Bananas

The comments on Iraklis and Aris are funny from around ~24:10 to ~24:50.

Thanks for the highlights @Dutch Eagle. Too close for comfort for my liking. I at least like that Ivic is not happy with the performances recently. I think that some of our 'B' or rotation players just aren't up to standard. And without Canas sweeping in the middle, the midfield, at least to me, appears weaker defensively.

Oh, all right smarty pants, ha ha.

Never heard of a loan for more than one season at the same time. If they want him, buy him. The weird thing is on http://www.transfermarkt.com/erik-sabo/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/155597/saison/2016/verein/0/liga/0/wettbewerb//pos/0/trainer_id/0/plus/1 it says "No information available" for the last 10 games.

Malezas should definitely be kept for another season. He's good as a backup and for rotation. He's also good when Ivic plays 3 at the back. What is more interesting is what will happen with the other CB's. Will Poungouras and Chatziisaias get more game time and develop. On a side note, Varela seems to have settled, he was shaky there for a while. And Crespo has been very good this season.

Good lord he couldn't even get a game at Veroia. I have no idea what Arnesen saw in him. I hope he trains with the team this summer because there is this slight niggle in my brain that maybe Arnesen saw something we didn't. Overall, a terrible signing.

Need to start a survey on :- 1) Will the game be completed. 2) Will there be fan violence. 3) How much fines will we get.

Canas really locks down the midfield. Great at the kofti role. I'd like it if we got another player similar to him during the summer.

Looks like there will be quite a battle for 5th place. With that win there are 5 times with 4 points separating them. 5 Xanthi 21 33 6 PAS Giannina 21 31 7 AEK Athens 20 30 8 Platanias 20 29 9 Atromitos 21 29

Yeah we did but it's not as if we didn't get outplayed 3 years ago. It required a freak goal late in the 1st leg from Stoch where on another day we could've been thumped 4-0. We rode our luck. And in Thessaloniki a miracle happened. Klaus actually scored a goal, and a good one at that. They got a red card and we had them on the ropes and still couldn't kill them off. Maybe if we had fans it could've made the difference. Regardless, that Schalke team was weaker than this one and we still couldn't beat them. As for this Schalke team, if we played them again (hypothetically) and had more luck, it's very possible we'd come 0:0 or 1:1 or lose by just 1 goal. But that's not what happened. What I'm trying to say is last time around we had a lot of luck and things go our way. This time around zero luck. Goal by Matos in the 5th minute and it's a different game all of a sudden. The ball is round as they say. What I do believe though, is that for us to beat Schalke over two legs, the probability is quite low. Anyone that saw the game can see how much stronger a team they are. Schalke have luck because they make it. End of the day they look at a teams like PAOK like we look at teams like PAS Giannina. They'll beat us once in 10 tries because all the luck goes their way on the day. It is what it is. No offence intended to PAS Giannina fans.

There are a couple of reasons which I've read about. They are worried about currency devaluation if they go back to the drachma. In addition there is a belief that the politicians and elite won't do a better job at improving things if Greece had its own currency. I suppose there is also the trauma of how exactly this would happen in the face of a hostile EU. Look at England for example where it does have its own currency and they're talking about a 2 year period minimum to exit the EU and I think it will actually be longer. What of Greece where entire financial systems would have to be rebuilt ? Not to mention the fact that Greek bureaucracy is of a low standard. The currency devaluation reason is kind of ridiculous as it would affect those Greeks who are very well off a lot more than the middle class and the poor. And besides there already has been a devaluation of everything in Greece anyway, except that it's been done by deflation of the money supply as opposed to a currency devaluation. It's not as if Greek assets are worth the same today as they were in 2008. First world economies FREAK OUT if they have say 1% deflation and in Greece it's been 25%. The other thing about a currency devaluation which could be a big problem is imports. They could become prohibitively expensive. But again this is a double edged sword. If you can't afford to buy the overseas product, maybe you buy local. Or if the local product doesn't exist (as is the case now in Greece with some industries) maybe this could be a driver for the local product to once again be produced to fill the gap in the market. And if your currency is devalued other countries will start buying your products if they are a lot cheaper all of a sudden. Business is business at the end of the day. Maybe the people in Greece are worried that if they go on an around the world holiday that they'll have to slum it in 4 star hotels instead of 5 star hotels ? Or maybe they're just worried about how to get the next meal on the table in which case currency devaluation is probably the last thing on their mind. The youth, a whole generation is virtually lost and those that can flee are fleeing. Sad to see. Terrible. As for the belief stated that the politicians and elite won't do a better job at improving things if Greece had its own currency, it's hard to say. I can understand the cynicism of the Greek citizens entirely but at the same time I can understand their cynicism towards the EU who are no better. For myself, Greece would be MUCH better off going back to the drachma BUT BUT BUT BUT it would have to be done so very carefully and methodically and I just don't know if Greece as a nation has the systems in place to do it and if the people have the stomach for the short term chaos that could ensue. The next 5 to 10 years will be interesting. If Greece can slowly begin to improve, if only marginally, then any calls for Euro exit will probably subside. If say Greece needs a 4th and possibly 5th bail out and things have not improved at all then the calls for Grexit will be strong both in Greece and Europe. We shall see.

Ti 3-5-2 kai 4-3-3 kai 4-4-2 kai kai kai... When a cross comes in and everybody is ball watching (the 2nd goal) or your keeper hands them a goal on a platter (the 3rd goal) of what relevance is the system ? At some point, every man on the pitch just has to do their part, and when you play teams stronger than you, even more so. Everything has to go right to even have a chance. If anything, the 3-5-2 in terms of limiting the opposition chances worked! Trela e ? I must be crazy. And yet, how many clear cut chances did Schalke have ? Only 1 (the 2nd goal). The 1st goal and 3rd goal were nothing goals. Just presents from Glykos (who to be fair has been good overall this season). 3-5-2 just means you're giving up space on the flanks to pack players into the middle. I get it, not that I necessarily agree with it. It's hard to say really. If we played a normal 4-2-3-1 for all we knows Schalke would've sliced us down the middle half a dozen times and that's why Ivic packed the middle of the pitch. The problem though with the system we played was that we were always hoping for some sort of miracle up front. Your two up front have to be really good to apply pressure. Mystakidis did his job. Klaus what can I say. He tried but it's just not enough. Seriously, if you're Schalke are you going to be worried about a front two of these two players ? On a side note, Canas would've been invaluable this game.

Just the roll of the dice I believe. Schalke didn't really create much in the first half and got a relatively cheap goal. To be fair though, they always looked threatening ie. had that look of being able to split the defence at any time and that's because, simply, they're just a much stronger team. The second goal was very weak defending. I mean free header when the defenders in the box have time to see a dribble and cross coming their way ? At least make the guy work for it. At that point, it was over. Even in the Schalke game a few years back we only had them on the ropes for about 20 or 25 minutes and that's after they got a red card. Not the same I agree but I wouldn't say that PAOK team is better than this one. One thing is for sure, on both occasions we never really (and I mean really) looked like progressing. Let's be honest.

Ha ha.

Got it. Bravo King! And yes, it's amazing that in the year 2017 we can't get simple and reliable access to live games.

Ha ha.

Sheez, I expect us to get knocked out at this stage of the competition, but I can't remember the last time the tie was decided from the first match.

The worst thing about this loss is that Schalke didn't even have to play that well. They've been in 2nd gear most of the night.

Didn't take off a CB for Henrique. I'd have even preferred Klaus off for Henrique and play Henrique on his own up front. At least he can run with the ball.

Ivic still playing it safe. Disappointing but I get it.

Glykos!

Henrique to come on. Who will be coming off ... ?

All 3 of our midfielders are playing deep. They either can't get forward or have been instructed to play that way. Cimirot and Shakhov have hardly gotten forward.

Agree. It's not like Schalke have had a ton of opportunities. As for our us, we can't penetrate. Schalke close down any space very quickly. Missing a player like Rodrigues to make something out of nowhere and apply pressure.

Yes. Kitsiou I don't think is at this level. And no obvious replacement for Leovac. Crespo plays there but we need someone who can overlap and get forward.