Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
We are still mourning the loss of Gokhan, but are resigned to it now, and having said that, we wish him (but NOT his new Club !!) success in the future.
Other departures announced recently include Tolga (destination unknown) and, interestingly, Cem Can to Gencler. No doubt Oz Kanka will have something to say about that ?! However, speaking personally, I doubt Cem Can will be missed. He has had ample time to convince me that he was the man to be our ‘midfield general’ but he never ‘grasped the nettle’ and rose to the challenge. How many times in my reports did I say he was ‘posted absent’ during a match ? Answers not necessary !
So, is there any good news for Ankaragucu’s long suffering fans ? Perhaps !
Well, for me, the fact that Erdogan, Jaba and Santos haven’t ‘jumped ship’ has to be a bonus !
It has been reported that Hakan Kutlu has returned as Team Coach after Mesut Bakkal failed to agree terms. I think we are all agreed that Hakan is still on a ‘learning curve’ as a Coach. However, as Ankaragucu’s longest serving player in recent history, you will not hear me being too critical of him. At least he will have Ankaragucu’s best interests at heart in the difficult months ahead, well …… at least until the Club AGM in March when his long term future with the Club will be decided.
Further transfer talk is that 30 years old Croatian International striker Balaban is poised to join Ankaragucu from Dynamo Zagreb. I will await confirmation of this before commenting further.
Two new signings from Trabzonspor which have been confirmed are –
Abdulaziz who is a right winger and who has been labelled ‘the new Gokhan’ by Hurriyet. That remains to be seen says I !
also, Hasan Ucuncu, a midfield player.
It is interesting to note that those 2 are coming from Trabzonspor. Usually the moves are in the opposite direction !!
No doubt the newcomers will play at some stage of the Cup match on Wednesday against 3rd Division Tokat. Still don’t know the KO time, but Maniac Kanka thinks it will be an afternoon KO. I will post it here as an edit when known.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
found your blog through Tanıl Bora's column. A season ticket holder of Gençlerbirliği, but a dedicated fan of EsEs i will be trying to follow u as well. Also kindly invited to my blog.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Kankas and Kankies
Wednesday's match times:
ReplyDelete14.00 Ankaragücü-Tokatspor (Ankara 19 Mayıs)
Thanks to Ziggy The King for his comments and we look forward to meeting you in the Chopin Bar when the season gets underway again.
ReplyDeleteThanks also to Oz Kanka for the info on KO time for Wednesday. It means that I can't go, but Battle Damaged Kanka might go. If so, please send a report !
Battle Damaged Kanka says . . .
ReplyDeleteStill looks like I'll be able to make it. I'll fill you guys in on all the gory details.
Don't be so negative Battle Damaged Kanka. Where has all your Ankaragucu optimism gone ??
ReplyDeleteNo pressure on Ankaragucu who are more or less eliminated from the Cup, so it will probably be used as a training match, but ..... with lottsa goals going in at the other end !!!
Battle Damaged Kanka says. . .
ReplyDeleteEski, well with the departure of Gokhan I am afraid that a little of my optimism has departed as well.
Here is a short video clip talking about the departure of both Gokhan and Abdulkadir.
http://www.cnnturk.com/Gallery/Video/Default.aspx#player