teke817

Yeah its started and the livetv.sx link Nikitas sent works just fine.

@georgelaz - Mavrias career has stalled mightily, unless he gets regular playing time somewhere the NT will be a distant memory. Agree that there is promise in the youth ranks that hopefully will develop and not turn into another Mavrias-Fetfatzidis disappointments. The Greece of two years ago would beat Montenegro, especially if Jovetic and Savic don't play because of injury. But I don't think you can take anything for granted. It's a new coach, a new system, new formation, and very little practice time.

Thanks @Nikitas for the links.... Tzavellas is there because he's been very good at CB all season. Frankly, it's deserved. Stafylidis is probably going to get a long look at LB (or at least I hope) ... Tzavellas as a wingback cannot be expected to cover an entire flank. 100% agree, its time for guys like Oikonomou to get a look. At this point he may be the 4th CB in our rotation.

I don't get starting Petsos over Tachtsidis though ... Tachtsidis has good vision and is a pretty underrated passer. Anyone know where I can stream the game?

I agree it weakens our moral authority on issues when we complain about Klaus and Vellidis not getting called up. Klaus has been out of form since the beginning of the season and doesn't deserve it over Karelis and Mitroglou. Vellidis I guess can be argued, but he's 28 and Kapino is like 21/22, so even though he has played 1 or 2 games all season, he is the one that may have a future with the NT not Vellidis. As for Tziolis, the man is a consistent player and a consummate professional. He can provide depth and has a lot of NT experience. Those guys are helpful on the squad and he can contribute minutes if needed. Although to be fair, Samaris and Tachtsidis are better at the "6" and certainly deserve to play over him.

I actually don't think there are a majority of clubs and owners who back OSFP. Now, there are a lot of clubs who RELY on OSFP for loan players, so that's an inducement to side with them at time, but don't confuse that with loyalty. There are undoubtedly loyal owners, but I think it's a minority, and another minority is just afraid to rock the boat. A new league would necessarily need to legislate the number of players a team is permitted to loan out to any one club, as well as the total number of player they can loan out within the top flight. Remember, over the last few seasons, teams with financial troubles like Platanias, Levadiakos, Ergotelis, Olympiakos Volou, were getting 2, 3 sometimes 4 players on loan from OSFP. Without those players they would have been serious relegation candidates. Also, with creating a new league, I would hope they would legislate minimum requirements for stadiums. No more 75-year old, 1500 seat, concrete stadiums like the ones in Kerkyra and other villages. If your stadium would not be UEFA compliant to host a UEL or UCL game, then you need to find someplace else to play.

As long as this keeps Asteras firmly on our side when it comes to restructuring this league, I don't care the motivations behind the "fix". And don't discount Xanthi's argument. I think that's the way to solve this problem, rally about 10-12 teams to form an alternate league, get certified and leave Olympiakos out of it until they shape up. It should be very feasible especially if the government grants the new league a license. I would love to mimic the Belgian Pro League. They only have 10 teams, but the shorter schedule makes playoffs (both for championship and relegation) less onerous, and more interesting. Their league is better top to bottom as a result. Top 4 go to the championship playoffs and the bottom 4 go to a relegation playoff.

Zero chance Santos leaves Portugal before the Euros (which they can definitely win) and slim chance he is not at the helm for WC 2018. It's possible he is so bored with NT football that he bails after the Euros, but why come here when he will undoubtedly get better offers from better leagues. We probably have a better chance of landing Santos than we do Lazaros. Who is the last Greek player that voluntarily came back to Greece (while under-30) if they had a contract, or contract offers from abroad? I think Lazaros would rather rot on Sampdoria's bench then return to the SL. Does it really matter who the manager is in September? We will have a different one before Easter 2017. I actually looked this up on Transfermarkt, Igor Tudor had the SECOND LONGEST tenure of any coach in Savvidis' entire history as a football owner (Rostov 2005 to PAOK 2016).

@Boston - Konstantinidis has been injured too often, but he's still just 21-22, so it's too early to write him off. Get another RB/RWB that can split time with him next season to try and preserve his legs and see what he can do. Again, I don't see anything that gives credence to the Tzavellas as a "cancer" label. Heck, based on selfies alone, he seems pretty popular among his teammates. The only coach he clashed with was Anastasiadis - who is a joke. I agree you need a true, front-line, no.1 CB to pair with Hatzi against top-level competition. Vitor and Tzavellas can be your 2nd pairing that plays against the SL teams outside the "big 4" ... Look at OSFP ... Botia is a legit CB (though dirty as f$$k), but after that, Da Costa is not that impressive and Siovas is big and strong but not much more. If he didn't play for OSFP, I doubt he gets the 10 caps for the NT that he has under his belt (at 28 yrs old). If we are being honest, if OSFP doesn't have Roberto these last 3 years, they are not nearly as good defensively. @pash - Finally, somebody else willing to step up for Miguel! I think Tzavellas is just a step too slow to play LB against top competition, otherwise he definitely has the skill set. Sure, Lino was slow, but anticipated/reacted quickly, and was indefatigable.

@BostonThanatos @pash @Blackhawk I'm a little stunned by some of the prevailing opinions on our players ... Konstantinidis - before his injury he looked like the best RB/RWB we've seen in a while. Dude held his own against Reus for chrissakes! He is superior to Kitsiou crossing and passing. Kitsiou was a revelation for about two minutes. He's quick and can dribble, but no substance offensively and an average defender. Vitor - Vitor has been a workhorse (on a team cursed with injuries dude plays ALL THE TIME), solid tackler, good at one on one battles and in the air (despite size) for 3 seasons! You don't get rid of guys like that. At worst he is a rotation player. Tzavellas - I think people hate on him because of his selfie-game and the fact he comes off as a pretty boy. Before Hatzi arrived he was flat out our best CB all year. Cuts passing lanes, tackles and wins balls. The only reliable defender at transitioning the ball from defense to the midfield. Great left foot on set pieces (another deficiency on our team). Oh, and the only guy who shows any fire whatsoever (outside of players bitch and unravel because of no-calls). This is a team of quiet, nice guys, who frankly, lack heart. It hurts to say that, but it's true. All this stuff about being divisive is pure speculation. I would love to see some tangible evidence that he is a locker room cancer. I will apologize and not post for a month as penance if anyone can validate that sentiment. Hatzi is good and the future of this team (and has a future on the NT), but he has shown signs of his inexperience, and has looked nervous or tentative in "high pressure" games, and some situations. He will overcome that in time. But we can't "burn" him in typical PAOK fashion by expecting him to be the "next-big-thing" before he actually becomes the "next-big-thing". Skondras, Malezas are solid, but merely depth players and easily replaceable. A rotation of CB No.1 + Hatzi, with Tzavellas and Vitor as rotation guys would be great. Get a new LB and let Konstantinidis develop further and we may have something solid in the back. As far as midfield-forwards-strikers go, I otherwise completely agree with @Boston earlier post.

This is exceedingly sad. I think a Grexit from UCL and UEFA football for a year, or two years, until Greek Soccer is uprooted and reformed would be fine. The EPO and KED should be dismantled and remade entirely. We don't need foreigners to step in and police us, we as Greeks need to show the mettle needed to reform our lives - in and out of sport.

@MykinesFC There is no move to Switzerland. From Calciomercato http://www.calciomercato.com/news/lugano-zeman-volevo-tachtsidis-e-arrivato-donis-non-so-nemmeno-c-137600 Zdenez Zeman , coach Lugano , spoke at the press conference of the non-arrival of Tachtsidis and purchasing Donis: "I was convinced that with the team Tachtsidis could have made ??the leap. In its place came Donis, who I do not know even who he is. " ...got to love Zeman. Sorry Donis!

Anyone know any good stream to watch the PAO-PAOK game online? My usual go-to streaming sites don't have it available.

@PAOKSYD The criticism of Savvidis is his impatience ... Can you name ONE club in Europe - that plays UCL or UEL football year in and year out - that turns over it's management and/or front office annually? We have not had a manager last beyond April in 4 consecutive seasons. That's a joke. Arnesen said he had a three year plan, yet he was only given 8 months to complete it. That's a joke. Tudor has used 19 different lineups in ~30 games because of injuries and suspensions, yet we blame him for lack of chemistry. That's a joke. It's the owners job to pay the bills and the debts. I'm eternally grateful to Savvidis for preventing an AEK-Aris type humiliation. But football clubs are not - and cannot - be run like businesses. 90% of clubs in Europe not in the BPL lose money every year. It is an inexact science to begin with. Give people the power to make decisions and give them meaningful opportunities to succeed. Otherwise, you are hurting not helping the product.

If Tudor is under pressure, then I think its smart of him to go back to the formation he believes in the most, and frankly, one that was quite successful for the first third of the year. I like the lineup @Blackhawk posted if its true, except for Leovac at LWB ... I would rather have Mystakidis at LWB and throw Klaus up top with Mak.

Great news for those who had been clamoring for a new contract for Kace ... This probably makes all the difference

@paoksweden - I have no love for Anastasiadis, and the way he ostracized Tzavellas (and publicly admitted doing so) just because a player wanted a second opinion on an injury is inexcusable to me, particularly in this day and age. If the locker room soured, maybe it was his direct influence, or maybe it was a result of the way Aggelos treated a player that seems to be a popular presence in the locker room. Either way, it all begins with the manager mishandling a player. This isn't the 70's, Players have influence. @bananas - I like Klaus but sadly, he has reached his ceiling and it's not enough. It's time to give Koulouris a real shot and maybe Papadopoulos in another year or so ... Overall, I don't get the anti-Tzavellas sentiment. This is a team full of "nice guys" and quiet personalities. Tzavellas is one of the few (the only??) intense players on the roster. He may be our only real leader in the locker room. We need more guys like that, not less.

@Blackhawk - ok that makes a ton more sense. @pash - like a true paoktsi, I build you up, just to tear you down.

Seriously .. Made me feel like we are OFI instead of PAOK. Good article from 10/25/2015 detailing the history of PAOK-PAO: http://www.onsports.gr/Podosfairo/Podosfairo-Afierwmata/item/506339-PAOK-Panathinaikos-Mahi-gia-62i-fora This will be the 63rd meeting according to Onsports, and PAOK is 31-12-19 at home vs PAO. They do not reference our away record, but I am sure its horri-awful. Interesting stat - in the prior 63 meetings only 4 games ended without a goal.

@Blackhawk - I don't think the stat that PAOK is 5-15-51 against PAO is correct. When I looked it up it seems we have 5 wins in the prior 12 meetings. 2015-10-25 Superleague Greece PAOK 3-1 Panathinaikos 2015-03-08 Superleague Greece Panathinaikos 4-3 PAOK 2014-11-09 Superleague Greece PAOK 1-2 Panathinaikos 2014-02-09 Superleague Greece Panathinaikos 2-1 PAOK 2013-10-06 Superleague Greece PAOK 2-1 Panathinaikos 2013-03-17 Superleague Greece PAOK 2-0 Panathinaikos 2012-11-18 Superleague Greece Panathinaikos 2-0 PAOK 2012-03-03 Superleague Greece Panathinaikos 0-2 PAOK 2011-10-29 Superleague Greece PAOK 1-3 Panathinaikos 2011-02-05 Superleague Greece PAOK 0-1 Panathinaikos 2010-10-15 Superleague Greece Panathinaikos 1-0 PAOK 2010-02-20 Superleague Greece PAOK 2-1 Panathinaikos

This MUST to be related to the pitch at Toumba and Mesimvria ... There is no other explanation as we have had a number of different strength and conditioning coaches over the last few years and yet the same type of muscle injuries continue to occur. It had been said before that the fields at Mesimvria are very hard and unforgiving, which was one of the reasons Ivan wanted it moved.

@BostonThanatos @Blackhawk What makes you think the current crop of Greek players are the cause of any (alleged) locker room problems? The only thing I've seen out of Tzavellas is effort and intensity on the pitch. Selfies notwithstanding, he's done nothing but acquit himself well when he has played.

@Blackhawk - Well now that G.X. Georgiadis is out of a job, he can interim-manage the club for the 4th straight March! What's ironic ... The coach with the best record during the Savvidis reign? Donis! And it's not even close ... Oh and he only had one(!) loss total in games against AEK-PAO-OSFP before he was canned. How nice does that sound now?

@Reaper - One of the other chief editors at SDNA is Chris Stathopoulos, a former editor at Gavros and Gazetta. So the editorial staff is a mish-mash of journalists from a range of fan sites and mainstream media sites. I don't have a problem with that. The last link I posted in an earlier message was from their editorial staff and categorically denied they were owned by any "oligarchs" or other corporate "interests". They claim to be the result of a combined effort of many journalists to develop a sports site free of influence from club owners. Whether or not that's true, I don't know. But it's very difficult to find any parent company for SDNA, and I have looked.

Some interesting blog posts and articles about SDNA when it was originally formed ... http://harddog-sport.blogspot.com/2014/12/gazzetta-sdna.html http://www.redsagainsthemachine.gr/articles/130114/papatheodoroy-teos-prasinofroyros-kai-dieythyntis-toy-gazzetta the 1-15-2013 post is a reproduction of a release by Papatheodoriou stating he quit PRASINOS because editorials and content were posted without approval by higher ups for "political" or "personal" gain (veiled references to Alafouzos I believe) ... Generally does not paint a picture of a guy who would work for Alafouzos again ... http://www.sdna.gr/genikes-eidiseis/article/1174/eseis-tha-zisete-eleytheroi-i-isyxoi Of course this is very self-serving to a certain extent, but if true, I applaud the sentiment about the founding of SDNA and its "mission statement" so to speak.