The Lions of Galatasaray

Winter Starts

2012-01-21T07:32:00.003-05:00

Today we had the first snow of the winter in NJ. Well we had snow back in October but that was weird. Started during the night and its still snowing right now. Not too much though just a modest 3 to 4 inches and give the fact that the weather forecast is anticipating warmer weather this week I doubt this will be around for too long. Thankfully we bought a new car last year which has All Wheel Drive so bring on the snow!!!

I see the clubs threatened by relegation die to their corrupt practices are lobbying for points deductions rather than relegation. As a GS supporter I propose that any club where individuals are convicted of match fixing should be shut down and the stadium redeveloped as a pig farm and all their trophies and results cancelled. Because clubs like that bunch of shit from Kadikoy seem to think they are above the law and should be erased from history.

A little bit of daylight

2012-01-08T12:31:00.002-05:00

Well, well.

Galatasary came out of the traps following the winter break and won their first two matches, although the one against Samsun yesterday was more of a struggle than it should have been. 2-0 down after the first half, GS reacted well and ended up with a 4-2 win. Some good substitutions especially Sabri who was having a very poor match in the first half.

Right now we have a 7 point lead over the Kadikoy mob who play on Monday against Antep. Of course finishing at the top does not mean anything this season with the ridiculous play off system being foisted on the teams.

Anyway I would like to be able to read and comment on what the AKP is doing to my country, soon the jails will have more people in than are free on the street. But I cannot.

Winter Champions

2011-12-22T09:13:00.001-05:00

For the first time in 10 years and despite the best efforts of the TFF Galatasary are winter champions and I have to say, as you would expect, that it is well deserved and hopefully a sign of things to come next year.

Good Tidings

2011-12-18T13:17:00.002-05:00

Since my last post GS have been a winning streak, beating FB, Trabzon and Ordu, despite the best efforts of referees and opposition. This leaves GS on top of the league for the first time in a long time.

Watching the Trabzon FB match and Cuneyt Cekir, FB's 12th man is busily making sure the match fixers get a chance to won another match sending off and booking Trabzon players for no real reason.

Almost cheated

2011-11-26T18:08:00.001-05:00

After the Husband watched Manchester draw against 14 man Newcastle, and I challenge anyone to defend the penalty decision.....the GS match gave evidence of more referee incompetency and inconsistency.

There is no doubt that Engin had to be sent off, you cannot head butt another player, even if he has just pushed you in the back. Elmanders red card seemed a bit harsh, he had to put his foot down, looked bad in slow motion but at full speed was just clumsy. Of course somehow the Sivas goalkeeper somehow only yellow carded for the penalty foul, even though he was last man and denied a clear goal scoring opportunity, did not get another card for the push to Engin and stayed on the pitch.

Anyway we won and scored even if it came at a price, obviously GS are still far from having the refs on their side, no surprise with the TFF chairman dressing in FB underwear!!

Catching Up

2011-11-26T09:11:00.001-05:00

Well after 5 days without power earlier this month we finally got off the generator and got water, lights and heat back. I can fully understand the desperation of the people in the Van area who are having to live in tents while the temperature is below freezing and the snow is coming, still I am sure that with a bit more praying the wonderful leaders of ours will resolve the situation. Of course in an effort to deflect criticism we have an apology and a figure pointing from our glorious leader - I guess the next target is Ataturk and the restoration of the Caliphate. And the real problem is the lack of discussion because the internet is censored to suit Islamic taste, the press is muzzled because any criticism and we will arrest you, and then Syria is criticized!!!!

On the soccer front GS as usual failed to take advantage of a slip a couple of weeks ago and have only taken 2 points from their last two games and failed to score a goal. The home match against Mersin was particularly frustrating. We would only be a couple of points behind the cheats if we could have have just scored a goal, although the referreing does not exactly help.

Cuneyt Cekir, is he the the worst ref of all time or what. Having watched him kill the GS - BJK match with his incessant whistle blowing, a match that the TFF should provide BJK with a large fine and stadium ban, we then had to suffer him play to the strengths of Benfica as the Portuguese team spent more time looking at the grass than they did vertical, and free kick after free kick and incorrect offside decision after another. Oh by the way does anyone know what the two extra officials are supposed to do, seems to me they contribute nothing.

So going into todays match we have a chance to close the gap to 3 points so long as we score and win.

Storms etc...

2011-11-01T15:02:00.002-05:00

After the last post when I felt optimistic we had the Gaziantep match with what was probably one of the worst referee displays for a long time, anyone who thinks match fixing and ref buying is over because the chief cheat is in jail obviously overlooked the fact that the TFF boss is a huge Kadikoy fan, hence the fact they still are in Superlig.

Anyway once we were able to keep 11 people on the pitch the Kayseri Spor game was a return to form.

However I was only able to watch the Kayseri Game via an intermittent wireless broadband connection due to the winter storm which took power out on Saturday and 4 days later we still don't have power back. Having no power means no water, as the well pump does not work, no heating etc. and its about 5C during the day and -5 at night.

2011-10-16T18:37:00.002-05:00

Been a while since I was on here. Anyway I felt it was time to add a post to the blogosphere even if no one reads it becaseu you know for the first time in a couple of seasons I feel slightly optimitic, I just hope that does not end too soon.

After the crap in the first game of the season the squad obviously had a serious world with itself and since then have played reasonably well, to the point that we are joint top with IBB (which seems odd I have to say) for now until the team that should not even still exist plays on Monday.

Obviously the new arrivals and completely overhauled squad took a while to bed down and now that the spoiled brat Arda is no longer with us the team plays as a team instead of an ego stroker.

In today's match against Bursa, CimBom rarely looked like they would lose even when Bursa pulled a goal back to level the scores. I was feeling that GS would go on and score a second which they duly did thanks to the recently shaved Milan Baros.The midfield was functioning and protected the defense, where Gokhan Zen appeared to remember that he was once a top class player, Melo in particular played with a passion missing in the last couple of season from some of the players who have appeared for the club.

So all in all some reasons to be cheerful, lets hope it lasts!

Season start

2011-09-13T21:11:00.002-05:00

So after all that waiting, anticipation, new players, old new coach, hype and terrible indecision by the Fenerbahce Football Federation...........CimBom delivered the same crap as last season.

Slow, no imagination, no defence and did I mention slow and no passion........pretty much sums it up....

After Irene

2011-08-29T19:27:00.001-05:00

So the power will be out for at least a week........seriously!!!!!!! Better go and buy some more deo

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T21:23:00.002-05:00

We are not amused..........10pm Saturday night and the rain and wind is increasing.......until tomorrow

TFF Totally Failed Federation

2011-08-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

So the TFF cannot make a decision despite all the evidence that points to the fact that FB bought their way to last seasons championship. Who cares if the defendants are in jail, simply relegate FB to the third Lig and demolish the stadium so we never have to suffer these cheating, lying, diving assholes ever again, but that's just my biased opinion.

What a severe embarrassment they are and especially the FB loving chairman.

MAKE A DECISION SO THE SEASON CAN START INSTEAD OF ALLOWING FB TO DESTROY YET ANOTHER SEASON.

And so it continues

2011-07-29T11:03:00.002-05:00

I see that the authorities in Beyoglu decided to remove all the outdoor tables and chairs from the bars while people were sitting and enjoying their evening.

What a wonderful advertisement for Turkey, Istanbul and tolerance. There are conflicting reports, some say its because the chief Dictator (PM) wanted to walk through the streets and did not want to be offended by the sight of people drinking alcohol, some say its because Ramadan is coming and consumption of alcohol is blasphemous, although oif you are a non muslim or non believer why should other peoples mediaeval beliefs be forced on you, some say its because the chairs and tables made it difficult to walk on the streets. Whatever the real story it seems like another example of the heavy handed and unsubtle authoritarian streak that is latent in almost every Turkish male government official and possible evidence of the continuing creeping Isalmification of Turkey.

Personally I am waiting for the day when the AKP bubble bursts, maybe it just did with the Armed Forces Chief resigning....coup anyone??????????

WTF?????

2011-07-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

While the morons at the TFF attempt to find a way to find FB not guilty and let them play in Chimps League for which I am sure they will be rewarded with more than just shirts the rest of the world is going up in flames.

IN Norway 92 kids are shot dead by some fucking nazi, Amy Winehouse is found dead (no real surprise there) and the US struggles with debt so large there is no real solution unless you are republican which means screw the elderly, the poor and the disenfranchised so that millionaires don't have to pay more tax, which includes wife beating, DUI amassing, drug dealing steroid injecting professional athletes (NFL Players) who have the fucking cheek to organize a labor dispute because their multi million dollar a year contracts for being gangstas are at threat.

And what is the issue with Norway well its the issue with most countries that have recent Muslim immigrants. The immigrants arrive, breed like rabbits, do nothing, breed like fucking rabbits, complain there is no mosque, complain there is no halal meat, have everything given to them on a plate by the non muslims due to human rights, which do not exist in the muslim world unless it's in their favor, lets see freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia anyone?.......... and guilt complexes and then what happens they shit on the street in front of everyone and demand respect. FUCK YOU and your fucking religion because what you mean is obey my rules and things will be fine otherwise we will complain and moan and bitch until they get what they want.

And I am a muslim and i hate these spongeing, bigoted creatures, why should anyone receive special treatment because of a personal belief. So no one should be surprised when the locals eventually get upset but this in no way condones what happened in Norway. But its not hard to uinderstand why these things happen, why work hard when all you have to do is immigrate, complain and be given a job and an aprtment when locals get harder treatment, after all abusing your own is OK as long as you give better treatment to immigrants and refugees or you would not be showing respect!!!!!

And I am on vacation at the Jersey shore having a good time on the beach................this has me so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Summertime

2011-06-22T16:53:00.002-05:00

So midsummer is upon us and significant signings still elude CimBom although Ujfalusi and Elmander are solid captures. Will be interesting to see who else we are able to bring on board as its obvious there will be a significant restructuring of the squad. Looks like our new chairman checked behind the couch and found a few Euros to assist in this restructuring.

Writing this in San Francisco airport waiting for a delayed flight to Newark after spending a few days in the peoples republic of California at the Husbands company expense as he attneds a conference and I get to play tourist. Must admit SF is a different vibe to the East Coast......and the Anchor Steam is a fine beer

Almost over

2011-05-17T15:24:00.002-05:00

So this weekend the torture that has been the 2010/1011 SuperLig season will be over with a thoroughly undistinguished 9th place or thereabouts. At least the spectre of relegation was quickly dispelled and the team have payed something resembling football in the last couple of matches.

There is a nucleus of a reasonable team but there is also a lot of dross that needs to be cleared out. I somehow cannot see Kewell, Neill or Baros and maybe Servet being at the club next season along with a few others.

Will be interesting to see if Fatih Terim does return, personally I think its a bad decision if he does. The GS board should have looked at the likes of Martin O'Neill or even Allardyce to help recreate a team but as with most of the decisions this year by the management you have to wonder whether they are all FB supporters at heart.

Ah well, at least we can only improve.....I hope

Friday night

2011-04-01T23:16:00.002-05:00

Sitting half watching the Jazz and Lakers as we start to get towards the business end of the NBA season, Mehmet Okur not featuring tonight due to injury. This winter feels like it has been long, it snowed in NJ/NY/CT today, although I must say it has been interesting with Mubarak gone and the Winds of Change finally reaching North Africa and a faint breeze reaching the Arab gulf. I sincerely hope Septic Bladder is regretting Qatar....,

The Husband mentioned the other day that in some respects what has happened the last couple of months is as dramatic and changing as the Berlin Wall coming down or Mandela walking free.....the difference is now though that we have RSS feeds to our 4G Droids with "Live " coverage of these events, and "twatter" rather than the slightly shaky but immeasurably more raw, real and powerful TV images of the Berlin Wall coming down.

I think we forget sometimes how much information we have to hand, who remembers "Whose gonna drive you home" at Live Aid???? But what is the most striking image you remember from Japan, Libya, Egypt, they blur....

Nostalgia over, have to send a couple of txts, emails and post this for someone, maybe no-one to read

What a season

2011-03-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

And our third coach of the season is Bulent Under.....

Good luck.....

Blahhhhhh

2011-03-24T19:23:00.001-05:00

So we have continued to lose.....

And today we had 12 inches of snow....

Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Plumbing the depths

2011-02-27T16:17:00.002-05:00

In a season long on disappointment and short on pleasure Saturdays inept surrender was probably the worst game of football I have seen GS play for a very long time.

No plan, no clue, no organization, no heart, no soul....other than that it was ok I guess.

Absolutely pathetic.

No doubt as the season draws to a close we will hear all the usual garbage from various sections of the media that will claim Mourinho is coming or Kaka....personally I would settle for Sam Allardyce, at least his teams are hard to beat even if they are not the most pleasant to watch....

This weather sucks

2011-02-21T07:47:00.002-05:00

So after having continuous snow coverage on the ground since Christmas, last week it started to thaw and I could see a patch of grass in the yard, it snowed again. Another 8 inches to add to the 50 or so inches we already had.......here is a view from the Husbands office window in Queens, where there was only a couple of inches....

Talk about biased

2011-02-20T21:22:00.002-05:00

So what to do when you are 2-1 down and you need a quick fix. Hope Cuneyt Cekir is your referee, foul the defender to the point he bangs you in the face once the ball has gone out for a throw in and lo an behold he will give you a penalty and send the defender off. I mean this guy is incompetent, anyone who watches football knows that, but how on earth he managed to work out that FB deserved a penalty after Lugano was clearly fouling Ferrari only he and his conscious knows, but hey I guess his new villa is now paid for.

As for Galatasary well the struggles continue, but at leas we are winning our home matches but I don't think we will be in Europe next season so I guess Baros, Kewell and Neil will be off.

Good start

2011-01-25T22:14:00.002-05:00

well I say that but in reality it was a struggle to beat Sivas 1-0 in the opening match at the new stadium,,,,,

Still we will take it

Its a wrap

2010-12-26T20:11:00.002-05:00

So its farewell to Ali Sami Yen Stadium and to a half season that we would like to forget big time. I have to say that this ha sbeen on fo the worst half seasons I have ever seen from Galatasaray, its almost like the squad forgot how to play as a team. It looked to me as if Rijkaards heart was not in it at the start of the season, after all he only had a one year contract with an option for a second, then the useless transfers made by the club can hardly have excited him. Pino has proven to be okay without being able to score, Cana has been okay, Misimovic a disaster and Insua was a panic buy.

I have to say that I am skeptical as to whether we will see Baros in a GS shirt again and as for Arda, make up your mind, stay or go.

Unfortunately the team is going to be weakened at the start of the season as Lucas Neil and Kewell will be wasting their time in the Asian cup. I suppose we have to get used to this as the moron Splatter and his money grubbing, corrupt bunch of bank account fattening thieves have decreed that the world cup in Qatar should occur in the winter.

Personally I hope the major Football associations tell Fifa to fuck off but I cannot see it happening.....I mean seriously, lets change everything so we can have a World Cup in a homophobic, jihadist towel head state.....wonder how many tickets Jack Warner is going to make a profit off selling on the black market.......

Anyway I seriously hope that Hagi is able to kick some spirit into the squad and that a couple of new faces are brought in to freshen things up for the second half of the season..

Transfer and corruption

2010-12-02T22:18:00.002-05:00

Transfer: Elano has been transferred to Santos for the huge sum of $2.9m. Oh well it was fairly obvious he had lost the desire to play for Galatasaray and his body language after being substituted against Besiktas is now explained. Lets hope Misimovic follows him out and the club either trust in the younger players or buys a half decent striker.

Corrpution: When Preseident Putin is defening you then I think you have all the evoidence you need to understand just how corrupt FIFA is. I can understand up to a point why Russia got 2018. I mean its an opportunity for the country to fix some infrastructure and improve their stadiums used in the Russin Premier League. Of course the flip side is that probably 50% of the moeny will end up in the hands of the mafia and then there is the ever present threat posed by the right wing facistic skinhead supporters who will be overjoyed to have the African teams in Russia. Oh well at least the beers cheap.

But QATAR???????????? Why does a country of 1.2million need 12 soccer stadiums??????? Who wants to play in indoor air conditioned stadiums???? and given this is a Muslim country I cant wit to see what will happen when some bare chested bunch of English or Polish supporters need a beer or a shag.......oh and Qatar was implicated in a vote swap deal...

IN short FIFA prove themselves to be totally incompetent and corrupt, not that we di not know that already but the slimeballs that are on the executive committee are simply vomit inducing and really should be thrown out with Blatter........I hope now thta England did not get to host one of the events that their jouranlists catch some of these corrupt egomaniacs with either their trousers down or their hands in the till ....

What the fuck is happening to Galatasaray????

2010-11-28T15:27:00.002-05:00

After the draw away at Kayseri last week I thought the team may be able to take that performance and build on it and win the Besiktas match. Well I was wrong, the team played badly, with the exception of Ufuk and Lucas Neill and tamely lost at home 2-1. Of course the selection of Cuneyt Cekir as the referee should have set the alarm bells ringing as he has a history of finding it hard to give decisions in Galatasary's favor and we were not to be disappointed in this match.

First off was the penalty, which was rather soft. What it did show is that Ali Turan is not quick enough to be the right back. If he was faster then he could have at least attempted the tackle outside the box but once he was committed Holosko was already heading grasswards even before the contact. So penalty???? And if that was a penalty there were at least two that should have been given to GS later in the match, especially when Kewell was taken out, but surprise, surprise none was given.

The issue I have greater problem with though was how Hilbert stayed on the pitch, after he was yellow carded he seemed to be allowed to do whatever he wanted and could not be given a second yellow even for worse tackles than the one that earned the yellow!!!!

Anyway, overall we probably did not deserve to win as we seem unable to score goals this season in the absence of Baros. Pino runs alot but is not a natural finisher as he has shown numorous times in the last few matches, and why was Mehmet Batdal even bought, he is worse than useless.

So only 3 more matches until the winter break but if this form continues we are going to be closer to the relegation positions rather than the Europe positions which would be an embarrassment after building such a nice new stadium.

I'll take the draw

2010-11-22T15:33:00.002-05:00

Just when you thought things could not get much worse they did, so I'll take a draw this week.

After signs of improvement against FB with a 0-0 draw which we could easily have won, then a 2-1 win at home against Antalya the wheels fell off with a 2-0 loss at Trabzon and reached a nadir with a 2-0 loss at home to Manisa. This was such a bad game, only Lucas Neill emerged with any credit at all, Servet looked hopeless but he was not the only one.

So an away match at Kayseri who were second in the Lig at start of the day was not something to be looked forward to. Anyway the match was fairly even and either side could have won. In short GS played reasonably but we are desperately missing Baros. Considering we hit the post and should have had a penalty the draw was a bit disappointing but still it was not a loss. So we are now only 13 points behind Trabzon.....

Catch up

2010-11-04T06:12:00.003-05:00

Quick recap of the last few days.

GS strolled to a 2-1 win over Antalya. Well at least it was a win and it seems like a shape for the team is finally emerging.....

Over in the US the well informed electorate voted back in the people who got them in the mess they were in before....turkeys and thanksgiving seems appropriate.

Oh and Bursa got stuffed........they have been woeful in Europe but all conquering in Turkey. What does that tell us about the standard of the SuperLig? Man Utd took them apart at will.....

Point earned

2010-10-25T04:33:00.002-05:00

Todays 0-0 draw with FB actually felt like a win.....simply because it could have been a lot worse after the last couple of weeks.

The defence was much stronger today with Neill back in the side, someone who can actually defend and is not afraid to leave his mark on the opposition forwards either...

Pino looked lively as the lone striker, with Baros, Kewell and Arda injured I guess he was the only option and with a bit more luck could have had a couple of goals.

All in all a reasonable performance considering Hagi and Tugay only had a couple of days to get the team ready, plus they managed to extract a performance from Elano that was closer to his National team form than he has shown for a long time.

Okay we still need to start winning games but I would say that the FB fans out there should be more worried than the GS fans as GS looked more likely to win the game and created more chances.

Everyone of them is a moron

2010-10-20T06:02:00.003-05:00

So after a shambolic display against Ankaragucu where we appeared to be playing a 0-0-11 formation with defence and marking as an optional extra, we are now left with no coach 4 days before the FB derby in Kadikoy.

Absolutely mind numbingly moronic on all levels.

It should have been obvious to all concerned that Rijkaard was not interested after the summer break and the fact that the club management managed to sign Insua (not good enough for Liverpool), Misimivic and Pino......who the f*** they are, lost Caner to FB and basically screwed up the entire summer transfer dealings, you could see from his body language that he was not happy. Add to that his personal issues and he was a resignation waiting to happen.

So well done one and all.

As for the players only Baros showed any desire on Sunday, and I felt sorry for Ufuk as time after time the defence vanished.

I am not sure anyone knows who our strongest 11 is but subject to injuries and suspensions the one below would be closest to it in my opinion:

Ufuk
Hakan Balta (out of sorts but still best LB we have)
Neill
Sarp (Servet is a lame donkey, Zan has vanished so who else?)
Sabri

Misimovic
Elano
Ayhan
Arda

Baros
Kewell.

Rubbish

2010-10-05T21:38:00.002-05:00

After the last four excellent matches, last Friday was like a bucket of vomit being thrown on your head. A dodgy penalty and a deflection left us grasping at straws but really we should have been able to come back against this team who we beat last year in the Turkish Cup. The only good thing this weekend was that Bursa did not win.

Baros hat-trick

2010-09-29T20:49:00.004-05:00

Bit slow in making a post this week but thats mainly because I have been busy as my father is here in the US at the moment so finding a few minutes to post has proved to be a challenge.

Anyway a much improved performance especially in the first half against IBB secured all three points. It would have been better to have kept a clean sheet as well but one goal can be tolerated. The result improved our position in the Lig and completes 4 straight wins with 8 scored and 2 against.

I guess the high point was that Baros scored a hat -trick including a penalty but I guess we will take all goals as counting, and he could and should have scored more as GS for once this season opened up a team with relative ease. We were equal on points before the match so a victory was by no means certain especially after IBB had turned over Besiktas at Iononu earlier in the season.

Most of the summer buys, excluding Ali Turan were on display. I am still not convinced about Insua but Pino looks like a good aggressive central midfielder who can complement or even replace Ayhan. Misimivic looks useful as well in the attacking midfield position, similar player to Ilic.

Not sure what Sabri and Hakan will do to get back in the team.......

WTF????????????????

2010-09-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

Turkish football rocked after boss is stabbed six times on the touchline - by his elder brother!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1311997/Turkish-football-boss-stabbed-touchline--brother.html#ixzz10D4INlMK

9 points in three matches

2010-09-19T07:08:00.002-05:00

After the Old City match I mentioned there was perhaps a spark, well maybe there is, small but valid. After the International break we came back with a 1-0 win over Antep and then another 1-0 over Bucaspor a recently promoted team. Totally not pretty but three points is three points and we will take that. Temporarily we are up to 5th with the BJK/FB match today which might change that.

As I am currently in Turkey access to blog has been a tad tricky, holidays you know so hopefully we will be back on track next weekend.

A spark?

2010-09-01T04:42:00.002-05:00

Well maybe there is life left in the old cat after all as CimBom suddenly found it within themselves to win a game. The last couple of seasons trips to Eskisehir have proved less than fruitful so I have to admit I feared the worse before the game especially after the insipid showing against Carpet Life in the Europa League.

As the first half unfolded it looked like my fears would be realized as we got ahead only to give up a soft goal. It would be easy to blame Ufuk for dropping the ball from the initial cross but given that our left back of the day was nowhere to be seen and was not tracking the Eskisehir player he had no choice but to go for it. At that point I feared the worst because the team suddenly appeared to become 11 individuals who were meeting for the first time. For a few minutes they played some of the worst football I have seen GS play for a long time and I could understand why Rijkaard was going nuts on the sideline and why Lucas Neill was screaming at everyone......Arda had as usual disappeared at this point except when he was complaining about something or other.... he really does need to leave so that his ego can be brought under control.

Anyway the second half was better and after Volkan Yaman scored for his former employers confidence appeared to return with the team playing better as the match went on and a third, scrappy, goal added by Servet.

Three points but still problems. The defense, Neill apart looks fragile. Servet seems to be missing a spark, Hakan Balta is struggling and Sabri has disappeared. The new signing Insuea will fill some gap but he hardly set the English Premier League alight with Liverpool. Midfield is looking promising with Cana, Misimivic, Elano able to bring some order to things with Mustafa Sarp and /or Ayhan to do the water carrier or Makelele role. In attack Baros continues to score with Kewell and Arda (when he can be bothered to play) adding some subtlety. Problem is that this is quite a few changes and it has to be hoped that the team gels quickly

Cheating bastards

2010-08-28T20:50:00.002-05:00

So Bursa won again.

Volkan Sen scored. However that cheating little shit should not even have been playing after his deliberate handball last weekend. An offence that only bthe referr can explain was not worth a yellow and hence a red for second offense, even the payer knew he should be off.

Here is the effect that a shithead referee has. No red card, player gets to finish game and play the next match where he scores. Possible point swing 6 due to incompetent wanker blowing whistle.

To say I am pissed is an understatement. The only good thing is that I am waiting for Bursa to get absolutely mothered by Man Utd.

Season over already

2010-08-26T18:33:00.002-05:00

So with the 1-1 tie against Karpaty Lviv where we allowed a team reduced to 10 men to equalize in injury time and so progress at our expense, plus the played 2 lost 2 status in SuperLig it would seem that the season is practically over. Maybe the club should focus on rebuilding the team, clear out the dross, sell Servet to anyone who will offer money for example....

And I guess we will be looking for a new coach in the very near future.

No where do we go

2010-08-26T04:26:00.002-05:00

So the poor results continued with a 2-0 loss at home to Bursaspor.

Having said that this match was one way traffic most of the time with GS attacking and Bursa defending. I think Bursa had like three opportunities, unfortunately they scored with 2 of them although the second goal was really an own goal as without the Neill deflection Ufuk had it covered.

Not to make excuses but how was Volkan Sen not sent off. Already on a yellow card and then an absolute deliberate handball which from his reaction he knew was worth a second and hence red but somehow the useless referee failed to produce the card. As I mentioned previously its clear the refs have already been given their orders because that was an absolutely blatant piece of cheating.

Ho hum.

So next up is the Europa League....

Can it get worse.....probably

2010-08-20T05:59:00.002-05:00

So the same result as last time in the home leg, 2-2. But this time CimBom had to rescue the match, thank goodness Baros remembers where the goal is.

What the hell is going on?

Well first thing is Arda should be left off the team, he is slow and useless irrespective of the transfer rumors, plus his big head wobbles too much when he runs.......

Frankie boy needs to get this lot motivated or he will be gone before long, or maybe that's his plan

Next up Bursa at home....I can see us being 6 points behind after only 2 matches if this garbage continues

Blaagh

2010-08-16T04:25:00.002-05:00

So the new season opened with a trip to Sivas, the place that turned a murder and arson location into a Kebab shop...such sensitive souls.

And the new season started with failure. First half CimBom played okay and gained a 1-0 lead after only seven minutes through Sarp. For some reason the referee decided to get involved and awarded Sivas a free kick after a foul on Lucas Neill from which an own goal was scored thanks to a rather large push in the back on Ali Turan. After that it was all downhill and the referee's have obviously decided to not bother waiting until later in the season but start with the crap decisiosn from match day one.

Second half GS were poor and looked very tired, with the defense being opened up on a number of occasions.

Not sure why Baros only got 20 minutes and where was Pino? Some strange selections but there should be enough quality in the Galatasary squad to see off the likes of Sivas.

Paperwork woes

2010-08-12T04:35:00.002-05:00

Byzantine hardly begins to describe the difficulties I have been having to acquire one of the new Turkish Passports. My old style passport expired and so I had to apply for one of the "biometric" passports deemed so essential these days.

Easy you may think. Well think again, maybe in Turkey but when dealing withe the Consulate in New York.....!!!

First step, let me check the ekonsul web site to see what it says about passport applications. Ah yes. obtain pictures, fill in forms, provide money order, return envelope and submit your application. So I did all of that and as requested included my old passport and my ID card. That was on July 12th. After hearing nothing for 3 weeks I call the "Hotline" as the consulate phone is never answered and no-one ever answers email and am told, in contradiction of what I was told previously that "Postal applications are no longer accepted and you have to make an appointment at the Consulate." Couple of questions I had, will I ever receive my documents back from the consulate so I can make the personal appointment. no idea was the reply, please call the consulate!!!!!!!!

On checking the website again I now see that as of August the 3rd there is a new notice that says "As of June 1st, appointments have to be made to process passport applications." That's useful, 2 months after this started the website is updated!!!

So I make an appointment, 1 month after I sent the documents, which by the way have still not been returned to me. I arrive promptly at 2.30 and am processed promptly at 5.30. From 2.30 to 3.15 the 6 people who are scheduled for appoint ents at 2.30 are completely ignored by thej consulate staff, in fact we are asked "What are you doing here, there are no appointments this afternoon?" All of us are attemptiong to renew our passports we reply. Oh well the passport person is not here, please rescheule your appointments we are told. Err, No we reply. Now considering that some people had driven 4 + hrs from Boston as the NY consulate serves the whole NE of the US that would be a bit of an inconvenience.

So at 4pm I am called to a window and asked for my paperwork. You still have it I tell them,, I sent it here one month ago and you have not returned it to me even though there is a prepaid envelope. One hour later they find my paperwork.

At 5.30pm we are finally called in one by one to be processed, including fingerprints.

So what now. Well they will see whether the photo I provided is okay, if not I will have to take another and make another trip to NY. After that they will contact me and ask me to resend my old passport so they can cancel that and then send me my new passport, I mean why can they not just keep my old one when I was there? All in all the process may take 3 months which is just ridiculous.

On the other hand my father just renewed his passport in Istanbul, took him three days. The difference, the Polis issue passports in Turkey not the uncivil service.......

Smooth progress

2010-08-05T16:37:00.003-05:00

Could not watch the match but a 1-5 scoreline away rather reinforces the fact that the lads choked last week at home. Despite the pink shirts.

So after allowing two away goals CimBom remember their history and pride and cruise through. Compare and contrast to the disaster that is Kadikoy. Sack a cokehead, bring in an unproven coach, gain two away goals and then lose at home to Young Boys, a competent side but really one that should have been put away fairly comfortably. I just hope Hiddink was watching these matches so that he omits to select Volkan..... for ever.

Chokers

2010-08-03T03:02:00.001-05:00

Once again a good start followed by crap defence........when will we ever learn...now we have to score and allow no goals....fat chance. Congrats boys looks like Europe is over for another year

Almost there

2010-07-21T04:33:00.002-05:00

Now that the cloggers ceased clogging the dahlings we may be able to et back to some sensible and meaningful football instead of the bad tempered, cheat fest that was the WC Final. I have to say what a disgrace both theams were, the Dutch with their clogging and the Spinach with their whining, diving and constant play acting. Second half should have been a 5 a side game!!!

Oh well.

So GS continue to steamroll all before them, healthy wins against local sides and then a 4-0 effort over the future of Turkey?

Shades of last year when we rolled over everything in our path until the winter break and then.....pop went the season. Some good news, I hope, is that Kewell is staying so as long as he remains injury free that will be good news. Franco is leaving and Carrusca is leaving although I have to say I though he left a couple of years ago! Keita also left which was a surprise although I guess we need all the money we can get. Lorik Cana appears a good buy but El mago we will have to see, dont get to watch much French soccer in the US so really dont know that much about him....time will tell. I am sure this is not the end fo the transfer action, we may need a new goalkeeper although as far as I am concerned Aykut is a perfectly good keeper.

So the new season creeps closer and its looking positive, at least for now.

Musings on the World Cup

2010-06-20T12:03:00.002-05:00

So, my last post aside and there was a significant reason for it not just a brain dead rant, the World Cup is finally showing signs of springing into life, partly for the right and partly for the wrong reasons.

I find it incredible that the French having blatantly cheated their way into the finals anyway now look like they are about to totally implode. Anelka sent home, the team refusing to train, staff resigning etc. And this was the team that FIFA preferred to have at the finals rather than the admittedly technically less proficient Irish but seriously does anyone think they would be doing worse, at least they would have been proud to have been there and represented themselves with pride and passion unlike the riff raff passing itself off as French.

The ball, nothing wrong with it as far as I can see, its just excuses. The New Zealand keeper had no trouble with it today despite all the long distance shots.

The Italians are also doing badly, drawing with Paraguay and New Zealand and to be honest their attitude sucks as well, demanding yellow cards, attempting to get players sent off and the dive for the penalty, Oscar worthy. The thing is they are only team resorting to such blatant cheating so its a bit embarrassing, but as Platini played in Italy don't expect any harsh words on this aspect of their game anytime soon.

England - enough said.

So far the so called underdogs have done a good job of upsetting the odds, Chile, Uruguay, Switzerland etc. have been well organized, and up for it. I find it amazing that people are using the long Premier League/Serie A, Primera Lig seasons as excuses for tiredness. I would imagine that more than 50% of the players on show play there and most seem to be okay.

Anyway not much has been decided except that Holland are through and Cameroon out, the only definite we know right now so who said this was a boring World Cup.....roll on the final group matches.

B*stards

2010-05-30T21:52:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I wish all the Armenians had been killed, what a bunch of pathetic loser, traitors they are. Fuck them. That way the Kardashians would not be inflicted on us......

And yet the rest of the world takes these assholes seriously.......

Safe pair of hands

2010-05-30T09:22:00.002-05:00

Looks like Guus will have to look for a goalkeeper with half a brain cell as he would have more intelligence than Volkan. Once again he effectively cost Turkey the match against the USA with his idiot attempt to reach the ball before Donovan. Zan had it covered so why come for a ball you have absolutely no chance of reaching.

Otherwise a good performance in a game that could have gone either way. Glad Mehmet Topal is moving to Valencas as he was rubbish when he came on.

Time to draw breath

2010-05-24T04:25:00.002-05:00

So after a frantic finish to the season which saw CimBom sign off with two 2-1 defeats at home to Antalya and away at Gencler it was refreshing to see Bursaspor win the SuperLig. Actually it was mostly refreshing because it stopped FB from winning the League and the incorrect stadium announcement just made it better.

This was on reflection a poor end to a season that had started so well, with 7 unbeaten matches. The trio of Baros, Keita and Kewell tearing defenses apart and almost scoring for fun, but then things started to go awry, Baros and Kewell got injured, the team seemed tired and began to struggle to score and even more importantly the defense had a soft center to it. After the winter break the overall performance of the team continued on its slow descent to mediocrity, although hopes were briefly raised as Baros got back on the pitch and Kewell made a couple of cameo appearances. The winter recruits did ok except for Jo who was a waste of space, dos Santos looked like he might have a future but depends on cost. Lucas Neill was probably the best of the signings and lets hope he hangs around after the World Cup.

So now we are into the silly season, Mehmet Topal has already been sold and three players brought in. I would assume that Leo Franco will also be let go as he was generally poor during the season.

And finally I hope the board realize that the ego has got to go, Arda has turned into a spoilt, indulged prima donna with his theatrics becoming more important than his play. He was generally poor this season and really needs to work on his fitness, speed and technique and he may one day become a good player but for now he should be sent away to Italy or England for a spell to improve him as a player.

Crocodiles eat budgies and Lions

2010-05-16T20:57:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Bursaspor......

Fuck you all in Kadikoy......

Season wind down

2010-05-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

A fairly boring 1-0 win yesterday at the white elephant stadium where the GS supporters comfortably outnumbered everyone connected with IBB. I actually nodded off during the second half for five minutes but I dont think I missed much. Baros once again demonstrated why we have missed him and it was good to see Kewell finally back on a pitch and playing even if it was only for five minutes. Thats about it really, Baros scored, few near misses for both sides.

Bursa and the horse thieves won as well so its all the same at the top of the SuperLig.

Split Personality

2010-04-25T13:21:00.002-05:00

I have to say that I was not exactly sure which result I wanted today. With the horse thieves winning yesterday against Kasimpasa, no surprise there really with the Erdogan connection at work, I mean no-one seriously expected the fat whinger to leave anything to chance did they??????

A win for GS and whilst that would improve our chances it would virtually hand the championship to you know who and we don't want that to happen so a draw was in some ways the best result as the points are now 67,66 and 61 with BJK on 58. Bursa are guaranteed 3 out of the remaining 9 points as they "play" Ankara and finish with kayseri and BJK at home. The others finish Eskisheir at home, Ankargucu away and Trabzon at home. As long as GS win their remaining games we are at least guaranteed Europa League for the new stadium next season.

As for todays match its a pity Bünyamin Gezer was not the referee for the Kadikoy derbi given what he gave out yellow and red cards for today. Lets face it Lugano would not survive in a league where the referees are not bought for your teams matches and he would definitely have seen red due to his octopus antics in the box. The red cards for Neill and Zapo were ridiculous goiven what normally is allowed to happen in the SuperLig at corners. For a 0-0 draw this was a good game though with lots of attack and why of why has Aykut not been in goal all season a couple of superb saves today. On balance I think GS had the better chances but the 0-0 was probably a fair result with the whole team except for Jo having good games. Baros looked sharp and on another day could have had a couple and I hope the Board do not let him leave in the summer.

Getting tense

2010-04-18T08:14:00.002-05:00

So GS went to Manisa, picked up a Vestel and three points and back to Istanbul.

Overall an acceptable performance although again as against Diyarbakir we seemed to switch off at about the 65/70 minute mark and gave the opposition some hope. I cant really blame Mehmet Topal as the ball hit him and went in but even so Manisa sensed an opportunity and went for it. Of course if we had converted one of the many chances that were easier to score than miss we would have been out of sight but at least we won and picked up the three points.

One way or another the top of the SuperLig will show some changes, at least from a points and played perspective as unless BJK beat FB by at least 7 goals there will be no position changes. A draw would be good as it would spread the teams out although a BJK win may actually be better for CimBom than a draw as it would put FB within one point.

I watched the Bursa match on Friday and although they won they were not excatly convincing and with having to play GS and BJK there may be a few twists and turns yet although out of the 12 points remaining they could win they already have three as they play Ankaraspor!

Better

2010-04-12T06:09:00.002-05:00

It would be easy to say that if Baros had been fit all season that we would not be in third position in the SuperLig. It might be true but it might not be, all I know is that he has been missed as his hat-trick against an admittedly poor Diyarbakir showed. When he plays the team has a focal point, a real centre forward who is available and working for the team. The other players we tried up there this season are not really out and out goal machines like Baros, in fact at times we looked like we had no leadership in the forward line when he was not playing. So like I said it would be easy to make the assumption that if he had been fit we sould be leading the Lig.

Although CimBom won 4-1 on Sunday the overall performance was still moderate and Rijkaards constant adjustments of the team probably dont help. Since the winter break he seems unsure of his best defence and tried another version on Sunday comprising Hakan Balta, Sabri, Neill and Caner. Personally I would go for Hakan, Neill, Emre Gungor and Sabri with Caner playing in front of Hakan, but hey what do I know. These changes are not helping the team to consolidate a style or become totoally familiar with each other.

Anyway a win is a win and we moved ahead of Besiktas on goal difference and are now 5 points behind Bursa who have still to play both Besiktas and ourselves so I would not make any assumptions about the title until the last game especially as Besiktas and FB have to play each other this weekend.

Oh well

2010-04-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

So this last couple of weeks has been disappointing for both the Husband and myself.

CimBom's loss of heart in Sivas despite scoring first and having other chances was disappointing although a draw is a draw. The last couple of matches the only player who really seems to want to win has been Lucas Neill, the others seemed somewhat apathetic. This result plus the loss to the cheats and the laz have seen us drop to fourth and in danger of not qualifiying for Europe next season. Of course we can say we have not been helped by injuries to Kewell and Baros but the quality of the bargain bin replacements has not really been there although dos Santos appears to be regaining his form.

Of course our exist from Europe and the loss to the cheats could have been prevented if we had competent referees, the handball and psycho Lugano incidents.

Anyway the match this weekend should be a chance to pick up 3 point against Diyarbakir. We also still have to play Bursa at home so if we can get the attitude sorted out there could still be some surprises at the top of SuperLig. Looking at the run in for the top 4 other than Bursa GS have a relatively easier end of seaon then FB, BJK or Bursa. Especially as the last game is Bursa vs BJK and BJK and FB still have to play each other.

Its interesting how the so called media experts consider Rijkaard should go but I have to ask it is that easy why are you sitting on your fat ass on a chair in a TV studio and not managing a team.

Why?

2010-03-28T13:12:00.003-05:00

Why is Volkan Demirel allowed to play football?

Why is Lugano not sent off in every game?

I seriously hate all things blue and yellow right now and Cuneyt Cakir as well. This was not a game we deserved to lose and had we had some luck we would have won the game at least 2-0 based on the two penalties we should have been awarded but were not. Both events were on Giovanni and whilst the first one, the push in the corner was questionable, although if it was Alex it would have been given, the second in the third minute of injury time was a clear absolute penalty when Lugano grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. This was not Cakir's only bias against GS, I lost count of the number of time he would play advantage, realize GS were in a good position and then stop play to make them take the free kick giving FB chance to organize their defense. And why was Arda brought on, he achieved absolutely nothing.

Having said that it was a very poor pice of goalkeeping taht allowed FB to score. Cant see Franco being around next season.

So with three losses out of the last 4 matches I think we can kiss the championship good bye, after the start we had this season is turning out to be a big disappointment, of course the injury list has not helped but we should not be in fourth right now. I guess if Kewell and Baros had been fit we would not be, we would probably be looking down from the top of the Lig. The replacement players have not really performed, especially Elano and Jo.

Typical

2010-03-23T20:37:00.002-05:00

Just when you thought GS were getting into gear for the next Super Lig title along came Eskisehir and Trabzon where we only take 3 points from 9 and suddenly Bursaspor have opened up a 5 point gap and this weekend its the Istanbul derby which now has become a must win. Bursa meet IBB who have done a good job of spoiling the big teams parties this year.

But really GS should be home and dry by now with the quality in the squad. I guess the big problem has been the injuries especially to Baros and Kewell who were both scoring freely and carving other teams up. Both are now almost back for the run in so we should improve but right now the title is Bursa's to lose although we do have to play them before the end of the season.

3 goals 3 points

2010-03-14T17:06:00.002-05:00

As a training exercise for the run in, today was useful if not conclusive. Frankly this was a one sided match so it would be difficult to draw any useful conclusions, however it was good to see Baros get 20 minutes at the end of the match and get a goal on his restart.

Myself and the Husband watched the match at a Turkish restaurant in New York and due to the horrible weather and traffic we have been having we missed the first ten minutes so I cannot report much about Jo's first goal. I did however see the second and third goals of which Keita's was probably the better but Baros the most welcome. With Baros back and Kewell close to return it looks like we will be at or close to full strength for the rest of the season. All this and no Arda or Hakan Balta in the starting squad.

As I said a good competent performance from the team that condemns one of the second city teams to a nervous season close as they attempt to miss the drop into oblivion.

Rubbish

2010-03-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

So its not only Henry........having said that, what rubbish.

Breathing space

2010-02-28T18:58:00.002-05:00

All in all it was a good weekend. The Husband excavated the cars after 38inches of snow fell between Thursday and Saturday so we could actually get out and buy beer. Then Citeh beat Chavski 4-2 with 2 of the Kings Road cheaters red carded. Man Utd then won the Carling Cup and after FB lost to IBB with that fine upstanding player Alex getting a straight red card it was the turn of CimBom to see if they could, for once take advantage of the situation. The answer was a resounding yes with a 4-1 victory putting GS on top with a 5 point advantage over Brazilbahce and a 4 point lead over Bursa. However before we get too carried away we have Eskisehir next week a team that over the last couple of seasons we have not done too well against away.

Good all round performance to day and dos Santos should have had a hat-trick if it was not for Sahin in goal. Anyway he continued to play well and set up Keita for a string of chances as well. I have to say that Keita's first goal is a contender for goal of the season, what a stunning volley that was.

So as I said a good weekend.

Robbed, again

2010-02-26T04:50:00.002-05:00

Let me see we are playing a Spanish team so we get an Italian ref who books 4 CimBom players and sends one off as well as missing a quite blatant handball that should have been a penalty.

While GS did not play that well the one eyed referee display was another shocker from so called UEFA's best, a theme that seems pervasive this season. Anyone who saw the Champions League this week and last week may also have been perplexed by some of the decisions. For example the non penalty and non red card not awarded to Chelsea against Inter when Samuel clearly took down Kalou. If these guys, and I include the Norwegian Overbro in this as he also had a shocker last week are the best then it seems like its the team who cheats and cons the referee best who will win matches. I wacth the English Premier League a lot and there from corners ther is pushing and shoving but nothing that approaches the outright dragging down we saw in the GS BJK game or the physical assault handed out to Drogba by Mourinhos team of cheats, posers and divers. Obvioulsy there are either different laws or different levels of interpretation.

Whatever these controversies are soiling the game, lets face it you don't mind losing if you are outplayed but when its the ref that hands victory over it is far far worse. And yes I know that GS have recoeved favorable calls in the SuperLig but still it is not right.

Green - my new favorite color

2010-02-23T19:51:00.000-05:00

Bursa, the birthplace of Turkey and the home of my second favorite team.......for now!

Frustrating

2010-02-21T13:58:00.002-05:00

Although it was good to see Jo back in action a 1-1 draw at Besiktas feels like 2 points lost rather than 1 gained. Given the injury situation at the club it was no surprise that Rijkaard started with a 4-6-0 formation. The problem was that whilst this made it difficult for Besiktas to break us down it meant that whenever the ball was played out of defence there was no real attacking threat from CimBom. I lost count of how many times Keita, Caner or Arda would receive the ball, look around and have to wait for support.

It was a surprisingly frustrating match though and one that CimBom should really have won having got their noses ahead. They probably should have been 2-0 up by then though after the very clear foul by Toraman on Topal in the penalty area. Again the frustration was apparent when dos Santos was penalized for an inoccuous tackle and Besiktas got lucky from the free kick when the clear out of Franco was not penalized and then the ball deflected in off Mehmet Topal.

Otherwise the team played quite well, Emre and Lucas Neil were solid at the back, Elano got through a large amount of work in midfield and the one poor player was probably Keita who struggeld with possession and control during the match.

Good enough

2010-02-20T10:45:00.002-05:00

A 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid was a reasonable result in light of the injuries affecting the squad. Overall the team performance was quite good especially the second half with Elano having an influential match.

Lets hope we get a striker or two fit before tomorrows match away at Besiktas which on current form should be at least a draw but we need a win.

Return to the top

2010-02-14T21:30:00.002-05:00

Brushing aside the pathetic dispaly against Antalya where Necati, of course, scored twice to knowck CimBom out on away goals it was nice to return to he summit of the SuperLig even thoiugh we did not play. The three points gained as a result of the Ankara fiasco leaving us top after the Kadioky MOb could only draw with Manisa.

I watched that game and again I was struck by the whining, diving, cheating nature of Brazilbahce, NOT. Alex is a disgrace and Emre should after a dive worthy of the summer olympics high diving competition should have had at least a yellow card. Of course this being FB Isaac was shown a yellow card and therefore a red as it was his second yellow after the full time whistle as he had the nerve to inquire of the referee why the deliberate and very clear handball in the build up to FB's second goal was not spotted by the referee, and was actually waved away. Actually we all know the answer to that, its why Maraton is lacking a journalist and why referees in Turkey get richer by the week. Seriously, 7 minutes of injury time, no yellow for Emre's pathetic attempt to win a penalty, foul after foul going unpunished and the handball was just the icing on the cake.

I am sure there are FB supporters who are embarrassed and ashamed about the theatrics on the pitch but they are few and far between as the desperate attempts by a coke head and someone who thinks money makes a pig important, it doesn't just makes a rich pig, seem to be justified as they attempt to win the Lig title.

As for CimBom here's hoping the physios have been doing their job and can get a couple of strikers fit for next weekend.

Level pegging

2010-02-07T14:06:00.002-05:00

Kayseri away was always going to be a hard match and it was made even harder because all of the strikers were injured. So all in all a 0-0 draw was a good result, even though we perhaps should have taken advantage of the fact that Kayseri had a man sent off in the 60th minute. Keita looked tired as if he was still adjusting to playing in the cold after the Africa Cup of Nations but all in all a satsifactory result which kept Kayseri 4 points behind us.

Next week is Ankaraspor which means three points and a rest for the team which is perhaps fortunate as it will give the medical squad time to get the various damaged players back to health so maybe Servet, Hakan Balta, Kewell and Jo will be available in two weeks time. IN between we have the second leg of the Cup match and we need to overturn a 1-2 deficit against Antalya which even with the shortage of players should be achievable.

Then Sunday I watched the FB match against Diyarbakir. What a bunch of whining, complaining, cheats was on show.....obviously Aziz will be upset as despite the referees best efforts to let FB win due to continuous free kicks awarded for phantom fouls it did not work and in fact almost backfired as a 1-1 draw was the result which means the Kadikoy mob are still one point ahead.

Poor result

2010-02-04T21:45:00.002-05:00

First Baros gets injured, then Kewell gets injured and now Jo is injured.........what is this some form of curse???? Probably just bad luck but still its frustrating. Of course with Nonda gone we are now somewhat short of strikers although Keita will be available this weekend after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Having dispatched Denizli at the weekend 2-1 with goals from Arda and Jo the team was brought down to earth with a bump losing 2-1 to Antalya in the Cup with our old friend Necati scoring the second Antalya goal. It would be expected that we will win the return leg on the 10th but it means we will probably have to field a slightly stronger side than expected with the risk of injuries that brings.

Its still too early to say whether the new signings will turn out to be a success or not but I have a feeling that Rijkaard will be shuffling the pieces in midfield quite frequently as we seem to have an abundance of players for that area. Santos was hardly played at Spurs so its a bit difficult to assess him. The one player that does need to get a grip this half of the season is Elano, he has played some very good matches but has also disappeared in others. He needs to find some consistency and if he does a midfield of Arda, Elano, Keita and Sarp would be quite an effective one with the forwards taken from Kewell, Jo, Santos and Baros. In defence it looks like Neill, Servet, Hakan Balta and Ugur or Sabri when fit which has a solid look to it.

Overall it looks like the Superlig may be developing into a two horse race although Bursa are still lurking 4 points behind with a game in hand. Besiktas had a major dip in form and the other top 4 team from last season, Sivas will be lucky to survive this season with their current form. However iven that Ankaraspor are relegated and Denizli's horrible form it is going to be a fight for that third spot with Ankargucu, Kasimpasa, Manisa and Diyarbakir in the mix with Sivas.

Snow business

2010-01-24T14:13:00.002-05:00

With the bad news that Kewell will be out for at least 2 months to join Baros on the sidelines, Linderoth leaving the club and the horrible weather in Istanbul it was good to finally have a match to watch.

All in all this was hardly a free flowing easy to watch match but at the end of the day it was three more points gained by CimBom. There is little point making any real comments about individual performances as it was not really the weather or conditions for that today. However Neill had a solid match, with juts a couple of mis-communications during the match, Jo looked okay when he finally came on although he should have done better with his one chance. Nonda again failed to look like the replacement for Baros. After one of the clearest penalties you will ever see his penalty kick was awful and saved easily by the Antep keeper.

Anyway, as I say three points was the important thing here and that was achieved by Sarp with a good run and well taken goal from an Arda free kick.

Choices......

2010-01-21T22:06:00.004-05:00

So here we are in the New Year, season start is tomorrow and what am I posting about.......toilets.

I recently started to keep on eye on Vassells world even though he plays in the second city. I must admit that its interesting to hear from a player rather than the endlessly optimistic Kankas...

There was a recent post about hamsi....and also toilets.

So anyway here is a picture of, what is I suppose the ultimate in toilet choice, I believe its taken in a club in Istanbul but whatever....

Stroll in the park

2010-01-18T05:41:00.001-05:00

Looks like the CiMBom are taking the Turkish Cup more seriously this year as they recorded a 5-1 win over Denizli BD spor.

So top of the pool with a healthy goal difference and only Ankaragucu to play to finish off with, no worries.

Wizards of Oz

2010-01-16T19:26:00.002-05:00

So whilst Genclerbirligi lose their anotpodean influence CimBom add a second Aussie that people have actually heard of. Whilst he is purely in Istanbul for the money irrespective of what he actually says Lucas Neill is a good addition to the squad and is a ball playing defender who will complement Servet or Gokhan Zan.

Progress remains smooth in the Turkish Cup and I am looking forward to the restart of the season.

Transfer Window

2010-01-07T21:36:00.002-05:00

Its officially known as the Transfer Window but in reality its more of the silly season when Galatasaray are linked with all kinds of players who they have absolutely no chance of signing. I am not even going to bother with the list of people who have been linked to CimBom as it si about half the players in the world.

Having said that we probably need a central defender and a striker to cover for Baros and the permanently injured Zan and Gungor.....

Apparently we have or are about to sign Ali Turan from Kayseri which should help with the defense but as for a striker who knows, maybe Ruud really is going to arrive but somehow I doubt it and with the rumors about Kewell we definitley need to add someone.

Half time

2009-12-24T09:25:00.002-05:00

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.

Catch up

2009-12-17T16:57:00.001-05:00

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.

Daylight Robbery

2009-12-06T18:24:00.002-05:00

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.

Turkey day

2009-11-26T09:01:00.002-05:00

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!

France handed place in SA

2009-11-19T06:14:00.002-05:00

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...

Kurdled

2009-11-09T05:48:00.002-05:00

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.

So easy League

2009-11-05T19:26:00.002-05:00

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.

Comfortable

2009-11-02T05:27:00.002-05:00

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.

Cup Success

2009-10-29T04:47:00.002-05:00

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.

Better

2009-10-20T04:17:00.002-05:00

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.

Run ends

2009-09-28T04:21:00.002-05:00

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.

6 more goals

2009-09-22T04:33:00.002-05:00

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.

Lions eat eagles

2009-09-12T20:57:00.002-05:00

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.

Walk in the Park

2009-09-01T04:37:00.002-05:00

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...

Europa League

2009-08-28T11:14:00.002-05:00

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.

One horse race?

2009-08-24T05:05:00.002-05:00

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.

Roosters roasted

2009-08-18T04:47:00.003-05:00

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!

Comfortable Start

2009-08-10T04:30:00.002-05:00

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.

Season starts with a win

2009-07-25T15:08:00.002-05:00

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.

New faces and the season starts already!!!!

2009-06-24T05:15:00.002-05:00

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.

Rudi Voeller should duck.....

2009-06-07T10:01:00.001-05:00

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.

Anyone need a job?

2009-06-03T11:51:00.001-05:00

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.

Galatasaray in Europe

2009-05-31T11:01:00.001-05:00

Liepājas Metalurgs^[5]
	Red Star	Slavija	Flora
NAC Breda	Sevojno	Sloboda Tuzla	Karabakh
Falkirk	Maccabi Netanya^[4]	Sūduva	Flamurtari Vlorë
Galatasaray	Elfsborg	FBK Kaunas	Gandzasar Kapan
Metalurg Donetsk	Žilina	Iskra-Stal	Tobol
Gent	Legia Warsaw	Dacia Chişinău	Crusaders
Larissa	Újpest	St. Patrick's Athletic	Bangor City
Sigma Olomouc	Rijeka	Derry City	HB Tórshavn
Basel	Omonia	Rabotnički	Differdange
	Gorica		Sliema Wanderers
Tromsø	HJK Helsinki	KR Reykjavík	Petrovac
Aalborg BK	Honka	Dinamo Tbilisi	FC Santa Coloma
	Dinaburg^[5]	FC Vaduz	Juvenes/Dogana
Rapid Wie

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....

Oh well...

2009-05-31T09:08:00.002-05:00

So the season is finished and Galatasaray came up short by finishing fifth due to a last minute goal in the 25th minute of injury time scored by FB in Trabzon. So no European soccer next season that will belong to Besiktas and Sivas in the Champions League and Trabzon and FB in the Europa League.

For all the BJK fans out there I hope you dont draw Liverpool again......

Personally I cant see any of those teams progressing very far ikn the repsective competitions although if Mustafa Denizli stays at Besiktas they may have a better chance than the others. Turkish teams used to have an advantage in the hoime matches due to the stadium atmosphere but in these days of global tv coverage everyone knows what its going to be like.

Now we await the inevitable clear out of players from GS as well as the serch for a new coach who hopefully will last more than half a season this time.

Frustration

2009-05-26T04:49:00.002-05:00

What a frustrating feeling it is to play the possible champions off the pitch as CimBom did on Sunday when they took Besiktas apart and still ended up losing to two freaky goals, one an own goal by Mehmet Topal and the second a lucky richochet to Yusuf. In between GS socred an excellent goal, had at least two clear penalties due to handball turned down, probably scored when Rustu scooped the ball from near the line from an Arda corner and generally dominated play to the extent that they should have won. Add to that the clear opportunities spurned by GS, Kewell and Arda in particular and the pattern is depressingly familiar this season, good play but no real resultr. This loss coupled withe the Fantatastic Budgies won at Konya means we may not even have the consolotaion of Europa League football next seaons which is going to make keeping Baros, Kewell etc. even harder that it should have been. Oh well at leat we have a team that is predominantly Turkis and relatively young but I wonder how badly it will be affected thanks to the TFF desire to punish GS this season with one incompetent referring display after another.

Doubt me, just look at the number of times GS were leading and a player was sent off to even things up....

Now I know these things are supposed to even themselves out over a season but they have not and have directly affected the position the team finds itself in at the end of the season.

I have a feeling that next season is going to be a struggle, new coach again, no start players and a team in rebuilding mode again!

Catching up

2009-05-20T11:31:00.001-05:00

So after a break whilst I was in the UK for a few days I thought I should catch up on posts.

Thanks to dodgyturk deciding to spread the matches around I finally found the GS - Ankara 1 match whihc was settled relatively early on when a clear foul on Lincoln lead to a penalty which Baros clinically dispatched. After that not much happened until someone get sent off and then n ot much happened again.

Did not see the GS - Ankara 2 match but the result was satsifcatory.

So now we get to the last rtwo matches where although we cannot win anything we can act as Kingmakers in the League this season as we play Besiktas and then Sivas in the last two matches. If we beat Besiktas and Sivas win this weekedn then the season goes to the last match of the season, still I am not sure we can beat Besiktas unless we get the same referee that FB had a couple of weeks ago.

It promises to be interesting though

Confused

2009-05-04T04:25:00.002-05:00

So when is a three match ban actually a three match ban???? Somehow the animals from Kadikoy miss one SuperLig game after their part in the GS - FB fight because their club played in the meaningless Fortis Cup and so they were able to play against Besiktas whereas GS will miss the players for three 3 Lig Games. Something stinks about that but then again its the TFF and FB so no real surprise there.

Add to that a referee who was so biased it was not even funny and of course the ineviutable happened. The only real goal being scored by Holosko.

The first "goal" for FB involved an American footbal stype block to take out Zan, by Semih of course and the second was offside. How the scything down of Ernst was not a penalty only the moron in blue wil be able to tell you but this was one of the more incompetent referee displays this season and after some of the crap dished out to GS this season that is saying something!

Words fail me

2009-05-02T09:50:00.001-05:00

Words fail me after the abysmal, pathetic and embarrassing display in Ankara yesterday.....

Dismal

2009-04-29T04:22:00.002-05:00

So its the 88th minute, you are winning 1-0 and the opposition crosses the ball into the penalty area, your goalkeeper calls for the ball but you choose to head the ball out for a corner even though there is no opposition player within 10 meters of you. From the corner you fail to mark the opposition player who scores.

Congratulations to Mehmet Topal for 15 seconds of no concentration which effectively ended any chance CimBom had, slim as it was, of catching Sivas.

So another game and another good kicking session for Galastasaray. A string of free kicks not given, more players injured because of it, Baros and apparently no desire on the part of the referees to protect players. Given the lack of fit and available players this was an experimental team to say the least, especially in defence where Hakan Balta had a poor game, which is unusual for him actually.

Barring a major collapse from Sivas or Besiktas it would appear that one of those two will claim the SuperLig this season. CimBom still has to play both of these teams so although we are unlikley to be kings this season we certainly still have a chance to be a kingmaker.

Oh well things could be worse, we could play in Kadikoy.......