Bananas

Agree with a lot of what you're saying @AchillesHeel. The analogy of WWF made me laugh. I will say though I don't agree about keeping people divided to maintain control. Just too conspiratorial for my liking. Maybe I'm naive. I just think the simpler explanation is that the system of government is so huge that to make meaningful changes takes a long time. Add to that the fact that there is little urgency by the people that actually have the power to change things and you have a system that is sclerotic. This doesn't just apply to the U.S. but to many many countries around the world. This weird situation where having a choice of two parties (party A kicks you in the head, party B kicks you in the guts, now make your choice!) who are intensely lobbied by corporations and big money has become the new normal. But don't worry, there's a money trickling into your pocket from ... somewhere. The biggest issues really (not that they're talked about enough) is income inequality and automation of jobs. Automation isn't a problem just yet but give it a decade or two. Although that really ties into the main issue of income inequality. How do you fix it ? The people in power that can change it have no incentive to (unless forced). And to be fair, I don't think they really know how to "fix" things. Any talk of fixing income inequality is screamed down with words like "socialist" and that's pretty much the end of the discussion at that point. Sad state of affairs really. There will come a day, maybe in our life time, maybe a little further along, but either way at some point in say the next 50-100 years where I would guess 80% of jobs (and that's being conservative) will be automated. And at that point, the shizen will really hit the fan because at that point when you have 80% of the population earning nothing, it's not just them who will be struggling but the entire system of economics collapses. It'll make the Great Depression look like a small event in comparison. Time to bring in a universal basic income ? GTFO you commie bastard!

It's better than nothing I suppose. I can only hope it's sincere. The danger of the fans doing something stupid worries me more than losing the game. Yeah call me paranoid. But even if we lose we would be only 1 point behind AEK. If I was Marinakis, I'd be BEGGING for the fans to do something stupid and doing everything possible to incite trouble. But back to the game itself. You are right that the AEK game is now more important. Who would've thought a month ago that this wouldn't be the most important game of the season. Still, it's a close 2nd. It will be interesting. Olympiakos hardly played at all in the 1st round in Athens. A half chance and a scrappy goal and then they defended for their lives. All in all, based on form if you were a neutral fan you'd be penning this one down as a victory for us. We are in solid form and haven't dropped a point at home. Olympiakos are all over the place. But derbies are derbies and anything can happen on the day. The only player of theirs that kind of worries me is Mirallas and that's only because of what he was capable of years ago. Right now he's a shadow of his former self, but big players rise to the occasion and our full backs like to attack so maybe he'll exploit the space. Ansirfarad has a certain quality about him also. The rest I'm not concerned about. A draw would be an acceptable result and I think overall Lucescu would take a draw. But a win, and a convincing one at that would be so much better. All the better to scare the pants off of AEK.

@Dutch Eagle that guy can whistle!

I'm not sure why you're disappointed. Because I'm not a fan of Hillary ? She did two things that left a bad smell. The first was how she dealt with Bernie. And the second was her use of a private email address. The private email debacle in particular left me flabbergasted. What, I mean WHAT was she thinking ? That's why I said "Her last name is Clinton after all". I can't really say for certain but I suspect a lesser being would've been in a lot more trouble. I could be wrong. Who knows. Maybe it isn't a big deal. Does not liking Hillary make a person right wing ? Then I'm right wing. And what are you if you don't like Trump ? Left wing. I'm that too. And what are you if you didn't like Bush. I'm that as well. The only president who was actually a proper president in the last 20 or so years was Obama. All the rest for the tip. Bill was kind of all right. Any man that can say "I did not have sexual relations" with such a straight face, he gets points from me. I think in the end even Bill was surprised how little people cared. What's the big deal ? All right I'm being facetious. I know it's a big deal. But this is the world we live in now. It's how it is and it's here to stay. The internet is a game changer. Before you had only the mass media whereas now anyone can post whatever they want. It's harder to suppress lies now but ironically it's easier to make them up. The problem is that the amount of lies and disinformation has grown exponentially and I don't see it abating. We are, for the moment anyway, in this state of flux where no one is sure what to do about it. China has their ideas (suppress everything!) but I don't see that working outside of China. As for the idea of just "fixing" the internet so hacking doesn't happen. That is a very long discussion for another day.

Hacking voter systems is one thing and leaking information about HRC is another. As someone who didn't really follow the election my very limited understanding of it is that the Ruskis leaked information about HRC using a private email address. Which she knows she shouldn't have but did anyway. Her last name is Clinton after all. Or was there more to it. The fact that TRUE information is leaked is not that disturbing to me. What is disturbing is if information is completely false. Again, my limited knowledge of the election is based on sound bites and headlines. I did follow the thread here on phantis briefly but it resorted to chest beating and I lost interest in the thread. If voter system were hacked that is most disturbing of all. It depends on the type of hack. Was it due to poor security practices which is very worrying. Or was a "back door" left deliberately open (wink wink) in which case we're talking criminal behaviour. Possibly even treason depending on your point of view.

@DunfermlineAthleticPAOK what a story! Welcome, and hope you have a great time in Toumba this Sunday. You picked a great game to go. I'm sure it will be memorable.

Agree with pash, I think Lamia will stay in A' Ethniki. They definitely deserve it.

Is it ever noted or discussed in the media that these sort of mass shootings only happen in the U.S. ? Maybe they're so insular that they don't even look at it from that angle ? The 2nd amendment argument is obviously bogus but has been twisted and abused beyond all recognition. If it's going to be like that, then people should have the right to their own bazookas, tanks, jet fighters, hell even a "nucelar" (thanks GWB) bomb. I mean if the government has those weapons, the people need them also ... just in case. And you know, I wouldn't mind my own nuclear bomb, but I need to get my own republic first. Seriously, how many shooting will it take ? This happens 3 or 4 times a year (or it seems that way). No one is talking about getting rid of guns completely. It's just about gun c-o-n-t-r-o-l. If you let any nut job go and buy a gun over the counter, how can this ever stop ? It won't! It'll just keep happening, over and over. I don't really know anything about the NRA but f**k mate, who are they ? Gods ? Doesn't anyone in the U.S. have the balls to take them on ? I don't buy the politics argument, since the states where the NRA has serious influence are Republican strongholds anyway. So what's the catch ? C'mon, put up your dukes and take 'em on! There must be a lot more to this than meets the eye. Maybe the NRA are like those old guys in the X-files that are really running the show ...

It seems that to the G4 "ultras" playing fisty cuffs is more important than the good of the club. This is where Savvidis should have the balls to tell them that they can go if they want, but if they hurt the club in any way, they'll never be welcome again.

Damn Mystakidis, give the kid a break.

At the price I'd sell Warda in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd sell him for half that. I don't buy the story though.

Goes to show how RIDICULOUS the game is in Greece. Is it so difficult to have allocated seating ? At the very least it should be implemented for away fans.

Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t know about this. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Erdogan had the balls to shoot done a Russian fighter jet in Syria. If he’s not afraid of Putin I doubt Tsipras will have him quaking in his boots. Still, trying to look at this objectively, it sounds like it’s just a case of Erdogan doing his sums and calculating that this will make him look tough domestically and at the same time figuring that the probability of Greece retaliating is virtually nil. I don’t know much about Erdogan but he does seem to be shrewd. At least in so far as knowing how far to push without being pushed back and at the same time coming out looking like a tough guy to his people.

The idea of educating the world is nice in theory. I say in theory because the reality is when you talk to people about this what 99.99% hear is “blah blah ... blah blah blah ... blah blah”. They tune out. To explain it properly, doesn’t take long, but people tune out. I’ve seen this many times. I’m sure many of us have also. It’s just the way it is. Now it could be said we are all at fault for not being better orators and for failing to convince the unwashed masses of the reality but that would be harsh. I think the simple truth is that outside of Greece and FYROM no one really cares. The U.S. would like the issue resolved so they can get another member into the NATO club. Likewise the EU would like another member. They could not give a toss about what the actual final name is. I’m sure there are some diplomats and parliamentarians that do have an understanding of the historical truth but I suspect they are in the minority. If it were not so, there would be much more pressure on FYROM. Having said that, I don’t see any reason why Greece should even be negotiating. We have NOTHING to gain by resolving the dispute. It’s FYROM that has much to gain. Greece should simply argue that over the last 25 or so years FYROM has shown themselves to have acted in bad faith. It should be fairly easy to gather evidence showing how FYROM has made false historical claims including teaching this in their education system. As such Greece has no interest whatsoever in dealing with an untrustworthy neighbour. Further to that, even if they say they will stop this behaviour, what is to stop them reverting back after they get what they want ? Greece should simply set their terms and leave it that. If by some miracle FYROM accepted that they can never ever again make false historical claims, then at that point we can sit down and work on the name. Further to that if a Gruevski type ever got into power and tried to start up again, it should be met with immediate and harsh economic sanctions. I don’t see any other way to solve this issue and I don’t see any reason why Greece should settle for anything less.

In other news Olympiakos looks to blame indiscriminately. EPO, Tsipras, Savvidis, Illuminati, Soros, Trump, the sun, the moon and even the wind have been accused of conspiring against Olympiakos. Ha ha ha, it's so entertaining.

In theory this is the last of the "easy" games. No offence to @Lamiara ole of course. Need to make sure we get the 3 points because after this there is a run of tough matches :- Round 23 : Olympiakos (home). Round 24 : Asteras Tripolis (away, we saw what they did to Olympiakos this week). Round 25 : AEK (home). Round 26 : Atromitos (away). Round 27 : Panionios (home). Round 28 : Xanthi (home). Round 29 : Panathinaikos (away). All games where points could be dropped. Going to be an interesting couple of months. Ideally, we would have the title already won by the last match day (in Toumba vs the bottom team Platanias) and the party atmosphere in Toumba will be, I don't know, just insane. A man can dream.

Some nice goals in the highlights. Vieirinha looks like he's just ripping it up in the LB position. And here I was saying I was apprehensive about signing him. Go on Vieirinha, keep throwing egg on my face. I'm happy to oblige. Shakhov has his deficiencies, but I've said it before, he at least makes up for it by getting into goal scoring positions. Nice unselfish assist by Prijovic also for that first goal. That third goal, I could watch it all day. Love those through balls that just split a defense and the finish by Prijovic was great.

Agreed. It drives me crazy when players get unnecessary yellow cards. Just hurts the team for no reason. In previous season we couldn't finish a game without getting at least 3 or 4 yellow cards. It's been better this season. Or at least it seems that way. I'll have to check.

Damn. I would’ve preferred AEK. Anyway ... now we have a final at OAKA to look forward to. I’ve always thought a home and away 2 leg final is the fairest way to do it. Like in the old days of the UEFA Cup. Or was it the Cup Winners Cup ? Assuming we progress to the final along with a AEK, I don’t even want to think about the violence in Athens. Their ultras will be out for revenge and our ultras well they aren’t exactly the brightest sparks. Ultra m*****es.

A bit surprised Glykos has been included over Rey. If Paschalakis were to get injured or red carded I’m not sure I’d prefer him over Rey. Oh well I guess we have to trust in Lucescu. I hope this doesn’t affect Rey’s confidence too much. I think he’s a good GK overall that didn’t really do too much wrong this season.

Yeah man bring it on. I’ve always wanted my own Republic. What’s happening in Q3 that’s significant ?

I’m with Blackhawk, I’d prefer AEK in the semi final. If they sit back which I expect them to do, we are more likely to wear them down over 180 minutes. Also, if we play them in the final it’ll be at a neutral ground or in Athens which is a home game for them. I’d rather they come and enjoy 90 minutes in Toumba instead.

I was disappointed with the prospect Leovac leaving. Even though he has never been great, I really didn't think we had anyone better to play that position. But having seen how exceptionally well Vieirinha has played in the LB position, Leovac can gtfo. My only concern with Vieirinha playing as LB is how he'll cope against an attacking team. So far to be fair we have played teams that mostly sit back.

The name ... what's in a name ? My take, I wouldn't even give them a compound name. Not after the way they've behaved since 1992. The only name I would give is "Makedonski" spelt and pronounced exactly like that. That is their name and they can have it. You know, I think the problem has always been the attempt to rewrite their history that is the essence of the problem. The name dispute is just a manifestation of this. If the ... Makedonski had no historical claims to Macedonia or Greece, they probably would've got the name "Macedonia" back in 1992. I don't think anyone in Greece would've minded. But once they began laying claim to Greek History they crossed a line and now it's too far gone. I don't even know how this can be resolved. The bizarre thing is this obsession with rewriting history. I mean, it's actually embarrassing. Making claims on things that existed 1000 years before you did ? A ... Makedonski, if asked the question "Are you a descendant of the Ancient Greek Macedonians ?" should laugh and say "Of course not you idiot". But instead, they either believe it, or push for it regardless. It's actually quite bizarre. And why is there this sudden push to resolve the name all of a sudden ? Is Greece being pressured in some way ? Or is this just a pet project of Tsipras or Syriza ?

If this isn't a cut and dried case for points deductions I don't know what is. If this isn't such a case, how do we define such a case ? When there are "x" number of fans on the pitch ? When there are "x" number of punches thrown ? When there is "x" dollars of property damage done to the stadium ? End of the day, it has to pass the common sense test, and that is, do we want this sort of thing discouraged or not ? If your answer is no i.e. you are all right with this sort of thing happening any time, then sure, there should be no points deductions. But then those who complain of the poor state of football in Greece in general can stop their complaining or their calls for improvement. Greeks being Greeks, with cynicism in our blood, will say "Of course Olympiakos had points deducted, Savvidis owns EPO and he wants to win the league". And you know what, they may be right, but of what relevance is this ? Should Olympiakos feel aggrieved if there is a points deduction because in the past they would have gotten away with it ? Is the implication that if Marinakis controls EPL then there would not be a points deduction ?! The implication is that no one in Greece believes in a fair and just system. They believe that the only way to get justice is to control EPO. You either control it and have ... a better brand of justice ... or you don't and you have no justice. Either way, it reflects poorly on Greeks and Greece as a nation. It's actually embarrassing. Olympiakos should cop it. And cop it sweet, and the same should happen to any other team that has a similar incident where there is a violent (violent being the operative word) pitch invasion. You can't let incidents like this go unpunished and anything short of points deductions is a slap on the wrist.