Athens4

It is actually the opposite that should be happening. Instead of wasting time with play offs, it should just be a normal league like most serious championships. Instead we have playoffs and playouts (as if it's basketball or something) and finish around the end of May/beginning of June. Just have 16-18 teams with 30-34 games a year. Ensure it finished by end of April or max first two weeks of May. Make the the first 4-5 rounds of the cup one-game knockouts and finish the season with the cup final the week after the last game of the league. Have the league finish around mid-May and give the players of teams who play in Europe at least a whole month off. It really isn't rocket science (though I guess it is when there is money and NOVA involved).

Where in Greece are you heading to?

Κι'αλλο γκόλ ο Τσόλακ σήμερα. Που είναι οι φωστήρες που μας λέγανε οτι δεν κάνει;

Χαζός είναι να γυρίσει ο Τσόλακ; Εμείς σε 4 μήνες τον βγάλαμε άχρηστο. Αυτός φέτος οχι μόνο οργιάζει αλλα θα παίξει ίσως και Τσάμπιονς Λίγκ. Την υγεία του βρήκε ο άνθρωπος.

The problem is that he wasn't taken out earlier. He made his injury known at the end of the first half but was kept on until the 75th minute. Now we need to buy a striker.

This is what usually happens. While picking the players we seem to think we have an eye for the game that others don't. "Research" for picking players usually consists of checking who had the most points last season, choosing the most expensive summer transfers or Googling 'best fantasy football picks'. Of course your budget is limited and during the first round of picks you have usually gone twice over-budget after just 8 players. This is where you need to be creative - you will scour the board to find one or two 'dark horses' who we feel are under the radar and will provide us with a load of points. At least that is what you think they are. These 'gems' (as we call them) will be chosen on our own accord and are a testament to our foresight and genius. By week 2 or 3 it quickly becomes clear that your selections are duds and any chances you initially thought you had of winning are now gone along with your motivation to continue monitoring your team. Some think they can turn it around and a few do succeed. However the majority are baffled as to how this could happen and tell ourselves that next season will be ours. FPL is a war and we have merely lost one battle.

Watched both press conferences. Keith Long is a really nice guy, so happy to see such managers still exist in football. I wish them all the best for their season.

Ask the Irish lad if he now wishes they had knocked the ball into the box from their free kick in the 93rd minute.

The footballing titans Astana and Velez both knocked out convincingly by KuPS and Elfsborg respectively. Just goes to show how bad O.A.R.I.S and the paper team really are. Not that we are much better mind you.

The first 10 minutes were great, the rest were quite poor. Apart from the assist and his goal (which of course should have counted) El Kaddouri was a liability on the wing. I am not sure what else Lucescu needs to see in order for him not to be played there. Our defence is a disaster. Michailidis has absolutely no confidence and Varela marks with his eyes. The header their striker missed (well wide) would have been put away if it were a class striker. Rodrigo is ok but gives away possession quite easily. Don't even get me started on Paschalakis who insists on playing Superman at every opportunity he can get. That chance at the end had hearts pounding. Thank God they aren't a top side. How is it possible that with 30 seconds to go, we win a free kick and give the ball away, commit a foul allowing them to pump the ball in before giving away a corner and having their keeper in our box? Some players are not serious. Rijeka will punish us with such schoolboy errors. All in all not a great performance and I hope they use this week to improve at least a little bit. ΥΓ. Να πας να γ@μηθείς ρε μ@λ@κ@ Πασχαλάκη με τις βουτιές σου! Παραλίγο να πάθουμε καρδιακό στο τέλος. ΥΓ2. Fair play to Biseswar - assist and a goal.

What? How?

I did FPL for quite a few years but rage quit a few years ago. Many were the times where I took someone out only for them to score a brace or hattrick the next week.

I can't believe there has only been one change and that El Kaddouri is still on the wing.

The funny thing is you won't have to give up anything. Germany has the same law that does not allow two passports (I know a few Greeks born there). When they try to give back their Greek passport, the state doesn't let them so they just keep it.

You can buy it off at a per-day cost (for Greeks abroad it is just 3 months). Sources telling me that you still need to attend the first 9 days though. I am not sure what is going to happen to be honest.

I never have been and never will go that overrated island, which has been inflated by celebs and clowns.

On that note, why not apply for the Greek passport? I applied for mine. Took over a year to get everything finalised but I am now waiting to hear back.

So did I my good man. We all did. We had chance after chance and we blew it each time. Make peace with the fact we will probably never play in the CL. I have and I feel much better.

After hearing and reading the press conferences, I have lost nearly all confidence. I cannot see us going through.

I definitely did not imagine you having hair.

Fans will never understand that there is no money in Greek football. Savvidis' real motive is to buy up northern Greece. Owning a football club is an important component to doing this. It is all about power. PAOK is his side project. On the bright side at least we are in a better position financially than we were before his time. Stop expecting PAOK to become a powerhouse of Europe. It isn't going to happen because it just isn't worth it for him financially (unless he is able to use transfers to do some of his laundry).

That is what happens when one team has to play CL at all costs for the past 25 years. They ruined Greek football and now whoever wins the league will have to start in QR1 going forward. Football in general is dead, however Greek football died long ago. Can't believe people thought Tzolis should have stayed with us for another season - grab that opportunity and get the hell of Greece, kid.

Basically PAOK did not offer a salary equal to that of what he is getting in Saudi Arabia. Very happy that we didn't go through with this.

Really hope Slovan does them over. They always go on about how we lost to them (on away goals).