Panathinaikos Season Preview 2021-2022

Panathinaikos Season Preview 2021-2022

By Tony


The preseason is virtually over now, with only the typical Greek bureaucratic nonsense surrounding television deals delaying the league’s start by another week or so. With that said, now would be a good time to sit back and assess some of the concerns, expectations, and predictions I have for Panathinaikos as we head into the new season.

 

Over the summer I wrote about what my expectations were for the summer preparations in light of the new season quickly approaching. I mainly pointed out that the squad needed to bring in at least three or four players that were starting caliber. One month later, with the transfer window closing in a little over a week’s time, the club has made just one more signing since then (Ruben Perez had already been signed at the time of the summer blog.)  

 

What does this mean? Well, it means I am concerned. Ivan Jovanovic has gone on and stated multiple times that the club will bring in a player for every player they sell, and unfortunately as it stands it appears that the players reportedly on the transfer list have not really attracted any serious interest from other clubs. This leaves us with our hands in our pockets at a moment where we really should have made the effort to sign players sooner.

 

On the chance that the club do bring in players from now until the transfer deadline on the thirty-first the players will still need time to get acclimated to the new environment and demands of the coach. From where we stand now it is safe to assume that the team is likely headed to another slow start to the season. The preseason matches have been an indicator of this, with not a single win in any of the matches besides a friendly cup win over Dutch side Venlo which was won on penalties.

 

The team itself plays an attractive game under Jovanovic, and it’s certainly not him nor his tactics that have me worried. Against AC Milan the club had some chances and weren’t afraid to get forward when they could. Similar thing against APOEL where the team was playing a nice game, quickly moving the ball and looking to move forward. The issue lies with the lack of scorers on the squad. Federico Macheda can be a serviceable forward, but at this stage in his tenure at Panathinaikos, he can't be in a starting role. The twenty-nine year old is more suited to come off of the bench as a target man if the greens are chasing a goal late in a match. The club desperately needs to sign a starting caliber forward, because the lack of a goal scoring threat has been plaguing the greens since last season.

 

Another area of concern for me is the team’s inability to defend set-pieces. Many of the goals that the team conceded in the friendlies came from corners. It is important to note that the team’s best defender, Bart Schenkeveld, has been out all summer with an injury, but Sideras, and Sarlija have been less than stellar in his absence. My hope is that defensively the team can get itself sorted out, but it mainly hangs on if Bart can come back and remain healthy as he played a pivotal role in the team’s strong defensive run last season during the winning streak.

 

Overall I believe that if these issues aren’t sorted quickly, especially the lack of scoring, Panathinaikos fans are going to be looking at another season that may be long and grueling rather than exciting. As things are now I just can’t see this team finishing higher than fifth place. There are lots of players in the squad, but many of them are not in the coach’s plans and the ones he does rely on currently are not going to be enough to make a push for a European spot this season. My hope is that within the next week or so the club makes a few more signings, even if they are loan deals, to fill out this roster with starting caliber players that can make a push toward a European spot. The club needs it and the fans want it. Let's hope this season is more positive than last and let’s also remember that there will be highs and there will be lows so try not to get too caught up in either one for too long.


Hellas Football 


Follow @PanathasLA

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