[FM24] Polonia Warszawa - Czarne Koszule (Black Shirts)

[DomD]

It was great to see Polonia Warszawa promoted to the Polish 1 Liga (2nd tier) last season. So, for my first save of FM24 I'm going to try to take this club to the top of the Polish game and maybe to some European glory. That is if I stick with it beyond the beta. I do want to try the Youth Academy Challenge at some point, so if I get bored (or there is some game breaking bug in the beta), I might jump ship to that.

Starting with no badges and no experience. I also selected the Real World game mode to give that a try, so there are already a bunch of transfers arranged.

Polonia were founded in 1911 when Poland was under Partition. Read more about the history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonia_Warsaw They were Champions of Poland 2 times, in 1946 and 1999-2000.

Career Challenges and Goals

Get Promoted to the Ekstraklasa (bonus win 1 Liga)

Avoid relegation from the Ekstraklasa

Win a match against Legia

Qualify for the Europa Conference League

Qualify for the Europa League

Win the Ekstraklasa

Have an player called up to an International side

Have a player called up the Polish national team

Build a world class youth academy

Have a youth prospect called up the national team

Edited November 2, 2023 by DomD

[Rikulec]

It feels weird for me, but my real life stint at Legia Soccer Schools left me with some, uh, dislike for Polonia.  Nevertheless, best of luck with your save!

[DomD]

@Rikulec ha ha thanks!

[Sizeman21]

#VamosPolonia !!!

[Jimbokav1971]

I've never managed in Poland before but must do eventually. Good luck with this. Nice kits. 

[Emozil]

Good luck!

[DomD]

On 23/10/2023 at 12:07, Sizeman21 said:

#VamosPolonia !!!

 

On 23/10/2023 at 13:23, Jimbokav1971 said:

I've never managed in Poland before but must do eventually. Good luck with this. Nice kits. 

 

On 23/10/2023 at 13:44, Emozil said:

Good luck!

Thanks everyone!

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - Pre-season

I haven't had much chance to play in the last week, so it took a while to get through the pre-season. Playing on real world mode, is a bit like some kind of DoF challenge (in the first transfer window anyway). I brought in a few players on trial, two of which I would have really liked to sign, but there is no room left in the wage budget. Pre-season results were good, but we did play some of those trial players, so we'll see how it is without them now.

Media Prediction: 17th

Odds: 50-1 (14th)

Board: Avoid relegation (be competitive in the Cup)

[Vakama2619]

100% will be following, best of luck!

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - August

We've had an excellent start to the season. We lost our first game, but that was against a Lechia who were relegated last season are are expected to go back up. The win against Resovia was a nervy affair, the only goal we scored was a penalty. We were creating lots of chances but we couldn't put them away. We had an amazing game against Wisła Kraków, scoring a very late goal to win it, and our good run continued from there. In the game against Tychy we had two players sent off, but somehow managed to still get a draw.

I wouldn't be surprised if our results are less impressive next month, but we're in a great position to avoid relegation already.

Our top performer was winger Wojciech Fadecki, contributing 2 goals and 2 assists in 7 games.

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - September

An amazing month in the league for us. We went on a run of 3 wins out of 3 with 15 goals scored and none conceded and went top of the table. My Assistant kept insisting that I should start young Krzysztof Koton in central mid and I decided to heed the advice. I am very glad that I did as he has been an absolute revelation.

In the Cup we were drawn against Ekstraklasa side Radomiak Radom. But even though I had to rotate half the squad due to injuries and fatigue we held our own and had a higher xG, losing only to an unfortunate own goal in the 84th minute.

[DomD]

It was nice to see this:

 

I updated the first post with some goals and challenges that I have set for myself.

[DomD]

When I got to the club there were two strikers to choose from. 25 year-old Paweł Tomczyk (3.5 star CA) and 20 year-old Junior Radziński (2 star CA, 3.5 - 4.5 PA). It clearly seemed like Tomczyk would be the starter and Radziński would be getting minutes off the bench to help his development. But in the pre-season matches Radziński preformed better and I went with him for the first couple of matches. He didn't do very well so I switched to Tomczyk for a couple. I rotated them back and forth a few more times but while Radziński's performances kept improving, Tomczyk's didn't. So, Radziński has now been the starting striker for quite a while.

But it was in the game against Arka Gdynia that he absolutely exploded. A first half hattrick. Four goals in total. And he was fouled for the penalty.

He now leads the league with 10 goals from 10 appearances.

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - October

The great run of results had to come to an end, but hopefully this is just a temporary blip.

[Rikulec]

I remember Tomczyk from Lech, he's quick and commited but can't play football for ****. 

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - November - December

More than half way through the season and we sit at the top of the table. Hopefully we can sustain this and get promoted in my first season. Now we enter the winter break and I need to decide if I should try to strengthen the squad at all. There are a few players available on frees that might improve us slightly, but most of them are rather old.

The youth intake preview is not much to get excited about. Unfortunately this seems bugged at this stage of the game.

[DomD]

The best thing that happened during the winter break is that I finally started my first coaching course and the club extended my contract by a year (on the same wages). I tried to sign an 18 year old Norwegian full-back on a free, but Ekstraklasa side Raków Częstochowa beat us to him. But it looks like he's been injured almost the whole time he's been there, so maybe I dodged a bullet there. Krzysztof Koton had his head turned when a bid was made for him, but talks broke down when I asked for a bit too much.

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - January to March

Our unbelievable run of results continued with only one blip. Even Paweł Tomczyk had a game where he scored 4 goals in the first half. I would think that our promotion is all but assured now and soon we'll be able to turn our attention to improving the squad for a bigger challenge. Hopefully promotion will bring with it some extra cash, because at the moment we are bleeding money every month.

[DomD]

We have been relying on several veteran players this season. The likes of 32 year old Mateusz Michalski and 38 year old Łukasz Piątek have been key for us this season. But we'll need to find some younger players to take their place. Michalski is already starting to decline physically.

[DomD]

2024 Youth Intake

My first youth intake has arrived and there are some interesting candidates there. We'll see how the star ratings changes once I sing them to the squad but a few of them could be decent players in the future. I'm thinking I'll avoid anyone with a bad personality, no matter what their potential.

[DomD]

Here are the top two prospects from the intake.

[DomD]

Season 1 - 2023/24 - April (Title Win!!!)

April isn't over but this deserves a post! We continued our winning run, meaning that the game against Zagłębie Sosnowiec was a title decider. We started amazingly well with Junior Radziński scoring two quick goals. But we let them back in the game and it was 2-2 at the half. There wasn't much to separate the sides. I had got with experience in midfield, but they weren't playing too well, so I decided to bring on Krzysztof Koton. It didn't take long for him to score the winning goal. We comfortably held on to the lead from there, and the title was ours!

Bring on the Ekstraklasa! Bring on Legia!!

Edited November 10, 2023 by DomD

[Rikulec]

Well done, looking forward to the Warsaw derby. 

[Sizeman21]

Made short work of the 1. Liga this season. Gotta beef up your squad for the big boys of Poland next season. Good work.

[DomD]

On 10/11/2023 at 20:51, Rikulec said:

Well done, looking forward to the Warsaw derby. 

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to it too. Their squad is looking rather strong.

On 10/11/2023 at 22:51, Sizeman21 said:

Made short work of the 1. Liga this season. Gotta beef up your squad for the big boys of Poland next season. Good work.

I'm already looking at some players that are available and bringing them in on trials. There seems to be a lot of agent offers for players from Venezuela. I signed a winger who my scouts and coaches tell me is a leading player for 1 Liga and has Ekstraklasa potential. Unfortunately this upset one of our key players, Mateusz Michalski, because he doesn't want to be replaced. I told him to suck it up, which he didn't like and now half the squad is upset with me...

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 1 - 2023/24 - Review

This season can only be looked back on as a resounding success. Won the title with 4 games to spare and unsurprisingly the squad took their foot off the gas for the last few matches. I also tried to give a few of the fringe players a run out, which probably contributed to the two losses.

We did set the record for most team goals in the 1 Liga.

 

[DomD]

As I alluded to before, once promotion was confirmed and the wage budget was increased, I set about trying to improve the squad. Agents are offering their players, so I bring them in on trial to see if they are what we need. Manuel Sulbarn seems like one that will be good for us. But early on signing him has just caused headache as Mateusz Michalski became unhappy to have someone competing for his spot. Not only that, but Sulbaran has been rather poor in the few games that he's played for us.

[DomD]

Here are a few more interesting bits from the end of the season.

I replaced my HOYD with Janusz Kowalski, for the personality and better judging of CA and PA.

 

Quite a few of our players unsurprisingly were named to the 1 Liga Team of the Season.

 

Junior Radziński was banging them in and I hope that he can keep developing at a higher level.

 

New sponsorship deals made our finances look a lot better.

 

Prices are going up. Hopefully we can get more fans out now that we're at the top table.

 

Long term goal is to move us up into the top 100.

[DomD]

Season 2 - Pre-season Preparation

When I started the save we had 5/3 coaching staff. I knew that if I wanted to change any of them out I would be limited to having only 3. But I wanted a new Assistant. I did eventually convince the board to increase the number of coaches to 4.

This guy is a bit famous! Hopefully he can help me develop our players.

[Rikulec]

Melikson also used to be a big name in the Ekstraklasa. 

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - Preview

Here we go. The bookies and media aren't giving us any chance of staying up.

Media Prediction: 18th

Odds: 2000-1 (18th)

Board: Attempt to avoid relegation (reach the Cup proper)

[DomD]

Stuff like this is so frustrating.

Then on the same day!

I thought player interactions were supposed to be fixed in FM24!

 

Even though he's 38, Łukasz Piątek was important for us in midfield last season. I wasn't sure if I was going to renew his contract, but decided it would be to have him as a backup and mentor for the younger players. When I offered him a new contract he asked to be player/U19 coach, which I thought was amazing. But all of our U19 coaching spots were filled. Why does a player/coach have to count against our coaching limits???

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - June to August

The start to the season has been beyond our wildest dreams. We've had some amazing performances and gave the fans some games to savour against Widzew and Lech.

 

Manuel Sulbaran has had an amazing first three games. He has cooled off in the next 3 but hopefully will bounce back.

 

This piece of news came in. Hopefully if a take over happens they'll keep me in charge.

 

Ilhan Fandi is another exciting youngster that we've signed. More about our transfer business in the next post.

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - Summer Transfer Window

All summer we were running trials for players released by other clubs looking for those that could improve our squad. Eventually we signed a mix of those that would go into the 1st theam and some youngsters that have some potential. The fans are unhappy that we released Łukasz Piątek and Jakub Piątek but one was 38 years old and the other wanted too much money.

Here are the players that go straight into the 1st team.

Finn Niilo Mäenpää was released by Warta, we picked him up to improve the center of midfield.

 

Igor Łasicki can do a good job for us in the centre of defence or step up into a DM role.

 

Ante Bekavac will add depth to the D(L) position, but I'm afraid I'm paying too much in wages for him.

 

In pre-season I made the decision to change to a formation that uses 2 strikers and needed to add depth. Ihan Fandi has had an excellent start for us.

 

Brought in Kassim M'Dahoma to improve the right wing-back position, but he can fill in at D(C) too.

 

Bert Esselink is another one to solidify our defence.

 

I was a bit desperate for some more quality in the middle. Carlos Cermeño's wage demands were a bit much, I hope he's worth it.

 

Mikołaj Wawrzyniak was one I snapped up because of the high recommendations of our scouts and his relatively low wage demands.

[DomD]

Now the media think that there is no takeover.

 

But on the Club Vision screen there is this:

[Sizeman21]

Looking good there Dom, Mikołaj Wawrzyniak looks like he could be a steal for Warszawa! Let's get the season going!

[DomD]

@Sizeman21 Thanks. He hasn't had much chance yet, but I do have high hopes for him.

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - September

This month brought us back down to earth. We should have won against Zagłębie Lubin but our GK had a bit of stinker. Although the xG was close against Raków it didn't really feel like it and we didn't score until the 94th minute. I rotated for the Cup game against Kotwica and immediately regretted it. They dominated from the start and have some surprisingly good players for their level.

Against Pogoń Szczecin we started really well, but Ante Bekavac got a 2nd yellow in the 36th minute and they dominated from then on. The worst part is the team didn't like my post game talk when I told them that they did well despite the result.

Edited November 18, 2023 by DomD

[DomD]

Saving this here to see how it changes over the seasons.

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - October

All the games in October were tight affairs, but they were all wins. Sure, Legia is playing in the Conference League, but it is still great to see us above them in the table.

[DomD]

Just when I think I'm getting fairly consistent performances. Also, I think we need a better goalie.

[DomD]

Still upset about that game against Warta. My wing backs especially just let their wingers run past and the goalie was flapping at shots going past him.

But at least we're not the only ones losing to a side in the relegation zone. This one warms the heart a bit

[DomD]

Not debuts, but the first players to get international call-ups since I've been at the club.

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - November

Did we change tactics? No, but for some reason my players went to all attack and no defence. Somehow we're still in 3rd, but certainly won't stay there if we keep playing like this.

Somehow we had the top 3 players this month.

Edited November 19, 2023 by DomD
Added the awards.

[DomD]

The day has arrived. It is time for the Warsaw Derby!!!

The previous Legia manager, Kosta Runjaić, left in the summer to manage Poland.

Their recent league history is a bit better than ours...

Our best hope is that their games in the Europa Conference have made them tired.

[DomD]

Derby Warszawy

We were in dream land after 20 minutes, but they pegged us back with a powerful header from a corner and I started to get worried. We managed to go into halftime with the lead and soon after got our own goal from a corner. With time winding down Ernest Muci scored a wonder goal and I thought we were going to throw it away at right at the end. Bu that was their last attack and we got the win!!!

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - December

Still buzzing from the win against Legia. We finished off the month with two more wins and end the year in 2nd place. It has been a magnificent start to life in the Ekstraklasa. I doubt that we'll finish the season this high, but mid-table is the minimum that we should be aiming for now. I don't anticipate any transfers in the winter window, but that depends on if other clubs come in for our players.

Got a new 2 year contract with a slight raise. Also started on the National C coaching course.

The youth preview is rather disappointing. Hopefully that is because our squad is that much stronger now and not because the new HOYD has been a failure.

Edited November 20, 2023 by DomD

[DomD]

Polonia Warszawa

Season 2 - 2024/25 - January-February

Back from the winter break and February was a decent month for us. We were ok against Lech, creating a good amount of chances but couldn't put the ball in the net more than once. Great performance against Cracovia. In the first half against Śląsk we played really well, but our forwards couldn't finish. In the second half they were the better side and when the got a penalty in the 88th I thought that was it. But our goalie saved it! Unfortunately he fractured his wrist 5 minutes later.

A couple of transfers out were arranged, including the backup goalie with good potential that chose Seria C Benevento over extending his contract with us.

But I also arranged for an even better goalie to join us in the summer.

This all happened before our number 1 was injured. Now Dorian Ciężkowski will be thrust into the starting role. But he has an automatic 1 year extension after starting 5 games in the final season of his contract. Does that mean his move will be cancelled?

A bit of an injury crisis.

[RoguPL]

Just caught up with this ! You are doing tremendous job with them. Looks like Europe is on the table this season, but title is not far away either. 
Congrats on winning 1st League and spanking Legia in the derby 

I finished my save with Polonia when I was playing FM22 building a nation save, however it was the last club and didn't make much progress, they were in 3rd league back then. 

[DomD]

@RoguPL thanks for reading!

Qualifying for Europe would be great, but I'm not too confident. The likes of Raków have strengthened even more over the winter. They are paying wages and transfer fees that I can only dream of. Legia and Śląsk Wrocław made it to the Conference League knockout. I expect a late season surge from both of them.

But we'll see what happens. The money and reputation boost from playing in European competition would be great.