Athens4

Missed the game as we had family over for English Easter. Sounds like I didn't miss much.

34 is when you get a new 3 year deal in Lucescu's books.

Yes, it was a nice adventure but this is just another example of how scared we are to take the next step. Ajax, Schalke, Krasnodar and now Marseille. In all of these games we had enough chances to be in the driving seat and knock our opponents out. How many games like this do we need to realise that we cannot go into huge European games without a goalscorer?

Keeper: we need one who is good on the ball. Paschalakis makes incredible saves but cannot pass to save his life. Defence: we renewed Ingason so now we need another decent central defender. I expect both Varela and Crespo to be history at the end of the season. Midfield: we need a fast winger and a decent central midfielder to pair up with Kurtic. Striker: the chances we missed tonight just show how much we are crying out for a scorer.

Calm down, mate. I know your p!ssed (so am I), but he just sees it differently. Nothing wrong with that. We are all PAOK here.

@Dutch Eaglethey didn't play with any brakes, they just kept the ball better than we did. This game should have been a 3-0 wipeout and that is exactly what would have happened if we had a proper striker. I cannot believe we are not through to the semi final. We have not learned from Alkmaar, Ajax, Schalke and Krasnodar.

We can put pressure on all we like, but we need to score. We had four glorious chances and we didn't put the ball in the net.

It is Ajax all over again. We have all the chances then they score from a mistake. I cannot for the life of me understand why we choose to play out from the back. We have not got the quality. Crespo not only gave away a goal but also blocked Akpom's shot to equalise.

I don't know what to say.

No work getting done here today.

It is finally time to rid ourselves of the 'Toumpa demons'. Whatever happened with Ajax, Schalke and Krasnodar happened. Tonight we turn over a new leaf. If not for that, then do it at least for revenge for how we were treated last week. ΠΑΜΕ ΠΑΟΚ!

Real v Chelsea is literally rich kids on speed right now. Started watching the second half and have certainly been entertained.

Fully agree. In Germany there is a decent atmosphere with banter back and forth between the fans. Not really any violence between them and if there is then it is somewhere away from the stadium.

Εντάξει έχουμε τον Ομάρ, έχουμε τώρα και τον Μπράντονιτς.

There will be no French supporters at the game. I think that is a real shame for the genuine fans that want to travel and see their team. Once again the minority spoils it for the majority. The battle of the stands should be fought with voices and songs only. It's ok to give it back and forth and have some banter during the game. A line is crossed when you start throwing batteries, coins and flares at other people. Οι πουρκουάδες μας έρχονται με απουσίες. Με μια γεμάτη Τούμπα είναι μεγάλη ευκαιρία να περάσουμε στα ημιτελικά. ΠΑΙΞΤΕ ΜΠΑΛΑ ΡΕ ΚΟΠΡΟΣΚΥΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΤΕ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΚΡΙΣΗ! ΘΕΛΟΥΜΕ ΚΙ ΑΛΛΕΣ ΕΚΔΡΟΜΕΣ!

Not going to happen. I am confident about this Thursday which is not something that usually happens.

Of course I'd rather us go through in this scenario. It will just have to be harsh lesson. The first and last time that I leave the stand while the game in ongoing. Always knew I could count on you when I am (worryingly) down

OK guys, I really need help getting over this missed goal thing. Anybody?

That's how it happens. Scotsman will confirm.

I really do believe that we will beat them. We can do it.

Got back home a couple of hours ago. I know that we were all looking forward to this away day. I am devastated to say my game day experience wasn't great. First of all the local council in Marseille along with the police couldn't organise a piss up in brewery. We wanted to do the hour-long walk to the stadium with them either side of us. They prevented this from happening due to OM hooligans waiting for us with stones and steel bars. While I think this was a fair decision, it seems they did not have busses organised for us in advance. We waited around 90 minutes for the busses to turn up then sat/stood for another 90 minutes on the bus without going anywhere. It was like a sauna and getting hard to breathe so we then lost more time when we forced the doors open to get some air. To be fair to the police they did themselves say that the organisation was awful. I would have expected a much more coordinated plan. We were all tired and frustrated by the time we arrived at the stadium. Once we finally got into the stadium it was like being in a war zone. The OM ultras are divided in French and Arab, with the latter having their κερκίδα next to the away supporters. The away stand has a lower and upper part. Our group was in the lower part. We were on the receiving end of D-size batteries, coins, flares, nuts and bolts - things that will certainly do a lot of damage if they hit you. Some our group were almost hit a couple of times. The managed to hit of us with a flare but thankfully it hit his cap and grazed his face. When this happened the arabs' reaction reminded me of the Sand People from Star Wars. Go to 1:18 of this video to see what I mean. They probably have the same IQ level too. They were then trying to break through the police line to get to us, which they did at one point and then had it out with some of our guys who jumped the gate to get to them. The way they just jumped into Nomansland without any backup could only mean that they were possessed with rage. I don't know any psychologically stable person who would do that. The entire game consisted of trying to watch our play, trying to sing in sync with the upper stand and looking over in the arabs' direction to check if they were throwing anything. Around the 40th minute I did something that I have never done before which was leave while the game was still going to go get water. I have only ever done this during half time. It seemed anyone who was queuing up was also ordering for another 10 people. I say queue but we all know cattle are more orderly than Greek people. While there I missed Payet's wonder goal, which would have probably been the best goal that I had ever seen live. It gets much worse though. Another clown was trying to speak French instead of just ordering in English and kept adding things to his order, which confused the canteen staff completely. This whole ordeal took 15 minutes, which then meant that ended up missing our goal. At that point I just left and went back to the stand absolutely devastated. I have never missed a PAOK goal and it especially hurts because it was a nice goal against an opponent like OM. This was the first and last time that I leave the game while it is still ongoing. On a more positive note, I could not have asked for better company. Scotsman is a great away day partner. Not only did I also meet some new people but I also saw PAOKia who I hadn't seen for 6+ years. We also had a really nice walk around town and lunch in the sun on Friday with some people who were meeting for the first time. I realised that is the beautiful thing about supporting a club - it is so easy to become friends with people who you have never even met before. Joints and drinks are shared without any hesitation. Stories of other away days are told, while many laughs are also had. I can definitely say that the social side of this away trip was absolutely fantastic. I also realised that I have a subconscious 'addiction' to the sound of the drum. While waiting for the busses to come we were singing some songs and one of our guys started hitting the drum. Anything I was doing or any thoughts I had became instantly irrelevant while the singing became louder along with jumping like a maniac. Looking ahead, I think we can beat them. The first twenty minutes of the second half (although I should say 15 minutes as I missed the first 5) were enough to convince me that we can match them. Their supporters have also cancelled their trip to Thessaloniki so it will probably be only PAOK fans. We must sell out the stadium and help the team by singing as loud of possible. I'm not going to lie - I am still pretty down about missing our goal so if anybody has any ideas to help get over it then please feel free to share. I know there are more serious things in life but this is still disappointing. Sorry for the long post.

I think there might be a little more than 3k. The French said that any PAOK fan with a ticket in other areas will be moved to the away section. Setting off for the airport now! ΧΙΛΙΟΜΕΤΡΑ ΚΑΝΑΜΕ ΠΑΛΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΜΑΣΤΟΥΡΑ ΜΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΙΟ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΠΑΟΚ ΕΚΔΡΟΜΕΣ ΝΑΡΚΩΤΙΚΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΕΤΣΙ ΜΑΘΑΜΕ ΑΠΟ ΠΑΙΔΙΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΔΙΚΕΦΑΛΕ ΜΟΝΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΝΙΩΘΩ ΤΗ ΖΩΗ ΜΟΥ ΣΤΑ ΧΑΜΕΝΑ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΟΠΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΝΑ ΠΑΙΖΕΙΣ ΘΑ Σ'ΤΟ ΛΕΩ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΘΑ ΤΑ ΣΠΑΩ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΚΑΙΩ (ΠΑΜΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕ!) ΧΙΛΙΟΜΕΤΡΑ ΚΑΝΑΜΕ ΠΑΛΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΜΑΣΤΟΥΡΑ ΜΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΙΟ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΠΑΟΚ ΕΚΔΡΟΜΕΣ ΝΑΡΚΩΤΙΚΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΕΤΣΙ ΜΑΘΑΜΕ ΑΠΟ ΠΑΙΔΙΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΔΙΚΕΦΑΛΕ ΜΟΝΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΝΙΩΘΩ ΤΗ ΖΩΗ ΜΟΥ ΣΤΑ ΧΑΜΕΝΑ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΟΠΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΝΑ ΠΑΙΖΕΙΣ ΘΑ Σ'ΤΟ ΛΕΩ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΘΑ ΤΑ ΣΠΑΩ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΚΑΙΩ (ΧΕΡΙΑ ΜΟΝΟΟΟΟΟ!) ΧΙΛΙΟΜΕΤΡΑ ΚΑΝΑΜΕ ΠΑΛΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΜΑΣΤΟΥΡΑ ΜΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΙΟ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΠΑΟΚ ΕΚΔΡΟΜΕΣ ΝΑΡΚΩΤΙΚΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΕΤΣΙ ΜΑΘΑΜΕ ΑΠΟ ΠΑΙΔΙΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ ΔΙΚΕΦΑΛΕ ΜΟΝΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΝΙΩΘΩ ΤΗ ΖΩΗ ΜΟΥ ΣΤΑ ΧΑΜΕΝΑ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΟΠΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΝΑ ΠΑΙΖΕΙΣ ΘΑ Σ'ΤΟ ΛΕΩ ΠΑΟΚ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕ ΟΛΕΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΘΑ ΤΑ ΣΠΑΩ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΚΑΙΩ

If he starts Biseswar I will literally jump the barrier and confront Lucescu.

I am the first to criticise Taylor but he did ok in the past couple of games. We should still be looking to offload him though.