Brklyngrk

I think our goal is to tire them out by always kicking the ball around....

They are afraid to touch the ball....

He's going against conventional wisdom. Guess he is trying to limit the damage and hope he can poach a goal with the wingers/back.

Wow - did not expect this line up...wish us luck!!

ESPN+ in the states

The problem in all of this is that if you get rid of the filibuster, than you set bad precedents. The republicans in the Senate were elected by the people, you can't discount their votes. The best case scenario is if the two moderate democratic senators align with some moderate republicans and pass legislation that is agreeable for all.

Ramos I thought is likely to miss this game and may be back for their second game. That is why he wasn't replaced.

About Manolas, I saw that he finally played for the first time this weekend, and that was only for 5 minutes. I believe it's because of injury and he is finally getting back. Do not think he would have been ready for a full 90 minutes.

He was able to walk it off, they may have thought he had a concussion....

Ultimately, we all feel an attachment to Greece. That is why we are on these forums to begin with. I would imagine that all these soccer players feel the same attachment especially when they are away from home. I may have been born in the states, but something always pulls me to Greece.

I think you are right, I read about it somewhere else after you posted it..

Regarding - Sok and Manolas Στο διάστημα του σχεδιασμού της ομάδας επικοινώνησα με τον Σωκράτη Παπασταθόπουλο και τον Κώστα Μανωλά. Τους γνωστοποίησα ότι βρισκόμαστε πλέον στην κύρια φάση του "πλάνου Κατάρ" κι έχοντας ολοκληρώσει τον σχεδιασμό, τις δοκιμές του ρόστερ και την προετοιμασία της ομάδας μας στο κομμάτι της αγωνιστικής φιλοσοφίας, προφανώς και τους υπολογίζουμε στα πλάνα μας. They still may play in the qualifiers...

Does the red carry over from the previous nations league?

Giakoumakis started today and scored a goal. Papadopoulos can be an interesting one, we shall see what he goes with.

I thought Sokratis didn't shut down JVS, just said that he wasn't ready to help the national team yet bc he is just getting back to playing. He wanted to get some playing time first.

Got his first call up to the national team...

Something tells me it will be after the Europa matches...

He killed people, innocent people. Their families will never get those people back, their children will grow up fatherless, their wives' widowed. I am sorry but you can't ask for mercy when you are responsible for so many deaths. Does he even feel remorse? What kind of precedent does that send? Every killer that wants to get released would just not eat.

That goal is an odd one. It may be legal but not in the spirit of the game. I can see how the goalie didn't see him, he was touching the post, everyone is tracking back. What the goalie did is what 90% of the goalies do and don't blame him for it. Goal counted but feels like a cheap way to go through, even if clean.

Manolas though, when fit, does play, and plays at a high level. Sokratis is playing now and will be getting a lot of minutes with OLY. Siovas has not been mentioned but I would love for all three of them to be called up along with Mavropanos/Hatzi (we have three games I believe). Also, I was curious to see how Bakasetas is doing in Turkey since most of us here are not that crazy about him starting. So I looked at whoscored.com for player ratings. He is the third highest rated player in their league and is one of the better scorers. Say what you want about the Turkish league but it is competitive.

I have friends who are Portuguese and follow Benfica. According to them, Vlachodimos has been used a scapegoat in Benfica. Apparently the team is having a bad season and the coach needed someone to blame. He said he dropped him because of a poor performances, specifically citing a game against Sporting I believe (a shot was deflected off him and went it for a goal). He played the next two games and got clean sheets but that wasn't enough for the coach to make the switch. The owner came out and said that he didn't understand the reasoning (coach and owner are not getting along). Most of their fans think that Vlaho is their best goalkeeper by far and are pissed at their coach.

i agree - the callup in general is a good sign.

So I would imagine - Giakoumakis/Pavlidis/Douvikas?? I think that makes sense giving that Giakoumakis has been tearing it up and Pavlidis has been playing well even though he hasn't scored as much as last year. A call up at least allows him to try him out with all the players. Let them practice together and see what happens.

Well - regarding Toro, seeing the competition, I can see why they would think that. We all have opinions on call ups and we all voice it amongst ourselves. As professional athletes, I am sure they all do the same especially when they see the talent. The key is not to make it public. Siovas/Fefta were made examples for their professionalism and rightfully so. Having said that, if they apologize, like Siovas did, then accept it and move on with the understanding that one more transgression and it's over.

Sokrates/Manolas did the ethniki a service. Under the coach at the time, preparation was a disaster. They voiced their concern and no one did anything. They were basically ignored. They had a three week camp and had not even scouted the opposition. The coach asked (I believe Siovas) do play left back at game time. A position he had never played in his life against Italy. Them speaking up was a service to the ethniki. They were the most senior and influential and the only ones who could make a change. The end result was that the coach was replaced and we got a clean slate. Say what you want, but JVS has been doing his best. He has made us more attacking and has the ethniki playing more offensive football. Under his watch, we have seen players like Tziolis and Limnios get call ups. While we couldn't break down Slovenia, he dominated that game and the gk made some great saves. Pre JVS, how often did you see a descent team (Slovenia) play with 10 men back against us? If attitude is a problem, then yes, by all means don't call them up. But if I remember correctly, that wasn't the case with those two. I believe he wanted to start fresh and realized how much influence they had over the team. He wanted to exclude them to instill his vision of the team and try new players. We all deserve second chances and if they want to serve and follow the rules, call them up. Even Fetfa (who actually broke team rules), should be given a chance if he asks for one. Team above all else.