paokfan

Amen to that!

Not excited about today's performance but definitely a step towards the right direction. Solid defense and some good attacking sparks in the second half. A point in the bag. Well done lads!

Burnley's players are really tryharding for a penalty today.

I don't believe firing Farke is the way to go, at least not right now. Hiring a new coach will not work wonders. Maybe a small morale boost (probably for the fans rather than the players). I think the most important question is not if the fans think Farke is the right man for the job. It is whether the players believe it or not. A series of tough games is behind us and an improvement both in performance and in results should be expected. A decision to sack a headcoach should only be taken after some serious consideration and not in the heat of the moment.

I have only eaten Greek kebab, so I can't really have an opinion on the matter. Well, they are kind of old so I don't think they would have enough stamina to play as midfielders.

Usually, Tzolis swapped sides with our right winger Andrija Zivkovic, who helps a ton when the team is defending. Our left back last year was Rahman Baba, on a loan from Chelsea, who was a very attacking back and the winger on the left side would be covering his position in transition sometimes. Tzolis wasn't very keen on defending. But our last season's coach Pablo Garcia and Tzolis go way back. Tzolis is a player born and bred in PAOK and Garcia was PAOK's youth coach for many seasons. He actually cared about the boy and his development as a player more than his numbers. Fun fact, when Tzolis was playing for PAOK's youth squad, he was actually a striker at first. Pablo Garcia insisted on using him as a winger so that he improves on certain aspects of his game. His body is strong. Hard work has paid off I guess. That is one of the reasons apart from talent that made him succeed last year in my opinion. I really hope Tzolis makes us all proud. Not many PAOK bred players have made a significant career abroad. You probably haven't even heard of them (Stafylidis or Pelkas for example). And the fact that Giannoulis (best left back PAOK has ever had in my opinion) and Tzolis play in the top league probably in the world is something huge. At least for me. I noticed that many Norwich fans comment on the club's self sufficient style of management. It can be frustrating at times but oh well. That's life sometimes. Regarding the formation, in my opinion Farke should stick to 4-2-3-1 that worked wonders last year. I don't like the 3-5-2. Especially with these center backs. But regardless, he should stick to one formation and a main starting eleven squad. I hope with some Greek love we will see better results!

Tzolis! He only played for one season in the first squad (and a couple of matches in the previous season). He was amazing in the first half of the season. He was consistent, he was cheeky in a good way and his numbers were impressive. In fact, I think that almost no-one has ever achieved these numbers at his age in Greece. He was a pleasure to watch. In the second half of the season, he wasn't that good, but still decent. And that's probably because our coach wanted to teach him some lessons. He was using him as a right winger (which is not his strong suit), he wanted him to help more when the team was defending and he would scold him if he didn't, are some examples. He is considered a wonderkid here in Greece. I have faith in this young man because he is hard-working and humble outside the pitch. I really hope he does well this season. Lastly, you hit a nerve there. Savvidis is the best thing that ever happened to PAOK. He loves the team and he has spent over 100 million euros for PAOK. He will even build a new stadium for the team at his own expense in the near future. He is generous but people have taken advantage of this over the years and he is now more cautious. BUT, this summer I really don't have any idea why we didn't spend any of the 25 million euros we earned as a club. And that is the reason why PAOK fans are nagging these days. Me included.

I guess this is a joke because they call us Turks in order to tease us? If it is not a joke, I don't really know much about Turkish football.

aek fans are just bitter. First of all, there is no way possible for someone to be as corrupt as Marinakis. He is the best of his time. Secondly, we have won 3 consecutive cup finals against aek and probably PAOK still gives them nightmares. The fact is that Athenian teams have always been the biggest sharks around. And in the last decade, PAOK, a northern team, has made its way up and is winning titles. Savvidis has spent over 100 million euros for PAOK since 2012, a huge amount by Greek football standards. And the reality is that is has paιd off. But they don't like it one bit in the southern Greece.

I would certainly hope so. At the end of the day, a team doesn't have to play well in order to avoid relegation, it just needs to play better that a few teams. And that I believe it is a realistic goal.

I believe that not only it doesn't help the team but creates pressure, but I would still do it. I mean, it is just natural. You are passionate about the club and you can't help but boo. As for PAOK fans, we booed the team after our first loss in the season against PAS Giannena so we aren't really an example to look up to. 😛 There is a lot of negativity among PAOK fans today after a win, because we did not play well.

The gun was just a good story for reporters. Yes, he shouldn't have taken off his jacket and the world wouldn't have known or bothered. He is allowed to carry a gun legally (not inside a football stadium though I guess 😛). He didn't threaten anyone, he didn't take it out of its case and no one in the stadium, not the fans, not the players, not anyone, had in fact noticed it. Later that evening a photo of Savvidis with a gun on him was posted by a reporter and suddenly everyone was losing their minds. After all these years, aek fc fans still only mention the gun, but me... I only remember how my heart broke that evening...

No gifts, just my wits and my optimism!

Haha. I guess you don't need an answer to that. But, I will tell you something new. In northern Greece, we drink "tsipouro", a drink similar to ouzo but different. And hell of a lot better!

Ευχαριστώ! (aka thank you!)