bbaw

ella RS, u make some valid comments but u miss my point entirely. dont say "its impossible" because it isn't impossible. it's UNLIKELY that we go through given this coach and the players we are missing etc etc etc. BUt its not impossible. ANd, its not gonna hurt -- at all. I am an objective soccer fan who know a thing or two about soccer and team sports in general, and although i bleed blue and white (see the connection ? BBAW) I am not unrealistic nor am I blindly believing without some sort of rationale. I follow the NT for decades. I know our limitations here, and the big mountain we have to climb. who expected faroe to beat us? the unlikely events do happen. and tomorrow, just a few things have to break our way and its on... if u think its imposible go bet 100,000 euros on the game. if i thought something was impossible thats what I would do. we have pride, w r infront of the home crowd, and the greek "pisma" and "kserokefalia uperifania" cannot be measured. our guys were embarrassed and now their backs are against the wall. we are not faroe islands (thorugh we looked like them game 1) i expect a good showing ---like u say if we fall short and play well, it will be a mental boost ---agree..... 97 times out of 100 we dont qualify tomorrow. but its not impossible. that was my only point. have SOME faith...its huge game and can be one of the greatest moments in NT history, dont you think? if they dont make it, they dont make it. I turn of the TV, go to the gym, have dinner with my family and go to work Monday... but lets try and enjoy tomorrow and hope for the best..

RS, i'm tired of the "we played well but lost" mentality....YOU DID NOT PLAY WELL, YOU LOST .... U KEEP SAYING NO CHANCE TO GO THROUGH...thats easy to say....but the fact is there is a chance, though its a big thing to ask THIS team to do, there is achance...why play the game then? if you fancy yourself to be a good team, shut up, put on your big boy shorts, and go win that game 3-0, 4-1, 5-2 or whatever it takes to get it done. good teams WIN --- they dont "play well but lose". as i said, I predict (because I dont see anyone here making predictions - and u saying we wont make it is not a prediction its the safe thing to say) i predict tommorows game will have alot of surprises. as i said before, if betting sports was that easy we would all be millionaires. so long as skibbe does the right thing, and the team plays their "A" game. you dont think a quick goal wont rattle them? then we have some momentum and grab another? its 2-0 with 45 to play...you dont think thats possible? then what? 45 minutes to score another goal? if u think this is impossible then you are seriously mistaken...... based on last game it SEEMS unlikely, but remember we HANDED them three gifts....3.....even with that crap lineup we could have kept is much closer without those three gifts....three mistakes that unfortunately all happened in one game.

gsots ----- great points. where u reading my posts ? lol.. cant say i disagree with anything but ----------- enough of revisionist history what will happen tommorrow? what will he do? who will he put on? what will he play formation and tactic wise....what will croatia do? lets get some commitments/predictions here. we have analyzed game one to death. in his ONLY defense and only for the starting squad: 1. manolas/donis/tro/mantalos killed us; 2. very very hard to patchwork a lineup with his call ups (his fault) and the holes he needed to fill

j, it can happen very easily. now, WILL it happen - ......... i think many people on this thread and all over r gonna be in for a big surprise.... we always make thing difficult..... we got them just where we want them, we just needed a little motivation....thats all ....lol

lets see who he puts out there, and what tactics are used. im excited to see how everything actually unfolds. croatia can be rattled, croatia can lay a big egg....at this level a few mistakes are fatal. if we apply enough pressure we can grab a few goals without a shadow of any doubt. what will be interesting is what croatia does...do they park the bus or do they attack? hmmmmmmm.

sometimes coaches make decisions that work out yet they were not the proper, highest percentage choice...likewise coaches make the proper decision but it does not work out....in both cases, you can see the thought process behind the decision at which point you can debate it.... but this guy ----- what POSSIBLE "strofi tou mialou" did his brain take to make the substitutions he made? I cant find ANY ANY rational or logical explanation....like u guys have said..... based on the information he had after the first half, and going into the first several minutes of the second half --- all real time factual data --- what was the thought process behind those choices.??????? i would be very curious to hear him explain all that.. all i can think of is maybe at 3-1 he figured if it ends 3-1 he can maybe snatch a 2-0 win at home....? ok i can bbbbbbbarely see that though i dont agree, ican see that. but at 4-1? i just dont get it. again, we may not agree with the logic behind any decision, but at least that logic has a basis in the coaches reality, right? but i would love to know what exactly his assessment and evaluation was of the game and what he hoped to accomplish with those substitutions.... are we all missing something?

j, the two issues are: 1. if we eat a goal we are done. he must figure out how to manage that.. 2. we dont paly this way. normally, when we need 1 goal (not 3 goals) we get it. (costa rica, ivory coast, amny examples of that) so he has a problem. play open, get scored on or play tight and keep them at zero at the expense of not all out attacking to get the three we need. not easy...any suggestions? i think our outside defenders must play line to line (like holevas/toro) and the central mids must play box to box as a starting point....

we all know the problems with Greek football, EPO etc etc.....been hearing this for the past 30 years.all valid, correct points but it ain't changing. if 2004 did not act like a springboard to implement those things then im afraid we have a better chance of winning 4-0 tomorrow than we do seeing those types of necessary changes in Greek football programs..... regarding tomorrow, 3-0 is very possible. Why not? who expected 4-1? its unlikely given what we have seen so far but its far from impossible. At this level, even with our average players, its not impossible. ONly if we change our mentality and tactics and attack will we even have any chance of getting a favorable result....but it would be probably the greatest game in NT history if they pull it off. admittedly its alot to ask from this group. i believe we CAN....but I dont know if we WILL. TROSK 10000% correct....the first 15-20 minutes are CRITICAL.

CAN

in all fairness, criticizing the starting lineup is a second guess.........if they did not make two mistakes the game and result could have been much different.......these are the guys that have got him here so i cant understand his reasoning....(not that i agree with it, but its easy to criticize AFTER the fact.... BUT was is absolutely positively inexcusable is this: he saw that his choices for this game were NOT working at all....u have evidence in front of you to eva;laute how the team is performing based your lineup, the score and the flow of the game.......so, now do something. as the coach, its your job to make adjustments based on WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE PITCH....here he FAILED MISERABLY. no second guess, no after the fact....

skibe threw the players under the bus..... every coach i ever played for at a significant level ALWAYS accpeted the ultimate responsibility when our teams lost. "Im the coach and its my job to make sure players have the best chance to succeed" stuff like that.....and when we won they would say "its not me, its the players that deserve all the credit, they did it on the field/court etc. etc." i run through walls for coaches like that. but in true greek mentality fashion when a coach says " imade no mistakes" when we all know skibbe played guys out of position and in the 2nd half when it was obvious after 45 minutes the lineup he chose needed changes he laid an egg" well then I think to myself "a kai g*****! m#$%!" or something poetically similar u CANT blame your players ----- u lose their respect and as we all know, in greece the graveyard for soccer coaches, that can be fatal...

watching sweden italy ---- 1-0 ---- italy pressing.... off the ball movement, attacking open spaces, purposeful passing, probing looking for the crack in sweden defense...beautiful

faroe was a F*** y** to the coach.....they did not want him so the players threw the game

this guy is beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Mexri ton ofalo sou...................................." thats some funny as* shi*.....

i think the team is embarrased, i think they will make a better showing SUnday (cant get any worse) but ---- if they lay dwon its really sending a message that they are done with this coach. (thats essentially what happened againg Faroe Islands and that whole debacle.)

regarding coaches - the brilliance of otto was he 100% maxed out the "talent" we had by employing a system that put the players in the best position to succeed based on their strengths. STEP 2: HIS evaluation of the talent was accurate and his evlauation of what players would execute his vision was accurate. STEP 3: the players all bought in to his approach. STEP 4: He made the necessary adjustments as needed, rather than wholesale changes. Santos to a lesser degree, but he coached in Greece for a lon gtime so his assessment included up close knowledge of the greek game and gree mentality.... skibbe to me, although he give a good interview, seems far removed from both of these elements.

gentlemen, its not over.......Its UNLIKELY that we go through, but its not impossible. I try to be objective. There is no reason why croats cant throw up a "stinker" game....sitting here saying " there is no way we can win 3-0 , well you are not going out on a limb with that opinion. Thats the safe, pessimistic opinion. (and again, it might be what happens) BUT...........one thing is clear...a few guys said it ealier.....if we dont go full out and attack, then the odds of a 3-0 win are almost ZERO. If we go full out on attack, then we have as good a chance of scoring a goal or two. There back line looked awful, even with our MORE awful offensive display. If betting sports was so easy we would all be millionaires. Look what happen yesterday. All the "experts" predicted a low scoring game, defensive tight struggle and look what happened. Dont be surprised if we go up 3-0 and then eat a stupid goal to get eliminated because we then try to protect the lead and do what we did yesterday ......

now THATS some funny a** sh**..........lol lol lol ----------- all you guys make great points... now with the benefit of a day to reflect here are my thoughts: big picture: we are an average to above average team that MUST play an "A" game collectively to compete against the bigger, better sides. (see Belgium 1-1 draw) The more "talent" the bigger margin of error, so you can play a "B" game and still win...not us with this group of players. bigger Philosophical picture: traditionally, our soccer mentality and identity never includes an attacking style, rather we (against bigger teams) ALWAYS sit back and try to absorb pressure and really start getting going after about 20 minutes....(see Germany 4-2 loss a while back as an example) This allows the other team to dictate the pace of the game and allows THEM to put THEIR stamp on the pitch Why? CONFIDENCE, and a feeling of inferiority......Look how we came out against GIbralter vs. yesterday...why? we feared Croatia's offense and elected to sit back, giving them WAY more resepct than they deserved. smaller picture: our midfield absolutely SUCKS. no movement , no off the ball tactics, no attacking open spaces, no creativity ---its like nobody wanted the ball yesterday ----how many times did we kick it back to swiss cheese karnezis (who is awful by the way) coach: i know sokratis said dont blame the coach, but im sorry coach should put u in the best position to be successful. Not only did he not do that, but when it became obvious to EVERYONE that we needed to press higher up - especially after 4-1 he does very little to flip the script. Why was this SSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOO bad? Aside form the obvious, the few chances we had (and they were not great chances) each time the Croat defense looked very very shaky. As a coach u need to see that, evaluate it and adjust in the moment....he did not do that. Now im sure many will say "ah, we gave them two gifts, etc. etc. etc. but thats even more reason for the coach to make adjustments....we simply dont have the luxury of making many mistakes in one game. and thats what happened yesterday. Kpap and Maniatis were SSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOO behind every play they go burned on it was laughable.... Its the worst big, important game i've seen in along long time.... manolas, donis, toro, mantalos and we are going back to AThens with a 80% chance to qualify. Without those guys well, u c what happened...I did not thinl one guy (manolas) could make such a big difference but his absence was HUGE. Two goals dont go in if he was there.... so you put all these things together and its a recipe for disaster. SO what now: ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK........WE are very capable of winning 3-0.....Can we? Well, just like we had a stinker of a game, so can the Croats. I said this BEFORE the game yesterday, fearing the strategy that they always employ, and unfortunately thats what happened. We have to put fresh legs to chase the ball, pressure them and just press forward for 90 plus minutes. Their defense is shaky and with the right amount of pressure I know we can score a few goals WHILE KEEPING THEIR OFFENSE out of our zone.

RS - right on...KPAP is out of position veyr very often

manolas, toro, mantalos, donis ----alll sorely mised.... different game if they were there... sadly, we came out flat, conceding possession, etc.etc. we let croation dictate the pace of the game and impose their stamp on how things were gonna be..... u CANT sit back ---- other teams MUST respect and have SOME fear that they will be scored on....croats had NO fear and their mids went deep into our zone without hesitation.... thats what happens when tactically u decide to park the bus and absorb pressure early. and THEN, the moron Skibbe makes stupid changes and subs. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u have three offensive minded guys , u can move pap up if u want, .......especially after 4-1 what's to lose? i dont get it. we looked lost, unsure, with no "plan" whatsoever........very surprising ------ very unprepared.....

we need to THINK OFFENSIVELY.....i said this before the game began....thats the best way to counter and slow down a team like croatia...in this case the best defense is a good, pressing offense....

our midfield sucks...fortunis is invisible....

not upset.......no reason to be....45 + left.. christodolou should come in immediatrely DEAN --- 100%.... we are not attacking at all and as a result croatia gets all the space they need to maneuver....

perhaps one of the worst displays ive seen from this team in a long time...disorganized, they look timid, clueless, not confident and ready to impose their will on the game. we cant play any worse......thats the bright side. again, our lack of creativity in midfield kills us..... their D is very vulnerable... regroup...hold them like we can, and grab another goal and we r in good shape..... karnezis sucks...alwau=ys has. NEVER liked him...can he stop just ONE penalty shot in his lifetime? just ONE. but the reason for ALL that was that we did exactly what i feared...we sat back and let crotia dictate the pace and rythym of the game. it is a recipe for disaster as u can see.... we r one step bhind croatia in reaction time.... manolas is missed....for sure as evidenced by what happened.

maybe FIFA determined ZECA spells his name wrong given he is on a greek team so they banned for the next two games.....