Marked for Malachi Ogunleye
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jul 2032
Beaten 0‑3 by Motor Lublin, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market26 Jul 2032
“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 dugout26 Jul 2032
“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.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2032
Everything agreed with Bruk-Bet Termalica, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Match24 Jul 2032
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad26 Jul 2032
Oskar Koprowski 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.
Boardroom26 Jul 2032
9 academy graduates step up at Znicz Pruszków
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad26 Jul 2032
Words at Znicz Pruszków training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Krystian Tabara 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.
Match24 Jul 2032
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Jun 2032
A knee injury of the worst kind for Brahim Yarrouti
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Znicz Pruszków lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2032
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Znicz Pruszków have done the hard part with Lechia, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad28 Jun 2032
Jakub Nowakowski 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.
Boardroom28 Jun 2032
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
Squad28 Jun 2032
German Fankam Tala 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 dugout28 Jun 2032
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Przemysław Zakrzewski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout28 Jun 2032
“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 dugout28 Jun 2032
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Znicz Pruszków. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad28 Jun 2032
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Znicz Pruszków would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Jun 2032
Brahim Yarrouti damages knee ligaments — 28 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Squad21 Jun 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Znicz Pruszków this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2032
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.
Boardroom21 Jun 2032
Wages eat 123% of everything Znicz Pruszków earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2032
A loan enquiry to Lechia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad21 Jun 2032
Znicz Pruszków are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout21 Jun 2032
“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 dugout21 Jun 2032
Donát Kákonyi 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 Donát Kákonyi is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2032
A knee injury of the worst kind for Brahim Yarrouti
63 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Znicz Pruszków lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom17 May 2032
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Znicz Pruszków
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The dugout17 May 2032
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Znicz Pruszków may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market17 May 2032
“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.
Squad17 May 2032
Oskar Koprowski and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 May 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and German Fankam Tala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 May 2032
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Przemysław Zakrzewski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout17 May 2032
“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.
Market17 May 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2032
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Znicz Pruszków lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom19 Apr 2032
Pressure builds in the Znicz Pruszków boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
Oskar Klat: 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.” Znicz Pruszków have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Jakub Nowakowski and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Krystian Tabara 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 dugout19 Apr 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Malachi Ogunleye, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Znicz Pruszków. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market19 Apr 2032
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Znicz Pruszków money.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
Lukáš Duda 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 Znicz Pruszków, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Feb 2032
“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.
Match14 Feb 2032
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Znicz Pruszków are no longer polite ones.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Jakub Nowakowski 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.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Krystian Tabara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets16 Feb 2032
Znicz Pruszków asked and Cracovia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom16 Feb 2032
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
Player ratings16 Feb 2032
Marked 7.22. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout16 Feb 2032
Half-satisfied: Interim Coach 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.
Market16 Feb 2032
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Znicz Pruszków, another week without a signature from Michał Borecki.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Jan 2032
Beaten 0‑3 by Bruk-Bet Termalica, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Boardroom26 Jan 2032
Pressure builds in the Znicz Pruszków boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market26 Jan 2032
“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 Znicz Pruszków, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jan 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Znicz Pruszków this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Krystian Tabara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jan 2032
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 dugout26 Jan 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aitor Arias, and the manager let it.
Boardroom26 Jan 2032
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout26 Jan 2032
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jan 2032
“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.
Transfer targets12 Jan 2032
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Znicz Pruszków have done the hard part with Legia, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Kacper Gawarecki 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.
Match10 Jan 2032
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kacper Gawarecki. 3‑1 against Wieczysta Kraków, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Transfer targets12 Jan 2032
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Jagiellonia have kept their man, and Znicz Pruszków go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings12 Jan 2032
Filip Lachendro was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.18. 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.
Boardroom12 Jan 2032
The borrowing at Znicz Pruszków reaches $18.6M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $18.6M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
“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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Words at Znicz Pruszków training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ensar Hajdari 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom1 Dec 2031
Pressure builds in the Znicz Pruszków boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 Dec 2031
“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 Znicz Pruszków, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match29 Nov 2031
No end in sight to Znicz Pruszków's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Znicz Pruszków has to find a result from somewhere.
Match29 Nov 2031
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Oskar Koprowski 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.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
Aitor Arias 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.
Match29 Nov 2031
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match1 Dec 2031
Half the programme played, position 9, 24 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Market1 Dec 2031
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
5 new faces, and Znicz Pruszków are still learning each other
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The dugout
A promise honoured at Znicz Pruszków
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Nov 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Znicz Pruszków this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Krystian Tabara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom17 Nov 2031
The borrowing at Znicz Pruszków reaches $18.6M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $18.6M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout17 Nov 2031
The manager makes an example of Michał Borecki
“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 dugout17 Nov 2031
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Znicz Pruszków told Marco Dalla Vecchia something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout17 Nov 2031
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Znicz Pruszków, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad17 Nov 2031
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Znicz Pruszków will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Market17 Nov 2031
The clock does Dario Pio D'Amico’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Znicz Pruszków could ask drops and the wages Dario Pio D'Amico can ask rise.
The dugout17 Nov 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Oct 2031
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Znicz Pruszków will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Znicz Pruszków may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Przemysław Zakrzewski 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.
Squad20 Oct 2031
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.
Boardroom20 Oct 2031
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Player ratings20 Oct 2031
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
“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 ratings20 Oct 2031
A mark of 7.33, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
Half-satisfied: Interim Coach 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Sep 2031
Oskar Koprowski and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Krystian Tabara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match13 Sep 2031
Bruk-Bet Termalica left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom15 Sep 2031
121% of the income goes out in wages at Znicz Pruszków
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brahim Yarrouti, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
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 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Looking ahead15 Sep 2031
Slask top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Squad15 Sep 2031
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Znicz Pruszków will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Squad15 Sep 2031
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.