Thursday, May 29, 2008

England 2- 0 USA

So anything the Husbands lot can do we can also do.....with a 2-0 hammering of mighty .....Finland. Whilst the majority of the English Press declared themselves no more than satisfied with a solid performance against allegedly inferior opposition we find the Turkish media lauding the Imperator etc...

Finland have a couple of world class players, Jasskalainen, Hyppia and Litmarnen spring to mind but as opponents for a EURO2008 finalist one should expect a slightly more comprehensive victory.

Once again Semih and Kazim prove that they are not really international class and thats not GS talking its reality. If Basturk is sent home then Kazim is not international class.....

And over in Toulon the next generation were embarrased with a 4-0 loss against Ivory Coast....

oh life is good.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The hills are barely alive

So after a crushing victory over Slov someone Turkey followed that up with a resounding 3-2 loss to Uruguay that powerhouse of South American football.

Just when you thought it could not got any worse as well.

I hope Fatih Terim has some form of plan because so far there appears to be a complete lack of one. Oh and if Volkan is an International Goalkeeper then there is hope for almost anyone, he is useless.

We have the makings of a good team but not with Kazim on the pitch. Obviously Nihat has to play but where is the target man to allow Nihat and Arda to run on to the ball, oh yes we don't have one because the only forwards taken are small and like to play running at the defence rather than holding the ball up so we have no tactical options, absolute genius to do that.

Wonder what the excuse will be for the next embarrassment against Finland.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Wind of change......

With apologies to the Scorpions a wind of change blew through the Luznikhi stadium this afternoon or night depending where you are and probably ended Chavski as we know them.....oh dear.
I watched the match with the Husband who was remarkably restrained except for the occasional abuse directed at the Chavski players especially fat Frank.

It was an intriguing game with two very different tactical approaches on show which was won by the manager who believes in youth and flair rather than raw power, although if Man Utd want to dominate for the next couple of years they need an enforcer or is that going to be Anderson.

Anyway penalties are an absolute killer and the relief when John Terry hit the post was immense. On balance I think the best team overall won but then I would say that, however the Chavski goal was rather lucky so I think the result was fair overall.

Oh and Turkey beat Slovakia 1-0 in a warm up match for Euro 2008...impressive eh.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Oh dear, oh dear

It appears that Fatih Terim is mad after all......earlier this evening I was teasing the Husband as England will not be at Euro 2008 and then about an hour later I found him crying with laughter in front of the computer which was open at the page that showed the Turkish Team for 2008.....and after I read it I could understand why he reacted.....what is this squad....

Emre Asik ffs??????????????????????????????? cannot get a game at GS and still in the Turkish squad!!!!!!

I mean why not ask Alpay to play?????

Who is going to score the goals, not Semih, who has regularly been found wantnig at International level and definitely not the others, what happened to Fatih Tekke, Umit Karan and Mehmet Yilmaz???

And for goalkeeper, an idiot, a has been and who??

Its such a shame that one of the best players this season in the Superlig Baris Ozbek holds a German passport, otherwise he should be in the squad as he has been a standout player for GS this season. And why is Ayhan in the squad, he cannot operate at the next level....

I hope I am wrong but I feel we will be home early...

Champions Again

So Galatasaray wrapped up their 17th Championship with a fairly routine win against some team from Ankara.

I must admit that although I am happy we won the SuperLig the feeling was not the same as a couple of years ago when it went to the last game of the season. I guess this was because the hard work had been done with the victories against FB and Sivas in the previous two games. This meant all we had to do was not lose and as GS have only conceded 23 goals in the SuperLig this season, which is the lowest of all teams, meant that unless the defence had a complete meltdown (not impossible remember Leverkeusen) then the one point we needed was fairly safe.

A goal each from Hakan and Hakan Balta was enough to seal the points and start the celebrations.

Speaking of which what on earth was the management thinking bring a live lion to the stadium. Totally unnecessary and cruel...really. This annoyed me so I am still not able to really enjoy the victory and the championship because of this.

Still its a good achievement when you consider that the expensive imports brought in to provide the edge hardly figured except for Nonda. Lincoln missed half the season and Linderoth was also injured. One of the best payers was Baris, a snip at $1m, lets face it who needs washed Brazilians costing millions of dollars. Add to that a temporary coach for the last third of the season and its a remarkable achievement..!!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Touching distance

Thank goodness that is over....the stress is too much at times. For a neutral that was probably a good match to watch, 8 goals, end to end attacking but as a fan it was horrible...

I am not sure whether the defending was poor or the attacking was of such a high grade but I must admit the ComBom defense looked at its most vulnerable this season, big holes, uncertainty and occasional panic certainly contributed to the scoreline and nerves in this observer at least. I would imagine a central defender should be on the shopping list for the summer and a new right back if Sabri leaves for Italy, although there are one or two defenders in the squad so maybe thats not a top priority.

As for Sabri, after some awful performances earlier in the season the last couple of games he is back to something like his best which is as an attacking full back. If he does go to Italy he will fit right in though with his attitude and ease with which he goes to ground.

Some good goals from both sides although there were also a couple of dodgy ones, the second Sivas goal may have crossed the line but there should have been a fee kick to GS earlier in the action. Hakan was offside for goal 5 but I am not sure how much real difference that made, except to the average. Arda claimed a hat-trick with some well taken goals but I think the best was Ayhans from 30 yards out.

Why on earth the team did not play like this against Kasimpasa I do not know because if they had we would now be Champions!!

Anyway all to play for next week at home to Genc Oftas where as long as we do not lose we will be Champions irrespective of what the Kadikoy mob do. Heres hoping Trabzon do the business although I have a feeling neither Sivas or BJK can finish second even if they level on points due to their worse goal average.

We are within touching distance, despite no coach and what is basically a home grown team......