Dean97

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.

^ that's a good point but Samaris to me can do well in the premier league I don't know what he is worried about. He has a good touch most of the time and can play nice crisp passes. He is very strong aswell.

He is 28. He still has time to prove how good he is. Yeah it should be Kapinos but it is not. He was born in Greece.

Kone is a good player. I don't know what is happening lately with him whether he is injured or if he has lost interest. The bottom line is Kone is a passionate player and when he wants he can destroy anyone. His best season was the 2013/14 season where he captained Bologna, scoring and assisting goals and showing by example. Lazaros was in the team aswell, also this was the season just before the World Cup where Kone played very well. He looks like a Greek if you ask me. There a lot of Albanians who have naturalised as Greeks and who have become more Greek than a Greek. I assume those Albanians are Orthodox like Kapino and Kone. I'd like to see him back in the National Team as either a bench option or starter. But we have Fortounis and Mantalos and he is not as effective on the wing as he is as an attacking midfielder or a free roaming player. I don't know if he still at the same level that he was in the World Cup.

He should be pushing to play in the premier league. It's better for Greek players to be playing in competitive leagues like the EPL and push to be in the starting 11. This drive and desire can only do good for the national team. He is 27 and not 24, that's why he would rather play for Zenit, I don't blame him, he doesn't want to sit on the bench but it would be good to see him in the EPL.

I also believe Torosidis should have left earlier when he was at Olympiakos. K.Papadopoulos is very unlucky because of his injuries. He is very talented and very driven and I believe if he wasn't injured all the time he would surpass Sokratis or be at the same level. Manolas is showing good signs. Fortounis has been in good form since he rejoined Olympiakos and it is only a matter of time before he goes abroad. What are Ninis and Fetfatzidis excuse?They have all the talent in the world yet that have not made it as far as I have hoped. Players like Stafylidis, Tachtsidis and Karelis are players who are young that can contribute to our national team. They have talent but I'm not sure if they have the drive to go further in their careers and as players.

Terrible news Karelis is out for the season.

I'm a Olympiakos supporter and I believe Fortounis should leave the Greek League. He has progressed so much since coming back to Olympiakos. He is talented and should be progressing to higher new levels abroad. Whether in the La Liga, Serie A or The Premier League. He is 24 and now is the time to move on. Even though I'm a Olympiakos supporter I care more for the national team and I want to see Greek players progress and become superstars. As it is also better for the national team that Greek players are abroad and progressing and having passion for the sport.

Does anyone know how Stafylidis is doing?