Ankaragucu vs Galatasaray Match Preview !

Image above taken from The Haber.

Cengiz Topal and Captain Hurriyet Gucer both gave interviews today on the upcoming home match against Galatasaray on Sunday. The players were given a goat to sacrifice at training today which was quite disturbing to watch, even for some of the players.

Cengiz and Hurriyet were both saying the teams preperations for the game are coming along well, the players are getting sharper and they can take points in this game. Captain Hurriyet made a very good point in that our players hadnt trained in a long time which effected the start of the season. We have some good young players and after a better performance at the weekend Ankaragucu are hoping to build on that.

Who could forget last seasons Victories over Galatasaray both Home and Away ? The first game was in Istanbul where we took the lead early on in the game through Metin Akan. Ozgur Cek, Stanislav Sestak and Turgut Dogan Sahin scored second half goals with Milan Baros scoring a double for Galatasaray. The return game in Ankara saw Ankaragucu fight back from 2-1 down late on to win 3-2 thanks to a fantastic hat-trick from Stanislav Sestak.

The likes Of Sestak, Metin Akan and Marek Sapara are all gone as we know, but as Captain Hurriyet said, we do have some good young players in Ozgur Cek, Turgut Dogan Sahin and Tonia Tisdell. One thing is for sure, if we are going to take anything from the game we need to tighten up at the back, and take any chances that come our way.

Young Tonia Tisdell has had a good start to the season, and he will be our Key Player along with the likes of Ozden Ongun and Jan Rajnoch. For Galatasaray, Fatih Terim has added many players to his squad as they look to improve on a disastrous season last term. Felipe Melo, Albert Reira and Milan Baros are all dangerous players but Galatasaray are weak at the back and Tonia has the pace to cause them trouble.

I have taken one of Jim's Optomism pills and im going for a 1-0 win for Ankaragucu with Tonia scoring the winner. Inshallah !!!

Handbags and the derby

Both Genclerbirligi and Ankaragucu fans ought to get used to watching the sort of football we saw last night. It was second division stuff and if I had to put money on two of the teams to be relegated at the end of the season, I'd put it on both the Ankara teams.

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Ankaragucu

Derby Day! The day everyone has been waiting for. A chance to rib each other over a beer and swear at each other at the stadium. Well, it would have been if any of the Ankaragucu kankas had shown up. Where were you all? Just a couple of us Gencler fans then - me, Spine and Flying Dutchman.

Pretty crap turnout at the stadium as well. We guessed maybe four to five thousand all up. Ankaragucu had a semi-decent contingent in the away area whereas Gencler had only a couple of thousand in Maraton and no one at all in Gecikondu. I'm thinking that it isn't only us here at "The round ball in Ankara" who are depressed.

Smile for the camera cause there's bugger all else to smile about

Gencler came on in the traditional red and black strip while Ankaragucu were wearing a uniform which Spine described as "I guess they are trying to get sponsorship from Ikea".

Oh well, kick-off and erggh. Rubbish from both sides. Both Gencler and Gucu had chances but they were stuffed up. Ankaragucu were playing fairly tough and I was surprised that ref didn't hand out a few cards in the first half, especially when Zec was brought down just outside the box in the 22nd minute just before he got a shot in.

The ref gave the free kick though and Soner managed to score thanks to a hefty deflection from a Gucu defender.

The Gencler fans celebrated of course but the match stayed boring. Crap passing and whatnot and it was at this stage that we at least had something half-interesting to watch as various Gucu fans in our section started swearing at us. There was a bit of push and shove, nothing much though. Still, why on earth do Ankaragucu fans sit in the Gencler section and then get upset when we celebrate getting a goal?

The police took ages but eventually escorted them all out of our section. Spine took advantage of the police being distracted and decided to light up a fag.

I read an interesting stat today that there were 411 police and 300 private security guards at the match, or about one security person for every six fans or so. Overkill?

Ankaragucu woke up a little after the goal and had a couple of chances but managed to send most of them out and so Gencler went into half time 1-0. Only one player had impressed me at this stage and that was Gucu's Tonia Tisdall. All he needed was some gold around his neck and he'd have been a dead ringer for Mr. T. (I'm referring to his haircut, not his size)

Second half and we actually got some half-decent football from Gencler. Hursut was doing his tricky stuff and new boy Ozgur Ileri was playing well. There were at least two occassions when we should have scored but Zec had one saved and Soner failed to get his good chance on goal. About 20 minutes in and Gencler should have been two or three up but none of the dominance was coverted.

Ankaragucu at this stage started playing hard and the referee finally decided to use the cards in his pocket. Some of them were a bit dodgy and I think he may have been compensating for his failure to dish them out in the first half.

Gencler started time wasting and what a stupid move that turned out to be. Just near the end Ankaragucu got a free kick and at the same time one of their players (Serdar) got a second yellow. The free kick was taken and Gencler's keeper Ozkan failed to control it. The ball sort of bobbled around in the box and the defenders failed to clear leaving Rajnoch with an easy shot and goal.

And that was that.

"Sweden are crap," Spine said.

Yet again the police decided to allow the away fans out first leaving us to cheer on the cleaners. Not only is this not the way it is supposed to be done but from a security point of view it is a complete waste of time. By the time we got out the Ankaragucu fans had taken the long walk around the block so that we were all together. Nothing happened but what if both sets of fans were up for it. Stupid.

If you are going to get locked in after the match you might as well do something useful.

A point a piece for the derby

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Ankaragucu

The Ankaragucu fans left the stadium a lot happier than the Gencler fans after Gucu scored with about five minutes before regulation time just after having man sent off. It wasn't the best football in the world, but what do you expect from two teams that will be fighting hard this season from being relegated.

More on Monday.

ANKARAGUCU HEADING SOUTHWARD !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu is now on course for heading southward, and I don't mean to Antalya ! On last night's performance against an average Sivas team they are assuredly favourites for the Big Drop into the Bank Asya League !

As I mentioned in my previous report, the team do not have a recognised striker, and no matter what Ziya Bey does to juggle his attacking formation, it can't be solved. Also, the defensive frailties at defending dead-balls and corners returned last night, and only the heroics of Ozden saved Ankaragucu from a thrashing.

Ankaragucu 1 Sivasspor 2

We met up at The Chopin (Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Maniac Kanka Harun, Vegetarian Kanka John, Josh, who was attending his first match in Turkey, and I). Off to the Stadium where we were joined by Huso Kanka. Gecikondu was full as usual and in good voice, Maraton was about half full and there was a small contingent from Sokak, all in all, not a bad attendance for a Thursday evening match.

The Team -

Ozden
Ugur, Rajnoch, Aydin and Murat
Weeks, Hurriyet, Kagan and Ozgur
Tonia and Ergin

Substitutes used - Turgut, Gokhan and Ediz

Ankaragucu was straight into attack mode and they almost scored after 5 minutes when Tonia back-heeled a pass to Ergin but his shot was cleared for a corner. Sivas weathered the early Storm and the match swung from end-to-end.

On the 16th minute mark the usual song rang out from Maraton for Bursaspor, but Gecikondu did their best to whistle it down in protest against the move of Sestak and Adem. More of this later !

20 minutes gone and Sivas was coming into the match more and almost scored but for a great save from (my Man of the Match AGAIN) Ozden. The ball rebounded off him and the 2nd effort was cleared off the line.

Then on the half hour mark we had that feeling of deja vu when Navratil rose above the Ankaragucu defenders to head in from a free kick. A copy of the Besiktas goals and perhaps Sivas did their homework on the Ankaragucu 'Achilles heel' ?!

Ankaragucu persevered for the remainder of the half but their continual habit of lofting high balls up to the strikers were easily swallowed up by the tall Sivas defenders (don't they ever watch clips of Barcelona bringing the ball out of defence and try to copy this tactic ??!!).

Half time and I have to confess I was fearing the worst. However, 5 minutes into the 2nd half and the equaliser arrived. Some neat close passing on the left and the ball was squared to 'unsung hero' Kagan who first-timed a swerving shot into the corner. It should have been a wake-up call, but Sivas had other ideas.

Ozden was becoming the busiest players on the field and made numerous saves in the 2nd half to deny Sivas who were controlling the tempo of the match. So, it was no surprise when they took the lead again with 15 minutes to go.

Ankaragucu was caught out pushing too many players forward and this gave Sivas the chance for a fast break-away with Ankaragucu defenders scurrying to get back. Ozden spotted the danger and ran out to intercept Rasmussen and succeeded in reaching the ball at the same time as Rasmussen shot for goal. Unfortunately, the ball rebounded off Ozden and over his head and into the goal.

Ankaragucu battled hard to find another equaliser and there was no doubting their effort and will. However, it was like banging your head against a brick wall with the Sivas defence putting up the shutters.

In my opinion, this Ankaragucu team just doesn't have the ability or perhaps the belief for the challenges that now lie ahead !

5 minutes to go and we kankas left the Stadium. Not in disgust I may add, but for our safety. Gecikondu and Maraton started throwing insults at each other and saying things which I can't print here to save the blushes of any of our female readers. It was getting quite nasty and we were thinking that it might develop into a fully blown battle similar to the one which occurred at the Istanbul BBS match a few years ago. Better safe than sorry we thought !

I am not sure what will happen on Sunday at the Ankara Derby when both tribunes will occupy the 'away' end. A very good reason for us to watch the match in Kapali me thinks ?!

With Ankaragucu's abysmal record against Gencler over the past few seasons we can only hope that the defence can hold out for a 0-0 draw. However, and to be realistic, Ankaragucu may be propping up the League next Sunday at 10pm ! Here's hoping that I have to eat my words !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ho hum. A 0-0 draw for Gencler

Damn TFF put the one away match I always try to get to on a Wednesday night. With kick-off at 8pm the last fast train from Eskisehir to Ankara would have left before the match finished. So instead I had to watch it on the telly. Problem was I got caught up in a conversation about hazing in the army and police force and so I hardly saw the match at all. Probably a good thing as it ended up ...

Eskisehir 0 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Not a lot to say really. Gencler seemed to play fairly well in the first half but Yasin blew our best chance when all he needed to do was send a pass to Hursut who was in an excellent position. Second half and Eskisehir turned it on but were denied a number of good chances.

An away point is a good result. All eyes now turn to the 19 Mayis on Sunday for the derby.

Gencler around the world

Dan the Man mentioned this in the comments section today. I thought it was worth making a separate post. Click on the picture for a better view.

I just discovered that on White Hart Lane you can find TWO big clubs.

THE ORACLE'S PREDICTION IS SPOT-ON !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Our Oracle in Glasgow (Bellshill Kanka Nadeem) did warn us in his pre-match assessment not to build our hopes up, so we listened to his words of wisdom and met at the Chopin last night expecting the worst. We were not disappointed !

Besiktas 3 Ankaragucu 1

When I saw the team news go up on the TV screen I have to say that I shook my head in disbelief. How many times have I said on the Blog that the only way to play the Istanbul Three is to ATTACK them from the kick-off ?!

Team -

Ozden
Guven, Rajnoch, Aydin and Ugur
Weeks, Hurriyet, Kagan, Bilal and Ozgur
Turgut

Ankaragucu don't have a recognised striker since the loss of Sestak, Vittek and Fatih and Besiktas must have been rubbinhg their hands with glee when they saw in the Ankaragucu line-up that Turgut was the 'Lone Ranger' up front. He is NOT a striker !!

However, that doesn't excuse Ziya Bey for flooding the midfield when there was Tonia and Serdar warming the bench. Admittedly, they both came on the 2nd half (Tonia just after the break, and Serdar with 20 minutes to go). Too little attacking options too late !

Anyway, we all met up in The Chopin (Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Maniac Kanka Harun, John, Fetish Kanka Huseyin and I), and like I said, we were not holding our breath for Ankaragucu to do an Istanbul BBS or Ess-Ess and take the game to Besiktas.

Besiktas was soon into their stride and it took a great save from my Man of the Match (Ozden) to tip the ball over the bar to prevent a certain goal. It was very much a 'backs against the wall' for Ankaragucu with Ugur in particular making some excellent tackles to break-up the frequent Besiktas attacks which came pouring forward.

Half an hour gone and Ozden again made two great saves one after the other to keep Ankaragucu in the match. Ankaragucu did have a chance to score against the run of play when a long shot came in from the left and hit the bar with Cenk helpless. Weeksie was following up but he didn't react quick enough when a header might have been the wise choice, and ballooned the ball over the bar.

With half time approaching the inevitable happened. Another Besiktas corner and there was the unmarked Sidnei at the near post to bullet a header in with Ozden well beaten.

Besiktas resumed where they had left off in the 1st half, ie, in full attacking mode, and once again Ankaragucu was on the back foot. Off went Guven and Bilal and on came Umut and Tonia to applause from the kankas and the response was almost immediate.

The Ankaragucu equaliser arrived and it was really down to the 2 goalkeepers. An astute throw-out by Ozden which found Tonia unmarked, and as he was racing to pick the ball up, out came Cenk , but a fraction of a second too late. Tonia nicked the ball past him and angled his shot into the net with the Besiktas defenders unable to intercept.

This sparked some life into Ankaragucu and for a while we were dreaming of taking all 3 points. Well for about 25 minutes anyway as Ankaragucu tried to make the break through.

However, another dead-ball goal from a corner and again Sidnei was given a free header which beat Ozden all the way with Ugur static on the goal line unable to make the headed clearance.

That took the steam out of Ankaragucu and Besiktas wrapped it up when the unmarked Quaresma received a pass on the left in acres of space and he fired in an inch perfect cross with the ouside of his foot for Mustafa to head in with Ozden helpless.

Ziya Bey has some work to do in the next few days with his limited resources. He has to find an answer to the striker situation, and he has to practice defending corners and dead ball free kicks into the box. If the January transfer window doesn't open for Ankaragucu then I don't envy his task for the reamainder of the season !

In the meantime, Ankaragucu play fellow strugglers Sivas at home on Thursday night. Meeting in the Chopin at 6pm and going to the Stadium at 7pm

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU SUCCUMB ..... IN THE END

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

It was a great rear-guard action from Ankaragucu tonight, but ............ they had to succumb in the end .........

Beshiktrash 3 Ankaragucu 1

Full report tomorra.............. I can't possibly comment further without swearing !!!

Iyi geciler from Eski Kanka Jim

It wasn't pretty but Gencler take the three points

It wasn't one of the big Istanbul teams and it wasn't the best football I've ever seen but last's nights win over Karabuk is quite a boost for Gencler. The game had flashes of brilliance but the severe problems we have at the back were there for all to see.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 1 Karabukspor

Lots of sport for me on Saturday. First up was Little Oz Kanka's football at Balgat, then off to the Red Lion Club for the 11:30 start of the Australia-Ireland rugby match (don't ask me about it), a quick nap at home and then off to the Beer Bus to find me all alone with just a beer and the paper to keep me company (Posta really is a crap newspaper).

Not to worry. Caught up with Ertank and we made our way into the stadium. Maraton was pretty much full but the depression that most Gencler fans have at the moment was evident in that there were about six people watching from the Gecekondu stand.

Gencler started out well. With Zec, Azofaifa and Harbuzi all on the pitch, much to our surprise they had all been left on the bench last week, Gencler coach Fuat Capa was obviously looking to attack. Attack they did with various half chances created right from the off. Karabuk was looking totally lost. In about the 19th Zec threaded a lovely ball through the centre to the young Yasin who smashed it in. 1-0 up and Gencler kept on attacking.

It wasn't brilliant football and no one had a brilliant game really. Stupid decisions were being made and Karabuk should really have been put to the sword. Still at least we were attacking and it paid off when Oktay Delibalti managed to get past two or three players close to the line, Hursut was waiting for it but Oktay's pass was crap. Luck was with us though as the ball came off a Karubuk player and Hursut got back quickly and scored.

Half-time and Gencler should have been up by more.

The half-time talk must have been pretty hopeless because Gencler came out and were rubbish for the first 15 minutes or so. Our defence had holes galore and it was only thanks to our keeper, the post at times and some rubbish shots from Karabuk that kept us in it, until the 50th when Karabuk scored after we failed to clear our lines.

We seemed to get back into rhythm not much longer after that and towards the end we had some decent chances. Match said and done and we were happy as were the Gencler players. I'm still not convinced we have a side that will trouble the big guys this season. A good team on its day would have put five or six past Karabuk. Gencler are clearly not a good team at the moment. Still, I'll take the three points any day.

By the way. Not once during the match did one of the medics have to come on to treat a player. So why the hell was five minutes of stoppage time played? Bloody hopeless.

Genclerbirligi defeat Karabuk

A great first half performance. Pretty crap second half. Still, a win's a win. Genclerbirligi defeat Karabuk 2-1. A fun match with plenty of hearts-in-mouths moments. More soon on The Round Ball in Ankara.

Ankaragucu vs Besiktas Match Preview !

Monday night will see Ankaragucu travel to Istanbul as we take on Besiktas. Both teams lost their opening match and will be hoping to get their first win of the season under their belt. It will be a very difficult game for Ankaragucu but anything is possible.

Last season Besiktas won 4-0 in Istanbul, we had a goal disallowed that night which would have given us the lead, but the referee got it wrong and Besiktas went on to win. Ankaragucu won 1-0 at home in the next game thanks to an early goal from Serdar Ozkan.

Besiktas have a number of new players, Mustafa Pektemek who will be well known by the Gencler Kankas and Brazilian defender Sidnei to name a few. Besiktas are a very flamboyant side with talented players like Ricardo Quaresma, Simao and Manuael Fernandes. Hugo Almeida will need to be watched as the striker knows where the net is. Besiktas lost 2-1 away at Eskisehirspor last weekend and will be disappointed with their start.

Ankaragucu started with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat against Mersin, Jim gave us our match report and the highlights also showed that we weren't good enough and Mersin deserved the win. Ziya Dogan will have worked the players hard this week and the players should be sharper. I would expect him to make a couple of changes to the starting line up as well with Tonia and Serdar coming in to start the game.

Prediction for the match is a Besiktas win, unfortunately with so many of our Key players having left, this is a huge task for the players.

Team I would start with would be Senecky in goal, Back four of Ugur, Ediz, Rajnoch and Ishak, midfield 3 of Kagan, Theo and Hurriyet, With Tonia and Serdar on the wings supporting Ergin Keles up front.

Nadeem

It's going to be a long long season

That Ankaragucu are going to struggle this year is obvious due the political struggle over who runs the place as well as the club's massive debts. That Genclerbirligi are going to struggle this year is is obvious due to the lack of a political struggle over who runs the place as well as the club's lack of massive debts.

Samsunspor 3 - 2 Genclerbirligi

It was great to be back at the Beer Bus but instead of the normal excitement that comes with the start of a new season most of the Gencler fans were depressed even before a ball had been kicked. The main reason of course is that we have completely failed to sign anyone of any substance, just a couple of young kids from the lower divisions and a couple of almost pensionable journeymen.

I was the only Kanka there but there was a decent show from other Gencler fans with us inside for our match, the Besiktas fans outside where the TV was showing the so-called "main match" and the Ankaragucu Kankas next door at the Chopin.

Kick-off and .... er ... where was Harbuzi, Zec and Azofeifa? They were all on the bench! We waved our heads in disbelief and it was Samsun who started off best. Admitedly we did get the first chance on goal but Mununga failed to really get hold of a ball and the Samsun keeper saved it instinctively.

After that, well, I haven't seen such an atrocious display from Gencler since, er... probably last season. Our defence was totally disorganised and Samsun were able to get passes through to free attackers time and again. It wasn't long before we were 3-0 down. Depressed, depressed, depressed.

Three-nil down and the Gencler fans don't have much to celebrate.

Half time and a quick visit next door to visit the Ankaragucu Kankas and then back again for more torture.

The surprising thing was that Gencler started to play some decent footy. Sure Samsun were sitting on a massive lead and weren't playing to much attacking football but still, Gencler's second half performance at least gives us a little bit of hope.

Azofeifa was brought on in the 40th minute replacing the young Efsan Geckin. You had to feel sorry for the 18 year-old. It was his first match in the Super Lig and here he was being taken off at 3-0 down inside the first half.

Back to the second half and Gencler started looking good, at least compared to the dismal first-half performance. Then in the 50th-something minute we got a free kick about 30 yards out. Azofeifa then pulled off a great feet by curling the ball low around the wall and into the net that the goalkeeper could only watch.

Slightly happier after Azofeifa's goal.

Time for a fightback and Gencler looked like they were up for it. At the same time though too many passes were being wasted and the team didn't look like they had played a lot together.

Not long before the end and Azofeifa floated a lovely corner into the middle where Burak Ozsurac got his head onto it and into the goal. 3-2 and there was the slightest chance we might get an equaliser.

And boy was it close... A few close shaves and then what would have been a killer blow to the Samsun fans. The Samsun keeper had picked up the ball and was killing time by throwing the ball on the ground in order to send it flying. He didn't realise though that Soner was behind him racing. Soner stole the ball and had a reaction shot, only for a defender to come racing back and clear it. Arrrrggghhhhh

And that was that. As I said before this could be a very long season.

ANKARAGUCU - Back to Square One !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ziya Dogan's first match as Technical Director and he can see quite clearly now where the team's problems lie.

Bereft of all the 'star' players who jumped ship during the past few weeks (Rajnoch excluded), he has a complete rebuilding job to do around the players who have stayed on board.

Captain Hurriyet did his best to steady the ship last night, but they are totally disorganised and lacking in a game plan. The defence is back to the old habit of hoofing the ball anywhere in panic, and the midfield guilty of giving the ball away and passing the ball to opponents. Ergin was a lone figure up front chasing back for the ball and he didn't have the support he needed from midfield or Turgut out on the right. It wasn't until Tonia came on in the 2nd half that Ankaragucu started to look like a team likely to score !

Ankaragucu 1 Mersin 2

Team line-up -

Ozden
Ugur, Rajnoch, Guven and Murat
Aydin, Weeks, Hurriyet and Kagan
Turgut and Ergin

Substitutes used - Tonia, Umut and Serdar

We all met up in The Chopin Bar, but without the usual optimism which Efes usually gives ! We expected the worst (as did Oz Kanka and the Gencler kankas) and so we were not surprised at the final result !

Who was there ? Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, His friend John from Guernsey attending his first match in Turkey, Maniac Kanka Harun and his friend Super Beauty Kankie Nadia from Ukraine who was also attending her first match in Turkey, Yankee Kanka, Huso Kanka, Muco, Gengiz and yours truly.

Damon, Yankee and I were able to enter the Stadium using our new Kombine Tickets and the others had to pay the extortionate price of TL 10 !!

It was an unbelievable carnival atmosphere in the Stadium with Gecikondu in particular full and in sparkling voice. The volume increased as the match continued even when Ankaragucu went two down. The Gecikondu Boys really are a class act and an entertainment in themselves !

There is not much I can say about the first half which would not be very complimentary towards Ankaragucu. Only once did they threaten to score when Ergin was put through on the 10 minute mark but his shot hit the post and was cleared.

It was Mersin doing most of the attacking and Ankaragucu pinned back in defence. Lots of near misses with Ozden making some fine saves and a few goal-line clearances when he was beaten. So, going in 0-0 at half time was rather fortunate and a relief.

Well, I suppose on pressure alone, it was inevitable that Mersin would be the team to score first and the goal didn't take long to arrive. Two minutes into the 2nd half and another Mersin break on the right. The perfect cross came in for Nobre to fire in a textbook header with Ozden well beaten. For those of you who attended the Baskent Cup last month he scored a similar goal, and in fact, he's been doing the same for Beshiktrash for many years. So, Ankaragucu received another basic lesson ........ do your homework on the players who are likely to pose a danger !!!

Ten minutes later and it was 2-0, and what a goal it was too. Certainly a candidate for goal of the season. Again the cross came in from the right to the unmarked Nobre and with his back to the goal, he gave a first-time overhead kick to send the ball into the top right hand corner with Ozden having no chance. A classic goal from a great player.

Ankaragucu was still trying to get their show on the road and Tonia was the only player who looked as though he was the only player who thought the match wasn't over. He had a great chance to score on 65 minutes when he was put through with only the goalkeeper to beat. However, he delayed his first-time shot and tried to take the ball around the keeper but was pushed too far wide and the chance was gone.

Mersin was still in control of this match and passing the ball around just like Ankaragucu did to them in the Baskent Cup Final ! It was frustrating to watch as they played with the ball and tried to run the clock down.

Then with 5 minutes to go and with the Stadium emptying, the consolation goal arrived. From a free kick just outside the box, Serdar sent a sweet well aimed shot into the top right hand corner of the goal with the Mersin goalkeeper clawing air. A classic and well taken free kick, and I'm pleased to see Serdar back in the team. He came off the bench late, but I'm sure he will feature in the starting line-up soon.

So, it's obviously not the start to the league campaign which we wanted, but Ankaragucu received what they deserved last night, ie, zero points !

They now face the difficult trip to Beshiktrash next weekend and Mr Dogan will have to have a tactical masterplan up his sleeve if Ankaragucu is to take anything from that one.

As Oz Kanka said in the previous post ........ on last night's performances, it's going to be a long hard season ahead for both Ankara teams !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

PS ....... Oh yes ....... forgot to mention the impressive Mersin support at the away end. We counted 500 which is 461 more than Gencler could muster last week !!!!

Gencler start as we expected

Samsunspor 3 - 2 Genclerbirligi

Well... What do you expect? We sold or gave off Pektemek, Orhan Sam and Jedinak and brought in ... er ... a couple of 18-year-olds. This is not looking for the title stuff.

Genclerbirligi got themselves whipped today and no amount of second half antics and heart-stopping chances can deny it. This is going to be one hell of a long season.

Only one good thing to report tonight... Besiktas lost.....

Full match report tomorrow.

A Hornets Nest !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ooooops ..... tilt ! Ankaragucu's new Chairman, Cengiz Topel Yildirim, has disturbed a Hornets Nest, and as we all know, that can be dangerous !

He is quoted in The Hurriyet this morning as saying that there will be no more free tickets for the tribunes. Wow !

This has been a practice since the days of Cemal Aydin and which continued under the Gokceks, and one which I have always considered to be bizarre.

Admittedly, our hands are not totally clean, since from time to time we kankas have been offered (and taken) free tickets from the Anti-X guys who know us. However, I have to say that I have never been happy about this situation - as a supporter of Ankaragucu I am ready, willing and able to put my money into the Club for the benefit of the Club.

So, it will be very interesting to see the effect of this courageous ruling by Cengiz Bey, starting with the match tomorrow. Let's see if it affects the loyalty of the tribunes ?!

Cengiz Bey also said that Ankaragucu will produce kombine tickets (season tickets) this season for the first time in about 3 years. Good. Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I will be buying them next week when we know the details.

A good first step by Cengiz Bey. His next step is to arrange for the Club's debts to be paid !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

A Whoop of Delight ??!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Excuse me if I don't give a whoop of delight at the announcement of the appointment of the new Technical Director of Ankaragucu !

No disrespect to Mr Ziya Dogan intended, but he is not, in my opinion, an inspiring appointment.

True enough, he has a football background, ie, as a player with Beshiktrash, Kocaeli and ........ Ankaragucu, and as a Coach for a host of teams, eg, Istanbul BBS, Beshiktrash, Konya, Malatya, Trabzon, Gencler and Diyarbakir.

Perhaps some of the Gencler Kankas will remember him and offer an opinion ?

He was quoted as saying he joins on the understanding that the Club will pay their debts ! So, it could turn out to be a short appointment !!!

Also, as we suspected, and acccording to The Hurriyet, Sestak has joined Bursa. So again I ask the question ............ who is going to lead the line on Saturday ??!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

'A Stroll in the Park' for Genclerbirligi

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Gencler retained the TSYD Cup last night with a professional hatchet job against the Ankaragucu 'Young Boys' !

Genclerbirligi 2 Ankaragucu 0

Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Izmir Kanka Onur and I met up in The Chopin for the usual pre-match 'refreshments' and then took off for the Stadium.

A very poor crowd for an evening match. However, to answer Damon's question, a much improved turnout from the Gencler fans - up from the usual 13 to 39 !!!

Ankaragucu Gecikondu Boys were well represented and in full voice in the first half, silent in the 2nd half and absent half way through the 2nd half ! Anti-X and Sokak were absent, so Maraton was not busy, and there were only a few in Kapali.

Gencler took control of the match from the outset and never let go. The fact that only 2 goals were scored was down to abysmal finishing, especially in the 2nd half when 3 'sitters' were blasted over when it would have been easier to tap-in. Also, perhaps Cavcav told the players to ease off in the 2nd half ?!

Horseshit (oooops.... sorry ....... I mean Hursit) was everywhere and looked dangerous - some of his long passes were top drawer. The 2 lanky Africans were pacey and will cause defences some problems this season. The No 9 (name ?) stood out too. His ball control was exceptional and he was a constant threat to the Ankaragucu back line. So, lots of positives to take for the season for Gencler on this excellent team performance.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Ankaragucu. Notwithstanding that the team was unrecognisable, they played like lost sheep and were totally out of their depth. However, that is not meant as a serious criticism. With the right coaching, some of them may well progress to the Senior Team in the future.

Looking forward to Saturday's match against Mersin, it remains to be seen if 'Coach-less' Ankaragucu has any senior players left ! If not, they will be in serious trouble, bearing in mind how the 2 Mersin Africans and Nobre tore the Gencler defence apart in the Captial City Cup last month.

So, well done Gencler. A well deserved and professional performance.

It is now 10 years since Ankaragucu won the Ankara TSYD Cup which is an embarrassing statistic. The Capital City Cup win is now a distant memory !

Next Saturday we will meet in The Chopin or The Beer Bus at about 5pm and go to the Stadium at 7pm. We are holding our breath to see what the line-up will look like !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Genclerbirligi Retain the TSYD Cup

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Gencler retained the TSYD Cup tonight in an almost empty 19 Mayis Stadium against the Ankaragucu Youth Team. (hardly the 'B' Team which Genciz Bey mentioned recently !!).

Gencler 2 Ankaragucu 0

It was dire stuff for the Ankaragucu supporters to witness a team which they didn't recognise, and I will be unable to name one 'recognised' player when I make the report tomorrow.

However, no sour grapes. Gencler dominated the match and the only surprise was that the scoreline was 'respectable' !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

The TSYD Cup - 2011

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The Hurriyet reported this morning that The TSYD (Ankara Sportswriters) Cup will be held tomorrow, Sunday 4 September, in The 19 Mayis Stadium KO 7pm.

The normal 4 teams format has been abandoned this season and the Cup will only be contested between Ankaragucu and Genclerbirligi.

I'm not sure if we are attending this match yet because I haven't had time to discuss it with the kankas. However, what has been agreed is that Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I will be meeting in either The Chopin Bar or The Beer Bus Bar tomorrow at about 4pm.

So, if you intend to go to the match, then please join us. In the meantime, I'll try and let you know if we are going or not.

The Hurriyet also reported that Sestak has joined the exodus from Ankaragucu and is now on his way to Bursa. I think that Rajnoch must be feeling a wee bit lonely right now and wondering whether to stay with the sinking ship or abandon ship !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim