I must say that watching a match being played in an empty Ali Sami Yen is a strange experience. I really don't want to hear what the players shout to each other, I mean if I wanted to do that I would go and watch my husband when he plays with his local team. Wonder when the team that cannot be named will be playing in an empty Kadikoy stadium, oh that's right never, as the TFF seem blind to that teams indiscretion!!! Biased, me, never.
After Malatya failed to do the decent thing and win in Kadikoy, Galatasaray needed a good win today to go back to the top of the league. Here is how it went.
The first half was a surreal experience, with the noise of the machinery changing the advertising panels, jets flying overhead and the noise from the E5 behind the stadium mixing with the shouts from the pitch. Whether it was the complete lack of atmosphere but Galatasaray seemed to be playing like they were half asleep, I cant say whether Ankaragucu normally play like this but it was not the most inspiring 45 minutes of the beautiful game. Still real supporters watch through thick and thin and this was definitely thin! I could hardly believe my eyes though when Hakan Sukur scored. His previous attempts in the first half had followed his recent habit of passing to either the goalkeeper or defender when it should be easier to score. Anyway it was a reasonably good goal and came at a time when Ankaragucu had made a couple of chances through Balic leading Mondragon to make a couple of smart saves.
Second half saw Hasan Kabze on the pitch but the same half asleep performance although Hasan Sas appeared to show some interest in the match...finally. Anyway after 20 minutes Cihan woke up, played some dazzling 1-2's with half the GS team and scored an excellent goal to put us 2-0 up. Few minutes later there was a clear penalty on Hasan Kabze which was not given presumably because he plays in red and yellow not blue and yellow and secondly is not Brazilian. After that it was mostly one way traffic with Hakan heading over an empty net (please retire Hakan whilst we remember you with pride) Hasan Kabze hitting the bar, missing an open goal, Furry Hat being replaced by Ergun (nice to see him back). Oh yes I think Ankaragucu got a kick but really they were poor!
So that was how the match went. Hope the TFF are happy with their experiment of playing games on a Wednesday afternoon, idiots. And to the guys in Ankara hope the beer did not taste too bad and the swearing was tolerable in the Knight and Flight!
Now its time for Fox Soccer Channel and Man Utd against West Ham.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Galatasaray eat rooster
I must say that I am feeling better today after a week of illness and that today's result made me feel even better. Galatasaray bounced back from the Cup exit with a relatively comfortable victory over the Denizli roosters by 2-1. Actually I owe the Denizli team an apology as I had inadvertantly moved them to the east of Turkey to Diyarbakir. Dont ask me why, maybe it was the drugs I have been taking!!!!
Having said it was farily comfirtabel I got a bit worried when Mehmet Yilmaz did a "Drogba" in scoring Denizli's first goal. Serdar Tatli was as usual completely in the wrong position to make a correct decision and he allowed the goal to stand. I think its about time that guy hung up his whistle as he seems incapable of following the play closely enough and seems to prefer to stand in the middle of the pitch and make decisions from there.
Galatsarary got back into gthe match with one of the finest own golas I have seen for a long time. I was atching the Scouse derby earlier and saw Phil Neville score a good own goal but the Denizli one deserves goal of the week status. Did Bulent and the goalkeeper not communicate or what?? Anyway I dont really care as it got us back into the match. For once Heinz made an impact and I think deserved his goal. There was a scare late on when Denizli scored but fortuantely the linesman flagged it for offside although I am not sure he was correct but then agin its about time we got some decisions. Ayhan then scored but that was disallowed and Hakan "Barn Door" Sukur then should really have scored but chose to pass to the defender on the line. Anyway that's another 3 points in the bag and we are now leading the League again.
The team that cannot be mentioned play Malatyaspor in Kadikoy tomorrow. Malatyaspor are in deep trouble and facing relegation so on the face of it it should be 3 home points but you never know when teams get desparate so come on Malatya!!!
Anyway I need to make some tea, Dogus Cay, and lie down for a bit after all this excitement. Until next time.
Having said it was farily comfirtabel I got a bit worried when Mehmet Yilmaz did a "Drogba" in scoring Denizli's first goal. Serdar Tatli was as usual completely in the wrong position to make a correct decision and he allowed the goal to stand. I think its about time that guy hung up his whistle as he seems incapable of following the play closely enough and seems to prefer to stand in the middle of the pitch and make decisions from there.
Galatsarary got back into gthe match with one of the finest own golas I have seen for a long time. I was atching the Scouse derby earlier and saw Phil Neville score a good own goal but the Denizli one deserves goal of the week status. Did Bulent and the goalkeeper not communicate or what?? Anyway I dont really care as it got us back into the match. For once Heinz made an impact and I think deserved his goal. There was a scare late on when Denizli scored but fortuantely the linesman flagged it for offside although I am not sure he was correct but then agin its about time we got some decisions. Ayhan then scored but that was disallowed and Hakan "Barn Door" Sukur then should really have scored but chose to pass to the defender on the line. Anyway that's another 3 points in the bag and we are now leading the League again.
The team that cannot be mentioned play Malatyaspor in Kadikoy tomorrow. Malatyaspor are in deep trouble and facing relegation so on the face of it it should be 3 home points but you never know when teams get desparate so come on Malatya!!!
Anyway I need to make some tea, Dogus Cay, and lie down for a bit after all this excitement. Until next time.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Cup of woe
Apologies for the absence but I have been rather ill this week and have not really felt like getting out of bed let alone writing anything. I even missed the Turkish Cup match on Wednesday between Galatasaray and the team that cannot be mentioned, so you can tell I was ill!!
So Galatasaray won the match but lost the war and the Kadikoy brigade get to play extra matches in the run in to the end of the season. This is a good thing as the Turkish Cup is effectiely a meaningless competition except when we beat the idiots 5 -1 like last year....I dont think there is even a UEFA Cup spot for the winner. Of course the UEFA Cup is important I mean Galatsaray have won that, even it was a conincidence, now let me think which competition the team that cannot be mentioned have won in Europe......... oh yes nothing and never will. Anyway now we can concentrate on winning the Super Lig and qualifying for the Champions League.
There were a couple of comments from some previous posts, please if you are going to comment be brave enough to tell me who you are, anonymous is just pathetic. And Murat, whilst I agree with you about idiots throwing stuff on the pitch think back to the first leg of the Cup match when Hasan Sas could not take corner kicks because of the crap being thrown!!!
Anyway all for now, GS have a hard game this weekend away in Kurdish town and I need some rest before I watch it.
So Galatasaray won the match but lost the war and the Kadikoy brigade get to play extra matches in the run in to the end of the season. This is a good thing as the Turkish Cup is effectiely a meaningless competition except when we beat the idiots 5 -1 like last year....I dont think there is even a UEFA Cup spot for the winner. Of course the UEFA Cup is important I mean Galatsaray have won that, even it was a conincidence, now let me think which competition the team that cannot be mentioned have won in Europe......... oh yes nothing and never will. Anyway now we can concentrate on winning the Super Lig and qualifying for the Champions League.
There were a couple of comments from some previous posts, please if you are going to comment be brave enough to tell me who you are, anonymous is just pathetic. And Murat, whilst I agree with you about idiots throwing stuff on the pitch think back to the first leg of the Cup match when Hasan Sas could not take corner kicks because of the crap being thrown!!!
Anyway all for now, GS have a hard game this weekend away in Kurdish town and I need some rest before I watch it.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Galatasaray show some pride
I read a report recently into a study made on football managers in the English Premier League where they put a heart rate monitor on the manager during the match and kept a record of his heart rate. Sam Allardyce the Bolton Manager was one of the test subjects and his heart rate went up to 180bpm during times of stress. Well I am glad I was not being monitored during todays Galatasaray match as I would probably have blown up the monitor.
Galatasaray won the match 4-2 against Erciyes Kayserispor but they made a hard job of it in the end. Of course the result could have been settled earlier than it was as the referee and linesman were the only people in Ali Sami Yen not to see the Michael Jordan manouever by the Erciyes defender when he "saved" a goal bound header on the line. This should of course resulted in a red card and a penalty. As it was we had to rely on a piece of bravery by Umit Karan to get the all important third goal. All in all a reasonably good performance and Gerets for once showing commendable bravery in his substitutions.
Just finished watching the Fulham Chelski match which Fulham won 1-0. Is it me or are Chelsea not only a boring team to watch but a nasty one as well and Drogba is just a cheat. When he is not diving to get players sent off he is playing basketball and behaving like this is the right thing to do. Watching the match left a bad taste in my mouth I have to say.
Anyway bye for now everyone.
Galatasaray won the match 4-2 against Erciyes Kayserispor but they made a hard job of it in the end. Of course the result could have been settled earlier than it was as the referee and linesman were the only people in Ali Sami Yen not to see the Michael Jordan manouever by the Erciyes defender when he "saved" a goal bound header on the line. This should of course resulted in a red card and a penalty. As it was we had to rely on a piece of bravery by Umit Karan to get the all important third goal. All in all a reasonably good performance and Gerets for once showing commendable bravery in his substitutions.
Just finished watching the Fulham Chelski match which Fulham won 1-0. Is it me or are Chelsea not only a boring team to watch but a nasty one as well and Drogba is just a cheat. When he is not diving to get players sent off he is playing basketball and behaving like this is the right thing to do. Watching the match left a bad taste in my mouth I have to say.
Anyway bye for now everyone.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Frustration!!!!
So maybe I should keep my mouth shut in future about predictions for the results of matches. Having assumed that FB would continue their recent habit of not winning in Ankara they go and thrash Ankargucu 4-1. As much as I hate to say this they probably just about deserved to win but I thought 4-1 was a bit harsh. Some help from the 12year old with the whitsle today who was somewhat erratic in his decisions, especially the sending off...not evn the most rabid FB fan (and lets face it most probably are) would consider that the Ankara player should have been sent off for a non-existent challenge on Samih.
Anyway enough about the budgies. I had a good day relaxing at home today recovering from jet lag and watching Fox Soccer Channel. I have to say that as much as I love to watch Galatasaray the English Premier League has to be the best to watch closely followed by the Spanish. You should only watch Italian if you like to watch grass grow, I mean not even the Italians go to watch the matches there!
For those of you who like soccer tactics check out the following link Soccer Tactics that has more of these. Thanks to OzKanka for the link:
Oh yes one final thing. Although the Turkish Tourism Office do a reasonable job with their adverts this one from the Australians really takes the gold medal in my opinion. Check out the following Oz Tourism Website and then follow the lead to "tvadvert". Classic.
And finally finally its the Malyasian Grand Prix tomorrow, so come on Kimi crush the Kraut this week.
Anyway enough about the budgies. I had a good day relaxing at home today recovering from jet lag and watching Fox Soccer Channel. I have to say that as much as I love to watch Galatasaray the English Premier League has to be the best to watch closely followed by the Spanish. You should only watch Italian if you like to watch grass grow, I mean not even the Italians go to watch the matches there!
For those of you who like soccer tactics check out the following link Soccer Tactics that has more of these. Thanks to OzKanka for the link:
Oh yes one final thing. Although the Turkish Tourism Office do a reasonable job with their adverts this one from the Australians really takes the gold medal in my opinion. Check out the following Oz Tourism Website and then follow the lead to "tvadvert". Classic.
And finally finally its the Malyasian Grand Prix tomorrow, so come on Kimi crush the Kraut this week.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Hope for Galatasaray
Hello again. I have been a bit quiet the last few days and that was mainly because I was in Istanbul for a few days and travelled back to the US during the week so am just getting over the jet lag. For anyone who knows about these things Cleveland is not the easiest place in the US o fly to and from. I flew with KLM and had to fly Istanbul to Amsterdam and then to Detroit and then to Cleveland. Total of 17hrs and thank goodness NWA is one of the few US airlines not to charge for drinks on the flight.
On the way back I was reading the Economist and noticed an interesting article about the cost of a Turkish Passport. Can you believe we have to pay $350 for a five year passport and then add on the tax we have to pay each time we leave the country this puts Turkey right at the top of the league table of passport costs!!!! I mean my husband who is British pays about $100 for a 10 year passport. I knew that our passports were expensive but why so expensive?
It seems to me that in this era of globalisation and the need for business men to travel etc. and the fact that Turkey is attempting to access the EU that this has got to change. Either that or we lose our competitive edge!
Big weekend in Turkish Soccer coming up. With Galkatasaray poised to go top of the league again by beating Kayseri Erciyes on Sunday after FB have been beaten by Ankaragucu on Saturday.
On the way back I was reading the Economist and noticed an interesting article about the cost of a Turkish Passport. Can you believe we have to pay $350 for a five year passport and then add on the tax we have to pay each time we leave the country this puts Turkey right at the top of the league table of passport costs!!!! I mean my husband who is British pays about $100 for a 10 year passport. I knew that our passports were expensive but why so expensive?
It seems to me that in this era of globalisation and the need for business men to travel etc. and the fact that Turkey is attempting to access the EU that this has got to change. Either that or we lose our competitive edge!
Big weekend in Turkish Soccer coming up. With Galkatasaray poised to go top of the league again by beating Kayseri Erciyes on Sunday after FB have been beaten by Ankaragucu on Saturday.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Galatasaray and the black sea storm
Hello again.
It has been a less than good week for Galatsaray, after losing to the cheats in midweek 2-1 in the Turkish Cup and then only drawing 1-1 with Trabzonspor in the Super Lig. This draw together with Konyaspor losing 5-0 to the cheats means that we are back in second place in the league, although equal on points. Its just the referees have not allowed us as many penalties and basketball goals as the cheats, therefore we are second.
Although the team played reasonably well and actually dominated the match in possession they lacked a cutting edge. The midfield was poor with Saidou and Volkan (I never thought I would say that!) missing. In his first game back after suspension Cihan played like a headless chicken and was probably lucky not to get a red card again with his poor tackling. Ayhan had an okay match but had to make up for Cihan's problems.
And what about the substitutions. What does Hasan Kabze have to do to get a game? Hakan Sukur was a great striker but surely his days are over, I mean Hakan Unsal was commentating on the match for goodness sake and he is about the same age as Hakan. Gerets seemed to be more concerend with not losing, rather than winning the game which showed in his selection and timing of substitutions. Surely Hasan Kabze should have replaced Cihan rather than taking off Umit and Hasan Sas for Genc Aydin and Hakan Sukur.
Anyway there is now all to play for.
It has been a less than good week for Galatsaray, after losing to the cheats in midweek 2-1 in the Turkish Cup and then only drawing 1-1 with Trabzonspor in the Super Lig. This draw together with Konyaspor losing 5-0 to the cheats means that we are back in second place in the league, although equal on points. Its just the referees have not allowed us as many penalties and basketball goals as the cheats, therefore we are second.
Although the team played reasonably well and actually dominated the match in possession they lacked a cutting edge. The midfield was poor with Saidou and Volkan (I never thought I would say that!) missing. In his first game back after suspension Cihan played like a headless chicken and was probably lucky not to get a red card again with his poor tackling. Ayhan had an okay match but had to make up for Cihan's problems.
And what about the substitutions. What does Hasan Kabze have to do to get a game? Hakan Sukur was a great striker but surely his days are over, I mean Hakan Unsal was commentating on the match for goodness sake and he is about the same age as Hakan. Gerets seemed to be more concerend with not losing, rather than winning the game which showed in his selection and timing of substitutions. Surely Hasan Kabze should have replaced Cihan rather than taking off Umit and Hasan Sas for Genc Aydin and Hakan Sukur.
Anyway there is now all to play for.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Galatasary's cup of woe
After playing so well against Samsun now Galatasaray had to face the canaries in the Turkish Cup at the canary house. Anyway the result was a 2-1 loss for Galatasaray. Now I know I have said alot about referee's recently but last night was a classic example of the FB favouritism this season.
FB's first goal a case in point. Umit Karan was penalized for being offside even he was about 3 yards onside when the ball was played. FB played route 1 from the free kick and the ball was played in to GS penalty box where Anelka was standing offside. But no flag, why not the linesamn did not know who the ball was going to be played to so he should have flagged. Lucian jumps, takes out Song, does not touch the ball, and then scores and according to the referee there was nothing wrong with that. When GS players are hit by missileds thrown from the stands, no action, when Alex gets his hair wet, its a booking for whihcever GS player is closest to him! GS had two goals cancelled because of offisde from some old man who I think usually sells tea at Kadikoy and picked up the flag by mistake!
Anyway the freekick that Tomas gave away for the winning goal was stupid, all he had to do was clear the ball, maybe as an ex FB player Aziz is paying his salary for last night!!!!!!
The only good thing from this week is Chelski and Real Madrid going out of the Champions League. Lest wait for the weekend for GS to hammer Trabzon!
FB's first goal a case in point. Umit Karan was penalized for being offside even he was about 3 yards onside when the ball was played. FB played route 1 from the free kick and the ball was played in to GS penalty box where Anelka was standing offside. But no flag, why not the linesamn did not know who the ball was going to be played to so he should have flagged. Lucian jumps, takes out Song, does not touch the ball, and then scores and according to the referee there was nothing wrong with that. When GS players are hit by missileds thrown from the stands, no action, when Alex gets his hair wet, its a booking for whihcever GS player is closest to him! GS had two goals cancelled because of offisde from some old man who I think usually sells tea at Kadikoy and picked up the flag by mistake!
Anyway the freekick that Tomas gave away for the winning goal was stupid, all he had to do was clear the ball, maybe as an ex FB player Aziz is paying his salary for last night!!!!!!
The only good thing from this week is Chelski and Real Madrid going out of the Champions League. Lest wait for the weekend for GS to hammer Trabzon!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Galatasaray Top, where they belong
Normally I post straight after the match but I had a feeling this weekend about the results so I thought I would wait until after the budgies had played. Well I am glad I did. because Galatasaray beat Samsun 3-2 and of course mafia lost 1-0 to Kayseri.
So Galatasaray are now 2 point clear at the top of the Super Lig. Of course that could change next weekend as GS have a hard game away against Trabzon and the budgies play Konyaspor at home. But what the hell for this week I am celebrating. Not even a one sided referee display helped the budgies this week. I mean what do FB players have to do to get a yellow card. Serkan should have been off, anyone who thinks Robben was correctly sent off for Chelski would agree that Balci should also have walked for just as bad a tackle. So maybe if the refs cant let FB win anymore they wont give yellow cards instead.
Anyway enough about the cheats, they will get their reward.....
I thought Cimbombom played some of the best football this season in the second half and even Hasan managed to pass to a GS player!! They played fast, accurate and determined and all this despite not being paid. So congartulations, I feel very happy and excited for the rest of the season.
And a big gthanks to the people at IPworld who fixed my problem with their service and also gave me an extra weeks credit on my monthly subscription.
So Galatasaray are now 2 point clear at the top of the Super Lig. Of course that could change next weekend as GS have a hard game away against Trabzon and the budgies play Konyaspor at home. But what the hell for this week I am celebrating. Not even a one sided referee display helped the budgies this week. I mean what do FB players have to do to get a yellow card. Serkan should have been off, anyone who thinks Robben was correctly sent off for Chelski would agree that Balci should also have walked for just as bad a tackle. So maybe if the refs cant let FB win anymore they wont give yellow cards instead.
Anyway enough about the cheats, they will get their reward.....
I thought Cimbombom played some of the best football this season in the second half and even Hasan managed to pass to a GS player!! They played fast, accurate and determined and all this despite not being paid. So congartulations, I feel very happy and excited for the rest of the season.
And a big gthanks to the people at IPworld who fixed my problem with their service and also gave me an extra weeks credit on my monthly subscription.
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