Its not that I dont like Christmas or the New Year, or should I say the Holiday Season as its referred to here in the You Ess of Ay but I am glad that it is almost over. The pressure to spend way too much money, buy useless crap for your family and generally over indulge is relentless. I am glad that Thanksgiving is so close to Christmas tat the pressure is not as intense as say in the UK.
Anyway looking back on 2007 I think that over all Galatasaray have under and then over and then under performed. The feeling that they gave up at the end of last season still refuses to go away but some good and relataively cheap buys i the summer seemed to have got the tam back on track, leading the Super Lig until the very last weekedn when a draw to the Oftas team put us third. Having made such a good start it was disappointing to allow the other teams to catch us up in November and December as the team struggled to maintain consistency. I hope the injured players soon get fit and back in the team so we can get off to a better start and then maintain that form for the rest of the season.
It will be interesting to see who stays and who arrives during the transfer window as we need a couple of midfield players, a defender and a creative attacker to hep Arda etc.
Good to see that work has, finally, started on Aslantepe so we will soon have by far the best stadium in Turkey, no Migros here......
Looking forward in hope to the New Year...
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Off with the Tas....
Bloody awful, thats all I can say and if Gulay was posting she would undoubtedly say the same but as she is a tad depressed at the moment about the GS meltdown that has enabled various second rate and substandard teams to claw their sorry asses to the top two places
...actually she has had flu and is not feeling too good hence I am posting on Christmas Eve...
Actually though the last couple of GS matches have completely underwhelmed us...where is the swagger, the fire of the first 10 or 12 matches of the season...I guess injuries might be one reason and fielding a relatively young and inexperienced team but there seems to have been a collective failure of will....and where was Umit Karan on Sunday.....
Still when you consider the money wasted on the Asian side of the Bosphorus to try to ensure success for the so called peoples team. Well the superior types really don't care about the blue collar oiks and once Aslantepe is completed with its decent communications, no Migros in the basement for us, chaps..direct Metro link, good car parking....not a market place in Kadikoy, I mean why are they so proud of that very badly situated stadium anyway....does not even have a sliding roof.....peasants.....
In other news Man Yoo continue to chew at L'Arse's heals in the EPL while Chavski continue to be a fading force with lucky results, and as for the Scousers, f*** em, .....at least there is plenty of footie on the tube this next couple of days, of course here in the Yoo Ess of Ehhh Boxing Day is not a holiday, heathens.... so I had to take a days vacation to have a proper Christmas (had to work a half day today as well, my goodness.) but that will be brightened by a full day of footie...excellent.
Anyway as 2007 peters out all I can say is the Duvel is excellent, the weather fresh, and that football is the stuff of life.....as Bill Shankly once said,
"Football is not about life or death.......its more important"
And on that note from Gulay, Leana and I
Feliz Nevidad, Iyi Bayramlar, Mutlu Yillar,
and
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.....
The Husband.
...actually she has had flu and is not feeling too good hence I am posting on Christmas Eve...
Actually though the last couple of GS matches have completely underwhelmed us...where is the swagger, the fire of the first 10 or 12 matches of the season...I guess injuries might be one reason and fielding a relatively young and inexperienced team but there seems to have been a collective failure of will....and where was Umit Karan on Sunday.....
Still when you consider the money wasted on the Asian side of the Bosphorus to try to ensure success for the so called peoples team. Well the superior types really don't care about the blue collar oiks and once Aslantepe is completed with its decent communications, no Migros in the basement for us, chaps..direct Metro link, good car parking....not a market place in Kadikoy, I mean why are they so proud of that very badly situated stadium anyway....does not even have a sliding roof.....peasants.....
In other news Man Yoo continue to chew at L'Arse's heals in the EPL while Chavski continue to be a fading force with lucky results, and as for the Scousers, f*** em, .....at least there is plenty of footie on the tube this next couple of days, of course here in the Yoo Ess of Ehhh Boxing Day is not a holiday, heathens.... so I had to take a days vacation to have a proper Christmas (had to work a half day today as well, my goodness.) but that will be brightened by a full day of footie...excellent.
Anyway as 2007 peters out all I can say is the Duvel is excellent, the weather fresh, and that football is the stuff of life.....as Bill Shankly once said,
"Football is not about life or death.......its more important"
And on that note from Gulay, Leana and I
Feliz Nevidad, Iyi Bayramlar, Mutlu Yillar,
and
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.....
The Husband.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Aspirin anyone
So after the bore draw with Austria Vienna, a game so lacking in action I could find nothing to blog about....we have been drawn with Bayer Leverkuesen in the next round of the UEFA Cup. All I can say is that we had better start playing like we were at the start of the season or else its thank you and good night...lets hope for a start that Lincoln and Linderoth are back. I really don't want to spend 90 minutes hearing how poor Turkish soccer is!!! from the match commentators.
Sunday sees CimBom head to the frozen wastes of the capital to take on the Genlirbirlgi first team or G Oftas. Three point is a must as it has all got very tight at the top of the Lig and it would be good to go in at the winter break on top....
Sunday sees CimBom head to the frozen wastes of the capital to take on the Genlirbirlgi first team or G Oftas. Three point is a must as it has all got very tight at the top of the Lig and it would be good to go in at the winter break on top....
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Mixed fortune
The weekend started off good enough with Galatasaray struggling to a 2-0 win over Sivas and going back to the top of the Lig. It was a struggle though. The changing point was probably Balili going off although it still took a long time for CimBom to capitalize. Still no Linderoth, Lincoln or Ayhan and Hasan Sas suspended so the team again had a youthful look to it. The win took GS back to the top of the Lig whatever happened the rest of the weekend albeit with a reduced points advantage.
Super Sunday came and went in England with two games of high intensity if not too much technical skill but played at 200kph, although playing at that speed and intensity takes a lot of skill as well. Exciting to watch with Man Utd and Arsenal demonstrating why the championship will probably be between them this year.
Of course Genc had to spoil the mood by losing at home but you cant have everything I guess!
Super Sunday came and went in England with two games of high intensity if not too much technical skill but played at 200kph, although playing at that speed and intensity takes a lot of skill as well. Exciting to watch with Man Utd and Arsenal demonstrating why the championship will probably be between them this year.
Of course Genc had to spoil the mood by losing at home but you cant have everything I guess!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
How sad...
What next, the Cross of St George (a Turkish knight apparently) and the flag of England to be considered offensive to Muslims as well??????? I think this over-excited FB supporter should calm down and re-read his history books..See in the Telegraph
Inter Milan football strip 'offends Muslims'
By Megan Levy
Last Updated: 2:23am GMT 13/12/2007
A football strip worn by Italian team Inter Milan is at the centre of a legal row after a lawyer claimed it offended "Muslim sensibilities".
Inter Milan jersey
The 'offensive' Inter Milan strip
Players wore the new strip – a white shirt with large red cross on it – in a Champions League match last month against Turkish team Fenerbahçe to celebrate the club’s centenary.
But a Turkish lawyer, Baris Kaska, took exception to the "Crusader-style" cross which he said symbolised "Western racist superiority over Islam".
He claimed the offending shirt reminded Turks of an emblem of the Christian order of the Knights Templar.
Mr Kaska, who specialises in European law, has lodged a complaint in a local court against the club.
He is seeking damages, and is appealing to Uefa to annul the match, which Inter Milan won 3-0.
Mr Kaska told the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia: "That cross only brings one thing to mind - the symbol of the Templar Knights.
"It made me think immediately of the bloody days of the past. While I was watching the game I felt profound grief in my soul."
advertisement
He said the court had contacted both Uefa and Fifa to convey his demand that Inter Milan should be "heavily fined for displaying an offensive symbol".
Inter Milan officials are reportedly "astounded" at the controversy.
They have pointed out that a red cross on a white background was the symbol of the city of Milan, and that many Italian football clubs have incorporated the cross on their shirts.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Charity to the poor
Its that time of year again, you know when poor disadvantaged people need help and charity to get them through the holiday season. Obviously Feldkampf and his players were in a generous giving mood and fielded what is definitely not the first team, no Lincoln, Linderoth, Hasan Sas or Ayhan. Lost of young players in the team with Umit and Hakan on the bench.
First half was relatively even except for Songs very generous decision to play Semih onside when all he had to do was step up and it would have been offside, or maybe not as we shall see later. The worrying thing from CimBom's point of view was that they were not creating too many clear cut chances and testing one of the weakest goalkeepers in Turkey. However FB's defense has obviously been absorbing more and more South American influence as the cynicism with which any GS attack was ended with a foul to break up rhythm was noticeable.
So the second half. It would of course not be an Istanbul derby hosted in Kadikoy without some controversy regarding the referee, have you ever noticed this only happens in Kadikoy though and rarely on the historical and culture rich side of the Bosphorus. There was no foul on Semih, Ugur won the ball but somehow this becomes a free kick from which the ball pinballs its way in to the net. Now contracts that decision with the inexplicable decision to award only a corner when Lugano made no effort to take the ball and simply cleared Nonda's legs from beneath him in the penalty area. One of the clearest penalties you will ever see, unless of course you are the referee when FB are at home to Galatasaray. Contrast that with the penalties FB regularly get when Alex gets breathed on and you will understand all GS fans frustration. Comparing the penalty Ronalda got for Man Utd earlier in the day with the non-penalty here really makes me wonder sometimes about the need for video referring being added.Would it have changed the eventual result, may be not as GS did not deserve to win, not enough chances made, but I guess we will never know.
Deivid should really know better as well, his reaction making it clear that he knew he had head butted a GS player, maybe he was provoked but retaliation will always be more severely punished. The only surprise was that Alex had not been penalized for a similar incident a few minutes earlier when he clearly kicked out at Ugur when he refused to play the ball out just because some FB player was feigning injury on the pitch. The unwritten law has been set aside, as long as the ref does not stop play the players don't have to.
All in all a reasonable performance from the Carling Cup team. IF thats the best FB could do against our second team then I would much rather be in the position Galatasaray are in than FB I have to say.
First half was relatively even except for Songs very generous decision to play Semih onside when all he had to do was step up and it would have been offside, or maybe not as we shall see later. The worrying thing from CimBom's point of view was that they were not creating too many clear cut chances and testing one of the weakest goalkeepers in Turkey. However FB's defense has obviously been absorbing more and more South American influence as the cynicism with which any GS attack was ended with a foul to break up rhythm was noticeable.
So the second half. It would of course not be an Istanbul derby hosted in Kadikoy without some controversy regarding the referee, have you ever noticed this only happens in Kadikoy though and rarely on the historical and culture rich side of the Bosphorus. There was no foul on Semih, Ugur won the ball but somehow this becomes a free kick from which the ball pinballs its way in to the net. Now contracts that decision with the inexplicable decision to award only a corner when Lugano made no effort to take the ball and simply cleared Nonda's legs from beneath him in the penalty area. One of the clearest penalties you will ever see, unless of course you are the referee when FB are at home to Galatasaray. Contrast that with the penalties FB regularly get when Alex gets breathed on and you will understand all GS fans frustration. Comparing the penalty Ronalda got for Man Utd earlier in the day with the non-penalty here really makes me wonder sometimes about the need for video referring being added.Would it have changed the eventual result, may be not as GS did not deserve to win, not enough chances made, but I guess we will never know.
Deivid should really know better as well, his reaction making it clear that he knew he had head butted a GS player, maybe he was provoked but retaliation will always be more severely punished. The only surprise was that Alex had not been penalized for a similar incident a few minutes earlier when he clearly kicked out at Ugur when he refused to play the ball out just because some FB player was feigning injury on the pitch. The unwritten law has been set aside, as long as the ref does not stop play the players don't have to.
All in all a reasonable performance from the Carling Cup team. IF thats the best FB could do against our second team then I would much rather be in the position Galatasaray are in than FB I have to say.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Anticipation
Big weekend coming up with the derby match over in Asia against some team called FB. Its also the Basketball derby as well where the caffeine addicts take on the biscuit boys of kadikoy.....
So it could well be a bad weekend for me or a good one. I have to say though that I am not optimistic. The last few seasons apart from the Turkish Cup triumph in 2005 at 5-1 we have struggled to beat the blue collar team from the poorer side of the water.....as was said about those who settled in what was chalcedon.... why???????? when you have the golden horn to live near??
SO is this me getting my excuses in early, hell yes but also being realistic. Normally these games are hyped up and the match itself is not that good, remember when CimBom had four player sent off a couple of seasons ago??? Mind you I also remember last year when Mondragon was deafened and blinded by a flare thrown by a so-called supporter and then in the return match the players were weaving between seats etc....
I am sure Firat Aydinus will have things under control,can we not put in a last request for Rob Styles though....Alex would definitely be red carded in that case...
UEFA cup results did not go our way. We could win the last match and still not qualify, losing at home was not a good idea.....however the Husband was born in Bolton and his Mum still lives theer so he is feeling happy but worried tonight. Fancy that they beat Red Star in Belgrade with their B team, the first English Club to do that and now the destiny is out of their hands despite not losing a game and even drawing with FC Hollywood.
Heres hoping.......
So it could well be a bad weekend for me or a good one. I have to say though that I am not optimistic. The last few seasons apart from the Turkish Cup triumph in 2005 at 5-1 we have struggled to beat the blue collar team from the poorer side of the water.....as was said about those who settled in what was chalcedon.... why???????? when you have the golden horn to live near??
SO is this me getting my excuses in early, hell yes but also being realistic. Normally these games are hyped up and the match itself is not that good, remember when CimBom had four player sent off a couple of seasons ago??? Mind you I also remember last year when Mondragon was deafened and blinded by a flare thrown by a so-called supporter and then in the return match the players were weaving between seats etc....
I am sure Firat Aydinus will have things under control,can we not put in a last request for Rob Styles though....Alex would definitely be red carded in that case...
UEFA cup results did not go our way. We could win the last match and still not qualify, losing at home was not a good idea.....however the Husband was born in Bolton and his Mum still lives theer so he is feeling happy but worried tonight. Fancy that they beat Red Star in Belgrade with their B team, the first English Club to do that and now the destiny is out of their hands despite not losing a game and even drawing with FC Hollywood.
Heres hoping.......
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Good and bad
So this week has seen the good and the bad side of CimBom.
The good side was the 3-0 win over Panionis which means we still have a chance of qualifying for the next round of the UEFA cup.
The bad was the first half performance today against the Municipality team. Horrible does not even come close.
Slightly better was the second half performance and at least we managed a point with Umit as he has done very often scoring right at the death. I have to say that if this was last season we would have lost tis match and it seems like GS have the determination back again. Also good was Hasan's red card as this means he will miss the FB match next weekend and as he a shadow of the player he used to be that is a good thing, he has become a liability, always walking the line to a red card.
Looks like Turkey may wit a bit of luck have three teams in the next stages of the European competitions. With the changes to the qualification criteria this is probably a good thing as the Lig will get more points.
Well with Sivas losing this keeps GS top but now only 4 points to the Kadikoy mob and its the big derby next weekend in Kadikoy. With Galatasaray's recent history against FB I am not overly optimistic I have to say but football is a funny game, look at Bolton's game against Liverpool today, Liverpool won 4-0 thanks to an offside goal, a very generous penalty one good goal and one lucky one, if Anelka had not missed an open goal at 1-0 then the result may have been very different.
Game of two halves thats what football is......
The good side was the 3-0 win over Panionis which means we still have a chance of qualifying for the next round of the UEFA cup.
The bad was the first half performance today against the Municipality team. Horrible does not even come close.
Slightly better was the second half performance and at least we managed a point with Umit as he has done very often scoring right at the death. I have to say that if this was last season we would have lost tis match and it seems like GS have the determination back again. Also good was Hasan's red card as this means he will miss the FB match next weekend and as he a shadow of the player he used to be that is a good thing, he has become a liability, always walking the line to a red card.
Looks like Turkey may wit a bit of luck have three teams in the next stages of the European competitions. With the changes to the qualification criteria this is probably a good thing as the Lig will get more points.
Well with Sivas losing this keeps GS top but now only 4 points to the Kadikoy mob and its the big derby next weekend in Kadikoy. With Galatasaray's recent history against FB I am not overly optimistic I have to say but football is a funny game, look at Bolton's game against Liverpool today, Liverpool won 4-0 thanks to an offside goal, a very generous penalty one good goal and one lucky one, if Anelka had not missed an open goal at 1-0 then the result may have been very different.
Game of two halves thats what football is......
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Road win
Excellent result today up on the Black Sea for Galatasaray.
A 1-0 win away in Trabzon is nothing to be ashamed of especially after the indifferent form of late. This puts us back on top level on points with Sivas but with a better average making us top. Following are the other Istanbul team on 25 points with Sekiztash on 24. I have to say that six points is a useful gap at this stage of the season although things can change very suddenly in this League.
Galatasaray played reasonably well and made lots of chances during the game. The only surprise was that the only goal was scored so late in the match by Serkan Celik. I think the shot was helped by a slight deflection but who cares, it was a goal and three points. Last season CimBom would probably have drawn or last that game so its good to see that there is more steel in the backbone of the team. Feldkamp seems to have got them more determined not to lose, which is a good start and all this with some modest additions to the squad. One of the stand out players has been Baris who came from Germany for a small fee and was unknown really.
Bit of a tough draw for the World Cup qualifying, Spain Belgium, Bosnia, Estonia and Armenia. Should be between Spain and Turkey I would hope although Belgium may cause some problems. Also makes me wonder how the Turkish team will get on in Armenia? Only one team qualifies directly with the best placed second teams in a play off for the European teams.
Good result on Wednesday saw Turkey through to the Euro 2008 finals. Guess Fatih Terim feels justified now. I still think he should be replaced before the finals because at the very least he will embarrass us in form of the media with his arrogant attitude. Also not sure he is the best coach for such a tournament as it is completely different to qualifying. We also need a better coach for the World Cup qualifying. Still at least we are in Euro 2008 unlike England, the Husband was not a happy man this week......
A 1-0 win away in Trabzon is nothing to be ashamed of especially after the indifferent form of late. This puts us back on top level on points with Sivas but with a better average making us top. Following are the other Istanbul team on 25 points with Sekiztash on 24. I have to say that six points is a useful gap at this stage of the season although things can change very suddenly in this League.
Galatasaray played reasonably well and made lots of chances during the game. The only surprise was that the only goal was scored so late in the match by Serkan Celik. I think the shot was helped by a slight deflection but who cares, it was a goal and three points. Last season CimBom would probably have drawn or last that game so its good to see that there is more steel in the backbone of the team. Feldkamp seems to have got them more determined not to lose, which is a good start and all this with some modest additions to the squad. One of the stand out players has been Baris who came from Germany for a small fee and was unknown really.
Bit of a tough draw for the World Cup qualifying, Spain Belgium, Bosnia, Estonia and Armenia. Should be between Spain and Turkey I would hope although Belgium may cause some problems. Also makes me wonder how the Turkish team will get on in Armenia? Only one team qualifies directly with the best placed second teams in a play off for the European teams.
Good result on Wednesday saw Turkey through to the Euro 2008 finals. Guess Fatih Terim feels justified now. I still think he should be replaced before the finals because at the very least he will embarrass us in form of the media with his arrogant attitude. Also not sure he is the best coach for such a tournament as it is completely different to qualifying. We also need a better coach for the World Cup qualifying. Still at least we are in Euro 2008 unlike England, the Husband was not a happy man this week......
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Northern Lights
Better late than never I guess.
With the Husband traveling and Zeynep teething getting to the computer has been problematic to say the least.
So the Imperator decides he has nothing to say to those who have criticized him. What a moron. I am so glad that GS got rid of that guy when they did. The team he picked, no better than the one that lost in Istanbul to Greece but maybe they realized their reputations were on the line and performed. Still not sure why Yusuf was picked but what the hell.
So tomorrow is the big day for both Turkey and Ingerlland. Its Thanksgiving evening here in the US so lets hope that the Turkey is not stuffed and that Croats learn the lessons of history and do not mess with another Empire!!!!
Oh and Nathan, I got the mail, thanks and good luck with the new venture, hope your fellow Kadikoyistas appreciate what you are doing..
With the Husband traveling and Zeynep teething getting to the computer has been problematic to say the least.
So the Imperator decides he has nothing to say to those who have criticized him. What a moron. I am so glad that GS got rid of that guy when they did. The team he picked, no better than the one that lost in Istanbul to Greece but maybe they realized their reputations were on the line and performed. Still not sure why Yusuf was picked but what the hell.
So tomorrow is the big day for both Turkey and Ingerlland. Its Thanksgiving evening here in the US so lets hope that the Turkey is not stuffed and that Croats learn the lessons of history and do not mess with another Empire!!!!
Oh and Nathan, I got the mail, thanks and good luck with the new venture, hope your fellow Kadikoyistas appreciate what you are doing..
Monday, November 12, 2007
Household tips
After a recent comment from some juvenile over at Fenerbahce Worldwide which is in my opinion the best of the English Language Turkish football blogs in terms of posting, layout, coverage, seriousness etc. the only pity is the content but hey not everything can be perfect. Lets face it worthy as Oz Kanak and his mates are Nathan is in a league of his own...I was advised to stick to things that we of the fairer sex are good at, you know cooking, sewing making babies etc.
Firstly here are my tips for dinner:
Eagles in a stew: First take 11 black eagles and place them in a garden near the sea. Add some canaries and 3 headless chickens for flavoring. Bring to a boil and just before serving remove the canaries and the chickens leaving the Eagles to stew in their own juices for a week or two. Can also be served with 8 portions of lob scouse for added piquancy.
Canary pie: Similar to humble pie but served with a large slice of cold comfort and pastirma on the side. Mix all the ingredients, throw the mixture to a floured surface and pat with your hand. Place in oven and when you see red you know its all over and time to reach for the indigestion tablets.
Pickled herrings: Should be served pickled and raw and washed down with akavit. For added flavour you could mix in lob scouse, a splash or two of bordeaux and some dutch cheese. Choke.
Second city pies: Add all the ingredients to a large dish, mix well place in oven and burn to a crisp. Serve cold and tasteless.
So tune in next week for more household tips,
Firstly here are my tips for dinner:
Eagles in a stew: First take 11 black eagles and place them in a garden near the sea. Add some canaries and 3 headless chickens for flavoring. Bring to a boil and just before serving remove the canaries and the chickens leaving the Eagles to stew in their own juices for a week or two. Can also be served with 8 portions of lob scouse for added piquancy.
Canary pie: Similar to humble pie but served with a large slice of cold comfort and pastirma on the side. Mix all the ingredients, throw the mixture to a floured surface and pat with your hand. Place in oven and when you see red you know its all over and time to reach for the indigestion tablets.
Pickled herrings: Should be served pickled and raw and washed down with akavit. For added flavour you could mix in lob scouse, a splash or two of bordeaux and some dutch cheese. Choke.
Second city pies: Add all the ingredients to a large dish, mix well place in oven and burn to a crisp. Serve cold and tasteless.
So tune in next week for more household tips,
Sunday, November 11, 2007
My oh my...
Now according to various FB supporters, "we woz robbed" against Kayseri, bad referee calls etc. etc.
What a difference a week makes....last weekend the advice from the same people to Besiktas supporters was be a man, take it on the chin, these things even out over a season........obviously they forgot their own advice as its now the ref was biased, he made wrong calls etc. etc..
The red card for Edu was not a problem. At normal speed it looked like handball so off he went....the Kayseri goal was a bit weird but hey these things even themselves out...
What a difference a week makes....last weekend the advice from the same people to Besiktas supporters was be a man, take it on the chin, these things even out over a season........obviously they forgot their own advice as its now the ref was biased, he made wrong calls etc. etc..
The red card for Edu was not a problem. At normal speed it looked like handball so off he went....the Kayseri goal was a bit weird but hey these things even themselves out...
A good day at the office
Although Genclirbirligi could not be described as top class opposition at the moment this was still a good test for Galatasaray although in reality the result could never be in doubt.
ComBom were in a charitable mood though and decided that to make this into some form of competetive match that they should handicap themselves by giving Genc a one goal start. A horrible deflection giving Genc some promise, but gthis was not to last too long. Having looked somewhat lacklustre in the last few matches this was GS back at their best and chasing second city players all over the pitch, harldy letting them out of their own half and making sure they never had any comfortable time on the ball. And so the match rolled on and as was to be expected Galatasaray levelled and hen stretched out to a 2-1 win by half time with goals from Mehmet Topal and Serkan. More of the same was on offer in the second half with Lincoln adding the third goal before GS warmed down for the rest of the match. This did allow a fishy ending with Tuna scoring in the 93rd minute but really it was over long before then as a contest.
This result puts CimBom back on top on goal difference from Sivas who beat Sekiztas in Istanbul today. I have a feeling that Genc are in for a long hard winter....
ComBom were in a charitable mood though and decided that to make this into some form of competetive match that they should handicap themselves by giving Genc a one goal start. A horrible deflection giving Genc some promise, but gthis was not to last too long. Having looked somewhat lacklustre in the last few matches this was GS back at their best and chasing second city players all over the pitch, harldy letting them out of their own half and making sure they never had any comfortable time on the ball. And so the match rolled on and as was to be expected Galatasaray levelled and hen stretched out to a 2-1 win by half time with goals from Mehmet Topal and Serkan. More of the same was on offer in the second half with Lincoln adding the third goal before GS warmed down for the rest of the match. This did allow a fishy ending with Tuna scoring in the 93rd minute but really it was over long before then as a contest.
This result puts CimBom back on top on goal difference from Sivas who beat Sekiztas in Istanbul today. I have a feeling that Genc are in for a long hard winter....
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Pickled.......
One of the delicacies in Sweden is pickled herring, raw fish in vinegar....this leaves a sour tase in your mouth which has to be washed away with akavit or snaps.......rather like the result of this evenings match between Galatasaray and Helsingborg which ended 2-3.
CimBom started the season like a train winning all the matches and generally destroying teams but recent results have not been so good although that has coincided with an upswing in the Kadikoy mobs performance (are they related?????). However the last few matches have been poor, drawing and losing with only one win and now a loss at home to a small town Swedish team. I have a feeling that the team underestimated the opposition. However given that one Henrik Larsson plays for them and is the top scorer in the UEFA cup that was a mistake and makes it even worse.
If this slide continues I think we may have a new coach in January despite such a good start. I must say that the constant changing of the team is not helping and neither is Lincolns drop in form. Hakan and Umit have also stopped scoring and we are relying on Nonda too much.....come on guys get a grip or we will be finishing second again, or worse.....
For those of you who are wondering Helsingborg is a small town in Sweden that is opposite Helsingor or Elsinore in Denmark, which is where Hamlet was from and it would fit in Levent.....how emabarrasing to lose to such a team, almost as bad as Besiktas.....
CimBom started the season like a train winning all the matches and generally destroying teams but recent results have not been so good although that has coincided with an upswing in the Kadikoy mobs performance (are they related?????). However the last few matches have been poor, drawing and losing with only one win and now a loss at home to a small town Swedish team. I have a feeling that the team underestimated the opposition. However given that one Henrik Larsson plays for them and is the top scorer in the UEFA cup that was a mistake and makes it even worse.
If this slide continues I think we may have a new coach in January despite such a good start. I must say that the constant changing of the team is not helping and neither is Lincolns drop in form. Hakan and Umit have also stopped scoring and we are relying on Nonda too much.....come on guys get a grip or we will be finishing second again, or worse.....
For those of you who are wondering Helsingborg is a small town in Sweden that is opposite Helsingor or Elsinore in Denmark, which is where Hamlet was from and it would fit in Levent.....how emabarrasing to lose to such a team, almost as bad as Besiktas.....
Sunday, November 04, 2007
One wheel off the wagon
Not a very good result today especially in view of events elsewhere.
A 1-1 draw away with Gaziantep is, on the face of it an okay result and keeps us top of the League but this was hard going. The free flowing football of early in the season seems to have gone and we are having problems scoring goals like last season. The constant rotation of players does not help either although I know there are a lot of injuries but a bit more stability may help the team.
Looks like the TFF and the referees are already conspiring to make life difficult for teams who dont play in blue and yellow, witness the decision at the end of yesterdays Besiktas game. Still Galatasaray will simply plug on and try to win the League by fair means.
I hope Feldkamp gets the team sorted out as its the UEFA Cup very soon.
A 1-1 draw away with Gaziantep is, on the face of it an okay result and keeps us top of the League but this was hard going. The free flowing football of early in the season seems to have gone and we are having problems scoring goals like last season. The constant rotation of players does not help either although I know there are a lot of injuries but a bit more stability may help the team.
Looks like the TFF and the referees are already conspiring to make life difficult for teams who dont play in blue and yellow, witness the decision at the end of yesterdays Besiktas game. Still Galatasaray will simply plug on and try to win the League by fair means.
I hope Feldkamp gets the team sorted out as its the UEFA Cup very soon.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Denizli 1-2 Galatasaray
So back to winning ways after 2 draws and a loss in Europe. Took some help from what I can only say was a completely incompetent referee today who was at least consistently incompetent.
Two penalties awarded in the game which were both dodgy although I think the push on Umit Karan at least happened before the ball arrived unlike the Denizli penalty when the player had already headed the ball and there was a coming together. Still both penalties were well taken.
I would say that a GS win was deserved with 30 shots compared to 7.
Bit of a strange team out today though, no Ayhan, Lincoln, Hakan Sukur, Sabri who were all injured and no Linderoth who appeared to be missing but I am not sure why.
Anyway a win is a win and that puts us back top of the league with Sivas losing and Besiktas only drawing.
So lets hope the winning habit is back again
Two penalties awarded in the game which were both dodgy although I think the push on Umit Karan at least happened before the ball arrived unlike the Denizli penalty when the player had already headed the ball and there was a coming together. Still both penalties were well taken.
I would say that a GS win was deserved with 30 shots compared to 7.
Bit of a strange team out today though, no Ayhan, Lincoln, Hakan Sukur, Sabri who were all injured and no Linderoth who appeared to be missing but I am not sure why.
Anyway a win is a win and that puts us back top of the league with Sivas losing and Besiktas only drawing.
So lets hope the winning habit is back again
Friday, October 26, 2007
What is going on
So after Besiktas showed the way CimBom returned to the form of last season with a 2-1 away loss at Bordeaux. When I say last season I mean where we got a lead and then failed to build on it as has happened in the last three games as we have not won any of them.
It was worrying that despite making chances and even taking the lead that we failed to close the game out. Most of the team played okay but they are going to have to raise the level again soon and start taking charge of teams again. We were once again on the wrong end of referees inconsistent decisions with no yellow cards issued despite a panalty award. Arda spent most of the game on the grass and we did not really get the decisions. Having said that I think that part of the problem is that when Turkish teams get in Europe and especially the big 4 that they are very bad at referee managament. This is probably because back in urkey they are so used to getting the decisions without asking but in Europe its "Who are you??? from the referee. I guess the TFF needs to start by making sure the same rules are applied to all teams rather than the benefit always going to the big 4. So thats an impossible dream then.
So what is going on in Turkish football, coaches being sacked when players object to being disciplined, probably because the players are Turkish and the coach foreign? Why do we have this persecution attitude, why can we not learn and why can we not take criticism. When a coach accuses players of being lazy, Ankaragucu, and the chairman sacks the coach then one can only assume that the nasty spectres of racism, xenophobia and "This is Turkey, you dont understand" comes into play.
The other issue it raises is that so many owners and charmaen seem to think they know better than the coach they hire. Maybe you are a successful businessman but thaht does not mean you know anything about football, look what happened at Chavski. Chairmen should supply the money, pay the players, provide eye candy as escorts and otherwise keep the hell out of things they absolutely know nothing about......look at the EPL, the successfull clubs have chairmen who keep out of football issues....Man U, Arsenal, L'pool etc,
Anyway time to go and feed Zeynep.
It was worrying that despite making chances and even taking the lead that we failed to close the game out. Most of the team played okay but they are going to have to raise the level again soon and start taking charge of teams again. We were once again on the wrong end of referees inconsistent decisions with no yellow cards issued despite a panalty award. Arda spent most of the game on the grass and we did not really get the decisions. Having said that I think that part of the problem is that when Turkish teams get in Europe and especially the big 4 that they are very bad at referee managament. This is probably because back in urkey they are so used to getting the decisions without asking but in Europe its "Who are you??? from the referee. I guess the TFF needs to start by making sure the same rules are applied to all teams rather than the benefit always going to the big 4. So thats an impossible dream then.
So what is going on in Turkish football, coaches being sacked when players object to being disciplined, probably because the players are Turkish and the coach foreign? Why do we have this persecution attitude, why can we not learn and why can we not take criticism. When a coach accuses players of being lazy, Ankaragucu, and the chairman sacks the coach then one can only assume that the nasty spectres of racism, xenophobia and "This is Turkey, you dont understand" comes into play.
The other issue it raises is that so many owners and charmaen seem to think they know better than the coach they hire. Maybe you are a successful businessman but thaht does not mean you know anything about football, look what happened at Chavski. Chairmen should supply the money, pay the players, provide eye candy as escorts and otherwise keep the hell out of things they absolutely know nothing about......look at the EPL, the successfull clubs have chairmen who keep out of football issues....Man U, Arsenal, L'pool etc,
Anyway time to go and feed Zeynep.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Soulless and goalless
Husband here today, Gulay is busy with motherhood things....
Today's snorefest was the last home game to be played without crowd I think. I hope so because it kills the event. Mind you I think it would have taken direct application of electricity to the reproductive areas to enliven this match. What an awful performance against a team who are bottom of the league and have yet to win a game. SO thats two draws on the run, away at Kayseri was acceptable at home to Ankaraspor definitely not.
So if Sivas win tomorrow and just why on earth games are being played in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday then they will go top. Should only be temporary but more importantly the Kadikoy mob have obviously got their referee reimbursement scheme up and running again to make sure that they don't get too far behind. Still the gap is 6 points which is still healthy but shrinking.
The first UEFA Cup match is also this week so that was not a particularly good start to the week. CimBom never looked like scoring today.
Today's snorefest was the last home game to be played without crowd I think. I hope so because it kills the event. Mind you I think it would have taken direct application of electricity to the reproductive areas to enliven this match. What an awful performance against a team who are bottom of the league and have yet to win a game. SO thats two draws on the run, away at Kayseri was acceptable at home to Ankaraspor definitely not.
So if Sivas win tomorrow and just why on earth games are being played in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday then they will go top. Should only be temporary but more importantly the Kadikoy mob have obviously got their referee reimbursement scheme up and running again to make sure that they don't get too far behind. Still the gap is 6 points which is still healthy but shrinking.
The first UEFA Cup match is also this week so that was not a particularly good start to the week. CimBom never looked like scoring today.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Just go...........
You know who I mean.
Embarrasing, awful performance in Istanbul. Why was Arda on the bench, why was the bookies mate playing, why is Gokhan Unal in the Turkey team.....just go, just go please and do us all a favor
Embarrasing, awful performance in Istanbul. Why was Arda on the bench, why was the bookies mate playing, why is Gokhan Unal in the Turkey team.....just go, just go please and do us all a favor
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Yeeeeessssssss!!!!!!!
I what I felt after the match.......I am talking about the English victory over the French in Paris in the Rugby World Cup fo course not the garbage that was served upin Moldova. That feeling was more like...bblllllaaaarrrgggghhhhhhh as you vomit in the toilet. What an inept, embarrassing and appalling performance. About the only good thing was that we did not lose and are now 1 point ahead of Norway having played the same games.
But really the performance was awful. Emre seemed to think he was playing blue with the number of passes he made that went straight to Moldovan players, Gokhan Unal was very poor, Servet not much better. Tuncay and Arda were average. Thank goodness for Umit Karan who showed more bravery and determination to score the equalizer than the other forwards showed through the entire game.
If we play like this on Wednesday then we will not be going to Euro 2008. Fatih Terim should watch the tapes of England in the Rugby to see how to have a plan, stick to it, play with passion and win even when playing ugly.......
But really the performance was awful. Emre seemed to think he was playing blue with the number of passes he made that went straight to Moldovan players, Gokhan Unal was very poor, Servet not much better. Tuncay and Arda were average. Thank goodness for Umit Karan who showed more bravery and determination to score the equalizer than the other forwards showed through the entire game.
If we play like this on Wednesday then we will not be going to Euro 2008. Fatih Terim should watch the tapes of England in the Rugby to see how to have a plan, stick to it, play with passion and win even when playing ugly.......
Thursday, October 11, 2007
UEAF and EURO
I have been a bit late in posting recently what with baby duties but I thought I would just ad my thoughts on the UEFA Draw and also the team and our chances for the EURO 2008 qualifiers against Moldova and Greece.
First UEFA Cup.
After disposing of FC Sion in emphatic fashion and celebrating by drawing with Kayseri we had the what I think is good fortune to get the following group for the "group" stages.
Austria Wien, Panionios, Helsinborg and Girodins Bordeaux.
Not too hard but certainly not easy either. I remember a couple of seasons ago when we played Bordeaux in the Chimps League and lost but its a new team now wit a new manager in Laurent Blanc and they are average so far. Helsingborg is of course Henrik LArssons team so he could still be a threat and the others I dont know much about but any match with the Greeks or Austrians should be fruity!! Could be worse we could have got Bayern Munich or similar..role on October 25 and our first game away in France.
As for the Turkish team I just hope we find a way to win. Fatih Terim is definitely losing the plot.
And as for Dida, 2 game ban plus Emmy would seem reasonable...
First UEFA Cup.
After disposing of FC Sion in emphatic fashion and celebrating by drawing with Kayseri we had the what I think is good fortune to get the following group for the "group" stages.
Austria Wien, Panionios, Helsinborg and Girodins Bordeaux.
Not too hard but certainly not easy either. I remember a couple of seasons ago when we played Bordeaux in the Chimps League and lost but its a new team now wit a new manager in Laurent Blanc and they are average so far. Helsingborg is of course Henrik LArssons team so he could still be a threat and the others I dont know much about but any match with the Greeks or Austrians should be fruity!! Could be worse we could have got Bayern Munich or similar..role on October 25 and our first game away in France.
As for the Turkish team I just hope we find a way to win. Fatih Terim is definitely losing the plot.
And as for Dida, 2 game ban plus Emmy would seem reasonable...
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Hangover
In truth not a good performance today but at least we did not lose. A 1-1 away at Kayseri not much to shout about I have to say. Like I say the team seemed a bit flat today, possibly a hangover from the UEFA Cup heroics on Thursday.
Not much to say really. GS are still top thanks to Sivas only drawing at Ankargucu. Bit of a break now for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Lets hope all players get back uninjured and we can pick up the pace in the next game and get back to winning ways.
Not much to say really. GS are still top thanks to Sivas only drawing at Ankargucu. Bit of a break now for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Lets hope all players get back uninjured and we can pick up the pace in the next game and get back to winning ways.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Simple progress
Excellent performance from Galatasaray on Thursday with a 5-1 victory over FC Sion whihc sees us into the next round of the UEFA CUp. This was a chalk and cheese performance coapred to the first leg match. The team were positive and solid and played with imagination and a certain amount of flair. Of course the opposition was not the stringest but they showed in the first game what they could do so it was a good performance.
Umit Karan is playing well this season, I guess with Necati gone he can get an extended run in the team.
Next up is Kayserispor who have had a reasonable start but if we play like the last couple of games there should be another 3 points in the bag.
Umit Karan is playing well this season, I guess with Necati gone he can get an extended run in the team.
Next up is Kayserispor who have had a reasonable start but if we play like the last couple of games there should be another 3 points in the bag.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
The Ultimate Insult
So today was a mixed day.
On the one hand Abdullah Gul stated that Turkey may revisit the Insulting Turkishness Law.
On the other I found out that according to the assholes that currently have been elected to run Turkey that I am a member of a "vulnerable group that requires special protection".
So after all the recent gains in Turkey and at least a vague recognition that women should have equal rights to men that I now find myslef classed as nobetter than a dog or cat and that I am somehow in need of protection. Well Mr Erdogan I have a message for you.
FUCK OFF AND DIE.
And to all the other asshole Turkish muslim macho men who are probably thinking that great, now I can beat the bitch, have affairs, father kids with other women and generally treat her like the piece of shit possesion that my fuckwit Imam and PM says she is gives me immunity from any reprisals.
I tell you this is enough to make me want to renounce my citizenship as I really do not want to be a member of a country that wants to make me legally a second class member of society who a big brave man can protect. I am a human being with equal rights and responsibilities, not a possession. What century do Erdogan and all the crap muslims in the AK party think they are living in, the 7th?
And then whats next?
Divorce according to Sharia Law?
Bans on alcohol?
Mandatory female circumsicoson?
Criminilization of adultery and pre-marital sex?
Where will it end, where will the intolerance, bigotry and islamification end and when will the PM and President be arraigned for abandoning Turkeys secularity.....
On the one hand Abdullah Gul stated that Turkey may revisit the Insulting Turkishness Law.
On the other I found out that according to the assholes that currently have been elected to run Turkey that I am a member of a "vulnerable group that requires special protection".
So after all the recent gains in Turkey and at least a vague recognition that women should have equal rights to men that I now find myslef classed as nobetter than a dog or cat and that I am somehow in need of protection. Well Mr Erdogan I have a message for you.
FUCK OFF AND DIE.
And to all the other asshole Turkish muslim macho men who are probably thinking that great, now I can beat the bitch, have affairs, father kids with other women and generally treat her like the piece of shit possesion that my fuckwit Imam and PM says she is gives me immunity from any reprisals.
I tell you this is enough to make me want to renounce my citizenship as I really do not want to be a member of a country that wants to make me legally a second class member of society who a big brave man can protect. I am a human being with equal rights and responsibilities, not a possession. What century do Erdogan and all the crap muslims in the AK party think they are living in, the 7th?
And then whats next?
Divorce according to Sharia Law?
Bans on alcohol?
Mandatory female circumsicoson?
Criminilization of adultery and pre-marital sex?
Where will it end, where will the intolerance, bigotry and islamification end and when will the PM and President be arraigned for abandoning Turkeys secularity.....
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Train keeps rolling
Another match and another victory for CimBom. A harder fought victory for sure but another three points safely in the bag and the gaps to the pretenders are maintained and grow, 5 to BJK and 7 to the others.
Again tow of the new players showed their worth with Balta and Nonda scoring. All this was achieved without Hakan Sukur and Lincoln even in the squad due to some indiscretions at training during the week.
Whilst Feldkampf might look like your favorite grandfather he obviously has a tough streak as he does not appear afraid to discipline players who most would probably assume would be first on the team sheet.
One more game and we will finally get some supporters back in the ground. Normally I would welcome that as the crowd at Ali Sami Yen can be like a 12th man but at the moment with the home form I am not sure!! The crowd could pout pressure on the players and they may not be as effective or we get the 12th man back and really start putting pressure on the visiting teams. AT least we have an excuse for empty seats whereas after all the shouting the Kadikoy mob have many empty seats despite selling so many season tickets, maybe whats on offer is not so appealing.
I do think though that the TFF have to find an alternative punishment as to have one of the top games played in an empty stadium send a very poor message to the sponsors, fans and tv!
Again tow of the new players showed their worth with Balta and Nonda scoring. All this was achieved without Hakan Sukur and Lincoln even in the squad due to some indiscretions at training during the week.
Whilst Feldkampf might look like your favorite grandfather he obviously has a tough streak as he does not appear afraid to discipline players who most would probably assume would be first on the team sheet.
One more game and we will finally get some supporters back in the ground. Normally I would welcome that as the crowd at Ali Sami Yen can be like a 12th man but at the moment with the home form I am not sure!! The crowd could pout pressure on the players and they may not be as effective or we get the 12th man back and really start putting pressure on the visiting teams. AT least we have an excuse for empty seats whereas after all the shouting the Kadikoy mob have many empty seats despite selling so many season tickets, maybe whats on offer is not so appealing.
I do think though that the TFF have to find an alternative punishment as to have one of the top games played in an empty stadium send a very poor message to the sponsors, fans and tv!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The gap grows
With one of the best goals this season Umit Karan settled Galatsaray's nerves and put the bad taste away after Thursday's match.
On the face of it a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa at the Olympic Stadium is not that impressive but of the penalty had been missed and some of the other chances been converted it would have been a comfortable win rather. However 3 points is three points and the clean sheet also extends out average to +13 and the lead over Sivaspor to 1 point, BJK 2 and the "Future o0f Turkish Soccer" 7 points. Now I am not naive enough to believe that this will be the situation at the end of the season as I am sure that Aziz and his mates will be having a word with the referees and I am fairly sure that Sivas will do a Manisa, although it wold be good if the do not but 7 points so early is a significant gap as is the average.
So next week is the first meaningful Istanbul derby with GS at home in an empty stadium to Besiktas. This should give a good indication of where the Championship will be going this season I think although it will probably be a draw...
Over in the EPL Man Yoo showed Chavski for what they are, overhyped and overpaid hackers. Maybe Obi's sending off was harsh but Joe Cole should have gone for the horrible tackle on Ronaldo and maybe Saha's penalty was soft but the Joe Cole tackle on Evra on the first half was so clearly a penalty that the arrogant one's cannot really have a complaint.
On the face of it a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa at the Olympic Stadium is not that impressive but of the penalty had been missed and some of the other chances been converted it would have been a comfortable win rather. However 3 points is three points and the clean sheet also extends out average to +13 and the lead over Sivaspor to 1 point, BJK 2 and the "Future o0f Turkish Soccer" 7 points. Now I am not naive enough to believe that this will be the situation at the end of the season as I am sure that Aziz and his mates will be having a word with the referees and I am fairly sure that Sivas will do a Manisa, although it wold be good if the do not but 7 points so early is a significant gap as is the average.
So next week is the first meaningful Istanbul derby with GS at home in an empty stadium to Besiktas. This should give a good indication of where the Championship will be going this season I think although it will probably be a draw...
Over in the EPL Man Yoo showed Chavski for what they are, overhyped and overpaid hackers. Maybe Obi's sending off was harsh but Joe Cole should have gone for the horrible tackle on Ronaldo and maybe Saha's penalty was soft but the Joe Cole tackle on Evra on the first half was so clearly a penalty that the arrogant one's cannot really have a complaint.
Friday, September 21, 2007
False dawn
Bloody awful performance on Thursday night. To lose away from home is not too big a disgrace in Europe but to lose to FC Sion in Sitzerland is poor, very poor. At least we got two away goals which gives us some hope for the second leg but really.........
Obvious case of not being prepared and underestimating the opposition.
Anyway back to SuperLig on Sunday and a newIstanbul derby to play against Kasimpasa out at the Olympic stadium. This should be like a home game as I am guessing that there will be a few CimBom supporters there for the game. Lets hope the team forgets about Thursday and gets on with the business.
As you can guess I can hardly get a sensible word out of the Husband this week as his team play a Mourinho less Chavski on Sunday......could be bad could be good, lets see.
Obvious case of not being prepared and underestimating the opposition.
Anyway back to SuperLig on Sunday and a newIstanbul derby to play against Kasimpasa out at the Olympic stadium. This should be like a home game as I am guessing that there will be a few CimBom supporters there for the game. Lets hope the team forgets about Thursday and gets on with the business.
As you can guess I can hardly get a sensible word out of the Husband this week as his team play a Mourinho less Chavski on Sunday......could be bad could be good, lets see.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Dog the bounty hunter
I will digress from football for a moment.
I am sure that most of you have read the story about some modern age enlightened Imam has set a bounty on the head of a Swedish Cartoonist for some rather insulting cartoons. I am not going to get into the whole debate about free speech and respect for other people that was discussed at length when the Danes published their cartoons.
What I do want to say and I guess I need to be careful or some bigot surfing the net thanks to technology, capital, research and development all provided from the infidel nations of the west will probably take offence and decide to come looking for me.
I undertsnad people being upset, and I understand people taking revenge in certain ways but does this kind of action help? Why do people think that others draw such cartoons or have such ideas and pictures in their heads regarding Islam. I would like to believe that the majority of educated people around the world of whatever religion or ethnicity probably consider the cartoons a step too far as is setting a bounty and inciting murder in the name of religion.
Naive? maybe.
What is truly scary to me though is the increasing intolerance of other viewpoints. With increased access to information via the internet it seems that a large number of people simply use it to peddle their own brand of bigotry. This narrow nationalism and desire to be a Croat, Welsh, Turk and rule your own country or vegetable patch etc. is a recent phenomenon and goes against 2000 years of European history. Its a shame that the polyglot, multi ethnic society that lived around the Mediterranean for 2 to 3000 years (no doubt some helenophile will try to prove this was Greek) has been swept away in wars and self determination.
For what? So that some Imam in Iraq can condemn a man to death in Sweden? Is that progress.
I am sure that most of you have read the story about some modern age enlightened Imam has set a bounty on the head of a Swedish Cartoonist for some rather insulting cartoons. I am not going to get into the whole debate about free speech and respect for other people that was discussed at length when the Danes published their cartoons.
What I do want to say and I guess I need to be careful or some bigot surfing the net thanks to technology, capital, research and development all provided from the infidel nations of the west will probably take offence and decide to come looking for me.
I undertsnad people being upset, and I understand people taking revenge in certain ways but does this kind of action help? Why do people think that others draw such cartoons or have such ideas and pictures in their heads regarding Islam. I would like to believe that the majority of educated people around the world of whatever religion or ethnicity probably consider the cartoons a step too far as is setting a bounty and inciting murder in the name of religion.
Naive? maybe.
What is truly scary to me though is the increasing intolerance of other viewpoints. With increased access to information via the internet it seems that a large number of people simply use it to peddle their own brand of bigotry. This narrow nationalism and desire to be a Croat, Welsh, Turk and rule your own country or vegetable patch etc. is a recent phenomenon and goes against 2000 years of European history. Its a shame that the polyglot, multi ethnic society that lived around the Mediterranean for 2 to 3000 years (no doubt some helenophile will try to prove this was Greek) has been swept away in wars and self determination.
For what? So that some Imam in Iraq can condemn a man to death in Sweden? Is that progress.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Top of the league
After the dissapointment of last weeks draw it was good to see Galatasaray get back in the groove with a comprehensive thrashing of Konyaspor. Granted it became easier after the Konya player was sent off but it was good to see a clinical closing of the game after that. Often a team with 10 men will play better so it was good to see a more ruthless CimBom than we have seen the last couple of seasons.
Galatasaray 6 - 0 Konyaspor.
It is also good to see that the new players are fitting in well. It was also good to see Carusca back in action and having a good game as well. Nonda looks like a good buy as well with 2 goals on his debut and Hakan Balta also seemed to fit in well even if it was ony for 10 minutes. The most impressive player for me though was Baris a virtual unknown at the start of the season but a very good find, young, hungry and cheap. Whether this form will last the whole season is a question but as long as it last then good.
This was a slightly reshaped team than recently with more foreign starters but that's also good as it shows that the squad is well balanced and not reliant on any particular player.
Orkun, Uğur Uçar, Song, Servet, Volkan Yaman, Barış Özbek, Linderoth, Carrusca, Lincoln, Hakan Şükür, Nonda
Subs:
Aykut, Ismael Bouzid, Hakan Balta, Okan Buruk, Ayhan, Hasan Şaş, Ümit Karan
Difficult to really say who was the best player as all the team played well, even Hasan Sas. What is good though is that with the Besiktas and the others drawing this means the points gao is 2 and 5 respectively. I know its early in the season but there is a difference in attitude and performance as well which makes me feel at least optimistic for the rest.
Only 2 more games and then the ridiculous stadium ban is finished and supporteres will be let back in to bring atmosphere back to the matches. Whilst I do not codone what happened at the end of last season is the best way to advertsise Turkish football for people to see 2 of the biggest teasms playing in empty stadiums??
Galatasaray 6 - 0 Konyaspor.
It is also good to see that the new players are fitting in well. It was also good to see Carusca back in action and having a good game as well. Nonda looks like a good buy as well with 2 goals on his debut and Hakan Balta also seemed to fit in well even if it was ony for 10 minutes. The most impressive player for me though was Baris a virtual unknown at the start of the season but a very good find, young, hungry and cheap. Whether this form will last the whole season is a question but as long as it last then good.
This was a slightly reshaped team than recently with more foreign starters but that's also good as it shows that the squad is well balanced and not reliant on any particular player.
Orkun, Uğur Uçar, Song, Servet, Volkan Yaman, Barış Özbek, Linderoth, Carrusca, Lincoln, Hakan Şükür, Nonda
Subs:
Aykut, Ismael Bouzid, Hakan Balta, Okan Buruk, Ayhan, Hasan Şaş, Ümit Karan
Difficult to really say who was the best player as all the team played well, even Hasan Sas. What is good though is that with the Besiktas and the others drawing this means the points gao is 2 and 5 respectively. I know its early in the season but there is a difference in attitude and performance as well which makes me feel at least optimistic for the rest.
Only 2 more games and then the ridiculous stadium ban is finished and supporteres will be let back in to bring atmosphere back to the matches. Whilst I do not codone what happened at the end of last season is the best way to advertsise Turkish football for people to see 2 of the biggest teasms playing in empty stadiums??
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Probably ok
So 4 points from 6. Not too bad and with the other results puts Turkey third in the group level on points with Norway but with a game in hand.
Whilst 4 points form 6 with an away game an a home game would normally be okay in this case it is not given that the away game was Malta. When was the last time they got a result against a team of the same standard as Turkey. O me it shows that with Terim we will not won anything as he cannot get the team motivated to face one of the weaker teams in Europe.
As for the Hungary game the 3-0 scoreline was perhaps generous but as far as I am concerned a dove is a yellow card and anyone who has watched the EPL this season should expect cards for players who simulate (cheat) so I have no sympathy whatsoever for Gera.
Back to the real business this weekend, Sumday and Galatasaray take on Konyaspor in an empty stadium.....should be a comfortable 3 points I think but lets see....
Whilst 4 points form 6 with an away game an a home game would normally be okay in this case it is not given that the away game was Malta. When was the last time they got a result against a team of the same standard as Turkey. O me it shows that with Terim we will not won anything as he cannot get the team motivated to face one of the weaker teams in Europe.
As for the Hungary game the 3-0 scoreline was perhaps generous but as far as I am concerned a dove is a yellow card and anyone who has watched the EPL this season should expect cards for players who simulate (cheat) so I have no sympathy whatsoever for Gera.
Back to the real business this weekend, Sumday and Galatasaray take on Konyaspor in an empty stadium.....should be a comfortable 3 points I think but lets see....
Saturday, September 08, 2007
National Pride
Well the Husband is having a good weekend already. With Argentina beating the French in the Rugby World Cup last night. Apparantely this was not supposed to happen but as an Ingallishman any loss the French suffer is particularly sweet for him.
Back to the round ball. This weekend sees the Euro 2008 Qualification action crank up again and whilst England take on Israel the real action will be in Valetta where Turkey takes on Malta. Did you know that the Island of Malta recieved the George Cross from the Brits after WWII for heroic defence against the Germans. Lets just hope they are not in the same mood tonight.
Fatih Terim has picked a few players though like Emre who are hardly playing or their club sides at the moment so I really hope he gets the formation correct or we could be embarrased again. Still all in all its a good squad but as I say he has to get the right team blend. Three points are a must for today and from the Hungary game. Fortutaley that game is in Turkey unfortunately its at the Olynmoic stadium so our big advantage the crowd has been neutralized. I really do wonder what planet the TFF are from. The game should be in Kadikoy, if Ali Sami Yen is out of order (probably for UEFA games) with 55,000 next to the pitch and a cauldron of noise rather than in the empty echoing wastes of the Olympic stadium.
Oh well, here's hoping
Back to the round ball. This weekend sees the Euro 2008 Qualification action crank up again and whilst England take on Israel the real action will be in Valetta where Turkey takes on Malta. Did you know that the Island of Malta recieved the George Cross from the Brits after WWII for heroic defence against the Germans. Lets just hope they are not in the same mood tonight.
Fatih Terim has picked a few players though like Emre who are hardly playing or their club sides at the moment so I really hope he gets the formation correct or we could be embarrased again. Still all in all its a good squad but as I say he has to get the right team blend. Three points are a must for today and from the Hungary game. Fortutaley that game is in Turkey unfortunately its at the Olynmoic stadium so our big advantage the crowd has been neutralized. I really do wonder what planet the TFF are from. The game should be in Kadikoy, if Ali Sami Yen is out of order (probably for UEFA games) with 55,000 next to the pitch and a cauldron of noise rather than in the empty echoing wastes of the Olympic stadium.
Oh well, here's hoping
Monday, September 03, 2007
Not quite good enough
With the opportunity to get 5 points ahead of the "Future of Turkish Soccer", Galatasaray could only manage a draw against the washing machine men of Manisa. Having said that the Manisa equalizer was a bit fortunate as it got a huge deflection on the way in or Aykut would have saved it. Oh well. Otherwise the team played and well and apart from, some eccentric referring it was a good game with just the wrong result. Although Lincoln and Linderoth and the other established [players did well it is the performance of the younger players that I am more tan happy with. Once again I think Feldkamp is doing a good job by releasing the less hungry ones and bringing in the young players and preparing GS for the future rather than buying 34 year old has beens who appears to want a retirement home!!!
Still top of the league after 4 games and only 2 points lost is not too bad.
Not quite sure where Nonda is going to fit into the team. Having said that with the release of Hasan Kabze and Necati I guess we need a spare striker and he is quite good having played for Roma and Blackburn last season.
In the UEFA Cup our next opponents are FC Sion who we should be able to get past but lets see.
Another good weekend for the second city saw three points from three matches and two of those in a derby match. The only useful result was of course the Oftas result, glad to see there is one team up there who want to afect the outcome of the Super LIg....
Still top of the league after 4 games and only 2 points lost is not too bad.
Not quite sure where Nonda is going to fit into the team. Having said that with the release of Hasan Kabze and Necati I guess we need a spare striker and he is quite good having played for Roma and Blackburn last season.
In the UEFA Cup our next opponents are FC Sion who we should be able to get past but lets see.
Another good weekend for the second city saw three points from three matches and two of those in a derby match. The only useful result was of course the Oftas result, glad to see there is one team up there who want to afect the outcome of the Super LIg....
Thursday, August 30, 2007
As predicted by Gulay
Evening all, Husband here
Finally a game with atmosphere with a relatively full Ali Sami Yen creating the correct atmosphere for playing football.
Relatively easy win with the only low spot being the penalty which gave Slaven a sniff but not much more. After tonights performance I do wonder though how long Arda will remain at the club as he showed the talent he has especially for the first goal.
Kayseri also won so thats 4 teams through, only Trabzon not making it but then who cares about Trabzon.
Besiktas must be licking their lips at the prospect of Liverpool coming to town but I am sure the Istanbul plod are having serious brown trouser mode.
Anyway, better go and gove Gulay a hand with the nipper........bath time
Finally a game with atmosphere with a relatively full Ali Sami Yen creating the correct atmosphere for playing football.
Relatively easy win with the only low spot being the penalty which gave Slaven a sniff but not much more. After tonights performance I do wonder though how long Arda will remain at the club as he showed the talent he has especially for the first goal.
Kayseri also won so thats 4 teams through, only Trabzon not making it but then who cares about Trabzon.
Besiktas must be licking their lips at the prospect of Liverpool coming to town but I am sure the Istanbul plod are having serious brown trouser mode.
Anyway, better go and gove Gulay a hand with the nipper........bath time
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Damn the torpedoes.....
So two Turkish teams in the group stages of the Chimps League and will discover their fate tomorrow.
I was predicting that Besiktas would make it as they had the away goal and were playing not a particularly strong team in FC Zurich but I was far from confident for the Kadikoy mob and was hoping they would get eliminated but it was not too be.
Having said that I am glad we have two teams in the next round and hope Besiktas make it out of the group so we get more UEFA points and more spots next year, but that is the extent of my gladness.
Tomorrow its the "most successful Turkish Team in Europe's" turn to strut their stuff and for once I think there may be a crowd at the stadium although if we are playing at the Olympic stadium they may as well stay at home for the atmosphere that place does not have....with the performance in the last couple of games plus two away goals I am moderately confident but as Sir Alex once famously said " Footbah.....bloody hell!!!"
Sad to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retire, from what I understand a genuinely nice guy and the sort of sub that even of he did not score scared the opposition enough to let somone else score and who can forget Barelona 1999....who put vhe ball in the Germans net........
I was predicting that Besiktas would make it as they had the away goal and were playing not a particularly strong team in FC Zurich but I was far from confident for the Kadikoy mob and was hoping they would get eliminated but it was not too be.
Having said that I am glad we have two teams in the next round and hope Besiktas make it out of the group so we get more UEFA points and more spots next year, but that is the extent of my gladness.
Tomorrow its the "most successful Turkish Team in Europe's" turn to strut their stuff and for once I think there may be a crowd at the stadium although if we are playing at the Olympic stadium they may as well stay at home for the atmosphere that place does not have....with the performance in the last couple of games plus two away goals I am moderately confident but as Sir Alex once famously said " Footbah.....bloody hell!!!"
Sad to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retire, from what I understand a genuinely nice guy and the sort of sub that even of he did not score scared the opposition enough to let somone else score and who can forget Barelona 1999....who put vhe ball in the Germans net........
Sunday, August 26, 2007
3 more points in the bag....
Galatasaray 1-0 Ankaragucu.
So that another three points in the bag depiste playing in fromt of an empty Ali Sami Yen, well almost empty. Fatih Terim and a couple of other self important types had been allowed ion to watch the form team of the Turkish Super Lig.
Super goal from Lincoln on 22 minutes won the game.
1-0 was kind on Ankargucu though, on another night Umit could and should have had a couple instead of being carried off following a pathetic body block by some long haired girly type named Emre.
Here is the team.
Orkun, Uğur, Servet, Song, Volkan, Ayhan, Sabri, Lincoln, Arda, Hakan, Ümit
Similar team to last week with just Lincoln coming back after injury. And again a team with only 2 foreigners in the starting 11. Even the three second half substitutes were Turkish. I tell you the youth set up and some good transfers are starting to produce a good squad of players instead of relying on foreign imports at the end of their careers. Of course this could all change through the season but right now its the story.
Even Man Yoo won today, Lincoln obvioulsy having seen the game as he scored with a similar goal to Nani.
All in all a bad weekend for the second city with none of the teams winning. Looks like it will be a long hard season with no water....
So that another three points in the bag depiste playing in fromt of an empty Ali Sami Yen, well almost empty. Fatih Terim and a couple of other self important types had been allowed ion to watch the form team of the Turkish Super Lig.
Super goal from Lincoln on 22 minutes won the game.
1-0 was kind on Ankargucu though, on another night Umit could and should have had a couple instead of being carried off following a pathetic body block by some long haired girly type named Emre.
Here is the team.
Orkun, Uğur, Servet, Song, Volkan, Ayhan, Sabri, Lincoln, Arda, Hakan, Ümit
Similar team to last week with just Lincoln coming back after injury. And again a team with only 2 foreigners in the starting 11. Even the three second half substitutes were Turkish. I tell you the youth set up and some good transfers are starting to produce a good squad of players instead of relying on foreign imports at the end of their careers. Of course this could all change through the season but right now its the story.
Even Man Yoo won today, Lincoln obvioulsy having seen the game as he scored with a similar goal to Nani.
All in all a bad weekend for the second city with none of the teams winning. Looks like it will be a long hard season with no water....
Ready for an easy evening...
Beer......check
Cigarettes....check
Matchsticks( in case of falling asleep).....check
Three points ....check
Sad Kankas......check....
Must be ready for the match then....
Cigarettes....check
Matchsticks( in case of falling asleep).....check
Three points ....check
Sad Kankas......check....
Must be ready for the match then....
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Played 2 won 2
Thats the second match out of the way and a competent performance brought a 1-0 victory away at Bursa. Injuries and rotation forced Feldkamp to field a team without Linderoth or Lincoln and with only one foreign player, Song in the lineup and one on the bench. I have to say that is encouraging as some of the younger Turkish players performed quite well. So much for the 6+1 rule........Actually the important thing is that despite playing two different line ups both managed to win with arguably the less experienced team turning out at Bursa today. Over the season that could be important but I am fairly sure that Feldkamp knows his strongest 11 and arguably may not yet have played it....
Here is the starting 11
Orkun, Uğur Uçar, Song, Servet, Volkan Yaman, Sabri, Mehmet Güven, Ayhan, Arda, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Karan
And here are the substitutes
Aykut, Okan Buruk, Ferhat, Mehmet Topal, Ismael Bouzid, Barış Özbek, Serkan Çalık
The game was fairly tight with the best chances going to Galatasaray although Bursa could and perhaps should have equalized later in the game after Umit had opened the scoring in the 60th minute. Having said that Hakan reinforced his "Barn Door" tag and Sabri was close to joining him!!!! There was one of the clearest penalties I have never seen awarded when Umit was flattened in the penalty area, I wish Rob Styles had been the referee after his award of penalty to Chavski today for Malouda tripping over air....
Whilst not totally convinced by the team I must say I am pleasantly surprised by the performances so far and at least the tendency to give away soft goals like last season appears to have been stopped at the moment, maybe because Tomas is not playing? 6 points from 6 and no goals against is a satisfactory return and should see GS top the Lig or be there or there abouts depending on the scores from other games later today.
Actually its three wins from three if you include the UEFA cup and 1 goal against.
Here is the starting 11
Orkun, Uğur Uçar, Song, Servet, Volkan Yaman, Sabri, Mehmet Güven, Ayhan, Arda, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Karan
And here are the substitutes
Aykut, Okan Buruk, Ferhat, Mehmet Topal, Ismael Bouzid, Barış Özbek, Serkan Çalık
The game was fairly tight with the best chances going to Galatasaray although Bursa could and perhaps should have equalized later in the game after Umit had opened the scoring in the 60th minute. Having said that Hakan reinforced his "Barn Door" tag and Sabri was close to joining him!!!! There was one of the clearest penalties I have never seen awarded when Umit was flattened in the penalty area, I wish Rob Styles had been the referee after his award of penalty to Chavski today for Malouda tripping over air....
Whilst not totally convinced by the team I must say I am pleasantly surprised by the performances so far and at least the tendency to give away soft goals like last season appears to have been stopped at the moment, maybe because Tomas is not playing? 6 points from 6 and no goals against is a satisfactory return and should see GS top the Lig or be there or there abouts depending on the scores from other games later today.
Actually its three wins from three if you include the UEFA cup and 1 goal against.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Away goal advantage
Here I am again, better late than never although opinions may vary on that....
Galatasaray eased to a 2-1 win, away, over the Croatian team of Slaven Koprivnica. I finally got to see the goals today because LigTV cannot show the UEFA cup games outside of Turkey......Sometimes this team make me want to swear as they do things the hard way, like going 1-0 down after 16 mins to a penalty...Anyway two away goals sets us up nicely. Basically as long as GS do not lose by more than 2 goals they are through and whilst is it is possible its not probable.
I think of all the Turkish Teams in the European competitions, FB is the one most at danger as they will only carry a 1-0 advantage to Belgium. Besiktas and Kayseri both got 1-1 draws away from home so have a precious away goal to bring home. So we could end up with no Turkish teams in the next round which would be a disaster but not surprising really. Turkish football needs a good cup run to get the juices flowing and increase the UEFA points haul so we get direct access to the later rounds and do not have to play qualifying rounds.
Cometh the weekend and GS hop across the Marmara sea to Bursa in what could be an interesting match although after last weekends performance I am expecting a victory but with the injury list already growing and including Linderoth, Lincoln, Arda and Serkan it could be a tougher game than it needs to be. Still another win would be nice.
The Husband is sweating as its the Manchester Derby this weekend and our Setanta box is not working and Fox Soccer Channel are showing the Chavski Scouse game.....could be a retreat to internet radio....
Anyway have to go and sleep, babies are wonderful but tiring.....
Galatasaray eased to a 2-1 win, away, over the Croatian team of Slaven Koprivnica. I finally got to see the goals today because LigTV cannot show the UEFA cup games outside of Turkey......Sometimes this team make me want to swear as they do things the hard way, like going 1-0 down after 16 mins to a penalty...Anyway two away goals sets us up nicely. Basically as long as GS do not lose by more than 2 goals they are through and whilst is it is possible its not probable.
I think of all the Turkish Teams in the European competitions, FB is the one most at danger as they will only carry a 1-0 advantage to Belgium. Besiktas and Kayseri both got 1-1 draws away from home so have a precious away goal to bring home. So we could end up with no Turkish teams in the next round which would be a disaster but not surprising really. Turkish football needs a good cup run to get the juices flowing and increase the UEFA points haul so we get direct access to the later rounds and do not have to play qualifying rounds.
Cometh the weekend and GS hop across the Marmara sea to Bursa in what could be an interesting match although after last weekends performance I am expecting a victory but with the injury list already growing and including Linderoth, Lincoln, Arda and Serkan it could be a tougher game than it needs to be. Still another win would be nice.
The Husband is sweating as its the Manchester Derby this weekend and our Setanta box is not working and Fox Soccer Channel are showing the Chavski Scouse game.....could be a retreat to internet radio....
Anyway have to go and sleep, babies are wonderful but tiring.....
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Not too shabby.....
Welcome back SuperLig.
Welcome back Galatasaray and
Welcome back to winning ways.
All things considered and given the rather woeful form shown in the pre-seaon friendlies today was a good day. Yes the Lions opened up with a 4-0 win over the teamen at the empty and white elephantish Olympic stadium.
I will be the first to state that I missed the game. I watched the Trabzon Sivas bunfight and then our internet connection died!!!!!!! AArgh and I still have not seen the goals as even the official site has still not posted them and neither has Lig TV although the IBB goals are already there.
Here was the team which was expected although Tomas did not even make the bench...
Orkun, Sabri, Song, Servet, Volkan, Barış, Linderoth, Lincoln, Ayhan, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Karan
And the goals were scored by:
14' Lincoln (1-0) 72' Volkan Yaman (2-0) 77' Hakan Şükür (3-0) 84' Hakan Şükür (4-0)
All in all thats a good start, a good goal difference, 3 points in the bag and even better with the success of the other Istanbul (Ayrupa) teams.
Lets hope that it carries through to Thursday and the Uefa Cup match.
I wonder how many matches Trabzon will be paying with an empty stadium.....that was an absolute disgrace.....I mean compared to the FB GS game and at least no one was kicking supporters.......
Welcome back Galatasaray and
Welcome back to winning ways.
All things considered and given the rather woeful form shown in the pre-seaon friendlies today was a good day. Yes the Lions opened up with a 4-0 win over the teamen at the empty and white elephantish Olympic stadium.
I will be the first to state that I missed the game. I watched the Trabzon Sivas bunfight and then our internet connection died!!!!!!! AArgh and I still have not seen the goals as even the official site has still not posted them and neither has Lig TV although the IBB goals are already there.
Here was the team which was expected although Tomas did not even make the bench...
Orkun, Sabri, Song, Servet, Volkan, Barış, Linderoth, Lincoln, Ayhan, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Karan
And the goals were scored by:
14' Lincoln (1-0) 72' Volkan Yaman (2-0) 77' Hakan Şükür (3-0) 84' Hakan Şükür (4-0)
All in all thats a good start, a good goal difference, 3 points in the bag and even better with the success of the other Istanbul (Ayrupa) teams.
Lets hope that it carries through to Thursday and the Uefa Cup match.
I wonder how many matches Trabzon will be paying with an empty stadium.....that was an absolute disgrace.....I mean compared to the FB GS game and at least no one was kicking supporters.......
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
A win at last
So the Lions beat the might of Karsiyaka 1-0 with Barn Door Hakan actually scoring a goal.
So after drawing with Istanbul and Bolu at least it was a won. Lets just hope that performances during the real season are somewhat better.
Man Utd disposed of Chavski in the Community Shield today in a fairly competitive match. It was good to see Fat Frank Lampard have his penalty saved, if ever there is an overrated player that is one.
As for the Turkish Super Cup, I am not bothered who wins as long as it affects both clubs for the rest of the season, not very charitable you might say but I am sure that if GS were playing supporters of the two clubs in question would feel the same.
Roll on next weekend thats all I can say.
So after drawing with Istanbul and Bolu at least it was a won. Lets just hope that performances during the real season are somewhat better.
Man Utd disposed of Chavski in the Community Shield today in a fairly competitive match. It was good to see Fat Frank Lampard have his penalty saved, if ever there is an overrated player that is one.
As for the Turkish Super Cup, I am not bothered who wins as long as it affects both clubs for the rest of the season, not very charitable you might say but I am sure that if GS were playing supporters of the two clubs in question would feel the same.
Roll on next weekend thats all I can say.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Getting closer
So the silly season is almost over.
Transfers have been made, warm up games completed and that tingling feeling in my palms is the prospect of the first game on the 12th August against the teamen of Rize.
What a silly season it has been with some surprise departures, some solid additions and contracts getting under way for the new stadium.
The UEFA Cup draw appears kind with the Lions being drawn against Slaven Koprinicva of Croatia who I am sure will give us a game but that is a fixture I would hope we should come through. Of course Anderlecht have been handed an easy fixture and I for one am not confident of there being two or even with Besiktas poor performance one Turkish Team on the Champions League.
Its even the Charity shield in England tomorrow as well, excellent.
All that remains is to renew my webtv membership for the coming season and we are good to go.
In honor of the new season I have renamed this blog to better reflect the long standing superiority of Galatasaray over all other Turkish Clubs especially in Europe.
Transfers have been made, warm up games completed and that tingling feeling in my palms is the prospect of the first game on the 12th August against the teamen of Rize.
What a silly season it has been with some surprise departures, some solid additions and contracts getting under way for the new stadium.
The UEFA Cup draw appears kind with the Lions being drawn against Slaven Koprinicva of Croatia who I am sure will give us a game but that is a fixture I would hope we should come through. Of course Anderlecht have been handed an easy fixture and I for one am not confident of there being two or even with Besiktas poor performance one Turkish Team on the Champions League.
Its even the Charity shield in England tomorrow as well, excellent.
All that remains is to renew my webtv membership for the coming season and we are good to go.
In honor of the new season I have renamed this blog to better reflect the long standing superiority of Galatasaray over all other Turkish Clubs especially in Europe.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
New Order
Not exactly Blue Monday but what is going on at Galatasaray these days. Seems like the squad is in turmoil only a couple of weeks before the start of the season.
The recent dropping of Necati, Orhan Ak, Cihan and Hasan Kabze is on the face of it rather surprising. I would have thought there were stronger candidates for release such as Emre Asik, Okan Buruk, Hakan Sukur etc. but what do I know. I assume that GS will be looking to sell these players especially as Necati is valued at over 5m Euros and was a consistent player last season. The writing was on the wall for him though when his shirt was given to Lincoln.
Hasan Kabze never quite reached the heights expected of him and Cihan was inconsistent last season but I am surprised Orhan Ak is being released as I felt he was more consistent that Tomas and Song in the defence.
Still recruitment of new players to Turkeys most successful club should not really be a problem so I wait to see who will be brought in to supplement the strike force and who else will be leaving.
The recent dropping of Necati, Orhan Ak, Cihan and Hasan Kabze is on the face of it rather surprising. I would have thought there were stronger candidates for release such as Emre Asik, Okan Buruk, Hakan Sukur etc. but what do I know. I assume that GS will be looking to sell these players especially as Necati is valued at over 5m Euros and was a consistent player last season. The writing was on the wall for him though when his shirt was given to Lincoln.
Hasan Kabze never quite reached the heights expected of him and Cihan was inconsistent last season but I am surprised Orhan Ak is being released as I felt he was more consistent that Tomas and Song in the defence.
Still recruitment of new players to Turkeys most successful club should not really be a problem so I wait to see who will be brought in to supplement the strike force and who else will be leaving.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Confirmation of the real order
Thanks to Ahmet over at Turkishsoccer.com for reminding everyone of the reality of success in Turkish Soccer.
Galatasaray 18th in Europe.
Fenerbahce 77th.
Enough said.
Galatasaray 18th in Europe.
Fenerbahce 77th.
Enough said.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Normal service resumes
Back again.
So Galatasaray had a good tournament in Switzeralnd winning the Obi cup. I wonder if that is linked to the Star wars character Obi Wan Kenobi, probably not but its something to consider!
Having defeated Anderlecht and the might of Young Boys Berne, who the Husband tells me he has actually seen play live in Berne many years ago, we raised the first silverware of the season. Couple of the young guys scored as well as Umit so despite the fact the teams we were playing are probably trying out hew players and just getting going that was encouraging to see.
Next up is FC Koln and the chance to use Mondragon as target practice and after that Dusseldorf and the Bochum to compete the German leg of the preseason. So far no injuries or other issues to report which is good but I cannot comment on the performances as I have not seen the games.
Latest rumour is that Morientes is going to join but I am not too excited about that as we already have a number of strikers who can score regularly and as proved at Liverpool it seems he can only score in Spain.
I guess this would fill the 6+1 quota although in this case as I say I am not sure we really need him. I think Rommedahl would have been a better bet to make sure Necati, Umit and Hasan Kabze get a good supply.
Anyway I think thats about all for now.
So Galatasaray had a good tournament in Switzeralnd winning the Obi cup. I wonder if that is linked to the Star wars character Obi Wan Kenobi, probably not but its something to consider!
Having defeated Anderlecht and the might of Young Boys Berne, who the Husband tells me he has actually seen play live in Berne many years ago, we raised the first silverware of the season. Couple of the young guys scored as well as Umit so despite the fact the teams we were playing are probably trying out hew players and just getting going that was encouraging to see.
Next up is FC Koln and the chance to use Mondragon as target practice and after that Dusseldorf and the Bochum to compete the German leg of the preseason. So far no injuries or other issues to report which is good but I cannot comment on the performances as I have not seen the games.
Latest rumour is that Morientes is going to join but I am not too excited about that as we already have a number of strikers who can score regularly and as proved at Liverpool it seems he can only score in Spain.
I guess this would fill the 6+1 quota although in this case as I say I am not sure we really need him. I think Rommedahl would have been a better bet to make sure Necati, Umit and Hasan Kabze get a good supply.
Anyway I think thats about all for now.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Nostalgia
I was reading an article on ESPN Soccernet regarding Jupp Derwal the other day following his death. One thing I had not realized was that he was the coach of Germany during the 1982 World Cup.
Whilst I remember that World Cup for one of the fastest World Cup Goals, scored by Captain Marvel aka Bryan Robson, one of the abiding memories was the assault, there really is no other word for it of the Schumacher, the German Keeper on Serge Battiston who left the filed prostrate and unconscious.
I did a quick search on youtube and found the following video clip. Of interest is the next to last one of Rustu doing a pseudo "Schumacher" on an English player in the game in Kadikoy I think when Beckham missed the penalty and Alpay contributed to International diplomacy.....I give you warning though this inlcudes the tackle by Keane on Halland which ended his career and earned Keano an 8 game ban when he admitted it was premeditated, it was bad though......and I remember he started walking immediately after the tackle and did not wait for the red card....
Anyway, click, sit back and enjoy
Whilst I remember that World Cup for one of the fastest World Cup Goals, scored by Captain Marvel aka Bryan Robson, one of the abiding memories was the assault, there really is no other word for it of the Schumacher, the German Keeper on Serge Battiston who left the filed prostrate and unconscious.
I did a quick search on youtube and found the following video clip. Of interest is the next to last one of Rustu doing a pseudo "Schumacher" on an English player in the game in Kadikoy I think when Beckham missed the penalty and Alpay contributed to International diplomacy.....I give you warning though this inlcudes the tackle by Keane on Halland which ended his career and earned Keano an 8 game ban when he admitted it was premeditated, it was bad though......and I remember he started walking immediately after the tackle and did not wait for the red card....
Anyway, click, sit back and enjoy
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Drought....not
In between having a new kitchen installed by the Husband who obvioulsy has been inspired by Murat, from a woodworking sense if not a weight loss and fitness sense, endless thunderstorms, complete bewilderment at what on earth is going on in Turkish Soccer and the transfer mayhem i have been keeping a low profile but rest assured that will change in the next few days....or when/if I have something to say....
Friday, June 22, 2007
Troughs and peaks?
I must admit a couple of weeks ago I was rather depressed about the state of the squad for next season and was wondering who was going to arrive and how we would improve the team. The first major signing of Linderoth did little to change my opinioin that we would be the poor cousins this summer to the Kadikoy mob.
However the recent arrivals and the string rumors around a couple of other players seem to suggest that the club has some kind of plan and that whilst none of the players has the marketing allure of Roberto Carlos they have other advantage. Mainly that they are under 30, have a few years left in them and are generally cheaper. They all seem to be team players rather than egos which is also an advantage. So I am wondering whether GS are actually being cuter in the transfer market than FB. Time will tell of course but I am cautiously optimistic that we will be at least challenging next season and that total embarrassment might be avoided in the UEFA Cup.
Transfers so far:
Ismael Bouzid
Servet
Tobias Linderoth
Serkan Calik and Baris Uzbek from Rot Weiss Essen
Orkan Usak
LINCOLN pictured and confirmed
and possibly Rommedahl.
That represents a fairly rounded list and with alot of the young loan players coming back the squad is not looking too bad.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Am I talking crap or is there some sanity here???
I am copying my recent posts to the Have a Take area of TurkishSoccer.com.
As I say am I talking crap or is there some sanity here......
Erol I agree with some of your points about football being a business etc. because those are no brainers. And yes clubs have to try and achieve success partly by buying players to maximize revenue but I just dont see that happening in Turkey. GS won the UEFA cup and failed every other season as typically FB, BJK and others also get eliminated early in Europe. When you consider the money FB have spent and the players brought in where is the success you are talking about? Winning a dead match against Man Utd does not count. If any of the Turkish teams gets into the second round of the Chimps Lig this season I will be very surprized despite all the money being spent.
But I still have a problem with the foreigner issue. I find it difficult to agree with your argument on this. Wages in the EPL are much higher because all the clubs get a lot more money from the TV deals. The income inbalance in Turkey is such that only the "Big 4" get real income from TV as all their games are televised. So you have a limited income and as Cengiz points out lower GDP etc. which means the clubs have limited cash available. So you think the "smaller clubs" are going to develop cheap local players and then sell them on. Not if they want to survive in Superlig they won't. If you lift the foreigner limit all that will happen is that clubs will go out and buy in players from wherever because running acadamies and youth teams is expensive thereby limiting opportunities for Turkish players.
Again look at the EPL. Alot of the Premiership clubs are questioning the benefit of the money they spend on their acadamies that were set up to develop local talent. For clubs like Bolton and Wigan its cheaper to go out and look for Bosman players in Slovenia, Israel, Switzerland etc. than it is to try and use local players who are simply not good enough to make the grade. Even Man Utd which has probably had the most successful recent production of English talent is beginning to struggle and is buying other talent in these days. So where will the chances for local players be when clubs go and buy cheap players from elsewhere. This will limit opportunities for Turkish players.
The other problem as Oz Kanka has referred to is that the facilities are just not their for local youth leagues, no grass pitches, no real infrastructure. how many kids fall through the net. Again allow clubs to have as many foreigners as they want and where will their incentive be to provide any facilities or coaching?
I think I am right in that both Spain and Italy have limits on non-EU players and I believe UEFA or is it FIFA want to introduce a "homegrown" quota for all leagues so what on earth would be the benefit of scrapping the quota now.
In the USA there are youth soccer leagues and facilities everywhere. In NJ the Husband plays in an over 40's league. For the last 4 weeks he has played three games a week as the spring and summer leagues overlap, weekend matches have to be played at 8.30am as the pitches are booked solid for youth and school soccer for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. When we lived in Istanbul he played 7 a side once a week on a small court, no refs, no organization, no grass. In out small town of 20,000 we have 4 separate facilities with 2 floodlit pitches at each one and one all weather floodlit artificial full size pitch. Almost every township around here is the same. Of course income is higher people pay their taxes and towns can afford such facilities. Would it not be better for the TFF and the clubs to invest in facilities for locals rather than pay Roberto Carlos or Tobias Linderoth or whoever $50,000 per week which makes the agents rich and sucks the clubs dry. The college system takes the better players and then they are brought to the attention of the MLS or USL teams. MLS and USL teams are mostly comprised of home grown players because of this and there is an organised plan in place.
Post 2
Omar, According to the UEFA rankings which are used to determine the number of teams you get in UEFA competitions the ranking is as follows.
1 Spain 76.891
2 England 68.540
3 Italy 66.088
4 France 53.656
5 Germany 44.364
6 Portugal 42.749
7 Romania 40.165
8 Netherlands 39.379
9 Russia 36.125
10 Scotland 30.500
11 Ukraine 29.475
12 Belgium 29.075
13 Czech Rep. 26.825
14 Turkey 26.641
15 Greece 25.497
16 Bulgaria 24.582
17 Switzerland 23.850
18 Norway 19.725
19 Israel 19.208
20 Serbia 18.958
21 Denmark 18.575
22 Austria 18.500
23 Poland 17.000
24 Hungary 14.165
25 Slovakia ` 10.832
Now if you add in the Argentine League, Mexican and MLS, J League I think you will find that the Turkish League is not as strong as you think it is. It may be more watchable than some of the Leagues above it in the rankings but in terms of success it is very poor and when you consider that FB, GS and BJK have squads that are apparently worth a similar or slightly higher amount as Bolton who are ranked sixth in the EPL in terms of squad valuations (click on the league and team of your choice and it has the squad valuation and number of players as well as average player worth) you have to ask yourself why Turkish clubs are not successful in Europe and why the League is effectively in the third rank of Euro Leagues.
As I say am I talking crap or is there some sanity here......
Erol I agree with some of your points about football being a business etc. because those are no brainers. And yes clubs have to try and achieve success partly by buying players to maximize revenue but I just dont see that happening in Turkey. GS won the UEFA cup and failed every other season as typically FB, BJK and others also get eliminated early in Europe. When you consider the money FB have spent and the players brought in where is the success you are talking about? Winning a dead match against Man Utd does not count. If any of the Turkish teams gets into the second round of the Chimps Lig this season I will be very surprized despite all the money being spent.
But I still have a problem with the foreigner issue. I find it difficult to agree with your argument on this. Wages in the EPL are much higher because all the clubs get a lot more money from the TV deals. The income inbalance in Turkey is such that only the "Big 4" get real income from TV as all their games are televised. So you have a limited income and as Cengiz points out lower GDP etc. which means the clubs have limited cash available. So you think the "smaller clubs" are going to develop cheap local players and then sell them on. Not if they want to survive in Superlig they won't. If you lift the foreigner limit all that will happen is that clubs will go out and buy in players from wherever because running acadamies and youth teams is expensive thereby limiting opportunities for Turkish players.
Again look at the EPL. Alot of the Premiership clubs are questioning the benefit of the money they spend on their acadamies that were set up to develop local talent. For clubs like Bolton and Wigan its cheaper to go out and look for Bosman players in Slovenia, Israel, Switzerland etc. than it is to try and use local players who are simply not good enough to make the grade. Even Man Utd which has probably had the most successful recent production of English talent is beginning to struggle and is buying other talent in these days. So where will the chances for local players be when clubs go and buy cheap players from elsewhere. This will limit opportunities for Turkish players.
The other problem as Oz Kanka has referred to is that the facilities are just not their for local youth leagues, no grass pitches, no real infrastructure. how many kids fall through the net. Again allow clubs to have as many foreigners as they want and where will their incentive be to provide any facilities or coaching?
I think I am right in that both Spain and Italy have limits on non-EU players and I believe UEFA or is it FIFA want to introduce a "homegrown" quota for all leagues so what on earth would be the benefit of scrapping the quota now.
In the USA there are youth soccer leagues and facilities everywhere. In NJ the Husband plays in an over 40's league. For the last 4 weeks he has played three games a week as the spring and summer leagues overlap, weekend matches have to be played at 8.30am as the pitches are booked solid for youth and school soccer for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. When we lived in Istanbul he played 7 a side once a week on a small court, no refs, no organization, no grass. In out small town of 20,000 we have 4 separate facilities with 2 floodlit pitches at each one and one all weather floodlit artificial full size pitch. Almost every township around here is the same. Of course income is higher people pay their taxes and towns can afford such facilities. Would it not be better for the TFF and the clubs to invest in facilities for locals rather than pay Roberto Carlos or Tobias Linderoth or whoever $50,000 per week which makes the agents rich and sucks the clubs dry. The college system takes the better players and then they are brought to the attention of the MLS or USL teams. MLS and USL teams are mostly comprised of home grown players because of this and there is an organised plan in place.
Post 2
Omar, According to the UEFA rankings which are used to determine the number of teams you get in UEFA competitions the ranking is as follows.
1 Spain 76.891
2 England 68.540
3 Italy 66.088
4 France 53.656
5 Germany 44.364
6 Portugal 42.749
7 Romania 40.165
8 Netherlands 39.379
9 Russia 36.125
10 Scotland 30.500
11 Ukraine 29.475
12 Belgium 29.075
13 Czech Rep. 26.825
14 Turkey 26.641
15 Greece 25.497
16 Bulgaria 24.582
17 Switzerland 23.850
18 Norway 19.725
19 Israel 19.208
20 Serbia 18.958
21 Denmark 18.575
22 Austria 18.500
23 Poland 17.000
24 Hungary 14.165
25 Slovakia ` 10.832
Now if you add in the Argentine League, Mexican and MLS, J League I think you will find that the Turkish League is not as strong as you think it is. It may be more watchable than some of the Leagues above it in the rankings but in terms of success it is very poor and when you consider that FB, GS and BJK have squads that are apparently worth a similar or slightly higher amount as Bolton who are ranked sixth in the EPL in terms of squad valuations (click on the league and team of your choice and it has the squad valuation and number of players as well as average player worth) you have to ask yourself why Turkish clubs are not successful in Europe and why the League is effectively in the third rank of Euro Leagues.
Stunning new signings
Whilst thousands went to see R Carlos prove he could write, always doubtful with a footballer, and adding himself to the Brazilbahce roster CimBom have been quietly working on bringing in a couple of star players.
These are Orkun Usak from Erciyes via Bursa and Ismail Bouzid from Kaiserslauten. Ah yes top quality players that fans will be more than willing to pay to watch.
Ismail Bouzid is I am sure you all know from Algeria and has played for 5 clubs in the last five season obviously making a deep impact everywhere he goes. I predict half a season in Istanbul.
Orkun Usak is a bit more interesting. Started last season at Ankargucu before leaving for Erciyespor. 28 matches in all and conceding according to MacKolik 20 goals. Not bad for a team that got relegated and one that almost got relegated. He was also called up to the National Team a couple of times. Having said that so was Volkan!!!!!
I am assuming he will be replacing Mondragon.
Whilst the players being brought in are not the biggest in World Soccer I cant help wondering how motivated Mr Carlos will be when playing Kasimpasa etc.
Anyway time will tell and heres hoping we can strengthen the defence a bit more and add an other striker before the start of the season.
These are Orkun Usak from Erciyes via Bursa and Ismail Bouzid from Kaiserslauten. Ah yes top quality players that fans will be more than willing to pay to watch.
Ismail Bouzid is I am sure you all know from Algeria and has played for 5 clubs in the last five season obviously making a deep impact everywhere he goes. I predict half a season in Istanbul.
Orkun Usak is a bit more interesting. Started last season at Ankargucu before leaving for Erciyespor. 28 matches in all and conceding according to MacKolik 20 goals. Not bad for a team that got relegated and one that almost got relegated. He was also called up to the National Team a couple of times. Having said that so was Volkan!!!!!
I am assuming he will be replacing Mondragon.
Whilst the players being brought in are not the biggest in World Soccer I cant help wondering how motivated Mr Carlos will be when playing Kasimpasa etc.
Anyway time will tell and heres hoping we can strengthen the defence a bit more and add an other striker before the start of the season.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Awards time
To celebrate the fact that my humble offering is the only blog to be officially declared as "It sucks" by Oz Kanka over at AmerikanTurks I offer the following....
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Bad Craziness
What is the world coming to.
I am not sure what is more amazing, Oz Kanka beating Ahmet to the draw on The round ball in Ankara: Nick Carle signs for Genclerbirligi or that Nick Carle actually signed for Genclerbirligi. Obvioulsy the draw of a fellow antipodean soccer nut in Ankara offset the chance to play for something resembling a decent club in Istanbul!!! Only time will tell.
Next up. Genclerbirligi install a revolving door in the coaches office. This will help to avoid the coach having to actually sit at his desk between signing and resigning.
And next up we have Tuncay heading for the smog bandits or Middlesborough as they are really known. I guess most Turkish soccer fans have no idea of what kind of place Middlesborough is. So I asked the Husband who went to University just up the road in Newcastle. Here is what he told me because I have never been there and from the description I am not sure I want to..... Boro is an old Industrial town and has one of the biggest chemical works in England as its main employer. Hence the name smog bandits, as the air is always polluted from the chemicals etc. It also has a large port Teesport and there is absolutely no reason for any normal person to want to go there. Guess Tuncay will have a bit of culture shock then as there is not much that resembles the marina, Moda or Bagdat Caddesi nearby.....However just South of there is the North Yorkshire Moors National Park with some semi decent places to live and Durham is not that far away and that is very civilized.
Ankaragucu copies Galatsaray. Thats right, you know what I mean. Just because we employ a pensioner German you have to follow hoping this a cunning plan to global soccer domination. Oh and somehow I cant see Alpay or Sergen setting the Lig alight.
Galatasaray find spare change under the couch. Well that can be the only explanation I can see as for a club that owes something like $35m we can suddenly afford Linderoth, maybe Lincoln, possibly Riquelme plus a lease on a shiny new stadium!!!! Either that or Polat has been saving all his change in a jar and finally counted it up.
And then the Kadikoy mob, what can you say. Get rid of Umit Ozat, Tuncay and probably Rustu despite having Chimps League to look forward to and bring in Roberto Carlos who is past his prime and more excitingly for Turkish Soccer in general Kazim Richards. Like Tuncay he will suffer culture shock, Sheffield is definitely not Istanbul.....
As for Besiktas well who knows what is going on?????
And thats just this week folks. Wonder what will happen this weekend and next week.
Will Genclerbirligi get another new coach? will Ankaragucu become the Chelsea Pensioners?? will Anakarspor be the top Ankara team, will Kasimpasa prove they exist???
Will Ulusoy resign.???(please, please,please....)
Exciting times we live in....
I am not sure what is more amazing, Oz Kanka beating Ahmet to the draw on The round ball in Ankara: Nick Carle signs for Genclerbirligi or that Nick Carle actually signed for Genclerbirligi. Obvioulsy the draw of a fellow antipodean soccer nut in Ankara offset the chance to play for something resembling a decent club in Istanbul!!! Only time will tell.
Next up. Genclerbirligi install a revolving door in the coaches office. This will help to avoid the coach having to actually sit at his desk between signing and resigning.
And next up we have Tuncay heading for the smog bandits or Middlesborough as they are really known. I guess most Turkish soccer fans have no idea of what kind of place Middlesborough is. So I asked the Husband who went to University just up the road in Newcastle. Here is what he told me because I have never been there and from the description I am not sure I want to..... Boro is an old Industrial town and has one of the biggest chemical works in England as its main employer. Hence the name smog bandits, as the air is always polluted from the chemicals etc. It also has a large port Teesport and there is absolutely no reason for any normal person to want to go there. Guess Tuncay will have a bit of culture shock then as there is not much that resembles the marina, Moda or Bagdat Caddesi nearby.....However just South of there is the North Yorkshire Moors National Park with some semi decent places to live and Durham is not that far away and that is very civilized.
Ankaragucu copies Galatsaray. Thats right, you know what I mean. Just because we employ a pensioner German you have to follow hoping this a cunning plan to global soccer domination. Oh and somehow I cant see Alpay or Sergen setting the Lig alight.
Galatasaray find spare change under the couch. Well that can be the only explanation I can see as for a club that owes something like $35m we can suddenly afford Linderoth, maybe Lincoln, possibly Riquelme plus a lease on a shiny new stadium!!!! Either that or Polat has been saving all his change in a jar and finally counted it up.
And then the Kadikoy mob, what can you say. Get rid of Umit Ozat, Tuncay and probably Rustu despite having Chimps League to look forward to and bring in Roberto Carlos who is past his prime and more excitingly for Turkish Soccer in general Kazim Richards. Like Tuncay he will suffer culture shock, Sheffield is definitely not Istanbul.....
As for Besiktas well who knows what is going on?????
And thats just this week folks. Wonder what will happen this weekend and next week.
Will Genclerbirligi get another new coach? will Ankaragucu become the Chelsea Pensioners?? will Anakarspor be the top Ankara team, will Kasimpasa prove they exist???
Will Ulusoy resign.???(please, please,please....)
Exciting times we live in....
Friday, June 15, 2007
Something to be happy about....
Its official, well sort of.
Galatsaray are finally going to get a stadium worthy of the most successful, most winning, most points earned and most goals scored team in the SuperLig and if you don't believe me check out the stats.
TOKI have just released the Tender for the new stadium to be built in Seyrantepe. That seems to me like an excellent use of Taxpayers money. Just think all the FB, BJK and Ankara boyos contributing to the new CimBom fortress.. excellent and not a thing they can do about.
Now all that remains is to make sure we get a squad together that make sure we stay in the Superlig and qualify for Youro footie for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Dedication and comittment
Couple of headlines I enjoyed:
Roberto Carlos surprised by Fenerbahce move
Middlesbrough agree terms with Turkey's Tuncay
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Swedes and Turnips.....I mean Tuncay
At last a new signing. Swedish International Tobias Linderoth formerly of FC Copenhagen has agreed to join CimBom. Well that got my pulse racing and made me more excited about next season and hanging on every word coming out of Canaydin's mouth.......not.
Still at least hes not as old and past it as signings at other clubs...Carlos at FB and Alpay and Sergen for Ankargucu!!!!!!
Good to see my tongue in cheek effort to find employment for Sven is working out over at TurkishSoccer.com. You never know he could be the next Turkish Manager.......or not.
And finally....the FB types are getting all hot and bothered about Tuncay and the possibility he might move to England. Whilst a move outside of Turkey appears to be tolerated its the fact that the clubs interested are Middlesborough, Birmingham and Newcastle that has the budgie fanciers worried.
A few facts of life might be in order here.
The EPL gets 4 spots in the Chimps League, 2 direct and 2 qualifying. The SuperLig gets 2 spots both through qualifying. The EPL gets 3 spots in the UEFA Cup plus the FA Cup and Carling Cup winner. The Superlig gets 1 and the Turkish Cup Winner. This would appear to suggest that the EPL is somewhat stronger than the SuperLig. At the moment FB are the strongets team in Turkey but that really is not saying alot given the quality of the opposition. I mean apart from CImBom, Besiktas and Trabzon there has been no real challenge and the majority of games are or should be given the relative strengths of the teams not much of a contest. Compare that to the EPL where a team like Bolton or Reading on limited resources can beat or draw with the big 4 on a regular basis. I would suggest that none of the Superlig teams would be regulars in the EPL, they are more like Championship sides. So why on earth do FB supporters think Tuncay is moving down if he plays for one of the less big clubs in the EPL, they are more professional and better run than almost every club in Turkey. If he plays for Birmingham or Middelsborough for example he would probably be in the starting line up and would be playing against world class players in almost every match and every match would be competitive and he would no longer have the benefit of Turkish refereeing. Wonder how he would cope with Robbie Savage, Joey Barton, Paul Scholes, Carvalho, Terry, Faye, Nelsen, Hyppia, Carragher, Ferdinand, Vidic et al He would be fitter, learn to concentrate for 90 minutes (something FB failed to do on a number of occasions last season), curb his theatrics, play at a high tempo and become a better player for the experience. I think Tuncay is one of the bright lights of Turkish football but I do not think that at this stage in his career he should be picking splinters out of his ass by moving to Man Utd, Arsenal etc. or playing for the reserves which is what he would be doing at any of the top clubs. On the other hand he could stay at FB and play in exhibition games most weeks with only 6 or even 4 meaningful games each season.
Still at least hes not as old and past it as signings at other clubs...Carlos at FB and Alpay and Sergen for Ankargucu!!!!!!
Good to see my tongue in cheek effort to find employment for Sven is working out over at TurkishSoccer.com. You never know he could be the next Turkish Manager.......or not.
And finally....the FB types are getting all hot and bothered about Tuncay and the possibility he might move to England. Whilst a move outside of Turkey appears to be tolerated its the fact that the clubs interested are Middlesborough, Birmingham and Newcastle that has the budgie fanciers worried.
A few facts of life might be in order here.
The EPL gets 4 spots in the Chimps League, 2 direct and 2 qualifying. The SuperLig gets 2 spots both through qualifying. The EPL gets 3 spots in the UEFA Cup plus the FA Cup and Carling Cup winner. The Superlig gets 1 and the Turkish Cup Winner. This would appear to suggest that the EPL is somewhat stronger than the SuperLig. At the moment FB are the strongets team in Turkey but that really is not saying alot given the quality of the opposition. I mean apart from CImBom, Besiktas and Trabzon there has been no real challenge and the majority of games are or should be given the relative strengths of the teams not much of a contest. Compare that to the EPL where a team like Bolton or Reading on limited resources can beat or draw with the big 4 on a regular basis. I would suggest that none of the Superlig teams would be regulars in the EPL, they are more like Championship sides. So why on earth do FB supporters think Tuncay is moving down if he plays for one of the less big clubs in the EPL, they are more professional and better run than almost every club in Turkey. If he plays for Birmingham or Middelsborough for example he would probably be in the starting line up and would be playing against world class players in almost every match and every match would be competitive and he would no longer have the benefit of Turkish refereeing. Wonder how he would cope with Robbie Savage, Joey Barton, Paul Scholes, Carvalho, Terry, Faye, Nelsen, Hyppia, Carragher, Ferdinand, Vidic et al He would be fitter, learn to concentrate for 90 minutes (something FB failed to do on a number of occasions last season), curb his theatrics, play at a high tempo and become a better player for the experience. I think Tuncay is one of the bright lights of Turkish football but I do not think that at this stage in his career he should be picking splinters out of his ass by moving to Man Utd, Arsenal etc. or playing for the reserves which is what he would be doing at any of the top clubs. On the other hand he could stay at FB and play in exhibition games most weeks with only 6 or even 4 meaningful games each season.
Monday, June 11, 2007
TFF favor CimBom
Over the last few months I have read an awful lot of drivel from Kadikoy types that TFF is biased against them. Please. The recently handed down punishment from TFF should put paid to that idea, 5 matches behind closed door and a 110,000 Euro fine. If anything the Kadikoy mob should be happy they only got a what 2 match stadium closure for hitting Mondragon with a smoke bomb in an incident which if he had walked, indeed the ref should have stopped the game, would have seen a 3-0 win to GS. Witness the recent Denmark Sweden game.
So the next budgie mouthed yellow and blue that comes over with "Ulusoy hates us crap" will get an even less sympathetic hearing than normal.
Thats not to say that GS did not deserve punishment.
Despite that the TFF totally failed to address the underlying problems in the Super Lig and Turkish Soccer in general. Instead of using last seasons problems as a vehicle to discuss and introduce structural reforms on media rights, club ownership, limits on foreign players etc. what do they do?????? nothing. Until some radical restructuring takes place you will continue to get similar episodes and also crazy stuff like what happened at Genc, pity poor Oz Kanka, darling of the media.
Anyway that pretty much means we have nothing to look forward to for next season, just a second rate team playing in a third rate league, run by the village idiot committee, in a 5th rate stadium against aging Brazilians and managed by a pensioner. The stuff of dreams, cant wait, yippee, rah rah etc. etc.
So the next budgie mouthed yellow and blue that comes over with "Ulusoy hates us crap" will get an even less sympathetic hearing than normal.
Thats not to say that GS did not deserve punishment.
Despite that the TFF totally failed to address the underlying problems in the Super Lig and Turkish Soccer in general. Instead of using last seasons problems as a vehicle to discuss and introduce structural reforms on media rights, club ownership, limits on foreign players etc. what do they do?????? nothing. Until some radical restructuring takes place you will continue to get similar episodes and also crazy stuff like what happened at Genc, pity poor Oz Kanka, darling of the media.
Anyway that pretty much means we have nothing to look forward to for next season, just a second rate team playing in a third rate league, run by the village idiot committee, in a 5th rate stadium against aging Brazilians and managed by a pensioner. The stuff of dreams, cant wait, yippee, rah rah etc. etc.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Fast forward to the past
When I first heard the news I could hardly believe it but now it appears that it is true. Next season CimBom will be coached by a 73 year old who quit his last position due to health reasons!!!!
I am sure Feldkamp was an excellent coach back in the day, but surely the Board could have looked forward instead of reaching into the biscuit tin and pulling out a stale digestive. I know he won the championship back in 92/3 and the Turkish Cup but really what were the Board thinking. I can only assume that this is a symptom of the problems at the club, especially financial as no younger coach would accept the job and I can hardly blame them as we probably have absolutely no money to recruit players and then pay them.
The other problem with Galatasaray and most other Turkish clubs is that they only ever look at the short term. For example the Championship score is now 17-16 against CimBom which means that the media and management feel the need to even things up next year. With the cycle of elections and the chairmanship battles which lead to instability for the coaches there is no chance that a coach can have time to rebuild a clubs playing staff and plan for the long term. This is made worse when the Managers go out and buy players they think are okay and then recruit a coach to turn them into a team without bothering to find out of the players can play together. I mean for a perfect example of how to mess things up look at Chavski, Ballack and Schevchenko were bought by the owner, the managers need for a defender was ignored and the balance of the team was upset. Man Utd on the other hand are benefiting for a couple of years of rebuilding and the process is continuing. It has been 4 years between titles for Man Utd and when you consider the money spent and the pressure Sir AF is under to deliver that kind of gap is hard to take. Of course whilst Canaydoin is chairman nothing will change and in fact until they do away with the Charimanship and start managing the club professionally nothing will change.
Anyway all I can hope is that Feldkamp does his best and that we are not humiliated next season!!!
I am sure Feldkamp was an excellent coach back in the day, but surely the Board could have looked forward instead of reaching into the biscuit tin and pulling out a stale digestive. I know he won the championship back in 92/3 and the Turkish Cup but really what were the Board thinking. I can only assume that this is a symptom of the problems at the club, especially financial as no younger coach would accept the job and I can hardly blame them as we probably have absolutely no money to recruit players and then pay them.
The other problem with Galatasaray and most other Turkish clubs is that they only ever look at the short term. For example the Championship score is now 17-16 against CimBom which means that the media and management feel the need to even things up next year. With the cycle of elections and the chairmanship battles which lead to instability for the coaches there is no chance that a coach can have time to rebuild a clubs playing staff and plan for the long term. This is made worse when the Managers go out and buy players they think are okay and then recruit a coach to turn them into a team without bothering to find out of the players can play together. I mean for a perfect example of how to mess things up look at Chavski, Ballack and Schevchenko were bought by the owner, the managers need for a defender was ignored and the balance of the team was upset. Man Utd on the other hand are benefiting for a couple of years of rebuilding and the process is continuing. It has been 4 years between titles for Man Utd and when you consider the money spent and the pressure Sir AF is under to deliver that kind of gap is hard to take. Of course whilst Canaydoin is chairman nothing will change and in fact until they do away with the Charimanship and start managing the club professionally nothing will change.
Anyway all I can hope is that Feldkamp does his best and that we are not humiliated next season!!!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Spring cleaning
So Mondragon gone, sort of a surprise, as well as Inamoto and Ilic. These will probably not be the last t leave I hope. Just wonder who they will be bringing in. Seems odd that Mondragon is going to Koln with Umit Ozat but good luck to him he has been a good servant of the club. However this season he did not seem quite like the Mondragon of the last couple of seasons. I would imagine that being hit by a smoke bomb and then watching his teams supporters destroy their own stadium may well have influenced him as well!!!
As for the National Team surely we can do better than Hakan and Rustu as starters!!!!!! and surely we can do better than Terim as coach.
As for the National Team surely we can do better than Hakan and Rustu as starters!!!!!! and surely we can do better than Terim as coach.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Gerets gone
Not altogether unsurprising but still a shame. He was a good coach who managed to get an unpaid bunch of players to the Title last season and 3rd place this. I am not sure anyone else could have done much better. Thanks to that arrogant asshole Terim the squad he inherited was full of hangers on and some has beens who should have been pensioned off a couple of years previously, Ergun, Hakan etc. He also had no money to recruit. When Inamoto is your main attraction you know there a re problems, still he's also gone as well as I predicted.
We all know that Ribery was a big loss when he left but what about the other one who got away, Berkant, remember him. Well here is a good story from Soccernet about what can happen when things go wrong.
We all know that Ribery was a big loss when he left but what about the other one who got away, Berkant, remember him. Well here is a good story from Soccernet about what can happen when things go wrong.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
That was the season that was
Finally its all over and Galatasaray signed off with a whimper losing 2-0 away to Bursaspor. Pathetic.
A points haul of 56 is hardly going to keep Gerets in his job for too much longer and despite his new contract signing I have a feeling there will be a new coach for the start of next season. Fiishing in third spot at least means we have UEFA Cup football to look forward to. I just hope that the team gets to play at home rather than in the anonymity of the Olympiat stadium. Of course it could be that UEFA say Ali Sami Yen is not fit for European matches.
Of course now th silly season starts with regard to transfer rumors etc. It seems already that Mondargaon is going to Koln and Rustu is moving to CimBom. I hope Hakan and Ergun realise its time to retire. We need to find a new central defence or at least someone to cover when either Song or Tomas is out, Emre Asik is not the answer. A few other underperformers could also be on the way out, Okan, Hasan Sas, Cihan, Carrusca, Inamoto, Ilic etc. These guys have played well occasionally but not consistently enough and their body language has been wrong, at times they did not look interested. I really hope that Arda stays and that of Gerets is the coach that he has the courage to let some of the young players take centre stage.
Of course the fact that we have no money is not exactly going to help the situation in attracting good players from outside of Turkey but so what. I believe that CimBom have some good youngsters who can be developed into a good team.
Now the question is what to do with the summer. No World or Euro's just a bunch of friendlies and some qualification matches. Of course living n the US we have the arrival of the messiah.....I mean Beckham to the LA Galaxy. I guess I can entertain myself for a while with the Formula 1 season, the NBA playoffs and finals hopefully with Mehmet Okur and the Utah Jazz and the MLS. If I can get tickets I may even get down to Giants stadium to see the New York Red Bulls when LA come to town. That should keep me going to August or whenever the hell the TFF decide to start the season this year.
A points haul of 56 is hardly going to keep Gerets in his job for too much longer and despite his new contract signing I have a feeling there will be a new coach for the start of next season. Fiishing in third spot at least means we have UEFA Cup football to look forward to. I just hope that the team gets to play at home rather than in the anonymity of the Olympiat stadium. Of course it could be that UEFA say Ali Sami Yen is not fit for European matches.
Of course now th silly season starts with regard to transfer rumors etc. It seems already that Mondargaon is going to Koln and Rustu is moving to CimBom. I hope Hakan and Ergun realise its time to retire. We need to find a new central defence or at least someone to cover when either Song or Tomas is out, Emre Asik is not the answer. A few other underperformers could also be on the way out, Okan, Hasan Sas, Cihan, Carrusca, Inamoto, Ilic etc. These guys have played well occasionally but not consistently enough and their body language has been wrong, at times they did not look interested. I really hope that Arda stays and that of Gerets is the coach that he has the courage to let some of the young players take centre stage.
Of course the fact that we have no money is not exactly going to help the situation in attracting good players from outside of Turkey but so what. I believe that CimBom have some good youngsters who can be developed into a good team.
Now the question is what to do with the summer. No World or Euro's just a bunch of friendlies and some qualification matches. Of course living n the US we have the arrival of the messiah.....I mean Beckham to the LA Galaxy. I guess I can entertain myself for a while with the Formula 1 season, the NBA playoffs and finals hopefully with Mehmet Okur and the Utah Jazz and the MLS. If I can get tickets I may even get down to Giants stadium to see the New York Red Bulls when LA come to town. That should keep me going to August or whenever the hell the TFF decide to start the season this year.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Morons
What a bunch of idiots in the Ali Sami Yen last night. And I am not referring to the players although they were not much better. I am referring to the idiots in the stands who tuynred the game into a fiasco.
Its fine to be passionate about your club but this was too much, although its not surprising given the abuse that happens when Galatsaray play in Kadikoy. I recall Hasan being hit by eggs one year!! But to rip seats out and thrown them on the pitch and then set fire to what is left, pure madness. CimBom have not had the best season and I would have expected a better performance against the Kadikoy mob but the "supporters" behavior was too bad. I guess there will be a big fine and games behind closed doors. In my view the club and Polis should use the match video to identify those responsible and make sure they are not let in again, but that will probably not happen.
I can see there being a big clear out of players during the summer. There are too many players just making up the numbers and there was no hears on yesterdays performance. New defence is needed and I hope Arda stays but I have a feeling he will be moving on. I know Gerets has signed a contract extension but I have a feeling he may also be leaving.
Oh well. Thats life
Its fine to be passionate about your club but this was too much, although its not surprising given the abuse that happens when Galatsaray play in Kadikoy. I recall Hasan being hit by eggs one year!! But to rip seats out and thrown them on the pitch and then set fire to what is left, pure madness. CimBom have not had the best season and I would have expected a better performance against the Kadikoy mob but the "supporters" behavior was too bad. I guess there will be a big fine and games behind closed doors. In my view the club and Polis should use the match video to identify those responsible and make sure they are not let in again, but that will probably not happen.
I can see there being a big clear out of players during the summer. There are too many players just making up the numbers and there was no hears on yesterdays performance. New defence is needed and I hope Arda stays but I have a feeling he will be moving on. I know Gerets has signed a contract extension but I have a feeling he may also be leaving.
Oh well. Thats life
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Looking forward to the weekend
So this weekend should be the last weekend of football here in New Jersey. On TV that is as the Husband is playing every Sunday morning at the moment. I think he is one of three non-Spanish speaking players in the team!!!!! Weatgher forecast is crap for the weekend so nits a perfect day for sitting watching TV.
Should be a good weekend though. Man Utd - Chelsea in the FA Cup and then Galatasaray later the same day against someone else. It will be good to see Chavski only win the Carling Cup after all the moment they have spent. Mourinho's shaggy dog story this week will not have helped either.
As for Galatasaray, a win on Saturday together with Besiktas not winning would put them into second on goal difference. Then its Bursa away for CimBom and Kayseri away for BJK. We could sneak into the Chimps League if we are not careful!!
Should be a good weekend though. Man Utd - Chelsea in the FA Cup and then Galatasaray later the same day against someone else. It will be good to see Chavski only win the Carling Cup after all the moment they have spent. Mourinho's shaggy dog story this week will not have helped either.
As for Galatasaray, a win on Saturday together with Besiktas not winning would put them into second on goal difference. Then its Bursa away for CimBom and Kayseri away for BJK. We could sneak into the Chimps League if we are not careful!!
Monday, May 14, 2007
The fat lady has sung....
So thats it for another season, the EPL title back where it belongs n Manchester and the SuperLig title temporarily over in Kadikoy.
I notice there are not so many conspiracy theories around at the moment from the boys in yellow and blue. I guess a bit of silverware solves all the problems! Pathetic.
Gulay and I cannot comment on the weekends match with Galatasary as Digiturkwebtv did not seem to able to get the feed sorted. All I know is that Sivas scored in the last minute, a depressinly common occurrence this season to cause points to be dropped and for the Kadikoy mob to be handed the title with games still left to play after Besiktas capitulated at Bursa. Bet Tigana is glad he is leaving before he is chased out.
Somehow this season has felt very anticlimactic after last season. It just felt like the title was going to Kadikoy irrespective of how teams played on the pitch. We can't even get particularly enthused about this weekends game even though the UEFA spot is on the line. If Galatasaray had spent so much money on players etc. we would have expected more than just the championship but I guess our standards are higher, having won the UEFA cup etc and being the most successful team in Turkey in terms of points gained, matches won, goals scored etc.....
I think thta is all for now.....
I notice there are not so many conspiracy theories around at the moment from the boys in yellow and blue. I guess a bit of silverware solves all the problems! Pathetic.
Gulay and I cannot comment on the weekends match with Galatasary as Digiturkwebtv did not seem to able to get the feed sorted. All I know is that Sivas scored in the last minute, a depressinly common occurrence this season to cause points to be dropped and for the Kadikoy mob to be handed the title with games still left to play after Besiktas capitulated at Bursa. Bet Tigana is glad he is leaving before he is chased out.
Somehow this season has felt very anticlimactic after last season. It just felt like the title was going to Kadikoy irrespective of how teams played on the pitch. We can't even get particularly enthused about this weekends game even though the UEFA spot is on the line. If Galatasaray had spent so much money on players etc. we would have expected more than just the championship but I guess our standards are higher, having won the UEFA cup etc and being the most successful team in Turkey in terms of points gained, matches won, goals scored etc.....
I think thta is all for now.....
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Fresh air and hills
Last year when we were in Cleveland I commuted to work every day by bike. Since we moved back to New Jersey that is not possible because that would give me a 100 mile ride every day in and out of Manhattan. Somehow I dont think that is practical. So I have been riding at weekends and whenever else I can find the time.
Snce last fall and all through winter I was riding on my mountain bike in the loal state parks and now that Spring has sprung I am back on the road again. Well at least I have been for the last three weekends since I got the warranty replacement rear wheel from Trek.
So I decided that today would be a long ride and cover some roads I have never used before, I tell you internet maps are the way to go. I had ridden about 50% of this route before so some of the scenery was not surprising but some was. Near where we live its quite hilly, not mountainous but there are a number of lakes and ridges which makes riding tough as you are either climbing or descending, no flat bits where you can spin and recover. So the first part of the ride included a 35 minute gradual uphill pull from the lake past Mahlon Dickerson reserve, through Russia and on over to Ogensburg. that was the familiar but. Dropping into Russia was the highlight speed wise where I hot 78km/h!! The next part was all unknown and started with a cruise past the Sterling Mine Museum and then a rolling ride into more "English" countryside, the rock shattered areas near home giving way to rolling fields and greenery. With no wind and a pleasant 25 degrees this was great, very mind relaxing. Eventually picked up a known route near Andover and then headed back into the ridges and the West shore of the lake to get home.
Rode for 3hrs and 20 mins at an average of 25 km/h which compared to many is not great but then I am not that bothered with comparisons, I enjoyed it.
One thing I believe is that the best way to see a place is on two wheels, you have time to look around and check things out. In a car you just zoom past with the iPod hooked up and the brain in neutral.......
Tomorow will be a short ride after attending to Mothers Day duties!!!!
Snce last fall and all through winter I was riding on my mountain bike in the loal state parks and now that Spring has sprung I am back on the road again. Well at least I have been for the last three weekends since I got the warranty replacement rear wheel from Trek.
So I decided that today would be a long ride and cover some roads I have never used before, I tell you internet maps are the way to go. I had ridden about 50% of this route before so some of the scenery was not surprising but some was. Near where we live its quite hilly, not mountainous but there are a number of lakes and ridges which makes riding tough as you are either climbing or descending, no flat bits where you can spin and recover. So the first part of the ride included a 35 minute gradual uphill pull from the lake past Mahlon Dickerson reserve, through Russia and on over to Ogensburg. that was the familiar but. Dropping into Russia was the highlight speed wise where I hot 78km/h!! The next part was all unknown and started with a cruise past the Sterling Mine Museum and then a rolling ride into more "English" countryside, the rock shattered areas near home giving way to rolling fields and greenery. With no wind and a pleasant 25 degrees this was great, very mind relaxing. Eventually picked up a known route near Andover and then headed back into the ridges and the West shore of the lake to get home.
Rode for 3hrs and 20 mins at an average of 25 km/h which compared to many is not great but then I am not that bothered with comparisons, I enjoyed it.
One thing I believe is that the best way to see a place is on two wheels, you have time to look around and check things out. In a car you just zoom past with the iPod hooked up and the brain in neutral.......
Tomorow will be a short ride after attending to Mothers Day duties!!!!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Nationalists wet dream
Better be careful what I say here but morons springs to mind....
ANKARA - AFP
Turkey adopts law to block 'insulting' websites
Monday, May 7, 2007
 print this page  mail to a friend
|
Turkish lawmakers adopted a law on Friday allowing the state to block access to Internet sites that are deemed to insult the country's founder, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The legislation also authorises authorities to cut off access to sites whose content includes criminal activities, such as the sexual abuse of minors and prostitution.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who proclaimed modern day Turkey in 1923 on the ashes of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, is seen as a national hero by secular Turks in the mainly Muslim country and his legacy is protected under a special law.
In March, the country's largest telecommunications provider, Turk Telekom, blocked access to the popular video-sharing site YouTube on a court order over a clip that allegedly insulted him.
Users regained access two days later after YouTube removed the video and Turk Telekom petitioned the court to revoke the banMonday, May 07, 2007
Bah humbug
I have been an intermittent if opinionated contributor over at AmerikanTurk with regard to politics etc. which will come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog. However there is something I feel the need to say as someone who is proud of her country and proud to be a Turk.
Erdogan, Gul and the AK Party are not the problem in Turkey right now, neither is the Army who are after all fulfilling the legacy of Atatürk in defending the Turkey we have today and its separation of religion and state. Much as it pains me to say it but the man in the picture is the biggest single obstacle to progress in Turkey.
I cannot believe that a responsible political party boycotted the vote in Parliament today and this mans ignorance and intolerance is almost single handedly handing the country to the AK Party.
There are a number of things that are severely wrong with the CHP and Baykals position in particular:
1) Proportional representation as practised in Turkey is absurd with the 10% threshold limit. Why is a party that attracts less than 3 million votes not accepted as being representative? However the CHP and other educated secularists supported that as it meant the hardline Islamist parties and other assorted nutters were kept out of Parliament. Now the AK Party has a massive majority in Parliament with only 30% of the vote because of it.
2) Not being present today shows contempt for democracy. The CHP and its allies should have been there and voted against instead of not bothering to turn up. That is childish.
3) The great unwashed in Turkey will be lapping this up. The media will be pumping out that fact that the AK Party wants to make sure people power elect the President, etc. As the CHP have appeared to stop due process electing a President in accordance with the laws and procedures they themselves were party to this virtually guarantees that the AK Party will be providing the next President.
Alot of commentators have stated that Ataturk would be turning in his grave at the thought of a President with a headscarf wearing wife in Cankaya. Surely the Law would prohibit Mrs Gul from actually entering Cankaya as it is a public building? I am not so sure. What could be a better example of separating religion and state than an outwardly religious man being president of a determinedly secular country and upholding that separation. Surely this would have been the best example of how democracy and acceptance of religion as a personal statement rather than as an article of government could be articulated.
Whilst I do not disagree with the protesters who tuned out en masse their hijacking by Baykal and his cronies is odious. If anything this is likely to result in an increased majority and vote for the AK Party of new elections are held and a definite vote for an AK Party Presidential Candidate. As much as I dislike Erdogan for his hectoring, arrogant, patronizing, shouty manner you have to give the man his dues he is a far better politician than Baykal and understands the 60 million in Turkey who do not live in villas or apartments near the Bosphorus....
In summary Baykal has left the filed open now for the AK Party to dominate the discussion....what kind of politician is that.......a very, very bad one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)