EllasCan

Agree with the 5 man back line for these games. Karelis or Gianniotas (whomever is in better form) to team up with Mitro up top, with Fortounis in a central/free role, slightly behind the 2 forwards.

I thought Petsos had a really good game against Montenegaro and has good upside. I Can't really comment on his speed and mobility, because he hasn't featured since. Regardless, wether we like it or not, the Samaris-Maniatis combo appears to be the most effective and what we will see for the next little while, however their club status' may become an issue going forward in this campaign. I have no issues inserting Maniatis if he provides better coverage for toro, but Petsos' technical ability appeared superior. If they play regularly at club level, Cholevas and Toro should be able to fill these roles sufficiently for the next couple of years, we rely on them getting forward regardless, with the 3 CM/2 DM combo hopefully relieving them of some of their defensive duties. This formation is better suited for Stafy as well, with Tzavellas to the bench as both would be exposed by in a flat back line. if Tzavellas continues to feature in this campaign, we will undoubtedly get scored on when he raises his hand for a non offside call, flops to the ground for a non existent foul or when he bites on shot fake.

I Wish we had a few more friendlies to experiment the 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation with a FULL squad of healthy players. It appears the skib however is now keen on a 4-2-3-1 with Fortunis assisting Mitro in pressuring the defenders when not in procession, and also given the freedom to drop back to assist in build up play/distribution as well - a role which he is quite effective at. After watching our last few friendlies, It would have been nice to see this group/formation get a run of games: ------------- Mitroglou -------------- --------Fortounis ------- ------------- Mandalos -------------- Choleva - Samaris - Petsos - Toro -- Socratis -- K Pap. -- Manolas -- ------------- Karnezis -------- Fortounis to be used in a similar role as he was against the Dutch - assist Mitro in pressuring defenders, drop back to assist in build up/distribution if needed. Cholevas and Toro have full clearance to move forward with defensive mids providing coverage.