2024-05-12 04:28:08
The difference in income between the two categories, in the current years, is large, huge so to speak. And a team that is relegated, in order to make a championship, it will have to make the financial excess.
Many owners of teams relegated from the A’ National (Super League) have a tendency to throw out most of the players and build another team from scratch, with transfers of various players from Greece and abroad. This involves a lot of risk, as it is not easy to chase 20 players and get as many. In such a case, there may be selection failures, so a lot of money will be spent without achieving the goal. The most safe and risk-free way is to restructure the roster, with the forced discarding, by maintaining a core core of players so as not to disturb the balance and spoil the homogeneity of the team and at the same time by adding some capable footballers to cover any gaps exist. Something that was done by past presidents of PAS, such as Kostas Glinavos, Manthos Kolembas who handled similar cases, but the late Giorgos Christovasilis also faithfully and intelligently applied it, the two times the team was relegated during his days.
If the Christovasilis brothers set the goal of the championship for the new season 2024-25 in the Second National League, as the president Panagiotis Christovasilis had said at the press conference, they will basically have to make the financial excess themselves because the income in the second category is minimal , in order to retain several players from the existing roster and at the same time make other transfers of capable players that will better tie the whole to withstand this test. It goes without saying that some players will have to leave who did not offer what was expected, but also do not show a desire to identify with the team and the goal of returning to the Super League. But face changes should be thought out and targeted, without spoiling the core. This undertaking seems easy in theory, but in practice it is difficult. But it is necessary when there is the goal of the championship. The experience of past promotions after relegations shows this, always under the condition that the major shareholders should put their hand in their pockets and not manage the team’s income. Championship without money is not possible even in online football games!
PAS Ioannina was relegated in the 1983-84 season to the Second National League, after a play-off match against Panionios in Larissa. The following season 1984-85 the team changed ownership and coach. Kostas Glinavos became a major shareholder, buying the majority package from Kostas Anastasiou. Hired coach Christos Archontides. Glinavos, who knew from football, kept all the heavy cards in the team. From the roster of the year of relegation, he kept important players for the new year in the second national team, such as Golas, Papakostas, Priskas, Mantzoukis, Papazoglou, Konstas, Lappas, Papachristou, Liakos (he left in December with a transfer to PAOK), Maipas , Bonovas, Harisis, Yatsos, Oikonomou, Manevsky, Katsifas. Gone are goalkeeper Alexiou who was on loan from Panathinaikos, Papaggelis who went to Olympiakos, Klitsas who was loaned to Anagennisi Artas. Kokotovics, Charalambidis, Tsitsos Giavasis and others also left. At the same time, Kostas Glinavos brought back Kontoiorgakis from Corfu to the PAS team and acquired Hatzielephatriou from Heraklis, Papadimitriou from Panserraikos, Hatziioannidis from AEK, Rizo from Ethniki Filippiadas and Giorgos Ladia. Paradoxically, the team with so many important players struggled to get promoted to the A National League, but in the end they got promoted and that’s what matters.
PAS was also relegated in the 2000-01 season in the play-offs with OFI in Rhodes. The ownership of the team did not change and Manthos Kolembas remained. He kept Gitko, Athanasiou, Tzumba, Tzaneti, Bletsa, Urban, Nouli, Gitta, Bela, Garozis, Kako, Spyropoulos, Ramirez, Christos Bourbo on the roster and acquired Theofylaktos Nicolaidis, Aleco Dede, Thomas Kyparissi, Joe Nagbe, Deba Niren, Katsaro and others. He was promoted again to the A’ National team in the following season 2001-02. Randos, Foutsini, Semos, Kampos Elder, Yannis Tatsis, Sapanis, Kembatze had left and Heraklis Kormaris was transferred.
THE RECIPE OF GIORGOS CHRISTOVASILI
In the Christovasilis era, the first relegation to the second national team took place in the 2009-10 season with the transfers of the airport! It was the first sufferings that took place after lessons for the late president. He kept Sikalia, Andrala, Michael, Kotsio, Pavlos Vartziotis, Vanderson, Dassio, Stathis, Buhan, Senone, De Vincenti, Vageli, Tzani, Bakayoko, Sialma, Koutsospyros in the team and the new season 2010-11 in the second national team and strengthened the roster with the acquisition of Pantos, Tzimopoulos, Keitas, Patsatzoglou, Skoufalis, Kyriakos and Furtados. Coached by Stefan Demol, the team immediately returned to the top division. Eleftheropoulos, Zafeiropoulos, Louboutis, Rovas, Kanakoudis, Maistorovics, Balafas, Mendrinos, Aras, Sisic, Dibala, Kaznaferis, Saitiotis, Kontogoulidis had left.
The second relegation, again under the chairmanship of Giorgos Christovasilis, took place a few years ago, in the 2018-19 season. The balance was not overturned again, as Peristeridis, Venetikidis, Skondras, Michael, Sergelasvili, Pelios, Boukouvalas, Apostolopoulos, Fabri Castro, Stefanos Siontis, Nikolias, Liassos, Iakos, Kouzik, Xydas, Krizman, remained for the new season 2019-20. Leo. Alexandros Lolis became a professional and Houtesiotis, Giannikoglou, Pantelakis, Oikonomopoulos, Kartalis, Eleftheriadis, Pamlidis were added by transfer. Vellidis, Michail Neophytos, Kargas, Tzimopoulos, Evangelou, Zogos, Tsikarski, Lila, Kakuba, Dolovats, Athanasiadis, Manos left (he was on loan from Olympiakos). The memories are fresh, from the good football played by PAS under coach Argyris Giannikis and the easy return to the Super League and with a difference from the second.
THE PAST SHOWS THE FUTURE!
We don’t know if the past can say something about the future, but the above cases are indicative of the successful recipe of the previous direct promotions to the A’ National (Super League) after relegations. From then on, to do the same now, i.e. not to spoil this year’s trunk, other factors come into play and mainly the financial capabilities of the PAE to support such an undertaking.
PAS Ioannina did not manage to return immediately to the First National League after relegation, in the 1987-88 season when there were problems while the case of attempted bribery of Kavala players had also arisen, in the 1991-92 season where the players had changed and the stone years had begun which lasted for about eight whole years and the 2003-04 season when, after the relegation due to debts, the team did not have a handkerchief to cry about and was also relegated to the 3rd National League after the barrage with Ilysiakos in Pyrgos. However, as many times as the presidents behaved as leaders by putting their hand in their pocket, not letting the team dissolve, the following year “Ajax of Epirus” solemnly returned to the First National League.
Here is a bright field of glory for the Christovasilis brothers or the new investor if there is such a case. Certainly, not all the footballers who are currently in the team can stay. But if the most important and useful ones stay, with the new kids and with some smart transfers (not like the ones that happened this year) PAS can claim a title in the new season. Because he will essentially have a ready-made team and will not be built from scratch.