J1078

I completely agree, We better not see Pelkas and Mantolas it obviously has failed miserably. I also agree with you on Lazaros although I might have considered him a bench option.. I truly hope we don't see Bakasetas on this team either. We need to start fresh with some new hungry faces that want to make there mark on this team. I really would like to see what a healthy Donis can do for us. The time is now for our young guys to step up and take a spot on the NT. Bakakis still concerns me though so im not 100% sold on him..

That sucks man... F*** man we are at the lowest point as a team... Need this s%$#! to turn around ASAP

Holebas says No to the Ethniki.. ??? http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/holebas-not-returning-to-the-ethniki

When is he not injured? lol This is not guy you can rely on going forward his ability to stay healthy for long periods of time has hindered his career. If he's healthy come time when the NT is in the qualifiers fine call him up as a bench option but you cant rely on him to be in your starting 11..

Hopefully He reconsiders and joins the team as he would be a huge addition.. Also glad to read the the Epo is going to bilked a tea ink gone facility for the team that is going to be pretty advanced, glad to see the NT is starting to get the attention the deserve to make them successful again..

I think if Healthy Donis needs to be an automatic starter. I'm also not sold on Bakakis as I see a lot of inconsistencies with him. Kolouris is in great form and Mitro is struggling right now but I still think you need to start Mitro as he is a guy that can be ineffective all game and then with one chance be the difference maker. I think Kolouris right now is a good bench option if we need a second striker or if Mitro gets hurts or we need fresh legs. Toro Should not be playing more then 40 minutes a game as its starting to catch up with him and we need younger legs at that position. It will be interesting to see what coach Ange decides, I just hope he has a good system in place that everyone buys into as that is almost as important as the players he selects.. Lets not forget our 2nd game in March is away against Bosnia and that will be the biggest game for us as we cannot drop points to them.

Holebas would have helped big time trying to get to the Euros so it’s a shame but on the other hand the fact the coaching staff even reached out to him is a positive sign and maybe they will make smart choices when choosing the starting 11 and call ups.. Something Skibbe couldn’t get right..

@Dean97 I agree with you but we have a new coach now and regardless how unimpressive his first two games were we he needs to be given every opportunity. At some point if we keep getting the same results we need to start looking at our talent pool and players rather then the coach. As far a captain is concerned I couldn't agree with you more, This is the challenge finding someone that guys look up to and is a true leader, someone who has the passion and sacrifices everything for the team. Toro is okay for now but we are really missing this. Sokratis doesn't have it and either does Manolas as good as they are they are not captain material. I'm hoping this new coach finds the right formula and combination of players quick or we will miss another tournament. We also need the Greek players to play and produce and be in form and be healthy to start a tournament for once. We also need the Fans in Crete to fill the Stadium and give the team a true homefield advantage. I hope we start play with natural wingers for once. I cant wait for this tournament to start but my optimism is not to high right now but lets hope for the best.

I agree I think the coach is going to go with a younger line up as well. In all fairness we have been one of the unluckiest teams when it comes to being healthy for key matches.. Our second game is we play Bosnia and this will be our most difficult test because it comes so early. At worst we need to get out of there with a draw.. It will be difficult though..

That is the same mentality that is making the team play in front of an empty stadium and not giving them any home field advantage.. With all do respect if that is your mentality then you are not a true fan IMO.. Sticking with the team through the highs and lows is what being a supporter is all about.. Every team goes through ups and downs and this is our time and hopefully we start turning it around sooner rather then later as we are currently in a transition period of slowly removing the older players and start implanting the younger guys..

Merry Christmas to all!!

Boys lets wait and see what Bishop Angelo does at the Euros before we start asking for other coaches right now...To be honest we can forget about getting a big name coach as the EPO will not spend the money...

This guy is done, I'm sick of making excuses for these types of players , It is well known that this guy doesn't take his training seriously and has a lot of lazy characteristics to his name.. Maybe these guy s "peak early" because they don't do the work needed in their off season or are not willing to go through the grind to be as good as possible.. This is the case with a lot of the Greek players.. Guys who have extreme talent and are generational players may be able to get away with take it easier here and there but guys that are middle of the pack type players or below need to work there asses off night and day to be able to be successful or this is the trend you will continue to see guys "peaking early" and having sub par carers as they get into their mid 20's and so on.

Wow man this is so upsetting.. I agree they need to get their s%$#! together and fix this ASAP and it better start with the qualifications of the Euro and no more dropping games to garbage teams...

I'm kind of with you man, I was hoping in the Nations leagues game we would have seen some optimism but he pretty much went with Skibbe's line up and then we needed a second goal against Finland instead of bringing on a second striker and changing the formation he simply removed one striker for another.. I have no clue what he was thinking with the line up and subs against Estonia.. I'm hoping he just didn't want to make too many changes as he was limited with time and hopefully we see different players and style at the Euros.. The in game subs he made doesn't give me to much hope though.. Lets wait and see as he deserves a chance to prove himself at the Euros..

@Dean97 I see where you are coning from but when playing for the NT with such limited practise time and new faces perhaps joining the team doesn't it make sense to play players where they are comfortable and accustomed to playing? I strongly believe players need to play in their position that has made them successful as players and all this mix matching just leads to mistakes and not being productive on the field.. just my opinion...

You can forget about Angelo playing players in the proper position as he clearly said it him self when he was asked what he thought about Skibbe calling up so many players for the same position and playing players out of there natural positions, Angelo's response was "I don't worry about what position a player is because if they are a good player they will adjust to what ever position we play him so I don't care where they play in there club team" ?

Your statement is flawed becasue if they train harder and smarter and are determined when they actually get thier chance to play they won’t look like s%$#! hence they put themselves in a better position to sign a big contract.. It’s well known a lot of the Greek players don’t train as hard as a lot of other nations players it’s a fact.. So in reality by riding the bench they are actually earning a lot less then what they could be making if they weren’t Lazy..

The developing of the Greek players is almost non existent. You see guys waisting any talent they have by leaving Greece and riding the bench for a foreign team and that’s why these players are consistently out of forum and rarely take the next step as a player.. This is an ongoing trend... Anyways this topic is about he Euros not who’s league is better which is obviously a no brainer.. I feel right now at our current state the team needs to decide on one style of play wether it be defend defend defend and stick with it or we have no chance in the Euros if we Continue with the way we have the last 4 years.. I can also say Mantalos and Bakasetas have been absolutely garbage for Aek and they don’t deserve a call up at all, Fetfa on the other hand who scored today and has been slowly looking good should be a no brainer.. Let’s see what happens.. In defence for @Ellada2004 I think you guys are miss understanding his point.. yes we would all like to see our team qualify as many times as England does obviously who wouldn’t but the value and the memories that a Euro win carries is next level s%$#! and you really can’t compare as the end goal is to win a trophy is it not?

What a great game and an amazing win!!! I was so nervous when AC made it 2-1 I thought it was going to end like that..

It’s a shame he had so much promise... even if he was healthy I don’t think he would have been considered for the NT.. Time to look ahead at the youngsters as mentioned by @Dean97

I know right..... How pathetic that we keep losing to those teams...

It wouldn't matter in Greece's case because we wouldn't get that spot anyways since we finished 3rd but I see what you are saying its a good point if in the future if those circumstances present themselves a team would definitely throw the game..

Guys I’m going to have to disagree, the only thing that has separated Greece from teams like the Finland’s and Romania’s and so on and has allowed us to compete with the bigger clubs a has been our defence first mentally.. That Hungary game we scored 4 but allowed 3 if it was against a better offensive team then Hungary then they would have put 5 or 6 in against us.. It is very clear that this team to be successful needs to shut it down defensively.. Espescially at the moment where we don’t have a quality midfielder and on average score 0.2 goals a game.. As much as we hate that style I think we need to realize it’s the only way for this team to start climbing the fifa rankings and get back to tournaments.. When people would talk about the Greece team they would say how stingy and how solid we are defensively never have they said watch out for Greece’s offence.. i see our players and what they look like when they are on offence and it’s dreadful it honestly hurts my eyes. We have resorted to allow way to many goals against us from even the weakes of the world teams something we would never do in the past.

Assistant coach Basinas what he said about the style of play the Greek Nt was accustomed too. He says everyone was complaining that we weren't playing good soccer and they were sick of seeing 1-0 results so they changed their philosophy and look what happened. He's pretty much saying it all has to start from defence first and keeping the 0 goals against.. I agree 100% with what he is saying.. Για το ότι οι επιτυχίες της Εθνικής ήρθαν με αμυντικογενές σύστημα και ότι αυτό άλλαξε στην πορεία: «Ένα μερίδιο ευθύνης το έχουν και οι δημοσιογράφοι. Έλεγαν ότι η Εθνική ομάδα δεν παίζει ελκυστικό ποδόσφαιρο. Μέχρι που ήρθε η επιτυχία έλεγαν “τι να πάμε να δούμε, το 1-0”. Όταν ήθελαν να αλλάξει στιλ η Εθνική, είδαν ότι δεν μπορεί να γίνει διαφορετικά. Δεν λέω ότι πρέπει να παίξουμε αμυντικά, όμως αυτό είναι το Α και το Ω στο ποδόσφαιρο, να κρατήσεις το μηδέν πίσω. Οι επιτυχίες έρχονται με αυτό που μπορείς, όχι με αυτό που θες να παίξεις. Όλες οι Εθνικές ομάδες θα κάνουν κοιλιά κάποια στιγμή. Το θέμα είναι ότι εμείς δεν έχουμε το περιθώριο να κάνουμε μεγαλύτερη κοιλιά. Βλέπουμε ήδη πως αρχίζουν να δυσκολεύουν και οι κληρώσεις. Πρέπει να αρχίσουμε από το μηδέν και να χτίσουμε ξανά. Αν δεν έρθει η επιτυχία τώρα, θα ζήσουμε πολύ πιο δύσκολες καταστάσεις. Θα πρέπει να βγάλουμε το "εγώ" μας και να βάλουμε το "εμείς", για να επιστρέψει η Εθνική στις μεγάλες διοργανώσεις. Πιστεύουμε στον Έλληνα ποδοσφαιριστή ότι μπορεί. Το μόνο που λείπει είναι η νοοτροπία. Αν αλλάξει αυτό, θα πετύχουμε μεγάλα πράγματα», κατέληξε. Here is the entire interview below.. http://www.sport-fm.gr/article/podosfairo/mpasinas-na-baloume-to-‘emeis’-panw-apo-to-‘egw’-stin-ethniki/3571754