Suggested Call Ups/Starting 11

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  • Seems Vlacho is the best keeper in the Primera:

    https://hellas-football.com/forum/fo...l/3354-benfica

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    • Originally posted by Don Giovanni View Post
      Hopefully by the time World Cup qualifying begins, Manolas will be back in the squad. He's an exceptional defender, one of the best in the world. I think for Greece to be competitive, we need him. I think he can continue until at least Euro 2024.

      Sokratis is a touch-and-go subject. He's slow off the mark. His recovery challenges and ability in the air is not what it once was, but he's as strong as strong comes and he can still keep some of the best in the game on a leash. He has proven himself against Cristiano and Messi, performing exceptionally against them in his prime. He's been teammates with Lewandowski and De Bruyne, another two players who I think are the closest in quality to Cristiano and Messi. He knows how to take on the best in the world. I still think he has something to offer and his experience, relative to other Greeks, is unbridled. It will take years before we find someone of similar experience and quality. That said, I think he's finished at Arsenal, so it's now a matter of what kind of ambition he shows once he leaves. He has to continue at a good level to compete with Greece. Even a return to Greece wouldn't be good enough in and of itself. He would have to at least compete in the UCL. Zagorakis returned to AEK and was competing in the UCL. Should he return to Greece and do the same, that would be good enough for me to see him continue with Greece, but even a move to a midtable EPL, Bundesliga, or Series A team would do him well. I think his future is likely on the Greek bench should he be willing to accept that. If we lose Manolas to suspension or injury, he's the player we would want to step into his place.

      The problem for Siovas is his club look relegation bound and he's been out injured. At 32, it's hard to imagine him finding another La Liga club or continuing at a similar level, but he too would need to show ambition to continue with Greece. Maybe he goes down a division with Leganes should they be relegated and help them back up, like Moras did at Verona and Bologna. He's a viable option so long as he can stay at a competitive level, but he's getting older and he'll be 34 come the World Cup. He's still an option, but this is likely his last rodeo with Greece.

      ATM, they're our best CBs and to find quality replacements will take time. Retsos, Hatzidiakos and Mavropanos look to be the likeliest candidates, but they're still very young and lack experience.

      Bare minimum, I think we need Manolas and at least one of Sokratis or Siovas on the bench. Retsos, Hatzidiakos, or Mavropanos would need to start alongside Manolas. Maybe we go with a back three or we play one of them at RB, something Retsos has done at Leverkusen and for Greece in the past. Beyond these six options, we have Kourbelis and technically Stafylidis. I don't see much beyond these options.
      I would take Manolas back in a heartbeat. Out of the 3 he would be the player I choose. Sokratis and Siovas have had there time and it’s time to move on. What we got to understand is that we haven’t made any tournaments for 6 years. That’s 6 long years that we who are fanatics for Greece had to endure tournaments without Greece. It’s not a good feeling and I don’t want to experience it again.

      Just like most clubs and countries when they go through a period like we have, all signs point towards a rebuild. I truly believe we must look towards the future. Players like Retsos, Hatzidiakos, Limnios, Bouzoukis, Chatzigiovannis, Galanopoulos, Tsimikas and Lamprou are all the future of this team. It’s imperative to start including these players from now and JVS sees it the same way.

      Experience is a big advantage in a team and we can’t deny that. Sokratis has done so much for this national team ever since he debuted for the men’s side. He has been the most reliable CB over the years in my opinion. Even at club level he has made a name for himself and has competed at a high level for a decade.

      I personally think his time is over with Greece. I thank him for everything he has done, I truly do. But we must at this stage make tough decisions and start sacrificing players for the good of the team. Sokratis would have to be one of them, along with Siovas. Samaris and Mitroglou can join that list aswell. With all due respect to these guys there time with Greece should be over. Manolas is the only player I would keep from the list. He has too much to offer and would be completely stupid to ignore a player like him. His pace and jumping ability can literally save the team. I hope when he comes back Hatzidiakos, Retsos and Mavropanos are his understudies. These 4 should have the CB position held down for the next 2 campaigns.

      I think Manolas and Sokratis needed a break from Greece as they have been serving the team the longest and it was time that they get a much needed break to come back stronger and be refreshed. As I said Sokratis would have to be sacrificed in order for one of Hatzidiakos, Retsos and Mavropanos to start developing and getting experience for Greece. It’s the only solution we have, if we want to be making tournaments and sustaining it. It’s time for our young guys to get the experience and even exposure they need to get to the next level. This will also help Greece aswell. We finally have a coach who believes in our youth.

      I also don’t think Sokratis will be playing champions league football again. As disappointing as that sounds that’s the reality. I’ve heard him say that he will be going to China or America after he is done with Arsenal. So now we know what his intentions are.


      Last edited by Dean97; 02-09-2020, 12:07 AM.

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      • Originally posted by Reaper View Post
        Seems Vlacho is the best keeper in the Primera:

        https://hellas-football.com/forum/fo...l/3354-benfica
        Doesn’t really surprise me. He is very good, don’t get me wrong but who is in the Portuguese league that is of top quality as a keeper? Porto, Sporting and Braga are the only real threats to Benfica. Everyone else is a walk in the park for them in my opinion.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Val View Post
          Bouzoukis is close to unplayable atm, even off the bench. He cost us in the cup, cheaply giving the ball away outside the box, which eventually resulted in the dubious penalty and paok’s first. The team was doing quite well up until that point. Mind you, when I saw him starting in place of nagy on the flank, it just didn’t sit right with me. And if it seemed like there was a lot of space on that side of the park, it’s because bouzoukis doesn’t have the discipline and lacks the physical traits to play that position. Regardless, he gets easily outmuscled and opponents look to attack him because they know he can’t offer any resistance. So centrally, he can’t play anything other than the 10 but even as a 10, he just doesn’t create enough. Zahid who has replaced him in the starting 11, does this at a higher clip and shows nice composure on the ball. It’s disappointing for bouzoukis and I hope he does find his niche like chatzigiovanis. For that to happen though, he’ll need to become a better 10 or improve defensively like modric did under harry redknapp which meant he could be deployed deeper. I'm not going to lie, it has crossed my mind that a move abroad is probably the best thing for him. He'll have exposure to better coaching. Also, with pao's overall improvement, my bet is they look to keep zahid or bring in an equivalent, someone that's ready to fulfil commitments which can again freeze out bouzoukis. They've already signed some dude called carlitos who apparently is quite versatile. Not to mention, there's macheda who for me is better as an attacking mid as opposed to a striker.
          Prime example that validates everything you said, was his recent performance against AEK. He was invisible again, this time even playing in his "natural" position 10. He has a whole heap of learning to do before he is ready to really have an impact on the National Stage. Certainly suffering 2nd year syndrome after his breakout season.

          I just hope if he does get a call up, it gives him a boost to develop further, and not the reverse.

          Comment


          • ^^

            Starting to think Xatzigiovanis offers more..

            Comment


            • Xatzi to date is miles ahead of Bouzouki, your right on Reap. Have seen a few of the vazelous derbies the last couple of weeks and Bouzouki looks lost and very weak on the ball. Xatzi to his credit has been playing very well and deserves a call up from Van Schip. Just utterly shocked Donis subbed out Xatzi, and not Bouzouki in their cup game at Toumba at around the 60 min. mark when the game was still in the balance. He and Kourbelis were there only real threat offensively that game

              Comment


              • Chatzigiovannis does look like he offers more lately. But JVS seems to also like Bouzoukis and sees him as an option down the line. But for now he wants to continue playing for the u21s as he has an important role there. If Bouzoukis was to be called up the men’s side and somehow plays and scores it would do wonders for him and his career. That’s a big if. His breakout season last season showed that he has quality. Hopefully he can get it right this season as we are already past the halfway mark.

                Im big on playing our youth. They are our future. I don’t think we should flood the team with players who under 23 but we should be at least be thinking about how our young players can be integrated in the team. I would like to see a Retsos and Mavropanos CB partnership one day. Or even have Retsos, Mavropanos and Hatzidiakos in a 3 man defence if we ever go down that route.

                Comment


                • There's also Stergiou (Cypriot? who may represent Switzerland) and Pavlidis' brother Vasilis to consider at CB down the road (both are 17).

                  Chatzigiovannis thought he could push for a move this past summer, but is now learning a hard lesson from the PAO board.

                  Comment


                  • Leonidas Stergiou is half Greek, half Serbian. He was born in Switzerland and is playing 1st team football in the Swiss league. He is a very promising player. Only 17 and starting week in and week out. It’s like we only produce CBs...

                    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_Stergiou

                    Vasilis Pavlidis is a he brother of Vangelis Pavlidis. He is 17 aswell and plays for Schalke youth. Both he and Stergiou would be great additions to the u19s. JVS has been scouting both players.

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                    • Chatzigiovannis gives us much needed width. For this reason we really missed him. Though mostly 1 footed and predictable, he's quick and good on the ball. He can accelerate past his opponent. Bouzoukis despite being good on the ball, can't do this because he's a much inferior athlete. Chatzigiovannis has also improved when coming deep to get the ball. I trust him to shield the ball and his passes are much safer nowadays. When he first came into the team, he would attempt risky passes in these areas. He cost us a goal in one of the european games. IQ wise, i'm still figuring him out. Overall I've seen enough to suggest he can at least carve out a nice career playing for pao or the other big 3, whilst a move abroad ala lazaros is not beyond him.

                      Comment


                      • I think we if we were to go a 3-5-2 later down the line, I would like to see this:

                        Vlachodimos

                        Manolas Hatzidiakos Retsos

                        Limnios Vasiliadis Boucha Koutris/Tsimikas

                        Fortounis

                        Pavlidis Donis

                        I don’t think Bakakis is good enough for this team. I believe he is the weak link. He would have to do more as a player to convince me that he is deserving to play at RB. He would have improve a lot especially defensively. Thats why I think if we eliminate him and have Manolas, Vasiliadis and Limnios covering the right side we should be fine defensively and not get caught out.

                        Limnios would have to do a lot of running and Vasiliadis would have to position himself well in defence. Manolas speed and height already gives me confidence that he can cover the right flank well. I don’t trust any other RB at the moment. Kitsiou and Marinakis are not that impressive. Unlike most of our LBs.

                        Also we would have to wait for Vagiannidis to further develop if we want to consider him as a future RB option.

                        Comment


                        • I'm feeling the 3-5-2. I think it's very suitable to the kind of players at our disposal. We could easily see Tsimikas drop into the LB position and Donis/Fortounis (Mantalos) drop back into the LM position so that we can also go 4-4-2. Having that flexibility will be key for Greece.

                          With Mavropanos and Hatzidiakos out, that means Stafylidis could continue at CB when we play friendlies next month. As things stand, Mantalos should start ahead of Donis, but Donis is going to be key for us down the road (possibly as a bench option). Tsimikas at left-back for me. His performance against Arsenal was very good. Koutris and Gianniotis have their work cut for themselves. I'm not sure Bouchalakis is the answer in the middle. Once Vasiliadis and Fortounis find a rhythm, I think Kourebelis or Galanopoulos are likeliest to get that third spot in order to offer a proper balance. With Vasiliadis, I'm feeling more optimistic about our central midfield.

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                          • Bouxa has some major flaws. I say that as an Olympiacos man. He is slow, unimaginative and makes mistakes. I would give Vasiliadis his position in a few games.

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                            • I agree Bouchalakis does make mistakes. He is also slow and isn’t creative enough. It’s seems all the coaches we’ve had favour the 4-2-3-1 with this team. Maybe it’s because we have lots of DMs (6s) and AMs (10s). We haven’t got any box to box midfielders. Vasiliadis seems like the only number 8 we have. Bouchalakis is a 6, Galanopoulos, Kourbelis, Zeca, Samaris etc. are all 6s. Mantalos, Pelkas, Fortounis, Bouzoukis, Bakasetas are all 10s.

                              Maybe that’s the reason for playing 4-2-3-1 and also playing CAMs outwide. But now that we haven’t got depth or I should say not good enough depth at RB, a 3-5-2 or any formation involving 3 at the back might be the way to go going forward.

                              JVS favourite formation is 4-3-3. It has been mentioned in the past. The lack of midfield 8s could be the reason why he hasn’t played this formation and instead has played a formation with two 6s. Thankfully he has played Galanopoulos and Kourbelis as the holding mids because they are our only 6s who have energy and some pace.

                              If it were me I’d play one 6, one 8 and one 10. Balance seems the best way to go in my opinion. JVS seems to found something that has worked. I’m curious to see if keeps the same system or not. I guess he will keep it the same since we have been winning.

                              The last thing I want to say is that if we were to play 4-3-3 in the future we would have to consider carefully who will be the two 8s. It can’t be players who are defensive. It has to be players who have an engine and players who have great instincts in attack. Vasiliadis would be one option.

                              Comment


                              • Van't Schip may stick to 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.. I do think we need two forwards in central positions to attack the goal, given our lack of goals, and I think 3 center-backs makes more sense for us given our quality there, even if that means playing one as a right-back.

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