It's taken a while to make my first post of the season, but I have to comment on Pompey's result today against Reading in the Premiership - a 7-4 win has put us in 5th place after 8 games, which is pretty good when you consider that we have played each of the "Big 4" already. However, Reading also missed a penalty, which could have made the final result even more interesting!
And as the mighty hibees also won today, 4-1, putting them in 3rd, and Ankaragucu riding high, we could be in for an exciting season, with some potential European meetings next season?!
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
ANKARAGUCU AND THE BATTLE OF SAKARYA CADDESI MARK 2
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
It started off so well and then it degenerated into the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 2, which thankfully wasn’t as violent as the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 1 which took place many moons ago. But first .....................……………… the footie.
Fenerbahce 2 ANKARAGUCU 0
Eski Kanka was first into The Chopin Bar to commandeer 3 tables, which would in the end prove insufficient for the Gathering of the Kanka Clan ! Next up came Mountaineering Kanka Robbie with his entourage of beautiful `Bilkent Babes`, Kasha, Jennifer, Alix and Julie. Also Iain, Phillip, Andrew and then Oz Kanka Chris. Followed by Rip Off Kanka Erman, Maniac Kanka Harun (who would later take `centre stage` in the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 2), Yankee Kanka, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, another beautiful `Bilkent Babe` Abby, Ted, Ian, Tansu and Omur. 19 kankas and surely a World Record attendance by the Kanka Group for a match ?!
Expectations were fairly high, but tempered with the knowledge that Fener have shown this season that they can play a bit, ie, the Inter Milan match !
The match got underway with ANKARAGUCU in their customary 4-4-2 formation and trying to attack Fener by playing their passing game through midfield. However, it was Serkan who was the busier keeper with ANKARAGUCU’s attacks breaking down near the penalty area and Volkan only having to deal with long shots.
Win 10 minutes of the 1st half remaining, I was contemplating going in at 0-0 and perhaps a frustrated Fener lining up for the 2nd half. Wrong !!
A corner from Alex swung in to the near post was met by Aurelio who scored with a glancing header with Serkan rooted to the spot. Herr Briegel will be asking why he was allowed a free header unchallenged !! A classic goal though and all credit to Aurelio for taking his chance.
ANKARAGUCU kept pressing forward until the half time whistle but the Fener defence were in control and Volkan never in danger of having to make a save.
Into the 2nd half then and more of the same. ANKARAGUCU getting bogged down in midfield with some long range shots, mostly off target. In all honesty it was probably the easiest match Volkan has had this season !
At the other end it was `all hands to the pumps` ! Serkan was performing miracles with Emre and Co mopping up the now frequent Fener attacks.
It was at this point when Maniac Kanka showed all the new kankas why he was well named by Kirkcaldy Kanka a few seasons ago ! Our singing of ANKARAGUCU songs gradually turned to slagging off the Fener `supporters` in front of us in the Chopin Bar.
I put parenthesis around `supporters` on purpose because they are what I call `armchair supporters`, ie, they probably have never been to Kadikoy and only `support` Fener in the comfort of their own homes or pubs in Ankara. If any of them read this Blog (which I doubt) they should try and realise that Sakarya Caddesi belongs to ANKARAGUCU supporters and my advice to them is….. don’t wave a red flag at a Bull !!!
I have to confess that I didn’t see the last goal scored by one of the Fener substitutes (not important who !!) in time added on because I was trying to keep Maniac Kanka under control, ably assisted by Yankee Kanka.
Unfortunately, my efforts proved fruitless when Maniac Kanka proceeded to question the parentage of the Fener `supporters` !! Also, I doubt that those `supporters` mothers were female dogs, although Maniace Kanka was convinced that they were !!!
All hell broke loose at the final whistle with the Fener `supporters` baying for Maniac Kanka’s blood ! They were being restrained by Yankee Kanka and the bar staff, while yours truly was trying to restrain Maniac Kanka !
It was then that Maniac Kanka phoned for `The Cavalry` ! Almost immediately about 60 ANKARAGUCU supporters turned up and most of the Fener `supporters` scarpered. Those few who remained `broke into silence` and a war was averted !
What to do to take Maniac Kanka out of the `danger zone` ? We bundled him into a taxi and took him to the less dangerous venue called The Red Lion Club where there were lots of Ingallish hooligans watching the funny shaped ball world cup match.
I thought………….. if that doesn’t sober him up, nothing will !!!!
Back to footie again, and it was quite clear that Fener deserved to win the match. The ANKARAGUCU midfield spent most of the match protecting and supporting the back 4 rather than supporting the strikers. Once again, Bebbe was `The Lone Ranger` for most of the match.
Herr Briegel has some serious thinking to do before next weekend. ANKARAGUCU will be at home against Sivasspor. More details nearer the time.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim the Pacifier
It started off so well and then it degenerated into the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 2, which thankfully wasn’t as violent as the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 1 which took place many moons ago. But first .....................……………… the footie.
Fenerbahce 2 ANKARAGUCU 0
Eski Kanka was first into The Chopin Bar to commandeer 3 tables, which would in the end prove insufficient for the Gathering of the Kanka Clan ! Next up came Mountaineering Kanka Robbie with his entourage of beautiful `Bilkent Babes`, Kasha, Jennifer, Alix and Julie. Also Iain, Phillip, Andrew and then Oz Kanka Chris. Followed by Rip Off Kanka Erman, Maniac Kanka Harun (who would later take `centre stage` in the Battle of Sakarya Caddesi Mark 2), Yankee Kanka, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, another beautiful `Bilkent Babe` Abby, Ted, Ian, Tansu and Omur. 19 kankas and surely a World Record attendance by the Kanka Group for a match ?!
Expectations were fairly high, but tempered with the knowledge that Fener have shown this season that they can play a bit, ie, the Inter Milan match !
The match got underway with ANKARAGUCU in their customary 4-4-2 formation and trying to attack Fener by playing their passing game through midfield. However, it was Serkan who was the busier keeper with ANKARAGUCU’s attacks breaking down near the penalty area and Volkan only having to deal with long shots.
Win 10 minutes of the 1st half remaining, I was contemplating going in at 0-0 and perhaps a frustrated Fener lining up for the 2nd half. Wrong !!
A corner from Alex swung in to the near post was met by Aurelio who scored with a glancing header with Serkan rooted to the spot. Herr Briegel will be asking why he was allowed a free header unchallenged !! A classic goal though and all credit to Aurelio for taking his chance.
ANKARAGUCU kept pressing forward until the half time whistle but the Fener defence were in control and Volkan never in danger of having to make a save.
Into the 2nd half then and more of the same. ANKARAGUCU getting bogged down in midfield with some long range shots, mostly off target. In all honesty it was probably the easiest match Volkan has had this season !
At the other end it was `all hands to the pumps` ! Serkan was performing miracles with Emre and Co mopping up the now frequent Fener attacks.
It was at this point when Maniac Kanka showed all the new kankas why he was well named by Kirkcaldy Kanka a few seasons ago ! Our singing of ANKARAGUCU songs gradually turned to slagging off the Fener `supporters` in front of us in the Chopin Bar.
I put parenthesis around `supporters` on purpose because they are what I call `armchair supporters`, ie, they probably have never been to Kadikoy and only `support` Fener in the comfort of their own homes or pubs in Ankara. If any of them read this Blog (which I doubt) they should try and realise that Sakarya Caddesi belongs to ANKARAGUCU supporters and my advice to them is….. don’t wave a red flag at a Bull !!!
I have to confess that I didn’t see the last goal scored by one of the Fener substitutes (not important who !!) in time added on because I was trying to keep Maniac Kanka under control, ably assisted by Yankee Kanka.
Unfortunately, my efforts proved fruitless when Maniac Kanka proceeded to question the parentage of the Fener `supporters` !! Also, I doubt that those `supporters` mothers were female dogs, although Maniace Kanka was convinced that they were !!!
All hell broke loose at the final whistle with the Fener `supporters` baying for Maniac Kanka’s blood ! They were being restrained by Yankee Kanka and the bar staff, while yours truly was trying to restrain Maniac Kanka !
It was then that Maniac Kanka phoned for `The Cavalry` ! Almost immediately about 60 ANKARAGUCU supporters turned up and most of the Fener `supporters` scarpered. Those few who remained `broke into silence` and a war was averted !
What to do to take Maniac Kanka out of the `danger zone` ? We bundled him into a taxi and took him to the less dangerous venue called The Red Lion Club where there were lots of Ingallish hooligans watching the funny shaped ball world cup match.
I thought………….. if that doesn’t sober him up, nothing will !!!!
Back to footie again, and it was quite clear that Fener deserved to win the match. The ANKARAGUCU midfield spent most of the match protecting and supporting the back 4 rather than supporting the strikers. Once again, Bebbe was `The Lone Ranger` for most of the match.
Herr Briegel has some serious thinking to do before next weekend. ANKARAGUCU will be at home against Sivasspor. More details nearer the time.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim the Pacifier
Friday, September 28, 2007
LADIES FOOTIE IN THE NEWS
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Watching Brazil Ladies take the Yankee Ladies apart last night on BBC World and CNN reminded me that I hadn't updated you on Hibernian Ladies progress for a while.
Last week Hibernian Ladies maintained their unbeaten league tag in defence of their League title when they beat Forfar Farmington 4-0 at home. Kim Little has started where she left off last season by bagging a hat-trick !
Following that match the Hibernian Ladies took on Vale of Clyde (2nd Division side I think) in the Quarter Final of the League Cup and gave them a 17-1 thrashing. Note..... not a misprint.... it was SEVENTEEN !!
Well if the Hibs 1st Team can't win the League Cup this season at least the Ladies Team can have a crack of doing the bizz for them ?!
By the way, and back to the World Cup, Brazil's win puts them into the final against Germany Ladies which should be a cracker of a match. Might be on Euro Sport or Fox ? Please post details if you hear before me.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Watching Brazil Ladies take the Yankee Ladies apart last night on BBC World and CNN reminded me that I hadn't updated you on Hibernian Ladies progress for a while.
Last week Hibernian Ladies maintained their unbeaten league tag in defence of their League title when they beat Forfar Farmington 4-0 at home. Kim Little has started where she left off last season by bagging a hat-trick !
Following that match the Hibernian Ladies took on Vale of Clyde (2nd Division side I think) in the Quarter Final of the League Cup and gave them a 17-1 thrashing. Note..... not a misprint.... it was SEVENTEEN !!
Well if the Hibs 1st Team can't win the League Cup this season at least the Ladies Team can have a crack of doing the bizz for them ?!
By the way, and back to the World Cup, Brazil's win puts them into the final against Germany Ladies which should be a cracker of a match. Might be on Euro Sport or Fox ? Please post details if you hear before me.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Good Hibs Bad Hibs
The best and worst of Hibs was seen this week when on Sunday they beat Celtic 3-2 at Easter Road only to follow it up with a 4-2 defeat to Motherwell in the CIS cup.
In beating Celtic, Hibs became the last unbeaten team in the SPL after seven games. Hibs victory can largely be down to the Celtic keeper making two very bad blunders. The first after five minutes letting a poor shot bump over him. The second and Hibs third goal came with only three minutes to go when he dropped a shot at the feet of the Hibs striker.
Hibs went ahead twice only for Celtic to peg Hibs back after 30 and 60 minutes. The game looked as if it could swing either way before Hibs late winner. Celtic are always capable of hurting teams and a lot of credit goes to Hibs young players for standing firm.
It was nice to see Scott Brown coming back to Easter Road and not getting stick from the crowd, more than can be said for some of the other Hibs exports. This shows if you are honest and give 100% to the club you will still be held in high regard.
Celtic deserved a point out of the match but for once the goalkeeping howlers worked in our favour. Hibs played a lot of good football although slightly over playing in dangerous areas lead to a couple of Celtic shots.
Sir Eski Kanka can be assured that everyone was upbeat after the game, that was more than on Wednesday night when Motherwell played us off the park. A lot of credit has to go to Motherwell as they came with an attacking line up and went for Hibs.
Hibs took the lead only for Motherwell to hit back three times before halftime. Motherwell added a fourth with ten minutes to go before Hibs grabbed a late consolation.
Disappointing as it is to go out of our cup I would prefer to be picking up the league points. To win both would be nice but after loosing so many players last season I think we are looking at settling the team in preparation for the next bunch promising youngsters.
Hibbee Kanka
In beating Celtic, Hibs became the last unbeaten team in the SPL after seven games. Hibs victory can largely be down to the Celtic keeper making two very bad blunders. The first after five minutes letting a poor shot bump over him. The second and Hibs third goal came with only three minutes to go when he dropped a shot at the feet of the Hibs striker.
Hibs went ahead twice only for Celtic to peg Hibs back after 30 and 60 minutes. The game looked as if it could swing either way before Hibs late winner. Celtic are always capable of hurting teams and a lot of credit goes to Hibs young players for standing firm.
It was nice to see Scott Brown coming back to Easter Road and not getting stick from the crowd, more than can be said for some of the other Hibs exports. This shows if you are honest and give 100% to the club you will still be held in high regard.
Celtic deserved a point out of the match but for once the goalkeeping howlers worked in our favour. Hibs played a lot of good football although slightly over playing in dangerous areas lead to a couple of Celtic shots.
Sir Eski Kanka can be assured that everyone was upbeat after the game, that was more than on Wednesday night when Motherwell played us off the park. A lot of credit has to go to Motherwell as they came with an attacking line up and went for Hibs.
Hibs took the lead only for Motherwell to hit back three times before halftime. Motherwell added a fourth with ten minutes to go before Hibs grabbed a late consolation.
Disappointing as it is to go out of our cup I would prefer to be picking up the league points. To win both would be nice but after loosing so many players last season I think we are looking at settling the team in preparation for the next bunch promising youngsters.
Hibbee Kanka
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Stumpf signs for Genclerbirligi
Reinhard Stumpf signed on the dotted line this morning and we now have ourselves a coach. No idea what the salary deal is, nothing in the agency reports.
Which has got me thinking. Turkish people, whether be friends or strangers, have no sense of embarrassment when it comes to asking how much I earn but then when it comes to things like footballers salaries practically no information is ever given, the exact opposite to where I come from.
Stumpf gave all the required cliched answers to questions from reporters at today's signing. "Genclerbirligi were a very good team when I was playing in Turkey," "In my opinion the training facilities (of Gencler) are the best"... etc etc
Although I did like what he said when asked what he thought of our 1-1 draw with Konya over the weekend, saying something about not enough attack! Too damn right.
Good luck Herr Stumpf.
Which has got me thinking. Turkish people, whether be friends or strangers, have no sense of embarrassment when it comes to asking how much I earn but then when it comes to things like footballers salaries practically no information is ever given, the exact opposite to where I come from.
Stumpf gave all the required cliched answers to questions from reporters at today's signing. "Genclerbirligi were a very good team when I was playing in Turkey," "In my opinion the training facilities (of Gencler) are the best"... etc etc
Although I did like what he said when asked what he thought of our 1-1 draw with Konya over the weekend, saying something about not enough attack! Too damn right.
Good luck Herr Stumpf.
THE TURKISH CUP - ANKARAGUCU DO IT THE HARD WAY !
Greetings Kankas and Kankies
Yesterday in the 2nd Round of the Turkish Cup…………..
Tepecik Buyuk Belediye Spor 1 ANKARAGUCU 3 (aet)
Making it into the group stage of the Turkish Cup is the object of the exercise, but of course, ANKARAGUCU like to do things the hard way by playing 120 minutes rather than the regulation 90 minutes !
Herr Briegel gave his squad `fringe players` a run out yesterday against the 2nd Division side, but that should never be used as an excuse for struggling against a lower league team.
Tepecik opened the scoring just before half time and that’s how it stayed until Jaba spared the blushes with 10 minutes of the match remaining. By the way, Jaba played for the entire 120 minutes which proves that Herr Briegel reads our Blog and takes my advice !!
After 5 minutes of extra time, Captain Courageous, Emre, made it safe with the 2nd goal and Alper made sure 5 minutes later.
Our `old` goalkeeper, and a previous Turkish International, Zafer, made his season’s debut. Also, Bebbe, Dursun, El Yasa and Cem Can were `rested`.
So, job done.
Now its back to league business on Friday.
Bring on Fener !!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Yesterday in the 2nd Round of the Turkish Cup…………..
Tepecik Buyuk Belediye Spor 1 ANKARAGUCU 3 (aet)
Making it into the group stage of the Turkish Cup is the object of the exercise, but of course, ANKARAGUCU like to do things the hard way by playing 120 minutes rather than the regulation 90 minutes !
Herr Briegel gave his squad `fringe players` a run out yesterday against the 2nd Division side, but that should never be used as an excuse for struggling against a lower league team.
Tepecik opened the scoring just before half time and that’s how it stayed until Jaba spared the blushes with 10 minutes of the match remaining. By the way, Jaba played for the entire 120 minutes which proves that Herr Briegel reads our Blog and takes my advice !!
After 5 minutes of extra time, Captain Courageous, Emre, made it safe with the 2nd goal and Alper made sure 5 minutes later.
Our `old` goalkeeper, and a previous Turkish International, Zafer, made his season’s debut. Also, Bebbe, Dursun, El Yasa and Cem Can were `rested`.
So, job done.
Now its back to league business on Friday.
Bring on Fener !!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Genclerbirligi back on track?
Typical. A match I could not get to because of family duties, ie my marriage may have collapsed if I went, ends up with Genclerbirligi tearing the opposition to pieces.
Genclerbirligi 4 - 1 Akcabatspor
I have the Anadolu news agency and my friend Umut who kept me informed of the scores to report that Isaac Promise, yes, he who this blog has not been the friendliest to in the last two years, scored three goals.
And then Aussie Nick Carle scored his first goal for Genclerbirligi to make it four goals. Somewhere along the line Akcabat also scored a goal.
So what does all this mean? We are now into the group stage of the "We take pride in high transfer fees for bank transactions" Turkish Cup.
Just as an aside, apparently Kahe missed a penalty for us... and as an extra aside our new "in principle" coach, Reinhard Stumpf made it back from Germany in time to watch the second half. Is it a bad omen that we scored three of the four goals in the first half?
Genclerbirligi 4 - 1 Akcabatspor
I have the Anadolu news agency and my friend Umut who kept me informed of the scores to report that Isaac Promise, yes, he who this blog has not been the friendliest to in the last two years, scored three goals.
And then Aussie Nick Carle scored his first goal for Genclerbirligi to make it four goals. Somewhere along the line Akcabat also scored a goal.
So what does all this mean? We are now into the group stage of the "We take pride in high transfer fees for bank transactions" Turkish Cup.
Just as an aside, apparently Kahe missed a penalty for us... and as an extra aside our new "in principle" coach, Reinhard Stumpf made it back from Germany in time to watch the second half. Is it a bad omen that we scored three of the four goals in the first half?
Stumpf named new Genclerbirligi coach
Looks like Genclerbirligi have got themselves a new coach.
According to the Alkaralar website, an in-principle agreement has been reached with Reinhard Stumpf, a German who was an assistant to Gerets at Salatasaray.
He won't be in charge tonight though as he has gone off to Germany for a few days to find some assistant coaches. Gencler General Manager Cem Onuk says that he will sign an official deal in the next few days.
Mmmm. I don't know anything about this bloke. Do any of you lot?
According to the Alkaralar website, an in-principle agreement has been reached with Reinhard Stumpf, a German who was an assistant to Gerets at Salatasaray.
He won't be in charge tonight though as he has gone off to Germany for a few days to find some assistant coaches. Gencler General Manager Cem Onuk says that he will sign an official deal in the next few days.
Mmmm. I don't know anything about this bloke. Do any of you lot?
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Another last minute goal saves Genclerbirligi
Last minute goals seem to be all the rage at the moment with Genclerbirligi scoring one in the last minute of regulation time to grind out a draw on Saturday night against Konya.
Konya 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi
As usual the papers today have bugger all concerning the match. The only slightly detailed report I've managed to find is from the Anatolian news agency.
Going by their minute-by-minute report (which is really more like a "lets just write down something if there is a shot" report) this was not the best of games, a couple of shots from Konya, including a goal and, then a couple of shots from Nick Carle and Mehmet Cakir for Genclerbirligi in the first half.
Seems like there was even less in the second half until the 89th minute when Okan Ozturk took a free kick and scored. Wouldn't mind having a look at that when when Lig TV finally get around to posting it on their website.
That's all the info I've got unfortunately. We have some Cup matches coming up this week and then we are at home on Sunday to Kasimpasa. I'll be e-mailing details shortly.
Konya 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi
As usual the papers today have bugger all concerning the match. The only slightly detailed report I've managed to find is from the Anatolian news agency.
Going by their minute-by-minute report (which is really more like a "lets just write down something if there is a shot" report) this was not the best of games, a couple of shots from Konya, including a goal and, then a couple of shots from Nick Carle and Mehmet Cakir for Genclerbirligi in the first half.
Seems like there was even less in the second half until the 89th minute when Okan Ozturk took a free kick and scored. Wouldn't mind having a look at that when when Lig TV finally get around to posting it on their website.
That's all the info I've got unfortunately. We have some Cup matches coming up this week and then we are at home on Sunday to Kasimpasa. I'll be e-mailing details shortly.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
ANKARAGUCU - NEVER SAY DIE !
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
ANKARAGUCU 1 Istanbul Buyuk Belediye Spor (IBBS) 0
A great turnout last night for the match against Istanbul’s `4th Team` who did enough to prove that they will be no `push-overs` this season.
The Chopin Bar was the meeting place and it was more like a Kanka Gathering of the Clans – Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Mountaineering Kanka Robbie and Kankie Judy, Judy’s brother Phillip who would like to be called Romanian Kanka (he lived there for 2 years and Kirita is now his hero !!!), two work friends of Mountaineering Kanka recently arrived in Ankara, Ted from Florida and Ian from New York City, Alpine Kanka Wolfgang and his two fantastic sons `Olde` Chris Kanka and `Young` Chris Kanka, Alpine Kanka’s brother Erich and Martin on holiday from Austria and yours truly…… phew !
There will be a few photos coming soon. Keep watching this space !
PS……Where was Oz Kanka everyone was asking ? Well…… I have to spill the beans and tell you he was watching the funny shaped ball game in the Red Lion Club ….tut tut tut !! Shall we (or should we) forgive him for this faux pas me asks ???!!!
Lottsa luvvlie `refreshments` and kofte and then into the Stadium where Yankee Kanka and his brother Huseyin joined us.
I didn’t see much of the 1st half due to the fact that I spent most of the time with my head in my hands or ranting (and yes, swearing ….. shock horror !) at the efforts (or non efforts) of the ANKARAGUCU players. Was this the team who gave Trabzon a footie lesson last week and almost shocked CimBom the week before ? Capital `N`….. No !
IBBS surprised us all (including the ANKARAGUCU players I think) by taking the game to ANKARAGUCU but Emre, El Yasa and Co were up for it and Serkan had only one serious attempt at goal to deal with in the 1st half. The ANKARAGUCU midfield and attack were on `another planet` and all the high balls into the `not so tall` strikers were ably dealt with by the IBBS back 4.
It was pretty exasperating stuff and the half time whistle was a relief ! Would Herr Briegel take my advice and push 3 up front in the 2nd half I was wondering ? Ahem….. No !
However, obviously, he did blast his players in the dressing room because they came out all fired up and took almost complete control in the 2nd half. It was one-way traffic for most of the half.
I honestly lost count of the chances spurned by Bebbe, Murat and Ilkem. Also, it has to be said that Haluk in the IBBS goal had an excellent match. Near the end, Kirita sent in a `screamer` which was heading into the top right hand corner of the goal but somehow Haluk contrived a leap through the air to turn it over for a corner. Dursun was in `dreamland` for most of the match and it was no surprise when he was substituted near the end for Jaba.
As I’ve said before, Jaba is a class player and it is time for him to make a start from the beginning of the match !!
Into the last 5 minutes and the IBBS defence was rocking and hoofing the ball anywhere. There was also numerous instances of time wating tactics being emplyed which earned Haluk a yellow card.
Into time added-on and a last ditch effort with a corner swung over by Kirita which was met full-on by the impressive El Yasa to power it in for the winner.
Joy ? Celebration ? Mmmmmm…….. more like relief !!!
3 hard earned points then, but all credit to IBBS for not being over-awed by the occasion of their first visit to 19 Mayis Stadium. They will surely give a few more teams some problems this season.
Next week sees the BIG ONE at Kadikoy. We will be meeting in the Cappadokia Bar next Friday for the 8.30pm KO to watch it on the Big Screen. Definite details coming in an email nearer the time.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
ANKARAGUCU 1 Istanbul Buyuk Belediye Spor (IBBS) 0
A great turnout last night for the match against Istanbul’s `4th Team` who did enough to prove that they will be no `push-overs` this season.
The Chopin Bar was the meeting place and it was more like a Kanka Gathering of the Clans – Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Mountaineering Kanka Robbie and Kankie Judy, Judy’s brother Phillip who would like to be called Romanian Kanka (he lived there for 2 years and Kirita is now his hero !!!), two work friends of Mountaineering Kanka recently arrived in Ankara, Ted from Florida and Ian from New York City, Alpine Kanka Wolfgang and his two fantastic sons `Olde` Chris Kanka and `Young` Chris Kanka, Alpine Kanka’s brother Erich and Martin on holiday from Austria and yours truly…… phew !
There will be a few photos coming soon. Keep watching this space !
PS……Where was Oz Kanka everyone was asking ? Well…… I have to spill the beans and tell you he was watching the funny shaped ball game in the Red Lion Club ….tut tut tut !! Shall we (or should we) forgive him for this faux pas me asks ???!!!
Lottsa luvvlie `refreshments` and kofte and then into the Stadium where Yankee Kanka and his brother Huseyin joined us.
I didn’t see much of the 1st half due to the fact that I spent most of the time with my head in my hands or ranting (and yes, swearing ….. shock horror !) at the efforts (or non efforts) of the ANKARAGUCU players. Was this the team who gave Trabzon a footie lesson last week and almost shocked CimBom the week before ? Capital `N`….. No !
IBBS surprised us all (including the ANKARAGUCU players I think) by taking the game to ANKARAGUCU but Emre, El Yasa and Co were up for it and Serkan had only one serious attempt at goal to deal with in the 1st half. The ANKARAGUCU midfield and attack were on `another planet` and all the high balls into the `not so tall` strikers were ably dealt with by the IBBS back 4.
It was pretty exasperating stuff and the half time whistle was a relief ! Would Herr Briegel take my advice and push 3 up front in the 2nd half I was wondering ? Ahem….. No !
However, obviously, he did blast his players in the dressing room because they came out all fired up and took almost complete control in the 2nd half. It was one-way traffic for most of the half.
I honestly lost count of the chances spurned by Bebbe, Murat and Ilkem. Also, it has to be said that Haluk in the IBBS goal had an excellent match. Near the end, Kirita sent in a `screamer` which was heading into the top right hand corner of the goal but somehow Haluk contrived a leap through the air to turn it over for a corner. Dursun was in `dreamland` for most of the match and it was no surprise when he was substituted near the end for Jaba.
As I’ve said before, Jaba is a class player and it is time for him to make a start from the beginning of the match !!
Into the last 5 minutes and the IBBS defence was rocking and hoofing the ball anywhere. There was also numerous instances of time wating tactics being emplyed which earned Haluk a yellow card.
Into time added-on and a last ditch effort with a corner swung over by Kirita which was met full-on by the impressive El Yasa to power it in for the winner.
Joy ? Celebration ? Mmmmmm…….. more like relief !!!
3 hard earned points then, but all credit to IBBS for not being over-awed by the occasion of their first visit to 19 Mayis Stadium. They will surely give a few more teams some problems this season.
Next week sees the BIG ONE at Kadikoy. We will be meeting in the Cappadokia Bar next Friday for the 8.30pm KO to watch it on the Big Screen. Definite details coming in an email nearer the time.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Falkirk 1-1 Hibs
Hibs earned a hard fought for point in Falkirk during which there were nine bookings and three sendings off.
In all honesty there was not a bad challenge in the game and all 3 sendings off were on the harsh side.
Clayton Donaldson had opened the scoring for Hibs after only 4 minutes when he converted a penalty after he himself had been fouled. His celebration of running to the support earned him a booking from referee Willie Collum.
The game itself wasn't helped by the swirling wind within the Falkirk stadium and any football was difficult. The game suffered not only from an incompetent referee but also the gusty winds.
Hibs have been praised for their free flowing football in the past but sadly this season it has failed to appear in any game. The players look fit but unable to play the passing game wanted by manager John Collins and dare I say they look confused as to what their exact roles are. Maybe so many new players will take time to gel properly.
Donaldson was sent off seven minutes shy of half time for his second yellow card after what appeared to be a good challenge on Steven Thomson and clearly won the ball. Collum however saw it differently and sent the big man off.
All in all this was as dour a game as Hibs have been involved in for a while and the performances over the season so far have been disappointing. Truth is Steven Fletcher almost stole the points for Hibees with a back post header with 15 minutes remaining - only a terrific save denied him - but a victory would only have papered over the cracks.
Not the upbeat report Sir Eski Kanka wanted, I dare say he will disapprove of negative comments against the referee however not for the first time a poor ref has spoiled what should be an entertaining game.
Celtic up next Sunday at Easter Road, hope to be more jolly in my report.
In all honesty there was not a bad challenge in the game and all 3 sendings off were on the harsh side.
Clayton Donaldson had opened the scoring for Hibs after only 4 minutes when he converted a penalty after he himself had been fouled. His celebration of running to the support earned him a booking from referee Willie Collum.
The game itself wasn't helped by the swirling wind within the Falkirk stadium and any football was difficult. The game suffered not only from an incompetent referee but also the gusty winds.
Hibs have been praised for their free flowing football in the past but sadly this season it has failed to appear in any game. The players look fit but unable to play the passing game wanted by manager John Collins and dare I say they look confused as to what their exact roles are. Maybe so many new players will take time to gel properly.
Donaldson was sent off seven minutes shy of half time for his second yellow card after what appeared to be a good challenge on Steven Thomson and clearly won the ball. Collum however saw it differently and sent the big man off.
All in all this was as dour a game as Hibs have been involved in for a while and the performances over the season so far have been disappointing. Truth is Steven Fletcher almost stole the points for Hibees with a back post header with 15 minutes remaining - only a terrific save denied him - but a victory would only have papered over the cracks.
Not the upbeat report Sir Eski Kanka wanted, I dare say he will disapprove of negative comments against the referee however not for the first time a poor ref has spoiled what should be an entertaining game.
Celtic up next Sunday at Easter Road, hope to be more jolly in my report.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Capa resigns as Genclerbirligi coach - the curse?
Latest from the wires!!!!
Ankara - Stung by the harsh criticism coming from this blog after the rubbish display that was the 0-2 loss to Manisa on Sunday, Fuat Capa on Monday evening resigned as Genclerbirligi coach rather than actually face the sack.
According to an official statement released by Genclerbirligi late Monday night, Capa handed in a signed resignation form which was duly accepted.
Capa was not immediately available for comment but appeared to have been forced out despite sounding defiant on Sunday night when he told members of the most honourable profession of scribes that he would not resign and that he would fight on.
However, sources close to the club speaking to "The round ball in Ankara" via the Anatolian news agency said it was a case of either Capa resigning or being sacked.
Capa was in charge at Genclerbirligi for five league games in which he recorded just one win, a draw and three losses. Capa's assistant coaches Mustafa Kaplan and Ozcan Bizati also fell on their swords.
------
So Capa is gone. Who the hell do we turn to now.
Scary though. This blog only had to suggest that we get an interview and bang... Capa is history.
Ankara - Stung by the harsh criticism coming from this blog after the rubbish display that was the 0-2 loss to Manisa on Sunday, Fuat Capa on Monday evening resigned as Genclerbirligi coach rather than actually face the sack.
According to an official statement released by Genclerbirligi late Monday night, Capa handed in a signed resignation form which was duly accepted.
Capa was not immediately available for comment but appeared to have been forced out despite sounding defiant on Sunday night when he told members of the most honourable profession of scribes that he would not resign and that he would fight on.
However, sources close to the club speaking to "The round ball in Ankara" via the Anatolian news agency said it was a case of either Capa resigning or being sacked.
Capa was in charge at Genclerbirligi for five league games in which he recorded just one win, a draw and three losses. Capa's assistant coaches Mustafa Kaplan and Ozcan Bizati also fell on their swords.
------
So Capa is gone. Who the hell do we turn to now.
Scary though. This blog only had to suggest that we get an interview and bang... Capa is history.
ANKARAGUCU - A POINT WELL MADE
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Trabzonspor 0 ANKARAGUCU 0
A trip to the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium (even when it is empty) under normal circumstances would entail leaving empty-handed, such is the reputation of Trabzonspor at home. However, the present ANKARAGUCU team under Herr Briegel’s direction is beginning to take shape and it was therefore no surprise that a point was well earned last night. Indeed, in reality it could (and should) have been 3 points !
First up, the kankas met in The Cappadokia Bar to watch the match on the Big Screen. Maniac Kanka Harun, Yankee Kanka, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Rip-Off Kanka Erman and yours truly. By the way, we had to change Apple Kanka’s name since he has now left the Apple Company and joined Turkcell ! Can you imagine the name change if he had joined Turk Telekom ??!!
(Note – the name change was suggested by Battle Damaged Kanka and agreed unanimously !).
I said at the beginning of the match that Herr Briegel’s team formation was about right, ie, 4-4-2, and so it proved. We are all well aware of Trabzon’s strengths and weaknesses and one of their strengths is in midfield where Gokdeniz and Ceyhun can cause havoc if they take control and can feed Umut up front. It was therefore satisfying to see that, as the match progressed, both Gokdeniz and Ceyhun becoming frustrated by the ANKARAGUCU midfield players, epecially Kirita and Cem Can not giving an inch.
We can say that it was a match where most of the action occurred in the midfield area, but on the occasions when the teams had sight of goal, the goalkeepers were rarely in action, except to take goal kicks or receive back passes. Most of Trabzon’s goal attempts came from long range efforts from Gokdeniz all of which went flying over the bar. At the other end, Kirita and Bebbe had fine efforts which went narrowly past both posts. Bebbe did score a great goal just before half time when he back-heeled in a cheeky goal with Tolga looking over his shoulder in despair. Unfortunately for ANKARAGUCU the linesman was right up with play and rightly ruled the goal out for offside. C’est la vie !
Using Steve McLaren’s vocabulary, I will take the `positives` from the match. ANKARAGUCU played some nice one touch footie and their build-up was generally very good. However, the old failing came back with the final pass or the shot on goal not up to standard. Also, I was pleased to see the team playing for the full 90 minutes as they did so well against CimBom a few weeks ago.
I suppose we could label the match a cat and mouse affair with both team fairly even. However, I have to say that ANKARAGUCU had Trabzon rocking in the last 10 minutes with a final attacking onslaught. Kirita and Bebbe both went close with long range strikes and the impressive Murat Erdogan (recently arrived from Sakaryaspor) who had come on half way through the 2nd half, had a near miss with another long range shot.
Jaba came on with 5 minutes remaining and showed some nice touches. I expect to see him playing up front on a regular basis with Bebbe and Dursun very soon.
Man of the match for me was captain Emre who snuffed out everything that came his way. In fact, he frustrated our `old boy` Umut so much that Umut was substituted with 20 minutes of the match remaining. Were those tears I saw cascading down Umut’s cheeks as he trudged off ??!!
I should also mention El Yasa who put in a good shift alongside Emre, and was also seen attacking from time to time. Bebbe, as usual, never stopped running and tracking back when necessary. All things considered then, a good team performance which on any other day might well have been a 3 pointer for ANKARAGUCU.
It was back to The Cappadokia Bar to join us for the Gencler Kankas after their match against Manisa. Lots of long faces and mutterings of discontent from them, but that is Oz Kanka’s story in the previous post.
Looking forward to the next match then and ANKARAGUCU will be at home next Friday night 21st September against Istanbul BBS with a KO of 8.30pm. Meeting at The Chopin Bar from 5.30pm onwards and going to the Stadium at about 7pm.
If Herr Briegel is reading our Blog then I suggest a 4-3-3 formation !!!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Trabzonspor 0 ANKARAGUCU 0
A trip to the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium (even when it is empty) under normal circumstances would entail leaving empty-handed, such is the reputation of Trabzonspor at home. However, the present ANKARAGUCU team under Herr Briegel’s direction is beginning to take shape and it was therefore no surprise that a point was well earned last night. Indeed, in reality it could (and should) have been 3 points !
First up, the kankas met in The Cappadokia Bar to watch the match on the Big Screen. Maniac Kanka Harun, Yankee Kanka, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Rip-Off Kanka Erman and yours truly. By the way, we had to change Apple Kanka’s name since he has now left the Apple Company and joined Turkcell ! Can you imagine the name change if he had joined Turk Telekom ??!!
(Note – the name change was suggested by Battle Damaged Kanka and agreed unanimously !).
I said at the beginning of the match that Herr Briegel’s team formation was about right, ie, 4-4-2, and so it proved. We are all well aware of Trabzon’s strengths and weaknesses and one of their strengths is in midfield where Gokdeniz and Ceyhun can cause havoc if they take control and can feed Umut up front. It was therefore satisfying to see that, as the match progressed, both Gokdeniz and Ceyhun becoming frustrated by the ANKARAGUCU midfield players, epecially Kirita and Cem Can not giving an inch.
We can say that it was a match where most of the action occurred in the midfield area, but on the occasions when the teams had sight of goal, the goalkeepers were rarely in action, except to take goal kicks or receive back passes. Most of Trabzon’s goal attempts came from long range efforts from Gokdeniz all of which went flying over the bar. At the other end, Kirita and Bebbe had fine efforts which went narrowly past both posts. Bebbe did score a great goal just before half time when he back-heeled in a cheeky goal with Tolga looking over his shoulder in despair. Unfortunately for ANKARAGUCU the linesman was right up with play and rightly ruled the goal out for offside. C’est la vie !
Using Steve McLaren’s vocabulary, I will take the `positives` from the match. ANKARAGUCU played some nice one touch footie and their build-up was generally very good. However, the old failing came back with the final pass or the shot on goal not up to standard. Also, I was pleased to see the team playing for the full 90 minutes as they did so well against CimBom a few weeks ago.
I suppose we could label the match a cat and mouse affair with both team fairly even. However, I have to say that ANKARAGUCU had Trabzon rocking in the last 10 minutes with a final attacking onslaught. Kirita and Bebbe both went close with long range strikes and the impressive Murat Erdogan (recently arrived from Sakaryaspor) who had come on half way through the 2nd half, had a near miss with another long range shot.
Jaba came on with 5 minutes remaining and showed some nice touches. I expect to see him playing up front on a regular basis with Bebbe and Dursun very soon.
Man of the match for me was captain Emre who snuffed out everything that came his way. In fact, he frustrated our `old boy` Umut so much that Umut was substituted with 20 minutes of the match remaining. Were those tears I saw cascading down Umut’s cheeks as he trudged off ??!!
I should also mention El Yasa who put in a good shift alongside Emre, and was also seen attacking from time to time. Bebbe, as usual, never stopped running and tracking back when necessary. All things considered then, a good team performance which on any other day might well have been a 3 pointer for ANKARAGUCU.
It was back to The Cappadokia Bar to join us for the Gencler Kankas after their match against Manisa. Lots of long faces and mutterings of discontent from them, but that is Oz Kanka’s story in the previous post.
Looking forward to the next match then and ANKARAGUCU will be at home next Friday night 21st September against Istanbul BBS with a KO of 8.30pm. Meeting at The Chopin Bar from 5.30pm onwards and going to the Stadium at about 7pm.
If Herr Briegel is reading our Blog then I suggest a 4-3-3 formation !!!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Time to interview Genclerbirligi coach Fuat Capa?
Is it some sort of weird Turkish mathematical law that states that as the number of Genclerbirligi supporters decreases the number of Kankas at Genclerbirligi matches increases?
This was hardly a top of the table clash but we managed to get 11 people together for pre-match drinks at the Chopin. At the time we only had 10 season tickets between us but it was great to see new Kankas Michal and Alper (Kanka names to be assigned at a later date) buying season tickets at the gate. Not to mention Niels who finally made it to a match despite having bought his jersey months ago.
I was actually a bit surprised to see so many bars open in Kizilay considering that we are in the middle of Ramadan at the moment. But the bar staff were happy to see us and the Efes certainly went down well.
As for the football... argh
Genclerbirligi 0-2 Manisa
We clearly have a decent team. In the first half we were all over Manisa but where oh where is our goal set up abilities.
We were totally in control during the first half but at no time did we ever get a shot on goal. Mehmet Cakir came closest but his shot was from so far away that I reckon I could have stopped it with one hand without spilling a drop from my beer in the other.
Bloody pathetic. I seriously have to doubt our play... or our positioning, or something or other. We have some damn good players, Mehmet Nas, Mehmet Cakir and Nick Carle, for a start. But why was Carle being played so far back in defence? The man knows how to run and get past players but he was playing so deep. Okan Ozturk up front is not enough... Argh.
0-0 at half time and us Gencler fans were depressed. Nothing on goal, and not even the sort of play that looked like scoring a goal... and remember this was a half where we totally dominated play.
Second half and the brother-in-law of Ahmet (from the Turkish soccer site), Giray Bulak, obviously had something positive to say to his Manisa players as they came out looking a damn lot better than they did in the first half. We saw from Manisa some nice build up moves, pass after pass which were eventually cleared by our defenders. Genclerbirligi on the other hand didn't really seem to have a clue.
That was until about the 50th minute mark when Carle sent a lovely through ball down the left, it was sent in by someone and was almost a goal. One of our best moves of the match so far and our coach, Fuat Capa, obviously thought that as Carle was playing too well we ought to take him off!
"What the fuck", said the guy sitting next to me. Well, he said something in Turkish like that. But the fact is he was damn right. Carle was one of the few Gencler players who looked like they might break the deadlock. Sure he was playing too deep in defence, I assume because Capa told him to, but bloody hell.......
Then, just a few minutes later Mehmet Cakir was taken off... Oh God. What the hell was Capa smoking today? Perhaps it is time that this blog tries to get an interview with him. (See below for our Curse)
Still 0-0, but not for long. Manisa managed to put a few good passes together and bang 0-1. A few minutes later and Manisa managed to put a few good passes together and bang 0-2.
On came our new Brazillian signing Kahe and while he didn't look brilliant tonight he did look better up front than Okan. Kahe managed to blow one good chance, but really it was just half a chance. Got to give the bloke some time. He looks like he can hold the ball up well and I'm slightly hopeful for the future.
Dear oh dear oh dear.
I'm not even going to go into the idiocy of putting our match on at the same time as Muslims are supposed to be breaking their Ramadan fast. This single fact meant that many fans didn't show up to the match. Stupid fools. It was such an embarrassing turnout tonight that at one stage when one of the Genclerbirligi amigos was trying to get a chant going that he actually mentioned me by name to shame the rest of the Turks into singing. I don't know, perhaps the crowd were just really hungry, unlike Genclerbirligi.
****
The following was written a few months ago and is background to The Curse:
The Curse of "The round ball in Ankara"
This is becoming scary. This blog is now responsible for the departure from Ankara teams of three coaches.
Victim 1: Vlado Bozinoski
Bozinoski was appointed coach of Ankaragucu at the beginning of the season. Being an Aussie we thought we should get an interview. After numerous attempts I finally managed to get his mobile number and was about to ring him when he was sacked.
Victim 2: Mesut Bakkal
Lanky Kanka Jorg organised a football match between the German/Austrian Embassy football team FC Stiefel and the Genclerbirligi management. Gencler coach Bakkal was going to be there so we could interview him for the blog. Within minutes of Lanky Kanka confirming that the interview was on, Bakkal resigned as coach.
Victim 3: Ersun Yanal
Yanal appointed coach and what with the Kanka BBQ on this Saturday we thought this would be a great opportunity to invite him along and interview him for the blog. Yanal resigned two days ago. Today I received confirmation from Lanky Kanka that Yanal had actually said "yes" and was going to come to the BBQ.
Victim 4: Fuat Capa ???????
EDIT: Just a day after this post Fuat Capa resigned as Genclerbirligi coach. The curse of "The round ball in Ankara" strikes again.
This was hardly a top of the table clash but we managed to get 11 people together for pre-match drinks at the Chopin. At the time we only had 10 season tickets between us but it was great to see new Kankas Michal and Alper (Kanka names to be assigned at a later date) buying season tickets at the gate. Not to mention Niels who finally made it to a match despite having bought his jersey months ago.
I was actually a bit surprised to see so many bars open in Kizilay considering that we are in the middle of Ramadan at the moment. But the bar staff were happy to see us and the Efes certainly went down well.
As for the football... argh
Genclerbirligi 0-2 Manisa
We clearly have a decent team. In the first half we were all over Manisa but where oh where is our goal set up abilities.
We were totally in control during the first half but at no time did we ever get a shot on goal. Mehmet Cakir came closest but his shot was from so far away that I reckon I could have stopped it with one hand without spilling a drop from my beer in the other.
Bloody pathetic. I seriously have to doubt our play... or our positioning, or something or other. We have some damn good players, Mehmet Nas, Mehmet Cakir and Nick Carle, for a start. But why was Carle being played so far back in defence? The man knows how to run and get past players but he was playing so deep. Okan Ozturk up front is not enough... Argh.
0-0 at half time and us Gencler fans were depressed. Nothing on goal, and not even the sort of play that looked like scoring a goal... and remember this was a half where we totally dominated play.
Second half and the brother-in-law of Ahmet (from the Turkish soccer site), Giray Bulak, obviously had something positive to say to his Manisa players as they came out looking a damn lot better than they did in the first half. We saw from Manisa some nice build up moves, pass after pass which were eventually cleared by our defenders. Genclerbirligi on the other hand didn't really seem to have a clue.
That was until about the 50th minute mark when Carle sent a lovely through ball down the left, it was sent in by someone and was almost a goal. One of our best moves of the match so far and our coach, Fuat Capa, obviously thought that as Carle was playing too well we ought to take him off!
"What the fuck", said the guy sitting next to me. Well, he said something in Turkish like that. But the fact is he was damn right. Carle was one of the few Gencler players who looked like they might break the deadlock. Sure he was playing too deep in defence, I assume because Capa told him to, but bloody hell.......
Then, just a few minutes later Mehmet Cakir was taken off... Oh God. What the hell was Capa smoking today? Perhaps it is time that this blog tries to get an interview with him. (See below for our Curse)
Still 0-0, but not for long. Manisa managed to put a few good passes together and bang 0-1. A few minutes later and Manisa managed to put a few good passes together and bang 0-2.
On came our new Brazillian signing Kahe and while he didn't look brilliant tonight he did look better up front than Okan. Kahe managed to blow one good chance, but really it was just half a chance. Got to give the bloke some time. He looks like he can hold the ball up well and I'm slightly hopeful for the future.
Dear oh dear oh dear.
I'm not even going to go into the idiocy of putting our match on at the same time as Muslims are supposed to be breaking their Ramadan fast. This single fact meant that many fans didn't show up to the match. Stupid fools. It was such an embarrassing turnout tonight that at one stage when one of the Genclerbirligi amigos was trying to get a chant going that he actually mentioned me by name to shame the rest of the Turks into singing. I don't know, perhaps the crowd were just really hungry, unlike Genclerbirligi.
****
The following was written a few months ago and is background to The Curse:
The Curse of "The round ball in Ankara"
This is becoming scary. This blog is now responsible for the departure from Ankara teams of three coaches.
Victim 1: Vlado Bozinoski
Bozinoski was appointed coach of Ankaragucu at the beginning of the season. Being an Aussie we thought we should get an interview. After numerous attempts I finally managed to get his mobile number and was about to ring him when he was sacked.
Victim 2: Mesut Bakkal
Lanky Kanka Jorg organised a football match between the German/Austrian Embassy football team FC Stiefel and the Genclerbirligi management. Gencler coach Bakkal was going to be there so we could interview him for the blog. Within minutes of Lanky Kanka confirming that the interview was on, Bakkal resigned as coach.
Victim 3: Ersun Yanal
Yanal appointed coach and what with the Kanka BBQ on this Saturday we thought this would be a great opportunity to invite him along and interview him for the blog. Yanal resigned two days ago. Today I received confirmation from Lanky Kanka that Yanal had actually said "yes" and was going to come to the BBQ.
Victim 4: Fuat Capa ???????
EDIT: Just a day after this post Fuat Capa resigned as Genclerbirligi coach. The curse of "The round ball in Ankara" strikes again.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Season tickets for Genclerbirligi sorted
I have to admit that I did take money off Smart Arse Yankee Kanka, Mrs. Smart Arse Yankee Kanka, French Kanka Hande and Spine quite a while ago in order to buy Genclerbirligi season tickets for Gecekondu. At the time Mr. Cavcav was punishing us Maraton supporters by not selling season tickets for where we normally sit.
Our plan at the time was to buy Gecekondu season tickets but pretty much only use them for the big matches when the prices skyrocket. A match against Rize, for example, might cost us 2 tl, a match against Galatasaray might cost us 60 tl.
Anyway, I pocketed their money and didn't buy any season tickets.
But there has been good news. Ilhan Cavcav has decided that rather than bite off the hand that feeds him, it might be a good idea to actually give us a break. So, with a warning of just two days, it was announced that season tickets will be on sale for the Maraton stand. After much scurrying around I got together a whole heap of photocopied identifications and today I managed to get down to the Genclerbirligi bunker.
Being such late notice I wasn't able to buy tickets for all. For those who did supply me with ID, I've got your tickets. For Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo and French Kanka Hande all I can ask is please do not get arrested during the season as I'm sure Mrs. Oz Kanka Elif and her Dad (whose IDs I nicked today) wouldn't be too pleased.
Below: Proof that I actually got the season tickets.
Our plan at the time was to buy Gecekondu season tickets but pretty much only use them for the big matches when the prices skyrocket. A match against Rize, for example, might cost us 2 tl, a match against Galatasaray might cost us 60 tl.
Anyway, I pocketed their money and didn't buy any season tickets.
But there has been good news. Ilhan Cavcav has decided that rather than bite off the hand that feeds him, it might be a good idea to actually give us a break. So, with a warning of just two days, it was announced that season tickets will be on sale for the Maraton stand. After much scurrying around I got together a whole heap of photocopied identifications and today I managed to get down to the Genclerbirligi bunker.
Being such late notice I wasn't able to buy tickets for all. For those who did supply me with ID, I've got your tickets. For Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo and French Kanka Hande all I can ask is please do not get arrested during the season as I'm sure Mrs. Oz Kanka Elif and her Dad (whose IDs I nicked today) wouldn't be too pleased.
Below: Proof that I actually got the season tickets.
THE TURKISH CUP - 2nd ROUND
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
The 2nd Round of the Turkish Cup will be played in 2 weeks time on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th September, and both ANKARAGUCU and Genclerbirligi will be playing on Tuesday 25 September.
ANKARAGUCU will be playing away against Tepecik Belediye Spor of the 2nd League and the KO is 4pm. Tepecik is a district of Istanbul. Don't know if it will be on TV but if it is I'll do an edit to this post.
Genceler will be playing at home against A. Sebatspor of the 2nd League and the KO is 8pm. Sebat is a small town on the Black Sea coast. Oz Kanka will send out a kanka mail for this match.
After the 2nd Round matches, the Cup will go into the group format with the Big 4 no doubt seeded to avoid each other.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
The 2nd Round of the Turkish Cup will be played in 2 weeks time on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th September, and both ANKARAGUCU and Genclerbirligi will be playing on Tuesday 25 September.
ANKARAGUCU will be playing away against Tepecik Belediye Spor of the 2nd League and the KO is 4pm. Tepecik is a district of Istanbul. Don't know if it will be on TV but if it is I'll do an edit to this post.
Genceler will be playing at home against A. Sebatspor of the 2nd League and the KO is 8pm. Sebat is a small town on the Black Sea coast. Oz Kanka will send out a kanka mail for this match.
After the 2nd Round matches, the Cup will go into the group format with the Big 4 no doubt seeded to avoid each other.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Hibs 1-0 Inverness
Hibs picked up the three points against Inverness at easter Road today however they did not have it all their own way.
Hibs scored from a penalty after only two minutes when the Inverness centre half stopped a headed cross with his hand. Steven Fletcher stepped up to score his forth goal of the season.
Instead of Hibs settling down to dominate the match they were at times played of the park by a very competant Inverness team.
Inverness had a good chance to desevedly draw themselves level when they got their own penalty however the villan from last week turned into a hero when he left a trailing foot to block a straight penalty.
Hibs play improved towards the end of the first half but it was still a very tight game.
No further scoring in the second half but it was pretty frantic with plenty opportunities, Hibs had the better of these chances but could not put any away to make our final minutes more comfortable to watch.
This victory put Hibs up to third in the league, Falkirk away in a fortnight after the internationals followed by a visit from Celtic.
As mentioned by Sir Eski Kanka, Hibs beat Queens Park 2-1 last week. This is the first stage in Hibs defence of the League cup. Their reward for beating Queens Park is a home tie against Motherwell.
Hibs scored from a penalty after only two minutes when the Inverness centre half stopped a headed cross with his hand. Steven Fletcher stepped up to score his forth goal of the season.
Instead of Hibs settling down to dominate the match they were at times played of the park by a very competant Inverness team.
Inverness had a good chance to desevedly draw themselves level when they got their own penalty however the villan from last week turned into a hero when he left a trailing foot to block a straight penalty.
Hibs play improved towards the end of the first half but it was still a very tight game.
No further scoring in the second half but it was pretty frantic with plenty opportunities, Hibs had the better of these chances but could not put any away to make our final minutes more comfortable to watch.
This victory put Hibs up to third in the league, Falkirk away in a fortnight after the internationals followed by a visit from Celtic.
As mentioned by Sir Eski Kanka, Hibs beat Queens Park 2-1 last week. This is the first stage in Hibs defence of the League cup. Their reward for beating Queens Park is a home tie against Motherwell.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Bloody close for the Ankara derby
Sir Eski Kanka is supposed to report on Ankaragucu home matches but apparently he has too many classes on Sunday, or The Dragon won't let him near the computer, and so you will have to do with me today.
And one hell of a heart stopper it was:
Ankargucu 2 2 Genclerbirligi
For the thousands of people from the Newcastle Jets forum who seem to be coming to this blog lately please ignore the next couple of paragraphs, it has nothing to do with Nick Carle...
I'm not sure if we can continue with the traditional pre-match descriptions concerning which of us Kankas met up at the Chopin before the match because we are getting too big. But I'll just mention a few anyway, on the Gencler side we had Smart Arse Yankee Kanka and Mrs. Smart Arse Yankee Kanka, Lyon Kanka Silvan for his first match, Moate Kanka Bobbie, Alper (Kanka name??), my good self and then Alpine Kanka came along with his two sons and one of their mates.
As I said, that was just the Genclerbirligi crowd.
At the Chopin were also Sir Eski Kanka, Mountaineering Kanka Robbie, Apple Kanka Erman and a bloke called Matt who couldn't be bothered to actually come to the match. Maniac Kanka Harun, Yankee Kanka and Battle-hardened Kanka Damon also managed to make it to the match.
I've probably left someone out... but please don't kill me.
The Ankaragucu lot left early in order to secure tickets while us Genclerbirligi fans enjoyed a couple more beers.
By the time we finally got to the stadium it was obvious us Gencler fans were outnumbered. Of course, we were in the away section of the stadium but I'd guess there were about 13,000 Ankaragucu fans compared to about 600 of us.
On to the match.
Gencler on the attack, some lovely moves from Nicky Carle but nothing comes out of it. In fact, Carle had a good chance of scoring early on, a move which he had himself started, but he was stopped by a defender.
Both teams looked rubbish, although the match was actually quite good fun...
That is until an Ankaragucu attack on the left, ball was put in by Ilkem and Murat Duruer whacked it in. The defence was shite, and I just put my head in my hands.
One-nil up and the Ankaragucu fans are flying high. I tip my lid to them because they certainly know how to sing.
Gencler had a couple of more chances but besides one sort-of shot from Engin we didn't really try.
Half-time approaching and I was trying to figure out how many waters I could buy with the coins I managed to embezzle into the match when Ankaragucu put the knife in.
It seemed quite innocuous, but a pass was put in from Yasin that went on to Krita who whacked the ball, got a slight touch from one of our players and ... in... Jesus didn't have a chance.
Depression then set in. 2-0 down at half time and I'm supposed to meet these Ankaragucu Kankas after the match!
Genclerbirligi's coach Fuat Capa must have had a few harsh words to say because we came out flying. Cakir, Nas and Carle were all playing well on the ball but still we were missing a striker. I know I've taken the piss out of the bloke a million times before but we need someone fast like Isaac Promise up front. Promise is injured at the moment and so for our first goal we had to rely on the Ankaragucu keeper Serkan.
In a moment of madness which will no doubt be haunting him tonight, Serkan decided to take out a Gencler player even though the ball was clearly going to go out. The referee, who was rubbish for most of the match by the way, pointed directly to the spot. Mehmet Cakir stood up and ... bang 2-1
With a light at the end of the tunnel Gencler started to play. Our midfield was outstanding and our defence was good enough to hold out Ankaragucu counterattacks. At the same time though our defence could have been a lot better.
But again I have to state that we need a striker. With people like Memet Nas, Mehmet Cakir and Nicky Carle in the midfield we are creating heaps of opportunities but we are just not converting them.
The Ankaragucu fans were screaming long and hard when someone from Gencler sent in a cross from the left. Okan Ozturk went up and headed the goal.
Us Gencler fans were estatic. The Ankaragucu fans were in shock. From 2-0 up, Ankaragucu came away with the match with only a point... and I got to go to the post-match drinks without being humiliated.
And one hell of a heart stopper it was:
Ankargucu 2 2 Genclerbirligi
For the thousands of people from the Newcastle Jets forum who seem to be coming to this blog lately please ignore the next couple of paragraphs, it has nothing to do with Nick Carle...
I'm not sure if we can continue with the traditional pre-match descriptions concerning which of us Kankas met up at the Chopin before the match because we are getting too big. But I'll just mention a few anyway, on the Gencler side we had Smart Arse Yankee Kanka and Mrs. Smart Arse Yankee Kanka, Lyon Kanka Silvan for his first match, Moate Kanka Bobbie, Alper (Kanka name??), my good self and then Alpine Kanka came along with his two sons and one of their mates.
As I said, that was just the Genclerbirligi crowd.
At the Chopin were also Sir Eski Kanka, Mountaineering Kanka Robbie, Apple Kanka Erman and a bloke called Matt who couldn't be bothered to actually come to the match. Maniac Kanka Harun, Yankee Kanka and Battle-hardened Kanka Damon also managed to make it to the match.
I've probably left someone out... but please don't kill me.
The Ankaragucu lot left early in order to secure tickets while us Genclerbirligi fans enjoyed a couple more beers.
By the time we finally got to the stadium it was obvious us Gencler fans were outnumbered. Of course, we were in the away section of the stadium but I'd guess there were about 13,000 Ankaragucu fans compared to about 600 of us.
On to the match.
Gencler on the attack, some lovely moves from Nicky Carle but nothing comes out of it. In fact, Carle had a good chance of scoring early on, a move which he had himself started, but he was stopped by a defender.
Both teams looked rubbish, although the match was actually quite good fun...
That is until an Ankaragucu attack on the left, ball was put in by Ilkem and Murat Duruer whacked it in. The defence was shite, and I just put my head in my hands.
One-nil up and the Ankaragucu fans are flying high. I tip my lid to them because they certainly know how to sing.
Gencler had a couple of more chances but besides one sort-of shot from Engin we didn't really try.
Half-time approaching and I was trying to figure out how many waters I could buy with the coins I managed to embezzle into the match when Ankaragucu put the knife in.
It seemed quite innocuous, but a pass was put in from Yasin that went on to Krita who whacked the ball, got a slight touch from one of our players and ... in... Jesus didn't have a chance.
Depression then set in. 2-0 down at half time and I'm supposed to meet these Ankaragucu Kankas after the match!
Genclerbirligi's coach Fuat Capa must have had a few harsh words to say because we came out flying. Cakir, Nas and Carle were all playing well on the ball but still we were missing a striker. I know I've taken the piss out of the bloke a million times before but we need someone fast like Isaac Promise up front. Promise is injured at the moment and so for our first goal we had to rely on the Ankaragucu keeper Serkan.
In a moment of madness which will no doubt be haunting him tonight, Serkan decided to take out a Gencler player even though the ball was clearly going to go out. The referee, who was rubbish for most of the match by the way, pointed directly to the spot. Mehmet Cakir stood up and ... bang 2-1
With a light at the end of the tunnel Gencler started to play. Our midfield was outstanding and our defence was good enough to hold out Ankaragucu counterattacks. At the same time though our defence could have been a lot better.
But again I have to state that we need a striker. With people like Memet Nas, Mehmet Cakir and Nicky Carle in the midfield we are creating heaps of opportunities but we are just not converting them.
The Ankaragucu fans were screaming long and hard when someone from Gencler sent in a cross from the left. Okan Ozturk went up and headed the goal.
Us Gencler fans were estatic. The Ankaragucu fans were in shock. From 2-0 up, Ankaragucu came away with the match with only a point... and I got to go to the post-match drinks without being humiliated.
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