie

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

The dugout

Isaac Smith knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Podbeskidzie, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

40 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Maksymilian Sitek damages knee ligaments — 92 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 92 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

The dugout

Michał Matys keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Maciej Górski

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Philipp Sonn stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Philipp Sonn and Podbeskidzie agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

39 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Maksymilian Sitek out for 100 days

100 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Podbeskidzie lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

A falling-out at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Isaac Smith falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

When it matters, Konrad Forenc plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Maciej Górski knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Podbeskidzie, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Damian Byrtek

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

37 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Maksymilian Sitek out for 115 days

115 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Podbeskidzie lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

The dugout

Kamil Sochań keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podbeskidzie may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Oskar Tomczyk has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podbeskidzie will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

The Kajetan Szmyt question follows Podbeskidzie around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kajetan Szmyt’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Loan watch

The goals keep arriving from Vladyslav Ostrovskyi’s exile

6 goals in 27 games at Rukh — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Podbeskidzie updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.

The dugout

A door opens for Maciej Górski

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

The dugout

Oskar Tomczyk asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

36 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Maksymilian Sitek

122 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbeskidzie lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Tempers go at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Szymon Brańczyk signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Szymon Brańczyk and Podbeskidzie agree another 5 years.

Squad

Words at Podbeskidzie training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kornel Osyra is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Michał Rakoczy has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podbeskidzie will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Isaac Smith knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Podbeskidzie, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

29 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Konrad Forenc keeps Podbeskidzie in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kajetan Szmyt

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Damian Byrtek falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Maciej Górski dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

The dugout

When it matters, Kajetan Szmyt plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Bartosz Martosz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bartosz Martosz, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Krzysztof Piszczek on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Match

Point won or two lost for Podbeskidzie?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Korona? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

25 Edition

The Podbeskidzie Post

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Krzysztof Blaszczykowski

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Podbeskidzie have done the hard part with Wisla Krakow, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podbeskidzie

Kacper Gach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Diego Callai

Podbeskidzie asked and Sporting CP said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Korona expected to open talks for Lucjan Klisiewicz

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Podbeskidzie will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

A row about effort at Podbeskidzie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maksymilian Sitek was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Damian Byrtek

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

No place for Isaac Smith in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Podbeskidzie are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Iván Ojeda is in the works

Podbeskidzie have made the call to Deportivo La Coruña. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

The dugout

Kajetan Szmyt gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kajetan Szmyt is on it.

In brief