Bananas

But ... but ... Australia does not exist.

Thanks Blackhawk. It would be nice if at some point a testimonial/charity match is organised. If anyone deserves it, it's Salpi.

Talk about unlucky. I am expecting good things from this player.

We don't really know what's going on behind the scenes, but this decision seems both stupid and disrespectful. Maybe Salpi pushed for it because he wanted to be a starter, I don't really know. I get that Salpi is past his best, but is PAOK overflowing strikers ? We have one striker, Klaus, and he hasn't been in form for 6 months. Other than that, there is no one. So what would it hurt to have Salpi in the squad as a backup option off the bench ? And you'd think that considering the loyalty he's had to the club, they could have the decency to axe him at the beginning of the season. There is barely a week left until the transfer season ends. Timing seems poor.

Sounds like the team was snoozing, apart from Jairo.

I'm liking the 3-5-2. Having 3 at the back is making up for the fact that our defense has been shaky for a long time. There will be times when it's not necessary or we don't have the personnel, but for now, I'm happy to have it as our "default" formation.

Definitely. As for the new guys, not sure who is eligible to play, but whoever is, should play.

Realistically, assuming you deliberately don't field weak teams on purpose to rest the players for the league, I would expect PAO doesn't lose every match. For each win it's 200K, each draw 100K. If you win the group, another 400K, runner up 200K. Adding all of the prize money up together with TV and stadium revenue for the matches, and you could be looking at 3M to 4M easy. For a club that isn't flush with cash, that's a significant amount. I agree what you want is the CL money, but realistically, how on earth are PAOK, PAO or AEK going to win the title ? I just don't see it happening, although it would be nice to see a different team win the title for the first time in 187,000 years. So, it's a case of, take the EL semi-seriously and get 3M or 4M, or take the gamble, and maybe if all the stars align (and there are lots of stars that need to align) you get the CL spot. It's a big gamble. I get that if PAO were in serious title contention, might rest players vs the EL, but I don't buy not taking this qualification game seriously. It's as simple as "here is a team that is inferior to you, if you beat them, I'll give you 2.5M Euros". Who wouldn't take up that offer ?

What's that avatar Tantra ?

From a financial perspective, getting into the EL Group Stages is not negotiable. It must happen. Just getting there gets you 1.3M Euros. TV Revenue plus a sold out stadium for 3 home games and you're looking at even more. Even if you lose every game in the EL Group Stage, you have to get there.

I have to agree with you athinaios. To be fair, I don't think Tsipras or anyone else predicted how nasty the EU/ECB reaction would be. When the ECB cut off funding for Greek banks, well, that is a day to remember. The nastiness with which the new terms were forced on Greece has also been a revelation. If anything positive has come out of this, it's the fact that the EU doesn't look like the good guy anymore. They got nasty, and there was no way they could make themselves look like the good guys, no matter how hard they tried. The Euro is still around for the moment, but what the EU/ECB did to Greece only helped create more opposition against the Euro "project". Everybody now knows who really runs the show. Everybody now knows the EU isn't for the benefit of all. Everybody now knows that it is not a democratic institution. Opposition against the Euro/EU/ECB is growing albeit slowly. I don't see this trend reversing. And all of the above has in it's own way, been constructive. Would a Samaras government have done the same ?

To be fair, I didn't rate Konstantinidis at all last season. I didn't think the kid was anywhere good enough. Well, so far this season he's given me the big f--k you. He's doing really well. All of the above players with the exception of Koulouris are solid first team players. It's great to see.

After what Mak did to Brondby, do we need Toivonen or Stoch ? Honestly, if I had to have one of Mak or Stoch in the squad, it's Mak everytime for me.

This is where someone like Mak can be very useful. You put him up front next to the last man, and it "should" force the opposition to play deeper. The only way to counter this is to have a very fast defender or play a deeper line. And just like that *poof*, space in the middle.

I think it was a little of both. Mak was inspired today which helped. The critical difference is Tudor, as well as the fact that we look to have some depth in the squad. The players know that if their level drops, their is someone ready to slot right in, and Tudor won't hesitate to drop a player. I'm just guessing of course but that's how I see it. We will get a better idea as the season rolls on as to Tudor's competency. We also started brightly last season and for a time there Anastasiadis looked like a tactical genius. Having said that, I'm feeling optimistic about the new PAOK project.

Impressive result. All of the goals were very good. The build up play on the first and the steal by Mak on the second, excellent. I actually think Mak can play in the CF position if the opposition are playing a high line. The 4th and 5th goals I don't think any other player on the squad would have scored them. At least I can't think of anyone that would have. His ability to run with the ball with pace is very very good. With both those goals he essentially took the ball from close to the half way line. I think his market value just doubled overnight. ;) Pelkas has been a revelation. The good thing is Tudor won't let him slack him off. Just keep getting better Pelkas! For f***s sake, extend Kace's contract already! The GSL will be a different story as most teams won't play with such a high line, so I don't see Mak in the CF role on a regular basis, but I think he's shown enough to give us confidence he can play the position if required. Will be interesting to see how the other new signings will fit into the squad. With the exception of Leovac, I don't think any of them are guaranteed starters just yet.

Boston Thanatos, you found the old avatar. The world makes sense again ...

So true. Somehow, someway Greek governments find a way to screw their own people. Burn the lot of them I say.

I liked the good old days when you could only have 3 foreigners in your squad. Maybe 3 is a bit low, but it's all moot anyway. It's not like those days are coming back. What was good about those days was that you could measure the level so to speak, of each country. The Serie A was an exception since they generally bought the most expensive players. Now you play a team in the EPL and 10 out of 11 players aren't even English. Yay, we beat an English team! Um, no you didn't.

That's why I'm encouraged by Arnesen's emphasis on player attitude. Hopefully the team starts developing a mentality that isn't so defeatist.

I think the truth is, our defense has been shaky for a while. I had faith in Vitor but I don't think he's at the level required. Costa, we'll see. Malezas will help but if we come up against a team with a dangerous attack, we struggle. That's why I believe Tudor is experimenting with 3 at the back.

So true. I never expected it from him. It's not like he wasn't an integral part of the team. This kind of came out of nowhere. Having him and Lucas would have been great this season. Is the situation with Pereyra beyond reconciliation ?

The Veroia goal was bad, but that's the only really bad error I've seen him make. The penalty against him was farcical. Granted, he gave the referee rope with which to hang him. I won't make a judgement on him just yet. Having said that, I am a little concerned. I expected a little better. All of the signings so far, with the exception of Malezas are all young. I can only reason that Arnesen thought Olsen > Itandje based purely on age. And Arnesen also wants players with a good attitude so that also could have led to Itandje being shown the exit door.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Mak playing up front. His pace and dribbling will force Brondby to play a deep line. If only his finishing was a little more clinical.

Boston Thanatos, welcome back rimali. Yes, you've been missed and it's AWESOME you're back. What's with the new avatar ? I do miss the old one. ;) As for the old gs website, $50,000! That is an impressive number. I wonder if the owner would take alternate currencies or some sort of barter in lieu of dollars. 50,000 patates maybe ?