Second best for Athens rivals

[HOLLYWOOD]

As Olympiacos CFP stroll towards their ninth title in ten years it is the race to be second best that is drawing attention in Greece. For clubs as proud as AEK Athens FC and Panathinaikos FC, aiming for the runners-up spot is nothing to boast about, but as the season reaches its climax both have plenty riding on their remaining three fixtures.

'Frustrated'

Aristidis Kamaras was a centre-back in the Panathinaikos' side that lost to AFC Ajax in the European Champion Clubs' Cup Final at Wembley in 1971. He shares the feelings of many Panathinaikos fans when he says it has been a difficult season to endure. "The fans of Panathinaikos, myself included, are frustrated because the team performed poorly in all competitions this season. The new signings did not rise to the occasion, the head coach failed to build a competitive side and made some wrong choices. Panathinaikos themselves narrowed their aspirations. Therefore, I believe that if Panathinaikos clinch second place, it should be regarded rather as consolation than as success. AEK Athens, on the other hand, have solidarity as a team and will fight until the end. For them, second place will be indeed an accomplishment, as they will have improved since last season."

http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=163...sId=413298.html

What do you guys think???

[choc13]

2nd place is not good enough for a team like ours,,ksexase to 5aeto plano,,,ine aparadekto na min borisoume na paroume to titlo kai mia metria poreia stin evropi pou den mas armozi katholou.

[trifilli]

Agree, but this year's European poreia, was NOT metria...

It was one of the worst in PAO history, period.

As far as second place, it looks like PAO is getting used to it :o

That's IF we actually do get 2nd...

PEACE

[drakos13]

neither. People are upset we didnt win/ go through

but all teams have bad form runs, especially growing ones. PAO fans just dont like to accept the truth. Sometimes the game just wont go your way. It seems people only focus on the negatives of the season.

The team is growing and new, like it or not- it wont happen overnight.

This year we DID have some really good things.

the teams form has improved greatly and the team is finally molding together now.

most important

the youth got plenty of chances. Chances to the point where Darlas, Mantzios and Tziolis were hardly expected to play that much- Darlas and Mantzios ended up getting call ups from Otto. Leontiou showed promise.

This experince will be valuable youll see. 2006, 2007 winning would be nice

but in 2008 when we celebrate 100 years of PAO with a new stadium we are going to be champions and probably have a good euro run, and that experience and losing now is part of the cost of tha than fine.

[bar7]

this year was tougher, since we didnt do anything in Europe where it all counts

[athinaios]

Total crap of a season! Anyway you look at it, it has been a dismal failure. Being that all Greek teams suck big time, it's embarrassing not to have more titles in the last 10 years! And, it's not like we're winning big in Europe. Puleeez. I don't want to hear about 1 or 2 good results against great teams. So what??????? What have we gotten? NOTHING!

Let's get some perspective here. Start by dominating the domestic league, where you sharpen your skills and then talk about euro play. Our play in Greece is awful. Swiss-cheese defense and crappolla playing..... (Haven't seen a game where we exchange 4-5 passes in a row!) We can frustrate better euro teams with destructive game strategy, but in the end they'll get you... as they have!

Both PAO & OLY management have either decided our teams can't make it in Europe, or, most likely, they're incompetent men with money and they think this qualifies them to steer a football club!!!!!!!!!

[trifilli]

I love ALL our young Greek boys, but let's be realistic.

The reason why they are playing is because we do not have real quality!

None of them would be starting in the 2001-2003 teams...

Our foreign transfers were a failure. Biscan was awful and we praise him for improving, he is not worth his $$$. Seric is ok but not for 850k/year.

In nearly every position the replacements were inferior.

My focus has always been Europe.

When PAO won a couple of good games and played hard away, I never complained.

This year I did not even get that.

Morris, one of our best last year, was a shadow of himself.

The only glimmer of hope, is that it can only get better... :(

We have youth and therefore hope is alive

My biggest hopes are on Leontiou. :tup:

PEACE

[drakos13]

the reason they were playing is because players were out of form.

Gkekas and Papadopoulos are definitly the best duo in Greece- no arguements there. But in the begining of the season their form was just awful , like the whole teams... youth got the chances they need and are integrated into the team...Mantzios got his shot because others werent getting it done.

i know nobody likes to hear the long term side of things- but ALL --- ALL good teams start to be molded and they have seasons like this. I have a lot of confidence that although maybe not next year but the year after that we are going to have a great season and play some good ball. By then we will have Kritikos, Siontis, Ganchev integrated in the team as well. We have the most promising talent in Greece, just wait PAO will be on top again- no need to bitch and scream and point fingers at executives and coaches everytime the team has an unfavorable result... i mean isnt it Kerdizeis, xaneis-------egw 8a tragoudaw! PAO ole ole....

[pao123]

the reason they were playing is because players were out of form.

Gkekas and Papadopoulos are definitly the best duo in Greece- no arguements there. But in the begining of the season their form was just awful , like the whole teams... youth got the chances they need and are integrated into the team...Mantzios got his shot because others werent getting it done.

i know nobody likes to hear the long term side of things- but ALL --- ALL good teams start to be molded and they have seasons like this. I have a lot of confidence that although maybe not next year but the year after that we are going to have a great season and play some good ball. By then we will have Kritikos, Siontis, Ganchev integrated in the team as well. We have the most promising talent in Greece, just wait PAO will be on top again- no need to bitch and scream and point fingers at executives and coaches everytime the team has an unfavorable result... i mean isnt it Kerdizeis, xaneis-------egw 8a tragoudaw! PAO ole ole....

well said

[bar7]

i hate the coaching merry-go-round, i backed this guy up until the udinese game in the CL & started questioning him ever since...I've reached the point where i do not have faith with him as a coach.. Dont have any answers as far as who to get as a replacement...I'm at odds as to what PAO should do. Is it the merry-go- round or Malesani?...Both options are no good, but i know that i'm sick of seeing new faces practically every year coaching this team,which only creates instability :tdown:

[HOLLYWOOD]

now were 3rd, we cant even hold 2nd place with 2 games to go....

i havent said one bad word against m#$%!sani, but seariously he cant even prepair a team psychologicaly.......

Pao should have been ready and willing to destroy Iraklis today to clinch 2nd spot on the table but instead played like they couldnt give two shits... Now dnt give me crap like Iraklis was sooo awsome that even Aek an Oly lost to them because to me that doesnt cut it espeically when 2nd spot was on the line....i can handle Paos loss if they played good football but they didnt!!! they didnt care!!!!

i mean Drakos can sit here and say all he likes that Pao improved from the beggining of the year which may be tru but the only reason why we have slightly improved is because Pao set the standard so low at the start of the season that any team can improve, i mean at the beginging of the year if i had to rank our performence out out of 10, pao was at 2.5/10, now there probably at 3.5/10.... woppti dooooo!!!!

The previous years i belive our standard was much better in both domestic and Europe, atleast we were performing at a standard rate 5/10... now i belive that management and the coach have decided to set the bar soooo low that when it comes to evaluatiing the teams performence at the end of the year they can say, were improving which will then lead them to justifying there 5 year bullshit plan....

let me ask u this question guys; if Pao finish 3rd this year (which they probably will) whats next years goal?? finish second????( im confused didnt we always finish second in the last 10 years) if so then how is this justified as improving when b4 this year 2nd spot was a given for us, which by the way is a disgrace considering paos history???

for me to evaluate this team u need to compare this years performence with last years performence.... Last year we went to the wire with the geys for the title and came second with some decent performences, this year we have been blown out of the waters by the geys and havent come close to them which has led us to 3rd with hardly no good performences as a team.... to me this year has been a failure, reguardless of this bullshit building faze we should have atleast grabed second spot when we had the chance to, yet we failed....

Now lets judge m#$%!zani!!!

this is the coach who won Eufa cup with Parma in 2001, Now in 2006 this is the coach who says Gonzalez is better as a Dmc rather then a AMC, or Biscans Natural position is DC and not DMC or lets put seric who is a LB to AMC!!!!! or how about lets change the formation and the line up every week because im bored???

However lets not forget the smart moves he made which was bring in the youth!!! question do u guys think he wanted to bring them in or was that because the other senior players were playing like s%$#! house in there new positions??? or how about his commitment to his team when every week he goes back to italy to see his family!!! i mean either move ur family down to Greece so u dnt waste so much time or jst dnt coach in greece period!!! OR how about when m#$%!zani said we should forget the past because were never gonna achieve anything in Europe any time soon, JEZZZZ way to go in basically saying u have no faith in Pao!!! i personaly havent seen/or read Pao play one decent game this year and for a coach of his Calibre that is jusdged as a FAIL, i mean scum also had a preety new team when he took over yet he managed to win the League and he hasnt won anything big...... What does that say about m#$%!zani, ohhh thats right its a ###### 5 year plan, so basically he can waste and ###### around for the next 3 years and say hey this is a 5 year plan relax guys and were not aloud to complain because this is for the future remember....

Lets judge Managements move this year!!!

i dnt really need to say much on this subject because every year they do something stupid but this years prized effort was to bring in KING FLAVIO!!!! this is the same guy during last years transfer period was ###### Pao around when it came to signing his contract because he wanted a holiday in Brazil and didnt want to leave!!! hint hint??? or this is the same washed up player that the Turks wanted out of there team so Desperately, more hint hints!!!! or how about lets pay this washed up 33 year old player 1.3 million Euros!!!! :tdown:

However Management have had some good moments this year where they have really showed that they care for the team, an example is when they tore up KING FLAVIOS contract and had to pay him out in compo!!!! GREAT MOVE GUYS :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

To me this year has been a huge Failure!!!! i mean if a team, coach, management are going to say Pao is in a rebuilding faze as an excuse to the s%$#! house performence through out this year both in Europe and Domestic, then you know what i cant wait till next year!!! when Pao achieves its next goal in this 5 year plan and that is comming in at second!!! then we can truly say Pao is in a new era!! :whistle: (im confused, didnt we always finish second just about every year, but now its going to take 2 years to do that!!!)

Look the bottom line is, If u have a 5 year plan (which i dnt agree it takes that long) for the future, then your team should be showing signs of improving and moving forward, now to me this 5 year plan involves Pao taking 2 steps back (2 years) b4 they move forward??? how does this make sense, shouldnt the 5 year plan start from where u left off which was 2nd spot and either stay or slowly move forward to winning the League and then doing something in Europe not finishing 3rd the first year then finish 2nd (which we were already doing in the past) in the second year, then come first the 3rd year then 4th n 5th year make decent eurpean runs?? thats stupid and to damn long!!!! :nono: :tdown: :nono:

put it this way i cant wait for next year??? :whistle:

[DUDE]

i know nobody likes to hear the long term side of things- but ALL --- ALL good teams start to be molded and they have seasons like this. I have a lot of confidence that although maybe not next year but the year after that we are going to have a great season and play some good ball. By then we will have Kritikos, Siontis, Ganchev integrated in the team as well.

I agree Drakos. If PAO stick it out with these boys I really do think good things will come. The prob is though that PAO have a good ranking in the CL, this will slip, so by the time the boys become v.good players they'll be in v.tough CL groups. Having promising youngsters is great but it has to be blended with experience.

[DUDE]

Pao should have been ready and willing to destroy Iraklis today to clinch 2nd spot on the table but instead played like they couldnt give two shits... Now dnt give me crap like Iraklis was sooo awsome that even Aek an Oly lost to them because to me that doesnt cut it espeically when 2nd spot was on the line....i can handle Paos loss if they played good football but they didnt!!! they didnt care!!!!

Hollywood if the players didn't care then you can't blame Melasani. Players have to take criticism too.

let me ask u this question guys; if Pao finish 3rd this year (which they probably will) whats next years goal?? finish second????( im confused didnt we always finish second in the last 10 years) if so then how is this justified as improving when b4 this year 2nd spot was a given for us, which by the way is a disgrace considering paos history???

Look at Arsenal and their rebuilding process. I'm not saying I like Melasani, he's crap in my opinion. BUT since Vardinoyianni made the m*****a of allowing him to strip the side bare and build for the future, then you have to stick with him! I wouldn't have let him get rid of Basinas, Konstantinou, etc. BUT since the chairman has let him na xilosei tin omada, then he has to give him a chance.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Two words psychologicaly and discpline my friend!!! m#$%!zani should have had them mentaly ready and focused to beat Iraklis and judging my the performence today, he obvously didnt do his job!! mayb he was to busy organising his plane tickets to go back to Italy to see his family!!!

what seperates a good coach from a fraud is being able to get ur team psychologicaly ready for the big games and this year he hasnt done it not once....

now u either blame the team as a whole and get rid of every single one of them since they played like s%$#! (jst like they have been doing through out the year) or u blame the man thats supposed to prepair them mentaly and physically, set out the tactics and make the right choices when it come to team selection and not put players out of position like he has been doing all year e.g Gonzo as a DMC instead of a AMC, Biscan as a DC instead of an DMC, Seric as a AMC instead of LD, theo (former paok winger) as a RW instead of a LW.....

This year his performence has been shocking and judging by the comments his made to the media about pao success in Europe or the fact that he flys out to Italy every week suggests he doesnt care and he wont b here for the 5 years.... Does this sound like a Professional to you??

one word to discribe Paos season = Disgracefull!!!