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kbxk508

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Posts posted by kbxk508

  1. He had a chance to move to Cardiff in 2018 when they were in the PL but turned it down. Was eventually loaned out to Galatasaray. That didn't work out. Then he was on loan at PSV, used mostly as a sub, scored 1 goal. Not much mins.

    Back at Marseille, not playing and will see out his contract, which runs to 30Jun21.  He'll be 33, so who knows what he'll do then.

    What's not clear, is what condition he's in. 

     

  2. 16 hours ago, Ellada2004 said:

    As for Fetfa ... his attitude has possibly done him in as he was late for a team meeting and it looks like JVS might not give him another call up.

    So it seems. Unless he told JVS to go <expletive> himself, then I don't get the life time ban. What is this? Maybe JVS doesn't rate him, or he's too old or he's too short. We could have done with his positional smarts on the RH side. Just saying.

    For the record, Fetfa was subbed in 84' vs Bosnia (for Limnios), has played NMT 10 mins in a single match under JVS and assisted 1 goal for the NT.  Not bad.

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  3. Just my thoughts.


    Now we will probably need to beat Slovenia at home to top the Group. If we fail to top thIs Group, it will be another flop.

    We struggled to get our FBs behind them. Limited our attacking.

    JVS should have brought on Fetfa, I mean Rota, and not Lambroloulos and gone to a 3 5 2.

    Bouchalakis strengths are his passing game and shooting. When that goes, better to stay on the bench.

    We lack pace in the midfield.

    We need more orthodox RB or change to 3 5 2. Hatzidiakos is better as CB, not RB. In the 4 2 3 1 formation either he stays as CB and partners one of Svarnas and Tzavelas or he goes to the sub bench. Although, I’ll say that he did save a certain goal with his goal line clearance in the 2nd half.

    Kosovo were the better side in the 2nd half. That was not the plan.

     

     

  4. It does.  We get promoted to League B + we slowly climb up the FIFA rankings.

    For 2022 Qatar, Europe qualifiers

    First round, 10 group winners automatically qualify for Qatar.

    Second round (play-offs( will be contested by the ten group runners-up and the best two Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall rankings that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. The format, is three groups of 4 (12 teams) vying for 3 places, playing single leg semi finals and a single leg final. No home and away games.

    It's unlikely we will be Group winners in First round, so the best we can hope is a chance via the Second round.

    It all helps.

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  5. Oh, I saw an EPO video and I thought Stafylidis was in the squad. Cool.

    In that case, I think he will start Svarnas who was invited to the press conference.

    I get JVS. After the draw with Lietchenstein, he just made up his mind to start with a new breed of players. He looked at the core leadership group, Soc, Torosides, Manolas, all players that the younger players look up to, and thought if I go forward with these guys they would be a hindrance to his plans, vision. And, we know what happened to the previous coach.

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  6. Holebas decided to retire from NT during Scibbe era, and was invited back by Anastasiadis, but stayed away. Not the same.

    By the way, I'm a fan of van't Schipp, and I like what he is trying to do. Siovas was our best player in the 2 games just played. I can understand leaving out Soc, Manolas when you have at least Siovas. But, with Siovas demise, Hatzidiakos is not ready from a serious injury, Stafylidis inj., I think that at least one of Soc, Manolas will need to come back for the rest of Nation League as to go with inexperienced CBs is too risky. IMO. 

    We have to top the Group in Nation League as anything less will be considered failure.

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  7. Dumping of Siovas is probably justified, for reasons given, and the coach can invite whoever he wants.

    Coach has in the past, said he has not discounted Soc, Manolas inclusion. But, why not come out at the start of NL and say the door is STILL open for Soc, Manolas but he is not going to use them for these matches. 

    If he's never going to select them again, then at least let the players and media know, and his reasons for their exclusion.  Like them or not, these players have given great service to the NT and deserve a bit better treatment, IMO.

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  8. I hope by the time WC qualifier start we can recover and get to Pot 3 to have a slim chance. Can you imagine coming up against two OR three top nations in qualifications.

    The top 13 UEFA nations are in the top 19 in FIFA. This is where we need to reach.

    Short term, we should be aiming to top our group in the Nations League, establish a home field dominance and from there build on a solid WC qualification campaign where we push the favorites down to the wire. We need to be competitive with Pot 1/2 teams. Maybe with a bit of luck we can place ourselves into a big match and anything can happen.

    We are rank outsiders for the WC and therefore next realistic tournament will be Euro 2024 - Soc will be 36 and Manolas 34. I think both can play a part in WC qualification, but both will need to perform. It will be their last chance to get to play at another big tournament.  

  9. How good was it to see a Greece side play the last week.

    First we keep Italy at bay until the penalty and to be honest if Koulouris bagged his chance anything could have happened. Then we come out and play football, with Bosnia. Like a steam train. I could not believe Masouras had 7 chances in 30 minutes of football. Incredible.

    So to say I'm excited is an understatement.

    Here are my big takeaways.

    1. Hatzidiakos is a class back. He's positioning in set plays is good. His passes out of defence are smooth, crisp and hit the target. He was nervous with Italy, but he makes passes which allow mids to transition into attack better. The clearance off the line with Bosnia was brilliant.
    2. Stafylidis was compact and solid, and for me has just played his two best games for the NT. Nothing was getting through the LH side of the backline. His shot that hit post shows that he will be a threat outside the box. Worthy captain.
    3. Kourbelis had his best two games for Greece. He's got a good engine and we need that. Together with Galanopoulos their link up play with the other mids and forwards was something new and one of the main we reasons we created many chances with Bosnia.
    4. Limnios has great pace, is talented and is only 21. He can take on defenders and that is something we haven't seen much in the past. Hard to see him not get a big contract to one of the big leagues in Europe in the future. He is a strong boy too. He is a big introduction. Together with Bakakis they can be a formidable tandem on the RH side.
    5. Pavlidis is a class act for me. A real target up front. He is more than just a striker but links well with the other forwards and can defend when needed. His finish for the goal was top draw, and so to was the dummy which led to a golden opportunity for Mantalos. He is only 20.
    6. Bakasetas strength, and his run and movement was quite good. He didn't score, but in the Italy match he was in great position to score on 2 occasions and also made a brilliant pass to Limnios. He needs to get better at finishing at NT level which should be a strength but is not showing. A fit and healthy Fortounis would come straight in to his position.
    7. Area we need to improve is in finishing. Koulouris, Masouras, Bakasetas and Mantalos all had chances they should have scored and we need to get better.
    8. Depth in attack. There is nothing better than having options in attack or off the bench. Fetfatzidis and Donis are two players on their day are good enough to start and impact a game but if not, then they are also good options of the bench. Their weakness I think is the defensive side of their game.

    There are other players I am excited about also, such as Giannoulis and Vrousai who are both young and skillful. Vrousai they say is one to really look out for. 

    Slowly, the Greece team is starting to show it has a heart beat and there is plenty to look forward to. I can't wait for the next two qualifiers, which we can win and then it's onto the Nations League which by then should bring our FIFA ranking back up and set us up well for World Cup qualifiers.

     

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  10. One thing about Van't Schip is to expect the unexpected. To start Paschalakis after not selecting him in the original team squad was a strange one. I would have liked to know the thought behind that one.

    Another surprise was Bakasetas in the no. 10 position for the first time. While he did not score, his pass to Limnios was brilliant, he was involved in all our three scoring opportunities. Also, in the first half he covered a lot of ground as all players were behind the ball when defending, which was a tactic.

    I had a feeling after the Armenia loss that team selections would get interesting and it has. Interesting to see what qualities this coach rates, and how the team performs in the next 3 matches. From what I can tell, egoism, arrogance and lack of discipline are attributes that are not going to get you in this team. 

  11. Willem II vs AZ played yesterday and featured 3 Greece players. AZ are third in the league whereas Willem are 10th.

    Pavlidis, Vrousai started for Willem and Hatzidiakos subbed in 2nd half. Willem's goal came from a chest pass by Pavlidis to Vrousai who did well to control the ball and then deliver a good pass for the goal. Pavlidis has quite a presense. He had some great chances including a missed penalty, that ballooned over the bar.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib2--cgjPWU

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