PLAY UP POMPEY!

Greetings to all from the Saudi desert, where it's bloody hot right now! Still, not as hot as the transfer activity down on the gentile English south coast, where Pompey seem to be making the most of the final day of the transfer window. It looks like we are getting that Croatian you've been looking for Eski Kanka; Niko Krancjar, son of the current Croatian coach. Add him to the others already signed this summer, Sol Campbell, David James, Glen Johnson, Andy Cole (also today) and Manuel Fernandes from Benfica, and things have never looked so good for us.

For those who don't know, and I suspect that there are a few who don't, Pompey were hours from bankruptcy in our Centenary year 9 years ago. Our regular last game escapes from relegation is the stuff of legend, before and since. However, after promotion to the Premiership in May 03, we haven't looked back.

"Mad" Milan Mandaric started the process by finally injecting some much needed cash into the club, managed to keep us in the Prem for two years, before things started to go wrong again. A fall out with manager 'Arry Redknapp was the catalyst to decent players leaving and some not so decent ones coming in.

And then we got a great Christmas present last year; Sacha Gaydamak, who has a dodgy reputation with failing businesses and an even dodgier father (arms to Angolan rebels is one of the less tasteful stories reported), decided to put his vast wealth into our club, 'Arry was back from Southampton after taking our deadliest rivals down into the Championship and no less than 12 players were brought in during the January transfer window.

It took the best part of two months for things to gel on the pitch, but we stayed up with a game to go, and that really was a great escape. At one point in February, we were 2nd bottom and 8 points from safety. 'Arry has now been forgiven for going to Southampton, the crowd is once again behind him and he seems to be getting some quality players in, as I mentioned already.

After watching us dominate away from home on Monday night against Middlesbrough who, incidentally, beat champions Chelsea in the previous game, most of us Pompey supporters are confident of a top half finish this time around. In fact, and I am having trouble believing this myself, let alone convincing anyone else, we could even be in for a European place this season. At least we would seem to have more chance than Hibernian!!!!

However, the setup at Pompey is still distinctly second-rate; training takes part at the local playing fields most days, we have no state-of-the-art stadium - it's the smallest in the Premiership and, lets face it, Pompey is a dump! It's well known that any foreigner we are interested in is signed well before he actually gets to see any of the facilities and the city, lest they change their mind!

Our next game is at home to Wigan, then we have Fulham and Charlton before we get the really big boys coming to town - Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool etc. You could do worse than keep a watchful eye on Pompey for the rest of this season. It's a shame that we have a break for the International footy this week. England v Andorra then Macedonia doesn't really do it for me!

All the best from Pompey Kanka!

ANKARAGUCU'S BILKENT KANKAS - POSTED MISSING

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. Week 4 of the League season has come and gone and still no sign of the Bilkent Kankas !!

What happened to Battle Hardened Kanka, Maniac Kanka, et al ? Have you lost the will to support the team in their hour of need ?? Or, are you only going to away matches and throwing bricks and seats at the opposition fans (and Police !!) ??!! Or, did you all emigrate to Liverpool in sympathy with Kirkcaldy Kanka ?

Let's be hearing from you, and more importanly, seeing you all !!!

Next match up is against Denizli (a 6 pointer if ever there was one !!) on 16/17 September and we expect to see you in The Chopin Bar !!!

Be there or be square !!!

All the best from Lonely Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU AND CROATIA PART COMPANY

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. It is with sadness that I report the parting of the ways of ANKARAGUCU and Srebrenko Posavec of Croatia (as reported in Hurriyet this morning).

To be perfectly honest, this is not a surprise when we take into account his performances over the past month. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I was not happy with his level of fitness. No doubt he has talent, but as a midfielder you must stamp your authority and personality on a match and in this respect he failed.

Our previous coach, Hikmet Karaman, signed him, but obviously Mr Aydin and Bosinoski were not happy with his lack of development.

It was patently obvious last Sunday that Ceyhun needs help in the midfield area and hopefully Tita can supply the brain and the brawn as he did so effectively for Ankaraspor last season.

So, Miss Zagreb, I am sorry that we don't have a Croatian presence in Ankara now. Perhaps you can let us know of any other budding Croatian players who would like to play in Ankara and we can recommend them to Gencler. We still haven't had much success making contact with ANKARAGUCU !!!

All the best from Croatian Lover, Eski Kanka Jim

Those stingy Nusaybin businessmen

Back in March this blog was the only place in the English-speaking world were you could have picked up news on Nusaybin Demirspor's financial plight.

Nusaybin doesn't often get into the news. The only time I can remember was a few years ago when the Yanks set up a logistics base in the town for the invasion of Iraq only to pull out when the Turks didn't give them permission to open a northern front

That was trivial of course compared to the drastic action the chairman and players took to protest the fact that no one was putting money into the team. They went on a hunger strike.

I hadn't heard any news out of the south-east concerning Nusaybin Demirspor and so I just assumed they must have got their money or the whole lot must have starved to death by now.

But alas no. The Anatolian news agency today reported that the club has decided to pull out of the Third division due to financial constraints. It appears that the hunger strike was abandoned at around about lunch time but they still couldn't get the dosh.

According to the new chairman (not sure what happened to the bloke who was in charge when the hunger strike was called) Nusaybin Demirspor representatives went searching for Nusaybin businessmen seeking to drum up some sponsorship money but managed to only bag 6,200 TL. (about 3,300 euros).

"We don't have the strength to give money to our footballers," complained Chairman Servet Talayhan.

"Due to financial reasons we will withdraw from the league. To those businessmen who call themselves Nusaybin(ites) I say: If everyone had thought about their duties the club would not be in this position. With two of my colleagues we went to Gaziantep, Adana, Mersin, Ankara and Istanbul and individually visited Nusaybin businessmen. But from all of these provinces we managed to collect only 6,200 TL. What can we do with that amount of money?"

My immediate thought to the last question was 2,480 beers at the Chopin, but I get the point.

So the poor buggers are dropping out of the third division. I reckon its time they go on another hunger strike.

PREPARE FOR A FOOTIE FEAST

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. Just checking my diary today and I spied a footie feast coming up in October/November. So, make preparations NOW, eg, go out and buy your wife or girlfriend a gold necklace, or go out and buy your husband or boyfriend a new Linkin Park or Stain'd CD, or even a new car !!!

You may call it bribery, however, I'll call it good sense !!!

21/22 October - ANKARAGUCU v Konya and Gencler v Trabzon
28/29 October - ANKARAGUCU v Erciyes
4/5 November - Gencler v ANKARAGUCU (not for the faint hearted or squeamish !!)
11/12 November - ANKARAGUCU v Rize
18/19 November - Gencler v Konya
25/26 November - ANKARAGUCU v Antalya

However, first up, our next matches in Ankara........

16/17 September - ANKARAGUCU v Denizli and Gencler v Manisa

Get 'em into your diaries now.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

EDIT (Wednesday): Oz Kanka here. The times and dates for the first couple of matches have been announced.
Friday Sept. 15, 8 p.m. kick-off Genclerbirligi versus Manisaspor
Saturday Sept. 16 8 p.m. kick-off Ankaragucu versus Denizlispor

Help needed in naming a new Kanka

Over the weekend we welcomed a new Kanka, Stein, to the world of Ankara football. Our Norwegian friend hadn't even been to a match but had already bought himself a season ticket for Genclerbirligi.

A connaisseur of the amber nectar, a devoted fan of the round ball and in Ankara for at least three years I guess we will be seeing Stein quite a bit down at the Chopin and then on the terraces.

The problem is we couldn't figure out a Kanka name for him. I'll list a few of the suggestions that were made and would ask you all to comment. As always, the final decision in this democracy will be made by Sir Eski Kanka and myself but we would appreciate your feedback (a bit like leaving comments on the Saudi Arabian government's website).

So here are some of the suggestions:

Lemming Kanka (for some reason we thought the lemming was the national animal of Norway)
Whale-eating Kanka (Stein enjoys nothing more than a good whale-meat sandwich)
Asker Kanka (Stein's birthplace was could Asker, this one may cause confusion in Turkey)
Bald Kanka (an accurate description of Stein's hirsuteness)
Italian Kanka (he has an Italian wife)

There were some others but I can't remember them. Can anyone else who was there help.

EDIT: Oooops. Looks like I spelt our Norwegian friend's name wrong throughout the post. It should be Stian, not Stein. Stupid me.

ANKARAGUCU - IN THE `SOAPY BUBBLE` AGAIN

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. More doom and gloom from this writer AGAIN. They are back in the `soapy bubble` again and slipping down the league into 2nd bottom position without a league win after Week No 4.

ANKARAGUCU 0 Manisaspor 1

However, let's not be too downcast........ there were lots of positives yesterday, eg.......

The return of Marash Kanka !! It was good to have Marash Kanka Hakan back shouting for ANKARAGUCU, even if he is a closet CimBom supporter !!

We were sitting in The Chopin enjoying the amber nectar when the evening suddenly looked brighter. Brummie Kankie walked in for her `farewell to Ankara match`, at least for the time being. Her presence was all the more welcome when she announced that she had found YTL 50 on the street and the beers were all on her !! Yipeeeee.

Also present were Oz Kanka and Student Kanka Gokhan.

Off to the Stadium after 2 or 3 or 4 (or more) and we were given a real VIP welcome by a group of ANKARAGUCU supporters handing out FREE tickets for Gecikondu. That beats Ankaraspor charging their fans 50 Yeni Kurus last season !!!

A big crowd was there as usual and the atmosphere was very upbeat and expectant for a home victory. ANKARAGUCU began well and attacked the away end and I thought it was only a matter of time before their pressure paid off. However, Manisa were looking dangerous on the break and playing some good football too.

Half time with no scoring and then the music came on for what could only be described as an impromtu performance of the Misket (Ankara dance) by Oz Kanka and yours truly ! This drew thunderous applause from all the supporters around us in Gecikondu and even over the fence in Kapali ! An encore was called for and duly given to more applause !!

Unfortunately, that was the last happy event of the match. Manisa took control of the 2nd half and scored a very good breakaway goal. ANKARAGUCU only had one serious effort on goal in the 2nd half when Ceyhun hit the post with a great strike with the goalkeeper beaten.

The new strike partnership of Bebbe and Tita didn't materialise, with Ceyhun the only player showing any ability and will to win. A very poor performance from ANKARAGUCU then with Manisa worthy winners.

I don't know how the coach is going to solve this problem. I guess his first priority will be to instill some confidence back into the team !

There are no `easy` matches in this league and the next match in 2 weeks time in Gaziantep is a case in point.

After the match last night Oz Kanka and I took Brummie Kankie to a watering hole in Kavaklidere for farewell drinks. I can't remember the name of the place (yes, I had more than a few as Oz Kanka reported !!) but their music was good and the beer was cold !!

So, we have to say Au Revoir to Brummie Kankie Amelia, but the good news is that she will return next year hopefully. We also expect to hear from her on the blog from time to time. Match days will never be the same without your presence Amelia !!XX

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gokcek must be furious

Genclerbirligi 2, Ankaraspor 1

The heat was oppresive. Sitting in our sweat at the Chopin Bar on Saturday afternoon/evening was Viking Kanka Jens, Brummy Kanka Amelia, Spine, Stein (a Kanka whose name we have yet to figure out - more on that soon) and myself. There were also about 30 Gencler supporters who have now decided that the Chopin is the place to meet.

It was with great relief when the heavens opened up. Unfortunately this was just a brief storm and so with the thermometre still showing 40 plus we jumped into the taxi (admittedly we had had a good three hours of drinking beer by this stage).

Sitting in the good seats on the half-way line and we were up for it. The crowd was not enormous but voices were in full cry.

Those voices got even higher on the 5th minute mark when Mehmet Cakir had what I thought was a wasteful shot on goal from outside the box. The ball curved around and went into the back of the net. Cakir, you are a genious.

Nothing much for a while except for the referee giving umpteen dozens free kicks to Ankaraspor. This was real pathetic refereeing. The slightest nudge by our defence was adjudged to be an infringement.

And thus from one of these "infringements" Ankaraspor were given a free kick from about 30 metres out from the goal. Our keeper Gokhan buggered up completely. He didn't get the wall sorted out and Wederson managed to send the ball into the right-hand corner. 1-1 and considering that neither team had managed bugger all I was all ready for a draw.

Half time and we were all feeling a bit depressed.

But then came the redemption we deserved. In almost the same position as the Ankaraspor freekick that resulted in a goal, the referee forgot all about Melih Gokcek and gave us a freekick.

Mehmet Cakir took the shot and it somehow or other came off Engin Baytar who managed to get it passed an outstretched Kingston. 2-1 up and we were one happy bunch of Gencler fans.

Not a lot else except for the odd scary moment towards the end.

All up I'd say that, as usual, Isaac Promise had a crap game, as did Okan Ozturk. Risp at the back was brilliant, some of his last ditch tackles were fantastic. Traore was also fantastic at the back, and I thought that Haminu looked bloody good when he came on and it should only be a matter of time before he gets amongst the goals.

2-1 at the end of the match and we were happy campers until the police decided to get heavy. One of our fellow Maraton supporters got arrested for nothing at all and we, good friends that we are, decided to leg it and go to another pub. I'm sure he is okay... and if you are reading this my arrested friend we wish you the best of luck... but hey, we were thirsty and needed another beer.

In the meantime, it would be nice if a copper reads this and realises that us Gencler fans are not evil. As for crowd control, ever thought of taking a look at a match in Europe?

Celtic 2-1 Hibernian

Hibs took the game to Celtic from the start of this match and went ahead through Scott Brown after 8 minutes. Hibs continued to outplay Celtic for most of the first half but as half time approached Celtic started to create chances. The second half brought striking changes from Celtic and they proved to be the catalyst for swinging the match in their favour. Two goals in four minutes around the hour mark was enough to secure three points. All could have been different is Ivan Sproul had taken two clear chances that fell his way either side of half time.

Unfortunately history will show another defeat for Hibs in Glasgow although we regularly see Hibs pushing the old firm all the way in Glasgow these days. I suppose credit should be given to Celtic for digging in and turning the match round. If Hibs continue to perform to these levels the points will start to gather and we will climb up the SPL table.

Other scores today were as follows:

Hearts 4-1 Inverness
St Mirren 1-3 Dundee Utd
Falkirk 0-1 Motherwell
Aberdeen 1-0 Dunfermline
Kilmarnock v Rangers (Sunday)

CEMAL AYDIN READS OUR BLOG

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. I am now convinced that Cemal Aydin (President of ANKARAGUCU) reads our blog !

I opened Hurriyet this morning and read that he is pressing for Bosinoski to speak to Augustine and try and bring him back to the club.

I have been saying this for 3 years ever since we sold him to Trabzon and he sat for most of that season on their subs bench. I have also mentioned it many times during the past 8 months on this blog !

Hopefully it will happen and we can see ANKARAGUCU as an attacking force again. Ersun Yanal's team of 2000/2001 was a sight to behold, and that is what we should be aiming for. Saldir Saldir Ankara !!!!

All the best from optimistic Eski Kanka Jim

Hibs 4-0 Peterhead

Hibs cruised through to the next round of the League cup with a comfortable four nil win at Easter Road. I never made the match due to another arrangement but the reports have Hibs as comfortable winners. Peterhead are from the second division and were always going to be up against it, losing a goal in six minutes did not help their cause but to their credit they stuck to the task in hand. Hibs added another on the half hour and had completed the scoring by 65 minutes. Tony Mowbray then threw on a few subs rather than risk any knocks to key players as the Celtic match looms on Saturday.

The Peterhead goalkeeper (Paul Mathers) seemed to be the player that got most praise from the Hibs fans and that is even after more tricks from Zemamma. Good to see the fans can recognise the efforts of other players even when they do not wear the Emerald Green.

I think the draw for the next round is on Monday, hopefully another home draw against a lower league team. No point making it hard for yourself.

Cheers

Hibbee Kanka

MOVING THE GOALPOSTS - THE ARGUMENT RAGES ON

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

There was much discussion about (forgive the cliche) `Moving the Goalposts` after the recent World Cup when Oz Kanka raised the subject in a blog dealing mainly with cheating by players, eg, diving.

Also, as an ex-football referee I have always been disturbed by the rising level of dissent shown to Referees and their assistants.

So, it was with interest that I read a letter in The Weekly Telegraph by a correspondent in New Zealand, which although not a new idea, needs to be seriously considered, especially after what we witnessed during the World Cup.

He said....`As in Rugby, if a referee's decision for a foul is challenged too vigourously, the ball is advanced 10 metres. For more than 2 such consecutive verbal challenges, the offender has a yellow card and is sin-binned for 10 minutes`.

This would be a major change to The Laws of the Game, and it could also be applied to instances where the referee decided a player was cheating. It might bring chaos and panic to the defending team if the referee advanced the ball into the penalty area, but perhaps the lesson might get home to the players guilty of trying to bully or deceive referees.

On a personal note, I recall one occasion a few years ago when I was refereeing The Royal Air Force V The British Army match in Happy Valley Stadium in Cyprus when an Army player gave me a load of verbals using extremely foul language (we don't swear in the RAF !!!) when I gave a decision against him. This happened within earshot of all the VIPs sitting in their comfortable chairs in the VIP Enclosure (Air Marshals and Generals, and their ladies). There was only one course of action and that was a red card ! Referees cannot allow flexibility with dissent as seems to happen nowadays.

Incidentally, I would have made the same decision in a `lesser status` match !!

Referees need clear guidance from FIFA on these thorny questions. The laws need to be changed to give them the power to take action. Today the cheats and bully boys are trying to take over and they seem to be winning.

All the best from a concerned Eski Kanka Jim

The end is near

The end of a player's career must be tough. For some there are the big lights of television punditry, that however, is for the very few. In my opinion it should be even fewer, just take a look at Shearer's latest efforts.

But for a fairly good but not brilliant player the options are somewhat limited. Remember Mustafa Izzet. A Turkish Cypriot who grew up in London. He had a dream of playing for England but realised he was never going to get picked.

He then remembered his Turkish roots and was picked for the Turkish team. Played a couple of not very memourable matches and was never picked again.

He retired recently and the other day gave this interview to Soccer AM, a Sky TV show. Thanks to The Guardian for reproducing the transcript.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I thought I might do some coaching, but I don't really fancy that."

"Well, you like golf? Will you play more?"

"Yeah, but I'm rubbish"

"Are you bored?"

"Yeah, I'm well bored. Well bored."

Poor bugger, come and write some articles for us if you want Muzzy.

Demanding changes

Time to wrap up the latest poll and it seems that Kankas are a fickle lot ready to show their frustrations. The question for the poll was:

Is it right for fans to call for the management's resignation during matches?
Yes: 9 votes
No: 3 votes

Being a former military man Sir Eski Kanka of course voted against the idea of questioning those in authority but the rest of us are obviously more demanding.

I'm going to give the polls a rest for awhile. At least until I can think up a good question.

Ankaragucu season tickets on the way

Good news people. It seems that Ankaragucu have decided to sell season tickets afterall. According to information on an Ankaragucu fans' forum the tickets will go on sale after this weekend's matches.

No news yet on prices, or exact date when they will be on sale.

I'll post all that info when it becomes available.

Four weeks into the season is not the usual time to start selling season tickets but , hey, better late than never.

A mission too far?

A month or so ago when Ankaragucu appointed an Aussie, Vlado Bozinoski, to be their coach I, perhaps naively, said we ought to get an interview with the bloke for the blog. Sir Eski Kanka and myself then promptly went on holidays but my plan was still there.

In the last week or so I have been asked by a few people what on earth are we doing to get the interview. In short I've been accused of not doing my job, well, it was all said in the nicest way possible.

This is all an introduction to my failures so far. I was going to write this up once we actually had an interview organised but at the rate I'm going I somehow doubt that it will ever happen.

Having organised with Sir Eski Kanka what dates he would be free to venture out to the Cemal Aydin Spor Kompleksi I finally got around to calling the club last week. Here is the timeline.

Tuesday 16th August
Phone the club, ask to speak to press spokesman. I'm put through to a woman to whom I explain that I'm a writer for an English-language website on Ankara football. She gives the phone to someone or other, I repeat the spiel, and he says I should phone back the next day and speak to Bozinoski himself at at 10am. Sounds brilliant.

Wednesday 17th August. 10 a.m.
Rang Ankaragucu at 10 am, asked to speak to Bozinoski only to be told one word from the secretary "Antreman'da" (at training). I have to call back at midday.

Wednesday 17th August. Midday.
Secretary puts me through to someone who asked what I wanted. He clearly didn't have a clue and so put me on to someone who spoke English. This fellow was not a native speaker of English and so I offered, in Turkish, to speak Turkish. He merely replied, "Do you speak English?". "Ah yes", I said. I repeated the spiel and he said that Bozinoski would be there in 20-25 minutes.

I'm starting to get frustrated at all this. Why can't I just speak to someone who could arrange all this. I asked this fellow, "Who is the press spokesman?". He said he didn't know as he was new to the club. My brain finally clicks over... "And what is your name?" I ask. "Srebrenko". Ahhh, our Croatian friend.

Wednesday 17th August. 12:30 p.m.
I ring back and the secretary puts me through to somewhere or other. No answer. The telephone call thus reverts to the secretary. I ask her once again who is the press spokesman of the club. She replies "they" are all "izinli", whatever that means. "Ahhh. Are they out of Ankara?" I ask. Long pause and then "yes". I tell her yet again that I'm a journalist and I want to speak to Mr. Bozinoski and how am I supposed to do this. She then gives me Bozinoski's mobile number.

Wednesday 17th August. 12:40 p.m.
I message the number given for Bozinoski asking when would be a good time to call him.

Wednesday 17th August. 4 p.m.
After no reply to the text message I phone the number given to me. No answer.

Wednesday 17th August. 7 p.m.
I phone again. No answer.

Thursday 18th August 10 a.m.
I phone again. No answer.

At this stage I've pretty much given up hope. I've e-mailed a few mates for some ideas but they don't have any and so I'm going public. If anyone can help then please contact me. In the meantime I'm going to annoy that secretary at Ankaragucu until I get onto the fellow. Afterall, there are probably less than a dozen Aussies in Ankara and perhaps Bozinoski would like to meet the other 11.

Either way, I'm just glad that Cemal Aydin is only in charge of a football club and not the country at large.

I'll update you all with my progress, if any. Wish me luck.

Kick-off time changes

Due to the odd death and other players having to be hospitalised due to the extreme heat at the moment the Turkish Football Federation have decided to change the kick-off times for most of the games this weekend to the child-friendly hour of 9 p.m.

This will affect both of our matches. We will still be meeting at Chopin at 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday but the matches will now kick-off at 9 p.m.

Just to recap.

Saturday: Genclerbirligi-Ankaraspor: 5pm at Chopin, kick-off 9pm
Ankaragucu-Manisaspor: 5pm at Chopin, kick-off at 9pm

With the later kick-offs I guess you will be excused if you don't turn up on the dot of 1700 hours.
By the way, pity poor Trabzonspor and Denizlispor who, thanks to the TFF's pact with the devil that is Lig TV, still have to start at 8 p.m.. Let's hope nobody dies in that match.

3 Points for the Hibs

Its taken four games but Hibs have finally got a win under their belt, a 3-1 win over Motherwell lifted Hibs to the middle of the SPL and with other results going in their favour Hibs are only three points from the top. This was a must win game as Hibs visit Celtic next weekend, obviously it will be a hard game but if we can keep our game at the same level a good result is not beyond us.

Both the Morrocans were on from the start on Saturday with Zemmama looking very good, some would say almost too good for Hibs but we will see if he can maintain the good form. Benji the other Morrocan import scored the first after good work from Scott Brown, he calmly rounded the keeper before tapping in. The second was scored by Scott Brown as he picked up on a outragious back heel from Zemmama before driving through the Motherwell defence, he still had an accute angle to negociate but managed easily. The third came from big Rob Jones who always causes problems at set pieces, this time a free header at a corner will not have impressed the Motherwell manager. Hibs were in such a good mood by now they gifted a consolation goal to Motherwell in injury time, Scott Brown was subjected to a verbal assault from Rob Jones for robbing the defence of a clean sheet. As Jones is 6 ft 7 in I doubt Brown will mess around in the Hibs box tomorrow night when Hibs take on Peterhead in the League cup.

It was a good display from Hibs who should have scored more but the three points were the main priority. There was a debut for Shelton Martis a Dutch central defender, he looked good in the air and fast on the ground. For the first time in years Hibs look to have a strong defence, time will tell. The other SPL scores were as follows:
Rangers 2-0 Hearts
Inverness 1-1 Celtic
Falkirk 1-2 Kilmarnock
Dundee Utd 0-0 Dunfermline
St Mirren 1-1 Aberdeen

The mini hibbee kankas football kicked off this weekend, Eski Kankas home town team of North Berwick came calling at AC Oxgangs door and left with a very fortunate point. If Sir Eski Kanka wants to follow North Berwick Under 14s there is a web site for Eastern Region Youth Football.

Cheers

Hibbee Kanka

Football in summer?

It is only week three of the "your brand name" Turkish Super Lig and I'm already feeling downcast. Perhaps it is just that I'm forever a pessimist but, well, this weekend's results don't exactly inspire much hope.

First up, the better of the two results for Sunday's evening matches.

Bursaspor 0, Genclerbirligi 0

According to the Anatolia news agency report, in the first half Gencler pretty much controlled the game and Bursa had to rely on counterattacking moves. That, however makes it sound much more exciting than the minute-by-minute report with Bursaspor seemingly having most of the chances but our keeper Gokhan only having to make one save.

Second half though and the man who never performs whenever I'm watching, yes, Mr. Isaac Promise, uses his speed after getting the ball from a midfield position, gets it onto Erhan who has a go, ball rebounds from the keeper, Erhan has another go and this time the keeper stops it.

A couple of more attacks from Bursa and then they hit the uprights, no goal.

Gokhan makes a brilliant save in the 71st minute and then right before the death Mehmet Cakir has a go but their keeper saves again.

Final result: a boring 0-0 draw

Now onto the other Ankara team and considering the result Zagreb Kanka must be happy that Srebrenko Posavec didn't play.

Kayserispor 2, Ankaragucu 1

A few shots from both sides, but not much, until the 35th minute when Ceyhun's pass found Tita who sent it around opposition keeper and into an empty net. Ankaragucu one-nil up.

Not long after the break Kayseri got one back and, back to normal, nothing much eventuated until the 88th minute when Sir Eski Kanka was shot between the eyes. Ankaragucu go down 1-2.

EDIT: Just looking at the small clips of the match on NTV on Monday morning and I see that nkaragucu had a player sent off in the first half for a second yellow card. I have no idea if the first card was deserved but the second one was.

So three weeks in and Genclerbirligi have four points and Ankaragucu two. Fenerbahce are racing away with nine points, Besiktas and Kayseri have six, Galatasaray (and others) have five.

Position wise, Genclerbirligi are in ninth position and Ankaragucu are in their recently usual position of 13th.

Is it only me who might suggest that we shouldn't play football until the temperatures drop just a bit. I have to admit though, it is nice having a pre-match Efes in summer rather than the wilds of winter.

Leaving all that to one side. Next week we have two home matches: Genclerbirligi versus Ankaraspor on Saturday (8pm kick-off) and then on the Sunday Ankaragucu versus "We sold our souls to a manufacturer of rubbish TVs" Manissaspor (also 8pm).

Meeting time as usual for the summer matches, both days, 5 p.m. at the Chopin bar.

THE TWO FACES OF ESKI KANKA

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. It is all upbeat news tonight and Eski Kanka is on a high (for a change).

The neighbours saw Eski Kanka's `happy` face tonight when he was singing and dancing on the balcony when Super Manisa were leading Galata....spit....saray 2-1 with only a few minutes to go (assisted by 1 or 2 EFES !!). Then........... the famous `Turkish Referees Syndrome` kicked in and the `usual` penalty was awarded with only a few minutes to go !!

OK........ 2-2, but 2 more points denied to `that Istanbul team` and well done Manisa and Ersun Yanal (the most successful ex-ANKARAGUCU coach in living memory !!).

Fast forward to next week........... and Eski Kanka will be screaming abuse at Manisa players when they come to play ANKARAGUCU next Sunday.

Come to the Stadium next Sunday and see the other face of Eski Kanka.

PS......... Hibs beat Motherwell 3-1 today - look forward to report from Hibbie Kanka.

All the best from Anti-Istanbul Eski Kanka Jim

SCOTLAND COMES TO ANKARAGUCU'S RESCUE

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Well...........not exactly, but......almost !

Ivaylo Petkov of Bulgaria (who used to play successfully for Glasgow Celtic) has signed a new contract with ANKARAGUCU.

For those of you who don't know about him, I can assure you that he is a first class defender with a good football brain. Also, unlike some of the ANKARAGUCU defenders (who will remain nameless) he doesn't hoof the ball upfield in the old `kick and rush` style !!

However, the question still remains........... who is going to assist The New Lone Ranger (Bebbe) to score goals ???!!!

With 2 difficult games coming up against Kayseri and Manisa, we shall soon see !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

FOREIGN FOOTIE PLAYERS IN TURKEY

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. An interesting article appeared in Hurriyet today showing the number of foreign footie players in Turkey.

Amazingly, there are 102 !! Another interesting statistic is that of the 102, there are 24 Brazilians !

However, I'm sure Miss Zagreb Kankie will be interested to hear that there are 5 Croatian players and perhaps she may know about them -

1. Of course we know about Srebrenko Posavec of ANKARAGUCU.
2. Adrian Djokaj of Ankaraspor.
3. Vedran Runje of Besiktas.
4. Stjepan Tomas of Galata....spit....saray.
5. Sarabrenko Posavec of Konyaspor.

I was wondering if Srebrenko and Sarabrenko are related ? Perhaps you can check it out for us Miss Zagreb ?

Two other interesting points......... only 1 Aussie and zero Brits !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

"No mercy" say the Kankas

It has taken me forever but I've finally decided to wrap up the latest poll.

The question was:
If (the scandal allegations are) proven should Denizlispor be relegated?
1. Yes, cheating must be punished: 18 votes
2. No, Denizlispor aren't the only ones doing it: 4 votes

Pretty clear that quite a few people who read this blog would like to join the ranks of the Turkish judiciary. It appears though that the investigations are going nowhere. Let's see.

For our new poll I thought I'd dwell on something that seems to divide fans at all clubs.

Is it right for fans to call for the management's resignation during matches?

Yes
No

Get voting!

HIBERNIAN LADIES CRASH OUT OF YOORO FOOTIE

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. More downbeat news I'm afraid !

Unfortunately, Hibernian Ladies lost 0-6 to Juvisy of France on Sunday and therefore were eliminated from the Ladies UEFA Cup.

In fairness to the Hibs girls, who are amateur footie players, they lost to a French team of ladies who are professionals. So, no shame there. They gave it their best shot and that is all we can ask of any team.

It is now back to the `bread and butter` of league footie for the girls and they will kick off their defence of their Scottish League title this weekend against the ladies of Clyde.

Watch this space for further updates of girlie footie.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU - A FORTUNATE POINT

Greetings Kankas. Unfortunately this will be another `downbeat` report from Ankara after last night's match which ended.......

ANKARAGUCU 1 Ankaraspor 1

As Viking Kanka commented last night towards the end of the match......... `I'm afraid this is going to be a long hard season for ANKARAGUCU` !

However, it was not all doom and gloom. First up, we all met at our usual venue The Chopin for `refreshments` and were surprised with a visit from a new Kankie. The lovely ManYoo Kankie Jessica arrived with her friend Brummy Kankie for her first match in Turkey. As you can guess from her name, she has been to Old Trafford and supports Manchester's 2nd team !!

We also had another surprise visitor when Gokhan (one of my student's) turned up. He had never been to The Stadium before because he was too frightened to go and so asked if I could take him !!! Is that fame or is that fame ???

So, with the above mentioned 4, Oz Kanka, Finlandia Kanka and I trooped off to the Stadium full of high hopes.

As usual, there was plenty of noise in Gecikondu, Maraton and Kapali and the game started at a fast pace with honours just about even. Ankaragucu were doing most of the attacking but the final pass was usually astray as frustration started to creep into the play. The Ankaraspor defence were their usual rock solid selves and were dealing comfortably with all the high balls that came their way meant for Bebbe.

There was only one chance which came Bebbe's way when he turned quickly on a through ball and shot narrowly past the post. Ankaragucu were continuing to press forward and it was from one of their attacks that the tide turned. Commiting too many players forward for an attack, Ankaraspor broke forward at speed which is one of their hallmarks. Jaba (the fastest and most impressive player on view) sent a penetrating pass to Devran who picked up the pass with ease and beat the exposed Ankaragucu goalkeeper Orkun.

Into the 2nd half and Ankaraspor were now taking control of the game. Ankaragucu were continuing to use the same tactics as last season. Hoofing the ball up to Bebbe (the new Lone Ranger) who was dwarfed by the Ankaraspor defenders.

Then, against the run of play Ankaragucu scored a scrappy and controversial goal which sent all the fans singing and cheering (including yours truly !). The Ankaraspor players argued that the ball hadn't crossed the goal line, but the far side linesman gave the goal.

That was the last real chance for Ankaragucu because in the last 10 minutes it was all Ankaraspor with Ankaragucu holding on grimly for a draw. Two good chances went a begging for Ankaraspor with one going narrowly over the crossbar and another chance coming off a goalpost.

A have to admit that the final whistle came as a relief !!

Yes, I think Viking Kanka may have a point, but surely our Aussie coach knows only too well that Bebbe needs support up front ??!! Ceyhun was a disappointment. He is obviously supposed to support Bebbe but on that count he failed. He was also not firing on all cylinders with his dead ball kicks, most of which sailed over the bar !

For Miss Zagreb Kankie........ Srebrenko had a quiet match. Yes, he has good ball skills and control, but I think he is lacking match fitness. Perhaps the best is yet to come ?!

Much improvement is necessary for next week's match away to Kayseri me thinks !!

That's all for now folks. Look forward to giving more upbeat reports in the future.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Fener put us to the flame

The first home game of the new season and while we didn't turn out in the 50-person force that certain Turkish newspaper writers think we do, we did have Viking Kanka Jens, Viking Kanka Jens' wife's nephew (I think), myself, and Mr. and Mrs. Smart Arse Yankee Kanka. In fact we also had Clueless Kanka Vicki, her daughter and a friend of their's as well but they just came to the Chopin for the beers and not the match itself.

But I should go back a step and urge Viking Kanka to get a bloody alarm clock as we couldn't be bothered to wait for him in Gaziosmanpasa and instead jumped in a taxi to go to the bar.

So onto the Chopin Bar and who else do we find there but about 30 Gencler supporters. They were all wearing the red and black and to our joy they almost all spoke English.

There were a few calls of "siyah, kirmizi, en buyuk, Gencler"and then they made their way off to the stadium.

The die-hard supporters had gone but we decided to have another beer and I was starting to get worried if we would actually be able to get Mr. and Mrs. Smart Arse Kanka into the match (the rest of us had season tickets).

It was at this stage that I rang one of our new-found friends to ask what the situation at the stadium was and whether or not Mr. and Mrs. Smart Arse Kanka could get tickets.

The answer I received was that all of our new friends had actually joined a left-wing protest against the U.S.A. and Israel over Lebanon. My friend told me that they didn't want to say anything when we met them at the bar because of our Yankee friends... very sweet of them but little do they know.

Finally off to the stadium, no worries getting tickets, and we took our seats in Maraton, right on the half-way line. The atmosphere was great, the crowd in that part of the stadium was also great and there were significant numbers of good-looking girls (not that I noticed of course).

The match: Genclerbirligi started off strongly. In fact they started bloody well. There were some excelent midfield passages and the fans were in full voice in support. We had control, it seemed, and then came the first disaster.

35th minute: Our defence buggered up allowing Tuncay almost a free header on goal, he got it in. 1-0.

40th minute: Not really sure what happened but I do remember Tumer playing a ball to Alex who whacked it in. 2-0

Just one minute later and we could have got one back but for what has to be described as one almighty save from Rustu. Mehmet Cakir had a shot on and Rustu dived to his right, the ball had pretty much passed him but he still managed to save it. Top class goalkeeping.

Half-time. Moral was at rock-bottom but I'd say that Gencler actually had the better of the first half, except in some very, very important areas.

No.1 Gokhan in goal was a bloody joke.
No.2 Has anyone in Gencler learnt how to cross a ball in?
No.3 Ayman is not a new version of Skoko.
N0.4 We were bloody lucky not to have a penalty against us according to Smart Arse Yankee Kanka, Viking Kanka and dozens of others standing around us. Personally, I reckon the Fener player dived.

At this stage Smart Arse Yankee Kanka Dave bought us all some water (nice counting) and we were ready for the second half.

Well, this is a half of football I'd rather not remember. Fenerbahce, knowing they were 2-0 up, were prepared to play it safe. Gencler, on the other hand, pretty much forgot how to play. There were some nice tackles, a few nice passes but practically nothing to worry the Fener goalkeeper (who by this stage was Volkan).

Fenerbahce were controlling play and no matter how much we might have stolen the ball in midfield we couldn't get good shots on goal.

That is of course excepting an open goal which this blog's favourite striker, yep Mr. Isaac Promise, managed to send wide to the left of the post when the right of the goalkeeper was free.

Looking at the last sentence Mr. Promise's chance does not actually count as a "shot on goal", he missed after all but we did have another almighty chance not long after by (I'm not sure who) but Volkan pulled off a great save.

And so it was that the Ankara-living yalakalar who support Fenerbahce were the last ones singing tonight. A bad result? Yes. But I'm not depressed yet.

Two weeks until the next home match, but only a few hours until Ankaragucu versus Ankaraspor. See you all there at 5pm at the Chopin.

PS: Viking Kanka Jens took some nice photos at the match and I have put some of them up on my flickr site. Check them out here

Eski Kankas Generousity Knows No Bounds

Message for Eski Kanka

thanks for the pens, me and ciaran really like them. i'll use them to write hate mail to the hearts and fan mail to the great HIBEES. on my first team debut for HIBEES i'll use the pen to sign my top for you.

We've been to the scottish seabird centre in North Berwick, i really liked it although we never went out on the boat because it was too cold.

i hope big hibee kanka can report on a hibee victory soon.

ps. i like puffins too.

mini hibee kanka

One point is better than none

Inverness Caledonian 0 - 0 Hibernian

After last seasons whitewash by Inverness, Hibs might have accepted a draw before this match started however one point does not help Hibs cause for climbing the league. A tight match saw a few opportunities for both teams but no one could find the back of the net.

Hibs had surprised most of their supporters by fielding Merouane Zemmama, he is the second Morrocan to be signed by Hibs. He played just off the main striker and also seemed to fancy himself for all the free kicks, still needs to prove himself there obviously. Apparently many people were surprised Hibs managed to sign Zemmama as he is highly regarded in his homeland. I believe a slight indiscretion led to a fall out with his Morrocan club but hopefully this will be Hibs gain.

The other SPL scores today were as follows:

Hearts 0 - 0 Falkirk
Celtic 2 - 0 St Mirren
Killie 0 - 0 Dundee Utd
Motherwell 0 - 2 Aberdeen

Maybe next week will see three points on the board as Motherwell are even worse off than Hibs.

Hibee Kanka

HIBERNIAN LADIES FOOTIE UPDATE

Greetings Kankas..... and especially Kankies. As promised, an update on the Hibernian Ladies Footie Team at present involved in the sectional stages of the Ladies UEFA Cup Competition. As Scottish Champions last season, Hibernian Ladies are representing their country in the UEFA Cup Competition and the initial stages of the competition is in sectional stages with the top 2 going through to the knock-out stages.

The results so far.........

Hibernian 1 Espanyol 4
Hibernian 2 Klas Viking 1

Apparently, the Ladies were outplayed by the Spanish girls in their 1st match, but there were some newcomers to the squad and obviously they took some time to settle-in. In the 2nd match against the Faroe Island team there was a general all round improvement and lots of chances missed (sound familiar ??!!).

So, it is all to play for tomorrow when the Ladies take on Juvisy in the crucial MUST WIN match. Watch this space for the result.

PS......... As I write this, Gencler are down 0-2 to Fener...spit...bachce, so it looks like a downbeat report coming tomorrow from Oz Kanka !!! Hopefully, I will put some smiles back on faces tomorrow night with an ANKARAGUCU win ???

All the best from `Ladies` Footie Lover Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI SUPPORTERS DESTROY THE MYTH

Greetings Kankas. It is good to be back at the centre of the Universe..... BUYUK BASKENT ANKARA !

However, on a sad note, I sense some distancing from the original concepts of the Kanka fraternity. If some of the recent members go back into the `Best Of` articles you will see and read about our humble beginnings and the cameradie that was the meaning of us kankas, whether ANKARAGUCU or Gencler.

So, it was with sadness that I read about the `auctioning` of the Gencler kombine tickets whilst I was in Bodrum.

Last season for instance, Oz Kanka, Viking Kanka and I shared our kombine tickets around if we couldn't attend a particular match and I am sorry to hear that this practice has been discontinued.

I am not going to name names, but for God's sake let's try and keep our original concept intact and let's try to be kankas in act and name !!!

It has often been said (falsely by the Ingallish !) that Scottish people are tight fisted and mean. Intelligent people can laugh at this MYTH now, so please let's not get into this again. If anyone has a kombine ticket and can't attend a match then please offer it to a fellow kanka.

Comments awaited.

Who are we

This is a short introduction to the blog for Turkish journalists who wish to write about us or for those just curious as to who we are.

1. We are a group of football supporters who come from many countries: Turkey, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Croatia, Germany, the United States, France, Denmark, Finland and a few others.

2. We are split with some us supporting Ankaragucu and some of us supporting Genclerbirligi. None of us support Ankaraspor.

3. The correct technical term for this site is a "blog". If you plan on writing about us please use the name of the blog "The round ball in Ankara" and also please give our url www.ankarafootball.com

4. We try to go to as many matches as we can but obviously we do not go to all matches. At times we have had groups of more than 30 people going to a match, sometimes it is just one or two people.

5. We are not all English!!!!

If you would like to contact us then please do so via our contact form.

The English in gecekondu

By Besim Guctenkorkmaz
Sabah (Ankara supplement 30 July 2006)

In the last few days English people living in Ankara have been at Gecekondu. They had an e-mail traffic among themselves and they buy gecekondu all the time from Ulus.

If it is necessary to say more, it is from inside the 19 Mayis stadium.

A group of English people living in Ankara don't miss a single Ankaragucu match. Whether summer or winter they watch Ankaragucu when they play in Ankara. And what is interesting is that for a number of years they describe (the place they go) as "gecekondu". Wearing Ankaragucu strips they go to this stand and, like how we have seen at English matches, they do not stop in their ovations.

One of the group's chiefs James says that every week a 50-strong group of English supporters go to Ankaragucu's matches. The group sends out news by e-mail. They send out messages to one another on what is the price of tickets, what time and where to meet. Ankaragucu's English supporters call each other by the name "kanka". There are names such as "Eski Kanka", "Yeni Kanka" and "Öz Kanka". These Gecekondu stand people describe in Turkish (the term) "gecekondu" in their e-mail. At the appointed time they meet in a bar in Kizilay and after swallowing their drinks they take their seats in the gecekondu stand of the stadium.

One of the group's chiefs James says they believe by supporting one team in Turkey they wouldn't be away from football which they love a lot. That is why they chose Ankaragucu, the closest team to English football and audience.

"Here everyone supports the three big teams," he said. "We are the exact opposite. English people support the team where they live. We live in Ankara and for this reason we support an Ankara team."

The Ankaragucu fans are very ambitious and hot, and they support their team to the end and that is why they chose Ankaragucu and they say that they love the football of this team and they enjoy its supporters.

The English in Ankara took their their places in the stand for the TSYD Cup which was played on Saturday. They supported Ankaragucu and they live the love of football and exitement inside themselves. They keep shouting during the matches and they wave the yellow and dark blue flags. They carry the excitement of the English league to Ankara, and don't you think this is the first time that the English living in Ankara did this?

Since approximately four or five years, with the group they have established they come to all Ankaragucu matches and sit in the Ankaragucu matches and sit in gecekondu and every week their number is growing. I hope this will happen top our people.

EDIT By Oz (not Öz) Kanka: Sorry about taking so long to translate this. I'll leave my comments on the piece itself to the comments section.

The weekend plans

With Sir Eski Kanka sunbaking in Bodrum at the moment and unable to access the blog at his local internet cafe he has asked me to put the details for Sunday's Ankara derby between Ankaragucu and Ankaraspor.

The match kicks off at 8pm and as usual we will be meeting at the Chopin bar at 5pm for a few refreshments. I'm not sure what the prices are going to be but I'm guessing it will be about 5 tl. I guess we will pick up tickets at the stadium as for some reason Ankaragucu have decided not to sell season tickets this year. More on that matter later.

Ankaraspor is the team this blog loves to ignore but it must be said they saw off Galatasaray last week while Ankaragucu only managed a draw. Two weeks ago Ankaraspor beat Ankaragucu in the TSYD Cup so lets hope some revenge can be extracted on Sunday.

So for all of you who can't afford the 66tl for Saturday's Gencler versus Fenerbahce match come along on Sunday.

Gencler v. Fener this weekend

It's a top of the table clash on Saturday when Fenerbahce travel to our fair city to take on Genclerbirligi.

The match kicks off at 8:00 pm and I've heard that there could well be problems getting in quickly because of some sort of new system. Knowing that technology stuff-ups are usual I've been advised to get to the stadium at 6:00 pm.

So, the plan is as follows. Meet up at Chopin at 5:00 pm and head for the stadium at 6:00 p.m..

I'm starting this thread early as we have a couple of spare tickets for sale. Viking Kanka and myself have season tickets for Maraton (on the half way line) and we have two spare as Spine and French Kanka (also season ticket holders) can't make it this weekend.

We have had an offer of 20 TL for one of the tickets from a friend of Viking Kanka. Any other offers?

The official price for the tickets for the match are 66 TL.

I'm sure Sir Eski Kanka will post details of what we are doing for Ankaragucu's home match on Sunday evening.

We all love Hakki

Back from the Black Sea village of Efirli (just outside Ordu) just in time to give the reports for the first week of the "Brandname for sale" Turkish Super Lig.

As Sir Eski Kanka is away, as were both of Ankara's teams (Ankaraspor don't count) I guess I'll have to be the bearer of mixed news.

The good news first:

Sivasspor went down to Genclerbirligi by the tune of 1-2.

According to the brief reports from the Anatolian news agency that we have to rely on for our own match reports...

The match started fast but nothing happened for the first 20 minutes.

In the 22nd minute Musa Kuş for Sivas got around the defence and sent the ball past keeper Gokhan.

Another goal for a Sivas player in the 39th minute. Unfortunately for Sivas they were defending a corner at the time.

1-1 at half time and then blah blah blah, nothing much seems to happen until the 81st minute when Engin (Baytar? - not sure of the last name) was sent off.

The Anatolian news agency live up to their great standards by not even mentioning this in their match report. I can therefore only assume it was for a vicious headbutt on his opposite number after having been insulted. His opposite number will no doubt also be busted by the TFF later in the week.

All set for a draw when Hakki, he who scored the own goal, decided to pass the ball back in defence. It fell for our man Mr. Salad Mickael Nicoise who sent it on to Mehmet Cakir who scored.

It was the 89th minute and clearly not satisfied with having scored one goal for the opposition and setting up another, Hakki went in hard on Mr. Salad. A red card for Hakki's troubles and a shame that the match wasn't played in Ankara as he would have received a standing ovation for his great efforts.

Instead the fans in Sivas decided to pelt the field with plastic bottles. Someone ran onto the field to attack the referee but was stopped by the cops. All up, a great result. Gencler were the only team to win away this week. As opposed to...

Bursaspor 0, Ankaragucu 0

I'm not a professional football writer and therefore it is difficult to get interested in writing about a match in which it may well have been better to have declared the whole thing a draw after the first five minutes.

And therefore with apologies to this blog's many Ankaragucu fans I can only summarise the match and not comment.

5th minute: Free kick 35 metres out. Ceyhun for Ankaragucu takes it. Keeper hits it, off the post and scrambled away.

Rest of first half: Both sides have a few shots on goal but nothing serious.

46th. Bursaspor bugger up a good chance on goal.

Both teams have more shots on goal. But nothing happens.

So after one week Genclerbirligi are in 2nd position on the table behind Fenerbahce. This of course makes the second week fixture of Gencler V Fener a "top of the table" clash. More on that clash coming soon.

In related news: Galatasaray could only manage a draw this weekend while Besiktas lost. It is true that Fener won 6-0 but at least they had Appiah sent off and therefore unavailable for the Gencler match.

Still no win for the Hibs

Two games into the Scottish Premier League and still no win for the Hibs. Despite outplaying Aberdeen in the opener Hibs had to settle for a 1-1 draw and yesterday we went down to Kilmarnock 2-1 at Kilmarnock. Again Hibs had made all the early running and went in at halftime 1-0 up before failing to keep up the good work in the second half and conceding two goals.

The first game against Aberdeen was very entertaining, the game was played at a high tempo and particuarly in the first half at a high quality. The stats show 18 attempts at goal from Hibs versus 4 from Aberdeen but in the end it was still only a point apiece. Our new giant defender Rob Jones played well and looks a real threat up front as well as beating up the attackers, could be worth a few goals throughout the season.

Against Kilmarnock Hibs again created plenty chances but were only 1-0 up at halftime, our Kiwi striker Chris Killen appeared to miss the best chance (same as last week) but hopefully he will find his feet soon. I never heard any of the second half on the radio due to visitors but was shocked to see the final score being 2-1 to Killie, from what I can gather the second half performance from Hibs was pretty poor and big Tony has certainly given the players a kick up the backside. Maybe Flether was still dreaming of Under 19 Euro finals when he headed past from six yards out, who knows.

From what I have seen this season we are missing our old striking partnership of O'Connor and Riordan badly, hopefully someone will come in to fill the void soon. Steven Fletcher is our big hope as even coming from the bench last season managed around 10 goals. Our next game is away to Inverness, this is a place where Hibs generally do not perform very well for some reason however my optimism remains high.

Keep your fingers crossed for the Hibees.

Hibbee Kanka