Wheels falling off at AEK
AGONAsport’s AEK contributor, Greg Gavalas, talks about the downfall of AEK over the last month and what needs to take place to improve the club’s form.
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The highs and lows of football are two incredible parallels that are night and day in terms of emotions and of course, results.
AEK have been on a roller-coaster ride in the last few years. It all peaked in 2018 when the club won the Greek Super League title for the first time in 24 years, however, a lack of investment into the team and the “loan” model have seen the club pay the price and have never looked like Championship contenders since.
The present season has been no different and it is very sad to see the team out of title contention by November - for the second season running since winning the league, what a contrast.
The season kicked off with the disaster model of Miguel Cardoso and Nikos Lymberopoulos and the club is clearly feeling it now. Nikos Kostenoglou came in and did a really amazing job of turning the team around with an impressive win in Turkey over Trabzonspor which was followed by three successive wins in the league over Asteras Tripolis, Lamia, and Panetolikos.
The wins under Kostenoglou and the manner in which they came, gave signs for some strong belief, especially given the turnaround from the horrible football seen under Cardoso.
Come the derby with PAOK at OAKA and with high hopes for a win, a reserved AEK team came away with a 2-2 draw. However, it was more a feeling of “lucky to get the draw” than “we could have won it.”
That game was followed by a dull, goalless draw at Larissa with poor football witnessed. A home win against Volos at a packed Rizoupoli stadium gave some hope but that would be the last performance of note. The team have been on a steady decline since then.
AEK’s form slump came at the worst possible time with fixtures against Olympiacos (2-0 loss), Atromitos (3-2 win), Panathinaikos (3-2 loss), Aris (1-1), and OFI (1-0 loss). AEK brought home four points out of a possible 15 and three of those points were gifted to AEK as a mistake from young Atromitos goalkeeper, Christos Mandas, proved to be costly in the end for the Peristeri outfit. Had it not been for Mandas’ gaffe, it could have been just two points out of a possible 15.
During this slump, the formations have not changed too much from a tactical angle. Kostenoglou favours a 4-2-3-1, although in the last match against OFI, a 3-4-3 formation was used that simply did not work.
What has been apparent, especially since the meltdown with Panathinaikos, is a real drop in player form.
For one, the best of the crop, Petros Mantalos, has been very lazy with his passing accuracy, but he is trying hard and one of the few players with goals and assists next to his name. In fact, he leads the league with five assists so he has been effective.
Marko Livaja has been in very ordinary form after a strong start to the season. He, along with Mantalos, were two key reasons in AEK’s good run in September.
Nelson Oliveira has been subpar and I personally expected much more from him, but he has been an English Championship player (English second division) since 2016. He is a player Dimitris Melissanidis actually bought this season as opposed to acquiring him on loan. Sadly, AEK finally spent some “big bucks” but the return on investment has not been great and I am sure this was the work of the Cardoso/Lymberopoulos regime.
All the central midfield players have produced little in terms of quality. Andre Simoes, Nenad Kristicic, and David Simao have shown little value on the pitch while Kostas Galanopoulos needs to get more involved. He is one of the few players that can certainly improve and give more.
If all that is ordinary enough, AEK’s defence has been “gia ta skoupidia” as we say in Greek. In other words – rubbish!
By far and away the biggest disappointment has been Bosnian international, Ognjen Vranjes, who joined on loan from Anderlecht. There was much hype and excitement for his return, being a member of the 2018 championship team, but he has only been a shadow of his former self. His only consistency has been mistakes and silly yellow and red cards. With Marios Oikonomou, and a slow and aging Dmytro Chygrynskiy as next best options, it’s no wonder AEK have gone nearly two months without a clean sheet.
Wing backs, Mihalis Bakakis and Niklas Hult, have done ok, but there is little depth in these positions. Helder Lopez’s form has not been good since his return from injury and new signing Paulinho is another mediocre addition.
How a player like Christos Albanis continues to start from the bench is a mystery. Why is Chico Geraldes, who is on loan from Sporting Lisbon, not been utilised at all - he did show some promise in the pre-season.
Was it really worth getting rid of Tasos Bakasetas and Rodrigo Galo for this? Galo offered technique and calm. His replacement, Paulinho, is a similar profile to Bakakis. AEK paid for Daniele Verde to replace Bakasetas, who has four goals and four assists in Turkey, while Verde has one assist so far with AEK.
So that leaves you with an average squad, in average to poor form, and Ilija Ivic on the hunt for a new manager. Whether or not a new manager can do much is to be seen.
The month of December will see AEK play Panionios, Xanthi, Asteras Tripolis and Lamia. On paper, you would think 12 out of 12 points, but on current form, you do not know. What we know for sure is AEK need to jump start their form, the players need to give it their best. and Kostenouglou (for now) needs to play his better players from the start and not as substitutes.
Good Transfers in January need to happen, especially in defence, and as for next time, we could be talking about a new coach.
