Bananas

Pontos lives! Where ya been man ? Haven’t seen you on the forum in a while.

@paokarag4 chillax with replacing my beloved Crespo so soon! On a serious note, it’s hard to say until we see Ignason’s “style”. Crespo and Varela are complementary. They aren’t the same sort of player. I am just relieved we’ve got another option for CB. Let’s face it, if Varela or Crespo got injured for a long period, we’d be in trouble. I don’t believe Malezas has the quality anymore and I wouldn’t want to take a chance on Tosca. Ideally all 3 are rotated. I don’t see the sense in playing say Varela and Ignasson all the time and then having Crespo not match fit or his morale being low. It also opens up the option to play with 3 at the back. I know Lucescu isn’t a fan but I think there are times in Europe where you might need it. Anyway, this is the way it should be. Solid players all fighting for games and giving depth to the squad.

Agree about the referee controlling the game. That’s the thing, if a foreign makes a big mistake, the players just take it as such. If it’s a Greek referee, well we all know what happens ... the circus begins. As for Jaba, I definitely want him in the squad. His pace is scary and he has that potential to cut a team open, especially if they play a high line.

As everyone has observed, we would’ve had the chicken sh#t punks had Jaba not been sent off. Mantalos, tuff guy, bananes papara. First game where you could say the foreign referee was quite poor. Missed the penalty call against Shakhov and the second yellow on Jaba was really poor. Had this been a Greek referee, good lord, riots and conspiracies. The important thing is the mentality of the players. Had we lost, and lost badly, then it would’ve been bad going into Sunday’s game. As it is, even though we dropped points, the team didn’t take it as a loss. All things considered, a positive result.

Maybe he's Conceicao's love child ?

Good point on Branco pash ... when you say it like that. ? I kind of agree with Lucescu about not using true DM’s in Greece, but in Europe, you’ll get flogged without one, or sometimes against big teams, even two. Agree about Wernbloom being a lot more attacking than expected. Not that it’s a bad thing. Just wasn’t expected. As for the midfield permutations, yeah there are too many. We’ll have to see how Misic and Oliveira play over the next few months before we can eve guess.

I’m assuming the referee is from overseas ? That should help with players carrying on like imbeciles. At least now if we score a goal it won’t be disallowed 5 minutes later.

Basketball *blah* what an awful game.

Yeah man. Good move. Considering we got him as a 3rd backup keeper he’s worked out so well. Gonna be interesting what happens with the other GK’s on the squad. Rey was bought to be the first team keeper and he can’t be happy with the lack of playing time. Siananis looks like he wants out. And there is Gkykos who I guess is done after this season. Which is a shame. I remember when he collected his MVP and was emotional. That injury really ruined it for him just when he seemed to be finding his feet and really becoming a good solid keeper.

Agree Yiankos. Not sure how much Branco had to do with these signings. As for Varela he now needs to find a new team or accept much lower wages than what he was demanding. I don’t even know if our original offer of doubling his wage is on the table anymore. Ideally, the new Viking is of similar quality, or better, and we keep Varela also. Canas is a tricky one. I love the guy. He gives everything and just seems like a happy guy always smiling. But these days with the sort go budget we have and given his age, he’s very replaceable. When he first came to the team, he really helped a lot. People forget how awful our midfield was and Canas was a level above. But since then the team overall has gone up a level and these days he’s just a solid squad player. Ideally, we spend big on a DM because I believe it’s (a) the most important position on the ground and (b) Wernbloom hasn’t worked out. It’s the last piece in the puzzle for us.

So 4 nil then ?

They invented it so that Greek fans have proof of conspiracies. It keeps the kafeneia working which helps sustain the economy. In other countries, they forget about the offside after 5 minutes.

Forget about your dreams of Greek teams doing well in the CL. Maybe once a decade or so. The other teams in Europe are long gone and over the horizon. It’s virtually impossible to attract the level of players required to compete at that level. You should know this. There is a reason why we are 15th or so in coefficient ratings.

Not seeing what the big deal is with Oliveira. I suppose we'll see.

I think it's time to visit your shrink and get your prescription filled, because I have no idea what you're talking about accor6 etc. I never got involved in that talk in that era. That was between you green boys and the red boys. I reckon your memory is a bit fuzzy. As for the demise of Greek football, there is a simpler explanation. It's that Greek football has been left behind. It's not so much that we've gone backwards, it's that our level of professionalism is still stuck in the 90's. Other leagues have moved on, adapted, made a better product. Greece is still the same. Harassing referees, violence, crazy presidents etc. The Bosman rule came in and changed everything, everything, and Greece was sleeping. As for PAOK being the new sheriff, hey why the hell not. I don't see what the big deal is with PAOK actually having a president with a couple of dollars. Other clubs had it for years (or just failed to pay their debts). Is there some natural law that says it can't be so ?

If the people can't be trusted to make good decisions, why even have elections ? After all, they know not. But that isn't the point. The point is the government should be trying to explain and educate. No such thing happened with Tassos. Under the bus he went. The dynasties keep eating lobster. Greece is the land of dynastic families and nepotism. In Australia when the government proposes anything, and I mean anything, the first thing the people, the media, the opposition ask is "how will it be paid for". And it is heavily scrutinized. The government of the day has to try and prove how it will be paid for, or be ridiculed. Then again, Australia doesn't have dynastic political families. It has many ills, but that is not one of them. Hopefully the next generation of youth coming through are different from their parents and can think rationally. Otherwise, the country is screwed.

I don’t know if Shakhov has the legs to chase constantly for 90 minutes. He’s more adept at games where we control the ball. Now that I think about it I’m certain Lucescu will play Pelkas as the 10 but get him to drop back to create 3 in he middle at times. It will also be interesting to see how high a line AEK play. Seeing Jaba on the weekend you can see you can’t give this kid space. As for conspiracy theories, there can be only one. Flat Earth all the way man.

I am surprised that the team dropped off so badly with Pantelidis. I didn’t think he was THAT bad, but maybe I’m wrong. It’s almost like the players are not giving 100%. Not because they don’t like Pantelidis but because what happened with Herrera was not right. People forget that players are human beings and although they won’t say it in public (because they want to be paid and feed their families) they can’t just be “professional” and ignore what happened. At least that’s my take on it. I know if I was a player I would MUCH rather play in the Aris of Herrera that in this version. Having a president that is a moron doesn’t help. I am used to that also from the years of Batman and Goumenos etc. Maybe Pantelidis needs to clear out some of the squad and bring in some of “his” players. That is, assuming he’s even there next season which is unlikely in Greece.

I wonder if Herrera can be rehired ? Don’t laugh ha ha. Monaco have just done it with Jardim. They fired him 3 months ago and then rehired him. Crazy.

Yep, Occam says it’s for amplification.

Bye bye Kitsiou. I think that’s it for him. Although I’ve said that before I really think he’ll never play for PAOK again. There was a stage there a few years back he showed real promise but I think he’s hit his ceiling and frankly isn’t good enough for this squad. Good and interesting to see Henrique back. I love the guy, his trella and his ability to turn it on in big games. But for some reason Lucescu didn’t want him. No idea why. I assume he’s last in the pecking order and is only there just in case or my preference, as a super sub.

Misic in the middle with Mauricio ? Or maybe even El Khaddouri again as an 8.

Yes, respect. They have given us many beatings in Athens. Cup Final being the exception. This will be a very interesting game. We are playing better than expected post Prijovic. AEK (or it is AEX) have been much improved the last few games since going 3-5-2. Not sure what Lucescu will do about the midfield battle. I don’t see Canas being ready for this game so we have no kofti. If we play with two 8’s I can see AEK over running us in the midfield. Maybe Lucescu wants it that way and we play counter attacking with Akpom and Jaba using the space. I’m really not sure what the best approach is for this game. Let’s hear your theories boys.

Ha ha.

One thing is for sure, the will of the people both in Greece and Skopje was ignored. Democracy has its place but not here apparently. EU, US, NATO, Tsipras and some ministers are real happy. Ecstatic. Tsipras is set for life. Lots of good jobs coming his way after he loses the election. I’m sure there are many good paying jobs for lap dogs. Elites are elites at the end of the day. They know best. The rest of you stay in the dirt and mud and tend to the animals. What’s the difference between a fascist, liberal, communist, socialist etc. Just the level of physical violence. Other than that, they know best. As for if this is a good move or not, I can’t say. I don’t know enough about the dynamics of the situation. Greece will be fine ... Greece will die ... Greece will be invaded. I have heard it all. As for actual logical deduction it has been scant. Just shrill arguments lacking substance. One thing is for sure, the will of the people ... was brushed aside, shat on, spat on, belittled, ignored etc. I hate with a special passion the elites in Greece, the families and dynasties that have made Greece the corrupt weak nation it is today. And now Tsipras joins that very special group in my heart.