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Not only does Pereyra not want to come back, he also demands 150K to be released. I say keep him and let him sit in the stands as an example.

jvc, right now it doesn't matter what "reforms" Greece implements. The gig is up. The issue is a macro one, not micro. What the EU (Germany) did by convincing the ECB to withdraw funding to Greek banks should be an eye opener to everyone that reads this thread. Apart from the fact the it was morally despicable, it's just not how a monetary union works. Such a thing would never happen in say the US. The US government doesn't just withdraw all funding to California or Detroit because they are having serious problems. The EU (Germany) want it to be an economic entity but without fiscal transfers. I get that they find this morally reprehensible. But if that's the case, you can't have an EU that can work. Not in the long run anyway. Just have a look at Europe now. It's a mess. Austerity is always contractionary. Always. This is macro economic 101. And what the EU has gotten Greece to agree to is austerity on steroids. It will only make things worse. There isn't a chance in hell the Greek economy will improve by any reasonable margin. And then Germany will blame it on not having open markets or some such silliness. These are problems no doubt, but in and of themselves are not the core of the problem. I'm beginning to think maybe Germany made the terms so onerous so that Greece could only but fail. And then they can have us removed ... with moral authority on their behalf. Wouldn't that be ironic. Reforms, reforms, reforms. I'm afraid in this case, reforms of any kind won't help Greece get out of the hole. Only growth can do that, but that was flatly rejected by the EU when it was presented to them as an alternative by Varoufakis. I wonder why ?? Either they didn't want it work, or they don't understand macro economics. Either way, this is not an entity I want running Greece. Unfortunately, it's going to take more years of pain for the average greek citizen to realise the EU isn't the saviour they all thought it would be.

Yes it was hot and I was running around and sweating with my son at Brown University, as opposed to the day before when it was only 75 degrees and I was at a Newport beach. Wish I could have switched the two days. Back home now, but will be back in RI in two weeks. Thanks to Bajewy for all the info on what to do in the area. Hopefully in two weeks I might be able to visit his establishment. As for the game, I don't know how much Tudor can trust Lucas to start him. Will Lucas give his all? I am kind of worried about this game. Lokomotiva seems to be good only at counter attacks, so we need to watch our defense (hence the 4 man defense line) . After all all we need is a 1:0 score to advance. The longer we will go without scoring the harder things will get for us. Consider also the hot weather, and the players might be dropping like flies after the first 30 minutes.

I think we will all be waiting a while.

You bring up compelling points Asteras. But I choose to adopt a wait an see approach when it comes to Essien..

Huh?!?! Was I drunk? Of course it is Pantelis!

Cocksta... Actually... yes I do... Why do think no one else wanted him... Essien is still a pretty big name for any decent European league... yes he's 32 but its still a relatively decent/good pickup on a mid table Italian/German/Spanish He should have still gotten offers from them... instead he got offers from us and the MLS.... and the MLS never really followed up with their offer, so the only real offer he had was from us When we had 2000 people show up at the airport to greet the guy...flying in on a pvt jet... without him putting pen to paper.... ITS EXTREMELY HARD TO TURN THE GUY AWAY The guy was signed once he stepped foot out of the plane... The fans had made there stance known.. and there was absolutely NO WAY you could say "no" to him now.... All this talk about "physicals" was just 'talk" as a "breakdown of talks due to failing to pass a physical" would have caused MAJOR BACKLASH from the fans... harmed panathinaiki symmaxia and harmed our ticket sales... Everyone would have though that Alafouzo changed the deal on him or whatever... even if the real reason was a failed physical Bottom line... we just have to make the best out of it... We had the luxury of saying "no" to Alafaro b/c no one knew who he was... he was a nobody that had a decent youtube profile... big deal You coudln't say "no" to Essien when he is the last "big name" player in 5 years that we brought to the team We got suckered into this one boys.... Bad business.... At 32 with these abdominal issues and surgery... and a guy who uses tenacity to establish his game... the omens do NOT bode well for this signing....... What i hate the most... is not so much that we signed Essien... but that we spent the money that we could have used for other players that would have made a known impact... Like Abeid....

I think we need another defender and frankly if Giovanni is not interested to come - I don't want him forced here. I think another attacking midfielder would be good. As a last resort Abdoun would be ok. I would be happier with Leo or another quality player that Milo finds. As far as forwards, we should have grabbed Pap. Need a guy who busts his ass and scores. That's all.