Dean97

I’m against bringing back Sokratis and Manolas. I believe we need to start building for the next tournament and beyond. I appreciate and thank Sokratis, Manolas, Torosidis and co for all they’ve done for us. It’s time to move on... The youngsters have proven to be reliable and we should build on that. We should looking to improve the CB, RB and CAM position in my opinion. Stafylidis shouldn’t play at CB against heavyweights. Bakasetas isn’t going to be as effective against heavyweights in my opinion. Mavropanos and Retsos seem to be injury prone and until they perform and play week in and week out then I don’t see them being in contention even though I would like them to be. Siovas is getting old and will be 33 next year. Lampropoulos is only there because Risvanis, Goutas and Oikonomou are playing in the GSL. That’s my opinion. Risvanis would and could be a good addition at CB. If Stafy gets dropped then he can’t play LB. Giannoulis has been in terrific form there. Koutris and Tsimikas have done well there for Greece too.

I thought you were against bringing back Manolas and Sokratis...

Not bad line up. We actually have a good amount of speed. Giannoulis, Limnios and Donis are the fastest. Even Galanopoulos and Kourbelis have got some speed. I’d like to see Mantalos in a 4-2-3-1 as the CAM. I don’t think we have ever seen Mantalos as a 10 for Greece. We always see him out wide. I was thinking what’s going to happen with Vasiliadis because he hasn’t been capped yet and Germany can cap him at anytime and be part of their team. I guess it’s up to the individual and I think Vasiliadis is committed to Greece. It’s kind of a let down that we won’t see the team play until March or probably next September as I want to see the team in action all the time. It will be interesting what JVS sets up in March and who he plays. I have a list of players that he could look at: RB/LB: Natsos, Masouras, Lykogiannis, Kyriakopoulos CB: Nikolaou, Risvanis, Retsos CDM/CM/CAM: Androutsos, Charisis, Vasiliadis... RW/LW: Lamrpou, Chatzigiovannis, Gianniotas.. ST: Kampetsis, Manos, Emmanoulidis

We should put our trust in JVS. We haven’t seen this team play the way it has for years and I’m all in with JVS as he has transformed this team.

I was actually thinking that my be the reason for Stafyldis being at CB. To play it out effectively from the back and in turn improve the transition from the middle. Defensively I don’t trust him. He is error prone and if he was to be replaced by Siovas or Lampropoulos then it will be fine. As JVS likes how they play. Both Hatzidiakos and Stafylidis are good passers of the ball. I don’t think Manolas or Sokratis are as good in this department.

That’s too far man ?

Yes we do...

We couldn’t beat them with our more experienced players. I’ve always said we should trust youth and look at what’s happening. We are winning. Great way to end this roller coaster of a campaign. The ball doesn’t want to go in for Koulouris in the national team ?

Maybe your right. Greece still needs to be at their best and maybe put away 2 or goals against them. As I said we need to improve our finishing. If we do we could be looking at winning this game 3 or 4-0. Maybe we could see Vasiliadis play.

It still mind boggling that Masouras missed an open goal. Unbelievable... We need to continue playing the way we have and we need to work on our finishing. JVS has said that we need to work on finishing. Finland are a better side than Armenia and are full of confidence. I hope we beat them at home to close this roller coaster of a qualifying campaign.

Yeah it’s hard to believe that Sokratis said that. I don’t think he is a bit of a pest and whinges a lot. He does care for the national team, that I believe. But I think he is negative in the way he explains things. I do appreciate him talking striefht and being to the point and also saying it as it is. There are many that believe Sokratis and Manolas “stopped playing” after the 2014 World Cup. They new they were going to be locks going forward in the starting line up and became less motivated and therefore they became complacent. Samaris and Mitroglou the same. As i said JVS has gotten rid of the complacency and has Instilled competition for places.

JVS got rid of the complacency such as Sokratis, Manolas, Torosidis, Mitroglou and Samaris. And he has included young, hungry players who have a point to prove and everyone is on notice. You must fight for your teammates, the shirt, fans, and your country and this is the way it will be going forward. The players I mentioned above have been automatic starters for the last 5 years and haven’t gotten us anywhere. We played our best football without them the last 2 games and that should speak volumes. We look more organised at the back and play at a higher tempo. Which is refreshing to see. I applaud JVS so far for what he has done and I hope this continues.

He should have one with Tzatziki and one with mustard Thessaloniki style ?

I know it’s off topic but Victoria yeeros is not as good as it used to be. There’s another one 5 minutes away it’s called the yeeros shop. That used to be good aswell. The Gyradiko in Bexley has declined aswell. There’s a new one opening in Ramsgate, hope it’s good. You can’t beat a yeeros from Greece. My brother has his own shop and all I got to say and without being biased is that he has the best yeeros in Sydney. Back on topic, apparently Donis, Koutris and Vasiliadis are set to start for this game. I’m very happy about this.

The team is more or less the same. I was waiting to see new untested names. It doesn’t matter now hopefully this is a winning team.

To be fair I think the squad is already done it’s just that they like to announce it very late. Should be out by tomorrow. I hope to see Vasiliadis. Want to see how he goes.

The truth it doesn’t matter who we put at keeper. They are more or else the same. As all have had ups and downs. I like how we have rotated players in this position as it creates competition for a spot. But if I have had to pick a keeper I’d choose Vlachodimos as the number 1. He is more talented and plays champions league. He’s got more of a future than Paschalakis. Paschalakis is overrated in my opinion. Barkas is more reliable than he is and is a solid number 2 option. We can’t forget others like Dioudis who has impressed many times and also that young player that plays in Bulgaria is one to keep your eye on. Dioudis should be 3rd choice going forward.

I think everyone is thinking the same way. We have to continue our good momentum. If we don’t get to the next level than I hope we at least play the same way we did against Bosnia going forward. Lots of positives in that game. Question is who will get the call up? To me Hatzidiakos, Limnios, Galanopoulos and Pavlidis all did well. They should be playing again. Kourbelis has a place now in midfield. I do question if under pressure how he would do but nonetheless he deserves a starting spot.

Sokratis would be the captain because he is the most commanding out of everyone and the most experienced. I was thinking to put Mantalos in the line up and have him as the captain. Leads by example and can play with anyone. Manolas, Mitroglou, Samaris, Masouras and etc, are not really captains. Either is Fetfa and Donis. Fortounis I think was put as captain at Olympiakos because he leads by example and is always scoring and assisting in the league. I don’t think we need both Zeca and Kourbelis in the same line up. Unless we play stronger opposition. Then we should play them. Galanopoulos should be given more game time. Also I’m not totally sold on Bouchalakis being a starter yet but I’m willing to give him more chances. As it stands Kourbelis seems like a definite starter now. Also apparently Vasiliadis and Kiomourtzoglou will get called up. AEK are also trying to sign the latter. I really would like to see what they bring to the team. They are both German born and have developed in Germany. They could surpass our current midfielders and become starters for the NT. We’ll see what happens.

Is he any good?

Yes that makes sense. He can still be useful as he is a very aggressive defender and seems to care about Greece. I like him as a player but I think it’s time to move on for the better of the team and it’s future. I’m just trying to think ahead in terms of the younger players and give them a good amount of experience by the time World Cup comes around. Manolas can still be an option as he is 28 and probably has similar experience to Sokratis playing in a higher level like champions league. If Sokratis was to stay on than Siovas would have to be dropped. No point having 2 players over 30 in the team. I personally don’t mind Siovas I think he brings composure and great positioning. Also Hatzidiakos has played well recently and deserves a spot in the team. Also Retsos and Mavropanos are young and have good potential. Hopefully they stay injury free and get into good form as they are the future of the team.

We all know we have a lot of options at the back but at the moment this is how I see it. Mavropanos and Retsos haven’t been playing for a while and Mavropanos is injury prone. Kyriakos Papadopoulos is a solid option but is very injury prone and isn’t playing right now. Players like Lampropoulos, Kolovetsios and Triantafylopoulos are not really good enough compare to Manolas and Sokratis. Now I’m all for having Manolas and Sokratis sit out, as the team seems to have a good rhythm going and I don’t any disturbance. The CBs that are the most reliable now are Hatzidiakos, Siovas, Risvanis(who is underrated and should be given a chance) and Kourbelis who can also play there. You have them and Sokratis and Manolas to choose from. The rest need to prove themselves more or play at a higher level. If you have Manolas and Sokratis in the team then common sense tells you to start them. If you don’t have them then you have to rely on players I mentioned and the one that are not playing at a higher level. JVS continuously says he wants to try new players that are young and players that haven’t been given a shot. He’s also said playing in the Greek league doesn’t make a difference in terms of selection. He’s also said Greece are capable of playing aggressive and attacking style of football. Which is true. He is not freezing out anyone and welcoming all options. This is a smart decision. I would rather have Manolas or Sokratis instead of Lampropoulos or Triantafylopoulos. But if Mavropanos and Retsos start playing and are in form then they should be considered the next that take over from Manolas and Sokratis. If we want to prepare for the World Cup in 2022 than we shouldn’t be playing players that are 30 and over. That’s the way I think it should be. Sokratis will be 34 and Manolas will be 32 by then. Sokratis has stated that if we don’t make the Euros then he will retire, as he wants the new generation to prove themselves. These were his words. JVS wants to give players like Pelkas, Bouchalakis, Masouras and Mantalos the leading roles as they are in there mid 20s and by the time the World Cup comes around they will be in their primes. He also wants the youth to be in the team like Limnios, Hatzidiakos and Pavlidis in the mix. A rebuild is about playing the youth and building the team from there. Not playing 30 year olds and over which is made me think why Zeca and Siovas were picked. They are still decent options to have. As far as strikers go Pavlidis should be the starter with Koulouris and Donis behind him. I would prefer Donis out wide where his pace would be more useful as he wouldn’t have a CB marking him so tightly and would have more space on the wing where he can do damage. As we have seen JVS is capable of making some of our average players like Bakasetas play there best game. He has made every single play at their best which is incredible. I hope this momentum continues and wins in our next matches.

Stafylidis and Bakakis were at fault for the 2nd goal against Bosnia. Bakakis didn’t do enough to close the cross down and Stafylidis was caught out of position because his pressed and ran to forward to close down earlier. They need to do better there. I will give Bakakis credit for his energy and forward runs but that is where it stops. In the ball he is a liability. Gets nervous most of the time when he has the ball and he usually fumbles it either passing it to an opposing player or can’t control the ball and loses possession. Down the road Masouras should be considered. Also we have Natsos who has been in good form.

Great post. Schip has also said the more possession we have the more chances we will create. This is true and this is what he wants to team to play, possession. Against quality sides there is going to be more emphasis on defence ofcourse. He believes this team can play a aggressive and attacking style. I like the way he thinks too because he has said we can’t just play defensively we got to get the ball and move it forward. He doesn’t like playing it safe against equal to less teams. He thinks we are capable of playing good football and I agree. I don’t think Manolas and Sokratis will be needed if we continue in the right path. Better off playing players who are going to be the future now so they can get used to international football and get valuable experience early. Hatzidiakos did very well these past 2 games. He should start again. Same goes for Limnios. Schip wants to give other players chances which is good as he isn’t limiting the selections. I am a fan of Stafylidis like most and I would like to see him have a spot somewhere but Tsimikas and Koutris are better in defence. They have more pace and make dangerous forward runs to. Stafylidis has pros and cons. We need to use him correctly. I don’t think he should be the number 1 LB. maybe off the bench he could be used as an impact and if we revert to a 3-5-2 formation he either play as the 3rd cb or LWB where he can just focus on putting crosses or getting into dangerous positions. Also we should use his biggest strength in my opinion which is his shooting.

Tough call for sure. I don’t think Fortounis goes straight in the starting 11. He’s just had a big injury. I just think Mantalos after the Bosnia game made me a believer. He has quality about him and has great chemistry with anyone as I said before. That’s why the past coaches have always played him. Fortounis is excellent on his day, again it’s a tough call but Mantalos is more of a good example. Humble, works hard and great on the ball. Fortounis is the same but I see more leadership qualities in Mantalos. Who would’ve thought the same way he did when he assisted Pavlidis? Very smart move he made there. Also Bakasetas did well to let it go. Stafylidis isn’t the best footballer and that’s why he shouldn’t be captain, but still very useful to have. Maybe not in a defensive way but more attacking and his long shots are dangerously good. I just think we have better LBs and CBs. I was all for Stafylidis to play but I’ve realised defensively he isn’t solid enough. When he attacks different story. Thunderbolt of a shot that hit the post against Bosnia. Masouras the right back is talented enough to start. Also Natsos should get a look in.