Leaderboard

^ I agree. And yes we are lacking depth and a true leader eespecialy in our Mid positions but let's be honest there is something a lot more going because the teams we lost to shouldn't have really mattered how much talent we had in our mid position. The teams we lost to don't even come close to the players we have on the field. The teams you mentioned above that we lost to should be proof of that. If Fortounis and Mantalos play in Europe for a decent side I can't see them getting the minutes that they are getting now but if they did then it would benefit them for sure. I'm one of the few that is still completely disappointed how we've played this campaign and I only think it's a matter of time before we completely get exposed. I still think this team is going to have issues for years and our FIFA rankings will continue to be where we are now. I also don't think Skibbe is the guy who can turn this club around and I'm pretty sure that will show in our nhouse story couple of matches.

We went from a team that could scrape wins against minnows, 1-0 vs Malta, 1-0 vs Lithuania to a team that loses to FI, Finland, NI and Belarus at home. To get back into top 25, we need to build a new Hellas, one that not only can consistently beat minnows but that can compete and beat Europe's best. Home should be a fortress. We have good players imo, Karnezis, Soc, Manolas, K Pap, Samaris, Toro, Stafylidis, Mantalos, Fortounis and Mitroglou but lack depth and a true leader in the middle of the park. Fortounis and Mantalos need to get out of Greece and find clubs in Europes top leagues, imo. Coach should bring good young talent into the squad to build depth and develop the squad. 2017 will be an important year for Greece. Belgium match and the away match to Bosnia will confirm which direction we are heading with Scibbe.

Nah, If we end up in a tournament and awaiting who our POT 1 competition is gonna be, out of the current teams Id choose Argentina over all. Poor defence that anyone can score against. Just like us they can't seem to find a decent Holding midfielder, most of their defenders are either South America tier or barely/not playing for their clubs. England is another Tier 1 team anyone would be lucky to have. Uruguay,Portugal,Croatia and Chile are not bad draws either. Germany,France,Belgium,Brazil, Italy, Colombia they re all simply too much for a team of our calibre. Just realised that out of 32 teams, 12(aka all the teams I mentioned) are too hard to get result from. Both in WC 2010 and in WC 2014 we were lucky to draw teams from Africa and Asia. Whew

Very tough goal to concede, take the wind out of your sails. Retsos I think is the real deal, we'll see down the road what his promise will lead to.

my gut says 1-1. my mind says 3-0 belgium. my heart says 2-1 greece. lol

Sokratis was good before Dortmund, which is why he was signed by Genoa, Milan and Bremen, but he took it to the next level at Dortmund, because of setting, age and experience. He stood out at WC 2010 when he was 22. which is like standing out as a teenager for a striker. K Papadopoulos was a phenom at 18 and if it wasn`t for his injuries, he would be in the same category as Sok and Manolas atm. Manolas moved to Roma at 23 and he was good even before then. Aside from the aforementioned CBs, and for Ninis and Fetfa that did not pan out as we expected, Greece has not had any stand out youngsters that have delivered consistent quality. That, although, may have a lot to do with the league that develops them. The Greek superleague is not where you want to nurture your talent. The lucky ones garnered enough attention to merit a transfer to a better league where they can develop properly and reach their potential by 25-27.

Why is it that Greek players become good players and stars at the age of 25-27. I can't remember having superstars below that age. Only one I can remember is Ninis. K.Papadopoulos is another. Sokratis started playing well when he moved to Dortmund. Right now Retsos is a good up and coming player that is playing regularly for Olympiakos. Fortounis from 2 years ago to now has improved drastically and never have thought he would be the player he is today. Manolas has shocked me even more. The players that bringing positiveness in Greek football are Fortounis, Sokratis, Manolas and Mitroglou. Without these players the national team is going no where. I rate Samaris highly as brings intelligence and some sense to the midfield, plus he is tall. Other players like Tachtsidis and Karelis bring me hope. The rest are either hopeless(Tziolis) disappointing (Ninis, Fetfatzidis), very average (Diamantakos, Gianniotas and Bakasetas) and on the decline (Torosidis). Also Vellios and Stafylidis are on the right track of development but then again they will become stars late in their careers. I forgot to mention Mantalos. He is a very good footballer. He is very unique as he can tackle, pass the ball well and work off the ball well. He is a good addition to the team but I don't want to see him at RW. He would do for now there as there is no one.