Ankaragucu vs Umraniyespor match preview!

 

Saturday nights game will see Ankaragucu host Umraniyespor at Eryaman Stadium as both clubs look to bounce back after defeat. Ankaragucu will take some encouragement that Sanliurfaspor beat Umraniye quite comfortably 3-1 and will be hoping for a similar outcome. 

On the transfer front, the clubs new Sporting Director confirmed in an interview with Metiner Erdem that Renaldo Cephas will train with the youth team. He claims the club turned down a 1 Million Euros offer from an Israeli club for Cephas and are instead looking for closer to 5 Million Euros. Quite a remarkable statement as the player has failed to impress since he came to the club. 

He also confirmed that Christian Bassogog and Andreij Djokanovic have offers from Saudi and the club are hoping for a conclusion to these deals soon despite wanting Bassogog to stay. Saponara is still on the wage bill but they are finding it difficult to part ways with the Italian midfielder. The club also confirmed talented youngster Efe Akdogan has signed for Corum and the club have inserted a 30 percent sell on clause. 

On the more positive side of things, the club has a desire to give opportunities to more academy players with 17 year old Hasan Nazarov an example of that at the weekend after making his debut. 

Umraniyespor finished 11th last season and will again be hoping to improve on that under Tuncay Sanli. They have made some changes to the squad this season as every Turkish team does. Bulgarian Striker Georgi Minchev has impressed so far with 2 goals in his first 2 games and will be looking to add to that tally at the weekend. 

Ankaragucu should have Stelios Kitsiou and Tolga Cigerci back in contention to start. Both players who have been linked with moves away from the club are important players for the team and were missed last week. 

Efkan and Bassogog who also want to move on need to show more effort if they are to start. They have both produced lacklustre performances and way below the levels of what they are capable of. 

Its expected Renat Dadashov who has impressed in his 2 sub appearances will come in and take the starting place at the striker position from Riad Bajic who again was poor last week. 

Its vital Cihat Arslan and his team pick up all 3 points with some of the other clubs in Lig 1 already showing some encouraging signs. 

Ankaragucu return from Erzurum empty handed!

 

It was a disappointing performance and result in Erzurum from Ankaragucu and Cihat Arsalan and the management need to ditch the players who don't want to be here immediately. In 90 minutes of football, Ankaragucu failed to get one shot on goal despite having more of the possession. 

Team - Bahadir, Ismail, Mert, Mahmut, Dursun, Cem, Ali Kaan, Efkan, Bassogog, Garry, Bajic

Subs - Ertac, Fatih, Diogo, Dadashov, Arda, Hasan Nazarov, Hayrullah, Osman

The only goal of the game came in the 35th minute though a Mustafa Yumlu header. Bahadir made a mistake which lead to the corner, and from the resulting corner kick Mustafa headed the ball into the net at the near post to make it 1-0. 

Ankaragucu legend Hakan Kutlu will be delighted to see his side pick up all 3 points but he stated after the game his wish is for both Erzurum an Ankaragucu to be promoted. 

Despite having the highest wage bill and budget in Lig 1, Ankaragucu look like a team who have no identity and multiple players who arent showing any effort. Efkan, Bassogog, Cephas and Tolga have all made it clear they would like to move on. 

Tolga at least shows some effort when he plays and was missed at the weekend along with Kitsiou who both had injuries. But the pathetic performances of Efkan and Bassogog while Cephas was left out the squad for failing to attend training sessions should be sold immediately. 

The only positive from the match was the debut of 17 year old Hasan Nazarov. They young midfielder has impressed for the youth teams and was given his debut with 8 minutes remaining. Fenerbahce are believed to be interested in signing him so hopefully Ankaragucu can find more opportunities in the team and convince him his future would benefit from staying here. 

On the transfer front, the club have failed with offers for Ali Yashar and Valon Ethemi both from Istanbulspor. Christian Bassogog is wanted by clubs in Saudi and Ankaragucu have rejected 600K Euros, and will instead look for 1 Million Euros before he can move. 

Next up is Saturday nights game with Umraniyespor. They have also won 1 and lost 1 this season. A good 3-0 win over Corum was followed up with a 3-1 defeat at Sanliurfaspor which should give Ankaragucu some encouragement. 

Ankaragucu put Sanliurfa to the sword!

 

One of Jims favourite sayings when Ankaragucu won, "we put them to the sword" as Ahmet mentioned in our Whattsap group. The first competitive match without our great friend Jim ended in a 2-0 win for Ankaragucu against Sanliurfaspor. 

Team - Bahadir, Ismail, Mert, Mahmut, Dursun, Tolga, Efkan, Ali Kaan, Bassogog, Garry, Bajic

Subs - Ertac, Fatih, Arda, Sirac, Hayrullah, Dadashov, Cem, Dioga, Osman

Despite being named in the squad Renaldo Cephas failed to turn up for the game and has also been missing from training all week. Cihat Arslan said after the match that the club has an offer from an Israeli club which they rejected and no one knows where Cephas is. 

It was an overall good performance from Ankaragucu considering some of the issues that the coach has with the team. Both Tolga and Efkan have been looking for a move to the Super Lig, and earlier this week Kitsiou, Bassogog and Cephas have all been subject to interest from other clubs. 

Having to put out a team that has multiple players who clearly dont see their future with Ankaragucu isnt an easy task. 

Apart the first 5 minutes where Sanliurfaspor had a couple of half chances, it was Ankaragucu who dominated the game. 

Goals from Riad Bajic, with a left footed shot from outside the box, and a brilliant team goal finished off by Renat Dadashov were enough to seal the 3 points for Ankaragucu. 

Sanliurfaspor were very poor and could be in for a difficult season as they look to have a lack of quality all over the pitch. 

At the back Ankaragucu looked pretty solid, apart from Dursun at left back who doesnt offer much at either end of the pitch. He is weak defensively, and isnt good enough on the ball to be considered effective from an attacking point of view. 

In midfield, Tolga had a decent game and Ali Kaan worked hard. Efkan showed some nice touches at times but then let himself down with his final ball or decision making. It also looks like Efkan is playing at half the effort of others. 

Up top, Bassogog again showed some nice moments, but similar to Efkan looks like he isnt bought into playing in Lig 1. Riad Bajic didnt have much to do the full game but took his goal well, although no smile and limited celebration tells its own story. 

Renat Dadashov who just signed for the club during the week, gave an impressive debut with his link up play, work rate and finishing off with a great goal.

The only negatives from the game is, it should have been a bigger winning margin, and when Bassogog came off, instead of bringing on Sirac the coach brought on Haryullah instead. 

When your 3rd choice right back comes onto the field, instead of one of the most talented young wingers in Turkey, it says a lot about the development of young players at Ankaragucu. 

Next up is an away match at Erzurumspor on Saturday against Hakan Kutlu and his team! 

Ankaragucu vs Sanliurfaspor - Match Preview

 

Firstly, a bit of transfer news today as Ankaragucu finally got their striker with the signing of 25 year old Azerbaijani striker Renat Dadashov on a 2 year deal from Grasshopers Zurich. The former Wolves player spent last season on loan at Hatayspor scoring 7 goals in all competitions. 

The club have also signed Onur Seferoglu who is one of the most talented young players in Turkey. He was initially with Ankaragucu youth team before moving to Bochum in Germany 2 years ago and was one of the best young players at German youth level. His parents have returned to Turkey and Onur wanted to move back with them. Both Galatasaray and Fenerbahce tried to sign him, but Ankaragucu managed to convince him with the help of Cengiz Paca. A great coup for the club and hopefully the teenager will get his opportunity. 

Christian Bassogog and Renaldo Cephas both advised the club today that they dont wish to play in the season opener against Sanliurfaspor as they push for moves to Saudi Arabia and Israel. Bassogog is subject to a 1 Million euro offer from Saudi, while an Israeli club have reportedly offered 130K for Cephas. Bassogog will be a blow as he is seen as one of the teams key players, but Cephas has failed to make any impact since his signing. Lets hope the club can finalise these moves quickly to allow them to find replacements before the transfer deadline. 

Stelios Kitsiou will also miss out on Sunday nights game as he has picked up an injury and hasnt been training the last couple of days. 

Cihan Arslan takes charge of his first competitive game as Ankaragucu manager against his former club who narrowly avoided relegation last season. Sanliurfaspor have made a few changes to their squad with the additions of Ally Male, Stefan Ashkovski, Mehmet Coskun, Petteri Forssell and former Ankaragucu midfielder Mohammed Gonulacar to name a few. 

Sanliurfaspor are another big club with a great fanbase in Turkey who have suffered from bad management and financial problems. They will be hoping they can have a more positive season and challenge at the top end of the table. 

With so many players out for the first game i think we will something like the below lining up in the first game. 

Bahadir

Hayrullah Mahmut Mert Dursun

Tolga

Ali-Kaan Efkan

Garry  Sirac

Dadashov

Im hopefull with both Cephas and Bassogog confirming they wont play, that it will open the door for opportunity for highly rated Sirac. We have been hearing about how much potential he has since 14 years old. The only way we can develop these players is by giving them an opportunity. 

I would personally also start Arda Unyay at CB but i dont think Cihat will throw too many young players in. Arda for me is the most talented young player and has a huge future in the game. But similar to Sirac he needs game time. Lets see what Sunday brings. 

Ankaragücü 4-0 Genclerbirligi TSYD Cup

 

Ankaragücü his afternoon confirmed 6 new signings as Mahmut Takdemir, Ismail Cokcalis, Mert Cetin, Osman Celik, Diogo Coelho and Yusuf Emre Gultekin all signing on free transfers.

The TSYD Cup is a historical competition for Ankara teams and is a yearly event with both teams tied on 17 wins each. Today would give us an idea of where the team is at as we approach next weeks first league game of the season against Sanliurfaspor.

Team - Bahadir, Kitsiou, Mahmut, Diogo, Dursun, Tolga, Ali Kaan, Efkan, Bassogog, Garry, Bajic

Subs - Ertac, Ismail, Osman, Cem, Cephas, Mervan, Arda, Mirac, Sirac, Hayrullah

It was a pretty dominant win for Ankaragücü as goals from Tolga, Efkan, Kitsiou and Bassogog giving the Sari Lacivert 4 goals and a clean sheet which sent the small group of fans home happy.

There were some good signs from Cihat Arslan on his first game as Ankaragücü manager. The team played some nice football throughout the match with the likes of Tolga, Efkan and Garry in particular having good games. 

The weak areas are in defence and centre forward positions. Quite a few times Genclerbirligi found a lot of space in between the wing backs and central defenders and some of the leagues better teams will take advantage of that. 

Riad Bajic struggled in attack and was hooked at half time. He really struggles playing with his back to goal and holding the ball up. If Ankaragücü are to be promoted this season they will need to find a striker who has those attributes.

Arda Unyay came on for the last 12 minutes and the 18 year old looks a big talent. He is easily the most impressive defender in the team and should be starting. If Ankaragücü give him his opportunity he could make the team millions in the future. He is a fantastic player with a big future.

Genclerbirligi on the other hand look like they could be in for a relegation battle if they don’t add some more quality to their team. Former Ankaragücü rejects Alperen Babacan, Yasin Gurler started for them as did Sinan Osmanoglu and Firatcan who also played for Ankaragücü. Those type of players at this part of their career won’t help a team looking for promotion.

Ankaragücü now have 8 days to prepare for the opening home match with Sanliurfaspor next week at Eryaman.

And finally, the first competitive game without our friend Jim. Have a drink on Ankaragücü up there Jim, we miss you badly.