Dean97

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.

I agree with you about Holebas and Karnezis. Papastathopoulos will only get better. I disagree with you about Torosidis. In my opinion he was a much better player back in 2010-11. He was faster and fitter then. He hasn't dropped off that much but was heaps better 4 years ago.

I think it was just personal. The coach doesn't want him and wants someone else. On Sport24.gr there is an article about how it's been 10 years since his his debut at Panathinaikos. It goes through the important stages of his career. He must have been so highly rated back then that he got burned out fast. Yes he is talented but he was never going to be the saviour to Greek football or the national team. They were treating him like he was the next Maradona.

What a shame he is a big talent.

Is Lazaros Lamprou playing?

The thing is will Skibbe hive them a try. Probably not. Pelkas should be given a go aswell as Platellas. We can't keep playing a CM Mantalos and a LB Stafylidis on the wings.

Does anyone know what's happening with Bouchalakis? Didn't play much last season because of injury but started off really well. Ive seen only a few times this season. He has been described as a promising player.

As much as I don't like Mantalos on the wing, he is needed. He works well with Fortounis and their combination is only going to get better. Let's see if Stafylidis can get involved in the play along with Mitroglou so we can see nice attacking football with good passes. We need a midfielder that is sort of attacking but deep lying play maker. Who has good technical ability. Someone in the mold of Tachtsidis and Kone. Who can give a great pass but also very good with the ball at their feet. We can't have Maniatis and Samaris both play, it's too defensive. But I don't mind them. We can't just have Fortounis and Mantalos passing to each other to create a goal, but I know they can do it. We just need a balanced midfielder with a decent winger. A winger that has speed, good passing ability with excellent crossing who can also defend well and come back when he is needed. The closest player we had to this was Holebas. Unfortunately he retired. Mavrias has the potential to be a very good winger, it's good that he is playing regularly at his club. Pelkas is a good player. Out of all our attacking midfielders he would be the best option on the wing. Gianniotas is good and was a player that I said to look out for back when he was at Aris. Stafylidis can be decent on the wing but I think he is better as a leftback when he bombs forward overlapping and providing a cross.

He is worth a call up in friendlies. I remember him at Panathinaikos did very well against Olympiakos that ended 2-2. He scored and assisted in that game. I don't know why he was not playing for Sunderland. Can anyone tell me why he was not playing?

Yeah i agree with that aswell. But we need Greeks in Olympiakos and I'm glad I'm seeing players like Androutsos and Manthatis getting chances. Also Retsos. But I think Marinakis wants to see them play.

The more Greeks in Olympiakos the better!

This video was 6 months ago where there were talks about him moving to Panathiniakos. If you listen carefully he talks about how he wants to earn his spot at Udinese. He to me is a hardworking player. I could tell by his character he is not the type to give up and go back to Greece. He want to earn his spot back in a league where its very competitive and a league ranked few spots behind La Liga and Bundesliga. The theory of him having no interest anymore is out the window.

Also to add the only thing Maniatis has over all our midfielders is his speed. That's why I think Skibbe chose him over Tachtsidis because he can mark and chase down opponents on time and tackle them and win the ball back. This is Tachtsidis only flaws. Marking, speed and work rate. Tachtsidis main strengths are his body strength, passing, aerial ability and his vision. He is very average in finishing, shooting, free kicks and tackling. Samaris is the Jack of all trades and a master of none.

I know where your coming from. Also Karagounis used to be fast back in 04. Tachtsidis has always been slow. The difference is Karagounis would do anything for the Ethniki, whether he is injured, tired or pissed off. He gave it his all and more. Maniatis is like this in a way but is no where as intelligent as Tachtsidis or Karagounis.