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@La Mendel You are very harsh on Donis. I have been watching Stuttgart's games and it's safe to say he's their most active player on the pitch. The fact that he has not netted more goals yet in only a mattaer of luck. He's a great player that can break well-organized defensive lines, technical and fast paced. Ideally I'd have him playing next to Mitroglou in a 3-4-1-2 but I don't think Skibbe will ever get rid of his boring 4-2-3-1. Talking about Skibbe, yesterday he said that the fact we do play the next official game in 9 months gives us te advantage to organize some friendlies and try out new players. He said he doesn't need to call up Sokratis, Manolas, Mitroglou etc cause he knows he can lean on them, but we'll try to integrate Karelis back in the squad as well as try out other Greeks who play abroad. I hope Charisis, Hatzidiakos and ofc Siovas are amongst them, as well as Mpakakis, Koutris, Kone, Pelkas and Kourmpelis (who have been around but not starting). I'd like to see Limnios there, he's getting more and more starts in PAOK and I'd rather have him over the bust Gianniotas. He also said that we'll have to replace some guys who got older which was great news. I hope he's talking about Tziolis, Tzavellas and Maniatis. It has to be said that he was nervous about some players that don't play in their clubs (hopefully he's talking about Vellios, Gianniotas and Diamantakos) that will have to earn their spot. Good news but with him around I don't see it happening. Another thing he pointed out is that we need to start producing attacking players but claimed the results will be obvious in 6-8 years..

If Platellas is Football league's Messi, then I know Pavlidis is Marco Asensio. What a sweet foot

Deja vu! In (almost) every match we see a much better Aris in the second half, more aggressive, more fighting, more effective! It is still very early, but having such a points difference and having beaten our direct contenders, make us a clear favorite to win the title and be promoted to SL.

There's lots of debates about economic theories and their outcomes. What surprises me is that we see the same arguments for economic growth* that have no evidence of their efficacy. Today, in the US, the conservatives are pushing a tax bill that would give further tax breaks to the super rich and the idea is that the rich & big corporations will generate more jobs and a bigger economy. There's no proof that such a policy works. So, after 30+ years of conservative economics, the gap between the super rich and everyone else has grown tremendously. This is a fact. Same with health outcomes. You may hear how the US health care model is good and how bad the Canadian, French or German are, but we can definitely see & measure the health outcomes in all of those countries..... with the US not doing so great! * there might be growth but the lower classes don't benefit; in the US, the middle class has lost ground since the 1970s.

OK lets be realistic, only players who are active and have a team and are getting game time should be called up. Anestis could be the keeper he has had 6 shootouts so far current season, Torosidis the captain and right back, Avraam plays for Brisbane Roar and Malezas is a sub for PAOK. Giannis Papadopoulos, Tatos, Maniatis, Hussein Mumin (Aris Thessaloniki) could be midfielders. Patsatzoglou, Fotakis and Taralidis play for third tier teams in Greece... that isnt enough to warrant call ups. Lagos would be a vital member in my NT... unfortunately he doesnt have a club for the moment. As for our attackers... Gekas, Salpingidis, Kapetanos, Mantzios, players with the right mentality and fighting spirit are free agents. We could employ Mitroglou and Fortounis, however that would mean we need players who can play really well on the wing like Salpi did... This would mean a starting XI like this: Anestis - Torosidis, Malezas, Avraam, Zaradoukas - Maniatis, Fortounis, Zeca - Tatos, Mitroglou, Klonaridis. Surely I am right if I state we have better material than this... or not? Unfortunately our NT members of today do not have seemingly the same fighting spirit as Super League players a decade ago... perhaps they have more skill and raw talent but I am afraid we lost some part of that toughness that led us to success between 2003-2014. There are those like Kolovetsios who are tenacious but not good enough and those like Samaris who have plenty of talent but less perseverance. Maybe we should adapt a new playing style that suits our mentality. The only problem is that even now our center backs are our greatest asset and this is the sole position where we have real depth.

1:2 victory. Diamantopoulos and Pavlidis scorers. Same story over and over. Fighter Aris. 5 clear off Panachaiki now, 7 to OFI and 8 to Doxa.