Argy

Look, Bosnia is not backwater by any means, they are a good team, but their pedigree is still way below Greece. We had a bad campaign during a trasition period in the last qualifiers, that`s all. If you would like, I can go through Bosnia`s record as well and point out all the times they failed and have done nothing of significance, ever, in the international stage, while Greece was winning European Championships and consistently qualifying for big tournaments. We cannot compare resumés. What we can do, however, is compare these teams in the present. It will be fun seeing them go neck and neck for that playoff spot.

Bosnia plays positive football, they are not a bad team, but yesterday Pjanic missed one opportunity that he should have scored, that`s it. We did not allow many other quality scoring chances. Please, for the love of god, do not underestimate the fact that we were missing Manolas. He is a world class CB and, along wityh Sokratis, out best player. His replacement, K Papadopoulos, is not far behind, but would have been playing DM next to Benfica`s Samaris if Manolas was there, which would have made it all that much more difficult for Bosnia to break the line. We were far from perfect, but still drew Bosnia, without our best player. Take away Pjanic and see how comfortable you feel approaching next match...

Hold on. We had no place finishing 6th. There was just too much turmoil going on within the team, we changed 3 managers and the ball did not bounce our way at all. We did not play well by any means, but we were not a 6th place team. A draw was a fair reflection yesterday, yes. Bosnia had its moments, they had a positive scheme, they scored a brilliant free kick that took a lucky bounce, but not taking much more away from that. We hit the bar and then scored a fanatastic goal. Let`s also not forget we were missing Manolas, our best player along with Sokratis, and one of the best CBs alive at the moment. The next meeting should be one for the ages.

Genoa is not an upgrade for Fortounis, but Serie A is.

Kolasinac is a good player and if ever he doesn`t start, that would be an important absence for Bosnia, but Manolas is one of the best CBs in the world and his absence puts us at a huge disadvantage. Yes, we have a very good player in Kyriakos Papadopoulos taking his place, but the latter would have been playing DM if Manolas was there and now leaves a hole in the midfield.

We have an abundance of borderline NT-calibre players on this roster. Where are some supersubs like Ninis and Fetfa? I hope they surprise us with a win or draw on Sunday, but I just can`t see success being sustainiable with all these marginal, out of form, sometimes club-less, players filling key roles in this lineup. In his meeting with Otto, I am certain that the thing Skibbe took away was to stick with a core of experienced, reliable players and avoid shaking the roster up too much like Ranieri and co. did last term.

He`s fit for this weekend.

It`s hard to imagine how these players have no club. They are good enough to make a GSL, what is happening?

How K Pap is not a regular at Leipzig is beyond me. There is more than enough room to have guys like Ninis or Fetfa, even on the bench. Nick, I agree, Diamantakos is a waste of a spot. We already have Mitroglou, Vellios and even Karelis that can assume striker roles.

With regard to Manolas` injury, I'd be more concerned if K Pap was absent, but he is a solid stand-in. Just too bad we won`t see him in defensive mid, with Manolas and Sokratis at the back.

Guys, goalscoring statistics in football are not always to be taken at face value. Out of those 23 caps, how many were starts? How many were even more than 25 minutes? Fetfa got those minutes with a manager who had little faith in him and his playing style. Fetfa got 23 caps at a very young age. I would say 3/4 of his caps were late game subs. I remember one cap specifically was at the 90th minute. The minutes garnered by Lazaros, Kone, Maniatis and Tziolis are more often than not starting XI minutes. Fetfa`s goalscoring record is actually quite impressive, considering (1) he is not an all-out striker, (2) he was very inexperienced, (3) his manager had little faith in him, (4) he was playing in a defense first scheme, (5) he had little to work with in terms of quality attacking teamates, (6) he had low quality minutes.

Just want to re-post something from the Road to Russia thread because it is relevant to this thread: Greece seems to be afraid to press defenders and, once in the final third of the field, tend to rely on crosses from the wing or long-range attemps. That is too predictable and simply not good enough to beat a dynamic team like Bosnia. Greece gives up possession too easily with long balls, negative passing, long-range shots, and poor off-the-ball movement. Giving up the ball cheaply to a team like Bosnia, a pressing side that try to get into dangerous scoring positions with every possession, can spell disaster for Greece. Bosnia is comfortable dictating play and gain confidence with possession. Greece must keep the ball as much as possible in order to frustrate their opponents. If Skibbe isn`t talking about this in the room, then there is a major issue. Despite this, I still think we have a chance in this match, because our defensive players, both individually and as a unit, should be enough to make a game out of this. If we approach the match with courage, claim the ball, press their defenders and hunger for goals, all while remaining sound defensively, we will win; if we play scared, they will smell fear, taste blood, and massacre us.

You are right, their passing game is better and execution on point. Greece seems to be afraid to press defenders and, once in the final third of the field, tend to rely on crosses from the wing or long-range attemps. That is too predictable and simply not good enough to beat a dynamic team like Bosnia. Greece gives up possession too easily with long balls, negative passing, long-range shots, and poor off-the-ball movement. Giving up the ball cheaply to a team like Bosnia, a pressing side that try to get into dangerous scoring positions with every possession, can spell disaster for Greece. Bosnia is comfortable dictating play and gain confidence with possession. Greece must keep the ball as much as possible in order to frustrate their opponents. If Skibbe isn`t talking about this in the room, then there is a major issue. Despite this, I still think we have a chance in this match, because our defensive players, both individually and as a unit, should be enough to make a game out of this. If we approach the match with courage, claim the ball, press their defenders and hunger for goals, all while remaining sound defensively, we will win; if we play scared, they will smell fear, taste blood, and massacre us.

I wrote a post on the fetfa thread, that, to a certain extent, would apply to Ninis as well. I just don`t see how borderline NT-calibre players like Bakasetas get consistent top-end minutes, but in-form players like Ninis, playing in a statistically better league, who has already produced for Greece and also linked well with Mitroglou in the past, keep getting ignored. Besides, maybe, on a good day, Karelis, we have no one on the bench that can be pugged in to changed the offensive dynamic, if needed. Even if they do not come on and score or directly set up a goal, players like Fetfa and Ninis can change the tempo of the team and sometimes that`s all a formation needs to create chances; especially in the last quarter of the match, and especially this team, who has the tendency to retract. Both Ninis and Fetfa need to be called up sooner than later; hopefully for the Belarus and Bosnia matches next week.

Fetfa has never been put in an ideal situation succeed in the NT. His spot was never secure and he knew that one misplay, one bad half, could mean being subbed/benched/not called up. That`s a terrible feeling and will never get the best out of a player, let alone a young, undersized one that has to fight for every inch. All this despite moments of brilliance and the dynamism he would add to the generally stagnant flow of the NT. On the other hand, managers would stubbornly stick with players like Salpingidis, who, yes, had some great games for the NT, but was predictable and out of sync in too many others. If Fetfa was given the confidence to play his game, without the fear of being easily benched, he could have done great things for the national team and have been in a better a better situation club-wise as well. Waste of offensive flair and talent on a NT that has so little.

The Ranking system is very flawed. Some countries have an advantage because they play vs weaker opponents, different tournaments. Sometimes teams that miss out on a bg tournament hold a steadier ranking than those that do and lose a couple of games

As long as a team is consistently in the top 20, the NT program is a healthy one.

Embarassingly low. We are under Australia, but at least we finally surpassed Albania.

I agree with Nikitas assessment, a couple of lapses when distributing the ball. Other than that he was top class as expected.

If you rewatch the highlights to all those matches, yes Greece was fortunate that their oponents didn`t bury a number of good chances, but we missed our fair share of opportunities as well. Every team that goes all the way in a major tournament needs the ball to bounce their way.

I know there have been a few mixed reviews upon K Pap`s performance vs Estonia, but keep in mind that there were a lot of absentees, especially after the injuries and he was playing out of position. The NT is just on another level when he is on the field. He is fierce, confident and hungry, and that rubs off. I am so happy to see him healtly and playing. Skibbe knows him well and will be relying on him a lot. If fit, he will be one of the most important players of the generation for the NT.

He is a solid EPL player that has a place on this team. I would play him as a left mid/winger where the risk he poses as a defender is mitigated. He is actually one of the most effective attacking players we have and the NT has lost an important player if he stands by his word.

Jose just wants to stick it to Skibbe. He feels that he should get minutes, especially when two defenders went down early. Skibbe opted to put an inexperienced CB to play RB over playing Holebas. He plays in the EPL, he's effective and he is pissed; rightly so. It's a shame he took such a drastic decision. Here's hoping he changes his mind.

I am such a supporter of Tachtsidis, he has the build and the tools to be a rock for Greece for maybe the next 7-10 years, but, man oh man was he soft today.

Embarrassing that we can barely connect a pass against the likes of Estonia. No forward motion from this team, and in the rare moments where there is some, we either go for the long-range wonder goal attempt, or screw it up in some other fashion; zero effort to enter the Estonian box. Playing afraid.