La Mendel

And not for his abysmal performance? Skibbes decision was right but apparently it was unintentional. *facepalm* That Koulouris-Mitroglou change that he planned seems even now incredible. The "logic" of it is mind-boggling. Could this manager work out the right tactics against Finland? Anyhow, it is a win-win situation now. Either we win or Skibbe will be sacked (a good riddance if you ask me).

Maybe he thinks: "lets make a change, perhaps something will happen". No one can be that stupid though (on second thought).

You were more generous with the defenders. After all, you may be right. They didnt concede and saved Skibbes ass and our asses. Barkas was indeed very solid. He caught everything: crosses, free kicks, shots. There were no rebounds.

First half was crappy indeed. Kourbelis was bad, Bakasetas worse. Pelkas did nothing. No wonder Mitroglou was invisible for a long time, Fortounis had to help the defenders yet he was the only one who was sometimes threatening. Before the second half, when I saw Tziolis standing beside the fourth official I literally buried my face. To be fair, he was not that bad. He won several headers and his performance was better than that of Kourbelis. Tsimikas was really great with that cross before the goal and a single chance was enough for Mitroglou. Excellent finish though, he towered over that defender. Last 25 minutes were shaky but our defensive display wasnt half bad. We even had several opportunities (Papastathopoulos, Christodoulopoulos) but we couldnt score. And in the last minute came Bakasetas (the single really crap player in the starting XI which was okay btw). But for the referee, he would have given a penalty away. This guy must be kicked out of the squad. Some days ago I thought even Aravidis (who plays for OFI now) would be a better squad inclusion than this guy. He cannot score. He gives away too many balls (think of the yellow card of Sokratis). He is slow. He cant make any dribbles. His focus is below average. Barkas 6 - Bakakis 6, Manolas 7, Papastathopoulos 8, Tsimikas 6.5 - Zeca 5.5, Fortounis 6, Kourbelis 4.5 (Tziolis 5.5, 46th) - Bakasetas 3.5, Mitroglou 6 (Bouchalakis 0, 93rd), Pelkas 4 (Christodoulopoulos 5.5, 78th).

*with a hypocritical expression on his face* Maybe Skibbe isnt that bad.

Articles from Agonasport: http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/skibbe-brushes-off-injury-issues-rossi-has-faith-in-hungary Note the following sentences of Skibbe: "We want to be dominant, compete in an aggressive manner and earn the three points on the field." "I have chosen our tactics and we want to show that we’re a strong, attacking team." So we will let em much space like during away game, I guess. Why cannot we defend and counterattack for God's sake? Why giving the enemy team such an opportunity? http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/greece-aiming-for-revenge-after-budapest-disappointment "The Hungarians are likely to opt for a defensive approach with an emphasis on dangerous counterattacks." Couldnt we opt for a defensive approach with an emphasis on counterattacks? That was our tactics and brand before not long ago!

Meanwhile Leonardo Jardim has become available. He was sacked by Monaco right now. He took them to the semi-finals of Champions League though and he knows Greek soccer very well.

Before the Faroe Islands game under Ranieri I prayed for light a win with an incredibly bad production so that Sarris would nevertheless sack Ranieri. (The result is known I suppose. The Ranieri disaster has cast a long shadow.) #iknowthatfeelbro #letshopewewillsucceed #skibbemustgo

Skibbe does the Otto closed club thing but he consistently calls up the wrong players (Kolovetsios Oikonomou Tzavellas Tziolis Bakasetas Koulouris etc.). As long as theyre not abysmal they are ALWAYS there (Vellios Diamantakos were sacked).

Vlachodimos is a very fine keeper imo he should be called up. Perhaps Skibbe successor will do this. I also think (like Jimmyp) that Donis is a trifle overrated by many here.

The respite that Skibbe has gotten can do us something good though. Maybe EPO will find a better solution than Anastasiadis until October.

A good coach is expensive. Low budget coaches are bad. Full stop.

Skibbe should be sacked right now.

And for the first. He was undisciplined. Too often he couldnt get back (something for which Holebas had been bashed in the past, especially by me).

I really dont know how to answer. My sole answer is it is not possible. These are average players. Mantalos Bakasetas Koulouris Gianniotas. Pelkas is somewhat better than Donis. Either we sign a manager of the Rehhagel/Santos type or we will experience many embarrassments like yesterday. This Skibbe team wont lose to Estonia but will possibly lose against teams like Hungary, Serbia or Norway. To be fair, Skibbe should build a solid midfield out of crap players. The Tachtsidis/Kone/Samaris generation were not much use. They couldnt even squeeze out a 35-y-o Katsouranis. He was often bashed but he played because Santos had nobody better. (Other midfielders were Maniatis, a mediocre fullback turned DM who has had a great pace and work rate, an age old Karagounis, and a younger Tziolis. OMG.) I aint sure if Kourbelis Bouchalakis Galanopoulos will be any better. The talent pool is very limited. Even in 2014, our head coach had better midfielders at his disposition. Goalkeepers and defenders are OK but theyre nothing extraordinary. We have real depth only in the position of CBs. (And our idiotic coach doesnt call up Siovas who plays in LaLiga he prefers Kolovetsios Koutroubis Oikonomou.) As for our attackers, there is only Mitroglou and Fortounis. No one could replace Samaras since 2014. Nobody. I miss even Salpingidis and Gekas. A Valverde, Leonardo Jardim (both knew Greek football rather well) type coach would have been probably more successful than Skibbe. *incoherent ranting* TL:DR: Skibbe is a fool even if I think even Santos would have his problems with this bunch of new players.

True but Mitroglou scored a bunch of goals for us tbf. Donis has offered nothing yet but a few nice touches.

Their midfield was weak physically to say the least. Thats why we dominated I guess. Fragile young tits. Maniatis would have stared them down easily.

Good points, Barkas did everything he could before the second goal we conceded but our defenders couldnt clear the ball it was embarrassing to watch.

Okay I hope youll be right.

Donis is as useless as Ninis Fetfa Koutsianikoulis Gianniotas only we havent realized this yet I guess.

Fortounis and Pelkas had great games tho, I should admit. Barkas performed a string of fine saves. Manolas was good until he had to be subbed off. Tzavellas was very mediocre again. Bouchalakis too. He tried but he aint good enough. Why does Skibbe want to start him? Why did he want to go with Vellios and Diamantakos? Why is Tziolis ALWAYS there?

They should have gotten more yellow cards for standing 3 or 4 metres from the ball when we got free kicks. These F***heads discovered Fortounis is much too dangerous to let him deliver a cross without any harassment from enemies.

We were in control but we lost - under Santos it would have been the opposite, we would have won this game one nil, with no control and domination.

Right you are. And who started this clown instead of Zeca?

Bouchalakis really (instead Zeca)? Tzavellas? Oikonomou instead Siovas? Kourbelis (I realize somebody must play second DM alongside Zeca)? Kolovetsios and the likes in the squad? Useless tits Donis & Bakasetas? Tziolis? What the F*** was this again? Pathetic weak team reflects the personality of our head coach.