Dean97

Yep. Vrousai can play both wing and 10 effectively. Can’t say the same about Mantalos or Pelkas.

We will see a 4-3-3. I think Bouchalakis should start in midfield. With Zeca and possibly Pelkas. We need energy in the middle. I think we will see a front 3 of Masouras Koulouris Vrousai. We need speed and energy. That’s what he has to implement. Aswell as keeping the defence tight. The team has to defend and attack as one.

In my opinion there is not much of a difference. Both are the same height and ability wise are equal. I don’t think one is better than the other. I do believe though Pelkas will hustle more and can be dangerous with his set pieces on his day and also is faster. Fetfatzidis is better than both in my opinion.

I still believe Koutris is slightly better than Tsimikas defending but lately Tsimikas has been doing well and in defence he has done well. But you can tell he still needs work there.

How long do we have to wait until Galanopoulos gets a call up? Is it me or is he not that good to begin with? In my opinion Samaris shouldn’t play because of his poor performances. It shows you how limited we are in that role.

That’s what I was thinking. Pelkas also presses better than Mantalos. We need to take that into account aswell. That’s there best positions so I’m not too fussed who plays at CAM.

Interesting to see Retsos get called up for the u21s. I guess it’s a way of slowly getting back to the senior team.

The first good sign Schip has showed is leaving our Bakasetas and putting in Fetfatzidis. Overall his call ups are good. Tsimikas got the call as he has been playing more than Koutris. In terms of talent and overall quality I think Koutris is slightly better. But the more games Tsimikas plays the better he gets. They are similar but I think Koutris is more dangerous going forward. In the comeback we made against Bosnia Koutris, Donis, Masouras and Kolovos made the difference with Fortounis pulling the strings. The team in general lifted and that’s what we need more of, especially right in the beginning.

I dont know who your talking about but if your talking about Giannoulis then I have to disagree. Tsimikas has been playing well and Olympiakos have been playing great football and are now in the champions league. Both have a long way to go still but Tsimikas is more deserving of a call up at the moment.

Donis and Koutris are going to be needed. They have speed. Not fussed about Mitroglou. We need our youth to shine. Tsimikas, Pavlidis and Koulouris are our future. Fetfatzidis has to start. Pelkas hasn’t been performing.

I’m not being pessimistic I’m just saying the truth. We couldn’t beat Armenia and Finland is better. We should be able to beat Finland but anything can happen with our team.

I really like to think we have a chance but it doesn’t look like we do. Until we find a real coach and until our players actually really care we wont get anywhere. Player selections need to be a adjusted to. For example Bakasetas needs to be out.

In terms of Fetfatzidis abilities on the ball he should be a starter. The same goes for any player with similar abilities. His time in Saudi Arabia doesn’t make a difference to his performances. Why was Tziolis called up when he was playing there too? What I’m getting to is as long as you are playing and performing than you should be in the team. He does the simple things that most our players can’t do which is control the ball and pass effectively. He has also been playing well for Aris. He has started all games Aris has played and has done well. He is still effective in my opinion. As i said before he isn’t the answer as others are not on the same level as him in terms of technical ability. As for the youth we don’t have enough class or quality yet in my opinion for them to be included. Otherwise they would be all playing abroad and they would’ve been called up by now. Also they are not on the same level as Fetfatzidis. I’m all for giving youth a chance, i even consider myself an advocate for the young guys being included. If we want to include them than the whole team needs to be full of youth. We have young wingers but are not at the level the national team needs them at. Van Schipt likes playing attacking football. If that’s the case then: option A - he needs to play attacking minded midfielders and actual wingers. With more emphasis in holding possession. Which means youth are needed. Limnios, Lamprou and players alike will be called up. Or option B - we have to go real defensive with a 5-3-2. Which he doesn’t prefer. If we continue the exact same way then we will continue seeing negative results. A good balance is needed for sure.

I have to agree with @Alphonseand @Bardouuu. Fetfatzidis can change a game for you. His ball control and dribbling is the best we got. We need to also play in form players. We can’t have Bakasetas and Samaris start again. They can sabotage the team. Fetfatzidis isn’t going to be the answer but will definitely be in my mind a big difference in the way we attack.

It will all depend on who he calls up. If we want to play a winning brand of football we have to play players who can control the ball and be creative. I just think we should’ve brought in a more respectable manager and have a proper clean out and restart. In my opinion if I were coach these would be the players o would have right now... Vlachodimos, Paschalakis, Barkas, Torosidis, Natsos, Retsos, Sokratis, Manolas, Siovas, Tsimikas, Koutris, Kourbelis, Bouchalakis, Kolovos, Masouras, Mantalos, Zeca, Gaitanidis, Fetfatzidis, Vrousai, Pavlidis, Koulouris, Donis. I’m willing to sacrifice Pelkas and Samaris. 2 players who haven’t brought their club form over to the team at all. Bouchalakis wouldn’t be a major upgrade but can offer something slightly more than Samaris. Kolovos and Masouras do more with the ball than Pelkas. Mantalos has to replace Fortounis for the time being. Fetfatzidis would have a major role on the right wing or the left. His ability to drive with the ball towards the box is the best in Greece. Gaitainidis is a hidden gem. We should be looking out for him. Explosive and a hungry player that can score goals. I was impressed with his performances in pre season. Wouldn’t be a starter yet though. Pavlidis can shine for us. We are lacking real quality at CDM/CM and RB. We need a major upgrade everywhere really, except CB. But with players I believe we can get something going. Especially in possession. I’m also hoping that Androutsos starts playing on a regular basis. Someone who I think can help with bringing the ball forward effectively. In regards to Galanopoulos and Siopis they can be included but I’m a bit concerned with their height. Especially against top quality teams and defending set pieces. We could have one of them play against lower quality teams. Its encouraging to see Koulouris and Pavlidis playing well and are really young. They also play in higher level leagues. Players like Tachtsidis, Samaris, Pelkas, Bakasetas and others need to have a break for a while from the team in my opinion. My lineup would be: Vlachodimos Torosidis Manolas Sokratis Tsimikas Kolovos Kourbelis Mantalos Masouras Pavlidis Fetfatzidis Subs: Vrousai, Bouchalakis, Koulouris.

Fortounis is a great player don’t get me wrong but he definitely is slow and his stamina isn’t good enough. If he improved his fitness levels and try running more and harder than we will see an even better player. Fetfatzidis is a faster player mentally and physically. He can get the ball and create magic. I keep repeating myself but it is what it is. As far Mantalos goes I’d like to see him carry the same form to the national team. I think we will see a 4-3-3. Something is telling me that this is the formation we will be going with. I hope he doesn’t go with a Samaris, Kourbelis and Zeca trio. I hope he plays 2 faster attacking minded mids like Pelkas. I wonder if he will play actual wingers? Fetfatzidis and Masouras at the moment are in good form.

Should be also looking at Pavlidis and Fetfatzidis players who are in great form.

I’ve always thought highly of him ever since he was at AEK. He was only 17 and was carrying the team on his back in a time where AEK was at its worst.

The two times where Greece showed real character was against Belgium 1-1 and Bosnia 2-2. They played with real intensity and passion. If we can display that attitude in every match where it feels like everything’s on the line then we will see a more ferocious and dominant Greece. They had something to prove in that Belgium game and did just that. If it wasn’t for Tachtsidis red card we would’ve won in my opinion.

I’m not really interested in reading his history, I’m more interested in reading what he plans on doing with the team and which players he prefers. He likes playing attacking football something which the team needs to be doing more of in my opinion so we should see.

Zeca dosent stop running and has helped us to a certain point. He isn’t great on the ball though but Is capable of scoring a goal or giving an assist, something Samaris isn’t capable of doing for Greece. I just think Bouchalakis and Kourbelis are a better duo.

Not sure about Donis but apparently he is trying to change clubs...

That true @AchillesHeel but we have struggled to score against teams lower teams than us. That’s where the midfield comes in and they are supposed to supply meaningful balls forward and create chances themselves. Fortounis has tried and done this himself. There is no real presence in midfield. Defensively they are easy to get passed and I believe Samaris is at fault here. Zeca is relying on his ability to run and tackle. He isn’t threatening with the ball. It’s only been Fortounis most of the time doing the damage. Zeca and Samaris should at least put in defensively. The defenders shouldn’t be totally blamed. We should have beaten Armenia. We also should have drew Italy. We need more involvement from our CMs. Otherwise we are going to get no where. Koulouris, Mitroglou, Durmisaj and Pavlidis are good enough to put them away I believe. It’s just that we need 2 midfielders to control the game and be involved in the attacking play. Also some one to back up Fortounis. I’m grateful to have Fortounis but he isn’t good enough to do it all himself. No one is in this team. Our lack of options and quality at CM/CDM is the main reason we are not winning games. The CBs are of top quality and we have good depth. They can’t do it all. Also they are human, if you are getting bombarded by the opposition most of the time your defence will crack and open. The defensive play on both a team level and individual level need to improve but we are going to have to suffer for the time being because of the lack of quality options in the middle. Players like Kante, Bakayoko, Veratti, Pogba, Jorginho, Pjanic even Guilherme of Olympiacos are of top quality. Players who can control the game and hold possession.

That’s right Nick we have a massive problem at CM. If not the main reason we are losing. It’s unfortunate Mavropanos and Androutsos are not getting much playing time as they would be great options. With those players you mentioned - they have to step up this season and prove themselves. We need them as options, hopefully they are ready to be involved soon as we need more speed, skill and intelligence in the team.

Yeah I don’t know why Samaris hasn’t performed well for Greece, yet gets countless game time over and over again. I thought he along with Kone were our best players in the 2014 World Cup. After that they didn’t do anything for the team and the team plummeted. I hope this new coach has more eyes on players abroad aswell because we can’t just have players from the Greek league.