pash

Vieirinha should be getting time in that position, as an occasional sub. He doesn't have the legs to be a LB/RB...at least as a winger, he could contribute. But yeah if Tissoudali is on his way out, clearly we'll be picking up another guy. A bigger worry is if Despodov gets exhausted or injured. On the plus side: more time for Shola, I'd hope.

Take these (nicely placed in chronological order for your pleasure, you're welcome) as you will: https://inpaok.com/850407/epikoinonia-loutseskou-savvidi-gia-paron-kai-mellon/ followed by an almost immediate: https://inpaok.com/850436/vgainei-stin-agora-gia-enischysi-o-paok/

It's criminal that Despodov doesn't get more game time anyway, so hopefully he proves me right here!

Bunch of other rumors out about basically every Bri'ish team wanting him, though. We'll see, I guess. Anyway, Gomez is unsurprisingly on his way out (on loan). I hate the idea of buying yet another fullback that will not be played, but I do like the idea of Tsaousis instead being elevated. https://inpaok.com/850405/sto-psaximo-gia-gkomez-o-paok/

Zivkovic is out for 4-6 weeks. Terrible news... https://www.sdna.gr/podosfairo/1274348_megalo-pligma-ston-paok-nok-aoyt-o-antrigia If Lucescu is smart, he'll finally start playing Tissoudali as a winger. You know, instead of loaning him to the Saudis.

Probably the worst absence we could have had. Hopefully Schwab will be up to it. Too bad Thymianis will never get game time, because this could be the time for a slightly younger guy to shine. Oh, well, I guess.

That's a good point. We can offer the kid a million euro bonus and come out ahead. Btw even without that, I am aligned with Blackhawk's thinking. We would NEVER get that kind of offer if he played for us this season. We outsourced the development of this kid and could potentially have a huge windfall. There's nothing wrong with that.

Vieirinha, Taison, Schwab, Ozdoev, Otto, Samatta all have expiring contracts, and are all on the wrong side of 30. If Lucescu is still here, he will definitely want to renew all of them (the only one I'd want back is Otto, but I doubt Otto wants to remain). Entirely possible we'll be forced into a revamped squad, but who knows.

Could you IMAGINE us signing a 23 year old? Absolutely outrageous. Anyway, I think the news was that they had rejected it? Unless you think this is just the back and forth of a negotiation.

I know you all are gonna hate me for saying this, but: The squad is better than last year's (particularly Tissoudali and Chalov are MUCH better than Thomas and Samatta), and can definitely win the championship. There's something going on with their "psychology" or "mentality" (using Lucescu's favorite buzzwords here). For all his faults, one thing he is excellent at, is extracting the best out of limited players. He should be able to right the ship - this would be the third time he's had to do it, after all.

The Athens media is secretly running some random Liverpool fan account? This would be some pretty deep cover. I will say, though, I have no idea why they'd want to pull the trigger on him right now. Seems weird.

That ambulance chaser is worth his weight in gold! Sentence reduced to 45 days: https://inpaok.com/850200/meiothike-i-poini-tou-loutseskou/

We need GREEK players, too. Lucescu has no issue with old guys, and I don't see any other Greek options who could be ready to go quickly.

Vieirinha lucky that was only a yellow

Yeah, startlingly empty stadium

Shoretire and Gomez both have that virus that seems to be going around, so I'm guessing they won't be there to offer a break to any other players this weekend. Assuming Lucescu would even have played them (which he won't).

Probably why Brandon Thomas sat out.

oh thank GOD two 15-minute halves incoming?

TISSOUDALI IS RIGHT FRIGGIN THERE, WHY IS SAMATTA PLAYING

Pena deal may be about to close and we might even see him on Friday (which probably means like next Friday, knowing us).

Did anyone actually say we wanted a profit, or was Blackhawk just listening to some people at the kafenio? This summer, the "issue" was that his wages were just too high so poor Cypriot teams couldn't afford him. Not much different than Meite with Benfica.

BUT SAMATTA UNDERSTANDS WHAT I WANT FROM MY PLAYERS!!!!

Seems the game sold out in three hours. We're doomed

Some UAE team seems to be interested in taking Tissoudali on loan. Is this all about Lucescu wanting to keep our uber-flop, Samatta? https://inpaok.com/849212/ti-ischyei-me-tisountali/ https://inpaok.com/849209/apochorei-apo-ton-paok-o-tisountali/

PaokCT got his wish; we're tanking in the cup!