Suggested Call Ups/Starting 11

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  • The problem with our set pieces is not only the service or the person taking it, most of our players are under 6ft. How can Svarnas, Mantalos, Bakakis, Stafylidis etc win the ball in the air? Only Siovas is a threat in the air.

    I remember the days we relied on set pieces to get us through. Now we can hold onto possession which is great to see. But I do believe certain players are letting us down. Like Kourbelis and Bakakis. We should be able to find replacements for them. Hopefully Galanopoulos plays again.

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    • You really don’t like Bakakis hey, as Don said, he does a lot of good that we don’t mention.

      Ok he has some limitations but you wanna hope, who ever plays there does all the hard work he does

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      • Originally posted by Amorgos View Post
        You really don’t like Bakakis hey, as Don said, he does a lot of good that we don’t mention.

        Ok he has some limitations but you wanna hope, who ever plays there does all the hard work he does
        He’s just not good enough. He does work hard though I must admit. But he’s just not a good enough footballer. I’ve watched him closely. He panics a lot and isn’t effective enough. He doesn’t give you confidence watching him play. He seems like a nice guy but I don’t think he should be playing.

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        • I think he's serviceable. He's a good guy, but I do think he needs to do better and try to get more on the front stick. Against Kosovo, he invited defensive pressure by not being more of an attacking force. And when you have a player like Limnios in front of you, that can be as simple as making the overlap runs. Granted, against better opposition, he will be defending and getting forward in a much more limited capacity, so in games like that I would prefer Retsos or Hatzidiakos assuming Manolas returns for those kind of games. For now, he has shown he deserves to play and he's our best right-back option.

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          • As far as this Bakakis debate goes, maybe we should drop Bakakis and play Limnios a bit deeper as an inverse winger, like what's being done with Giannoulis now. Van't Schip seems to believe in him. Maybe Bakakis does gain in confidence and learns to play more like Giannoulis, but that's a strong maybe.

            Stafylidis is another player van't Schip refuses to give up on. Maybe it's best to stick him in central/defensive midfield. As a center-back or left-back, Greece can do better, players like Kyriakopoulos and Michailidis are just two of the untested options who will put that theory to the test eventually. But in central midfield, our options right now are not really good enough. Players like Casemiro and Kante aren't as difficult to mold as say Pirlo. It takes a lot of hard work and a sharp mind that anticipates intelligently to play like those two DMs, but Stafylidis can be developed in that way even at this stage in his career.

            Greece should play Tsimikas wide left of a three-man defense. Let Giannoulis play a bit higher as an inverse winger, basically as he does now, and let's find a place for the new Liverpool man on the pitch. We really shouldn't be debating which of the two should start. Rather they both need to play.

            Bring Manolas back. Put Hatziadiakos or Mavropanos, or whoever, at wide right. Our defense is still a major strong point and I think we should try to get away with a man less. Atalanta plays a back three to amazing success and I think Greece can do it too.
            Last edited by Don Giovanni; 09-16-2020, 02:47 AM.

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            • So Leonidas Stergiou of St Gallen in Switzerland... only 18 and was very impressive against AEK! Doesn’t play like a 18 year old, would be very good if he played for Greece

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              • He has the option of representing Switzerland, Serbia, and Greece. So far he's been on track to represent the Swiss, but if he wants to play with Turks and Albanians, being that he's Greek and Serb, that might make for interesting times. I hope he chooses Greece and continues his impressive progress.

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                • Hatzidiakos is fit to play again, but he has yet to complete a match. I'm not sure if he's ready to play for Greece again come the weekend following, but we don't have any options now that van't Schip decided to drop Siovas.

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                  • I’d really like to see him return to the team. I’d put him back in the team even if he wasn’t playing, but we all know it’s not the way to do things. I’d go even further and put him captain.

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                    • IDK about captain, I think Bakasetas will keep the armband, but hopefully he's fit enough to play. If he's only good enough to play 70 minutes, we might see someone else get a chance too.

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                      • I think he should be fine to play. We’ve also got a friendly coming up first before the nations league games. Good chance to see other players and also see if Hatzidiakos is ready.

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                        • Coming back from a knee injury, needs to be filtered back to normal level

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                          • Three big questions loom as Greece prepares for the next two matches.

                            With Siovas banned and Stafylidis injured, what can be done at center-back?

                            Potentially Kyriakopoulos or Mihailidis could play at left CB. I think having Tsimikas or Giannoulis play in that position would fail to make the most of their talents; whereas Kyriakopoulos would struggle to start for Greece over either of them on the left and really has no other option if he wants to play. It would take time to develop him for that role and that could prove to be a non-starter in itself. Mihailidis is the most naturally suited of the remaining options for that role. I wouldn't consider these players ideal given their lack of experience and in most of their cases, the fact that it's not their most suitable role.

                            Hatzidiakos could return on the right, but Svarnas (who I think van't Schip hopes will be molded in the form of the former Barcelona player and Svarnas' current AEK teammate Chygrynskiy) may keep his place for now given that Hatzidiakos is still finding form and fitness after only just returning from a serious injury that kept him out for most of last season. It's plausible someone else may come in, but bear in mind that Mavropanos and Retsos are yet to play this season. Retsos hasn't played in months, but that didn't stop Stafylidis from playing against Kosovo.

                            Questions remain over Zeca and Kourbelis who didn't drape themselves in glory the past two games. Should they be replaced?

                            Bouchalakis is likeliest to be called upon if changes are made. Who would replace remains unclear, but probably Zeca. Kourbelis can double as a center-back and often drops back into that position when Greece took possession of the ball, allowing Bakakis to push further afield. For that reason, I think he may keep his place. Zeca may not provide that kind of value tactically, however, he offers harder running and experience. He's the better defensive midfielder. Galanopoulos remains injured and would very likely win his place back when he does regain fitness. Vasiliadis doesn't appear to have made a good enough impression in training (I can only suspect this is the case). Does Greece have any other options here? Maybe Mantalos can deployed here, but that would alter the balance of the formation. The coach can always get creative too, and maybe Stafylidis could play here. I actually think Stafylidis would be better suited to DM than CB.

                            The left-wing position remains a conundrum too, but pressing changes aren't needed here given this area hasn't been as problematic as it was in the past.

                            Masouras seems like the obvious choice, but Giannoulis could play there in order to accommodate himself and Tsimikas into the same eleven. Mantalos or Fortounis could play there too, but both are far better suited centrally. It's difficult to say without trying all the options out and seeing what works best. I think it would be too harsh to leave Tsimikas and Giannoulis on the bench, both deserve to start for Greece and I do feel both can be accommodated.

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                            • Tzavellas is on the team. The guy who cost us the last Nations League.

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                              • Even Anastasiadis wouldn't call him up. He preferred Valerianos!

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