[FM19] On the move again? That'll be Costly

[Hootieleece]

Afraid Saunders is going to squander your hard won gains at Aberyswyth?

My guess for new job is whatever FC is in Salonika.

[King Costly]

6 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Afraid Saunders is going to squander your hard won gains at Aberyswyth?

My guess for new job is whatever FC is in Salonika.

Well he hasn't exactly been in the news for positive things recently  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-49497817

You're bang on with that 

[Marios1999]

My guess is either Iraklis or Apollon, hope i banged it home

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika (PAOK) - Greek Super League

Wow, very surprised to be able to make such a big jump so early in the journeyman save! We departed Aberystwyth hoping to go to either a second tier in a top nation or a top division in a lesser nation. We've achieved the former with this move but I didn't think we'd be able to join such a prestigious club!

We were offered a job by Iraklis last summer after they had just been relegated from the Super League but it seems our patience has paid off as we secured a different job in Thessaloniki - PAOK.

Amazingly, I join a club that are current champions of the Greek Super League, but who have flattered to deceive this season and currently stand fourth in the table - still not too shabby!

There are still a few games of the season remaining so it will give me chance to assess the current squad in match situations and plan for the summer ahead.

PAOK (current Super League champions IRL after an unbeaten season!) have never reached the group stages of the Champions League so that is something to aim for. They've got three Super League titles to their name as well as six-time Greek Cup champions.

The club were thrown into the headlines a few years ago after a Russian billionaire, Ivan Savvidis, bought the club. With close ties to Vladimir Putin, it's probably not a great surprise that in one game, he ran onto the pitch and tried to get his bodyguards to get the players off after a late goal against AEK was ruled out. Oh, and he just happened to have a gun on him too 

The Toumba Stadium is a huge step up from what we were used to in Wales! The facilities at the club are also very good and the players are a completely different level. It looks like they're very unsure about my appointment so winning over the players will probably be the toughest task. PAOK fans tend to enjoy throwing things at managers too (mostly opposition!) so that's something to look out for if the results go against us!

 

I've managed in Greece in older FMs during journeyman saves (Xanthi and Panathinaikos spring to mind) and it was always good fun. Perhaps this is a big move too soon for us but there's only one way to find out. Buckle up, guys!

#OwnTheTop

[scarp]

Love the choice of the new club! Fantastic results there in Wales, good luck!

Although - what happened to the formatting in the last post? #LetsGoWhite

[King Costly]

27 minutes ago, scarp said:

Love the choice of the new club! Fantastic results there in Wales, good luck!

Although - what happened to the formatting in the last post? #LetsGoWhite

Thanks! I wasn't expecting such a high profile club to be interested and it'll be a challenge for us but one I'm looking forward to!

Hmmm, I have no idea! Looks fine in one browser but weird in another. I'll take a look.

EDIT - Hopefully that's better! I had copied some text from a word doc so I guess that screwed with the formatting - thanks for pointing out!

[Carambau]

Lovely! PAOK - also had a save there back in the day when Salpingidis was one of the best players in europe

Good luck in Greece!

[deltablue]

Nice move to Greece. It's very much the word

[King Costly]

9 hours ago, Carambau said:

Lovely! PAOK - also had a save there back in the day when Salpingidis was one of the best players in europe

Good luck in Greece!

Thanks Carambau! There are some decent players I have inherited but none quite on Salpingidis' level!

4 hours ago, deltablue said:

Nice move to Greece. It's very much the word

Wait, I thought the bird was the word?! 

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Super League

We've joined with four League games to go but more importantly, our first game in charge was the second leg of the Greek Cup semi-final! We took on Atromitos at home with a slender one goal lead from the first leg. We'll be looking at a change of system in the summer with some heavy recruitment but for these few games, we'll be using a system similar to the one we used at Aberystwyth. We started poorly but finished strongly and we'll be fighting for our first trophy in a few weeks' time!
 

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Cup Final vs AEK Athens
May 15th 2021

 

Only our fourth game in charge of PAOK is the Greek Cup final - I could get used to this . We're up against current League champions AEK Athens at the rather picturesque Pankritio Stadium - the national stadium in Crete.
 

 

We were without our best attacking midfielder in Dimitris Pelkas and young winger Lazaros Lamprou who both picked up injuries leading up to the game. We almost had to make do without star striker Andre Pereira as well but he was willing to have an injection to play through a pulled groin - that's the kind of attitude I want! 

Pereira's decision was vindicated as early as the fifth minute as he fired in low after a free-kick caused mayhem in the AEK penalty area. We were looking really comfortable but a sloppy clearance by keeper Rodrigo Rey put us in trouble and AEK used their overload on the left to perfection to equalise just before the break.

The second half was a very nervy affair with nothing of note happening. That was, at least, until the 65th minute. Egyptian midfielder Amr Warda picked the ball up 25-yards out and channeled his inner Mohamed Salah to curl home a beautiful effort that proved be the winning goal!
 

We've been in charge for less than a month and already picked up our first piece of Greek silverware! Let's just hope it's the first of many 

[deltablue]

Good way to start off

[Hootieleece]

Silverware is ALWAYS welcomed by every manager. 

Should give a boost to finances and recruiting.

[King Costly]

On 08/09/2019 at 10:10, deltablue said:

Good way to start off

Some would say it's all downhill from here! 

18 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Silverware is ALWAYS welcomed by every manager. 

Should give a boost to finances and recruiting.

Exactly! It hasn't boosted the finances too much but hopefully will help with our reputation as a manager/club.

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Super League - End of season review

With just five games remaining when I joined, it was a good chance to learn more about what sort of squad we inherited. The early signs are that there's plenty to work with which always helps! Aside from our Greek Cup heroics, we also did well in our remaining League fixtures. We absolutely thrashed AEK Athens just after they had secured the title. The scoreline definitely flattered us and it was goalless at half time! Still, it definitely helped get the fans on side! Another big game followed at our Thessaloniki rivals Aris. Despite conceding to Federico Macheda (yeah, he's still going!), we were much the better team and made the short journey home with three points. We were fortunate against Olympiacos on the final day and really should have come away with nothing. Luckily the woodwork saved us on a few occasions and we ended the season in 4th - meaning we will enter the Europa League qualifiers.

Any thoughts of a big overhaul in the summer were quickly shot down. We have a healthy(ish) bank balance of £6m but the board don't seem too keen to part with it. Just a note here that these owners only bought the club a month before I was appointed. Don't be expecting any gun wielding antics from Ivan Savvidis... 

I think we'll be focusing on loan players in our first full season in charge whilst we build up our scouting network (it's nice to be able to scout outside your own nation!). We have some wage budget to work with and a couple of the bigger earners leaving so we'll be able to bring in a few players.

I will show the playing squad in more detail when I do the preview for the next season. I'm not surprised to see Diego win Player of the Season as he has plenty of quality. Whether he'll be able to fit into the system I'm planning to play next season remains to be seen. Amr Warda's winner in the Greek Cup Final deservedly won Goal of the Season.

We've got a strong base to build from. Hopefully we'll be able to get much closer to the title next season and also have a half decent run in Europe to bring some more money into the club. The players still don't seem convinced by my appointment so I think the biggest challenge here at PAOK will be winning the squad over. 

 

The story so far... 

The trophy cabinet... 

 

#OwnTheTop

[danmcconnell1]

Great to see you back and fantastic work in Wales and early on in Greece. Always nice seeing your handle on here and reminiscing about King Carlos Costly  KRO mate!

[King Costly]

8 hours ago, danmcconnell1 said:

Great to see you back and fantastic work in Wales and early on in Greece. Always nice seeing your handle on here and reminiscing about King Carlos Costly  KRO mate!

Thanks mate, appreciate the kind words! 

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Super League - 2021/22 Season Preview

With only a small budget to play with, I opted to focus on loan players as we built our scouting network up. Luckily we managed to secure a few quality loans and I'm pretty happy with how the squad looks who I will introduce you to below. The only player leaving I would have liked to keep is Luciano Abercasis. However, at age 31 and with two years left on his contract, he kicked up a fuss about wanting a new contract. I told him there was no chance and he proceeded to try and turn the squad against me. He's now left the club so guess who won that one? 

Goalkeepers

No signings needed in this area. Rodrigo Rey is a very decent number one and will serve as our sweeper keeper. Paschalakis is a perfectly fine backup although his wages are a bit high for my liking. He'll most likely leave at the end of the season and be replaced with a much younger number two.

Defenders

When at a 'big' club, I always try and ensure we have two players for each position. Retsos and Ingason will be out starting central defenders. Retsos joins on loan from Man City and looks great. Ingason is the current captain so I wanted to keep a bit of continuity there - he has been making a pain of himself throughout the summer though, claiming I've lost the dressing room. I've only just got here! Manea will slot in as our starting right-back following his £1.4m move from Cyprus and will be backed up by Lemos who was signed on a free by the former manager. Figueiredo will begin the season at left-back but Vidal will be given plenty of game time as he looks like he could develop into a real quality defender. 

Midfielders

We've got plenty of options in midfield so I'm not 100% sure who will be starting the season in the line-up. Luiz and Parks have both joined on loan and bring quality on the ball alongside good mental and physicals. Azeez and Pelkas will be pushing to start games too where as Noyok will most likely see very little playing time and could well leave at some point in the near future. Out wide we are blessed with some dangerous options in Diego, Warda and Lamprou. Not much strength or defensive thinking but plenty of quality on the ball.

Strikers

For a change, I'm looking at playing with two strikers. When I saw Pereira, I knew I wanted to try and get a Target Man role working and he is just perfect for it. He looks top class and will be leading the line for us. He'll be backed up by Zirkzee with the youngster on loan from FC Bayern. The other striker spot will be going to Akpom. The former Arsenal man has plenty of pace to compliment Pereira. Exciting PAOK academy product Katsoulis will be given the chance to show what he can do.

Expectations

Pretty much what I was expecting myself so no unnecessary pressure. Now, let's get this season underway!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I was hoping you'd get the better of TNS.

[Mandy42]

around the top of the league always seems far too vague for me :P

but good luck,

would have liked to have seen you take Aber professional but the "Journey" in Journeyman kind of gives it away

also surprised to see you didn't bring Robbie Parry with you :P

[Carambau]

What a great finish to the last season, what a run-in

Some nice transfers/loans there, I´m sure they will improve the team!

[King Costly]

On 09/09/2019 at 21:03, Nobby_McDonald said:

I was hoping you'd get the better of TNS.

At least we knocked them off their perch for one season!

On 09/09/2019 at 22:01, Mandy42 said:

around the top of the league always seems far too vague for me :P

but good luck,

would have liked to have seen you take Aber professional but the "Journey" in Journeyman kind of gives it away

also surprised to see you didn't bring Robbie Parry with you :P

Well it's better than them expecting the title! I felt Wales would have just been more of the same - dominating every game apart from those against TNS. If Robbie becomes a coach when he hangs up his boots, I'm sure I'll find a spot for him 

On 09/09/2019 at 23:00, Carambau said:

What a great finish to the last season, what a run-in

Some nice transfers/loans there, I´m sure they will improve the team!

It was a very surprising bonus to win a bit of silverware! The team looks good on paper (albeit dominated by loan players which I'd prefer not to rely on!) but are still getting to grips with how we want to play. The players still aren't convinced by me either! 

[King Costly]

Glad I wasn't involved in this one 

[Hootieleece]

Since the team isn't convinced by you yet. Put some Team Bonding (AKA Take the boys out drinking) sessions to your training regimen. Players become happier and begin to work well together...

I do it after the recovery session after every game if possible. I swear it helps with getting players to like you but winning is still the best way to earn their respect.

[King Costly]

8 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Since the team isn't convinced by you yet. Put some Team Bonding (AKA Take the boys out drinking) sessions to your training regimen. Players become happier and begin to work well together...

I do it after the recovery session after every game if possible. I swear it helps with getting players to like you but winning is still the best way to earn their respect.

Thanks, that's a good idea. I'm still getting my head around the FM19 training as it's a lot different from the older games! I guess a few shots of ouzo after every training session won't hurt, right?!

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
August/September/October 2021/22 Update

Greek Super League

 

A pretty good start to the League season - we can't really have asked for much more. We got on the board with simple victories over Panionios and Volos before two draws on the road at Olympiacos and Iraklis. We should have beaten Olympiacos and Chuba Akpom went closest, hitting both posts with a powerful shot. We have been very strong defensively which is a big focus of this system and have kept five clean sheets out of six. The Panathinaikos match was a strange one. We were always in control but some sloppy defending and just really bad luck meant they kept clawing their way back into it. Still, three points is the biggest thing. We rounded off October with a huge win at AEK. It was a very even game until they had a man sent off just after half time. After that, there was only one winner!

 

Greek Cup

I'm really not a fan of domestic Cups that introduce League formats! Luckily we only have to play every other team once. A heavily rotated team made light work of Ionikos before Panathinaikos gave us trouble again. We started really, really slowly and were 2-0 behind after ten minutes. We pulled ourselves together and got it back to 2-2 before dominating the last 20 minutes, missing a few chances to win the game. Still, we should beat Apollon and make it through to the next round barring any disasters.

 

Europa League

We had to make it through two qualifying rounds and we ended up making it look pretty easy. Crusaders were never going to pose many problems but Lechia could have proven to be tricky. Fortunately, we built up a healthy lead in the home leg and despite a mediocre performance in Poland, we picked them off on the counter and made it through to the group stages.

We kicked off the group with two victories against FC Nordsjaelland and ADO Den Haag. Our toughest test was always going to be Dynamo Kyiv and we managed to get a point in Ukraine after a difficult game at their place. If we can beat Dinamo in the home game, we should have top spot secured.

#OwnTheTop

[Hootieleece]

As for training I let my Assman handle the scheduling, but he puts in too much rest. I go ahead and put in the appropriate trainings I want in all of the rest periods. (click intensive, but worth it) I often train set pieces in the third training period.

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
November/December 2021/22 Update

Greek Super League

We've still yet to hit top gear but the results, mostly, have been pleasing. The only blip over the past two months was the home defeat to Xanthi. It was a totally gutless performance in all honesty and we deserved to get nothing out of the game. We went 2-0 behind early on to a corner and direct free-kick. These things can happen so I was interested to see how we'd react. Well, we didn't! We were dreadful and Xanthi rubbed salt in the wound late on with a third. 

Goals haven't been as free flowing as I would like but we've defended well overall so it hasn't been a big issue. December included four home League games so I was very happy to walk away with four victories including a big win against Olympiacos. Our local rivals Aris gave us a tough game and we survived a few close shaves before netting a couple of late goals. Like our time back in Wales, it looks like the title race will go down to the wire.

 

Greek Cup

A pretty rubbish performance against Apollon didn't really matter in the end. We managed to score with the last kick of the game but with the draw for the next round not being seeded, there was no difference between finishing first or second. We ended up second behind Panathinaikos on goal difference. We were given a kind draw against First Division side PAS Giannina.
 

Europa League

Some good and some very bad. We turned on the style against Dynamo Kyiv, practically securing top spot with a thumping victory at the Toumba. Following the defeat to Xanthi in the League, I gave some of the back-ups a chance at FC Nordsjaelland and they showed exactly why they aren't in the first team! A shocking performance in Denmark saw us lose our first European match of the season. We ended the group with a comfortable victory against ADO Den Haag to finish top of the pile. We were rewarded with a relatively kind draw against Belgian outfit Charleroi.

#OwnTheTop

[Carambau]

Great run in the league, I am actually surprised that Olympiakos AND AEK can keep your pace. Another month like this and likely one of them will fall behind more significantly. Or both at best 

Doing well in europe too and Charleroi should be no match for you in your current form. Zirkzee is a really good scorer I see!

[King Costly]

3 hours ago, Carambau said:

Great run in the league, I am actually surprised that Olympiakos AND AEK can keep your pace. Another month like this and likely one of them will fall behind more significantly. Or both at best 

Doing well in europe too and Charleroi should be no match for you in your current form. Zirkzee is a really good scorer I see!

There is quite the gap between the top three and the rest of the League so I expect Olympiacos and AEK to push us all the way. 

With the Champions League teams dropping into the Europa League at this stage, to draw Charleroi is about as good as we could have hoped. Watch us go out to them now 

Zirkzee has done well - better than I expected to be honest. Akpom has been hit and miss (quite literally!) so it's nice to have another dependable option alongside Pereira.

[King Costly]

I don't want to call myself a genius but I've just loaned out our young striker Katsoulis to Xanthi to get more game time and aid his development. He goes and does this on debut 

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
January 2022 Update

Greek Super League

Goals have been at a premium again for us which is why I was annoyed we had a perfectly good winner chalked off against Panathinaikos. I criticised the officials in the press and the Greek FA rewarded me with a one match touchline ban. Frustratingly it meant I had to watch the AEK game from the stands. Despite missing a first-minute penalty, we played brilliantly and picked up a vital victory. Aris gave us problems again before we secured three wins in a row against Atromitos, Panaitolikos and Xanthi.

We have just one League game left before it splits into two ahead of the final ten matches of the season - exactly the same as Wales. Olympiacos have struggled of late, losing three out of five matches to give us the upper hand. With the way the Championship Group works, an eight point lead is anything but safe!

 

Greek Cup

We made light work of First Division side PAS Giannina. We've been drawn against our Thessaloniki rivals Iraklis in the next round.

Transfer Window

I wasn't expecting a busy January but how wrong I was! Above is the list of outs - we've been able to bring in around £15m in a month which is great for us. It's allowed me to strengthen the squad and also help the club's financial position which is slowly getting worse.

Munoz and Noyok were back-ups getting barely any minutes so it made sense for them to go. Azeez is a good player but he was mainly warming the bench so at £4m, I couldn't say no. I was comfortable with Rey in goal but he did start to make the odd error and when Wolves came in with £4.5m for a 31-year-old, I quickly searched for his replacement. Warda had done well for me and scored the winner in last season's Cup final but he was a bit too lightweight for my liking and kicked up a fuss after Rey left. A move to PSV is good for him and another £4.5m is good for us!

We brought in a number of players to improve the side and make it more 'my' squad.

A creative midfielder, Maric joins us from Partizan for £1.5m.

Another midfielder, Busquets is more defensive minded and arrives for £1.5m from Barcelona B.

Both of our starting centre-backs are on loan so I wanted a good option of our own. Markovic, also from Partizan, fits the bill. Our most expensive buy with a fee that could rise to £4m.

With Rey off, Sengezer joins to be our new number one. Bayer Leverkusen spent £12m on him two seasons ago but let him join us for just £3.3m.

One for the future, Frydrych arrives from Slavia Praha for £1m.

With Warda leaving, I wanted a more natural player to fill in on the left-hand side of midfield. Vigario fits the bill. He will most likely be a back up so it's nice he can play in multiple positions. He joined for £750k from Deportivo.

Our final signing of the window and our third Serbian addition. Aleksijevic arrives from Vojvodina for £750k - a bargain price.

#OwnTheTop

[hm86]

This has been a great read! Great work so far!

[Jimbokav1971]

On 18/08/2019 at 14:22, King Costly said:

The story so far... 

The trophy cabinet... 

Hi @King Costly

I really enjoy the style of your updates, but perhaps you could hide this part of your opening post via a spoiler link? Someone just starting to follow your progress is not going to know after post 1 where you are up to. By hiding it as a spoiler you still make it available as a reference point, but without killing the story for now readers. 

Congrats on your success so far and good luck going forward. 

[King Costly]

4 hours ago, hm86 said:

This has been a great read! Great work so far!

Thank you for reading @hm86 - glad you've enjoyed the journey  
 

4 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Hi @King Costly

I really enjoy the style of your updates, but perhaps you could hide this part of your opening post via a spoiler link? Someone just starting to follow your progress is not going to know after post 1 where you are up to. By hiding it as a spoiler you still make it available as a reference point, but without killing the story for now readers. 

Congrats on your success so far and good luck going forward. 

Hi @Jimbokav1971 - that's a very good point! I shall put the story/trophies behind spoiler tags in the opening post. Thanks for reading 

[Nobby_McDonald]

10 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Hi @King Costly

I really enjoy the style of your updates, but perhaps you could hide this part of your opening post via a spoiler link? Someone just starting to follow your progress is not going to know after post 1 where you are up to. By hiding it as a spoiler you still make it available as a reference point, but without killing the story for now readers. 

Congrats on your success so far and good luck going forward. 

Though it is nice and colourful.

[Hootieleece]

I must say I am not a fan of split leagues for final part of the season. Been through it in the Czech and Scottish leagues. It's like a bad playoff and the dominant team usually still wins. 

Underdog Teams almost never win the league unless they go undefeated against the 5-6 BEST teams in the League and we know that doesn't happen in FM.

Instead just win the Greek Cup every year!

[King Costly]

On 16/09/2019 at 23:19, Hootieleece said:

I must say I am not a fan of split leagues for final part of the season. Been through it in the Czech and Scottish leagues. It's like a bad playoff and the dominant team usually still wins. 

Underdog Teams almost never win the league unless they go undefeated against the 5-6 BEST teams in the League and we know that doesn't happen in FM.

Instead just win the Greek Cup every year!

I would prefer it to be just a 'normal' season but I suppose it makes you earn the title a bit more as you end up playing more games against your rivals at the top.

In my old journeyman save I documented on here, it stopped me from winning the Belgian League with KV Kortrijk. I was fine against 90% of the division but just could never beat Club Brugge, Standard or Anderlecht and that killed me for a few seasons!

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
February/March 2022 Update

Greek Super League

We've had better runs of form but the odd defeat was bound to happen in the Championship Group. We were too strong for Panaitolikos which was our final game before the split. We thrashed Atromitos but then suffered our second League defeat of the season at the hands of AEK. We bounced back with vital wins against Xanthi and Olympiacos - the latter was a really strong performance and put us firmly in the driving seat for the title. AEK obviously want to make things a bit more difficult and beat us 1-0 again. We have been the better team in both games but fair play to them, they've managed to get a lead and then completely shut up shop. We haven't been able to break them down in 180 minutes of football which is definitely cause for concern going forward. Fortunately AEK and Olympiacos have taken points off each other to leave us eight points clear with five games left.

 

Greek Cup

If you only looked at our Cup games this season, you'd think Chuba Akpom was fantastic. He does seem to struggle in the League but he has taken his chances in the Cups and he grabbed five in the two legs against Iraklis. The second leg was a shambles of a performance to be fair - we were 3-1 down at half time and somehow looking like we could crash out in embarrassing fashion. The lads responded well to the hairdryer treatment at half time and secured our spot in the semi-finals against Panathinaikos. They must be sick of playing us this season (I know the feeling is mutual!) as we thrashed them in the first leg to give us one foot in the final.

 

Europa League

Well this wasn't expected! Charleroi gave us more of a fright than I anticipated which was mostly down to our poor defending in the first leg. We managed to make it through to the next round where we were rewarded with a tough draw against Italian giants AC Milan. We fought back in the first leg at the Toumba to take a lead into the second leg but those two away goals were always going to be an issue. We were fantastic going forward at the San Siro and two first-half goals really put us in the driving seat. Some shoddy defending in the second half allowed Milan back into the tie (we seem to be conceding quite a few goals from throw-ins but only in Europe?!) but we held on to record a famous victory over the two legs! A tough team was always going to be waiting for us in the quarter-finals - step forward Sporting CP.

 

Youth Intake

The less said about it, the better. Papourtzis is the only one worth mentioning and even he doesn't look like he will amount to much. I will be looking at the youth facilities and Head of Youth in the summer to see if we can improve that side of the club as other Greek teams seem to be producing some very strong players.

#OwnTheTop

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, King Costly said:

Youth Intake

The less said about it, the better. Papourtzis is the only one worth mentioning and even he doesn't look like he will amount to much. I will be looking at the youth facilities and Head of Youth in the summer to see if we can improve that side of the club as other Greek teams seem to be producing some very strong players.

I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I think there is a risk of you dismissing the likes of Papourtzis far too early. 

In my experience the Day 1 Ass Man/Coach reports on the new Youth Intake can be very misleading and in my experience I have found that at least of of the above ratings, (PA ratings), is likely to be significantly wrong, (even if we assume that the Ass Man has a 20 rating for JPP. 

By all means continue to look at it on Day 1, but please don't rely on it or make up your mind at this stage using only this as info. 

ps. Have you got any different or 2nd Nationalities coming through in Greece? 

[King Costly]

6 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I think there is a risk of you dismissing the likes of Papourtzis far too early. 

In my experience the Day 1 Ass Man/Coach reports on the new Youth Intake can be very misleading and in my experience I have found that at least of of the above ratings, (PA ratings), is likely to be significantly wrong, (even if we assume that the Ass Man has a 20 rating for JPP. 

By all means continue to look at it on Day 1, but please don't rely on it or make up your mind at this stage using only this as info. 

ps. Have you got any different or 2nd Nationalities coming through in Greece? 

No, I think you're spot on! Developing youth has always been a bit of a weak point for me in FM.

I have signed around half of the squad above after looking at them and I will give them individual training to get them used to a first team spot I think suits them (even if they never end up getting near the first team). I do try and loan out as many youngsters as I can as well. We do have a couple of interesting youngsters at the club that came through the ranks before I joined.

In terms of nationality, it doesn't look like there's much variety. In my U19s, there are only three players that aren't completely Greek and they are players I've signed myself. 

Olympiacos have a couple of Italians in their U19s and Panathinaikos have one Brazillian/Greek guy but it's pretty much just Greek across the board.

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
April/May 2022 Update

Greek Super League

Atromitos held us to a goalless draw to kick off April but we thrashed Panathinaikos to put us on the verge of clinching the title. Xanthi are always a tough nut to crack but we managed to secure a 2-1 win and with it, the Greek Super League title! We ended the season with a late victory at Panathinaikos before a goalless draw at runners-up Olympiacos. I really didn't expect us to win the title by such a margin!

 

Greek Cup

We won 1-0 against Panathinaikos in the second leg of the semi-final to make it to our second final in a row. Olympiacos were awaiting us in the final - probably a better opponent for us than AEK if our meetings in the League are anything to go by! I gave a couple of youngsters the chance to impress with Mladen Aleksijevic continuing to prove his quality since joining in January and striker Petr Frydrych performing well up front. My decisions were vindicated with a top class performance in a game we controlled for pretty much the entire 90 minutes. Aleksejevic curled in a lovely 25-yard free-kick very early on and Andre Pereira made sure of the result in the second-half. Our second Greek Cup victory!

 

Europa League

A pretty disappointing way to go out. To make it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League is a great effort from us, especially when you consider who we had to beat to get there. I just felt we could have beaten Sporting had we defended like I know we can. We conceded in the last minute (from another bloody throw-in) in Portugal and actually took the lead at home to put us 2-1 ahead in the tie with an away goal too. Us taking the lead seemed to kick Sporting into gear and they tore us apart with three unanswered goals. Even more frustratingly, Sporting got Celtic in the semis! They did, however, lose in the final to Arsenal.

#OwnTheTop

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Super League - 2021/22 End of Season Review

 

We exceeded expectations with a domestic double. We didn't really have a tough spell in the League apart from the two defeats to AEK fairly close together in the Championship Stage. We looked comfortable against Olympiacos and every other team is quite far back after that. We managed to avoid AEK in the Cup and it was a pretty easy journey to the final. Even the final itself was reasonably straightforward, Olympiacos failing to put up much of a fight.
 

 

 

Andre Pereira was fantastic all season and was the most consistent striker on our books. He is a manager's dream really as he can play pretty much any role up front effectively. Ingason is our captain and has signed on for another season but will mostly be a rotation option at centre-half. Zirkzee gave us another physical option up front and I'm hopeful of getting him on loan again from Bayern. Vidal has progressed a lot at left-back and PSG have started sniffing around - not good!

Retsos was fantastic at the back but I don't think we'll be able to get him on loan again. Parks, another loanee, has already signed on loan for next season and he was a steady presence in the middle of the park. I'm surprised Busquets got signing of the season - he's probably been the weakest of the January signings in all honesty. Markovic has been a revelation and will hopefully soften the blow of losing Retsos.
 

With AEK finishing third and Olympiacos changing manager half way through the season, I didn't have too much competition for Manager of the Year!
 

Other news... 

We're going to reinvest some of the Europa League cash by improving both the Training Facilities and Youth Facilities. I've also been rewarded with an improved two-year contract so here's to another year or two of progress! Oh and back in Wales? Dean Saunders 1 - 0 King Costly 

 

The story so far... 

The trophy cabinet... 

#OwnTheTop

[Hootieleece]

Good Job now that you have reached the Top of the Greek League go for dominance! Start Poaching your rivals youngsters (wonderkids) and prepare to make further strides in Europe...(Where the Prize Money/TV Money is)

[Carambau]

Congratulations to the domestic double! Can see you rule the league from now. More success in europe is on the cards as well 

[King Costly]

On 20/09/2019 at 21:16, Hootieleece said:

Good Job now that you have reached the Top of the Greek League go for dominance! Start Poaching your rivals youngsters (wonderkids) and prepare to make further strides in Europe...(Where the Prize Money/TV Money is)

I wish I could poach my rivals' wonderkids! Olympiacos, AEK and Xanthi have all had youngsters go to France (PSG & Monaco) for £10m plus over the past six months or so - out of our price range! We do seem to be creating a very good core of young Eastern Europeans though!

On 20/09/2019 at 21:40, Carambau said:

Congratulations to the domestic double! Can see you rule the league from now. More success in europe is on the cards as well 

Thanks @Carambau! I hope you're right! 

[King Costly]

AS PAOK Salonika
Greek Super League - 2022/23 Season Preview

Only a few outs worth mentioning this summer. Paschalkis was our fourth choice keeper who was never going to see any game time so it was only fair to let him go. Lemos was signed by the previous manager and never really featured for us so I was happy to get over £1m for him. The only notable sale was that of Diego. A fan favourite but a player that didn't really fit into our system. He came off the bench a lot last season and was in the last year of his contract. I'm sure he'll do well at Sampdoria and £6m is a fair fee.

Goalkeeper Signings

Our reserve keepers were let go in the summer so I needed at least one to act as backup to Sengezer. Rodrigues was signed in January on a pre-contract agreement and joins on a free from Feirense. Jindracek was somebody we had scouted for a long time. Slovan Liberec played hard ball but we finally gave in and parted with £5m for his services - he does look very good at just 18 years old.

Defender Signings

With Manea struggling at times last season, I knew we needed another strong right-back to challenge for the starting spot. Where else would I look for a cheap youngster with bags of potential? Partizan of course! Vucinic has plenty of growing to do but at £800k was a no brainer for me. Fortunately, Retsos was allowed to re-join us from Man City - he was huge for us last season. That meant that Garcia, who joins us on a free from Man City, was allowed to go out on loan immediately to Chievo in Serie A to aid his development. Heintz was an interesting find from my Director of Football. I like his mentals and at 17, he has plenty of time to grow - at just £450k from Ajaccio, it was worth a punt.

Midfielder Signings

Nkunku was another signing from back in January as we noticed his contract was running out at PSG. He was unlikely to ever get a game there but he looks like a very decent player. He can play in a variety of different roles too so I'm hoping he can flourish with us. We needed another strong wide midfielder and Micic fits the bill. Yet another Serbian signing and he has some really good mentals and physicals. He's 19 so will improve too. He joins for £1m from Vojvodina - the same club we bought Aleksejevic from. Valverde wasn't a planned signing but was made available late into the transfer window. A slightly more experienced player, I'm hoping he can shore things up in midfield. He cost us £3.5m from Real Madrid.

Striker Signings

With Zirkzee returning on loan from Bayern and a few good options up top already, I wasn't planning on signing any forwards. However, when I got a notification saying Barcelona had accepted bids of £190k for Aparicio, I couldn't ignore it. A big, physical striker who would fit into our system perfectly, I wasn't expecting him to pick PAOK over a number of other 'bigger' clubs bidding for him. A very pleasant surprise and a player I'm looking forward to watching in a PAOK shirt!

Expectations

I took a screenshot of the expectations but it's vanished! The board want us to win the Greek Super League and make it into the play-offs of the Greek Cup - both achievable targets and ones we should be making. They also want us to reach the group stage of the Champions League. We have two qualifying rounds to navigate and it will depend on who we draw but here's hoping!

#OwnTheTop

[Constantine]

That striker is tasty!! Not sure about Nkunku but hey, you best know your team. If Garcia does well in Serie A, you should sell him, as he doesn't develop much further. Valverde... Such a brilliant player. Love him.

[BillHoudini24]

Pretty interesting to see how foreign players manage in Greece, it's quite different that what we do. I find the league quite uninteresting, but there is a huge bias due to the real life situation in the Greek Superleague, it's pretty much unwatchable with the exception of the derbies. 

I haven't managed there in years, good luck! Once you start getting regular Ch.L money it's game over, the others can't keep up unless they get a tycoon.

[King Costly]

2 hours ago, Constantine said:

That striker is tasty!! Not sure about Nkunku but hey, you best know your team. If Garcia does well in Serie A, you should sell him, as he doesn't develop much further. Valverde... Such a brilliant player. Love him.

Not sure why Barca were happy to let him go for peanuts! I can see what you mean regarding Nkunku. He will be mainly a backup and should be more than good enough for the Greek Super League. I don't think he's a long term option in all honesty. Early signs with Valverde are very promising!

1 hour ago, BillHoudini24 said:

Pretty interesting to see how foreign players manage in Greece, it's quite different that what we do. I find the league quite uninteresting, but there is a huge bias due to the real life situation in the Greek Superleague, it's pretty much unwatchable with the exception of the derbies. 

I haven't managed there in years, good luck! Once you start getting regular Ch.L money it's game over, the others can't keep up unless they get a tycoon.

I would like more Greek players but the best are either on ridiculous wages in better European leagues or going for big transfer fees that I can't afford. I'm enjoying the League at the moment but it could become tedious if Olympiacos and AEK don't keep up. I'd like to see Panathinaikos compete too.