Armenia vs Hellas

[Reaper]

Squad. Not happy about Bakasetas and Mavrias. We now have 4 left backs in the squad..

[Don Giovanni]

Bakasetas is enjoying a good spell in Turkey at the moment. His team are top of the league. That I can understand.

Mavrias and the four left-backs makes me wonder. I also wonder why Siovas is in the team. Leganes are going to get relegated. He was out injured recently.

Οι ποδοσφαιριστές που επελέγησαν από τον ομοσπονδιακό τεχνικό είναι οι εξής: Μπάρκας, Βλαχοδήμος, Πασχαλάκης, Μπακάκης, Γιαννούλης, Σιόβας, Τσιμίκας, Κούτρης, Σταφυλίδης, Μαυρίας, Χατζηδιάκος, Λαμπρόπουλος, Κουρμπέλης, Ζέκα, Μπουχάλακης, Βασιλειάδης, Γαλανόπουλος, Μάνταλος, Κουλούρης, Μπακασέτας, Παυλίδης, Δώνης, Λημνιός, Φετφατζίδης, Μασούρας.

[Dean97]

My first few thoughts were, why are there 4 LBs and why is Mavrias being called up? I know we don’t have many options at RB but I would rather get someone from the u21s or give Kitsiou a shot.

With the 4 LBs it doesn’t make sense. Unless Stafylidis plays a different role. But 3 LBs is still too much. 2 is enough. Out of everyone Tsimikas has to start because of his performances lately. I do think and and always have that Koutris is a better player. Giannoulis to me isn’t that important to have in my opinion.

I believe we have better than Bakasetas. This team is more or less the same. I like the inclusion of Vasiliadis and good to see Fetfatzidis again. All I’m thinking is what happened to trying out new players? If JVS again can get this team to play the way they have recently then I’d be happy.

[Soprano76]

That pic of Vasiliadis is photoshopped lol

[Reaper]

That pic of Vasiliadis is photoshopped lol

[Dean97]

This is what I want to see happen:

Vlachodimos

Hatzidiakos Kourbelis Siovas Tsimikas

Vasiliadis Bouchalakis

Fetfatzidis Mantalos Limnios

Pavlidis

[Don Giovanni]

Although I prefer the above, my guess is Bakakis will start. He scored a fantastic goal against PAO on the weekend. He may yet prove us doubters wrong in the long run and we may have to credit Van't Schip and Fyssas for turning him around into a performer. That said, I know that when we do play top class opposition (e.g., Germany), starting someone like him will be close to suicide, and that Van't Schip will have to revert to Retsos or Hatzdiakos there.

Stafylidis will probably start at the back. My guess is Siovas will remain on the bench. Likely Hatzidiakos will partner him.

There are suggestions that Vasiliadis and Bouchalakis will start in the middle. Tsimikas and Koutris on the left (although it could be one of Masouras or Mantalos over Koutris). Bakasetas in the middle with either Pavlidis (or Koulouris) ahead of him. I suspect Pavlidis will lead the line with Fortounis right behind him. Probably Limnios on the right, but I'd like see Fetfatzidis (at least from the bench).

I'd be disappointed if Vlachodimos doesn't start in goal. Paschalakis doesn't start for PAOK anymore. Also Barkas is still not fully fit despite having featured in the 3-2 loss to PAO on the weekend. Vlachodimos has been in good form for Benfica. Last time out we were told Vlachodimos had a slight injury.

[Amorgos]

Amazing the attacking options we now have with a coach that pics in form players...

Bakakis will do just fine at RB, dont need a slow CB there re pedia! Amania with this!

I wouldn't be surprised if hunchback Mavrias gets a start there also in one of the games given he was picked.

I would prefer Koutris or Mantalos over Masouras, I find Masouras lacks a final pass or finish where the other two are much more effective there. Mantalos would be great in the middle too but I am sure he will go with Bakasetas there given how well that went with Italy and Bosnia.

The only thing that dissapoints me with JVS is the Stafylidis factor... if you guys think Bakakis at RB is a risk against big teams... Stafylidis at CB is a risk vs any team and now he is the chosen captain so they will do what ever it takes for him to start... this is a big mistake but I guess there always has to be something about this team that drives us mad

I am super keen to see Vasiliadis play and see what the hype is all about, I just hope he delivers, I have no idea what type of player he is but if Bouchalakis starts next to him and there is no Kourbelis or Zeca, I assume the red head has a big engine that can run all day.

[Dean97]

This is just in... Zeca is out injured for the 2 matches against Armenia and Finland. He didnt participate in the first training session. Also it seems Koutris is doubtful. not sure why though. They are saying he has no game time or match rhythm. I don't think he is injured. This was a post on instagram from ellas_national.

[Dean97]

This is a great background and analysis on our newest call up Vasiliadis from ellas_national. Im just going to break it down from a post on instagram and translate it from Greek to English. The post says:

Vasiliadis was born and raised on the 4^th of October 1997 in Auenwald, Germany. He is 1.77m tall and is valued at 3.5million. He has never played for a Greek team. His parents speak Greek but he only knows a little bit of Greek. Vasiliadis is a player that Greece lacks! The post says we have players with good technical ability for example Bouchalakis and Samaris, we also have players with lots of energy and fight for example Zeca and Galanopoulos. But we don’t have anyone who has all these attributes combined. Vasiliadis has the technical ability and the fight! This helps him be flexible and be able to fight in all positions of the midfield and this is much easier for the coach. He knows when to pass the ball to his teammate and he is a player who can decide the game. Especially now that Fortounis is out, he can organise our game. So in a few words he is cool with the ball, he reads the game well, he makes great decisions, he has good positional sense, he knows how to play without the ball. On top of that he has imagination, a high sense of teamwork and excellent work rate. He also has explosive acceleration and his agility stands out. His weaknesses are contesting for high balls as he isn’t the tallest and hasn’t got a big jump. This is where a tall player like Bouchalakis comes in and helps in this aspect of the game.

I don’t know about you guys but I am excited. The team clearly has more to gain than to lose. He could be the midfielder we always wanted for this team. I believe he can be a very important player for us. Time will tell though as lets see what he does against Armenia and Finland.

[Amorgos]

Also it seems Koutris is doubtful. not sure why though. They are saying he has no game time or match rhythm. I don't think he is injured. This was a post on instagram from ellas_national.

Hmm let's see, I read he is been considered for a spot on the left but if he is not, what's the point of calling him up when the above is also obvious and the fact we have 4 LB's lol

[Dean97]

Hmm let's see, I read he is been considered for a spot on the left but if he is not, what's the point of calling him up when the above is also obvious and the fact we have 4 LB's lol

Yeah it doesn’t make sense to have 4 LBs unless JVS is thinking of putting Koutris on the left wing and Staf at CB. Neither is a good idea in my opinion as 2 LBs are enough and we have wingers on Fetfa and Donis to play. I think he sees the latter 2 as super subs.

[Dean97]

But I don’t get how anyone in Greece or any sites in Greece don’t bring up how there are 4 LBs in the squad. There’s no need. You don’t need to call up Stafylidis just so he can be captain. Mantalos or Kourbelis could easily be captain. I’d prefer Mantalos to be captain. Tsimikas and Koutris to me are the best LBs Greece have at the moment. Giannoulis isn’t good enough in my honest opinion. He could improve down the line and be more effective but for now he isn’t what we need. I have suspicions about Giannoulis getting called up. Same with Mavrias. I understand we have no RBs at the moment but we have players from the u21s who can fill the spot at least as a back up. Or you put someone more notable like Retsos there whose played there before and did well. He isn’t slow either.

If Bouzoukis was playing abroad for a team like Benfica or Leverkusen for example he would be playing for the men’s team and Bakasetas wouldn’t be thought about. Mantalos is a better 10 and so is Pelkas.

[Soprano76]

Are both of Vasileiadis' parents Greek? I would find that hard to believe given his red hair and first name lol.

[Don Giovanni]

I did read an article raising issue with the fact we have 4 LBs and the author correctly noted that our problems are bigger at RB. Kitsiou's father also complained on the radio. I don't think Kitsiou is much better than our other options at RB and frankly I'm not crazy about any of our options here. I'd prefer to go Retsos or Hatzidiakos at RCB/RB and let Limnios primarily provide the width and crosses. That to me is our best solution for the foreseeable future.

One thing I really like about Van't Schip is the fluidity and organization he's trying to instill in the team. There's a lot of movement, with players trading positions, and we're making better use of width. We're also looking organized again. We still have problems, particularly when it comes to creating and finishing chances. Koulouris looks pretty clinical, but dependent on service. Pavlidis has good technical skills, enough to carve out openings to muster something of his own making, but he needs to continue growing as a player, he's still very young. Donis has exceptional pace and technical class. I like him a lot, especially when we take on top class opposition (as he has shown against Bayern during his Stuttgart days), but also against minnows, as we saw with his goal against Liechtenstein. Mitroglou seems to fancy himself as something of a Zidane type player. He could be a good option from the bench given his size and experience.