Bananas

For many, this was always going to go down as a "paid for by Savvidis" win anyway. Unfortunately but Greece is what it is. 5 minutes to go, let's see if we actually win or if it goes to extra time ...

I agree. No need for it and what if it backfires you limit your options in extra time.

Yeah he was definitely offside. Henrique running away from goal makes it trickier to spot, also, in real time.

If Ivic wants to be bold he could take off one of the 3 midfielders and go a 4-2-3-1. Pros and cons, pros and cons.

Woke up. Game delayed, thought f**k this and went back to bed. I think Glykos's monumental f**k up was so epic it sent signals through time and space to wake me up again. Good lord, what the hell was that Glykos!

Wasn't there an issue with toilets not working ? Have the toilets been fixed or will each person be supplied with a bucket on entry to the stadium ?

And then we talk about attracting "big" players to Greece. What a laugh.

Yeah, nah, we'll play it in Toumba with fans divided equally. :)

It's only logical if your team is based in Athens. To me, the most logical place to play the final is Toumba. I bet that suggestion would cause the Athens clubs to squeal with indignation.

And after you see this you want the final in OAKA ? I wonder how many cups we would have won if all of those finals had been played in Thessaloniki. Like I said earlier, the fairest system is either a neutral ground or two leg home and away. Of course, I'm sure the Athenian clubs would not agree.

Will the game be streamed on laola ?

Great deal indeed. Same old, kicking the can down the road. Or was that kicking some pensioners down the road to an early grave ? And it was a marathon session! Wow, I could've concluded it in 15 seconds. EU to Greece "Cut pensions and f**k off with your whining. Tell your people whatever will placate them. I don't f**king care". That's the layman's explanation anyway. The amazing thing would have been if Greece actually reached a deal that didn't involve bending over and taking it up the koulo ... again. I see a light at the end of the tunnel, or is that my vision deteriorating ? Or maybe just my critical thinking.

The Costil transfer was never going to happen. Great in theory though. And yes, Glykos much to my amusement, keeps winning the GK position. Having said that Glykos seems to have improved in the "howlers" department this season. By that I mean he hasn't done many howlers whereas in previous seasons it was a matter of if not when. He's still got the Cup Final though to absolutely destroy that statistic just like in the last final with PAO!

It's a tricky choice as to whether to go with another DM (4-3-3) or play Biseswar (4-2-3-1). In our last game with AEK they really exposed our defense when we had two in the middle. I guess it comes down to whether Ivic believes last time was just a one off or whether he thinks they can do it again. Either way (especially in Greece) if you win they call you a master tactician and if you lose they'll say you never learn from your mistakes. Sometimes, the team just has to play a good game and that's all there is to it. At least we have depth on the bench.

If you want "fair", it either always has to be at a neutral ground, or if you're feeling crazy you could do like the UEFA Cup (or was it Cup Winners Cup) years ago where even the final was a two leg home and away round.

Me too. Last season out of the young greek boys he was the best of the bunch. Guaranteed starter in the 11 together with Cimirot unless he was being rotated. But this season he's really fallen behind. I hope Ivic is just getting him up the level he wants and he's not another wasted talent. Time as always will tell.

Yeah it's one of those situations where in context it makes sense but in and of itself it was technically was soft. Playing with fire ... and all that.

@pash Charisis ? I thought he'd retired and become a pool cleaner.

This is where ποδόσφαιρο is a funny game. PAO actually played a very good game. They did all the right things to kill off the game. On another day they could have scored 3 or 4. On another day they might have had a penalty as they were 50/50 calls. The second yellow to Hult was an injustice. Ridiculously soft yellow. Just a stupid call from the referee.

Oh yeah, oh yeah. I'm a happy boy today.

Statistically I agree. It's likely PAO will score. But the ball is round and anything can happen. A silly deflection, a slight off side that isn't called and all of a sudden it changes the game. The key is to get the first goal and from then it's game on.

Why the hatred ? Did a PAOKtzi steal his bougatsa when he wasn't looking ?

Let's not start getting carried away comparing PAO to Schalke. We can whinge about the heavy losses to PAO and AEK in Athens as we didn't perform to our ability and are capable of better. But Schalke came into Toumba and gave us a football lesson. If we played them 10 times, we'd lose 10 times, at least over 2 legs. PAO on the other hand, how we managed to only have one attempt on goal in 90 minutes is inexcusable. It's a concern that Ivic is getting out coached so easily on some games. Regardless, I think Ivic is the right man for the job going forward for a number of reasons, which I can't be bothered going into right now.

It's amazing how our gladiators turn into mice when we play in Athens. It's one thing to lose 2-0 and play decent and another to be completely outplayed. Not sure why Cimirot didn't play. I can only assume he needed rest ? The line up I think was too attacking, should have gone with 3 in the middle. But it's easy to say in hindsight. Let's see what happens in Toumba. If we pop the first goal in it's game on, but the lack of an away goal is always a killer. If they get one we'll need four. Maybe that's why Ivic opted for an attacking lineup ? Kudos to Ouzounidis, who I've always thought is a decent coach. He's given it Olympiakos, AEK and now us in Athens, and made a decent side at Panionios. Anyway, very disappointing.

Happy birthday champ. You're only as old as you feel. At least, that's what older people say to feel better about themselves.