pash

Seems Lucescu was remaining cagey about him in the post-match interview. I'd love for the young Greek players to be given a run, I just wonder if they're at that level yet.

I'm wondering if our midfield duo vs Basel will actually be El Kaddouri + Mauricio, just due to their recent performances. They seem to both be doing much better than Canas/Shakhov, from what little I've seen.

Thank you for the link! Didn't think of that at all. -edit- same stream, without the betting overlay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nTFe4DSH_Y

Here's the first-half lineup. I noticed the link on their site to the actual stream has disappeared in the last few minutes, hopefully that comes back. This lineup is probably very close to what will start vs Basel. -edit- well here's a disappointment:

He's again linked with Galatasaray, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone soon. It's an interesting comparison, though. Warda is more versatile, being able to play up the middle as well as (or better) than on the wings. Henrique is more skillful, but Warda has the long-term upside/potential. Both players are magnets for yellows, but Henrique doesn't have any history of off-field shenanigans. Mihojevic is also still tapped to go on loan, but will still be with the team until that actually happens.

Here's the team that's going back to the Netherlands: Ρέι , Γλύκος, Πασχαλάκης, Σιαμπάνης, Χατσερίδης, Μαλεζάς, Κρέσπο, Βαρέλα, Μιχόγεβιτς, Μπαλογιάννης, Βιεϊρίνια, Κίτσιου, Μάτος, Χαρίσης, Μαουρίσιο, Κάνιας, Μουλέν, Σάκχοφ, Ελ Καντουρί, Πέλκας, Μπίσεσβαρ, Λάμπρου, Λημνιός, Ενρίκε, Ζαμπά, Μυστακίδης 4 GKs 5 CBs 4 L/RBs (if you include Balogiannis) 8 DMs/CMs/AMs 5 forwards, none of them natural CFs. Prijovic and Warda come back soon. Leveque is finally getting the boot. Also, reportedly Lucescu wanted this next friendly to be two 60-minute halves (???), but Steaua said no.

Seeing all sorts of things about Berg again. I really doubt any of it is true. The latest rumors are that his current team bought a new striker (for some serious money) because they need to replace him. However, this doesn't square with earlier reports that they wanted to get rid of him because they can't afford the wage bill. Can't have it both ways, reporters. Other rumors are that Michel wasn't lying about wanting to hold on to Mak, and that we might yet see him return. If that happens, I'm sure both Mistakidis and Lamprou will be loaned out again.

Twitter says AZ wants Mistakidis. Say it ain't so!

(this is probably only relevant for people in the US) So I went to check on availability of the CL qualifiers through Fox's online-only service, and discovered that Fox was outbid on UCL/UEL rights for the next few season by Turner Sports. Apparently they are planning to offer a similar service, with the caveat that any games that are broadcast live will not be available for streaming (which makes this a non starter for me as a subscription service). Some of the wording on their site and on the articles about this seem to imply they may offer PPV, though. Below is the link to our first match. I'm a bit pissed that they have the order of the teams incorrect in the URL. https://live.bleacherreport.com/soccer/soccer-tournaments/events/fc-basel-paok-fc/45494

Mauricio's agent is saying there is interest in him. Who knows if that's true. Personally I'm not a huge fan of him so if we are otherwise settled this December, I'd totally be up for selling. Not for this summer, though.

Looks like Koulouris is leaving for his loan on Thursday. Good luck to him, I hope he gets a ton of game time.

Of note - with the ticking over of the calendar, Transfermarkt updated our team's page with the returning players (at 43 according to them). I don't think I've ever seen us at such a high market value, haha https://www.transfermarkt.com/paok-thessaloniki/startseite/verein/1091 I'm surprised that the team is acting as if Warda is going to stick around.

FT 1:2 Terribly boring game. Commentator brings up the point that when Henrique and Matos are both playing on that side, instability and anger is a constant theme.

Excellent name on that guy Game has a low tempo, they're not threatening any more often than us but when they do threaten, our defense hasn't done a good job.

That Danish link, btw, just goes back to PAOKTV. Which has been garbage as usual.

Starting lineup to the game below. One of my many fans on twitter also forwarded me the below tweet with a second stream, which I'm guessing will work better than PAOKTV.

No word yet. I don't see him getting chosen over Limnios. And if Mistakidis stays, no room for him. At the beginning of preseason he was heavily tapped to be loaned again. He's looked pretty good though.

Yes, I agree that his more natural role is as a second striker. But even out of position, I think he outdoes Koulouris. Regardless - inpaok is now claiming that Conde isn't going to Saudi Arabia now. I say we jump on this chance.

I don't think we need him, personally. The team is complete. I'd also rather Mistakidis as striker when Prijovic is being rested, as I think he's better at that job than Koulouris is (who should obviously be loaned).

Norwich has announced Pukki. Thank God. Now on to real players. Onsports also wrote earlier that Lucescu has decided to keep Mistakidis this season. The deadline for a PAO loan elapses tonight at any rate, but I'm sure if an offer comes from elsewhere they'll consider it. I really want him to stay, obviously

Certainly. It also wouldn't be crazy to allocate that last 50% to favor the non-winners of the league. How about that for forced competitiveness, a la the American system

Not a terrible result, all things considered. The next game should be easier as well. Not liking how slow of a start we've gotten off to; it seems we haven't been that great in either game (barring that 30-minute spree at the end of the first game).

Got spanked in the first half, 0-2. Looks like El Kaddouri just gave us our first goal though The stream's not really working for me: http://tv.paokfc.gr/video/paok-anterlecht-live -edit- the stream is now "blocked in my location." What the F***. El Kaddouri scores the 2-2

I think he's still going to Atromitos, isn't he?

Here's a surprise - Hatziisaias has renewed for THREE more years. I guess the administration really does rate him. I actually like this move - I don't think he's any worse than Crespo, and has an actual upside. At the very least, locking him down for this long means that if any of those fish do bite, they'll have to pay a bit more to get him out of his contract so much earlier.