Suggested Call Ups/Starting 11

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  • #61
    I think with Greece there was a leadership void under Ranieri. Samaras, Sokratis, Salpingidis, and Torosidis couldn't fill it. Katsouranis would have been the influence Samaris and Tachtsidis needed who could have helped them out and improve their game, in the same way Zagorakis acted as a mentor to Katsouranis. Looking back on it now, I think in that regard he was essential to the transition between the old Euro 2004 guard and this current generation.

    At midfield though, he was killing us and it showed most of all against Japan and we see it now with Tziolis. We can't afford to play so deep. We need midfielders who can move their asses and harass opponents, which was key for us at Euro 2004.

    At CB he made more sense because that's how he played at the club level for PAOK at the time. He didn't have the legs for a midfield role. He couldn't repeat his performance against Romania in the first play-off because it would have taken too much physically out of him, something he couldn't afford at the World Cup where a series of intense matches are played 2-3 days apart. That's why he couldn't cleanly get the ball away from Colombia on their third goal and why he was sent off against Japan. He didn't have the legs to keep up with his opponents. He didn't have the legs to play at that level anymore, at least as midfielder.

    With Tachtsidis, it's his physical power that standouts to me and his vision is very good. He's literally the tallest outfield player Greece has. Taller than Mavropanos. As tall as Samaras was. And he's physically very strong, unlike Samaras who was too skinny. He reminds me a lot of the young Katsouranis who played like a bit of a bonehead, like we saw against Albania as you mentioned. But at least Katsouranis was a DM/Box-to-box midfielder and did well when he played in that position. Also Katsouranis got smarter with experience and age. His game improved technically from his time in Portugal and from watching/learning from tape of the players he needed to mark. He really wasn't an AM, but he could deputize there if need by. Tachtsidis is clearly a CAM and not really an option for DM/CM. He needs much more experience actually playing at a high level before he can properly excel in a deeper role. He doesn't have the confidence and know-how to command a midfield and overrun opponents. He needs more experience for that.

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    • #62
      Originally posted by Dean97 View Post
      Retsos and Mavropanos would be a good partnership. But the CB is covered for now.

      I recently watched the replay of the last nations league game against Estonia where we lost 0-1. I watched very closely what I saw and Bakasetas had a shocker this game and being played on the wing made it worse. Giannoulis and Lampropoulos don’t deserve to play for Greece, we have better.

      Our midfield is is a problem as we all know. Samaris not good enough but is still a decent option to what we have. Our midfielders are too slow in creating space and moving the ball. Aswell as the inconsistency of passing. Zeca on the other hand is ok. He has lots of energy and is one of our fastest midfielders. We just need the right person next to him. We lack a fast and creative CM. Galanopoulos would be an upgrade but is not the full answer to our problem . We need fast midfielders...

      We also need to play at a faster tempo. The other problem I noticed is that our midfielders can’t play 1 touch well. This will destroy us our midfield is already too slow. We need to play fast wingers. Masouras looks like he has potential but even his first touch is not up to standards. I’d like to see in the future a player like Manthatis, a pure winger who has pace and also is strong.

      Fortounis is also is a bit limited but is our best option at CAM. I would have liked to try Mantalos at CAM for 5 games and see how that goes. Fetfatzidis would have been excellent there. For our midfielders to atleast be sort of effective when our wingers continuously making forward runs and making dummy runs to mix it up.

      Our attacking 4 was not effective. For midfielders and forwards this is what I would do...

      Zeca Galanopoulos

      Manthatis Fetfatzidis Donis

      Karelis.

      I like Karelis. There’s something there. His bicycle kick was impressive also the small things he does can help us. I rather him than Koulouris.

      I also to note we can do something with Bakakis his very light and he makes forward runs very quickly which could work for us. His inconsistency might destroy us. But when he gets forward he seems dangerous where something can happen when bombs down. Not a massive fan of him but he could be useful. We have no else here especially if Torosidis retires.


      I agree with much of what you say here...

      I think the Fortounis vs Fetfa vs Mandalos debate for the no.10 has gone on a while...

      12 months ago...An argument could have been made for Mandalos.....I was happy at the time for Fortounis to be benched and to give the in form AEK combo (Mandalos, Lazaros) a chance in the attacking midfield duties.

      Mandalos has been down since then and Fortounis has found form..
      Fetfa doesn't play in that role much for club..
      So for now for me it's Fortounis..

      Karelis needs to find form and game time..

      Can't remember the last time he did much at club level... Like you I rate ahead of Koulouris.
      Interesting to see if PAOK use Karelis now that Prijovic has gone.

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      • #63
        http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport...ng-term-option

        As we all know Holebas isn’t returning to the team. It says here in this article that the Ethniki don’t have much options at LB. With now 5 LBs to choose from the inclusion of Kyriakopoulos sounds very optimistic. He could be the long term option but our problem is not there it’s at RB. We haven’t got enough quality there. Torosidis is aging, Bakakis is very inconsistent, Kitsiou has been on the bench at PAOK nearly all season and Masouras is the same. That and a proper CDM/CM.

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        • #64
          Holebas is now contemplating a return to the team. Do we want him back? I think for now he would be good to have for this campaign but he is hitting 35 what good can he do for us in his mid 30s. I know he is in form at Watford but who knows what can he do in the future.

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          • #65
            Can't hurt to have him available. (Fuck Skibbe)
            Last edited by Nikod; 01-31-2019, 09:48 PM.

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            • #66
              We need Holebas. His quality was missed in the Nations League and his experience and quality will prove a big difference for us in qualifying for Euro 2020. He can be a star player with Greece.

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              • #67
                At international level I think he can still be a big asset to us but it’s obviously now or never, otherwise get Koutris in there

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                • #68
                  What this team needs is for everyone to be available. Retsos, Donis, K.Papadopoulos, Stafylidis and now Holebas wanting to come back, it only brings optimism and a good chance to win. I was thinking that this team needs to start looking at the future but if it takes Holebas to win a match then I’d take him in a heartbeat. Also what can one man do if the rest aren’t on the same wavelength.

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                  • #69
                    Marios Vrousai scored again today for Willem II ...Third goal in third game in a decent league.......
                    good attacking option was in U21 squad...why not call him up?
                    Also stops Albania from trying to cap him..

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                    • #70
                      There are so many talented players our national team are not utilising. Fetfatzidis, Siopis, Vrousai, Mavropanos, Manos, Gianniotas and many others. These players can help and do something in my opinion. Bakasetas, Mantalos, Pelkas, Torosidis, Bouchalakis and so on should be on the bench for now as they haven’t proven to be effective. Some shouldn’t be called for a while such as Bakasetas.

                      I believe we will see this 23 man squad in the next game...

                      Vlachodimos
                      Barkas
                      Paschalakis
                      Torosidis
                      Bakakis
                      Manolas
                      Sokratis
                      Oikonomou
                      Lampropoulos
                      Tsimikas
                      Koutris
                      Samaris
                      Galanopoulos
                      Kourbelis
                      Zeca
                      Mantalos
                      Pelkas
                      Fortounis
                      Chatzigiovannis
                      Donis
                      Koulouris
                      Mitroglou
                      Masouras


                      I would put instead

                      Retsos
                      Mavropanos
                      Fetfatzidis
                      Androutsos
                      Kitsiou

                      And leave out...
                      Oikonomou
                      Lampropoulos
                      Mantalos
                      Samaris
                      Bakakis
                      Last edited by Dean97; 02-03-2019, 01:18 AM.

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                      • #71
                        Retsos can't walk.......Mavropanos has no game time....Kitsiou is no good...

                        Lambropoulos won't get picked...he is no good anyway...

                        Androutsos is not playing either...

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                        • #72
                          Until someone like Masouras plays at least in the Europa League, there's no telling if he's really any good. Just look at Pashalakis when he played against Benfica. His performances in Greece belied his lack of ability, but he got found out against Benfica though. Time will tell, but on first impressions Masouras has no natural abilities to speak of, he's unexceptional. He will have to work really hard, like Salpingidis did, to make me reconsider his quality as a player.

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                          • #73
                            Originally posted by Don Giovanni View Post
                            Until someone like Masouras plays at least in the Europa League, there's no telling if he's really any good. Just look at Pashalakis when he played against Benfica. His performances in Greece belied his lack of ability, but he got found out against Benfica though. Time will tell, but on first impressions Masouras has no natural abilities to speak of, he's unexceptional. He will have to work really hard, like Salpingidis did, to make me reconsider his quality as a player.
                            The only positive about Masouras is he seems to have goals about him. Time will tell. He is up against Lazaros/Dias for a starting spot as Podence is Martin's starter on the wing.

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                            • #74
                              I am more optimistic with Masouras instead of Koulouris. I don’t rate Koulouris that high even though he has 14 goals and plays for a team outside the big 4. Masouras came closest to scoring on our last match and so did Karelis. I hope wrong about Koulouris.

                              Also so what is our coach going to do with Pelkas and Mantalos? I know he will call them up but he can’t play them on the wing again, surely he can’t. I see Fortounis starting as the CAM because of his form but ideally I would want someone who is fast in that position.

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                              • #75
                                Pelkas isn't playing much these days. Mantalos is an option, but I doubt he plays over Fortounis. I have soured on Fortounis, although he can still be the spark and turn things on, I think the classic 10 is very close to becoming anachronistic.

                                He's only capable of being a creative option. I don't think Greece can afford to defend with just 10 men and have one player in a free role. On other teams, unless it's a player of Ronaldo's quality, no one is free anymore. Look at Salah or Mbappe, they run and chase. They work incredibly hard for their teams and have out of this world fitness levels. They constantly put pressure on opponents when their team is out of possession. Everyone has to work very hard. Fortounis only last for 70 minutes. He's slow and far too weak. I think that's why now guys like Ozil can't even compete anymore. The classic 10 is close to dead. Unless we need a goal and are desperate, Fortounis should sit on the bench. Against Liechtenstein he should start, but against Bosnia and Italy he'd be better utilized as a threat from the bench. He's not an automatic starter for me anymore.

                                Mitroglou right now is trash. I don't think he's anything but a bench option anymore, much like Fortounis. What really bothers me about him is that he doesn't run. He doesn't chase. He doesn't work. He's a lazy player. Guivarch and Giroud might not have scored for France in their winning World Cup campaigns, but at least they worked for their team and showed excellent technical qualities outside the box to help their team in the attack. If Mitroglou wants to wait for things to happen, then he should just wait on the bench until we get desperate and need to turn to him, when there is no other choice. Our CBs are bigger goal threats than he is.

                                Anastasiadis probably plays Mitroglou for the match to Liechtenstein and Bosnia. I think he keeps the faith with him. Koulouris, I concur, will struggle to adapt to the senior men's team. He may not be ready to compete for a place on this team. If Mitroglou is playing poorly, Koulouris will see game time as a sub, but I doubt he fares any better. Both should really be nothing more than bench options.

                                If it were up to me, I think the big change needs to be three at the back. Our CBs are our best players. We need to make the absolute most use of them, that includes getting them into scoring positions, and not just from set-pieces.

                                In midfield, we should really go Tachtsidis, Samaris and Zeca. All three are playing regularly and playing well for their clubs. Benfica are second and could win the league. Copenhagen are winning the league. Lecce are in a position to gain promotion to Series A via the play-offs. The only way we can get Samaris and Tachtsidis to compliment each other is if we stagger them. Tachtsidis at AM/CM and Samaris at DM/CB. Zeca to fill everything in-between with his tireless running. These are experienced players for Greece and in my view, mainly because they play abroad, the best midfield options we have. Kourbelis, Galanopoulos might be better suited to play over Samaris seeing as they can run and harass opponents, something Samaris won't do as effectively, but Samaris is superior on the ball. Against Bosnia and Italy, that is to say opponents who are near equal or better, his abilities on the ball will count for close to nothing. We need energetic players who can cover lots of ground and physically trouble opponents.

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