Argy

I've been saying it for a while, Dortmund should have signed K Papadopoulos instead. They would have gotten a, when healthy, better CB for less money, that would play and develop alongside his countryman Sokratis. I think KPap would flourish and the duo would be dominant.

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.

Exactly, we missed an opportunity to pick up important points, and considering we are ranked an embarrassing 42nd, we should value these even more. You know what, yes you can sit them every game. They must be patient. It is honor enough to be called up for international duty, that adds experience and pedigree which can also help a player`s career club-wise. In my opinion, the backups must be patient and earn a starting job. Until then, they should be content with the call-up. Now, I'm all for resting our top guns like Sokratis, Mitroglou or Torosidis ahead of a big match, but a more competitive lineup, and most importantly, a more competitive mindset should have been fielded vs Belarus.

If Greece keeps taking every friendly match as lightly as they did Belarus, good luck getting any sort of favorable draw for upcoming qualifications, not to mention being at a disadvantage if ever we secure second spot and go to a playoff draw, where we will be drawn against the likes of Portugal, Netherlands and Italy, instead of Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Ukraine. Makes a different now doesn`t it? All that hard work during qualifications, to end up with a 2-leg playoff vs a powerhouse. Yes, you can rest two or three of your starters, especially in anticipation to an important qualifier like vs Bosnia, but friendlies still count, and whatever we gained from winning vs the Netherlands was flushed down the toilet after the pathetic showing vs Belarus.

K Papadopoulos is a huge loss. I hope that people realize this, not like vs Bosnia, the commentator was mentioning both teams changes to the lineup and injuries, only to skip over the most important absence in Manolas. Embarassing.

And trying to get average-at-best Zeca a passport.

Wow, China, imagine. Horrible. Waste of a career. Has anyone ever even thought of Avraam Papadopoulos since he moved to China? By the way, he was 30 when he made his move, an age when you are at your prime as a CB. That`s how bad China is. Samaris would be a fool.

Great to see about Retsos. He will soon have the chance to learn from his world class compatriots Sorkatis and Manolas in their prime. Would love to see him at Dortmund.

I actually saw him at 87. Exactly where he should be as standard rating IMO. Regardless of the game, we have a top 3 defensive duo in world football.

I have been hoping to see 3 CBs for the longest time now. We have the perfect players to compliment this formation, not to mention 3 of the best CBs in Europe, and, yes, I cautiously include KPap in that statement. Can you just imagine a Manolas - Sokratis - Papadopoulos back-line? Too bad we can`t see that in Belgium as KPap is suspended.

We haven`t played great, but our playing style was never easy on the eyes. We may be in a favorable position considering some average performances, but we weren`t as bad as we looked, obviously; it`s just the way we play. Some teams play attractive open football but get trampled. You can get lucky once or twice, but when you consistently get results, it`s no accident.

I don`t really see how you can say Romania had more credentialed footballers. Who exactly? Razvan Rat?

We have better CBs, that`s it. The Papadopoulos suspension, which means he will be missing from our DM, really hurts our chances of getting any kind of result.

He has terrible distribution with the NT. All he is fed is long-balls and crosses; Nothing of substance. Give him Ninis of a creative attacking midfielder that can keep the ball on the pitch and you will see a new Mitroglou for the NT.

That would be a great move.

He is caught in an unfortunate situation, where Leipzig has been unstopable all season and generated this momentum before Kpap could establish himself in his new squad. Sad considering he is more than capable of starting ahead of the other CBs.

It is obvious that as long as SKibbe is our manager we will be seeing the same faces. He is following Otto`s philosophy of a reliable, small, tight-knit group with familiar faces, regardless of their club situation.

Your team is more than Pjanic, and we are more than Manolas, we all agree, but we are both better teams with these players on the pitch rather than off. Kyriakos has been plagued with injuries over the last few years and is just starting to gain form. He will be playing for a big club sooner than later. You can see how good he is on the pitch, he just needs to be more disciplined while maintaining his intensity.

Yes, 3 of our best players are centre backs. But only because Sokratis and Manolas are world class and K Papadopoulos is elite. Your statement says more about the quality of our defenders than the level of the rest of the team. Also thanks for the laugh, by comparing marginal Besic with top-level Manolas. The only way yesterday`s game would be even is if Pjanic was out. People have to understand, Manolas`absence not only hurt our backline, but also our defensive midfield since we lost K Papadopoulos from that position as he filled in as CB.

Yes we beat them 1-0 in Instanbul with Amanatidis' goal.

I don`t know who called you backwater. It was not me.

We had a bad campaign, transition period, 3 different coaches and ball didn`t bounce for us. We have obviously come out of that funk. But, No, we did not play well. If you wanna highlight friendlies, we also just beat Netherlands 2 months ago. You cannot compare pedigree. You can feel good if Bosnia wins in June that`s it. Give me Bosnia`s biggest ever win, EVER, and I will give you 10 Greece wins that are greater without even touching Euro 2004.

You cannot compare Red star to Man City, because Man City have actually done some of significance in football since 1991. Bosnia has done nothing of significance since 2004, when we won a major tournament. What`s Bosnia`s most significant win? I can give you 10 Greece wins in the last 10 years that are bigger than that. Just 2 years a go we were a hair away from World Cup wuarter finals and Bosnia was at home watching the game on TV. I mean you are trying to compare Greece`s success this generation, with things that happened in the 70s. And if you want to belittle our 95th minute goal, I can say you needed an own goal to draw with us. Come now, you burrying yourself in a hole. It will take years and massive leaps in the international stage for Bosnia to come close to Greece`s pedigree. A good place to start in this campagn. Let us talk in June.

Greece won 12 years ago, not 40 like Nottingham. Some of the players from our championship team retired just last year. Since Euro 2004 there has been way more positives than negatives, and we have won qualifying groups handily, massive playoff games, and have consistently qualified for major tournaments and advancing past group stages. Why are you trying to argue this, it`s a losing battle. You are much better off trying to compare these teams in the now.