Bananas

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Have to agree Yiankos. It's amateur hour and something you expect at the local village, not a team that aspires to be in the "top 20" teams in Europe as Savvidis stated.

PAOK specialises in signing pensioners.

I've been watching him through out the year and he's just been getting better and better. The first half of the season the injuries just killed him and he couldn't string games together. From the new year onwards he's been playing and doing well. He's been playing for the most part as a number 10 just behind the striker which seems to suit him. If we can get him back to PAOK and playing at a similar standard it would be great.

Entaxi, no toys but no German boot stuck permanently in our back side either. Irlandos has hit the nail on the head. We need our own currency back. If the EU was run properly ie. as a union for the benefit of all countries, then maybe it could work, but the way it's run is just plain wrong. Not flexible enough and as long as the core is all right, to hell with the rest.

Podemos made significant gains in local elections in Spain. Could Syriza have another radical left wing party that they could par-tay with ? Merkel, Schauble and Co. must be wondering how they can be so right and everyone else is so so wrong.

Very good article. A bit long but well worth the read. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/magazine/a-finance-minister-fit-for-a-greek-tragedy.html?_r=0

Nothing to worry about. Just put a bet on us conceding at least one stupid goal. It's a sure bet ;)

Yes and no gyros. "They" are to blame but who are "they" ? You can say the same thing about the US and their housing bubble. Sometimes a problem or situation gets so out of hand that no one person can tackle it. Here in "rich" Australia they had a mining boom and the government spent like crazy. They knew that revenue wouldn't be indefinite, but they locked in spending programs that "assumed" they would. You know, it makes voters happy. Now that revenue is down Australia has a deficit of roughly 50 billion and at best won't balance the budget for 5 to 10 years. The current government tried to do something about it, but they did it in a half assed way and their popularity sunk, so now they have backed down and aren't tackling the problem. Reminiscent of Greece ? Everyone knows there is a problem. Revenue won't go up because the current government is generally anti-tax increases, and spending won't go down because they don't want to lose the next election. Reminiscent of Greece ? You say it won't be pretty. I tell you it already isn't pretty, but at least they can make a nice Gyros ;)

Have to agree. If they were so unhappy with him, why did they start him in 30+ games ? I suppose they thought this season was a write-off and that "he'll do" for now with the intent of rebuilding next season. Either way, Stafylidis got a lot of games under his belt in a competitive and physical league so for him in terms of his development it was a good season.

Gyros, we almost already are the North Korea of Europe. 25% reduction in GDP thanks to the EU's policies/medicine is not exactly an economic miracle. They helped organise and gave us the 1st bailout deal. Didn't work. Then a 2nd, which also hasn't worked. Give it time and there will be talk of a 3rd deal, although I suspect the EU is hanging on in the hope of a change of government so that they have someone more malleable to deal with. Ultimately, they want what they want and don't care how they get it. If you want a Greek government that just does exactly what the EU says, then why even have governments anymore ... which incidentally the EU would love. The EU is not interested and does not care if Greece has unemployment of 99% as long as they get their money. Which is all well and good, except the EU has become this schizophrenic entity. The entire purpose and reason for the existence of the EU was to unify Europe. Instead, their policies since 2008 are doing the opposite. They are not playing the game for the benefit of Europe but generally for the benefit of the financial elite. And now, that Greece is pushing back and saying there needs to be a better way, they get all pissy. I can understand their point of view, why should they listen to a people who are fat, lazy and lying thieves ? The audacity! And yes, that is how a lot of the shallow media portrays Greece. The EU is becoming a tyrant, and you can see the results all over Europe. As to what the best strategy is to get the best possible deal for Greece, I actually think Greece is doing the best thing. The end game hasn't been decided yet. Our options are comply and face at least 20+ years of the same or worse than now, or fight back. I'd rather die standing up than on my knees.

The problem Original 21, is that you're being logical, and PAOK doesn't work like that. We like to do things backwards ;) Let's see what happens. If our selection of a TD is as successful as what we have been at picking managers, lord help us.

Fine, so we pay back the IMF the $2 billion. We just don't have to pay back the other $300 or so billion to the other creditors ;)

Greece got away with this payment and they just managed it. The repayment schedule however in the upcoming months is eye watering. There is zero chance of making the payments without additional liquidity from the EU. I can see a 3rd bailout agreement as a distinct possibility. It will mean the EU won't have to worry about Greece for a couple of years and they get to kick the can down the road once again. I did like Varoufakis statement that he wished we never entered into using the Euro although he did also say that trying to exit would be catastrophic. Having said that, catastrophic for whom ? The Greek people ? They don't have much to lose anyway and are emptying their bank accounts anyway. I still believe that going back to our own currency is the only real long term structural solution but Germany and the EU would go into hyper drive mode to make life as difficult as possible for Greece. That is the really scary reality in my eyes. If Greece left the Euro and managed to succeed it would be bad news for the EU and they certainty don't want that.

Greece needs an investment fund that allows for the diaspora to invest in Greece. The fund would work like any other normal investment tool. You put your money in, and as a shareholder, expect a fair and reasonable return. The fund would be used to help get Greece back off it's knees. Naturally, it couldn't be run by anyone in Greece. I think I forgot to take my pills. Ignore the above.

gyros, I must admit I'm not sure if Tsipras and Co. know what they are doing or not. It all depends on what he wants to achieve. If what he wants is better terms for Greece but to still stay in the EU, then I believe his tactics are correct. Now, he might be doing this because he genuinely cares for the country, or because he's made the promise to the people and can't back down now or he'd look like an idiot and get smashed in the next election. I can only speculate as to his motivation ... So, let's say his goal is to get better terms. There is no way in hell the EU wants to relax the terms. There are a number of reasons for this. - It sets a really bad precedent for other nations. If Greece can renegotiate, why can't they. - It will make them look foolish and weak to "serious" people. The EU has been telling the world that they know what they are doing, they are responsible, Greece is reckless, lazy etc. for 5 years now. To suddenly do a u-turn and admit they are wrong, well ... that ain't going to happen easily. - It will make them look foolish to their electorate. They've sold the aforementioned views to their public as well, and most of them leading busy lives only have a short time to analyze a situation in another country, have come to the conclusion that Greece is at fault etc. - It will hurt their pride. Admitting that the EU project has failed a country, is something some of the technocrats in the EU could ever admit. You are talking about people here who consider the EU in almost religious terms. So, what do we have ? We have determined the EU will not relax the terms willingly. If they do relax the terms, they would need to do so in a way that still makes them look good, but in order to get this, Tsipras has to force the situation. So a lot of people will be thinking, "but the EU could kick Greece out". That is a small possibility. But I just don't think it's going to happen. Although it will make the EU look good to their electorate, in economic terms (and economics always play a massive role), it's a huge f**king gamble. At a minimum, the creditors can kiss their billions good bye. Bye bye German and French pension funds. The ECB better start printing money to stabilise the banks etc. It could get crazy messy or it could go fairly smooth. The value of the Euro would in time go up, since their economy is "stronger" now that they got rid of a weak link, and they would have lost a small export market in Greece. If the EU could look into a crystal ball and confirm that it wouldn't be any worse than that, then they would probably kick Greece out. But here's the thing. You can't know that! What if after 5 or 7 or 10 years Greece lands on its feet ok ? What if at that stage, Portugal or Italy or France see this and think, maybe we should do the same ? Of course their governments won't want to, but their people will put the pressure on to leave the EU. Look how well Greece is doing now they would say! So, back to my point. As much as the EU postures about kicking Greece out or not giving them funds, I think it's an empty threat. I think Tsipras knows this and therefore in purely business/strategic terms, he's playing a tricky game, but one where he could get a good result. Gotta get me some popcorn and watch the show.

It's not that they don't want to fix it, it's that they don't even realise it's there. To a lot of Greeks, this is normal. How could it be otherwise ? Of course you help your own. This is fine on a small business level, but when it comes to big business, corporations or government level, it causes massive problems, as we have seen in Greece.

My father's village isn't far from there. He's from Askos near Sochos. You're correct though about Greeks being somewhat xenophobic. Having foreigners in a country, as long as it's done right, can be a really good thing.

The problem as always is finding out the truth. If the mine is causing actual serious pollution, then it should be shut down. Maybe the mine could be run but with different techniques that cause less pollution ? Either way, without actual facts it's difficult to tell.

Greece is the land of nepotism, as opposed to the land of meritocracy. It's almost built into the Greek psyche. Fix that, and many things will be fixed, but that is something that will take decades to fix, if ever.

Gotta admit, I'm surprised. None of the debt was his and morally he could never have paid it back and I wouldn't hold it against him. As others suggested, it does mean he's in for the long term, which is a great thing compared to the crooks we had before! Maybe it was a tactical move from him. The debt in theory was never ever going to go away, so paying the $11M compared to the original $30M (or whatever the amount was) was probably the best deal he was ever going to get. I suppose it means the issue is buried now and any future government doesn't have something with which to hold the club to ransom. Does this mean we are entire debt free ? Nothing else outstanding ? What is this never ending talk about needing a new training ground ? Is our current one so bad ?

This was a bad day for Greek Soccer. It should never have been allowed to happen. P.S. Party at my house next time a penalty is awarded against Olympiakos. :D :D

A couple more like him and all of a sudden you have a real midfield.

How about we wait and see. It's not as if ND will allow for growth and investment. They will just pillage.

Intelligent they may be, but the likes of Papandreou and Karamanlis are "entitled". Or at least they feel they are. In what other country do we have control being passed down from father to son ? Sure it happens sometimes, but in Greece nepotism is an art form. Tsipras, as much as I disagree with a quite a few of his political beliefs, is a breath of fresh air. At least for now ....