Diagoras - OFI match thread

[Cullenakis]

OK, thoughts on the match anyone? What's in store for us?

[Cullenakis]

Oh really? How interesting.

Hey, stop posting all at once you bastards.

[simonofi]

Mate, chill out, Rome was not built in a day
As for the match this weekend does anybody have a clue what is going to happen?
With such a new team and a new coach who knows what face OFI will show this weekend!?

[antfouk]

That quote about Rome is the summer hit in OFI affairs... Nicky also referred to it in an interview on athleticradio (the main local sports station).

Truth is, we know little about this season, about our opponents, their grounds, and maybe that's part of the charm, too - there's an element of surprise. Besides, if new signings usually feel like the fans' new toys, then this is a fan's heaven! So many new faces to watch, to cheer, to support, to call "malaka"! Sit back and enjoy (or stand up and shout for OFI)!

[simonofi]

I see Kasmeridis is in the squad that traveled!

[antfouk]

As back-up, I guess... I can't see him make it into the first team at least until his military service is sorted out.

btw Kerkyra cruised past Olympiakos in Volos: 3-1.

[simonofi]

So much for the big favorites!
This could become a very open League, and I like that idea as it will make it very exiting

[antfouk]

sorry about the off-topic:

guess who opened the scoring for Kerkyra:

Arvanitis, with an own goal. Now, THAT'S A GOOD OMEN!!! The 'familia''s lackey is starting to pay us back!!

Anyway, no more 'fooling around', it's time for the real thing! Good luck to the team!!!

[simonofi]

OFI team...

Vezyrydis
Stavrakakis
Barcauan
Bertin
Konstantinidis
Organitsa
Manousos
Agritis
Kiassos
Butt
Lamesic

[simonofi]

Diagoras 2 - 1 OFI Final Score
Agritis scoring for OFI
Organitsa missed a penalty

[simonofi]

Having seen the highlights of the game I would say the good news is we can scored goals freely this season which is fantastic.
The bad is our defending, which in the centre of defence was horrific.

[antfouk]

Second Diagoras goal must be giving Nicky and Myron nightmares... Awful penalty by Organista, but fair result overall, it seems to me...

I see you 'cleaned up', although, if you could take a look at the Snakes forum, you'd see the request I told you about hasn't exactly been observed... Some serious soul-searching ahead for most of us!

[simonofi]

I am reliably told that the situation is being dealt with in house amongst the fan clubs, and I guess that is a better place to solve the issue than air our dirty washing on a public message board mate.
Lets hope a positive resolution is reached

[Cullenakis]

I am reliably told that the situation is being dealt with in house amongst the fan clubs, and I guess that is a better place to solve the issue than air our dirty washing on a public message board mate.
Lets hope a positive resolution is reached

Talking about situations involving the club are what message boards are for. What on earth are you doing stopping chat on the subject? Is the fact that we have a thug element in our fan-base a taboo subject? Jesus, it defeats the whole object of having a fan forum. I can't believe we are not allowed to talk about other fans' behaviour.

This forum is going to fail. It's obvious, if this is the way that the boards are going to be run.

This is my last post on here.

[antfouk]

Well, it's become a very sorry and tricky situation, and I believe we should try to disentangle it together. Perhaps I should have posted earlier, because I should have foreseen what happened after the Snakes' forum post in question. Many things have changed since, so I think we should talk about this.

Let me clarify something about myself first: I'm a lifelong OFI supporter, but never a Snakes' or another fan club member. I'm a football fan more than an OFI fan, so that's the viewpoint I'm adopting.

The post I summarized in this forum came from exactly this part of our fans in Rhodes that strongly opposed what happened and pushes for an internal 'clean-up' operation. 2-3 posts followed, echoing Cullenakis' disappointment, but without any reference to specific events. As for my stance, I had my reservations, but I thought it right to allow those people to make their moves. Being a non-Snake with no connections in fan clubs, I thought that posting about this on the Snakes forum would fall on deaf ears and maybe even undermine their efforts, because the guys who showed thuggish behaviour would feel 'attacked' by an 'outsider' (and I know that there are more like me who stayed silent, either because of tactics, or because of a sense of futility). I also thought that you should know about this, without prescribing any course of action. Simon, I didn't expect you to delete what had already been posted, although I don't know what I'd do in your position. In retrospect, I think it was a bad call and I wish to apologise if I gave the impression that there was some kind of directive.

What's more important is what followed: the 2-3 posts which called for isolating the elements in question, sparked an amazing number of replies, which in their vast majority focus on everyone else's blame but ours: Diagoras, PAO or OSFP fans among Diagoras support, Rhodians - at the same time dismissing all other voices as naive, 'softy' and pacifist. To underline how irrelevant the curfew on the events in Rhodes became, one guy admitted to throwing a stone, and then went on to attack his accusers, basically adopting the "eye for an eye" approach that most posts seemed to favour (many of them coming from people who were not in Rhodes). Although usual_suspect posted again to make it clear that he was not talking about theoretical situations of what to do when attacked, but specific actions that took place in Rhodes, the debate continued more or less as before.

I hate transferring here what happens in another forum, as it's a minefield of misunderstandings and frictions. Simon, you've got your friends and contacts in Crete. Cullenakis, you live in Crete. So you both have your sources on how optimistic we can be about the 'clean-up'. But in the light of all this, I can only say that a direct view of a witness like Cullenakis' was sorely missing from the debate in the Snakes forum, although I honestly doubt it would receive proper attention. Besides, now I cannot see how not talking about this has helped. A guy was happy to incriminate himself (assuming this was a consideration), and many like Cullenakis or like me kept silent, while the Snakes forum was overrun with other points of view. On a rather symbolic level, I suggest bringing back the deleted posts. After all - and this is the cherry on the cake - there's a hyperlink to them from a post on the Snakes forum... On a more substantial level, I agree with Cullenakis' last post, but urge him to reconsider the last bit...

[simonofi]

OK lets gets a few things clear.

I have NOT deleted anything.
I locked the thread with that discussion on.
And there is a reason for that...
I am a Snakes member, have been to the Snakes club many times. I know the President and his brother well and they are like my brothers.
I am told there are some fans who are being spoken to about their behavior. This is being done face to face in the fan clubs where it needs to be done, and not on faceless message boards.
So, the problem has been acknowledged and is being dealt with.
It happened, it's being dealt with... MOVE ON!

Paul, I don't know you from Adam but here is what i can tell you...
I have been a regular football goer since I was 3 years old.
As a 5 year old I saw fighting with knives at a game, as a 7 year old I whitnessed an attack with a golf club at a game.
From 11 - 30 I saw more fights, scuffles, punch ups, attacks than I care to remember. I have been beaten by Police at football games and literally pissed upon by opposing fans.
Football in every corner of this globe attracts a rogue element that are part of virtually every club in every town in every Country.
Liverpool, Leicester, Spurs and yes OFI have a violent element to their support.
It is nothing new and is nothing shocking, it is simply part of football and right or wrong that is the way it is.
The elder OFI fans get respect from the rest for good reason. They are intelligent, passionate committed and talk sense. If they say it's being dealt with it is.
My suggestion to you would be to take a trip down to the Snakes club one evening and sit, have a beer and talk with the guys there. What you will find are the best football fans in the World. Fans who have been to hell and back in the name of their club but are still as in love with OFI as the first day she came into their lives.
If you are still as upset about the behavior of some of our 'fans' as you suggest then face them face to face and tell them how they made you feel. You anger is at them, a tiny minority, and should not be directed at me or any other genuine OFI fan.

So, don't lose faith in OFI because of a few, take time to see our club for what it is, and understand that for the first time in as long as we all can remember OFI is FREEE and plays for Iraklio, Crete and her fans.

And I am buggered if a small group of mindless fans are going to spoil that for me and any other fan

VIVA OMILARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Cullenakis]

Simon, I think you have the wrong end of the stick. antfouk seems to get my point. I'm disappointed with the forum, not the fans. The fans involved can go and do one. I'm not going to get upset because of them.

Of course I was disappointed on Saturday, every normal supporter who attended felt the same. However, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I've experienced enough of that sort of stuff before to last me a lifetime too, nothing surprises me.

My point was that a message board should be for discussing this kind of thing. The fact that we have to follow some official line is a bit silly, don't you think? You can run the boards how you like, it's none of my business. It's just that this forum is obviously not for me. Good luck with it, you should be proud that you have managed to set up a UK OFI site, it was a great idea and I wish you all the best. Hopefully we can meet and have a beer in Heraklion at some point.

[simonofi]

Best wishes mate.
See you in Crete soon I hope for that beer

[Cullenakis]

Best wishes mate.
See you in Crete soon I hope for that beer

Ok, mate. Deal.

[simonofi]

I am planning to get over in November but will leave it as late as I can as they like to fiddle with the dates of the games and I don't want a wasted trip.
If you are still around I would be interested to hear from you what else you think needs saying on this subject and what if anything I have stopped you from saying?
You made your feelings clear on the subject and your message is still here on the forums for everyone and anyone to see.

Maybe I am missing something?

[antfouk]

Gosh, I confused the two threads about Diagoras-OFI and, combined with Simon's post about "drawing a line under this", I got the impression that the posts were deleted. I'm sorry about this...

Anyway... Simon, your confidence is really encouraging. I was really upset and dejected by the debate in the Snakes' forum, because the plea for self-restraint was only respected by, roughly, one 'side' on this issue, which led to an extremely imbalanced picture. I left Crete many years ago, I'm not a 'core' fan, but I'm not naive. There's stuff fans do that (theoretically) I wouldn't do myself, but I have no quarrel with; there's other stuff that I disagree with, but I don't expect to change. And there's stuff I'm really opposed to, and can be eradicated, without any harm to even the most dedicated fan's identity. So I expected more people to have the guts to say that specific actions were off-limits, however you see them...

Heraclio is my home-town, so I'll buy you both that beer...

[simonofi]

I will take you up on that beer mate and return the favour!
Yes there are two threads about the Diagoras game on the forum.
Paul, were you thinking I had deleted what you put on here? Sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick but it's all here.
I would never censor anyone, we are all fans and all equal and are entitled to our own opinions.

We are about to play our first home game as a FREEEE team with our own destiny in our hands. And just to make it even better it's in a shiny new Genti Koule.
It doesn't get much better than that!

[Cullenakis]

Nah, I didn't mention anything about deleted posts, just the closed thread. Anyway, that's enough from me. Simon, antfouk, any time you fancy a beer and you're back in town then I'm your man.

Take care.

[simonofi]

There are no deleted posts!
Ah well! Best wishes mate.. VIVA OMILARAAAAA

[Cullenakis]

There are no deleted posts!

I know! Look at my post again! I've never mentioned deleted posts, that was antfouk.

Bye (for the last time).

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