Bananas

Tziolis is not so bad, and he has picked up his game. I do hope that Cimirot and Antonis can offer more though. Cimirot especially.

Very encouraging signs from this game. I even have some hope now for WC qualifying. The lineup was something I didn't expect. Could it be that Tsanas actually knows the game ? Or did he play the "reserves" to teach the "best" 11 a lesson. The irony. Tachs was superb. Until we get the DM/CM roles sorted, this team will never progress. As others have pointed out, hopefully this display along with Samaris wasn't a one off. I wonder if having more attacking options allowed Tachs to play his natural game, or whether he just had a really good batch of fasoulada. He was just out of control. Pelkas, Fourtounis, Mandalos great to see. Go for it, damn it. These kids will only get better.

Everything is all right guys. We scored a goal.

Clubs complaining about their players not being selected, should be told ... respectfully ... to f--k off. PAOK demanding Tzavellas be in the NT is farcical.

Ranieri was always a dud. He's never been conservative ... which is fine, but he'll never make a good NT coach. NT football is conservative by its very nature. You don't have 30 rounds to catch up if you have a bad run of form.

I can't see any reason for Fortounis to not be on the field. My suspicion is that Tsanas was "instructed" to not play him. After all, what's the point, the campaign is over. Nothing else makes sense. Why wouldn't you play your best player ??

You can claim to be the best tactician, but when you go and sign Balotelli ... well ... the emperor has no clothes.

Bring cash, they don't accept credit cards. Ha ha.

And when they are done and the real games start again for the WC, the "big boys" can give the young ones a tender gentle pat on the head. Thanks chaps, now let the real men play.... I'd do the opposite, invite the patates that played like crap to keep playing, and then put in the young ones for the WC.

It was the first press conference where his comments felt a bit off. Quality difference ? Yes, we know that banana. That's why we're trying to build a new young team with a strong core. I also have never liked the approach of naming players. I just don't think it's professional. Just say I am unhappy with certain players due to fatigue or whatever, and I will be making changes accordingly. He was implying that to get the job done he needs $10M dollar signings. If we were buying $10M players, you wouldn't be the manager. In terms of the statistics, we did ok. We were able to possess the ball (for a change) and create some decent chances. The thing is though, we didn't push Olympiakos so we don't know what they're capable of. I'm not upset by the loss. I prefer reality to delusion. If we had somehow won this game, the same old vlakies and visions of grandeur would have started. Oly as you said are a class above, and we lose to PAS Giannina 3-1 every once in a while. Fix those vlakies first, build a strong core of players, then worry about maybe competing with Olympiakos.

You are taking it personally. He meant Tudor. Does anyone have Tudor's contact details so that we can get the two of them in touch ? With their brains combined, what power in the universe can stop us ?

Yes pash, listen to the football brains trust.

Tziolis is on fire (by his standards) for PAOK. He's actually scored a goal, won a penalty and provided a couple of assists. I know, I was in shock too when he scored the goal.

Some observations. If you had asked Savvidis, Arnesen, Tudor or the fans before the game, if a draw is a good result, everyone would have said yes. So in terms of the result the game was a success. It is fair to say Dortmund are in the top 3 or 4 contenders for the competition, at least until the CL teams get involved in the knock out stages. Even then, based on what I saw, they'll be up there. In terms of the game itself, I was a little disappointed. But, I think my expectations were unrealistic. I wanted PAOK to "play" ball ie. have possession and go toe to toe with Dortmund. After watching the game, I think my expectations were foolish. Even Dortmund's "second string" players are a class above. Each player for Dortmund traps, passes and moves 10% quicker than the PAOK player, but all this combined meant we couldn't get and hold the ball. Still, I'm happy we played them, so that the players and the club realise what is involved in playing the big teams. I still think we played a little too deep though. This meant that Dortmund were always lurking around the penalty box. This is too dangerous for my liking. On another day, if everything clicked for them, they could be hitting 3 or 4 goals and this is the risk you take playing so deep. Tudor has every right to disagree though ... ;) Mak's goal was not luck. Dortmund I assume did their homework on him. They would've seen the goals he scored vs Brondby. They know he has pace. If Dortmund want to "roll the dice" and play a high line, then I'm fine with that. Cop a goal. They are probably fine with that too, because they are confident they can outscore the opposition. But either way, it wasn't luck. If that goal was a through ball from Iniesta to Messi, we'd all be like "ooh Barcelona" but if it's PAOK, it's lucky ? It's just a good play. Olsen ... buddy. I'm going to go against the grain here and say I think he did well. Sure the goal was his fault, but I've seen so many goals go in like that. Dozens. Hundreds. It happens. It's a split second call. Do you track the man or the ball ? The ball say the experts. In that case, why do I see these sorts of goals all the time, at the top level ? It happens. Glykos wouldn't have copped that goal! Sure, maybe not. He would have copped 3 goals instead. Overall, I think Olsen had a good game. Guys, I've said it before. Wake up. The GK you want doesn't exist. We can't go out and buy a GK of the class you want. It's not even a money issue. We can buy him. But a GK that good won't come to PAOK. We have to "make" a GK. Olsen is 25, good age. Let's see how he goes. If he doesn't work out ... he doesn't work out. We'll try again, but I'd have him over Glykos or Itandje.

Only saw the 2nd half, but based on what I saw, we would have to play Dortmund 10 times to have a chance of beating them. We are not in the same ... league.

Getting tired of this. Maybe a one year ban would teach those fans in G4 ? Yep, don't think so.

You forgot Tziolis.

Good result. More points for Greece too. Disappointed we couldn't hold the ball. Dortmund had us pegged in our half. They are a seriously good team.

Only been watching the 2nd half. Were we playing this deep in the 1st half ?

Is Tsanas part of a royal blood line and I haven't heard about it ? What's so special about this guy ?

Evidence ? Or maybe it was destroyed by the Illuminati. ;)

Stupid question ... Why does EPO want a say in who gets picked for the team ? Who specifically gains, and what do they gain ?

Maybe he can sing you a song to cheer you up. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Makes sense I suppose. They are 99.99% to go through in this group, where as if the gap between them and Bayern gets too big, it could be difficult to catch Bayern. It's a shame in a sense since we won't be playing them at full strength, but then again any advantage to gain some points could prove crucial. I hope we smack them.

Berbatov is not a kolo paido. Ronaldinho is coming. But first he has to visit some bourdela and bouzoukia. Maybe he can do a duet on the beach with Essien.