Dean97

I thought Stafylidis did well with his touches and passing needs to improve in other areas. Tachtsidis when he came on started well for 15 minutes and then started to give away basic passes. But he was a breath of fresh air.

That very true Amorgo. Maniatis is a workhorse but isnt creative, whether that be he is not a technical player or is not smart enough. Samaris is more technical and is a smarter footballer. Anyways it makes more sense to have Kyriakos and Tachtsidis. One who can do the dirty work and i believe is the smarter player and one who can distribute the ball fast and efficently and moves into space. We see how Maniatis does not get into space and how Stafylidis has not played in the position that many times. I believe Stafylidis is more skillfull and has a better shot than Maniatis and i believe Stafylidis has a place in the team.

Here is a video with Benfica look at around 1:31 and 2.00.

I agree with you on that. Now im just going to show everyone Samaris with his old club Panionios and Olympiakos where he was played a bit further up as a number 8. He scored more when he was in and around the box then 15 yards away from it. Also shows how the defensive mid role limits him.

I think Samaris should be a box to box midfielder and not stay so deep. I think we should try a 4-3-3 with a midfield of Tachtsidis, Fortounis and Samaris. I think Samaris can do more higher up the pitch. I think the number 6 role limits him but the number 10 role is also too much. He needs to be in more balanced role where he is contributing in both attack and defence. Maniatis is a very good worker in midfield and can be a difference in not conceding, but we need faster and more creative players there who can pass and move off the ball. In my opinion I think going forward we should have Kyriakos as the holding midfielder with Samaris working together with Mantalos and Fortounis to create for Mitroglou.

Has Mantalos ever had interest abroad?

I agree

I just find their playing style similar. I also like to have Fetfatzidis back in the team, I just don't know if he is the same player or if he is regressed, because this team could do with a higher tempo.

Doesn't anyone believe we need to play at a faster tempo. Maybe we should put Fortounis at a deeper position and play K.Papadopoulos as a holding mid, also have Mantalos drift in from the wing from time to time. We are slow at building the play from the back. We also we need more options upfront, we saw today that Fortounis was by himself dribbling with no one to pass to. I only saw a very slow Mitroglou support him and he was the only option.

He played a good game today but the difference between him and Fetfatzidis is that Fetfatzidis has more flair and if Mantalos shows more flair we won't be looking to Fetfatzidis.

We are so lucky we have Mantalos and Fortounis. They know how to play and create opportunities. I felt the same way i thought we could of done more with possession and creating and should been more careful and value the opportunities we had in the attacking third. I am happy we kept a clean sheet but we should done and scored more. I also thought today Cyprus wanted to walk it in when they had possession instead of taking more shots, they just kept passing it around and overthinking it. Where we wanted to score screamers. Kyriakos didnt have much to do just did his job and did not make a mistake. I agree with everything in this paragraph but who do you put at RW and LW? Mantalos and Fortounis work well together.

I agree about Bakasetas he did contribute in this game by pressing and running back but on the ball didnt do much. He is more creative in the middle. Stafylidis is a decent player just cant put my finger on what he is missing.

All we need is 2 good midfielders than can shield the defence and a good LW and i believe we are sorted.

Mantalos played well. Fortounis did as well but can do better. Mitroglou looks like he is regaining his old form but can do better. Manolas i agree is a liablity and Sokratis was rock solid. Karnezis in this game improved. Torosidis was average and so was Stafylidis. You could tell Maniatis and Tzavellas are at a lower level. Bakasetas needs more time. Holebas should start at left back and try Karelis at LW again as I believe they can combine well on the left. K.Papadopoulos needs to start.

Ive just been thinking of things and as i thought today i came up with a way of how to coach the national team and how to get far in major tournaments like the and the world cup. For the world cup coming up, i am going to suggest what ways would coach the team and my ideas to make a great national team. Its all about the attitude in the indivdual if you are good but not living up to it then your out thats how it should be. In my team i would want passionate players who are ruthless and do anything for the team to win (for example Karagounis). Also player selection should based on what team they play for and how reguarly they play for the team. Im against of the way a player gets chosen just because they play in a better team. A player like Gianniotas should not just get chosen over Fetfatzidis just because Gianniotas is playing in Europe when everyone knows Fetfatzidis is better than him. But because Gianniotas is playing for a better team and is in form you got to hand it to him for his work ethic. Players like K.Papadopoulos who have so much passion for the sport and so energetic these are characteristics of a leader. Sokratis i believe is the most hardworking Greek player today. I also believe Sokratis should be the captain and Torosidis vice captain. Next in line for captaincy should be K.Papadopoulos and Samaris. The latter two should lead the future of the team in the next few years. Manolas as well. I am a big fan of Kone i belive he is a very unique player to have in the squad, he is expirieinced and has been a captain at club level. Ninis i still belive in still but Fortounis has shown so much quality and has improved drastically with age. I dont know about Mantalos yet as a starter let alone the RW but he would definitely be in the squad. It is a shame that we do not have many natural wingers. Gianniotas is one, Vlachodimos hasnt shown good form and is not playing at Panathinaikos. Lazaros is an option. Tsilianidis is a player with big potential as i think in a few years he will improve more and more. Mavrias i like but needs more game time and a few goals. Mystakidis i think can play there but the player that i reall want soon back in the team is Pelkas. I have faith in this player i believe he can boss the RW position, he just needs to work harder and more. Lazaros Lamprou is another player to look out for. I am not sure about Diamantakos as a winger. One of my favourite players Bakasetas should be given more of a go because of his strength, passing and shooting abilities he can also keep possesion really well. I believe in this player, dont be so shocked if he scores in the next two qualifying matches. i would also like to see how he would play as a number '8' in a few friendlies. By the way he is not a winger. Holebas can be a winger but would rather him at LB because he can overlap all the time because of his speed and stamina also his defence has become the strong part in his game. Torosidis still has a place in this team but i expect these two retire after the upcoming world cup. Kitsiou is still at PAOK and needs further improvment also Bakakis is at AEK these two have potential to replace the two veterans in a few years time. Karnezis should be our keeper but is shaky at times. Kapino needs more expirience and Glykos is also a bit shaky. There is no other Greek keepers better than these three. The keeper should be chosen based on form. Also Dioudis is a player to look out for. I beleive we should focus on youth aswell. I also believe we should keep the same squad but call up the best youth player from the u18 and the best from the u20. This should be based on the form of the player and how well they performed for the youth national team. Players like OIkonmou and Vellios should be backs up frtherei respective postions as they both have the potential to do well for this team and are reay to explode. I also like to see Gianniotas and Stafylidis, as i rated both thses players when they were playing in Thessalonki for Aris and PAOK respectively. They both have shown good form and have deserved the call ups. But Stafylidis needs to work a lot on his defensive game while Gianniotas needs to work more on his attacking game but i see them improving and working hard. Fetfatzidis and Kone are two players i want back in this team as they can provide spark and create something out of nothing. MItroglou is on fire and Karelis is improving. A player like Tziolis i would not choose, Maniatis is good for defensive duties but nothing else. Kourbelis and Siopis down line the line would get call ups and be the like for like replacements. Also Petsos needs to play more in the friendlies as he can a good back up for Samaris or Tachtsidis. As a coach i would tell Tachtsidis to work harder in training earn his place in his club team consistently perform. This player is really talented especially when works hard. Look at the match against Hungary. Youth players like Donis, Retsos, Orphanidis and Tsimikas should be more ambitious and supported for better growth. Bouchalakis, Charisis, Korovesis and Koulouris need more game time. Korovesis is alo very versatile he can play LB, LW, DM and CAM. Vergos needs to work hard. Overall i need players to work hard, be ambitious and most of all passionate because without passion there is no will to win and passion is needed. I am hoping int the future players like Risvanis and Kolovos become stars. I also forgot to mention another favourite of mine Fountas. This player still has so much potential i would even give him a go against Cyprus that how much i believe in him. He is an ambitous player with a heart of a lion he almost got AEK out relegation zone at just 17-18 years old. BUt he needs to be more consistent work harder. Thats all it has work hard and results will come. Tzavellas is only good for set pieces and Chouchoumis needs more development. The biggest problem position wise is CDM. We dont have enough depth i am also hping Bouchalakis and Charisis perform so we dont see Zeca get a Greek passport. I just wnat this team to work harder for each other and fight for their country and win.

I'm personally not a big fan of Mantalos he is more of toned down Fetfatzidis if you ask me and nothing more than a squad player. Don't like him on the wing but what can you do when we don't have much depth in the RW position. I'd like to see Pelkas there but what is Mantalos best position and what do people think (especially AEK fans) of him as a box to box midfielder ("Number 8") for the national team.

People have got to stop bashing Samaris. Yes against Gibraltar he was not playing well but did you see him against Holland what he did. He is the main reason we keep possession. Maniatis did alright but you can tell he hasn't got a clue and isn't smart enough to create a goal Samaris is already smart enough in that aspect. Tachtsidis is more smarter than both of them in the way of creating a goal. I also like to see him, Kone and Fetfatzidis back in the team. It's going to be difficult for them to be in the team when Mantalos and Fortounis are playing very well.

Mantalos played well along with Mitroglou and Papadopoulos. I think this team has good players all round. Maniatis played alright and so did Tzavellas. One of the problems I had watching this game was when Sokratis gave the ball away why weren't Manolas and Karnezis more sharper in clearing the ball. It was a sloppy goal. When I saw Papadopoulos come on and saw the way he played I know he could've done better than Manolas in the 1st goal. It is still a hard decision of who should be our 1st choice keeper as Kapino did well. In what 1789 said who else is there down the line you think is a more technical player to show for the ball and smarter player to draw a foul. I can't think of one. I still believe Samaris should be our main starter in midfield. All in all I was very pleased in what I saw in this game but I still think something is missing.

Who else thought that Kyriakos was better than Manolas today.

I don't know about that line up can you trust Mantalos as a defensive midfielder. Is he strong enough defensively. Also is Papadopoulos not in the squad anymore, is he going to be playing against Netherlands.

You can't just put Ninis in because he has played 2 or 3 good games. What about players like Fortounis and Mantalos who have been in good form for the past 2 seasons.

Apparently this is the team for the friendly and premier against Netherlands and Gibraltar. https://gre-365.com/2016/08/07/%ce%b7-%cf%80%ce%b9%ce%b8%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%ae-23%ce%ac%ce%b4%ce%b1-%cf%84%ce%bf%cf%85-%cf%83%ce%ba%ce%af%ce%bc%cf%80%ce%b5-%ce%b3%ce%b9%ce%b1-%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%bd-%cf%80%cf%81%ce%b5%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%ad/

I know what your trying to say but I've come to realise how good Papadopoulos actually is. Even if Oikonomou is in good form I'd still choose Papadopoulos. I believe Oikonomou can't do what Papadopoulos can do. Such as tackling, heading, strength and the will to win.

He is too driven of a player and passionate. Let alone of his well known abilities.

Whenever he is injury free he should be in the team. If I was coach going into a tournament and I had to choose between a player and Papadopoulos I'd choose Papadopoulos. Its worth gambling on him. I would never choose Oikonomou and Siovas over Papadopoulos is what I'm trying to say.