Dean97

^ 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?

Im still trying to find out who should start in the Belgium match Tachtsidis or Maniatis. Maniatis is just a runner and can win tackles. Tachtsidis is just a good passer and smart with the ball. Why doesn't Mantalos play in a deeper midfield position like he did against Montenegro? I also think it's now time to give Karelis more minutes instead of coming off the bench in the last 5 minutes. Give him 20-30 minutes if we are chasing a goal.

I just saw the full match replay of the game against Bosnia. They had more possession than us in the first half in which we played very poorly. Samaris and Mantalos were by far our worst players. They couldn't play simple passes and they were giving away possession. K.Papadopoulos was our best player along with Sokratis. Torosidis was very average and Maniatis was Maniatis, running everywhere. Stafylidis did good and so did Tzavellas. Mitroglou was lost and very slow in anything he did. I also Fortounis tell him off because he was getting in his way and losing possession easy. Fortounis tried to make something happen but had dead beats around him like Mantalos, Samaris, Maniatis and Mitroglou and therefore could not do much. Karnezis did alright but I'd like him to rush out earlier sometimes and read the game. But he did fine. Overall the teams tactics are wrong. You can't play that deep that when you have possession there is only one player to pass to then lose possession because there weren't enough options. I also saw a lot if miss kicks and kicking the ball anywhere. It looks unprofessional for a team like ours. It also concerns me that when we make the World Cup (I should say if) that we will get embarrassed badly if we play the way we did against Bosnia. Also Belgium are going to put away the missed chances that Bosnia just missed. I hope Skibbe has a plan against Belgium because it won't look good.

Sokratis and Manolas are going to be vital. More vital than Mitroglou as I believe Karelis can create a scoring chance as he is faster and a harder worker than Mitroglou.

This is my take on the team and what I think we should do going forward: First of all the team has no depth. Especially striker. Mitroglou is our only hope and can be very lethal on a good day. Defence is the best part of the team. But the problem is we do not have a back up for Torosidis. Risvanis looks like he is getting better and Kolovetsios needs a chance. Our Goalkeepers are not that good in my opinion. They are very average. Karnezis, Kapino and Glykos are our only choices in the next couple of years. Also we do not have wingers. We haven't got that superstar winger like a Ronaldo, Bale or Neymar. We have Gianniotas and Fetfatzidis. Gianniotas is hit or miss and Fetfatzidis is short and his work rate is not the best. But they are the best we have at the moment. Also Mantalos is not a winger. Bakasetas and Diamantakos are better up front then on the wing and Karelis is better than both of them. Karelis must play striker and nothing else. Lazaros should not be considered anymore. I hope Manthatis and Lamprou shine as they have good potential. Holebas was huge loss but we have to move on. The Central Midfield is my biggest concern as well as Right back. Samaris is decent. He is a holding midfielder who is tall and had a very good passing technique and is strong. The problem with him is his positioning. He must get this right or else our defenders are going to have a hard time continuously. Maniatis and Tziolis should have no part in the team anymore. Petsos is not working hard enough to earn a starting spot. Then you have Tachtsidis whose only strength is passing and vision and can occasionally score a goal. He is slow and not that good defensively. That's why Maniatis gets picked. Charisis and Bouchalakis need to to work harder in order to progress and become better players. Centre Attacking Midfield is loaded with good talent like Ninis, Kone, Fortounis, Mantalos, Fetfatzidis and Pelkas. I also believe we good potential players like Androutsos, Mourgos, Galanopoulos and Donis (he can play striker and winger also). At Left Back Stafylidis looks decent and Tzavellas needs to be a bench option. Lykogiannis is showing something and Tsimikas is a player that in the future will be a star. Retsos is one to look out for as he can play all the defensive positions. Our major problem at the moment is the midfield, striker, winger and full back positions, if we can get more depth there we will be fine. For example call up players like Siopis, Savvidis, Angelopoulos, Vergos, Koulouris, Lamprou, Manthatis, Lykogiannis, Bakakis, Kitsiou and Retsos. Yes some of these of players don't deserve call ups but we need to create more and more depth so we have back ups and a stronger Ethniki in the future.

Also Kone is more talented and has played more this season than the other 2.

I agree.

Your right Mantalos and Fetfatzidis are 2 different players that's why we need Fetfatzidis on the wing instead of Mantalos.

I'd love to see Kone, Fetfatzidis and Tachtsidis on the same field. Aswell as Ninis. They are quality and I think it's time to play them. Every position in my opinion needs competition. Maybe I'm wrong that it is not club and that playing and starting for the national team is a gift from playing well from your club. Mantalos and Fortounis work well together also with Mitroglou but in my opinion there is something missing and it feels like they need help. Fortounis can't take on players instead he finds gaps in the oppositions defence and dribbles through those gaps. Mantalos can't take on a player either. He might do it once or twice and that's it. Fetfatzidis is a player that can beat players 1 on 1 because he is so skillfull.

Fetfatzidis no doubt needs to be in the National squad. He has so much skill and is far better then anyone we have on the wing. We dont have player like him and his quality. Pelkas and Gianniotas are very average and they have been picked because we have no else. We need a player like Fetfatzidis. It dosent make sense to have a player of his quality not get picked. Just because he is in the Arab league should not mean he shouldn't get picked. The other scenario is Tachtsidis. There is no other Greek like Tachtsidis. His vision and control of the midfield is needed in the team. Fetfatzidis skill and explosiveness is also needed. Why can we the supporters see it and not the coach. Yes there are some weakness like Fetfatzidis is not physically strong and his work rate can be questioned but his strengths overshadow everything. I believe we are not going to find a player like him again. Also Mantalos is not a winger no matter how good he is he is not a winger. Also players like Tachtsidis, Fetfatzidis, Kone and K.Papadopoulos need to be in the team no matter what as they are quality players that are established and well known. For example you cant start Gianniotas if he is not playing reguarly for his club he is not at that level of experience he is still progressing and improving then the others i mentioned. Its like Maniatis and Tziolis got playing time even though they were not playing for their clubs. Thats how Tachtsidis, Fetfatzidis, Kone and K.Papadopoulos should be treated. The reason is because you can trust them and you know what you are going to get.

Good example would be Ninis and Fetfatzidis. Mantalos and Fortounis look like they are improving month by month. I just looked at the highlights the last game AEK played and Mantalos was doing everything. He is the heart of the team. Fortounis although is getting better and is a really talented player, sometimes shows he is a bit lazy in the game. But he is very talented and he must be working very hard in training with Olympiakos and by himself.

He is needed in the team. Kyriakos has too much passion and talent.

Sokratis is now 28. Manolas is 25. There is no arguing that Manolas is developing and becoming better than Sokratis was at 25. Also they are both rated 84 on FIFA 17. In my opinion Sokratis is slightly better, but not much. Sokratis is better in terms of composure on the ball. Everything else is the same. They are both good in the air, strong, and fast. I also believe that K.Papadopoulos would be better than both of them right now if it wasn't for his injuries. Now with Ninis and Fetfatzidis. They both were really talented at 18. Actually Ninis at 16 was very promising. They both should have left Greece at 20. I just can't understand why other countries have more depth than us. Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France,Croatia, Brazil and Argentina. They all have a big talent pool to choose from.

This is the team I would choose against Belgium: . . . . Karnezis Manolas Oikonomou Sokratis Samaris Torosidis Mantalos Fortounis Stafylidis Mitroglou Vellios It looks risky but it's the right formation. We have to play wing backs. We also need 2 strikers in the box. Fortounis and Mantalos need to stay central and Samaris needs to cover and distribute very well. Substitutes- Karelis, Tachtsidis and Gianniotas.

I want to also add that players like Bouchalakis and Pelkas should be killing it either in the Greek League or abroad because of their age.

Why is it that Greek players become good players and stars at the age of 25-27. I can't remember having superstars below that age. Only one I can remember is Ninis. K.Papadopoulos is another. Sokratis started playing well when he moved to Dortmund. Right now Retsos is a good up and coming player that is playing regularly for Olympiakos. Fortounis from 2 years ago to now has improved drastically and never have thought he would be the player he is today. Manolas has shocked me even more. The players that bringing positiveness in Greek football are Fortounis, Sokratis, Manolas and Mitroglou. Without these players the national team is going no where. I rate Samaris highly as brings intelligence and some sense to the midfield, plus he is tall. Other players like Tachtsidis and Karelis bring me hope. The rest are either hopeless(Tziolis) disappointing (Ninis, Fetfatzidis), very average (Diamantakos, Gianniotas and Bakasetas) and on the decline (Torosidis). Also Vellios and Stafylidis are on the right track of development but then again they will become stars late in their careers. I forgot to mention Mantalos. He is a very good footballer. He is very unique as he can tackle, pass the ball well and work off the ball well. He is a good addition to the team but I don't want to see him at RW. He would do for now there as there is no one.

That's also true.

I'd like to see Fortounis in the English Premier League. He has good technique all he needs is more fitness in my opinion. He would do well at a team like Tottenham or Everton.