[FM 17] Fola's Greek Adventure

[Fola]

I have read many careers on this forum and after reading @Koetzer's fantastic write up with Rostov, it gave me inspiration to start a new career myself. What I like about @Koetzer's career is that Russia is a relatively strong league, however nowhere near as strong as England, Spain, Italy etc, but still a good quality league. I wanted to stay away from the likes of England, France, Germany etc and look to improve a league to ensure it can compete with those top leagues. The league that I have chosen is the Greek Super League and the club that I have chosen is Panathinaikos. The league itself is currently ranked 14th in the Europe and my main aim is to improve these standings. 

Panathinaikos for years, have been the second best team in Greece, lagging behind their fierce rivals Olympiakos. Since the 1996/97 season, Olympiakos have won the Greek Super League a whopping 18 times out a possible 20. With Panathinaikos winning in the 2003/04 season and again 2009/10. However, Greece is no longer a two horse race with sides such as AEK and POAK improving over recent years to attempt to break Olympiakos' dominance within Greek football. 

Last season, Panathinaikos came in third position, behind Olympiakos and POAK meaning that it meant Europa League football this season. This season, the media expect Panathinaikos to finish 4th in the league but I am definitely aiming at finishing top 3. 

[Sheriff7]

I'm Olympiakos but good luck...

[Fola]

The Tactics

I have created two tactics which I will be using throughout this season- one for home matches and one for away matches. Both of these tactics do not involve wingers so any wingers will need to be re-trained as CM/CAM or ST or will be looked to move on. 

Both tactics will revolve around the use of a targetman so this position is my number 1 priority before the season starts. At home, we will look to take the game at our own pace, working the ball into the box, retaining possession and slowing the game down to break down any threat of the opposition getting a foothold on the game. The away tactic, focuses on getting the ball back as quick as possible due to overloading the midfield before pumping long balls into the box to try and put pressure on their defenders. Both are quite contrasting styles but hopefully the team can adapt and get used to these tactics as quick possible. 

Spoiler

Home

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Away1

The Squad

In terms of the squad, I feel that I will need to make a few changes to ensure that these players fit into my tactics and the style of football I want to play. The goalkeeping department is quite strong with talented youngster Odysseas Vlachodimos being our number one goalkeeper. The defence is quite strong too, however we do need a LB but Rodrigo Moledo looks like a bit of a beast at CB. The midfield needs some strengthening and we have a lot of wingers so I will be looking to re-train or move them on. Up top, we look brilliant. Argentinian striker Seb Leto  will take the role of the target man while his strike partner Marcus Berg has a great goalscoring record in Greek football. Both are nearing 30-years old now and I would like to have a few young strikers on the books but I don't  think the finances will let us- we have much bigger priorities ahead of a new striker. We have a few players out on season long loans so I will assess all their abilities when they return to the club. We have just under a month until our first match (the Europa League Qualifying), so I expect a busy month in store. I will also be assessing the backroom staff to see if their can be any improvements. I will report back to you before our first match and hopefully have some exciting transfers to show you all. 

 

[ManUtd1]

I've been waiting decades for Panathinaikis to open in my save...they haven't been available when I'm available...yet. Good luck!

[Fola]

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

I'm Olympiakos but good luck...

Thank you mate... Think it might take me a while to topple Olympiakos though so don't worry too much!

[Fola]

1 hour ago, ManUtd1 said:

I've been waiting decades for Panathinaikis to open in my save...they haven't been available when I'm available...yet. Good luck!

Thanks mate, I hope you enjoy reading this career!

[Fola]

General question in regards to layout, how do I ensure that the screenshots stay large and don't shrink? For example: 

Whenever I try and post screenshots, they shrink and seemingly wreck the layout because they're pretty much impossible to read.
***RESOLVED***

[Lordemort]

Good luck with your save! As a Panathinaikos supporter IRL I can't wait to see your work

[Sheriff7]

34 minutes ago, Fola said:

General question in regards to layout, how do I ensure that the screenshots stay large and don't shrink? For example: 

Whenever I try and post screenshots, they shrink and seemingly wreck the layout because they're pretty much impossible to read.

 

Mate I use screenshot captor and when I make the upload the pictures look great.. 

[Fola]

Transfers

The season is about to get underway as we take on Austrian side Admira Wacker in the Europa League Play Off. We only have a transfer budget of £50k and we are close to reaching our maximum wage budget so I have had to scour the loan market/free transfer market to try and bring in players to fit my style of play. Overall, 3 players have left the club on loan and 5 have joined. Luke Steele and Jens Wemmer leave the club with Panionios and Motherwell paying all of their wages in full. Stefanos Evangelou is a young CB who I have high hopes for- he has joined Ajaccio in the French Second Division to gain some valuable first team football.

In terms of the incomings, the first to join the club was German striker Kevin Kuranyi. The tall, powerful targetman still has great stats for someone of his age and will work as a great back up for Seb Leto. He's a great player to bring off the bench if we need a few goals and his experience will definitely help the younger lads in the squad. Cheap too. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was the next player to join us as he joins on loan for the season from Arsenal. He offers versatility as he can play either RB or CM. Good stats overall, looking forward to see how he does. Enzo Zidane, has joined on loan for the season from Real Madrid- lets hope he's as good as his Dad! Ryan Gauld is another loanee brought in for the season and looks perfect as an Advanced Playmaker in my system, looking forward to see how he does. Finally, Ukrainian legend Anatoliy Tymoschuk joins on a free transfer- been there, done that. Great player to bring off the bench if we need to grind out a win. 

Overall, really happy with the squad ahead of the new season. The board have stated that they want me to finish near the top of the league, reach the semi final of the Greek Cup and reach the Group Stages of the Europa League- definitely achievable in my opinion.

[Fola]

August 2016

 

Nice start to the season as we are unbeaten in my first month as Panathinaikos manager. Four of the matches this month were in the Europa League and I am delighted that we have managed to qualify for the Group Stages. In the first leg against Austrian side Admira we struggled in the first leg and were let off after they missed a late penalty. We stepped up in the second leg and the partnership of Seb Leto and Marcus Berg worked wonders as they both found the scoresheet. Next up we played Hapoel knowing that a win would take us one step closer to the Group Stages. Thankfully, Marcus Berg had the game of his life and scored a fantastic hat-trick. We went on to win the second leg with a rotated side thanks to Ainsley Maitland-Niles' first goal for the club.

Not a terrible draw. Shakhtar will probably win the group but I am quietly confident that we can get second place ahead of Prague. 

We started the league campaign with a win thanks to goals from centre back Rodrigo Moledo and the in-form Marcus Berg. We drew to Panionios which was disappointing because we really should of come away with the win. In other news, our goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has switched his allegiances from Germany to Greece and received a call up from the Greek national side. Ryan Gauld made his international debut for Scotland after an impressive start to the season. Kevin Kuranyi and Anatoliy Tymoschuk both picked up injuries and are ruled out for 4 weeks. 11 of my players were called up for international duty which is pleasing. 

[Fola]

September 2016

In terms of the league, September was a great month for us. We started off with a win against rivals AEK thanks to a great goal from Seb Leto. These are the types of matches that we need to be winning if we are to end up near the end of the table come the season end. We should of beaten Atromitos but happy to keep a clean sheet. We then destroyed Iraklis with a fantastic display. We battered them from start to finish- another amazing performance by Marcus Berg as he bagged his second hat-trick of the season.

In the Europa League, it's been a terrible start. We lost to Shakhtar where I got the tactics all wrong. I decided to try and sit back and hit them on the counter but they were too much for us and just ran us ragged. We then travelled to Prague and despite playing quite well, we didn't manage to come away with anything. We also played a cup match where we drew- played a much weakened squad for that one.

In other news, I have signed Chris Kirkland as our number 3 goalkeeper. He'll never play but needed to have a back up if any of the other two keepers got injured. He's English so hoping it can have a positive impact for Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Try and help him settle at the club quicker.  Received a few more international call ups too.

 

[Lordemort]

Loving it so far. You should get a logo pack or something so you can carry the shamrock around with you

[Sheriff7]

In every save I've played Hatziisaias,tzandaris,Mystakidis Goutas and Pelkas are out of contract soon in game if you want check them.. 

[Fola]

8 hours ago, Lordemort said:

Loving it so far. You should get a logo pack or something so you can carry the shamrock around with you

Thanks mate- glad that you're enjoying! Downloading a logo pack right this second! 

4 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

In every save I've played Hatziisaias,tzandaris,Mystakidis Goutas and Pelkas are out of contract soon in game if you want check them.. 

I don't have a clue who any of these players are but I will make sure that I check them out! Thank you! 

[Fola]

October 2016

Wow, what a terrible month October was. We were poor in the League, The Cup and also Europe- we need to improve and quickly. We have only managed one goal in six appearances which is very worrying.

In the league we started off with a poor defeat away to Kerkya. We didn't deserve to lose but we had the chances to win the game but didn't take them- we were then hit on the counter. We then faced fierce rivals Olympiakos and managed to come away with a fantastic win thanks to a great goal from our Swedish striker Marcus Berg. We then lost to Xanthi and produced another poor performance as we drew against Levadeiakos. Cannot believe that we managed to beat Olympiakos, the best team in the league and slipped up about the so-called 'weaker' teams- very worrying. Didn't help that Seb Leto has been ruled out for six weeks. Kevin Kuranyi took his place but hasn't really managed to step up to the plate.

In the Europa League, we needed a win but could only muster up a bore draw against Basaksehir and in the Cup, we played a strong team but lost to Trikala, who are in the league below us. We need to improve and quick. However, one positive is after the Olympiakos win- the board gave me a new deal. Here is the manager profile- meet 23 year old Portuguese Achilles Caras- used a Portuguese random generator on Google haha!  

[Fola]

November 2016

What a strange month. In the league we were fantastic but then in the cups we were dreadful.

In the league we started off with a win against Platanias thanks to a goal from Lautaro Rinaldi. The striker has not managed to get into the side in previous months due to the excellent form of Marcus Berg and Seb Leto. However, due to Leto's injury, I changed the system a little, scrapped the target man and brought in Rinaldi and it worked well. We then beat PAS Giannina thanks to Marcus Berg's THIRD hat trick of the season. The Swede ran their defence ragged and was outstanding in front of goal. We then beat bottom side Verioa thanks to a goal from Olivier Boumal, Boumal had been injured all season but came in and did really well. Messed about with the formations quite a lot in the league this month, adding in wingers and it worked well.

In the Europa League, we set up with a 4-5-1 formation but it backfired and we were convincingly beaten against Shakhtar meaning we were knocked out of the Europa League. We were also knocked out of the Greek Cup after we lost three-nil to Aris, a side from the league below us. Embarrassing.  

 

[Sheriff7]

Don't be shame man..Aris is one of the most historical Greek clubs and with too many funs..Actually is the 5th most successful club in Greece (after Olympiakos,Panathinaikos,Aek and Paok)with good European results in past(they knock out Atletico Madrid(with Forlan and Aguero) in Euro cup..They are Super league club not Footbal league..😉

[Fola]

December 2016

The lads have gone on their winter break now but all in all, December was quite a successful month. Once again, I changed my tactics and went for a 3-5-2/3-4-3-1 formation and it worked really well. In the league we managed a draw against Ast. Tripolis thanks to a great late strike from Lucas Villafanez. He had been moaning about his lack of first team football but fits in nicely into our 3-4-1-2 formation as a CAM. We managed to come away with a win against a strong POAK side thanks to another goal from Marcus Berg. We then convincingly beat Panaitolikos with a great win away from home. Annoying top scorer Marcus Berg injured himself against Panaitolikos and is ruled out for three months!

In the Europa League, we managed a draw against Sparta Prague but we still finished bottom of the league- need to do better next season if we qualify.

Transfer window obviously opens next month, we don't have much money available but hopefully I can strengthen the squad.

[Fola]

January 2017

Obviously, we are out of the all the cups now so we only have the league to concentrate on. Our new 3-4-1-2 formation seems to be working well going forward but we are conceding too many goals for my liking. If we can get the defence sorted out then I think we will do very well, but until then, we look vulnerable at the back. 

We faced Larisa in our first match of the month and we lost thanks to a late goal. New signing Dimitris Pelkas scored on his debut (I will post the transfers below) and Paul-Jose M'Poku managed to get his first goal of the season. We then grabbed a convincing win against Panionios thanks to goals from Ryan Gauld and new signing Dimitris Chatziisaias. We then faced top of the table AEK and managed to grab the draw thanks to a late goal from substitute Enzo Zidane. It was really nice to see him score as he has struggled since joining the club on loan. We faced Atromitos in other final fixture of the month and fought hard for a draw thanks to Anatoliy Tymoschuk's late strike from range.

Looking at the league table, AEK and Olympiakos are breaking away from the pack. Like I said at the start of the season though, I would be happy with third position so we just need to keep winning games. Tighten up our defence and I think we'll be okay.

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Transfers

There has been quite a lot of movement over the January transfer window with four players joining and three being allowed to leave. Guillermo Molins left to join Cypriot side AEK Larnakas on a free. While Robin Lod and Lautaro Rinaldi left on loan until the end of the season. I definitely think they both have a future at the club, but neither could get into the side as much as they would of liked this season.

Dimitris Chatziissaias and Dimitris Pelkas joined the club on free transfers after recommendation from @Sheriff7 and both have settled in well. Yann Bodiger and Jean-Kevin Augustin have joined on-loan for the season. Augustin looks like the perfect replacement for Marcus Berg while he is out injured. Yann Bodiger adds numbers to our midfield and looks like a solid CDM for this level.

[john1]

Good to see you're going well, apart from going out in Europa and Greek cup.

Looking forward to more updates

[Sheriff7]

Berg is a legend man..Too bad he injured.. 😞

[Fola]

February 2017

February went well as we managed to win three out of the four matches. It was obviously disappointing to lose to Olympiakos but admittedly we were second best on the day. We started off against Iraklis and goals from Seb Leto, JK Augustin and Dimitris Pelkas managed to get us the win. We then battered Kerkyra after a fantastic final 10/15 minutes which saw us grab three goals. We the obviously had the defeat against Olympiakos but we move on. Our final match of the month was a great win against Xanthi where JK Augustin managed to grab a brace. Unfortunately our loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking his ankle. A real shame as he's been a vital player for us. 

AEK had a very poor month so we have managed to catch them and take second place with seven games to go. Olympiakos look as though they are going to win the league, once again.

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Youth Candidates

This month we had the youth candidates come through and we had some good ones. 

Only six of the above will be kept at the club. I have high hopes for Takis Kladakis (17A)  and Elton Gaci (17B) looks like he could become a good player. 

[Fola]

March 2017

A short month this month with only three matches. We played well in all three and the players really seem to have grasped my new tactic. Unfortunately, we dropped stupid points this month so we have dropped down to third. We have four matches to go and then we will enter a play off for the European place. I am not sure how the play off works but I will let you all know when it happens.

A bit of good news is that top goalscorer Marcus Berg has returned from injury. He's had to be content with a place on the bench recently but I am looking to put him back into the starting eleven before the end of the season. In the league we threw a two goal lead against Levadeiakos. Platanias were up next and we managed to come away with a win thanks to late goals from Seb Leto and Dimitris Pelkas. We then dropped points against PAS Giannina which was a disappointing. Nice to stay the month unbeaten but disappointing not to come away with three wins.

[Fola]

April 2017

The Greek season has now finished and we have qualified for the European Play Off thanks to our third placed finish. All in all, I am very happy with how we performed this season. We now have six Play Off matches to try and get into the Champions League (I think?). Not too sure how the Play Offs work but we will see.

Really happy with the month of April as we managed two wins and two draws. Marcus Berg was on the scoresheet since his injury against Veroia. We then played out two consecutive two-all draw against Ast. Tripolos and then PAOK. We then hosted Panaitolikos (who we will be playing in the Play Offs) and managed to get a great win. Marcus Berg scored a fantastic goal before Takis Kladakis (17A) scored his first goal for the club and became Panathinaikos' youngest ever goalscorer at the age of just 16 years and 76 days. It's great to see a youngster break into the first team and make an impact- really happy. Takis Kladakis (17A) has managed to make four appearances since the Youth Take while Elton Gaci (17B) has come off the bench once. I will try to give them a bit of gametime in the Play Offs.

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Play Off Schedule

As we finished third, we start with 2 points. It's going to be hard but I am quite confident that we can do well. This season against PAOK we won the home tie 1-0 thanks to a goal from Marcus Berg. In the away fixture, we drew 2-2 thanks to an own goal and JK Augustin. We beat Panaitolikos twice, the home tie 2-0 and the away tie 3-1. Finally AEK, we beat them 1-0 and drew 2-2. Overall, we are unbeaten against all of these teams in the league- fingers crossed we can keep this up in the Play Offs.

[Fola]

May 2017

What a disappointing end to what has been a great season. Despite finishing third in the final league table, we collapsed in the Play Offs and will have to make do next season with no European football. It's annoying because European football would of been a major pull for new signings this summer but not much I can do about it now.

So yeah, the top two qualify for European football so we missed out on goal difference... Time to rebuild for next season and hopefully close the gap on Olympiakos and try and qualify for Europe. We go again.

 

[Fola]

Season Review -2016/17

Players
Goalkeepers


We currently have five goalkeepers on our books and our number 1 goalkeeper for the entire season was Odysseas Vlachodimos. He had a good season and will most likely be my number 1 for next season too. Despite being German, he has been called up by the Greek national side but has yet to make an international appearance. Kostas Kotsaris spent the season out on loan for Omonia in Cyprus and did well so he will be pushing for a first team spot next season. Chris Kirkland and Stefanos Kotsolis and retiring while Luke Steele and Nikos Giannakopoulos will both be leaving the club.

Defenders


As you know, we changed the formation mid way through the season to switch from four at the back with RB and LB to three CB's. We also have a lot of players who can play CB and CDM and their versatility came in handy with the formation switch. So going down the list, Takis Kladakis (17A) came through the youth ranks and got a bit of first team exposure near the end of the season. Rodrigo Moledo was a regular in the first team but wants to leave the club this summer so we will need to make sure an adequate replacement in brought in. Dimitis Chatziisaias was fantastic since joining in January so thanks @Sheriff7 for that one! Stefanos Evangelou spent last season out on loan but I am looking to use him in the first team next season. Anatoliy Tymoschuk did really well for a man of his age and unfortunately, despite me asking him to reconsider, he will be retiring in the summer. Giorgos Koutroubis, Nuno Reis and Dimitris Kourbelis all played well at either CB or CDM. Yann Bodiger was a good rotation player but he will be returning back to Toulouse in the summer. Jens Wemmer and Nikos Marinakis spent the season out on loan and will be sold. Ousmane Coulibaly started off the season great at RB but after the formation shift, he became surplus to requirements and will looked to be shipped out. Diamantis Chouchoumis is lucky really that he can play LM so he can stay. Niklas Hult started the season at LB before moving to LM and had a great season- definitely a player that I want to keep at the club. 

Midfielders

Despite doing well, midfield is probably an area that I will be looking to strengthen in the summer. In terms of numbers it looks quite weak, however remember that I can a number of CB who can play in the CDM position, as many did this season. Zeca is our captain and he had a really good season. Can play CM/CDM and also helped on RM on some occasions, will be around the first team next season. Christos Donis spent the season out on loan at Iraklis in this division and played regularly- I will be looking to give him a chance in our first team next season. Paschalis Staikos is a good young player but will probably be moved on. Panagiotis Vlachodimos spent the season out on loan and performed poorly. I will look to ship him on in the summer. Tasos Chatzigiovanis started off the season in the youth team and will be given more of a shot next season in the first team. Mubarak Wakaso spent the season out on loan at Granada but hardly featured. He has great stats for this league so looking forward for his return. Ainsley Maitland-Niles did really well at both CM and RM before breaking his ankle. Thankfully for us, we have managed to tie his loan deal down for another 2 seasons... Happy days! Dimitris Pelkas came into the club in January and had to make do with a bit-part role but still did well. Ryan Gauld was a key player for us and fortunately, I have managed to sign him up on loan until the end of next season. Excited to see how much this guy can develop- played really well as the Advanced Playmaker in my system. Lucas Villafanez had a good season and kept Enzo Zidane out of the side. Despite not featuring too much, Enzo Zidane's loan deal has been extended until the end of next season. Olivier Boumal did OK but I will be looking to move him on. Robin Lod and Abdul Ajagun spent the season out on loan- still undecided whether I want them back.

Strikers


JK Augustin played really well since joining the club on loan from PSG and thankfully I have managed to extend his loan deal so he is here for next season too. PJ M'Poku is a good player but never really got a chance here and will be leaving the club when his loan deal ends. I had high hopes for Kevin Kuranyi when he joined last summer but he was poor and will be let go. Seb Leto was a key man for us this season and a bit of a legend in my eyes. Marcus Berg, despite being ruled out for four months, managed to bag 21 goals in all competitions, a great player at this level. English side Hull are interested in him so hopefully we can convince him to stay. Saying that, he is the highest paid player of £28k a week- the second highest is on £10k. Lautaro Rinaldi didn't really set the world alight on his loan spell away from the club so I am undecided about him. Elton Gaci (17B) came through the youth side and was given a little shot at first team football. He has been called up by the Albanian under 21 side despite being Greek which is annoying. Would of liked for him to have stayed as a Greek national player.

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League
In the league, I am happy with how we did. To come 3rd is very pleasing and I will look to push on from that for next season. Disappointing to miss out on Europe but hoping that it will work in our favour. 

Cup
We were poor in the up and it was never something that I was really interested in. Saying that, next season as we aren't in Europe, I will be paying much more attention to this competition.

Europa League
We did well to reach the group stages as we fought through the play offs but in fairness, we were the whipping boys of the group and finished dead last.

Top 3 Players
1- Marcus Berg - What a player and a player who knows where the back of the net is. Like I said, he's by far the highest paid player at the club but in my eyes, he is worth every single penny. He grabbed four hat-tricks last season and if he hadn't of damaged his hip and been ruled out for 4 months, I am sure that he would of got over 40 goals this season.
2- Sebastian Leto - For some reason, my backroom staff don't rate him too highly but he is one of my favourite players. He can play in a number of the attacking position but he mostly played as a target man for me. He managed 13 goals and always looked a handful. There are not many better strikeforces in this league than Berg and Leto.
3- Ryan Gauld - The little Scottish magician played fantastic as the Advanced Playmaker. He needs to add a few more goals to his game but for a young lad, he played brilliantly and I am really happy I have managed to extend his loan deal for next season.

Tactics
Changed the tactics midway through the season and this is the tactic we use for HOME matches. This one for AWAY matches. I will be using these two tactics again next season so will be looking to bring in players to fit these two tactics.

Finances

The finances look pretty rough in fairness but we have just been given our new transfer budget and it is an improvement on last season so I'm not too worried.

Ones To Watch For Next Season
1 - Takis Kladakis (17A) - The youngest scorer ever in Panathinaikos' history. A player who can been capped by the Greek under 19 side and a player that I have very high hopes for. I will be looking to give him more chances in the first team next season.
2 - Elton Gaci (17B) - A quick striker who can learn from the sides of Seb Leto and Marcus Berg. Not going to lie, I am annoyed that he has chosen to represent Albania ahead of Greece. He has been capped for their under 19 team.
3 - Tasos Chatzgiovanis - One of the highest rated players in the youth side and at 20-years old, he really needs to be breaking into the first team next season. I will give him the chance, it's up to him now to take it. He's been capped twice by the Greek under 21 side.

Next Seasons Expectations
I will be happy with a top three finish in the league and to reach the semi final of the Greek Cup. 

[Fola]

Season Preview 2017/18
There has been a huge number of changes in terms of player personnel this summer. A number of ageing and bit part players have left the squad with a number of young and exciting players coming in to replace them. Oh yeah and one other thing, for some strange reason that I don't really understand... WE HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE! Not a clue why or how but very happy that we have. In terms of the media prediction for this season, we are predicted to finish 4th. Like I said last season, I would be very happy with finishing in the top 3.

As I have made quite a lot of changes to the squad, I will be doing a full first team squad overview below to show you my side. Any players in the youth team or out on loan will not be included in the overview. Regens face's have been randomly selected and have a little 'R' in the bottom corner.

This season, we will be using this tactic for HOME matches and this tactic for AWAY matches. Both tactics seemed to work really well last season so I have taken my tactic into account when I have looked at recruitment and trying to fit players into the squad.

Goalkeepers

       30 - Kostas Kotaris      99 - Odysseas Vlachodimos

Centre Backs
            
18 - Dimitris Chatziisaias             36 - Stefanos Evangelou         4 - Giorgos Koutroubis            21 - Dimitris Kourbelis                 5 - Nuno Reis                   24 - Takis Kladakis (17A)

CDM's

  
           10 - Zeca                             37 - Christos Donis             38 - Thodoros Mingos

Centre Midfielders

    8 - Dimitris Pelkas                      6 - Ryan Gauld                    19 - Lucas Villafanez                   15 - Enzo Zidane                      7 - Javi Munoz

Right Midfielders


16 - Mubarak Wakaso              2 - Ainsley Maitland-Niles      39 - Tasos Chatzgiovanis

Left Midfielders

           23 - Niklas Hult             3 - Diamantis Chouchoumis
Strikers

          9 - Marcus Berg                  11 - Sebastian Leto           17 - Thanasis Androutsos            33 - Jorris Romil               12 - Jean-Kevin Augustin           20 - Elton Gaci (17B)

[Bitner]

Good Luck mate! Following!

Cheers,
Bitner 

[Fola]

3 hours ago, Bitner said:

Good Luck mate! Following!

Cheers,
Bitner 

Thanks for the comment mate- glad you're enjoying.

[Lordemort]

Good luck on the next season!

Leto was really good IRL for Panathinaikos this season, despite not having played football for a while and being on a badly physical scale. He scored plenty of goals coming from the bench and was one of the best players of Panathinaikos during the last of their CL games. Also Zeca got Greek nationality IRL!

[deltablue]

Hopefully you can step up next season.

[Sheriff7]

Hey man of course and you quilified for Europa league.. Greece have 5 places in European competitions..2 in Champions League and 3 In Europa league.. So only if you didn't quilify for European play ofs in league or you finished last in European play ofs and a "no-playof " team wins the cup you are out from Europe!! 😉P.S Your welcome about Hatziisaias...

[john1]

Good luck in Europa League next season

[Fola]

On 5/29/2017 at 10:16, Lordemort said:

Good luck on the next season!

Leto was really good IRL for Panathinaikos this season, despite not having played football for a while and being on a badly physical scale. He scored plenty of goals coming from the bench and was one of the best players of Panathinaikos during the last of their CL games. Also Zeca got Greek nationality IRL!

Thanks mate. Leto is one of my favourite players in this side! Got great stats for a target man but as he gets older, I may push him back to CDM due to his age. Very clever player.
 

On 5/29/2017 at 16:43, Sheriff7 said:

Hey man of course and you quilified for Europa league.. Greece have 5 places in European competitions..2 in Champions League and 3 In Europa league.. So only if you didn't quilify for European play ofs in league or you finished last in European play ofs and a "no-playof " team wins the cup you are out from Europe!! 😉P.S Your welcome about Hatziisaias...

Ahhhhh, that makes sense then! Hopefully we can give the Europa League a better shot than we did last season.
 

On 5/29/2017 at 10:46, deltablue said:

Hopefully you can step up next season.

Fingers crossed mate. I'd be happy with third and a good run in the Europa League.

21 hours ago, john1 said:

Good luck in Europa League next season

Fingers crossed mate. We didn't manage to win a game in the group stages last season. Just hope we get a good draw in the Europa League Play Offs.

[Fola]

Also realised that if you were viewing my 'squad overview' post on your mobile then the formatting is all messed up but on desktop it works fine. More updates tonight.

[Fola]

July/August 2017

The season has begun and after quite a lot of changes over the summer, we seem to have taken the league in our stride. We through to the Europa League Group Stages which is fantastic and we are unbeaten in our first two league matches.

In the league we started off our season against PAS Giannina and despite going one-nil down, we fought back and managed three late goals thanks to Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Dimitris Kourbelis and JK Augustin. We then drew away at Kerkyra. We battered them all match- not a clue how we didn't manage to win this one.

In the Europa League, we were drawn against Icelandic side HJK. We drew the away leg but convincingly won the away leg helped by a wondergoal from Ryan Gauld. We were then drawn against Slovakian side Trencin, knowing a win would take us through to the Group Stages. Thankfully we destroyed them in the first leg 4-0 and it was great to see Elton Gaci (17B) grab his first professional goal. We then played a weakened side but still won thanks to Thanasis Androutos' first goal for the club. The draw hasn't been too kind to us though?

A few of the lads have got international call ups. Really pleasing to see Takis Kladakis (17A) gain a call up for the Greek under 21 side. Elton Gaci (17B) received a call up from the Albanian under 21 side. It's a shame he's chosen to represent Albania over Greece but still happy he's got a call up- they're both still only 16 years old.

 

[Sheriff7]

HJK is from Finland mate... 

[Fola]

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

HJK is from Finland mate... 

My bad haha! 

[Fola]

September 2017

Another month down where on paper it doesn't look too good but overall I am quite happy. We had two matches in the Europa League, one in the Greek Cup and two in the league.

In the league we started off against Aris who we owed one after they beat us three-nil in the cup last season. Thankfully, we absolutely battered them.  Sixteen year old Elton Gaci (17B), who has been on fantastic form this month, managed to get the first goal of the goal before goals from Zeca and Gauld sealed a great win. Our next game in the league was against Ast. Tripolis where we played well but couldn't manage to get the goal to seal the win.

In the Europa League, we went ahead against Hoffenheim thanks to Elton Gaci (17B) but couldn't hold on as we shipped two goals late on. We then traveled to Besiktas but grabbed the draw thanks to the in-form Elton Gaci (17B). In the Greek Cup we drew to Ast. Tropolis in a close fought match. So yeah, overall we only managed one win this month but I am looking at the positives. Elton Gaci (17B) and Takis Kladakis (17A) both got international call ups again the under 21's and both featured regularly this month. Not bad for two 16 year olds.

[john1]

Good start in the league, not bad getting a point in Turkey  Good to see your youngsters getting called up for international.

[Fola]

October 2017

Not a bad month as we came away with three wins out of a possible five.

In the league we faced Panionios who played very defensively and we quite hard to break down. Fortunately, we scored just after the break from a set piece thanks to Dimitris Kourbelis who is having a great season. Our next match in the league was against our bitter rivals Olympiakos. We actually played really well but they were just too good for us on the day. Our final league game of the month was against Iraklis. The partnership of Elton Gaci (17B) and Marcus Berg is working really well and they both got on the scoresheet. Marcus Berg is Elton Gaci (17B)'s tutor and it seems to be working great.

In the Europa League, we played well but lost to a strong Fiorentina side. Qualification from the group looks very bleak. We do however look to be advancing through the Group Stages of the Greek Cup after a convincing win against Panserraikis- a team in the division below ourselves. All in all, a good month. Elton Gaci (17B) scored his first goal for the Albanian under 21's which is great- exciting times ahead for the youngster. Our other promising youngster Takis Kladakis (17A) is being retrained as a CDM and I will continue to update you on both of their progress.


 

[john1]

Not bad month apart from losing 2 games.

[Fola]

2 hours ago, john1 said:

Not bad month apart from losing 2 games.

Thanks for the comments mate- more updates to come tonight.

[Fola]

November 2017

Another month has passed and it was another month where we played in the Europa League, the league and the Cup. L

Lets start off with league and we kicked off the month against a strong PAOK side. PAOK have started off the season quite well and it was always going to be a tough game. However, good old Marcus Berg found the scoresheet to grab us the all important win. We then hosted Larnia and could only manage a disappointing nil-nil draw. In that game I gave a debut to Miltaidi Georgoulopoulos (17C) who had been performing really well in my under 20 side. He played well for 50 mins and then managed to get himself sent off... Idiot.  For a 16 year old though, he looks okay, nothing special but I do like to give youngsters a chance, especially ones who have come up through the youth team. Also if anybody is wondering, I have a facepack with 100's of faces in who aren't in the game and I just randomly pick a face and assign it to any regen- makes it more realistic for me.

In the Europa League we lost twice against Fiorentina and Hoffenheim. To be fair, it was a very hard group- no surprise we didn't qualify. We managed to beat Chania in the cup to progress into the last 16 of the Greek Cup- definitely winnable.

In other news, club captain Zeca was handed a new deal. There have been a few sides interested in him but I thought I'd sign him up to a new contract- key player at this club. I have also brought in a new HOYD and Dimitris Kourbelis and Dimitris Chatziisaias got called to the Greek national side- very pleasing.

[Fola]

December 2017

Despite losing two matches in the league, I am quite happy with how this month went.

In the league we started off with a disappointing defeat to this season's surprise package Larisa. We had the chances to get a draw late on but it just wasn't meant to be. We then beat Levadeiakos with a fantastic win. What was most pleasing about this win was to see 16 year old Takis Kladakis (17A) and 17 year old Elton Gaci (17B) both on the scoresheet. Takis Kladakis (17A) has done really well in his new CDM position and Elton Gaci (17B) is doing better than I could of ever expected this season, currently our top scorer. We then lost to AEK, where to be honest, we were battered. We ended the month with a crushing win against Panaitolikis. Just a tad disappointing we didn't manage a clean sheet.

We finished our Europa League campaign with a good win against Besiktas- Elton Gaci (17B) the star man once again. In the Greek Cup we beat Lamia away from home to give us the advantage going into the second leg. January transfer window coming up next where I will be looking to strengthen the side. Just hope I can keep the majority of the side together.

[Fola]

January 2018

What a crazy/terrible month. On paper, this should of been the easiest month of the season but we crumbled and we crumbled bad. I asked for a new deal but got nowhere so the board obviously aren't happy. Runs out at  the end of the season. I also made a few transfers so will update you on them too but I will start off with the league first.

We started off against struggling Atromitos and despite going two goals up early on, we somehow shipped three goals in the second half and lost the game. This would be the start of a pretty poor month. We then faced PAS Giannina, another side who we should be beating. We went two down but managed to grab two goals back in the second half. Lamia were next up in the Greek Cup and remember we were winning from the first leg... we threw it all away and ended up losing on penalties. We then got our act against Kerkyra with a debut goal from the LORD... well that's what I know him by that, some may know him as Nicklas Bendtner.

We then went to the mighty Xanthi (that's a joke by the way, they're ****) and we got played off the park. We then struggled to a draw against Aris before finally getting our act together and managing to beat Panaitolikos by two goals to nothing. Crazy, crazy month and one I hope we can improve on next month.

Transfers
Incomings

Marcus Solberg is one for the future, as is Ange Kean. Joel Coch was brought in as a tutor as he's a 'born leader' and will never make it anywhere near the first team. One thing that was gutting, before I get onto the really gutting news was that Mubarak Wakaso  left the club after Swiss side FC Basel showed an interest in him. He kicked off and wanted a move and I couldn't really stand in his way. Marcus Solberg and Javi Munoz left the club on loan. Joining the club, for the first team was Wanderson. He joins from fellow Greek side Lamia and is a somewhat cheap replacement for Wakaso. Coming in as our starting LM until the end of the season in Christian Atsu from Chelsea. If he can adapt quickly, he should be a great asset, especially for this league. Finally, Nicklas Bendtner joined for a small fee after finding himself out of favour at Nottingham Forest. I know the guy is a bit of a joke but he does have great stats for a target man which is what I need. 

Now the news I didn't want to hear, especially so soon. So there I was on transfer deadline day looking forward to February then BAM! This happened:

We received a huge bid from Portuguese giants Benfica for Takis Kladakis (17A), one of my star youngsters. I rejected the offer as he's not a player I want to be leaving so soon, especially after I have spent the last season giving him first team football and trying to mould into a player to fit my system. Unfortunately, he wants to leave. I'm not letting him go but he only has a year and a half left on his contract. For now, he is still our player but I may have to reassess this again in the summer. My CB Stefanos Evangelou was also subject on a bid from Benfica and wants to leave, as does GK Odysseas Vlachodimos, who was wanted by Dortmund. For now, I have kept all three but I don't think I will be able to keep them much longer.

Thank god, Elton Gaci (17B) wasn't subject of any interest. I don't think I would of been able to cope.

[Bitner]

Wow, hard times, but if you can monetize on them, good signings could come and prove pivotal to our Glory. 

January was really harsh, hope your luck change for good at the upcoming months

Cheers,
Bitner 

[Fola]

February 2018

What a month! Last month was full of drama, whether it be bad results or speculation of players leaving but this month was so much better. We went through the whole month unbeaten, with 4 wins and no goals conceded- the best month I've had at this club.

We started off against Ast. Tripolis, a team we've struggled against in recent times. We beat them by two goals to nil, quite easily to be fair. Elton Gaci (17B), was then the star off the show for two matches as we beat first Panionios and then arch rivals Olympiakos by a goal to nil. The Olympiakos game was great. We dominated them all over the pitch and it was even better to see Elton Gaci (17B), a product of our youth team score the winner... amazing. We then played Atromitos and it looked to be heading for a draw before the LORD (Nicklas Bendtner) scored a winner late on. 

Overall, a great month and hopefully we can put some pressure on AEK and Olympiakos in the closing stages. We have two Champions League places, I want the second... at least.

[Fola]

On 5/31/2017 at 22:09, Bitner said:

Wow, hard times, but if you can monetize on them, good signings could come and prove pivotal to our Glory. 

January was really harsh, hope your luck change for good at the upcoming months

Cheers,
Bitner 

I don't want to let any of them go mate, especially Takis Klasakis (17A)! Fingers crossed we can do well over the next few seasons and qualify for the Champions League. That may be enough to keep them. As ever, thank you for the comment- I'm very glad that you are reading and enjoying.