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
Showing posts with label Galatasaray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Galatasaray. Show all posts
Friday, April 01, 2011
Monday, March 05, 2007
Cultural monday monkey
Husband here......
That's the first day of the week over with and here in New Jersey the brass monkey's balls have been falling off....or at least they will tonight.
Now for everyone out there who is wondering what on earth I am talking about this means it will be extremely cold. But what I hear you ask does it have to do with monkey balls and why are they made of brass????????
Ahhhh the subtle joys of Wobbly arrow's language indeed...
I must admit that I thought this had to do with cannon balls, brass, monkeys and cold but according to Wikipedia I am sadly mistaken.....still it will be a balmy -10F tomorrow with the wind chill or -23C. It's March for goodness sake, I don't know about brass monkeys but its cold enough to freeze the balls off me.......and lets not forget the db's.
Anyway after a weekend of doom and gloom I will make some predictions. Manchester Utd will win the Premiership but only just, Chavski will win the FA Cup to add to the Carling cup and thats all, Lille are a bunch of winging french fries and should be smothered in mayonnaise, Fenerbahce will not win the SuperLig but I have no idea who will.....any suggestions (and for those in Ankara, I mean realistic suggestions.....)
In addition I predict Cem Deda will learn to tie hi show laces and stop having his mother buy underwear for him before the end of the season.
Enough enough I hear you cry...........
That's the first day of the week over with and here in New Jersey the brass monkey's balls have been falling off....or at least they will tonight.
Now for everyone out there who is wondering what on earth I am talking about this means it will be extremely cold. But what I hear you ask does it have to do with monkey balls and why are they made of brass????????
Ahhhh the subtle joys of Wobbly arrow's language indeed...
I must admit that I thought this had to do with cannon balls, brass, monkeys and cold but according to Wikipedia I am sadly mistaken.....still it will be a balmy -10F tomorrow with the wind chill or -23C. It's March for goodness sake, I don't know about brass monkeys but its cold enough to freeze the balls off me.......and lets not forget the db's.
Anyway after a weekend of doom and gloom I will make some predictions. Manchester Utd will win the Premiership but only just, Chavski will win the FA Cup to add to the Carling cup and thats all, Lille are a bunch of winging french fries and should be smothered in mayonnaise, Fenerbahce will not win the SuperLig but I have no idea who will.....any suggestions (and for those in Ankara, I mean realistic suggestions.....)
In addition I predict Cem Deda will learn to tie hi show laces and stop having his mother buy underwear for him before the end of the season.
Enough enough I hear you cry...........
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Europe Calls
So the Kadikoy mob got through to the next round of the UEFA Cup albeit with 7 minutes to spare!!! Good job too so that the Turkish League gains some points for the next seasons. If it wasn't for that fact I would definitely have not been supporting them.
Given the recent poor performances of Turkish teams in Europe I am not exactly holding my breath for their long term involvement though. Lets face it any team that loses to Newcastle United cannot be that special as the Geordies are not exactly setting the EPL alight this season.
Next up is Besiktas and here's hoping that they also get through so the SECOND city crowd might, just might get a sniff of Euro footie next season when they finish below the first city teams (as usual)!!!
One other good thing is that with hopefully both the other Istanbul teams involved in the UEFA then they may get a bit stretched and leave the door open for another successful domestic season for Galatasaray. It also of course depends on how many players leave Kadikoy in January as it seems that a few are wanted by other clubs, especially Appiah, Alex, Tuncay etc.
Anyway thats all for now....
Given the recent poor performances of Turkish teams in Europe I am not exactly holding my breath for their long term involvement though. Lets face it any team that loses to Newcastle United cannot be that special as the Geordies are not exactly setting the EPL alight this season.
Next up is Besiktas and here's hoping that they also get through so the SECOND city crowd might, just might get a sniff of Euro footie next season when they finish below the first city teams (as usual)!!!
One other good thing is that with hopefully both the other Istanbul teams involved in the UEFA then they may get a bit stretched and leave the door open for another successful domestic season for Galatasaray. It also of course depends on how many players leave Kadikoy in January as it seems that a few are wanted by other clubs, especially Appiah, Alex, Tuncay etc.
Anyway thats all for now....
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Dead men walking
Well here it isn't. What should have been a pulsating emotion filled evening in the cauldron that is Ali Sami Yen is going to be a meaningless affair played out in the echoing wastelands of the Olympic stadium. My goodness who would have thought when the groups were drawn that this would be the outcome. I thought we should at least have qualified for the UEFA cup and I guess we still can if we win about 6-0 and Bordeaux lose unless its done head to head when it is a truly meaningless game!!!!
From reports it seems that both teams will be effectively fielding reserve teams so I guess Hasan and Hakan will get games for once. Oh how the mighty have fallen!!!!!
With the lack of success in Europe it is getting harder and harder for Turkish teams to qualify and when they do they do nothing. It seems thath all teams want to do is win the Super LIg and have no other ambition. If it carries on like this we can expect to get headlines such as Stuffed Turkeys again when the National Team play becaues thie eventual lack of success will affect the National team.
Now I know that some countries have successful National Teams without strong National leagues or occasional strong teams, Norway, Denmark, Sweden immediately spring to mind. However when you look at where the plpayers earn their money most do it outside of their country in the EPL especially and elsewhere around Europe. In turkey however we have only one player in the EPL, Emre, a couple in the Bundesliga, one in Spain when he's not injured and that's pretty much it. Okay you say then we use home based players. Look at the rosters and Fenerbahce for example have not that many national level Turkish players (Tuncay excluded) as they rely on imports, Galatasaray have a few such as Arda coming through the ranks and the rest are playing for??????????
Is that depressing or what!
From reports it seems that both teams will be effectively fielding reserve teams so I guess Hasan and Hakan will get games for once. Oh how the mighty have fallen!!!!!
With the lack of success in Europe it is getting harder and harder for Turkish teams to qualify and when they do they do nothing. It seems thath all teams want to do is win the Super LIg and have no other ambition. If it carries on like this we can expect to get headlines such as Stuffed Turkeys again when the National Team play becaues thie eventual lack of success will affect the National team.
Now I know that some countries have successful National Teams without strong National leagues or occasional strong teams, Norway, Denmark, Sweden immediately spring to mind. However when you look at where the plpayers earn their money most do it outside of their country in the EPL especially and elsewhere around Europe. In turkey however we have only one player in the EPL, Emre, a couple in the Bundesliga, one in Spain when he's not injured and that's pretty much it. Okay you say then we use home based players. Look at the rosters and Fenerbahce for example have not that many national level Turkish players (Tuncay excluded) as they rely on imports, Galatasaray have a few such as Arda coming through the ranks and the rest are playing for??????????
Is that depressing or what!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
When is handball not handball
When its the 88th minute in Kadikoy apparently. My goodness I think the referee was probably the only person who thought Turaci's use of the elbow to deflect the ball away from Hasan Kabze was not a deliberate handball. I challenge any of the Kadikoy mobs rabble out there to justify otherwise, if you do then you obviously cannot be a true football supporter. Plus Alex, what a diving complaining cheat.
Anyway it was the typical game of two halves. Galatasary were definitely second best in the first half but were by far the better side in the second half and created virtually all the chances with Umit and Necati denied by Volkan. Despite the loss it was good to see Galatsasaray play some better football, which is a good sign for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately it means there is now 9 points gap at the top of the Lig but think back to last season it was somewhat the same so it does not mean the seaons is over but some of the other teams have got to step up and kick the budgies off their perch.
bye for now....
Anyway it was the typical game of two halves. Galatasary were definitely second best in the first half but were by far the better side in the second half and created virtually all the chances with Umit and Necati denied by Volkan. Despite the loss it was good to see Galatsasaray play some better football, which is a good sign for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately it means there is now 9 points gap at the top of the Lig but think back to last season it was somewhat the same so it does not mean the seaons is over but some of the other teams have got to step up and kick the budgies off their perch.
bye for now....
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Medium day coming up
So tomorrow the match is in Kadikoy against the budgies. Seems like the media and all the kadikoy mob are hypeing this up to be THE MOST IMPORTANT MATCH OF THE SEASON. What a laugh. To be honest with you I am not worried about the result of the game at all.
This may be surprising and I will explain why.
Given the money that the Kadikoy mob have spent over the last couple of seasons just being able to compete with them is a minor miracle. Given the disparity in finances winning the championship last season was an incredible result which was probably a one off. The desperation to win anything is flowing out of the FB camp so obviously that all the other teams and supporters can feel it.
It is my belief that all the pressure is on them, not Galatasaray. If they don't win easily then that is an indictment on the team, manager and money spent. If Galatasaray can get some kind of result then I will be happy as it will keep the points to a sensible number. However give the run of results in the last few years Galatasaray will be lucky to get anything at all. Hence no stress for me.
I must say I am really glad that I do not support Trabzon, what happened to them. I mean they started off poorly and then get worse when they sacked the foreigner and brought Ziya Dogan. I am hoping they can improve as the wheels fell off the Vestel wagon, the second city teams are inconsistent as are Besiktas. Otherwise the Turkish league will become weaker and weaker as the Kadikoy mob simply buy their way to success!!
What will be will be........
This may be surprising and I will explain why.
Given the money that the Kadikoy mob have spent over the last couple of seasons just being able to compete with them is a minor miracle. Given the disparity in finances winning the championship last season was an incredible result which was probably a one off. The desperation to win anything is flowing out of the FB camp so obviously that all the other teams and supporters can feel it.
It is my belief that all the pressure is on them, not Galatasaray. If they don't win easily then that is an indictment on the team, manager and money spent. If Galatasaray can get some kind of result then I will be happy as it will keep the points to a sensible number. However give the run of results in the last few years Galatasaray will be lucky to get anything at all. Hence no stress for me.
I must say I am really glad that I do not support Trabzon, what happened to them. I mean they started off poorly and then get worse when they sacked the foreigner and brought Ziya Dogan. I am hoping they can improve as the wheels fell off the Vestel wagon, the second city teams are inconsistent as are Besiktas. Otherwise the Turkish league will become weaker and weaker as the Kadikoy mob simply buy their way to success!!
What will be will be........
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Definite improvement
After Wednesday's debacle it was important for Galatasaray to get back on track in the SuperLig to keep the pressure on the Kadikoy mob. And back on track they got against Sivasspor with a comfortable 3-1 victory to go within 1 point of the lead.
It was good to see the positive manner on which CimBom started today and although they were 2-0 up after just 10 minutes it should perhaps have been more as there was at least one penalty when Arda was brought down and maybe another when Song was taken out. Still 2-0 and the game was effectively over once Umit Karan scored the third after just 38 minutes. I must admit that I thought the team was playing well and that we could have had 4 or 5 on the first half.
Of course the second half was not so good and as usual the team gave me some hard and nervous times when I thought they might throw all that good work away. That was the case when Sivas scored. More very poor defending from the lads left Mondragon with absolutely no chance and it seemed like they would continue to do that. Tomas and Song are definitely not on song this season. looks like we need to buy a defender in January or get Orhan back and fit.
The most worrying part of the afternoon was the site of Arda being carried off. He has been one of our best players recently and with the match in Kadikoy next week this would be a bad time for him to be injured.
Lets hope Trabzon remember how to play tomorrow and do the business so that the gap is reasonable by next week. I have to admit though that I am not very optimistic about the result I have to say as our recent form against the mob has been unimpressive to say the least. Anyway one can but hope.
Excellent match in the EPL today with Bolton ruffling the aristocratic feathers of Arsenal and a former Kadikoy member scoring two goals, thats right Anelka managed his first goals for Bolton.
And tomorrow its Chelsea Man Utd.......
It was good to see the positive manner on which CimBom started today and although they were 2-0 up after just 10 minutes it should perhaps have been more as there was at least one penalty when Arda was brought down and maybe another when Song was taken out. Still 2-0 and the game was effectively over once Umit Karan scored the third after just 38 minutes. I must admit that I thought the team was playing well and that we could have had 4 or 5 on the first half.
Of course the second half was not so good and as usual the team gave me some hard and nervous times when I thought they might throw all that good work away. That was the case when Sivas scored. More very poor defending from the lads left Mondragon with absolutely no chance and it seemed like they would continue to do that. Tomas and Song are definitely not on song this season. looks like we need to buy a defender in January or get Orhan back and fit.
The most worrying part of the afternoon was the site of Arda being carried off. He has been one of our best players recently and with the match in Kadikoy next week this would be a bad time for him to be injured.
Lets hope Trabzon remember how to play tomorrow and do the business so that the gap is reasonable by next week. I have to admit though that I am not very optimistic about the result I have to say as our recent form against the mob has been unimpressive to say the least. Anyway one can but hope.
Excellent match in the EPL today with Bolton ruffling the aristocratic feathers of Arsenal and a former Kadikoy member scoring two goals, thats right Anelka managed his first goals for Bolton.
And tomorrow its Chelsea Man Utd.......
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving Turkeys!!!!
What an embarrassing performance last night from Galatasaray against Bordeaux. It was only after Arda had got himself stupidly sent off that the team even looked like playing but by then it was too late.
I really think Tomas is not going to be at the club much longer if he keeps on playing like he did last night. Song was better but not by much and in general it was a very poor and embarrassing performance.
Given the lower quality of the Turkish league it was always going to be a struggle to qualify but it has not been helped by not playing home games at Ali Sami Yen and thereby giving up probably 3 points straight away. I don't care if the stadium is small the atmosphere intimidates the opposition and gives the team a lift, well normally it would but with this squad I am not so sure!!!
So looks like we will not even have the pleasure of UEFA Cup football unless we can stick about 5 past Liverpool and Bordeaux lose. Not much chance of that though.
I guess we can concentrate on the League from now on and make sure we win the Championship or at the least finish second.
Until the weekend and Happy Thanksgiving
I really think Tomas is not going to be at the club much longer if he keeps on playing like he did last night. Song was better but not by much and in general it was a very poor and embarrassing performance.
Given the lower quality of the Turkish league it was always going to be a struggle to qualify but it has not been helped by not playing home games at Ali Sami Yen and thereby giving up probably 3 points straight away. I don't care if the stadium is small the atmosphere intimidates the opposition and gives the team a lift, well normally it would but with this squad I am not so sure!!!
So looks like we will not even have the pleasure of UEFA Cup football unless we can stick about 5 past Liverpool and Bordeaux lose. Not much chance of that though.
I guess we can concentrate on the League from now on and make sure we win the Championship or at the least finish second.
Until the weekend and Happy Thanksgiving
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Late birthday present
Excellent result today in Kadikoy with Besiktas drawing 0-0.
Now there is only 6 points between the top 5 teams I think which sets up the rest of the season quite nicely on the assumption that Galatasaray, Manisa, Kayseri, Besiktas and surprisingly Ankaragucu who are storming up the table having decided along with CimBom to not go for the draw title.
I guess the only people not happy are supporters and management of the Kadikoy mob who seemed to spend all their time complaining about the referee;s decisions. I tell you if Phil Dowd had been the official then there would have been a 7-a-side match going on out there. For those of you who did not watch the Blackburn-Tottenham game today Mr Dowd had a stinker and Tugay had one of those hero/villain days. First Tugay scored a screamer and then managed to get himself sent off for an imaginary trip on Ghally. So Tugay got a red card and Spurs a penalty which they scored from. Later Mido who was lucky to still be on the pitch handled the ball clearly in the penalty box and as he was on a yellow already everyone expected him to be off the pitch. But no, no card and no penalty....bizarre. So like I say be grateful for small merceis all the sari lacivert out there.
I was doubly glad as it was my birthday this weekend, good results and a good night out at Sultans Turkish Restaurant in Hackettstown, NJ. Most of the friends we were with we have met as a result of walking our dogs. Great things dogs for social contact!!! The exception is Mert who is our neighbour!!!!! Of course ot turns out he is a supporter of the Kadikoy mob, poor man but its incredible that we live next to each other in this corner of New Jersey!!!! Here is a picture of the Husband enjoying the attentions of the entertainment.......draw your own conclusions
Now there is only 6 points between the top 5 teams I think which sets up the rest of the season quite nicely on the assumption that Galatasaray, Manisa, Kayseri, Besiktas and surprisingly Ankaragucu who are storming up the table having decided along with CimBom to not go for the draw title.
I guess the only people not happy are supporters and management of the Kadikoy mob who seemed to spend all their time complaining about the referee;s decisions. I tell you if Phil Dowd had been the official then there would have been a 7-a-side match going on out there. For those of you who did not watch the Blackburn-Tottenham game today Mr Dowd had a stinker and Tugay had one of those hero/villain days. First Tugay scored a screamer and then managed to get himself sent off for an imaginary trip on Ghally. So Tugay got a red card and Spurs a penalty which they scored from. Later Mido who was lucky to still be on the pitch handled the ball clearly in the penalty box and as he was on a yellow already everyone expected him to be off the pitch. But no, no card and no penalty....bizarre. So like I say be grateful for small merceis all the sari lacivert out there.
I was doubly glad as it was my birthday this weekend, good results and a good night out at Sultans Turkish Restaurant in Hackettstown, NJ. Most of the friends we were with we have met as a result of walking our dogs. Great things dogs for social contact!!! The exception is Mert who is our neighbour!!!!! Of course ot turns out he is a supporter of the Kadikoy mob, poor man but its incredible that we live next to each other in this corner of New Jersey!!!! Here is a picture of the Husband enjoying the attentions of the entertainment.......draw your own conclusions
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Fun in the sun
Another day another win for the mighty CimBom and a rise to second place in the League.
I will be the first to admit that this was a fortunate win courtesy of lucky own goal, but a win is a win and at least we did not need referee or hand assistance. There were a few other chances but in reality neither Galatasary or Antalya played particularly well. Umit seemed to be keen to get the ball out of the ground with every chance he had and the rest of the team was struggling to pass the ball to each other. I wonder whether the problem was that Antalya were playing in the same white colours as Galatasaray played in last week!!! A notable exception from the mediocrity was Arda who once again had a good game.
I was also watching the Middlesborough - Liverpool game at the same time and with the lamentable quality on display from both games I have to say I dozed off a couple of times.
Elsewhere in the league Vestel Manisa got things back on track or at least stopped losing with a 2-2 draw, Oz Kanka is very happy and Sir Eski less so as Genc won and Ankargucu drew.
So lets hope the Eagles chew the budgies tomorrow to tighten things up at the top of the league.
I will be the first to admit that this was a fortunate win courtesy of lucky own goal, but a win is a win and at least we did not need referee or hand assistance. There were a few other chances but in reality neither Galatasary or Antalya played particularly well. Umit seemed to be keen to get the ball out of the ground with every chance he had and the rest of the team was struggling to pass the ball to each other. I wonder whether the problem was that Antalya were playing in the same white colours as Galatasaray played in last week!!! A notable exception from the mediocrity was Arda who once again had a good game.
I was also watching the Middlesborough - Liverpool game at the same time and with the lamentable quality on display from both games I have to say I dozed off a couple of times.
Elsewhere in the league Vestel Manisa got things back on track or at least stopped losing with a 2-2 draw, Oz Kanka is very happy and Sir Eski less so as Genc won and Ankargucu drew.
So lets hope the Eagles chew the budgies tomorrow to tighten things up at the top of the league.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Finally
So finally something to be happy about, a Galatasaray win!! And a comprehensice one at that 4-0 over Sakarayaspor. And with Besiktas and Vestel Manisa losing and Denizli drawing this puts us up into 3rd spot 6 points of the lace. And with the programme over the next couple of weeks the season may not be all over just yet!
Admittedly the win was over the second from bottom team but a won is a win and it was good to see the team play a bit better than recently. The defence still looks a bit shaky, note to Gerets see if you can find a centre half in January, but managed to keep a clean sheet. One real plus is the form of Arda, he has been one of the few players to play consistently over the last few weeks and he was very good today. Midfield was solid f not spectacular and Hasan Kabze proved that he still remembers where the goal is. Nice to see Hakan get a few minutes and a goal. However I would have thought that Carrusca should have been given a few mnutes once the game was won so that we can have more of a look at him.
I am still not convinced that this is a genuine Galatasaray team that can challenge for the SuperLig crown this season, mind you I thought that last season as well and look what happened, but we have a good blend of experience and youth and if Gerets gets the mix right we will be there or there abouts. Lets hope we can get through to the Uefa Cup with some positive results in the remaining Chimps League games as well so we have something else to play for and give the younger players some more experience.
Anyway I guess the Kankas will also be happy this weekend following wins for all 3 of the Ankara teams!!!!!
Bye for now....
Admittedly the win was over the second from bottom team but a won is a win and it was good to see the team play a bit better than recently. The defence still looks a bit shaky, note to Gerets see if you can find a centre half in January, but managed to keep a clean sheet. One real plus is the form of Arda, he has been one of the few players to play consistently over the last few weeks and he was very good today. Midfield was solid f not spectacular and Hasan Kabze proved that he still remembers where the goal is. Nice to see Hakan get a few minutes and a goal. However I would have thought that Carrusca should have been given a few mnutes once the game was won so that we can have more of a look at him.
I am still not convinced that this is a genuine Galatasaray team that can challenge for the SuperLig crown this season, mind you I thought that last season as well and look what happened, but we have a good blend of experience and youth and if Gerets gets the mix right we will be there or there abouts. Lets hope we can get through to the Uefa Cup with some positive results in the remaining Chimps League games as well so we have something else to play for and give the younger players some more experience.
Anyway I guess the Kankas will also be happy this weekend following wins for all 3 of the Ankara teams!!!!!
Bye for now....
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