Bananas

The result is much much worse than the result against Vienna as back then we were financially in disarray (I think Frings was the coach). Now what excuse do we have ?

No hard luck. Poor team attitude and preparation from the day Ivic left. We got what we deserved and were not unlucky.

The Ivic departure ... I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with Savvidis's son.

I would say that the state of mind of European Opponents right now is superb.

We will concede a goal in the 70th minute and then have heart attacks for the rest of the game if it's a typical PAOK performance. On a serious note, first goal is key. If we score the game is over. If they score, they'll be like a bunch of Vikings in a berserker rage.

So ... El Kaddouri, is this guy any good ? I mean, I haven't really been following it because frankly I just thought it was media m-a-l-a-k-i-e-s but it looks like this is going to happen.

This one is a bit different in that it's at home. Our problem has never really been our home form. Sure it could be better but in general it's been all right. Our away form has always been average at best and that isn't going to cut it if you want to mount a championship challenge. It's still a bit early to judge but we'll have a better picture by round 8 or so. I still think we don't have the quality to go all the way. Our best 11, when they are in form and fit is probably close, but that's assuming all the stars align. We still have holes in our roster in terms of backups. Our backup to Matos in the RB position is nowhere near his quality. In the LB position Leovac seems tobe going through a bad spell and I'm not sold on Leveque. I think Leveque is a decent player but we bought him knowing he's got injury issues and right now he can't be relied upon. In the CB position we have only Crespo, who seems like he's been sleeping so far this season after a very solid season last year, and Varela. It's nice to have Malezas but we don't want to rely on him for lots of games if the others get injured. In the midfield we only have Shakhov who can play box to box and get forward but he's also been asleep so far this season. In the attacking midfield role we only have Biseswar. Pelkas is no Biseswar. Up front we only have Prijovic. Mak can't play as a striker when teams park the bus. We have a large roster but In terms good quality players that can help you really challenge for a title we have (in my estimation) :- GK : Rey, Glykos. I think we're all right for GK's. Especially once Glykos returns. Rey seems to be a very good signing. Defence : Matos, Leovac, Crespo, Varela, Malezas. Not enough depth in defence. Yellows, injuries, rotation will take its toll. I think we need a RB, LB and CB. Midfield : Canas, Cimirot, Kace, Shakhov. Not bad all in all but would be nice to replace Kace with a high quality DM and get a high quality number 8 to rotate with Shakhov. Let's see what happens with El Kaddouri. Out of the DM and CM positions, a CM is more urgent. Wingers : Henrique, Mak, Djalma. We are all right here. Good enough quality. Attacking Midfield : Only Biseswar. Striker : Only Prijovic. Other players : Pelkas, Mystakidis. Both have a role to play and are good for rotation. With the above plus high quality signings in the RB, LB, CB, DM, CM and Striker roles, then we're talking. That's 6 players so it sounds kind of ridiculous. But if you want to have a squad that can really go all the way, that is what I think is required.

Disappointing beginning to our ... "title challenge". But hey, I'm used to it, I'm a PAOK supporter. I can't understand why Konstantinidis wasn't used as RB instead of Crespo. This is a game where you expect to be attacking most of the time and he has much better attacking attributes compared to Crespo. Maybe it was Stanojevic's superb pre-season preparation that forced the decision. Also, Limnios starting ? Unusual decision. I said letting Kitsiou go was unwise. He would've started this game. Can't understand why we've left the RB position exposed when Matos is not playing. Maybe we are waiting on Vieirinha ?

I can only assume that the club intends to buy another striker as having only Koulouris as backup is nowhere near enough. Mak can play as a striker also, as evidenced in the match against Brondby but where teams park the bus it does not suit him. As for Klaus, I am surprised he is considering leaving. Sounds like the club is pushing him out. Even though our title hopes are slim (until proven otherwise) we are at least a chance this season, in theory, for the first time in decades. You'd think Klaus would want to be a part of that ... possibility.

These are the games where you mount a title challenge or not. The away games where we often drop points to teams who have 1/10th our budget. Let us see what this year will bring ...

Does anyone know what the contract terms for Stajonevic were ? I believe it was 1+1 so we only have to pay him out for 1 year. Not a bad payout for Stajonevic for 56 days work. Any idea what his yearly salary was ?

In honour of Stanojevic. Close the door on your way out.

Obviously this is a circus but it's infinitely better it happens now. As for the replacement, Lucescu, it's a decent choice. He ticks one of the criteria we all wanted i.e. understanding the GSL and he's proven he's at the very least competent. He also played a very defensive game so I hope he'll use that knowledge to break down defensive teams. Time will tell. As for Stanojevic, what a let down. All he did was whine about how he wants to play this and that style all the while complaining he didn't have the players to do it. And he would say this in public! Yes banana, that is a guaranteed way to make the players not play for you, not respect you, not believe in you and worst of all, lose confidence in themselves. Seriously what an imbecile. Normally I'd be really pissed about yet another firing but I believe in this case the right call was made.

1st prize goes to Red Sheriff for his prediction, ha ha.

You need to learn to speak gooder English. It's "How embarrassment".

This has to be against FIFA rules. Yes FIFA, that bastion of (non) corruption.

Likewise, I would love to know. A friend of mine who is a PAO supporter is adamant that Ivic lost the dressing room and the club hierarchy because of the beer can incident i.e. because of how Ivic "took a dive". Who knows ? I don't buy it, but who the hell knows. If this actually happened and Ivic was forced into such a position, I can understand why he would leave the club and the GSL. As for the referees, they were probably scared for their life after the offside call in the Cup and made doubly sure the calls went in AEK's favour. Melissanidiis wasn't too happy after the Cup, ha ha.

Great post @Yiankos. This is not the 1990's or even the early 2000's where you could have a great team using mostly Greek players. The obvious danger with having so many foreigners is that the players won't be motivated to really give it all for the team. But have players like Klaus given it all ? I don't exactly see him driving the team forward. Sure he tries but he's just not at the level required anymore. The story by Kolkas is nothing surprising. If anything, I'm surprised this sort of thing hadn't started earlier. The truth is that there are very few of the Greek boys that are good enough to even be in the squad. Glykos, Pelkas, Mystakidis and I'd throw Kace in there as well for depth and that's about it. All the rest are just not good enough. The only one I feel was given the run around was Konstantinidis. If you have no intention of using the kid, sell him or loan him out. Why bring him into the pre-season at all ? And I still think loaning out Kitsiou is foolish if we aren't getting a better right back. An injury to Matos and then what ? As for us hellenizing the squad, maybe one day the best Greek players will come to us, but for now that is not the case. Would I like players of the quality of Fortounis or Taxi at PAOK ? Sure, but right now they ain't a coming. It may be the case that any new kids from the K20 will be more professional in the current squad but the old guard that is there now, they are too set in their ways. Time to give them all the flick.

We don't. No chance any team will pay the wages we're paying.

I agree, I went with the worst case scenario. All I know is when he was with us he always had a gilitsa and then after 6 months months at Wolfsburg he looked trim and muscly. It's about being self motivated and professional. Who knows, maybe now that he ... knows better ... he'll stay trim. The injuries are a concern also, he's always been prone to them. Then there is the question of where to play him and who you drop. Just not sure about it is all seeing as right now our most important holes are in the CB and DM/CM positions.

Ha ha, Prijovic has a long way to go before we can compare him with Klaus. I don't think there is anything to worry about.

Jairo is one of the best dribblers in the team but that's all he has. On his day he can destroy a full-back but he's just so inconsistent. You never know what you'll get with him. I wouldn't be surprised if you played him as a right winger all season, he would have better stats than say Campos (in terms of goals and assists) but Campos is like the anti Jairo. He works hard off the ball, draws fouls, can hold up the ball. I know who I'd rather be playing with on the pitch. I think it's for the best Jairo continues his career at another club.

Could not have asked for a better draw. The gods have been kind to us this season.

AEK, even getting a fairly lucky draw to be be playing Brugge (they avoided AC Milan and Dinamo Kiev) they are still the outsiders. Even Krasnodar are a tough team. They played us off the park a few seasons ago in the EL Group Stage. Still, at least they are a chance but it's going to be tough. These past 5 years of not accumulating points have come back to bite them in the ass. PAO got the unluckiest draw of all with their match up against Athletic Bilbao. A side that realistically would beat all Greek sides fairly easily. The good thing is PAO looked good against Qabala so at least the team is looking fit and hungry. They'll need it.

I always liked Savvidis. His technique is good but he still had a way to go as far as learning the game. Probably for the best he's gone to a club where he can get lots of game time.