Akritis_1944

I only saw the highlights. That goal we conceded was poor. Manolas acting like a step ladder for his opponent. Karnezis equally liable. Defending needs to improve overall but specifically on set pieces. We've conceded too many over the last year. We were once the best performed team in friendlies. Given where we have come from results wise it was good to get a win. Crnagora or "Serbia-Lite" is a decent pot 3 team and we should always be expected to beat them. Shirts looked OK as well.

Samaris and Mitro apparently being rested against Iceland as Benfica requested they not play due to the upcoming matches in Portugal and UCL. So if this the case I expect Vellios to play at least a full match against Iceland.

I agree with you tantra. It's a standard Nike template. I don't think it was any worse than previous shirt. Results are what matters anyway.

Maybe if we dress like Argentina we might play like them? Lol

I've actually changed my mind on the shirt. It definitely is plain and generic but it's better than the collared abomination we had the last 2 years. I have that shirt in white but I've never worn it. If these new ones are reasonably priced and I can try one on for look and sizing I'll probably buy one in blue just for a laugh.

Both Ivic brothers speak excellent Greek. Naturally, they've been banging Greek birds for years.

He got a dumb yellow last match. He got booked for taking his shirt off after scoring so got his 5th yellow and missed this recent match. Ohh well, he should be fresh for the internationals this week.

No we never had this problem in the past though. We were a rabble and disorganised but we had a certain level of attacking flare. What changed under Rehhagel was that he put an emphasis on organization and defence which totally came at the expense of attacking football. In the past we had decent attacking players who could create and score some of our chances. The trade-off under Rehhagel was that we were not going to cop cheap goals like we did. A strong defence suits our style. We have world class defenders. The challenge is to transition to attack more efficiently and have a plan. The last Euro qualifying showed that we could dominate everyone in the group with possession but we were clueless when it came to creating chances and penetrating even poor defences. There were matches where we went a whole half without setting foot in the opposition penalty box or shooting with any purpose. This needs to change under Skibbe.

Most kits out out by Nike are similar. The Croatia kiy although unique, looks poor. The Adidas kit for Hungary is bland too. The Greece kit is not offensive. I personally prefer they start winning and could care less what they wear.

I miss stipiki! They were OK times.

That whole scenario shows what EPO is like. The media has been complicit as well by not asking hard questions. Schuster would have been perfect. Tsanas had some success with the youth teams but why persist with his appointment and make that the deal breaker? No professional worth his salt would accept that condition. I hope Skibbe figures stuff out or we will continue to see the downward trajectory of the Ethniki.

The players and their enablers at EPO are absolutely responsible for the train wreck post world cup. These uninspiring clowns couldn't beat the Faroe Islands or Luxembourg yet they then go back to their top clubs playing Champions League, Serie A, Bundesliga etc. It hasn't really been suggested but surely something sinister has been occuring behind the scenes. These guys being paid to lose? Gambling syndicates involved? EPO have some bizarre plan to destroy Greek football? In any case we scapegoated Ranieri and to a lesser extent Karagounis although the latter behaved poorly and was never suited to the role he was given.

Haha good enough for me.

True. Whomever manages him knows how to make a deal.

This Tziolis character intrigues me. Who is he?

Poios kale me ta malia, o Trump?

Lol. Oreos!

The article that Tzatziki quoted is from late last week. Since then both Kyriakos and Sokratis played full matches in the Bundesliga so I'd expect them to get named as well as Mitroglou, Samaris, Karelis, Papazoglou and the GSL based players. Hopefully we'll see Vellios and Bakasetas' names on the list.

No doubts here. He's not like these pseudo-billionaires like Donald Trump exaggerating his worth or business empire. The guy is richer and more powerful than most would realise.

As a side issue, I don't understand how Lubos Michel can go from being a well known and respected referee to being involved at a club like Shakhtar or PAOK. It's odd to me.

Great goal. I've never seen him run like that before. The guy is in form. It's official.

Nope he's done. Playing second tier in the US won't cut it. If he was playing Serie B or Segunda I'd still be apprehensive about him playing for the Ethniki but it would depend on other factors but he needed to as a minimum playing MLS.

True, you have been consistent with your view of him. I only called for his inclusion based on his form at Astera. Truth is that I never saw much in him. What I have seen of Vellios has impressed me far more compared to Giannou but I wished that Giannou had some pride to be in contention for the Ethniki even though realistically he's probably 5 or 6th at best in his position. If he was highly valued at Astera they would never have sold him.

Ordinary in terms of skill but he can and is doing a job in Belgium. He is tall and strong but lacks football smarts from what I recall. He should be on the radar for the Ethniki at least as a backup forward. Against the poorer teams (Australia etc) he can be a target man. Credit to him for getting out of his comfort zone and playing outside of Greece.

Exactly. These guys you mention are the obvious ones. Especially Fornaroli. He was brought as a "gun" from Sampdoria where he did nothing because Jesualdo Ferreira the PAO coach at the time rated him for some reason. Anyway, a year later, everyone at PAO realised that the guy wasn't PAO nor Super League quality and released him and thus saving about 550k euro a year. He then went back to Uruguay where he didn't exactly set that league on fire and eventually makes it to the A-League where he is the first play to reach 20 goals in a season and also he has the record of scoring against every team in a single season. The league speaks for itself. The quality of football is about Greek Football League standard at it's best. I watched AEK play against Sydney FC and it was a stroll for them. Burns looked a step above the Sydney FC players because his team mates made him look good. At the time Sydney FC were the benchmark in the league too.