Bananas

I can't remember what I wrote. :)

The big winner could be Golden Dawn. It will be interesting to see how their vote is affected, given the Syrian refugee crisis.

Reaper, Who knows what the hell he was thinking. Maybe he got seduced with "success" stories in Canada. Maybe his wife nagged him into it. Maybe he got sold fairy tales by smugglers. Maybe he feared for his life. Maybe he was just an idiot. Either way, his greed/naivety/foolishness cost him his wife and children.

I agree, it is odd. Without knowing more about this, I'd guess that because they aren't citizens of Turkey, they aren't entitled to certain things and as a result, their lives are in limbo ? Dunno, just guessing. I'm fairly confident Turkey doesn't want them. I don't think it's a hate issue, it's just a financial issue. Trying to care for and integrate a few million people is no simple task. It's probably easier to just make their lives complicated enough that they want to leave. Add to that the sales pitch I'm sure they receive from the smugglers about how great Europe is and there you have your suckers. I don't think anyone would deliberately endanger there family that way. They are, for lack of a better word, foolish.

Because they aren't really countries as such. A lot of these "countries" were created in recent history, and have mixed together groups of people that have similarities but are different. A lot of these groups hate each other and given the chance (which is now) will try to kill each other. In Syria alone you have ISIS who want to form a caliphate. You have the Alawite's who are nut jobs as well, which is what Assad is. You have the Kurds. You have Hezbollah nearby. And given half these groups will kill each other. Either out of revenge, to further consolidate their power or just pure hatred. If we wait for a solution in Syria without intervention, it's not going to happen. Right now, the most likely outcome is that ISIS will keep expanding their territory and influence but I can see at some point soon, the US/UN/EU will have to intervene. But how ? They can't back Hezbollah, since they have openly declared they want to destroy Israel. They don't want to back Assad. And although they'd probably like to back the Kurds, Turkey will get their back up. As I said, it's not simple.

**************** DELETED ... If someone from outside of this forum came across this thread, they'd be horrified at the things you write. Maybe you don't care, but you should. You should think a bit more before you post the things you do. This is a serious topic/issue. I don't claim to be an expert in any of this, but I try to keep the conversation moving, asking questions, stating opinions etc. You just post (what seems to me) hate filled cliches. Now I'm not advocating at all, that Greece should allow a massive influx of refugees. We don't really have the resources, and besides this isn't Greece's burden alone. Greece should merely try to do its fair share, to the best of its ability. The truth is, if Greece hadn't let the refugees cross the border to Skopje, the EU couldn't give two hoots about what is happening. Now that it is directly affecting multiple countries, maybe something could happen, but I don't remain optimistic. The ideal solution ? Peace in Syria, so they can return to their homes, but I don't see this happening. As for your claim of let them drown, let me pose a hypothetical. You are in a boat, and that little kid is drowning beside the boat. All you have to do is put your hand out and pluck him out of the water, or you can just watch him drown. They are the two choices. What do you do ? If you say, I let him drown, well, that is nothing more than pure evil. If you say, I'll stop him from drowning, well now you've just nullified and contradicted your earlier post. It's time to grow up and think before you post.

Gyros, I can only conclude, based on the things you write, and the way and manner in which you write them, that it is in fact your soul that is filthy.

We need a manager that can work with the players he has. It's not like club football where you can buy the players you need. Trying to force them team to play the gritty style of the last 10 years won't work with the players we have. It's time to think outside the box.

Agree aek66. One DM should be enough. Unless you're playing a power house side or trying to defend a lead.

Very common issue Val. Fact is a lot of "kids" can't make the jump, or they need a while to get used to the difference. Club football is different today and clubs aren't going to be patient. The best thing is to loan them out. There is no substitute for 1st team football.

He could be another "super signing" like Pelkas. And to think 6 months ago we would've gladly sold Pelkas for a small fee ...

How good are these PAOK TV videos!

This is exactly what the UN was created for. To stop situations like this. But in truth, it is a weak organisation that has mostly been used by the 5 nations that have veto power, to further their own ends. I don't think a lot of people realise the situation in Syria. It's Muslims vs Muslims. Shia vs Sunni. Hezbollah vs Isis vs Kurds. It's a mess. Why are they trying to kill each other ? Why is there so much hatred over religious issues ? As long as religion is a driving force for a nation, you will always have the potential for this. And it's not going to stop without some sort of outside intervention. If you just leave it to play out, things will continue as they are only worse. The UN/EU either have to get in there with troops, or pick a side and arm them to the teeth to end this. The EU should have been more pro-active from a few years ago. The situation in Syria is close to them, but they chose to bury their heads in the sand thinking it'll all be fine and it won't affect them. And now that it has, their best solution is knee jerk reactions. Let the country where the refugees land deal with it. Yep, no problem with that. Call me cynical, but now that Greece, Skopje and Serbia allowed the refugees to get closer to Germany, all of a sudden Hungary gets "hard core" with the refugees. More like as Germany saw they were getting closer, Germany either put the hard word or offered "incentives" to Hungary. That's their best solution so far. Cool, good luck with that. I will agree on one point that many posters bring up, and that is why don't the Syrian refugees stay in Turkey ? I find it odd that they wouldn't prefer to stay there. It's not like Turkey is a 3rd world economy. They would be safe, which should be their key concern, and there is a religious and "cultural" similarity between them. Sure, Germany is a better option, but do they really think they'll get there easily ? I wonder what role Turkey is playing in this. To other posters that say "just let them drown". It's easy to say that, and then you see the images of little Aylun Kurdi, and you think, what have we become ? We have to be better than that.

Without Savvidis, we would've been in serious trouble. He's exceeded my expectations, and by a margin.

Maybe this is a kind of compensation for having the AEK game rescheduled. ;) The atmosphere looked GREAT!

It's a shame. I would like to have them back in the GSL as soon as possible. They are in a mess financially. Is there any hope or light at the end of the tunnel for them ?

Agree with you Pontos. At the beginning of the transfer period, he didn't seem ideal. Too many things going against him, but right now, I'd be willing to give him a shot. Having said that, he wouldn't be eligible to play in the EL Group Stages.

Post of the year.

Now that is kazoura! Not the crap we used to get on the gs site.

Care to alter your predictions now that Berbatov has been signed ? Ok, I'm gloating .... ;)

I really don't know where all this talk of someone other than Olympiakos winning the title is coming from. I can't see anyone even getting close. Not PAO, not AEK, not PAOK. Let's see what happens. It would be a breath of fresh air to have a different champion, that's for sure.

In terms of financial management, Savvidis has done a very good job. Paid off the tax debt of 11 million, and players have been paid on time for 3 years. As a PAOK fan I am not used to this. That's how much of a kafeneio club was in the past. The days of us being forced to sell players [yes, I'm looking at you PAO fans ;)] or letting players leave the club because we couldn't afford their wages are hopefully behind us. Every year it was the same old story. Savvidis has also stated he has plans to create a new state of the art training ground but I'll believe it when I see it. What he has done thus far alone means he is the best owner we've ever had. In terms of the squad, you could argue we've gone backwards but I think that's incorrect. It's just been a learning curve for him and I think he's finally realised it's going to take time. We were always a 2nd to 5th club in terms of the table, and still are. Granted, we have missed an opportunity to move ahead of PAO and AEK by a margin, but that was due to short term thinking. Savvidis thought if he signed an "international" manager (Huub) and a few "big" players (Stoch) then we'd get the CL cash cow. If only it were that easy. Having said that, I think with Arnesen at the helm we are finally trying to do things correctly and build a team.

Yeah, I copped a bout of Boston Thanatositis as well. What can you do ? If you're a PAOK fan, your first natural impulse is to be cynical. Having said that, I am impressed that we even managed to sign him and more importantly got him into the squad for the EL Group Stages. I'm just not used to PAOK being organised and professional. As for Berbatov, assuming he stays injury free, I can only see mostly positives. You could argue that the money spent on his salary could've been spent on other prospects, and you'd have a point. However, he will increase revenue via merchandise sales and increased attendance at Toumba and the GSL in general. I know I'd love to see him in person. He's one of the few footballers who's got that old school 80's style about him, when the game was more about skill that physicality. In truth, his skill and composure is outrageous. He'll also be a good influence on someone like Pelkas who's game is based around skill.

Are we certain Arnesen was side stepped ? If so, well, that's not a good precedent.

Not sure how to add Berbatov as an option. Is there a way ? Then again, it's probably better he's not in the list since everyone would just pick him. I hereby dub this thread "Who will be our best transfer this season (excluding Berbatov) ?"