Rightbankwarsaw podcast

The pod is back for a special retro series of pods during the corona virus pandemic. First up Maciej and I take on the dark but colourful period of match-fixing in Polish football when anything was possible if you knew how to go about it. We talk about the title decider of the 1981-1982 season, the famous 1992-1993 denouement of the Polish league, the hair-dresser who built a match-fixing empire from the mid-1990s and how Poland cleaned up its act. The smell of vodka, kiełbasa and oorruption is all around us as we enter the Polish football house of ill-repute...

The pod is back after a month's break as Maciej, Tomek and I cover all the latest news in the Polish Ekstraklasa, Poland's European failures (yet again) and make a half-hearted attempt to talk about the national team. Along the way we find out that Tomek watched Śląsk Wrocław's pre-season friendlies, how Legia Warsaw were big meanies in not letting Piast Gliwice sign Tomasz Jodłowiec earlier and how John Paul II bears a canny resemblance to Phil Collins. We also discussed the timeless genius of Paweł Brożek, the wonderful Marko Vejinović and the less wonderful Sandro Kulenović. Enjoy!

The 2019-2020 season in Poland is already two weeks in and Thomas Pitura and I cover the first couple of weeks of the Ekstraklasa season, the transfer moves of Ekstraklasa clubs, how Polish teams have been doing in European competition qualifiers and discuss some of the new rules introduced this season - i.e. 3 teams going down instead of 2 and the obligatory youth player rule. Along the way we discovered that I'd never travelled by car between Częstochowa and Bełchatów (imagine that!), Joel Valencia's move to Brentford from Piast and the chaos of watching the Ekstraklasa overseas. Enjoy!

In the second part of our Ekstraklasa season review pod, Tomek, Maciej and I talked about our experiences of the Polish Cup final (including being covered by too many tifos), and put together our best XI and silly (WWOPF) XI of the season. Enjoy!

In the first part of our Ekstraklasa season review pod, Maciej, Tomek and I look at our funny moments of the last gameweek and the season as a whole, and round-up the top and bottom halves of the table, including Piast Gliwice's unexpected title success, why Legia Warsaw failed and whether the right teams were relegated or not. Part two soon...

In a special edition of the pod, I talked to Piast Gliwice's Tom Hateley about his career including: what it's like to have a famous football dad, his time at Reading FC (with some Gylfi Sigurdsson love), playing for Śląsk Wrocław and Piast's unexpected title challenge this season. We also talked about Piast's positive and charismatic Spanish player Gerard Badia and Tom gave his opinion about the standard of the Polish league. Enjoy!

The pod returns after a month's hiatus to look at the Polish Ekstraklasa as it divides into championship and relegation parts of the table for the remaining 7 gameweeks of the season. There weren't any real shocks in terms of who made the top 8 but we looked at a very good gameweek which had lots of goals, look forward to the rest of the season and discuss the Polish cup semis and the final which takes place at the beginning of May. Along the way we discussed whether we love or hate marmite, criticise the negative attitude prevailing in the coverage of the league and Maciej regails of us his fun-time at Raków Częstochowa's old-school stadium. Enjoy!

The pod is back after a one month hiatus to talk about the goings on in the Ekstraklasa, the Polish Cup and look forward to Poland's Euro 2020 qualifiers. Along the way we talk about feisty Romanian women, rotund Finnish maestros and lots of other miscellaneous stuff. Enjoy!

The pod is back with new guest Thomas Pitura to talk about the return of the Ekstraklasa after the over 7 week winter break. We round up the Wisła Kraków story (including the return of Kuba Błaszczykowski), talk about the massive influx of transfers to Ekstraklasa clubs during the break and discuss the first matches of the spring round. Enjoy!

The pod is back to look at the incredible goings on at Wisła Kraków and sum up the autumn round of the Ekstraklasa. Wisła Kraków have been 'allegedly' run by gangsters over the last couple of years and is in seriously financial trouble, in the midst of this foreign con artists tried to buy the club, leading to absurd scenes. From the sad to the ridiculous we look at the saga that has gripped Poland. We also look at the situation in the Ekstraklasa before the winter break and do our teams of the season (both serious and wacky). Enjoy!

Maciej and I are back to talk about the current goings on in the Polish Ekstraklasa

The pod returns for our semi-regular dose of Ekstraklasa and Polish football chat. This week Piotr Żelazny (real proper journalist ®) makes his first appearance on the pod. We looked at the situation at Lech Poznań which is beginning to look more and more like a club that’s comfortable with losing, talk about the lack of quality in the table-top clash between Jagiellonia Białystok and Legia Warsaw, heap some praise on Piotr Stokowiec and talk a bit about Poland’s relegation from the top tier of the Nations League. Along the way we talk about super heroes solving Polish football’s hooligan problem and whether Krzysztof Piątek’s fiancée deserves to be interviewed by important Italian sports newspapers. Enjoy!

Recording a podcast has its ups and downs

The pod returns for another dose of the enjoyable, the absurd and the ridiculous. We look at the Ekstraklasa where literally anyone can beat anyone, discuss the first round of the Polish cup where Zagłębie Lubin slipped on a massive banana skin and preview Poland's October Nations League games. Along the way we talk about Grosicki desperate transfer window risk-taking, drinking wine until 5am in Bologna and the biggest cup shocks in Polish football history. Enjoy!

The pod returns after a month's absence to round up the state of play in the Ekstraklasa where Legia Warsaw have started the season badly for the 3rd year in succession, Wisła Kraków are out of nowhere playing the best football in the league, Korona Kielce are doing Korona Kielce things and Wisła Płock are taking over the national team one player at a time. Along the way we look at managers losing the plot, teams losing leads and Polish clubs in European competitions losing to pretty much everyone. Enjoy!

The pod is back after a short summer break to talk through Poland's nightmare at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, preview the 2018-9 Ekstraklasa season and have a look at Polish clubs chances in the qualifiers for European Competitions. Along the way we discuss whether this is the worst year in Polish football history (it's not), talk about Persian princes and whether there are more sheep than kangaroos in New Zealand. Enjoy!

In the second part of our Ekstraklasa season review pod, Maciej and I reviewed the bottom half of the table saying a fond farewell to the relegated Termalica and Sandecja, put together our wwopf silly team of the season, talked about the not yet finished second tier promotion race and answered some of your questions. Enjoy!

In the first part of our Ekstraklasa season review pod, Maciej and I discussed our funniest moments of the season, the top half of the table including Legia's title triumph and Lech's catastrophic collapse and put together our team of the season. Part two to follow tomorrow :)

The pod returns after a month hiatus to sum up the Ekstraklasa as it moves into the playoff round of the season. We talk about Lech Poznań's surprise rise to the top, the decline of Jagiellonia Białystok, Legia Warsaw ominously lurking in the wings despite being in bad form and the free for all at the bottom of the Ekstraklasa table. We also discussed the state of play in the Polish cup semi-finals before next week's second legs. Along the way we criticised the total lack of vision at Śląsk Wrocław, enjoyed Gino Lettieri's sweet temper-tantrums (and salmon jumpers) and answered some listener questions.

After a two week break the pod returns to talk about the Ekstraklasa over the last couple of weeks, the fact that the title race seems to be well and truly on, Jaga's excellent form at the top of the league, Legia's knack for winning games while not playing particularly well, Lech's upturn in form at Legia, crowd violence at Piast vs Górnik and lots of other tasty morsels. Our 1 liga (second tier corner) returns as the promotion and relegation race is weighed up, we present our prediction league and we answer listener's questions. Enjoy!

After a winter hiatus the pod returns to talk about the Ekstraklasa as it emerges from the cave that kept it warm during the icy weather. We talk about the weekend's games, assess the many player transfers to the league during the break and discuss some terrible examples of club organisation. Along the way we muse over the entertainment options for foreign players in the environs of Nieciecza, cower in fear at Trifon Ivanov's ghost and imagine what would happen if Arka Gdynia won the Polish cup once more.

In this week's bumper pod Ben, Maciej and Chris do their Ekstraklasa autumn round review. First we talk about our funny moments of the season so far, then we go through the Ekstraklasa clubs giving them a grade from A to E based on their performances regarding pre-season expectations, then we compile our team of the season and our silly (wwopf (r) team of the season, and finish with some quick answers to listeners' questions. Along the way we compare Dominik Furman to Kenny Dalglish and Leonardo di Caprio in the space of a minute, are full of ironic praise for Hildeberto Pereira and lots of other fun stuff.

This week on the pod Ben, Maciej and Chris talk about the current goings on in the Ekstraklasa where Górnik Zabrze top the pile after continuing to win matches when the odds were against them. We also talked about Legia's mini drop in form, Lech's crisis and Korona's transformation into a side everyone wants to watch. Other topics included Maciej's regular 1 liga corner and Poland's World Cup draw and their chances at next summer's World Cup in Russia. Along the way we were not very complimentary about Víctor Pérez and Marcin Wasilewski's tackling, found out that some people's football knowledge stopped two decades ago and lots of other fun stuff.

This week on the pod Maciej and Chris talk about Legia Warsaw grindingly efficient performances in the last couple of weeks, the debacle in Gdańsk as Lechia lost 5-0 at home to Korona Kielce and the end of Maciej Skorża at Pogoń Szczecin. We also chatted about plans to increase the Ekstraklasa to 18 sides next season, the Argentinian in charge of Ruch Chorzów and a small non-league Tricity side with a lot of ex-Ekstraklasa players in it.

This week on the pod Maciej and Chris talk about Legia Warsaw grindingly efficient performances in the last couple of weeks, the debacle in Gdańsk as Lechia lost 5-0 at home to Korona Kielce and the end of Maciej Skorża at Pogoń Szczecin. We also chatted about plans to increase the Ekstraklasa to 18 sides next season, the Argentinian in charge of Ruch Chorzów and a small non-league Tricity side with a lot of ex-Ekstraklasa players in it.

After a three week break the podcast returns to talk about the most unpredictable league in the world (TM). Maciej and Chris discuss whether any team has the potential to break free of the middling pack, why Legia are so bad this season and whether Termalica will finally get relegated from the Ekstraklasa. We also talk about the Polish national team's chances in the World Cup in Russia, whether Lewandowski is really the best goalscorer in Polish history and the street layout in Yerevan. There's also Maciej's regular I liga corner and lots of other fun, fun, fun.

The podcast returns to talk about the state of play in the Ekstraklasa, the top teams misfiring and other sides exceeding expectations. Along the way we talk a lot about a balding Arka Gdynia striker, the prospects of the Polish NT in the final qualifiers, how the Polish cup is progressing, and loads of other healthy goodies.

The pod returns after a long hiatus to talk about the failings of VAR, Piotr Nowak's problems at Lechia Gdańsk, unseemly goings on at Legia Warsaw, the exciting newboys Górnik Zabrze, Michał Pazdan's mood swings, the price of a chocolate bar in Sweden and a whole host of other fun stuff. Enjoy!

After a (too short) summer hiatus the show is back (before we take another break). This time Maciej and I (without Ben) talk about the summer goings on in the Ekstraklasa off the pitch, go through the movers and shakers, what we expect from the new season and discuss which Polish clubs will make European group stages. Along the way we decided who would come out on top in a mini-league between Płock, Albania and Astana and lots of other #wwopf fun.

Maciej, Ben and I round up the exciting end of the Polish Ekstraklasa at the top and bottom of the table, present you with our teams of the season (both serious and silly). Along the way we discussed Vadis finally smiling, the sad departure of the mercurial Michał Probierz and whether we would prefer to fight one Rasiak-sized Peszko or 100 Peszko-sized Rasiaks.

Podcast regulars Maciej, Ben and I discuss the denouement of the Ekstraklasa season as Legia Warsaw, Jagiellonia Białystok, Lech Poznań and Lechia Gdańsk go head to head - all still in with a shout of winning the title . Meanwhile at the foot of the table Arka Gdynia and Górnik Łęczna both try to avoid joining Ruch Chorzów in the Polish second tier. Along the way we talked about Vadis' mood swings and his battle royale with Jaga's Jacek Góralski, Rafał Siemaszko's 'Hand of God' goal, phantom red cards and much much more.

This week Maciej Słomiński and I discuss the big Ekstraklasa midweek games as Legia Warsaw easily beat Lech Poznań and Lechia Gdańsk hammered Jagiellonia Białystok. We also talked about the increasingly desperate situation at the foot of the table for Ruch Chorzów and the promotion to the Ekstraklasa of Sandecja Nowy Sącz. Along the way we got to talk about Spanish people swearing in Polish and heavy-set but high-voiced central defenders.

This week Maciej Słomiński, Ben Stebbings and I talk about the title race and relegation battle in the Polish Ekstraklasa, look at the mother of all shocks as Arka Gdynia win the Polish cup and discuss how Polish managers are treated. Along the way Maciej compares Jagiellonia Białystok coach Michał Probierz to Eminem, I compare Wisła Kraków's Arek Głowacki to a heavy-weight boxer and Ben has a chuckle at Legia Warsaw's Miroslav Radović. Enjoy!

This week Maciej Słomiński and I take a look at the 30th round of the Ekstraklasa where the top and bottom 8 of the table were decided before the two halves of the table split. In the end Pogoń Szczecin, Termalica Nieciecza and Korona Kielce qualified for the top 8 after a topsy-turvy day. We also give our views on the ESA 37 system and attempt to make some predictions regarding the top and bottom of the table at the end of the season.

This week the regular gang chat about the week's Ekstraklasa games and who will make the top 8 when the table is divided after the 30th round of matches. We also discuss Jagiellionia Białystok manager Michał Probierz's master motivating skills and new Arka Gdynia manager Leszek Ojrzyński's simple advice to his team to get Arka a result in the Tri-city derby (they lost). Miłosz Przybecki's unbelievable miss vs Korona Kielce can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls0I9C3dWm0

This week the regular trio of Ben, Maciej and I take on a multitude of issues related to the Polish Ekstraklasa, the Polish national team, the Polish Cup and the crazy promotion race in the Polish second tier. Along the way we delighted in Franciszek Smuda's magical reinvention of humdrum players, Spas Delev's magic against Holland and Maciej got the chance to read the results from the inaugural Ekstraklasa round of games in 1927. It was pretty wild people. Pāvels Šteinbors mistake in the Polish Cup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr_D9yvmg1s Andy Dibble's mistake in 1990 vs Gary Crosby in comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y_IOU6Lb2g Spas Delev vs Holland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=occ6ZzrupUg Nice video celebrating 90 years of the Polish league https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUkOCGjHezQ

In our regular fortnightly podcast, Ben, Maciej and I talk about goings on in the Polish Ekstraklasa and look ahead to Poland's World Cup qualifier in Montenegro on March 26th. Along the way we discussed very long scarves, the Polish Phillip Lahm and unexplained occurrences on the pitches of the Ekstraklasa. For a great meme of Miroslav Radović's dive see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR2OEZTZ9Bo And for Seweryn Kiełpin breaking his nose see https://twitter.com/Pan_Jozek/status/838823961223909376

This week Ben, Maciej and I talk about the last couple of weeks in Polish football including the great form of Lech Poznań, the striking problems of Legia Warsaw and general goings on in the Ekstraklasa, Polish Cup and Legia's departure from Europe. Add in a sprinkle of Piotr Grzelczak nutmegging Barcelona players and a pinch of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe's temper tantrums on the football pitch and you've got yourself a podcast. Grzelczak's mesmerising performance can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW5PTQNR0xg And here's Korona Kielce's coach Maciej Bartoszek shouting at his players(from 3 minutes 18 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvey4lhyF2s

I am joined by regular guests Ben Stebbings and Maciej Słomiński to welcome the Ekstraklasa back with open arms after the winter break. We look at funny moments from the last weekend of matches, say what we're looking forward to in the next couple of months, predict which Ekstraklasa winter signings will be successes and failures and assess Legia Warsaw's chances in their Europa League knockout stage tie vs Ajax Amsterdam.

I am joined by guests for the first time, Ben Stebbings and Maciej Słomiński to talk about the Ekstraklasa season so far. We look at our stories and moments of the season so far, do a team by team review, choose our X1 of the season so far and make some end of season predictions. Frączczak eating his Knoppers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNGhUodi5NA Karachanakov incident here from 2.05 onwards http://www.polsatsport.pl/film/cracovia-jagiellonia-bialystok-01-skrot-meczu_6407960/ Flares during the Tri-City derby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA8_K-SSrp8

This week's pod looks at 1) 5 things I've noticed in Polish football this week including the crazy unpredictable nature of the Ekstraklasa 2) Behind the scenes - what's been going on off the pitch - with a segue into the murky world of football players' use of social media and 3) answers listeners' questions - including what the hell are friend clubs?

This week's Rightbankwarsaw podcast looks at why people should follow Polish football, gives a short review of the Ekstraklasa season so far and deals with listeners' questions

This Podcast talks about the Polish national team's World Cup Qualifying match with Romania on 11-11-16, events surrounding and during the game and the Polish national team in general.