Saturday, October 31, 2009

ANKARAGUCU WAS .......

dare I say it ......

OK, I will ....... because Maniac Kanka Harun said I must .......

we were ............ fucked !!!

Beshik...spit....tash ... 1 ANKARAGUCU 0

It's a sad story of bad luck which will be revealed tomorrow when I'm reasonably sober ......

suffice to say for now that the best team lost !!!

All the best from intoxicated Eski Kanka Jim

Thursday, October 29, 2009

ANKARAGUCU ..... (OR IS IT ANKARASPOR ??!!) MOVE INTO THE TURKISH CUP GROUP STAGE

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

There was no lap of honour last night at the final whistle. Ankaragucu played their 'get out of jail' card and were rather fortunate to avoid a penalty shoot-out.

ANKARAGUCU 3 Karsiyaka 2

The kankas met in The Chopin as usual. Battle Damaged Damon, Connect Steve, Phillie Jamie, Flying Dutchman Carlo, 'new boy' Berlin Kanka Karl and yours truly. At the Stadium we met-up with Yankee Kanka and Huso Kanka.

When the players emerged prior to kick-off it was a case of playing the game 'guess the player' ! Was this Ankaragucu or Ankaraspor was my first thought, but hey, Ankaraspor was playing in Tokat (where they got stuffed by the way !) and Ankaraspor don't have yellow shirts !

The Ankaraspor goalkeeper (can't spell or pronounce his name !) was in for Serkan and I will give the names of the others when I can find them. Nothing in The Hurriyet or on the Ankaragucu website this morning, so I may well do an edit tomorrow.

We did have a few Ankaragucu 'olde boys' in the starting line-up, eg, Ceyhun, El-Yasa, Metin and Murat. Also, Vassel came on when Metin went off injured and then Emre came on for Vassell when he went off injured !

So to the start, and what a start ! One up inside the first minute. It happened so quickly that it was difficult to recall as we were just settling down. A break down the right by Metin who crossed for a tap-in by Meye (I think) with the Karsiyaka defence all at sea. Volume up and wait for the avalanche of goals !!

Ermmm hello, we are playing Karsiyaka and not Muglaspor (with apologies to the good people of Mugla !). Karsiyaka steadied themselves and began to play a bit, but it was still all Ankaragucu and the 2nd goal duly arrived on the half-hour mark with a stunning piece of opportunism from Metin who swivelled in the penalty box and struck a half volley into the corner with the goalkeeper helpless.

This is it we all thought with the singing reverberating around the Stadium .... uc uc uc ..... but we fell for the sucker punch. Foot off the pedal, players thinking .... this is easy ...... and then .... with the Ankaragucu goalkeeper out of position and the defence in 'dream mode' the Karsiyaka striker lobbed the ball over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net. A schoolboy error and I'm thinking .... where is Serkan ??!!

Not to worry ..... don't panic. We are 2-1 up at half time and attacking the Gecikondu end in the 2nd half. The goals will come no probs ......wrong !

As I mentioned to the kankas prior to the match, Karsiyaka has a famous history in Turkish footie and they are not coming to Ankara to be lambs to the slaughter. So, it proved. All credit to Karsiyaka for coming out in the 2nd half and taking the game to Ankaragucu. Their footie was at times textbook stuff as they passed the ball around with Ankaragucu chasing shadows. They were in full cry and Ankaragucu was rocking.

It was no surprise therefore when they equalised. How many times has Ankaragucu been caught out by breakaways when our 'old' defenders couldn't play 'catch up'. So it was again with the cut-back and the pick your place in the goal.

2-2 and we were thinking ........ oh no, not a penalty shoot out - Karsiyaka had nothing to lose before the match and would definitely be favourites to win it.

It was nail biting stuff and with only minutes to go Karsiyaka almost snatched the winner with a shot that went just past the post with the goalkeeper beaten.

Shit ! Anxious looks all round from the kankas !!

Almost full time and from one of the few Ankaragucu attacks of the 2nd half the ball was collected by Meye just outside the penalty area. With the Karsiyaka defence backing off expecting the ball to be sent wide, he looked up and fired in a screamer of a ball to the top left hand corner with the goalkeeper clawing air.

Sighs of relief all round and let's start singing again .... cue ...... Annnkaaaaarrrrraaaagoooojoooo !!!

OK, Ankaragucu is into the Group Stage, but only just. Hikmet Bey has some serious thinking to do about how he is going to get his team playing like a TEAM and back to the basics of passing and playing for each other.

Meye had an outstanding match. Apart from his goals he was full of running and endeavour. Also, Metin had a good match in the short time he was on. El-Yasa was his usual reliable self, but Ediz had a shocker and his distribution was abysmal. Ceyhun looked a lonely figure in midfield and the sooner Barbaros and Semavi return the better !

We can only play better than this performance, and it will need to be for next Saturday's match at the Inonu Stadium.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim


EDIT - Friday 30th October

As promised here is the team for the Cup Match (nicked from the Ankaragucu website) -

Senecky
El-Yasa, Ediz, Koray and Broggi
Ceyhun, Hurriyet, Murat and Theo
Meye and Metin

Substitutes used - Vassell, Emre and Mehmet

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Gencler knocked out early (again)

Another very short appearance for Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Cup. This year we bow out after losing out on penalties to Istanbul BBS.

Istanbul BBS 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi (Pen: 4-2)

Not a great to deal to report because I didn't see the match but I did catch snippets on the radio. Seems as if Gencler started the game well but allowed Istanbul to get back into it in the second half.

It was 0-0 after 90 minutes so an extra half-an-hour was tacked on.

Kahe looked like he might have wrapped it up for us in the 95th minute with a free kick goal, but Istanbul pulled even in the 112th minute.

Off to the dreaded penalties.

Istanbul started: Goal 1-0
Kahe scores: 1-1
Istanbul score: 2-1
Bilal misses: 2-1
Istanbul score: 3-1
Tozo scores: 3-2
Istanbul score: 4-2
Hursit misses: 4-2 and over.

So, just like last year Gencler are knocked out in the first round. It does seem an eternity ago that Spine, French Kanka and myself went off to Bursa for the 2007-2008 Cup final. We lost that one on penalties as well.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Hibs Miss Out on Top Spot

Hibs missed out on the chance to top the SPL on Saturday after only drawing with Rangers 1-1 at Ibrox, not often we can say that.

I suppose it shows how far Yogi Hughes has taken Hibs since he took over in the summer. That and how far the rest of the teams have fallen after loosing out on TV money when Setanta went bust.

There is no doubting the exciting style of play Hibs are taking to the table and as each week goes by our expectations become more and more unrealistic, its great.

On Saturday Stokes had levelled for Hibs after 63 minutes, Rangers had taken an early lead through Chris Boyd. Rangers passed up a few good opportunities early in the second half but could also easily have lost the game when Colin Nish missed a great chance for Hibs with only a few minutes remaining.

Last week Hibs had defeated Kilmarnock at Easter Road by a goal to nil. After a tight first half Hibs came out fighting and totally dominated the game. Despite their dominance Hibs had to wait till the 83rd minute for their goal. A slightly dodgy penalty was awarded after Benji tumbled in the box. Benji picked himself up and scored to the keepers left.

I would not say Hibs are anywhere near a finished article but when they click they are producing nice football, If they continue to improve at this rate we Hibees are in for a good season.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Live radio blogging: Diyarbakir v Genclerbirligi

Preamble: Good morning football lovers. My first opportunity of the season for some live radio blogging. For those of you who are new to this caper, this is a Web 2.0 production whereby I listen to the radio and try to understand what the hell is going on and then write it up. It is normally a bit haphazard as for a start my Turkish is shaky at the best of times and the radio commentators speak extremely fast.

I'll be back here for KO which is at 2pm Turkish time. Remember the clocks went back an hour last night and don't forget you can contact me during the match through our wisely-named 'Contact us' form.

1:49 pm: Slight change to the plans. KO isn't for another hour and a bit.

2:37 pm: Its all gone pear-shaped and I haven't even started. It seems as if TRT radio is the only place doing live radio. As there are four matches on at the same time they will be crossing backwards and forwards. In other words, you won't be getting full-on Diyarbakir on Gencler action.

Last year Lig Radyo had radio rights and they streamed every match over the internet. Well done TRT and the TFF, flamin' galahs, you have managed to go backwards technology-wise.

Abbreviated coverage coming soon.

2:46 pm: The four matches kicking off at 3 pm are:
Diyarbakir v Genclerbirligi
Kasimpasa v Denizli
Manisa v Antalya
Sivas v Gaziantep

3:02 pm: Peep, peep and they are off. Gencler start off with a free kick which Kahe sends out. Not sure of the team yet.

3:05 pm Patiyo sends it to Hursit, big chance but last minute stop from a defender. Sounds like we are up for it. Radio moves on to another match.

3:09 pm Oh dear, now TRT have decided to cross to second division matches. This is a joke.

3:16 pm No idea what is happening in Diyarbakir but Kasimpasa have gone one up against Denizli.

3:17 pm Hursit has a shot off the post, ball falls to Kahe but misses. Commentator says we have had a lot of chances, including Kahe missing a "bom bosh" shot at goal (I don't have Turkish characters on my laptop. Sorry about that). And off we go to another match.

3:25 pm I still have no idea of the team.

Feedback! Of a sort. Sir Eski Kanka has just phoned and says he and Battle Damaged are heading down to the Chopin Bar to watch Liverpool v Man. United. They will also be staying there for the Fener v Galatasaray match which kicks off at 8pm. If you are thinking of heading down, give Jim or Damon a ring so they can reserve a seat for you.

3:30 pm Kahe on the attack, Pektemek fails to capitalize. Meanwhile the commentator must be reading this blog as he has just acknowledged that he hasn't given the weather nor the team squad. Now Hursit has a go, to the keeper. Now he does give the squad but speaks so bloody fast I can't follow.

3:32 pm Now Cem Can hits the post. C'mon boys! EDIT: that might have been Hursit hitting the post actually.

3:36 pm Oh dear, Diyarbakir have scored. Sounds like we should be ahead but haven't been putting it away. Diyarbakir 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi

3:42 pm Following football on the radio can be nerve wracking. As they commentate on some match and news comes through: "And goal news from Diyarbakir". Your hopes are high and then..... arrrgggghhhh. In actual match news, we continue to attack full on, just no luck.

3:47 pm Arggh. Commentator says they scored. But then takes it back not realising that the ball actually went out. Half-time. I'm off for a cigarette.

3:53 pm Commentator says it is a great fast match. Glad he is enjoying it.

Half-time scores:

Diyarbakir 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi
Kasimpasa 1 - 1 Denizli
Manisa 0 - 1 Antalya
Sivas 0 - 0 Gaziantep

4:07 pm Second-half has kicked off but they have yet to cross to Diyarbakir. In the meantime, why are Sir Eski and Battle Damaged talking about (in the comments section of this post) tonight's derby and not the match at hand. Meanwhile, Kahe has another go... but no luck.

4:17 pm Burhan comes on, Cem Can off. Then Diyarbakir counter... seems like they should have scored. And then Diyarbakir attack again, and again. Now we attack. Burhan is straight into the action, but nothing is happening. Get on with it Gencler!

4:23 pm Commentator says we are very messy. Losing possession all the time. Back to normal?

4:28 pm We keep on attacking but still nothing. Just a few minutes left. Can we get back a goal? I'm not confident. Now Kahe stuffs up again, and another attack and a ball goes to no one.

4:31 pm Actually we have a fair bit of time left, 17 minutes. Diyarbakir though look more likely to score.

4:36 pm Kahe misses again!

4:42 pm Now Burhan misses a "bom bosh" goal. Corner coming up. Nothing comes from it.

4:46 pm Both teams have used up their substitutes. I have no idea who has come on, or off, for us. Looks like there will be no points for us today. Just a couple of minutes left.

4:52 pm Peep, peep and we have lost. All very depressing considering how many shots we stuffed up.

All the results:

Diyarbakir 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi
Kasimpasa 3 - 1 Denizli
Manisa 1 - 2 Antalya
Sivas 3 - 0 Gaziantep

Evening all. I'll try and join Sir Eski and Battle damaged down at the Chopin.

ANKARAGUCU - ANOTHER GREAT VICTOREEEEE !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Another great win for Ankaragucu today and three more valuable points !

ANKARAGUCU 3 Ankaraspor 0

Yes, and all done without a ball being kicked ! What a bloody farce !

Anyway, enough has been said about the Ankaraspor 'punishment' on this blog.

A difficult match for Genclerbirligi today in far off Diyabakir. Perhaps Oz Kanka will be giving us a 'live post' on that one ?

Looking to next week, and I've already mentioned in the previous post that we will be meeting in The Chopin Bar on Wednesday from 4.30pm for the Ankaragucu Cup match against Karsiyaka.

Looking further ahead to next Saturday 31st October, it will be back to The Chopin Bar to watch the Besiktas v Ankaragucu match on Lig TV. KO is 8pm and I'll probably be there around 7pm to reserve some seats. Let me know if you're coming for that one so that I know how many seats we need.

The next day Gencler will be at home to Manisa KO 2pm. No doubt Oz Kanka will decide on meeting arrangements and let everyone know by kanka mail.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Thursday, October 22, 2009

THE TURKISH CUP - WEDNESDAY

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The KO times have been announced for Wednesday.

Istanbul BBS v Genclerbirligi - KO 3pm

Ankaragucu v Karsiyaka - KO 7pm

Therefore, with the evening KO I will defo be going. Due to school time contraints, I will go to The Chopin Bar direct from school. I'll be there about 5.30ish and going to the Stadium at about 6.15ish.

However, there is a chance that my school will be finishing early on Wednesday due to the Bayram the next day. If that is so, then I'll be in The Chopin earlier !!

Anyone up for joining me ? If so, see you in The Chopin or in Maraton in the usual area.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

News flash from economy control centre

News flash just sent in by text message from our World Economic Disaster correspondent Spine:

Deputy Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı today announced that he supports Ankaragucu.


In extensive background research (ie we Googled his name) we have discovered that Dr. Başçı is an Ankara boy through-and-through having been born here and completing school and university in the capital. Perhaps this is the man we should be lobbying to take over Ankaragucu.

In a second text news flash Central Bank Governor Durmuş Yılmaz by neat example showed why the big Istanbul teams have so many supporters.

"I know nothing about football. I am a Galatasaray supporter, officially at least," he said on Tuesday.

THE TURKISH CUP

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Here we go then. Another season to try for some Cup glory for Ankara.

The draw for the last knock-out round before the Group Stage was made yesterday.

ANKARAGUCU v Karsiyaka of Izmir
Istanbul BBS v GENCLERBIRLIGI

There is no doubting Gencler's credentials in this competition in the last few seasons, especially two seasons ago when they should have won the Cup.

However, the same can't be said for Ankaragucu !

Last season for instance was a diabolical disaster in the Group Stage. Lost to Fener, Bursa and Eskisehir and only managed to beat 2nd League team, Tokat, 1-0 in Ankara !

Karsiyaka is a team which must never be underestimated. They almost won promotion to the Super League this season but surprisingly lost their play-off match against Kasimpasa in The Stadium from Hell in Ankara. They are currently in mid-table in the Asya Bank 2nd League and will no doubt be up there challenging for promotion again towards the end of the season.

The matches will be played on Wednesday 28th October but I don't have a KO time yet.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Monday, October 19, 2009

ANKARAGUCU - WAS MR AYDINUS 'A HOMER' OR ......

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Bad luck for Ankaragucu yesterday to have Firat Aydinu appointed to officiate the match !

It was honours even until the 24th minute when Koray of Ankaragucu was blatantly kicked by Makukula while he was lying on the ground.

The photos of the incident in The Hurriyet doesn't actually show that contact was made, but the intent looks clear enough to me.

So, what action does Mr Aydinus take ? A YELLOW card for BOTH players !!!

So, I return to my headline. Was he 'a homer', or did he 'chicken out', or does he urgently require to visit a specialist and have an appointment with an Opthalmic Surgeon ???

By the way, The Hurriyet marked him 4 out of 10, which is an unusually low mark for that newspaper !

Obviously this incident changed the course of the match which Kayseri went on to win 3-0, as I reported last night. However, there was no mention in The Hurriyet of the fighting which Phillie Kanka mentioned. Perhaps another Battle of Kayseri ensued later ???

Cangele scored after 33 minutes. Ten minutes into the 2nd half and Mehmet Eren put the match beyond Ankaragucu, and kick-boxer Makukula wrapped it up in the dying minutes when he should have been taking an early bath in the 1st half !!!

The Ankaragucu starting line-up was -

Serkan
El-Yasa, Koray, Risp and Broggi
Semavi, Barbaros, Murat Duruer and Hurriyet
Ceyhun and Metin

2nd half substitutes were Vassell, Emre and Mehmet Cakir

So, we come back down to earth again. It just means that Ankaragucu has another mountain to climb in 2 weeks time at the Inonu Stadium. Let's face it, if Ankaragucu can score THREE against Galatasaray then there is nothing to fear from that other lot from Istanbul is there ?!

No doubt we will be watching it in The Chopin Bar. Details nearer the time.

All the best from 'Aydinus Hater', Eski Kanka Jim

PS ...... Aydinus tried to make amends for his effin cock-up by gifting Ankaragucu a penalty at the end. Ahem ..... Mehmet Cakir didn't accept the present !!!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

It's been a long time coming

Genclerbirligi have had approximately 79 coaches since the brilliant Ersan Yanal left us in 2004 following our great run in the UEFA Cup that year and today was the first time since then that I have heard the crowds sing the praises of our coach. It may not have been very imaginative but towards the end of today's match against Sivas, the Genclerbirligi fans were as one singing "Thomas Doll, Thomas Doll , Thomas Doll". Well done to that man!

Genclerbirligi 2 - 0 Sivasspor

The lovely autumn days are continuing in this fair city but that didn't translate into the biggest turnout from the kankas. Your's truly and Little Oz Kanka Matthew were first to the pub, followed by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and then Ambo Kanka, his good wife, son Patrick and a couple of other Aussies who were in town. Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo showed up just in time to grab a beer and then we were off to the 19 Mayis.

We got split up at the stadium but that didn't really matter. We weren't there to gossip but to watch some great football. Of course before that we had to vent our spleen as usual at someone or other in the hierarchy of the club. This time it was Tarık Artukmaç who was called on to resign following his disgusting display at our loss to Fenerbahce two weeks ago (you can read our report of the incident here)

Unfortunately the first 20 minutes or so was pretty crap. We started fast but after five minutes or so it looked like Sivas were the better side.

Plenty of rubbish in the rest of the half but there were signs that Gencler were looking the more dangerous of the two. Being slightly neutral for the match (in so far that while he was supporting Gencler he wasn't going to punch a brick wall if Gencler lost) Battle Damaged Kanka predicted that Gencler would score two in the second half as Sivas were looking tired and quite clueless.

Second half and it was time for Gencler to put on a bit of a show. Whilst there were a few badly straying passes, most of the time we looked as if we were working as a good unit, sticking to the plans laid out by the coach.

The first reward came at about the 57th minute when Kahe got the ball in the box and sent it towards the penalty spot where Mustafa Pektemek smashed it into the net. Much cheering and high fives all round.

The goal got the Gencler crowds singing louder and we didn't have to wait too long for the second to come. This time it was my latest hero Hursit Meric who sent it in to Kahe in front of the goal. I think what happened next was that it came off the keeper, or someone or other, and then bounced in. I'm not sure though and will have to see the replays.

As the crowd shouted out "Üç, üç, üç" things were looking on the up. One great passage of play towards the end had us all shouting "olé" as each pass was completed. The weird thing was that that particular string of passes was this close to a goal, ending after 20-odd touches with Kahe heading it to the keeper.

All up an excellent Sunday. Let me end by quoting a text message I have just received from Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo:

"It's a good day in Ankara. The sun is shining, we win 2-0 and FB LOST FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON! I have another EFES. Åžerefe!"

Indeed. Åžerefe to you all.

NOTE: Once someone has put them up onto Youtube I'll post here the two goals.

ANKARAGUCU - OH DEAR ..... BACK TO REALITY !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Sad news from Kayseri today .............

Kayseri 3 Ankaragucu 0

Looks like we were brought back down to earth again after all the euphoria of two weeks ago. A brief report will follow tomorrow sometime.

Better news from the other Ankara team.

Genclerbirligi 2 Sivas 0

A report on that one if Oz Kanka is sober tonight. Or, what is more likely ..... a report tomorrow when he is composmentis !!!

All the best from a disappointed Eski Kanka Jim

Friday, October 16, 2009

ANKARAGUCU AND AHMET GOKCEK'S 'SHOPPING LIST' !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu's new Chairman, Ahmet Gokcek, son of the famous I. Melih Gokcek, certainly knows how to talk up a storm.

There was an article in The Hurriyet this morning detailing his 'shopping list' for the Centenery Year (2010). In my opinion, not so much a 'shopping list' but more of a 'wish list' !

He is quoted as saying (and not for the first time) that he plans to make Ankaragucu a serious challenger to the Istanbul 3 and to put Ankaragucu on the 'footie map'. Bold words indeed.

The two 'names' mentioned were ex-Turkish International players. Fatih Tekke currently with Zenit of Russia and Yildiray Basturk currently with Hertha Berlin.

As we know, actions speak louder than words, so it will be very interesting to see what happens in the January transfer window, and especially in the summer close season.

It will also be interesting to know where the dosh is coming from to finance all those grand plans !!

On another subject. The 'minnows' have been fighting it out in The Turkish Cup during the past two months and the stage is now set for Ankaragucu and Genclerbirligi to join the fray. The draw will be made on Monday, so watch this space on Tuesday for details.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Monday, October 12, 2009

Ankaragucu, a cut above the rest.

Photo of a not so good guy from http://degajman.blogspot.com/

An uncredited photo of some good guys.

There has been a lot of talk of mixing politics and football in recent weeks what with the Turkey-Armenia match coming up, not to mention the take over of Ankaragucu by the Mayor’s family. But now something really odd is occurring: The mixing of football and religion.

The first thing I noticed was the presence of Ankaragucu prayer rugs for sale just outside the stadium (starting price for bargaining 11TL in case you are interested). But what I saw in the Ankara section of today’s copy of Sabah nearly made me lose my lunch.

Apparently, Gucu’s honorary chairman Cemal Aydin (why is this clown still around anyway?) has provided the team with an animal to sacrifice after the last two victories. I was not able to locate the photograph that Sabah used, but it shows Aydın, Karaman, and members of the support staff and team looking on as an unidentified person slits the throat of what looks to be either a sheep or a goat.
Another photo shows two of the players dabbing blood on each other’s foreheads (apparently they also smeared it on their cleats). This sacrifice was apparently a move on Aydin’s part to improve the players’ morale (as if beating GS wasn’t already enough for that) and their chance of continued success. There was no mention of whether high priest Aydin read the entrails or not.

I'm not here to debate Kurban Bayram which is contextually very different, but I wonder if Ataturk would have felt that this cruel and superstitious nonsense (the Koran definitely does not call for an animal sacrifice to be done following football matches) fit his image of universal culture.

Ankaragucu is the One...

...which is of course what this is all about. Evolution, Polat, Yildirim, & Demiroren, evolution. Like the dinosaur. Look out that window. You had your time. The future is our world, Polat, Yildirim, & Demiroren,. The future is Ankaragucu's time. The days of the trinity are over. There can be only one.

Ok, I confess, I tampered with Australian actor Hugo Weaving's (Agent Smith) lines a bit, and I'm playing both sides of the movie (plus I added a bit of Highlander [as a tip of the hat to Eski Kanka]), but, hey, why not?



"We stand behind our people!" says Melih in a campaign poster captured in an uncredited photo that has been circulating on the internet since slightly before the last local elections.

So what does The Matrix have to do with Ankaragucu? Well, the above was very similar in tone to what Melih Gokcek had to say this past week as captured in the paper Hürriyet. “The age of the three great teams is coming to an end; the age of the one great team is coming...Ankaragucu in the very near future will be that one great team.”

He actually had a lot to say that day, but, in a nut shell, he basically explained that as someone from Ankara, the fact that Ankara is the lone capital city that has not produced a championship caliber team is a great disappointment to him, and it is for this reason that he has worked so hard to help Ankaragucu. He pointed out that initially he was thwarted from this goal by Mesut Yılmaz (Prime Minister in the 1990s) who accused him of wanting to use the team for political reasons (hmm, I wonder why?). Later Gokcek claims to have tried to help Gencler Birligi by pleading to Cavcav to hang on to his good players instead of sending them off in all directions, but to no avail. He then tried to succeed with Ankaraspor, and professes to have done a great job, but admits to having fallen a bit short because the team had no supporters (here at the blog we can certainly attest to that having outnumbered them at every match—at their stadium).

Morpheus: But where they have failed, you will succeed.
Gokcek: Ankaragucu is the one.

We’ll have to see, but things don’t look so promising at the moment. Gucu are up to their ears in debt, just had their team bus repossessed, got that back, and then had a servis vehicle repossessed. On top of that there is the money (a million Euro probably plus any accumulated interest) they have to pay Boluspor for Gokhan Emreciksin. I ask you, if you can’t even keep your bus from being repossessed…Well, you get the picture.

Like I said, we’ll just have to see.

All those claims are well and good, but for Ankaragucu to win the Superlig will be more difficult than it was for Obama to win the Nobel Peace Prize: concrete results will be needed.

We shall see whether those results will be forthcoming.

Cut and paste time kiddies

The blog has been inundated recently with people putting into Google searches such as "one paragraph on Ankara", or "paragraph writing about a city I have visited ankara" etc etc.

Pretty specific stuff. Clearly some school group has been visiting the city and they have been assigned some homework and we here at "The round ball in Ankara" are here to help! No need for attribution or any of that crap.... "Control C" then "Control V" is all you need.

Please find below all you need to copy (our advice is that you change the odd word otherwise your teacher might think you have the intelligence of a sad football fan).

Ankara is a really cool place. It is full of people. It also has lots of nice parks which all have signs that say they were built by a man called Melih Gokcek. He must be a very important man because none of the signs have graffiti on them.

The parks are all very nice but are not like the ones we have in (insert your city, country name here) because in Ankara they care so much for the environment that they don't allow you to step on the grass. It is nice to see a municipal council caring so much about greenery.

I met some lovely Ankara people but for some reason 99 percent of them support Istanbul football teams, but I did find one person who said he supported an Ankara team. He was nice, unlike the Istanbul yalakalar.


A guaranteed A plus

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Ankara Gucu runs wild in Uganda


Greetings Kankas! I would like to inform you that several important geographical locations in Uganda have been claimed through the hoisting of the AnkaraGucu flag! The first picture that you see is of yours truly along with our guide Lucky and our "protection" George, he being the one with the AK-47. They claim it was to guard against marauding buffalo and such, but I suspect it was really to protect Mountaineering Kankie and myself from rogue Carsi hooligans. Who knows.

The mountain is actually a 3667 meter volcano called Sabinyo (which means old man's teeth) and sits directly on the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and the DR Congo. So does that mean AnkaraGucu can lay claim to all three countries? Of course it does!

The climb was a challenging one. Sabinyo has several peaks (thus its name) and we had to wait until the third for the true summit, which was accessed by rickety stick ladders plastered onto the side of its 80-90 degree face. A bit hairy, but ok. However on the summit it began raining and all those ladders became slippery for the way down. That, was really hairy. We are talking Yusuf Yusuf! Ah well, all's well that ends well!



The second photo you see is a bit of a departure from my normal antics. Is it possible to claim a river? If it is, AnkaraGucu can now claim the longest river in the world! The Nile! Hope you enjoy the pictures. I dedicate Sabinyo's climb to Gucu's most recent dismantling of an Istanbul team. An amazing victory. Miss you all and hope to be climbing for Gucu again very soon.

- Mountaineering Kanka

Friday, October 09, 2009

ANKARAGUCU - THE INFLUX CONTINUES !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

As reported by Oz Kanka recently, the demise of Ankaraspor has been sealed. The idea that FIFA or UEFA will spring to their defence in the appeal is laughable. Birds of a Feather flock together ..... and so it will be within FIFA and UEFA when all the 'fat cats' close ranks !

So, what of the players who have been left 'high and dry' ?

Well, Ankaragucu has already signed Ediz, Hurriyet, Risp and Mehmet Cakir, to name but four, who have played a vital part in the recent revival of Ankaragucu.

But, not content with that .... the Exodus continues !!

It was reported in The Hurriyet today that NINE more Ankaraspor players are on their way to Ankaragucu.

Foreigners Senecky, Brabec, Meye and Neca. Also, Turkish players Adem Kocak (returning to his previous Club), Aydin Karabulut, Ilhan Parlak, Ozgur Cek and Unut Sozen.

OK, some might say ...... oh great ..... new talent ! However, I'm wondering if we are not too top heavy - a point made by Oz Kanka a few posts ago.

Of course, it is too early to judge, but it will be interesting to see how Hikmet Karaman juggles his large squad and who he will eventually offload to make room for the newcomers.

A coach can only have so many on the bench and the players sitting in Protocol will only take that for so long.

Interesting days ahead for Ankaragucu me thinks ??!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

That's that then

Ankaraspor were officially kicked out of the league today with the TFF confirming the discipline board's decision of a few weeks ago (as we reported here).

As far as I understand the decision (you can check it out in Turkish at the TFF website) Ankaraspor won't be playing much footy this season - just the Turkish Cup - and will start up again in the Bank Asya Lig next season.

As for the rest of us, all games in which Ankaraspor played (and all which it hasn't) will be considered as three-nil losses. This means that Genclerbirligi get a two point boost as we only managed a draw back at the beginning of the season. I'll update the table when I get a chance. (EDIT - done)

The other decision is that just two other teams will be relegated at the end of the season.

Farewell Ankaraspor... you won't be missed here.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Time to resign Artukmac

It is all kicking off at Genclerbirligi with news spreading fast of an act from the deputy chairman of the club that if he has any dignity at all he should resign immediately.

Genclerbirligi Deputy Chairman Tarik Artukmac was caught during the live broadcast of the Fener-Gencler match as giving a high-five to one of the Fener directors after Fenerbahce scored their second goal against us. The man was apparently happy that a goal had been scored against his own team.



We in Ankara have to deal with all the Istanbul supporters but even if we don't like the directors of our clubs, the least we can expect is that they actually support us and not the opposition.

Uproar has ensued on the Gencler forums (fora for you Latin types) as news of Artukmac's actions spreads. The bloke has form. In 2006 for some reason or another he was on the private jet that brought Roberto Carlos to Turkey to play for... yep... Fenerbahce.

At the time he denied any involvement in organising Carlos' transfer from Real Madrid but I can't find any real explanation from him why he happened to be on that private jet. Maybe he was just hitching a ride back home.

"Apart from Genclerbirligi I haven't supported any other team and I still don't," Artukmac was quoted in the press at the time of the Carlos scandal. Mmmmm... right

Then just to add irony to the farce is news that Mehih Gokcek is going to use Artukmac's actions as a defence when he rocks up to try and wriggle Ankaraspor (and presumably his son Ankaragucu chairman Ahmet) out of the various bans they have been imposed with recently.

Artukmac has lost the support of the Gencler fans. At Gencler's next home match in two-weeks time expect the protests to be long and loud.

As the headline on the Alkaralar site says: "Yönetimde İstanbul Çocuğu İstemiyoruz!"

Monday, October 05, 2009

ANKARAGUCU SEND GALATASARAY BACK TAE ISTANBUL TAE THINK AGAIN !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Apologies to the author of the Scottish National Anthem for 'borrowing' some of his words !

Well, as usual, Galatasaray came swaggering into Ankara yesterday expecting a wlecome and another 'bent' referee, but they were sadly disappointed on both counts and had to slink out of Ankara suitably chastised and humbled !

ANKARAGUCU 3 Galatasaray 0

What a memorable day for us Ankaragucu Kankas after such a poor start to the season on the field and chaotic season off the field.

We met up in The Chopin - Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Connect Kanka Steve, Phillie Kanka Jamie, and 16 of the 'baby' Yank teachers from Bilkent. I forgot to ask if any of them were Confederates !

Too many to give details, but first names will suffice for now - Christa, Aisha, Kate, Kath, Natalie, Emily, Emma, Tim, James, Glyn, Paul, Joe, Andy, Zach, Charlie and Steve.

All photos and captions are the work of Zach Rosenfeld, one of the new Bilkent kankas. He took a whole heap more photos which can be seen on his Flickr page.

From the left: Jamie, Steve, Random Turk #1, Random Turk #2, Tim, Charlie, and Krista. Charlie and Krista are CSIs, and the other three are English teachers at the high school.

Random Turkish guys LOVE to get their pictures taken with Americans — even if (or perhaps especially if) they'll never even see the finished product. Whenever you take out a camera, you put yourself at risk of being approached by a random Turkish guy who wants to be in your photo album.


Unfortunately we had to sparate due to a logistics problem with the tickets. The Yanks ended up in Gecikondu where they received a tremendous welcome from the Gecikondu Boys. I will leave Connect and Philly Kankas to expand on that in the comments section.

Battle Damaged and I met up with Yankee Kanka and Huso Kanka in our usual position in Maraton near the Anti-X Boys.

Like I said, Turkish people want to be in your photo album! These guys saw me snap a picture of the simit hat guy, and asked me to take one of them.

That boy later gave his scarf to Christa, which was very sweet of him. (She refused at first, but he would have none of it). She gave him an appreciative peck on the cheek, to which all the other guys hooted and whistled. It was pretty cute.


The 3 Ankaragucu strikers were absent again. Vassell is continuing to have contractual problems, and if they are not resolved soon, he could very well be on his way back to England. Surprise surprise ........ it's financial !! Iglesias is injured and Bebbe is still on suspension after his aberration in Antalya 3 weeks ago.

So, it was a similar starting line-up to last week's in Antep, ie,

Serkan
El-Yasa, Ediz, Risp, Broggi
Semavi, Barbaros, Hurriyet, Murat Duruer
Ceyhun and Metin

2nd Half substitutes used were - Mehmet Cakir, Emre and Volkan

The Stadium was almost full and the small band of Galatasaray supporters in the 'away end' were being out-sung and drowned-out by the volume generated by the Ankaragucu tribunes.

The first half of the match was fairly even and I was thinking that if there was no scoring at half time then Ankaragucu would probably step-up their attacking options in the 2nd half. So it proved !

In the first half there were a few close things at both ends with Serkan pulling off a few of his 'agile' saves and at the the other end Ceyhun and Metin combined well to open up the Galatasaray defence only for Metin to blast the ball over.

Into the 2nd half then and Ankaragucu started to open up and attack more. However, Semavi was having a shocker of a match - it just wasn't his day. Seemingly everything he tried didn't work, and it was compounded half way through the half when Ceyhun had carved open the Galatasaray defence (not for the first time in the match) and put him through with only Franco in goal to beat. OK, he didn't do a Metin and send it skywards, but the ball hit the bar when it looked easier to score.

Amazingly, Hikmet Bey didn't substitute him but took Metin off instead !

Ceyhun also had a goal bound screamer of a free kick brilliantly saved by Franco.

Into the last 15 minutes of the match and Ankaragucu was upping the pressure. Again it was Man of the Match, Ceyhun, who did the damage. He put Murat Duruer through and he cleverly sidestepped a frantic tackle before slotting the ball past a helpless Franco with the other defenders arriving too late. A well crafted and well taken goal.

Scenes of jubilation and let's up the volume of the singing.

Galatasaray was in panic mode now and threw most of their players forward in search of the equaliser. However, this only served to leave space for Ankaragucu counter attacks and it was from one of those that Emre slotted in No2 only 2 minutes after coming on to replace Ceyhun.

Volume up yet another level, lots of 'high fives' amongst us and we are all shouting ..... uc uc uc (meaning three three three !!!).

Almost full time now and unbelievably the 3rd goal came. Galatasaray was in total disarray now and it was Hurriyet who did the biz.

Volume further up and the chant went up ...... bes bes bes (meaning five five five !!!!!). We were all on our feet now jumping up and down and singing like I haven't seen for many a year.

I would still love to know how long it has been since we beat Galatasaray by 3 clear goals (if ever) ??!!

Well done team and a rare word of praise from me for Murat Duruer who had an excellent all round performance in addition to scoring the vital opening goal.

Also, well done to the Referee, Koray Gencerler, who had an excellent match and stood no nonsense from BOTH teams. It is not often we have a referee who didn't favour the Istanbul team !!!

Holy crap! Look at all those riot police! Clearly they're used to dealing with potential mobs at every game.

Thanks to Oz Kanka for posting a link to the goals of the match and the after match fighting which we didn't see due to the fact that we left after the final whistle and before the lap of honour. No doubt there will be some comments tomorrow on this disgraceful behaviour. It is to be hoped we are not going to suffer another Stadium closure as a punishment if Ankaragucu supporters were to blame ?!

Most of us ended up back in The Chopin Bar to watch the Fener v Gencler match with Oz Kanka but it was not to be a clean sweep for Ankara as you will have seen in his report.

So, what can I say that hasn't been said about the Ankaragucu performance ? Super, Fantastic, Marvellous ?? Yes, all of them. However, can we maintain this standard is my question ?

We have to wait until weekend 17/18 October away to Kayseri for the answer to that question.

All the best from an upbeat Eski Kanka Jim

3-nil! Galatasaray got their butts handed to them.

And then there is a comment by someone who is probably more used to gridion scores:
Comments

emily.shinay says:
You know it's a good game when the scores are really low ... that's what Dad always says.


The kid on the right was about to hop the fence and run up to the team. He got one of the player's jerseys for his efforts.

Not the best end to an otherwise glorious day

Not a lot to say really. It began as a wonderful afternoon with Ankaragucu's brilliant victory over Galatasaray and hopes were high as I greeted the Ankaragucu kankas in the Chopin bar that Gencler could make it one hell of a night. It was not to be.

Fenerbahce 3 - 0 Genclerbirligi

It was clear that Gencler were up for the match, we had chances to score and at times were unlucky, but in reality Fenerbahce were a much better team, especially in their counterattacks.

Fener hit early but there was always a chance of us breaking back, even if it was unlikely. Towards the end the Ankara Fener supporters got there chance to shout at us as Alex hit his second and then the third was the twisting of the knife right at the end of the match.

Fener were too good and with Galatasaray, Eskisehirspor and Genclerbirligi all losing yesterday, they are the only undefeated team in the league. Fingers crossed coach Thomas Doll will lift the players spirits before next our next encounter (in two week's time) against Sivasspor.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

ANKARAGUCU DEMONSTRATE THE 'POWER OF ANKARA' !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

What an unbelieveable day for the Ankaragucu Kankas ..... all 24 of them !!

ANKARAGUCU 3 Galatasaray 0

I'm not going to repeat that score - it is NOT a misprint !

I'm too drunk and euphoric at this hour to report on the match, but a report will be posted tomorrow night !

Not so good news from the other Ankara team, Genclerbirligi, who went down by the same score in Kadikoy ..... grrrrrrr.

Quiz question for Maniac Kanka ..... when was the last time that Ankaragucu beat ANY Istanbul team by 3-0 ????

All the best from 'still up in the air' Eski Kanka Jim


The goals


After the match

Saturday, October 03, 2009

CEYHUN ERIS

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Just heard this morning that Ankaragucu Club Captain, Ceyhun Eris, has been selected for the Turkish National Squad for the World Cup qualifier next weekend. Congratulations to him from the Kanka Group.

Who said he was 'over the hill' ? Not me, but I've heard it said (probably from Fener supporters who now realise that they released him too soon !!).

From what I've seen in recent months, this is something that has been missing in the Turkish Team. What ? A skillful player with 'fire in his belly' who can motivate team mates when the going gets tough.

So, a good enough reason to watch the match next weekend and hopefully he will be on from the start, or at the very least, come on with enough time left on the clock to do some damage to the opposition.

Also, good to see 'olde boy' Umut Bulut being selected. How we have missed a player of his calibre up front !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim