Bananas

They were some crazy kids! Real messed up mofos! Your post reminded me they had a site they created when they left but it appears to no longer be around.

I don't consider it lost, not yet. It's not unusual after an "era" comes to an end for this to happen. The only clubs that don't experience this are the big boys who have virtually unlimited cash. Then again, how would one explain the absolute mess that has been Man Utd in recent times ... it's not like they are short of money. Anyway, I would consider this season lost if we don't start to see the formation of a core of players, a nucleus, to build on for the forthcoming seasons. If even half of our transfers this summer prove to be first team regulars I think that would be a good start. For example, we paid 2 million for a new goalkeeper ... I would like to think that by the end of the season we can all agree he is considerably better than Paschalakis. Otherwise, what is the point. Kargas, Nasberg, Quagliata, Narey, Soares, Ricardo ... let's see if we signed duds or not. Thomas I have a bad feeling about already but again let's see. There is a lot of work for Lucescu to do, that is for sure. The media and the "hardcore" fans will start with their diatribe no doubt. This is where the club, manager and players just have to get on with the job and ignore the inevitable "drama". For now I will wait until the winter break before meting out judgements and justice.

I vote PAOKSYD for the next president of PAOK ha ha.

How is Aris building a new stadium other than off the back of the tax payer ?

We can't judge just yet. Last season was "year 1". He tried with the veterans and it didn't work out. Sometimes you just don't know how much fuel is in the tank until you just run the car until it stops. I am curious to see if he can build a new team. Will the new players take to him ? Time will tell. First half of the season will be up and down. Second half of the season I expect to see considerable improvement and a rough idea on who are really first team players and who isn't.

I think we'll end up 3rd to 5th. 2nd ... maybe depends on Panathinaikos and AEK. Panathinaikos are really going hard this transfer window. We'll see I guess. Is this squad better than previous years ? Almost certainly not. But the club is going down a different path. Previously it was experienced players 28+ years old in general and the wages were a lot higher. You look at our transfers this transfer window and they are all quite young. Which would I prefer ? The Michel model but we just don't have the cash to do that sustainably. So it is what it is. My concern is how many of these "prospects" will come good ? How long will it take ? And very importantly, will Lucescu stick around ?

PAOKSYD you're not really a PAOK supporter are you ? C'mon you can tell me.

We do this every season in Europe. Most of the time we get away with it. Every 4 or 5 years we don't.

Bravo to paidi. I hope he does well.

You gotta wonder what's going on with all the injuries we get. Thing is a lot of them seem to be in training.

I guess because we were complacent and just assumed we'd be fine. Basically we were unprepared. I also think other leagues we'd consider weaker than us have become stronger over the years and the gap in quality isn't as big as it used to be. Will we learn a lesson ? I doubt it. Every Greek team except for Olympiakos has been eliminated this season. Let that sink in. And the only reason Olympiakos is still in Europe is because they keep getting a chance by dropping to a lower competition. The worrying thing is for the most part, our teams have been beaten convincingly. Have we become complacent ? I can only assume so. Do I expect changes to rectify the situation. Hell no, this is Greece. 😁

I remember the newspaper articles a few years before Savvidis actually bought the team. And then it all went quiet for a couple of years and I just forgot about it. When it actually happened I was like "oh wow this is really happening".

Viva la revolution!

Fire Savvidis!

Well obviously he wouldn't pay the 7 million. Easier to just pick the wrong 11 starters, do bad substitutions and go on a losing streak until the club sacks you.

Great week for Greek teams in Europe. If Olympiacos loses to Slovan are they eliminated from Europe or do they get another chance in the Conference League ?

Good to hear the club is withholding wages. I'm fine with him not being in the squad. He has never fulfilled his potential although to be fair the injury knocked him and he's never been the same. Fine don't play if you don't want, but you can't expect to be paid either.

Kafeneio.

Really ? Are you guys thinking he'll leave of his own choice or he'll be pushed out ?

Are we on the right path ? Yes ... because we don't have a choice. The old guard from 18/19 are all gone. Do PAOK fans have the patience ? Stupid question ha ha. Of course not. I think we won't be able to judge Boto's signings until round 10 or so. So far they are unimpressive. The only good thing to come out of pre season is Koutsias. I just hope we can scrounge enough points to at least be -6 points or less from Olympiacos at the winter break so we can at least be interested in the league. Having one game a week will have its advantages and disadvantages.

After our exist from Europe it makes sense to let Kurtic go. If we are doing a rebuild then Kurtic won't be there to see it through.

PAOKSYD you should apply for a job at PAOK as a financial consultant and you can show Savvidis and the people that run the financial side of things how they can get around FFP rules. If you need a reference, I am happy to provide one for you.

It shouldn't matter if Savvidis is there or not. The man knows nothing about football and I'm sure he'll freely admit that. That's why he hires people to run the club that are in theory meant to know about football. The sole thing Savvidis is meant to do is fund the club and he does that. He is limited as to what he can do regarding transfers due to FFP regulations. The elimination in Europe is 100% on the footballing department, manager, coaches, scouts, transfers. No ifs or buts. Even taking into account our limited budget due to FFP we should be able to comfortably beat a team like Levski Sofia. I am not sure how we can easily improve without increasing the wages budget so it's a catch 22. The transfer budget is there (from the sales of Tzolis and Giannoulis) but the wages budget is not. Ideally we'd be signing "Zivkovic" quality players at a minimum and you would see the squad improve considerably but the budget just isn't there. And you can only attract players of a certain quality with the budget we have. I think now all we can do is wait a few months at which point we can assess whether the transfers from Boto were actually half decent. He too is constrained. It's one thing attracting and purchasing players when you're working for Benfica or Shakhtar and it's another when you're working for PAOK. That is the reality.

What do you say. I have posted earlier that I don't really care if we miss out on Europe once in every few seasons. It's the financial hit and the missing out on UEFA coefficient points that hurts. Let's see what happens but all the ingredients are there for Greece to really move down the rankings. I hope the other teams can qualify and accumulate some UEFA coefficient points but I am not optimistic. As for the team not being prepared ... did Lucescu really say that ? That's his job and everyone else at the club. The worse thing is we thoroughly deserved to be eliminated. It's not like we were better in any way.

He's been looking for billionaires to sell the club to but so far no luck.