So, we ended the first half of the season in second place in the SuperLig just one point behind the leaders. The top 4 in the Lig being filled by Kayseri and Bursa probably to most peoples surprise with last years Champions Besiktas down in 5th spot although only 5 points separates the top 5 teams.
The last match of the season was a hard fought win over Genclirbriligi where the team made hard work of a 1-0 victory. Having said that we did have the ball in the net on a number of occasions only for the referee to disallow all but the most obvious goal. Overall the team played well but as I mentioned in my previous post we really need someone to lead the line and cannot rely on Kewell and Arda to keep scoring especially as Mustafa Sarp appears to have forgotten where the goal is at the moment. Lets hope Baros is back in the New Year.
A 2-1 win over Trabzonspor in the Turksih Cup during the week followed and looks like we will be qualifying for the next round in that competition as well.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Catch up
Its been a while but what with the snow here in New Jersey its been a bit like hard work as the end of the Year approaches.
Back in Istanbul after a fantastic start to the season CimBom fell flat on their faces and as usual failed to capitalize in others inadequacies. If the defence could have stayed awake long enough against Manisaspor and as for the dodgy IBB result well really we should and would be top of the Lig. Mind you with the way the deck is stacked in FB's favor this season its still going to take a small miracle to win the Lig.
The Europa League was rather a stroll in the park with the hard work done in the first three matches we could take our foot off the gas and afford to lose in the Terminator's stadium in Austria. Of course that tournament now gets harder as the Chimps League failures drop down into it but still at least the group stage was negotiated without too much drama.
Overall then probably a B+ for the first half of the season and it will be interesting to see whether the club tries to bring in a striker in January as ever since Baros got injured we have struggled to break down teams. Nonda is not the answer.
So this week sees the visit of one of the high flying Ankara teams but even so it should be three points if we play to our strenths and do not get sucked in to the opposition tactic, a habit we sometimes still have despite the abundance of playmakers we have.
Back in Istanbul after a fantastic start to the season CimBom fell flat on their faces and as usual failed to capitalize in others inadequacies. If the defence could have stayed awake long enough against Manisaspor and as for the dodgy IBB result well really we should and would be top of the Lig. Mind you with the way the deck is stacked in FB's favor this season its still going to take a small miracle to win the Lig.
The Europa League was rather a stroll in the park with the hard work done in the first three matches we could take our foot off the gas and afford to lose in the Terminator's stadium in Austria. Of course that tournament now gets harder as the Chimps League failures drop down into it but still at least the group stage was negotiated without too much drama.
Overall then probably a B+ for the first half of the season and it will be interesting to see whether the club tries to bring in a striker in January as ever since Baros got injured we have struggled to break down teams. Nonda is not the answer.
So this week sees the visit of one of the high flying Ankara teams but even so it should be three points if we play to our strenths and do not get sucked in to the opposition tactic, a habit we sometimes still have despite the abundance of playmakers we have.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Daylight Robbery
Ignore the handball, ignore the foul on Keita in the build up, ignore the offside, ignore the fact that Sarp almost had his shirt ripped off, ignore the free kick count that ikn the last 10 minutes was 10-1 in favor of IBB, ignore the fact taht GS should really have been more than 1-0 ahead, but most of all Huseyn Gocek you are a wanker......
Why cant we have a referee who just for once has obviously not been bought by that fucker Aziz because only the Fucking Budgies are allowed to win anything..
Incompetent, useless, crap does not do justice to the biased, bought referee.
And I know people will say I am upset because we only drew but then you do did not watch the match, I do not know what we have to do to win, obviously Adnan needs to put his hand in his pocket and buy some refs because its obvious we are going to get nothing but shit otherwise.
Why cant we have a referee who just for once has obviously not been bought by that fucker Aziz because only the Fucking Budgies are allowed to win anything..
Incompetent, useless, crap does not do justice to the biased, bought referee.
And I know people will say I am upset because we only drew but then you do did not watch the match, I do not know what we have to do to win, obviously Adnan needs to put his hand in his pocket and buy some refs because its obvious we are going to get nothing but shit otherwise.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Turkey day
So today is Thanksgiving that typical all American Day where religion and ethnicity does not come into play, probably the biggest and most important holiday of the year in the You Ess of Eh. Of course any mention that this a tradition that arrivied with the colonists and is almost certainly based on the old English tradition of Goose day is granted with derision but lets face it Thanksgiving started with the so called Pilgrims who were Brits, the term American was not excatly in common useage at that time.
Anyway its the one time of the year when Turkey gets all the headlines, just the wrong Turkey as far as I am concerned.
Four day weekend started today as well, excellent news except it means the Husband will be hanging around the house instead of working but that's a small price to pay.
Oh yes and GS blew the chance to go top with a woeful draw at home to the former washing machine mechanics of Manisa!
Anyway its the one time of the year when Turkey gets all the headlines, just the wrong Turkey as far as I am concerned.
Four day weekend started today as well, excellent news except it means the Husband will be hanging around the house instead of working but that's a small price to pay.
Oh yes and GS blew the chance to go top with a woeful draw at home to the former washing machine mechanics of Manisa!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
France handed place in SA
Thierry Henry cheats, well that's not news but his pathetic attempts to claim innocence, it was ball to hand hardly convince especially when you see the replay, double hand movement!
And as for sblatter and platypus....
In other news the Seyrantepe stadium is back on track, Arda has swine flu and its Manisa at home on Sunday...
And as for sblatter and platypus....
In other news the Seyrantepe stadium is back on track, Arda has swine flu and its Manisa at home on Sunday...
Monday, November 09, 2009
Kurdled
Another weekend another three points even though the performance was not very good we will take the three points thank you.
After 11 minutes though I would have settled for a draw as CimBom played very poorly. I tell you at the moment Spurs or Arsenal could have Servet for free the way he is playing! With Sabri and then Arda scoring finally the result went our way although not until Baris got himself sent off for two relatively innocuous tackles. Not sure why Rijkaard did not take him off mid way through second half to avoid that happening, we certainly had enough midfield players on the bench with Linderoth and Elano available.
Reflecting on the TFF's punishment after the crime in Kadikoy I find it hard to understand why its only 2 matches behind closed doors, last seasons GS got 5 matches plus one that had to be played away from Istanbul! I guess throwing bottles into players faces and using lasers is not considered very dangerous. I also read a lot about ppor littel cheat Carlos and the assault on him by Keita, of course Keita should have been red carded but how else are you supposed to get a monkey off your back when its hanging on around your neck. Watch the incident again and tell me why Carlos stayed on the pitch for that rugby tackle made as last man. Oh I forgot it must have been written into the contract with the Aziz stooge in black who took 9 minutes to either count his money or wait for the wire transfer to arrive. Still at least we wont have to watch that slap head for too much longer as he announced he will leave Brazilbahce in January, good riddance I say.
After 11 minutes though I would have settled for a draw as CimBom played very poorly. I tell you at the moment Spurs or Arsenal could have Servet for free the way he is playing! With Sabri and then Arda scoring finally the result went our way although not until Baris got himself sent off for two relatively innocuous tackles. Not sure why Rijkaard did not take him off mid way through second half to avoid that happening, we certainly had enough midfield players on the bench with Linderoth and Elano available.
Reflecting on the TFF's punishment after the crime in Kadikoy I find it hard to understand why its only 2 matches behind closed doors, last seasons GS got 5 matches plus one that had to be played away from Istanbul! I guess throwing bottles into players faces and using lasers is not considered very dangerous. I also read a lot about ppor littel cheat Carlos and the assault on him by Keita, of course Keita should have been red carded but how else are you supposed to get a monkey off your back when its hanging on around your neck. Watch the incident again and tell me why Carlos stayed on the pitch for that rugby tackle made as last man. Oh I forgot it must have been written into the contract with the Aziz stooge in black who took 9 minutes to either count his money or wait for the wire transfer to arrive. Still at least we wont have to watch that slap head for too much longer as he announced he will leave Brazilbahce in January, good riddance I say.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
So easy League
| 2009 Second Round - Second Round Group F | ||||||
| CLUB | GP | W | D | L | Pts | GD |
| Galatasaray | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| Panathinaikos | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Dinamo Bucuresti | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -6 |
| SK Sturm Graz | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -3 |
And this is supposed to be a competition? 3-0 away in Bucharest with our old player Tamas playing?
I guess the remaining matches we can roll out the reserves.
Of course it will get harder when the likes of liverpool and barcelona drop out of the chimps league and get added to the Europe League but this is embarrassingly easy.
So long as we beat the greeks, who cares.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Comfortable
Can we play Sivas every week please??? Talk about a fall from grace, last season pushing hard for top spot and this season scraping the basement of the SuperLig. I think only the fact that Ankaraspor are thrown out of the league meaning only 2 other teams go down will save Sivas this year as they are a shadow of last season. Not that I really care but it seems like every season there is a team not from Istanbul that threatens and then the season after sinks without trace. A couple of seasons ago it was Manisa who then got relegated, last year Sivas, this year Bursa...I do find it amazing that the third and fourth biggest cities in the country don't even have a SuperLig team, Izmir and Edirne but again, thats their problem not mine. Its a bit like Leeds and Newcastle not having a Premier League Team....oh that's right they don't!!!
Back to the match and well really it was very comfortable for CimBom. They should have been ahead after 5 minutes but it took until the 11th minute before Nonda, who is going to have to be more consistent in Baros absence, slotted a well taken goal. The second goal was a touch controversial but there is a 6 second rule on goal keepers. I recall Newcastle scoring from a similar situation against Bolton a few seasons ago after that paragon of fair play Shearer complained about how long Jaaskalainen was holding gthe ball. Its rare but its the law.
Anyway not that it should have mattered as GS could and should have had a hatful but Arda, who is getting more and more selfish and more and more big headed every match, wasted about 4 golden opportunities.
Next up is Dinamo Bucharest and a win or even a draw should be enough to ensure progress to the next round of the Europa League.
Back to the match and well really it was very comfortable for CimBom. They should have been ahead after 5 minutes but it took until the 11th minute before Nonda, who is going to have to be more consistent in Baros absence, slotted a well taken goal. The second goal was a touch controversial but there is a 6 second rule on goal keepers. I recall Newcastle scoring from a similar situation against Bolton a few seasons ago after that paragon of fair play Shearer complained about how long Jaaskalainen was holding gthe ball. Its rare but its the law.
Anyway not that it should have mattered as GS could and should have had a hatful but Arda, who is getting more and more selfish and more and more big headed every match, wasted about 4 golden opportunities.
Next up is Dinamo Bucharest and a win or even a draw should be enough to ensure progress to the next round of the Europa League.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Cup Success
I am still pissed about what happened on Sunday so I am going to refrain from too many comments other than to the following:
1) Offside
2) Penalty.....having a laugh??
3) Just how much money was made available......9 minutes to count your money is ridiculous when it delays kick off.
And to cap it all Baros suffered the dreaded curse of the Metatarsal and is likely out until January.
So it was with relief that we could concentrate on the Turkish Cup this week and celebrate a win over Bucaspor 2-1. Of note was that Linderoth played 65 minutes. I really hope that he has finally overcome his injury problems as he will be a welcome addition back into the midfield as back up for Ayhan and Sarp.
Next up are Sivasspor at Ali Sami Yen and hopefully last yeasr surprise team will be put firmly back in their box and GS get their campaign back on track.
1) Offside
2) Penalty.....having a laugh??
3) Just how much money was made available......9 minutes to count your money is ridiculous when it delays kick off.
And to cap it all Baros suffered the dreaded curse of the Metatarsal and is likely out until January.
So it was with relief that we could concentrate on the Turkish Cup this week and celebrate a win over Bucaspor 2-1. Of note was that Linderoth played 65 minutes. I really hope that he has finally overcome his injury problems as he will be a welcome addition back into the midfield as back up for Ayhan and Sarp.
Next up are Sivasspor at Ali Sami Yen and hopefully last yeasr surprise team will be put firmly back in their box and GS get their campaign back on track.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Better
Right so after a brief pause in my blogging activities due to lack of time here we are back with a report on the last couple of weeks activities in CimBom land.
The disappointment of Turkiye missing out on going to the World Cup and having to listen to the Husbands comments as England cruised through to South Africa, although if they think they will win they have another thing coming, was slightly offset by the fact that Terim resigned. I just hope that the GS board are not tempted to bring him back as the coach or Director of Football and upset what is going with Rikjaard. I think there are a few vacancies he can fill, Notts COunty or maybe the boss of South Africa as Santana just quite. Somewhere along way away from Istanbul would be good.
Then it was back to the cut and thrust of the SuperLig where GS made hard work of disposing of Trabzonspor at the weekend. The defence still needs some work it has to be said. Servet does not look the same player as last year, probably as a result of the injuries he received and I am not sure that Rijkaard has settled on the best defence line up yet although Hakan, Servet, Gokhan and Sabri is probably the first choice. Would be interesting to see how Caner would fit in at left back in this line up as well as Ugur Ucar on the right just as a viable alternative as I am not sure Hakan Balta's best position is left back. In midfield the pairing of Sarp and Ayhan is solid but lacks creativity. I would prefer to see Arda, Sarp, Baris Ozbek and Kewell in there and play Keita with Baros up front. Still I'm not the coach and so far apart Rikjaard seems to be getting things right.
The big test though is this weekend with the first GS-FB derby match of the season. Given last weeks result in Antep and the fact that the gap is only 2 points now I am sure that pressure is already being applied to the referee for the match to ensure another dodgy FB victory with plenty of red cards for GS you know for complaining about having smoke bombs thrown at their heads etc.....
Before that through is a small matter of Dinamo Bucharest in the Europa League so Rikjaard will need to make some careful decisions about the team he plays on Thursday to ensure he has the best team available for Sunday.
The disappointment of Turkiye missing out on going to the World Cup and having to listen to the Husbands comments as England cruised through to South Africa, although if they think they will win they have another thing coming, was slightly offset by the fact that Terim resigned. I just hope that the GS board are not tempted to bring him back as the coach or Director of Football and upset what is going with Rikjaard. I think there are a few vacancies he can fill, Notts COunty or maybe the boss of South Africa as Santana just quite. Somewhere along way away from Istanbul would be good.
Then it was back to the cut and thrust of the SuperLig where GS made hard work of disposing of Trabzonspor at the weekend. The defence still needs some work it has to be said. Servet does not look the same player as last year, probably as a result of the injuries he received and I am not sure that Rijkaard has settled on the best defence line up yet although Hakan, Servet, Gokhan and Sabri is probably the first choice. Would be interesting to see how Caner would fit in at left back in this line up as well as Ugur Ucar on the right just as a viable alternative as I am not sure Hakan Balta's best position is left back. In midfield the pairing of Sarp and Ayhan is solid but lacks creativity. I would prefer to see Arda, Sarp, Baris Ozbek and Kewell in there and play Keita with Baros up front. Still I'm not the coach and so far apart Rikjaard seems to be getting things right.
The big test though is this weekend with the first GS-FB derby match of the season. Given last weeks result in Antep and the fact that the gap is only 2 points now I am sure that pressure is already being applied to the referee for the match to ensure another dodgy FB victory with plenty of red cards for GS you know for complaining about having smoke bombs thrown at their heads etc.....
Before that through is a small matter of Dinamo Bucharest in the Europa League so Rikjaard will need to make some careful decisions about the team he plays on Thursday to ensure he has the best team available for Sunday.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Run ends
So after becoming UEFA's team of the month and having not lost a game and hardly conceded a goal CimBom's run ended thanks to a rather bizarre goal conceded against Eskisehirspor.
This was probably Galatasaray's worst performance so far this season. Even though the game was mostly played in Eskisehirpsors half of the pitch there were not that many real clear cut goal scoring opportunities unless you ignore the 3 gold plated ones that Keita managed to waste. He really should have had a hat-trick before half time and those misses came back to result in 2 points wasted after one of the 2 chances they had resulted in a massive deflection and a goal. Thats football I guess but really we should have been out of sight by halftime. I have a feeling Rijkaard will be reminding the players that they have to play for all of the 90 minutes and that 1-0 is not a good scoreline. So now the Kadikoy mob who have playing dismal football are somehow top of the League with amazingly a 100% record.
Having said that CimBom never appeared to be in danger of losing this game as Eskisehirspor hardly threatened and the GS defence even without Emre Asik and Zan is looking solid with Ugur an able deputy to Hakan Balta who has been playing central defence the last couple of games.
Next up on Thursday are Sturm Graz in the Europa League at Ali Sami Yen and I really hope we get a better result than last time we played them. I would expect to see Elano and Baros starting this one as well as Ayhan who was on the bench for Sundays match in place of Nonda and Mehmet Topal and maybe Sarp. But lets see.
This was probably Galatasaray's worst performance so far this season. Even though the game was mostly played in Eskisehirpsors half of the pitch there were not that many real clear cut goal scoring opportunities unless you ignore the 3 gold plated ones that Keita managed to waste. He really should have had a hat-trick before half time and those misses came back to result in 2 points wasted after one of the 2 chances they had resulted in a massive deflection and a goal. Thats football I guess but really we should have been out of sight by halftime. I have a feeling Rijkaard will be reminding the players that they have to play for all of the 90 minutes and that 1-0 is not a good scoreline. So now the Kadikoy mob who have playing dismal football are somehow top of the League with amazingly a 100% record.
Having said that CimBom never appeared to be in danger of losing this game as Eskisehirspor hardly threatened and the GS defence even without Emre Asik and Zan is looking solid with Ugur an able deputy to Hakan Balta who has been playing central defence the last couple of games.
Next up on Thursday are Sturm Graz in the Europa League at Ali Sami Yen and I really hope we get a better result than last time we played them. I would expect to see Elano and Baros starting this one as well as Ayhan who was on the bench for Sundays match in place of Nonda and Mehmet Topal and maybe Sarp. But lets see.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
6 more goals
So after the expected win over Besiktas last weekend it was a short hop over to Athens to put the Greeks firmly in their place with a 3-1 win over Panathinaikos in the first match of the Europa League group stage. Elano with 2 and Baros with the other, the only blemish on an otherwise excellent display was the goal conceded.
Then it was back to reality on Monday night with the short trip to Kasimpasa. By the way what is it with all of these Monday night matches? They used to be a very rare occurrence but now seem to happen every week, what happened to Friday night, Saturday and Sunday evening, those are the correct times for football not Monday. Anyway as I was saying reality hit rapidly with the poorest performance of the season rescued by Nonda with three goals in about 20 mins in the second half.
Although its the reality of modern day football with all the matches to be played but the constant changing of the team hardly helps the continuity needed to be consistently good. Still it was three more points, even if I had no nails left after the game and a potentially tricky match out of the way. Next up is Eskisehirspor who have re-established themselves in the Super Lig and a team who embarrassed CimBom last season so lets hope we give a better performance this year.
Then it was back to reality on Monday night with the short trip to Kasimpasa. By the way what is it with all of these Monday night matches? They used to be a very rare occurrence but now seem to happen every week, what happened to Friday night, Saturday and Sunday evening, those are the correct times for football not Monday. Anyway as I was saying reality hit rapidly with the poorest performance of the season rescued by Nonda with three goals in about 20 mins in the second half.
Although its the reality of modern day football with all the matches to be played but the constant changing of the team hardly helps the continuity needed to be consistently good. Still it was three more points, even if I had no nails left after the game and a potentially tricky match out of the way. Next up is Eskisehirspor who have re-established themselves in the Super Lig and a team who embarrassed CimBom last season so lets hope we give a better performance this year.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Lions eat eagles
Well well well.
Last season must have been a vintage year for overachievers as the champions were comprehensively outplayed with a score line that could have been worse. Also Sivas were beaten 3-1 by Manisa leaving Sivas with no points after 4 matches.
Anyway back to the matter in hand. The team was pretty much as expected with Baros as a single striker supported by Kewell, Keita and Arda with Mustafa Sarp and Mehmet Topal as the defensive midfield.
Mustafa Sarp is looking like an extremely good buy as he ghosted in at the rear post in the 4th minute to head Ardas corner in unmarked. Following that were two goals by Baros as the goal king started to fire. Kewell should have had 2 goals as well but somehow failed to convert two excellent chances.
Overall an excellent performance that underlines just where the power has swung in the SuperLig, played 5 won 5 and it looks like a straight fight between GS and Brazilbahce this season, of course things can change but the way Rijkaard has got the team playing it is looking good. Having Elano on the bench was a bonus although when he came on it seemed like the team balance was changed somewhat and it took a later adjustment to balance things up when Baris came on to be the ball winner.
Last season must have been a vintage year for overachievers as the champions were comprehensively outplayed with a score line that could have been worse. Also Sivas were beaten 3-1 by Manisa leaving Sivas with no points after 4 matches.
Anyway back to the matter in hand. The team was pretty much as expected with Baros as a single striker supported by Kewell, Keita and Arda with Mustafa Sarp and Mehmet Topal as the defensive midfield.
Mustafa Sarp is looking like an extremely good buy as he ghosted in at the rear post in the 4th minute to head Ardas corner in unmarked. Following that were two goals by Baros as the goal king started to fire. Kewell should have had 2 goals as well but somehow failed to convert two excellent chances.
Overall an excellent performance that underlines just where the power has swung in the SuperLig, played 5 won 5 and it looks like a straight fight between GS and Brazilbahce this season, of course things can change but the way Rijkaard has got the team playing it is looking good. Having Elano on the bench was a bonus although when he came on it seemed like the team balance was changed somewhat and it took a later adjustment to balance things up when Baris came on to be the ball winner.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Walk in the Park
Monday night in Ankara, must be 3 points and it was. A routine victory over a somewhat limited Ankaraspor, looks like the rumors swirling over at the Round Ball in Ankara may have an element of truth in them, dismember the team, get relegated and disappear. I mean last season there were 4 teams from Ankara in the SuperLig and looks like this will be reduced to 2 at the end of this season whihc is probably about the right number.
So two goals in the second half from Kewell and Nonda took GS back to the top of SuperLig after the Kadikoy mob had briefly held that position thanks to some rather inconsistent refereeing. Having stoped Manisa because one of their forwards was offside even though the ball was not played to him, 2 minutes later the same happened at the other end with the offside player eventually scoring but where was the whistle??? Of course not...
We added another player to the roster yesterday, Caner Erkin who had been playing at CSKA Moscow. He is a left winger so is Arda on the way out?
Next up is Besiktas in the first Istanbul derby of the season. On from this should be a straight forward win for CimBom but form in derbies tends to go out of the window and last season GS were very bad against their main rivals. I have a feeling it may be different this season as BJK will also have one eye on their upcoming Champions League elimination...
So two goals in the second half from Kewell and Nonda took GS back to the top of SuperLig after the Kadikoy mob had briefly held that position thanks to some rather inconsistent refereeing. Having stoped Manisa because one of their forwards was offside even though the ball was not played to him, 2 minutes later the same happened at the other end with the offside player eventually scoring but where was the whistle??? Of course not...
We added another player to the roster yesterday, Caner Erkin who had been playing at CSKA Moscow. He is a left winger so is Arda on the way out?
Next up is Besiktas in the first Istanbul derby of the season. On from this should be a straight forward win for CimBom but form in derbies tends to go out of the window and last season GS were very bad against their main rivals. I have a feeling it may be different this season as BJK will also have one eye on their upcoming Champions League elimination...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Europa League
CimBom cruised into the Group Stages of the Europa League with a 1-1 tie with Tallinn giving a 6-1 overall victory.
Today the draw was made for the group stae and we have been drawn with Panathinaikos, Sturm Graz and Dinamo Bucharest.
Those are three clubs with European form.
Dinamo have reached the European and Cup Winners Cup semi finals in the 1980's and during 2006/7 beat Besiktas, admittedly not that difficult, en route to the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup. Like a lot of Eastern European Clubs the sweeping away of communist regimes led to problems in the 90's as the financing of the clubs was severely affected but this is a team we should not take lightly.
Panathinaikos founded in 1908 just 3 years after GS is like the FB of Greece, that is the number 2 team in Greece. A good solid team in Europe they are managed by Henk Ten Cate and the forward line is led by Djbril Cisse. The game with these guys will likley be long on emotion and short on quality but interesting none the less.
Sturm Graz are an Austrian team founded in 1909. We have come across them before in the 2000 Champions League Group stages with a 3-0 loss in Austria and a 2-2 in Istanbul they are not fondly remembered.
So all in all an interesting group but with the the current squad and Rijkaard in charge I am cautiously optimistic we will get through. At least this season the competition has home and away matches rather than last season when it was single match against each team.
Next up in the SuperLig is Ankaraspor away on Monday. Given the turmoil in the Ankara clubs this season I would expect a win but teams always raise their game against CimBom so nothing should be taken for granted.
Today the draw was made for the group stae and we have been drawn with Panathinaikos, Sturm Graz and Dinamo Bucharest.
Those are three clubs with European form.
Dinamo have reached the European and Cup Winners Cup semi finals in the 1980's and during 2006/7 beat Besiktas, admittedly not that difficult, en route to the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup. Like a lot of Eastern European Clubs the sweeping away of communist regimes led to problems in the 90's as the financing of the clubs was severely affected but this is a team we should not take lightly.
Panathinaikos founded in 1908 just 3 years after GS is like the FB of Greece, that is the number 2 team in Greece. A good solid team in Europe they are managed by Henk Ten Cate and the forward line is led by Djbril Cisse. The game with these guys will likley be long on emotion and short on quality but interesting none the less.
Sturm Graz are an Austrian team founded in 1909. We have come across them before in the 2000 Champions League Group stages with a 3-0 loss in Austria and a 2-2 in Istanbul they are not fondly remembered.
So all in all an interesting group but with the the current squad and Rijkaard in charge I am cautiously optimistic we will get through. At least this season the competition has home and away matches rather than last season when it was single match against each team.
Next up in the SuperLig is Ankaraspor away on Monday. Given the turmoil in the Ankara clubs this season I would expect a win but teams always raise their game against CimBom so nothing should be taken for granted.
Monday, August 24, 2009
One horse race?
Three matches into the season and three wins with 11 goals scored and 4 conceded. Not a bad start really. In fact this season could well be a one horse race. Trabzon and Besiktas appear to have hangovers from last seasons modest success and the wheels have fallen off the Sivas wagon. Trabzon's loss to Toulouse at home in the Europa League was simply a shambles.
Anyway Sunday saw a competent display by the Lions who swatted Kayseri aside 4-1, and no Harry Kewell either. An instant hero was made on Sunday with Elano's superb strike for the third goal, what a finish that was, top corner volley, superb. Baros got off gthe mark as well with a couple of strikes so the goal king is back in the hunt. Kayseri did an awful lot of complaining to the referee during the match when in reality they should be extremely thankful he did not as a minimum send Cangele off for repeated poor fouls. Most of their complaints were irrelevant although they had a valid complaint about the corner for the second goal, it did come of Baros and not the defender but hey these things even themselves up during the season!
So the team and squad is coming together nicely, the defence seems to be picking itself although it will be interesting to see if Rijkaard rotates the defence again like last week, even if he does it seems like he actually has a plan to manage the health and fitness of the players. Another midweek match is on the horizon in the return match in Talinn, so that's a lot of matches already this season!
One horse race, maybe, lets see after todays matches.
Anyway Sunday saw a competent display by the Lions who swatted Kayseri aside 4-1, and no Harry Kewell either. An instant hero was made on Sunday with Elano's superb strike for the third goal, what a finish that was, top corner volley, superb. Baros got off gthe mark as well with a couple of strikes so the goal king is back in the hunt. Kayseri did an awful lot of complaining to the referee during the match when in reality they should be extremely thankful he did not as a minimum send Cangele off for repeated poor fouls. Most of their complaints were irrelevant although they had a valid complaint about the corner for the second goal, it did come of Baros and not the defender but hey these things even themselves up during the season!
So the team and squad is coming together nicely, the defence seems to be picking itself although it will be interesting to see if Rijkaard rotates the defence again like last week, even if he does it seems like he actually has a plan to manage the health and fitness of the players. Another midweek match is on the horizon in the return match in Talinn, so that's a lot of matches already this season!
One horse race, maybe, lets see after todays matches.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Roosters roasted
Somehow I feel a little bit sorry for Denizli. Your first two matches are against Brazilbahce and then Galatasaray and you lose both on aggregate 6-1. Oh well things can only improve for them!
Intertesting selections from Rikjaard on Saturday with three of the four defence changed compared to the opening match. First match it was Hakan Balta, Servet, Gokhan and Sabri. Against Denizli it was Ugur, Emre, Emre and Volkan Yaman who was replaced by Hakan Balta after 60 mins. The first 40 minutes they were somewhat of a shambles and gave Denizli some hope that they may come away with a point or points. The Denizli goal was due to a complete misunderstanding between Emre G, Ugur and Franco who both stood and watched as the Denizli player nodded the ball home. Obviously Rijkaard is still trying to work out the best defensive partnership but I would have though that it would be obvious, it would be the group from the first match with the others able to rotate in and out due to injury, suspension etc.
Midfield and attack looks relatively straightforward with Arda, Kewell, Ayhan, Keita and maybe Baris and or Elano with Baros operating as a one striker and Arda and Kewell being the overlapping wide men. Keita looks a good buy and I am sure when Elano gets fit he will prove to be a good signing.
Anyway after the shock of Denizli scoring first once the defender had tried to hide his handball and the referee had awarded a penalty the result was never really in doubt although I have to say that Kewell's first penalty was poor and he was lucky the keeper dived over it.
As for Baros well he had no luck again and its a bit strange that we have scored 7 goals in the Superlig and last years goal king has yet to score!
Intertesting selections from Rikjaard on Saturday with three of the four defence changed compared to the opening match. First match it was Hakan Balta, Servet, Gokhan and Sabri. Against Denizli it was Ugur, Emre, Emre and Volkan Yaman who was replaced by Hakan Balta after 60 mins. The first 40 minutes they were somewhat of a shambles and gave Denizli some hope that they may come away with a point or points. The Denizli goal was due to a complete misunderstanding between Emre G, Ugur and Franco who both stood and watched as the Denizli player nodded the ball home. Obviously Rijkaard is still trying to work out the best defensive partnership but I would have though that it would be obvious, it would be the group from the first match with the others able to rotate in and out due to injury, suspension etc.
Midfield and attack looks relatively straightforward with Arda, Kewell, Ayhan, Keita and maybe Baris and or Elano with Baros operating as a one striker and Arda and Kewell being the overlapping wide men. Keita looks a good buy and I am sure when Elano gets fit he will prove to be a good signing.
Anyway after the shock of Denizli scoring first once the defender had tried to hide his handball and the referee had awarded a penalty the result was never really in doubt although I have to say that Kewell's first penalty was poor and he was lucky the keeper dived over it.
As for Baros well he had no luck again and its a bit strange that we have scored 7 goals in the Superlig and last years goal king has yet to score!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Comfortable Start
So after 4 matches in the Europa League which saw CimBom travel to Kazakhstan and Israel and progress comfortably to the next round where we have to travel to Estonia I think it was back to the real action in the SuperLig with an away match in Gaziantep.
The result, a comfortable 3-2 win. Of note during the match was Keita swallowing his tongue after a bad fall and some good performances from Sarp, Keita and our new goalkeeper Leo Franco. Arda started off well but did his usual disappearing act except later in the game when he became visible again as he argued with the referees! Despite being a great talenet he needs to learn how to control his emotion on the pitch as the yellow cards he picks up for stupidity outweigh his contribution.
Otherwise an average start, no real standouts and no real failures.
I feel a bit sorry for Linderoth though, he has hardly played and looks like he is out for another long spell after a knee ligament operation, that is one player who has had terrible luck with injuries, wonder whether we will see him in the yellow and red again.
Looking forward to seeing Elano get a start, obvioulsy not fully match fit but I have a feeling he could ba a very good signining for GS to replace Lincoln who at times looked like he could not be bothered last season.
So summer is over and soccer is back, this seaosn I am cautiously optimistic about Galatasarays prospects with Rijkaard in charge, just hope he remembers that there are more than just the Istanbul teams in the Lig.
The result, a comfortable 3-2 win. Of note during the match was Keita swallowing his tongue after a bad fall and some good performances from Sarp, Keita and our new goalkeeper Leo Franco. Arda started off well but did his usual disappearing act except later in the game when he became visible again as he argued with the referees! Despite being a great talenet he needs to learn how to control his emotion on the pitch as the yellow cards he picks up for stupidity outweigh his contribution.
Otherwise an average start, no real standouts and no real failures.
I feel a bit sorry for Linderoth though, he has hardly played and looks like he is out for another long spell after a knee ligament operation, that is one player who has had terrible luck with injuries, wonder whether we will see him in the yellow and red again.
Looking forward to seeing Elano get a start, obvioulsy not fully match fit but I have a feeling he could ba a very good signining for GS to replace Lincoln who at times looked like he could not be bothered last season.
So summer is over and soccer is back, this seaosn I am cautiously optimistic about Galatasarays prospects with Rijkaard in charge, just hope he remembers that there are more than just the Istanbul teams in the Lig.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Season starts with a win
So Galatasaray managed to beat the might of FC Tobol over the two legs of he Europa Cup 2nd qualifying round. Not very easily but the home match was never really a problem and CimBom ended up with a routine 2-0 win with none of the new players appearing.
Next up is Macabi Natanya or somene from Israel.
No real view of the new players yet so not much to report.
Vacation time is over hence the sudden retunr to posting and now the pre-season taining starts as the Super Lig is back in action on August 9th.
Next up is Macabi Natanya or somene from Israel.
No real view of the new players yet so not much to report.
Vacation time is over hence the sudden retunr to posting and now the pre-season taining starts as the Super Lig is back in action on August 9th.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New faces and the season starts already!!!!
With a new coaching team in place the transfers are starting to dribble in. Mustafa Sarp has been recruited from Bursaspor presumably as cover/option for Ayhan who looked knackered at the end of last season as he had to run the entire midfield by himslef as Arda looked moody on the touchline.
Gokhan Zan has been snapped up on a free from Besiktas. Not a huge fan but would be a good replacement or partner for Servet depending on whether Servet heads to France or not.
Lots of rumours as usual and lots of the fringe players coming and going but nothing else major on the horizon.
The squad is already back in training as the season starts already on July 16th with the 3rd Qualifiying round match for the Ueropa League against Tobol from Kazakhstan and the second leg on July 23rd. Lets hope Rijkaard does his research as these kind of teams are a banana skin waiting to happen sop early into the season.
Gokhan Zan has been snapped up on a free from Besiktas. Not a huge fan but would be a good replacement or partner for Servet depending on whether Servet heads to France or not.
Lots of rumours as usual and lots of the fringe players coming and going but nothing else major on the horizon.
The squad is already back in training as the season starts already on July 16th with the 3rd Qualifiying round match for the Ueropa League against Tobol from Kazakhstan and the second leg on July 23rd. Lets hope Rijkaard does his research as these kind of teams are a banana skin waiting to happen sop early into the season.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Rudi Voeller should duck.....
Rijkaard takes Galatasaray post
 Rijkaard is set for a new challenge in a new country |
Frank Rijkaard has been appointed technical director of Turkish side Galatasaray, replacing Bulent Korkmaz.
The 46-year-old had been out of football since leaving his post as Barcelona coach at the end of the 2007/2008 season.
Rijkaard, a former Dutch international, took over at Barcelona in 2003 and won La Liga in 2005 and 2006, as well as the Champions League in 2006.
He also had a two-year spell as Holland coach from 1998-2000.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Anyone need a job?
So the worst kept secret in Turkish football happened today. Bulent Korkmaz resigned as head coach of GS despite being just 4 months or so into a 2.5 year contract.
Lets just hope that whoever the Board picks next stays around a bit longer tahn the last three coaches.
Lets just hope that whoever the Board picks next stays around a bit longer tahn the last three coaches.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Galatasaray in Europe
I was wrong CimBom will be representing Turkey in the new Europa League next season. Having finished fifth we will have to start in the Second Qualifying round playing one of the following teams.
Personally I think it will be hilarious if we draw Crusaders.......you can just imagine the headlines.....
"Crusaders invading Istanbul.......again"
Bring it on....
Personally I think it will be hilarious if we draw Crusaders.......you can just imagine the headlines.....
"Crusaders invading Istanbul.......again"
Bring it on....
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