Panatha v. Ergotelis

[Kojak]

id just like to point out that before nioplias when ten cate left we were one point behind oly...and now we are 5 points up...

i dont hear too much commotion anymore about ten cate being fired..

though a pleasing stat...im not a fan of comparing a coach who was not allowed to finish what he started, and one that has only had a handful of games.....whos to say nioplias didnt luckily jump into play when ten cates work was finally gonna pay off.

Nioplias will be judged by the end of next season, if he survives it.

on a different note... there are a few things that annoy me despite currently being in the +5 euphoric state...

-is there ever a free kick within goal range, where there arent five players arguing over who will take it..(eg my pet hate Xristo seems to always be begging to take one), surely we have 1 player whos the best free-kick specialist in the team, with the odd change here n there to mix it up.

- our long range free-kicks barely penetrating the box. Ergotelis threatened us a few times from set pieces cause there crosses actually made it into the small box in front of the keeper..

-and last thing, watching the 1st half of the game was painful, cause the goddamn commentator on ANT1 pacific had his radio playing the same time he was commentating.......did anyone else notice this?

[cyberfish]

Hey Kojak,

what actually happened to bryce moon?

I agree with your points. I too get agravated watching all the commotion before each freekick, especially knowing that it will end up either on the wall, in the birds, or in a juicy counter (if it's further back).

I don't see any specialists at freekicks, but I've seen a pattern, so here is my breakdown:

Despite the bad press, Karagounis is best at delivering freekicks with a chance to score on the left of the box as we attack. He is also good at bringing the ball in from 30-40 meters out from the left wing most of the time and we have scored a few goals like that. He is horrible at delivering a freekick from anywhere else on the field. His delivery is usually too soft, or too high from the right and the center. Karagounis is really bad with corners thought. He rarely delivers the ball with authority.

Cisse has a rocket shot, and so does Salpigidis. Salpi has tried a few head-on shots in the past few years but he never scored, so maybe Cisse can take the freekicks from 20-30 meters in the center. Blast it and see if the keeper blinks or if a foot deflects it, or if there is a rebound.

Leto is a very good freekick taker when it comes to delivering a high ball for a header from the right. He should take those. His bending shots have been too soft every time he tried to score from the right of the box and more often he hits the wall when he tries to add power (cisse got on his case a couple of times for hitting the wall). Leto is also best in corners from the right.

Ninis has an absolutely sweat and accurate foot and should be our second choice from the left or from the right. I think he has scored a couple of times too with a freekick so he should be in the mix. He is also an excellent corner taker from both flanks.

Christodoulopoulos does seem to have a good corner delivery (Katsouranis scored with a header from his delivery against Xanthi), but not as good as Leto or Ninis. I do think he is better at corers than karagounis but that doesn't say much.

I think we have enough player who can do something decent with our freekicks but I don't think there is a clear idea who should be taking them. I would love to see us work in some trick plays for a change. I don't think the team works on freekicks though.

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

+ 5 baby oooooh yea