Dean97

The whole reason why this games has been made is to make it as real as possible that's why some stats are upgraded and downgraded on weekly basis. That might aswell put Pelkas 95 so he can beat Ronaldo and Messi. It doesn't work like that because Pelkas is no where near the level of Ronaldo and Messi. Although it's video game it should be considered a platform to move on from when deciding which players deserve to be in the team. Siopis and Risvanis are the reason why Panionios are 2nd and doing so well. They were the reason why Panionios did really well last season, along with Bakasetas. What is also so smart of selecting Tziolis all the time when Tsoukalas of Asteras has a lot of games under his belt. Along with Kourbelis.

That's true that's what happens. People here are acting like the ratings are obsurd. Yes it's a video game but that doesn't mean that the ratings are make believe. The ratings are based in real life games and the team you play for. There is a reason why Pelkas has gotten called up and Mystakidis hasn't. That's not a knock to Mystakidis as I also like to see him progress and be in the team. Siopis deserves to be called up aswell as Risvanis. Giakoumakis has a lot to work on I don't know if he is ready yet. Skibbe should know that there are 3 spots available. Tziolis has no club, Papadopoulos suspended and Karelis injured. He should choose wisely.

Life is not a video game, but it doesn't hurt to show who is better and it's good know in detail of how they rate players. The majority of developed countries buy this buy FIFA 17 video game and it's one of the best selling games on the market. I was just showing how FIFA rates the both of them as they clearly rate Pelkas higher. No, coaches are smart enough to judge who is better. They should know as Skibbe has called up Pelkas before.

Life is not a video game, but it doesn't hurt to show who is better and it's good know in detail of how they rate players. The majority of developed countries buy this FIFA 17 video game and it's one of the best selling games on the market. I was just showing how FIFA rates the both of them as they clearly rate Pelkas higher.

I hope we can at least draw against Belgium. They look like a very impressive team and I believe they will do well in the World Cup tournament itself. Papadopoulos is out for this game. Manolas and Sokratis have to be on their game or else or we are gone. We should play 5-3-2. With Torosidis and Stafylidis as wing backs. Mitroglou and Fortounis will be the 2 upfront. With Samaris, Mantalos and either Petsos or Tachtsidis as the 3 in the middle.

I don't know why you think Mystakidis is much better than Pelkas. I don't see much PAOK games but every time I see highlights Pelkas looks more effective and to me Mystakidis is average. He has skill but Pelkas I find is more effective with his pace and overall ability. But I also find them both very inconsistent. Here are FIFA ratings for Pelkas and Mystakidis: http://sofifa.com/player/208053 http://sofifa.com/player/216498

I also want him to be part of the squad. I don't know where he would play as I also agree with red sheriff that we need a LW who has attacking flair. Fetfatzidis and Pelkas have flair. Also to mention Bouchalakis was part of that youth squad aswell. He can be another addition to the team like Diamantakos and Bakasetas.

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I hope he does well. Stafylidis did alright. We need our midfielders to have some sort of form heading into the match against Belgium. Also Tziolis and Maniatis haven't played for a while and this is his chance to start.

Tzavellas is 28-29. He is at best a bench option for Greece. He won't progress but he also won't be on the decline in the Turkish league. He is more vital to the National Team than Tziolis.

I just thought id bring this topic back up as its good to discuss and analyse where our Ethniki is going. We all know that the players we depend on right now going into the World Cup are Karnezis, Torosidis, Sokratis, Samaris, Fortounis and Mitroglou. The rest like Karelis, Tachtsidis, Manolas, Papadopoulos, Stafylidis and Mantalos are needed. But who else have we got to cover these players now or in the future. I look at our talent pool and its very thin. Mitroglou is hit or miss some games and Samaris is very inconsistent. Which leads to our 3 main problems. Our midfield, finishing our chances and lack of wingers. We need someone like a Zagorakis or Karagounis who can control the midfield and be a leader especially in defence and attack. Samaris is a good player in my opinion and i believe he needs to play higher up the field instead of playing really deep as he has for the past 2 years. Im not saying to put him attacking midfield but to give him the freedom to push when he wants because i believe he is very dangerous when he is around the box. For example the goal against the Ivory Coast. So i say when fit and healthy have either Papadopoulos or Torosidis play deep. I wouldent even do that i would have all my midfielders crowding the box trying to score but just to be safe we need 1 player hanging back. Our finishing is horrible i have to admit. I think its time to play 2 strikers because Mitroglou is not fast and does not like to run that often. So Karelis should start alongside Mitroglou or even put Fortounis as striker, which allows one of our other talented attacking midfielders to play for example, Kone or Ninis. The more players we have in the box the better the chances of scoring. Wingers we dont have enough of. Holebas could of played LW but what do you do. Its time for Bakasetas and others to lift up there socks and start performing or we are in trouble. I have a bit of hope though because Stafylidis is progressing and is still young which means i have faith in him and can become an even better player. Who knows he might end up being our new left winger. As good as Mantalos is he cant play on the wing. Id rather Fortounis but even he cant be effective on the wing. Samaras is a huge loss and so was Salpingidis. Another thing i want to talk about is will Kone ever return to the national team? Will Fetfatzidis ever return to the team? For now we dont know. But it would be good to have some depth as they also provide a threat when they have the ball at their feet. Also how long do we have to wait before players like Retsos, Lamprou, Limnios, Mourgos, Evangelou and Donis become established players? What 5 years, 10 years, i hope not, i hope its more like 1 or 2 years. Also there is something about Tsimikas that makes me think he can become very useful in this team. I just hope we can produce more depth in the future because as it looks now if one of our staring players is not available there isnt enough talent to cover.

Retsos can play all across the back. He is fast and good in the air. He could be the next Manolas.

Yes we need some who can go forward and be dangerous aswell as be solid in defence. Torosidis and Seitaridis were both very good in attack and defence. The reason being is because they had high stamina and speed. They could contribute well by giving early crosses and support down the wing. They both were very good tacklers as well. Now to the players we have now like Kitsiou, Skondras and Bakakis. Kitsiou is the closest one out of the three that can take over Torosidis. But he is also a very long way aswell. Kitsiou can provide speed and stamina down the wing but is he that effective like Torosidis and Seitaridis? I don't think he is, I also don't think he is that good defensively either.

That's true Greekaroos. The thing I don't understand is why can't we play at a faster tempo with sharp passes? We have the players for it for example Samaris and Mantalos. They have very good crisp passes that I've seen work well together. Fortounis is class and Mitroglou is lethal when he is given good service. Our problem is that we are slow and at times very clumsy. We also can't finish our chances, that's always been the case for Greece. I believe if we fix these problems we are going to see a better team. The only few games I've seen the national team play fast and good football is the Hungary match in 2015 and the friendly against the Netherlands.

I agree the EPL would suit Samaris.

Skibbe has never called up Kone and Fetfatzidis. He has called up Ninis and Pelkas though. Kone is off and on at club level, Fetfatzidis plays in an Arab league. He has called up Diamantakos and Bakasetas because at the time they were playing regularly for their club. But the reason he called up Petsos is because we haven't got good enough depth in that position. Also he called up Tziolis and Maniatis who have no clubs. Rockefeller is right about if we were to replace Tziolis and Maniatis it would have to be players that play there position, not Ninis and so on. Now that Petsos, Bakasetas and Diamantakos are not playing regularly it will be interesting to see if Skibbe selects them.

In the attacking midfield position we have Fortounis, Mantalos, Kone, Fetfatzidis, Ninis and Pelkas. We are covered there. Also 2/6 can play on the wing as well as Gianniotas. Vlachodimos can be a good player but is very inconsistent. Kolovos is more of a second striker or attacking midfielder. Lazaros Lamprou has got a future. So does Androutsos and Manthatis. Id like to see Manthatis involved soon as we have no pure winger and he is playing regularly for Olympiakos.

Siopis is very good in my opinion. I just saw the highlights of Atromitos vs Panionios, he works for the team, he is also fast and very agile with a good technique something we don't see in our national team's midfield. I haven't seen much of Kourbelis so I can't comment about him. I agree with Amorgos about needing to have runners in the midfield. Skibbe has played Maniatis and Samaris a lot in the midfield. Maybe it's time to play Siopis alongside either Samaris or Tachtsidis. Also Tasos Donis has potential to be in the national team for a few years. Retsos does too but our 3 defenders have it covered for the next 5-10 years.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Platellas in the team. He looks like a smart player and he has good finishing.

More than Mantalos and Fortounis. He has more speed and has played on the wing many times for Setubal in Portugal, PAOK and for the Ethniki.

Pelkas definitely deserves to be in the national team. I saw the highlights of PAOK vs PAS and he missed a lot of chances, but when you see the level of our wingers in the team he should be involved.

That's true. Off the bench he wouldn't be bad also there is a spot up for grabs because Karelis is injured. Why not?

Good signing hope he plays regularly and starts.

Didn't Napoli want to buy him?

I agree with you ausgreek. Although Pelkas is better centrally, his pace is needed on the wing. He is better suited on the wing then Mantalos or Fortounis. Gianniotas is good as a bench option in my opinion. He needs to improve more to be a starter. He needs to be more solid in attack and defence because a winger needs to defend at times and help out.