Fenerbahce title put on hold as texts between Emre and Kagan investigated

Spor Toto Super League runner-up Trabzonspor is appealing Fenerbahçe's championship on the grounds that match fixing played a part in the İstanbul team winning the league title. The exchange of text messages between Ankaragücü footballer Kağan Söylemezgiller and Fenerbahçe's Emre Belözoğlu ahead of the teams' match in the penultimate week of the league led to allegations of match fixing. Trabzonspor will take the allegations to the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and FIFA, the global football authority, according to a statement the club released on its official website on Monday.

The claims came to public attention after Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Trabzon deputy Kemalettin Göktaş said on a Kanaltürk television show that Emre promised a number of Ankaragücü footballers that he would help them be transferred to Fenerbahçe and asked them not to play against Fenerbahçe. Speaking on the same show, Emre dismissed the accusations and said he did not respect Göktaş's statements, despite his being a deputy.

The messages were later released in the media. "Don't let my president [Fenerbahçe President Aziz Yıldırım] be angry," the messages Emre allegedly sent to the Ankaragücü footballer end. The name of the sender appears to be "Emre," while the messages were sent by Emre's manager Ahmet Bulut's business partner, Ekrem Okumuş. The deputy said he would present all the details to a public prosecutor, while Okumuş argues that the incident was a joke.

Ahead of the national team's Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium this week, Emre says he is uncomfortable with the ongoing debates. Speaking to an Akşam daily reporter, the footballer said he did not send text messages to Söylemezgiller.

Trabzonspor is also requesting an investigation into Fenerbahçe's signing of Kardemir Karabükspor's Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike, who drew criticism for not playing in his team's match against Fenerbahçe in week 32. Karabükspor goalkeeper Bülent Ataman said after the match, which they lost 0-1 to Fenerbahçe, that Emenike had agreed to sign with Fenerbahçe before the game.

Article taken from World Bulletin. If any our players are involved in this I will be very unhappy.

Ankaragucu 2010/11 Player Reviews !

With the season now over and a 13th Placed finish for Ankaragucu in our centenary year, it certainly inst a season to remember. Lets have a look at the players who can hold there head high, and the players who need to take a look at themselves and improve. Every player will be given a mark out of ten on how they performed.

Stefan Senecky (6) - Struggled with injury for the first part of the season, on his return had some good performances that either won us a point or won us the game. His handling needs to improve though and at times he struggles with balls into the box. With him taking up a foreign player place in the team it remains to be seen if he has done enough to return next season.

Ozden Ongun (5) - Did have his games where he performed well, then had his nightmares like at home to Bursaspor where he lost five goals. His handling and concentration let him down as he is a good shot stopper.

Bayram Olgun (5) - Turkish Under 21 International, only played 2 games this season and both games ended in defeat. Haven't been impressed from what I have seen but he is still young and has potential.

Bora Kork (5) - Never let us down and im surprised he played less games than the other goalkeepers.

Ugur Ucar (7) - This mark could have been so much higher if he hadn't missed a lot of games due to injury. Hard working player who loves to get forward. The management need to sort out his payments and make sure he is here next season.

Kagan Soylemezgiller (6) - Held down a first team place this season with Hurriyet moving on loan to Gaziantep. Still young and on his game a very good player. Had a poor end to the season and will need to work hard to keep his place in the team this coming season.

Turgut Dogan Sahin (6) - The most frustrating player in the team, can either look a very poor footballer, or a match winner with his skill. Since Mesut has come in his game has improved and I'm really looking forward to seeing him next season. Could be one to watch.

Stanislav Sestak (8) - Fantastic signing for the club scoring 10 goals this term, goals agains the big teams in Fenerbahce and Galatasaray as well. Hard worker with pace that is difficult for any team to defend. Hopefully the club can agree a fee with Bochum for a permanent move.

Metin Akan (6) - Had a great start to the season, and scored some important goals. One of the goals coming in the famous win against Galatasaray in Istanbul. Good servant to the club who has now left on a free transfer.

Robert Vittek (5) - Poor season due to Injury and Attitude. Vittek has made no secret that he wants to leave the club. Scoring only 1 goal which was a penalty against Bucaspor since his return to the team, his body language has shown that he isn't interested in being here. Trabzonspor will meet our officials this weekend to discuss a possible move.

Mehmet Cogum (5) - Was surprised this guy was a footballer when I first saw him play, he did start to play better as the games went by though. Suffered a bad knee injury which has kept him out for the last couple of months.

Jan Rajnoch (8) - Cult hero amongst the Tribunes, Jan can be proud of his season. Although our defence had a bad season, he played very well and I hate to think where we would have been if he wasn't there. Has played in so many different positions and always works hard for the team. Another player we hope to keep in the team.

Murat Druer (5) - Another frustrating player, can play a wonderful 60 yard pass, but makes the 2 yard pass look so difficult. Hard working player who covers the most amount of ground, needs more quality with the ball though.

Guven Varol (6) - Great start to the season where he was one of our most important players, injury meant he missed the second half of the season. Will be good to see him back. Winner of goal of the season for me with his strike away to manisaspor.

Umut Sozen (5) - Hasn't been able to break into the team until the last couple of games. From what I've seen has some ability.

Jarioslav Cerny (0) - very strange signing in which the player never played a single game. Has returned to Czech Republic.

Aydin Toscali (4) - one of the slowest defenders I've ever seen. Gave away so many goals and the management need to sign a replacement if we want to push up the league.

Marek Sapara (7) - Fantastic player who we missed badly when he was injured. His passing, work rate and free kicks bring so much to the team. Trabzonspor have bid for our captain and will have discussions over the weekend. Looks to have played his last game.

Fatih Tekke (6) - Expensive signing in that he will be paid big wages. His talent is clear to see, if he can stay fit then he brings a lot to the team. Struggles with fitness and injuries.

Ozgur Cek (6.5) - Inconsistent season from the youngster. To be fair to him, he hasn't been done any favours playing in defence. Next season is a big one for him and I'm expecting big things. Works hard and has a lovely left foot.

Ergin Keles (3) - Only played in 2 games, looks a big strong boy.

Adem Kocak (7) - Important player who has taken the captains arm band from Sapara. Does a great job in front of the defence. Good on the ball but needs better players around him for us to see the best in him. Will be staying at the club this coming season.

Serdar Ozkan (6.5) - In the games he played he looked very good. Has some nice touches, speed and skill. Scored some good goals to. Has been out injured and also hasn't been paid by management. Another player who could go elsewhere.

Roman Bednar (6) - Would have given a higher mark if he was here longer and played more games. Did well in his loan spell and disappointing that he will return to West Brom.

Theo Weeks (6) - Talanted youngster who will benefit from his loan spell at Rizespor. Will return to the team and fight for his place in midfield. Has lots of potential.

Drago Gabric (7) - Save the best for last, great player who has worked hard for the club. Would love to see him sign a permanent deal. Most importantly i hope he has a full recovery from his car crash. Get well soon Drago.

The Bank Asya Play-Off Final

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The Bank Asya Play-Off Final will be staged at The 19 Mayis Stadium this Sunday KO 8pm.

Last night Ordu beat Rize and Gaziantep BBS beat Linyit to make it through to the final to see who joins Samsun and Mersin the Super League next season.

Oz Kanka and I are going to attend the final and will meet in The Beer Bus Bar from 5.30pm on Sunday.

The last time a final was staged at the 19 Mayis Stadium (a few years ago) between Sakaryaspor and Altay, Oz and I attended and witnessed a high scoring entertaining match which Sakarya won. This final between Ordu and Antep BBS has all the hallmarks of being another 'must see' match.

If you feel like joining us, please come and look forward to seeing you there.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gabric stable

From the Croation Times, here is the latest update on Drago Gabric.

National rep Gabric in stable condition

Croatian national team representative Drago Gabric injured in a car accident is said to be in a stable condition, the daily Slobodna Dalmacija reports. 24-year-old Gabric was put under a medically-induced coma for severe injuries to his skull and brain after his car skidded off the road and hit some rocks on Monday. Doctors say his condition is stable and CT and MR scans show no bleeding, which brings hope he may recover fully. According to hospital sources, there is a possibility the doctors may decide to wake Gabric up today (Wed).

As reported on another post, This is the designs for the new stadium of Ankaragucu and Genclerbirligi. It is expected to be built by 2013.

If Ankaragucu are to progress then this is a must, a new modern stadium with top facilities will help attract better players and also help Turkey with there Euro Championship or World Cup Bids.

If this goes ahead then i will make sure that i am there for the opening game

Pray for Drago Gabric

Drago is fighting for his life in Hospital after he suffered a brain haemorrhage in a bad car crash. His condition is serious and doctors are working on him just now.

Lets just all pray to god that this young player fights through this tough time and our wishes are with him and his family.

Please fight through this Drago

Jan Rajnoch Ankaragucu Round Ball in Ankara Player of the Season !

Image taken from Czech Media

I'm Delighted to announce our winner of The Round Ball in Ankara Player of the Year as Jan Rajnoch. In what has to be only described as an Inglorious season as Sir Eski would put it, Rajnoch can hold his head high with his performances.

Roger Lemerre brought Rajnoch to Ankaragucu from Mlada Boleslav last season and he helped steer the club away from relegation. Last season he was used in different positions, right back, central defence, right midfield and central midfield. This season has saw him play at Centre Half in which he has looked more comfortable as the season has went on.

At the start of the new season Rajnoch put in some below par performances as he struggled to get to grips with the physical side of the game. To his credit though he showed great character and has been vital in the club staying clear of the relagation zone. Rajnoch has suffered due to not having a settled partner at the back with him. This season has saw him partner Muhammet Hanifi, Michael Zewlakow and Aydin Toscali. If it weren't for some of Rajnoch's performances at the back I would hate to see where we would have been this season.

Rajnoch has also become a bit of a cult hero with the Tribunes. Its difficult for any foreign player to move to another country, but if you respect the fans and make an effort then it becomes a lot easier. This is something Rajnoch has adapted to, he always recognises the fans and in various games we have saw him go and celebrate with the fans. The tribunes also recognise his 100% commitment to the club.

With the season having just ended it will be interesting to see who comes and who goes, hopefully Jan Rajnoch will be one of the players who stays at the club and helps us push for a European place.

Now we will see if Harun, Jim, Damon or Chris can use there contacts and present Jan with the award on behalf of the blog.

In other news, it has been said today that Ankaragucu will be building a new stadium in time for the 2013 season. It will be funded by the tax payers and looks pretty impressive from the designs. Genclerbirligi will also share the stadium.

Gencler end on a whimper

The end of a fairly inglorious season.

Bursaspor 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Saturday's match was played behind closed doors in Eskisehir. With neither of the teams having much to play for the question must be asked: if a football match takes place and nobody sees it, did it actually happen.

I assume it did. I didn't watch it though.

Ankaragucu Respond Too Late to 'Wake-Up Call' !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.


Well, I was wrong on two counts. No end of season victoreeeeee to cheer and no carnival atmosphere. The atmosphere was all about protest chants from Gecikondu and Maraton towards management !


As for footie, you can't expect to give a THREE goal start to a team like Antalya and then play 'catch-up' !! A shocking first half display from the Ankaragucu players, and I have to single-out Vittek for a totally clueless performance. Notwithstanding his injury problems this season, I was expecting a lot more from him, but he has failed to deliver and I am expecting to see him 'off-loaded' in the summer. I also expect to see a few of our 'fragile' defenders off-loaded too.


Shipping 62 goals in 34 matches tells the sorry tale of a poor leaky defence. Relegated Konya only conceded 49 goals ! The question therefore arises ........ where would Ankaragucu have been this season without Sapara and Sestak ??!!


Perhaps one of the misplaced features of being an Ankaragucu supporter is that we are always full of expectation and look to the team to come out of 'the traps' like they usually do against the Istanbul teams. When they don't, and perform like they did yesterday in the first half, it is so bloody frustrating and we are left shaking our heads in anger. In fact we saw some of the Anti-X boys take action yesterday and leave the Stadium at half time !

Anyway, 'Oz Kanka Style Rant' over and back to the beginning .........

Only 3 of us kankas showed up yesterday, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Taffy Bach Kanka Richy and yours truly ........... and off we trudged through the sunshine and rain to the Stadium.

Ankaragucu 2 Antalyaspor 3

Team -

Bayram
Ugur, Rajnoch, Aydin and Murat
Gabric, Adem, Kagan and Ozgur
Sestak and Vittek

Substitutes - Bednar, T. Dogan and Bilal

It only took Antalya 3 minutes to launch their first attack and when Tita was put through he outpaced Rajnoch and Co to pick his spot for an easy goal. That should have been a wake-up call but ........ it wasn't heeded. Antalya was moving the ball around and looking confident.

10 minutes later and with their second attack of the match Antalya was 2-0 up. A complete mix-up in the Ankaragucu defence gave Necati all the time in the world to pick his spot and tap in.

Antalya was playing some really impressive possession football and were in total control of the match with Ankaragucu banging their heads against brick walls. Most of the Ankaragucu corners were sent to the near post where they were dealt with easily by Antalya and the free kicks either went sailing over the bar or well past the post. Really pathetic to watch !

35 minutes gone and Bayram made a fantastic save to keep Ankaragucu in the match, but 5 minutes later he brought down Necati when he broke free of the defence and was about to shoot. Penalty ! Fair call by the referee and Necati despatched it with ease.

Half time and a comment from Damon ........ Antalya showed organisation and tenacity in their play. In other words ........ they had what their play deserved, ie, a 3 goal cushion !

Mesut Bey was obviously on the same wavelength as us. Off comes Vittek and Murat and on comes Bednar and Dogan, and what an immediate impact those two made.

The 2nd half was only 1 minute old when a free kick was awared on the left touchline. An inch perfect cross met by Rajnoch and it was game-on !

10 minutes later the 2nd goal arrived and what a fantastic piece of trickery from Dogan as he left 3 defenders in his wake, looked up, and crossed for Bednar to angle a header into the top right hand corner for a peach of a goal.

Richy's comment at this point ....... Roman Bednar - Game Changer !!

It was all Ankaragucu now with wave after wave of attacks coming in. Dogan, Sestak and Bednar all had chances, but the 3rd goal just wouldn't come.

With hand on heart a draw would have been a fair result, but it has to be said AGAIN that a footie match is 90 minutes plus and this is something which Mesut Bey will be working on for next season I'm sure.

Not an auspicious end to the season then. However, I'm sure Mesut Bey knows exactly what is necessary for next season and it is to be hoped that A. Gokcek will give him the wherewithal to bring in the players he needs and wants !!

On another subject, the league championship will be decided tonight and some of us will be in The Fat Cat on Tunali to support Sivas and Trabzon. KOs at 8pm.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Round Ball in Ankara Ankaragucu Player of the Year Nominations !

Tomorrow see Ankaragucu play Antalyaspor at home in our last game of the season, its been another hard season with so many ups and downs. What we are looking to do is have our own Round Ball in Ankara player of the season for Ankaragucu and Genclerbirligi if the Gencler Kankas want to join in as well.

We all have one vote each and whoever has the most votes will take the title. I can then do an article on the winner. Dont know how difficult it is going to be but Jim, Harun and Damon will look into see if there is a chance of us presenting the award to the winning player. I'm sure Oz Kanka will do the same. So get Voting Kankas with your comments.

My vote goes to Jan Rajnoch. It was close between him Adem and Sestak but i just think Rajnoch has been Mr Reliable and worked his socks off.

Ankaragucu vs Antalyaspor - Match Preview

Picture above taken from LigTV

The seasons final match takes place in Ankara on Saturday as Ankaragucu welcome Antalyaspor to the 19 Mayis Stadium. The team will want to put last weeks match behind them and bounce back with a win in front of the home crowd.

The last time the two teams met was a 2-2 draw in Antalya which we were unlucky not to win with yet another dodgy penalty given against us. Michael Zewlakow and Marek Sapara scored our goals. Speaking of Sapara, he travelled with the squad last weekend to Istanbul for some Support and joined the management team on the bench.

Antalyaspor have had a decent season. They have avoided releagation which is one of there main goals with them not been one of the leagues big spenders. They had a very good start to the season and looked like they would fight for a UEFA Cup place. However they have had a poor second half of the season. They have only won one of there last 6 games which was a 3-2 win away at Bucaspor. Last weekend they suffered another defeat as they lost 2-1 at home to Karabukspor. One of there few success stories of there season has been the form of Necati Ates who has still managed 11 goals. Kerem Seras is another player worth watching out for.

The last day of the season is a chance for all the Tribunes to come and thank the players and management for there efforts. It is also a chance for them to say goodbyes to some of the players who will move on in the summer. As Jim said in a previous post, Ankaragucu has a history of selling so many players and having to replace them every season. Hopefully we will hold onto our star players. Although the team hasn't reached the highs expected this season, there have been some very good moments like beating all the Istanbul teams this season. We still have a chance of finishing above Galatasaray as well so still a lot to play for.

Ankaragucu have no other injury worries ahead of this weekends game. Stefan Senecky will be suspended due to his sending off against Fenerbahce. There will also be a chance of Jarioslaw Cerny making his debut in the game as well.

Im predicting a 3-1 win for Ankaragucu in this game. Hope everyone turns up and enjoys the game. Sing a song for me fellow Kankas.

Twelve Against Ten is NOT Fair !!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

I'm not interested in what the 'so called experts' say in the press, I witnessed the most blatantly biased refereeing I have ever seen in my life last night and the shameful thing is that the referee was wearing a FIFA badge. I hope a FIFA Representative was present last night to see this shameful performance and that Mr Cuneyt Cakir is struck-off the FIFA list, or, at the very least condemned to refereeing the champions of San Marino, Andorra and Luxembourg (with all due respect to the players of these countries !

Hopefully Mr Cakir has a conscience, although I doubt it, and he didn't sleep well last night. We can all guess what motivated him to award Fener THREE non-penalties, give Kagan a yellow card in the 6th minute for a pretty innocuous foul, AND still have time to give Senecky a red card 30 minutes into the first half, and for whaaaaat ??? Trying to save a goal ? Isn't that what goalkeepers do ??!!

Fenerbahce 6 Ankaragucu 0

Let's go back to the beginning.

We met up at our new meeting place, The Fat Cat on Tunali. Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I, plus Arty Farty Kanka Deniz who we learned knows absolutely zilch about the Laws of Association Football ! We have a Clueless Kanka in our ranks, so unfortunately we couldn't give him that name !!

Team -

Senecky
Ugur, Rajnoch, Aydin and Ozgur
Sestak, Adem, Kagan and Murat
Fatih and Vittek

Substitutes - Ozden, T. Dogan and Umut

The match was pretty much even up the the 25 minute mark with play swinging from end-to-end. Vittek and Ugur had a couple of chances, but Senecky was having a quiet time.

Then, the first controversial moment arrived. Alex burst through and Rajnoch made the tackle stretching his leg out for the ball and Alex did a good job of falling over his outstretched leg. No way was it an 'intentional' trip as the 'referee' obviously thought. Dead ball expert Alex doesn't normally miss penalties and he tucked it away in the corner. Cries of anguish from the kankas at the injustice.

3 minutes later and that 'referee' was pointing to the spot again (did I notice a smile on his face as he did ??!!). Naing came bursting through on the break and Senecky came running out to hoof the ball away with his foot. However, Naing got a slight touch to the ball and wrong footed Senecky forcing him to collide with Naing. Again, an unintentional clash of bodies and not a penalty. However, out comes the red card and Alex did the biz putting it in the same corner past Ozden and again we are all shaking our heads in disbelief.

At this point there was a classic statement from Battle Damaged Kanka Damon ....... quote, a picture of corruption in action ..... unquote !!!

5 minutes into the 2nd half and the 'referee' decides to make it THREE penalties. Why settle for only two, his is thinking, when I'm having so much fun !!!

There was break into the penalty box and Ozden came out to smother the ball, but missed. The Fener attacker decides to fall over the prostrate Ozden. Yellow card for Ozden and another penalty executed by Alex.

3-0 down to 3 'non-penalties' and still Senecky and Ozden haven't had a direct shot to save.

However that changed on 73 minutes when a Fener attacker waltzed through the Ankaragucu defence and shot. Ozden had it covered, but the ball took a deflection off Rajnoch and ended up in the goal. When Lady Luck doesn't smile, she can be cruel !

Ankaragucu could have been forgiven at this stage for throwing in the towel, but they didn't. The 10 men kept trying to go forward and attack.

However, the 5th goal arrived with 10 minutes left to play. Another deadball free kick from Alex just outside the box which was flighted over the wall with Ozden rooted to the spot.

Into the last minute and another piece of magic from Alex when he broke free of the Ankaragucu defence, noticed that Ozden was off his line, and executed a perfect lob over his head for No 6.

Final whistle and the camera panned-in on Mr Cakir's face, and guess what ? He was smiling !!!!

So, our apologies to Trabzon for failing to do the necessary. Before closing this sad story, I feel a few words of praise are due to Ugur for his 90 minutes effort. It is unusual to name a Man of the Match in a team defeated 6-0 but he gets my vote.

So to our last match of the season next Saturday at home to Antalya. KO time to be notified in the comments section of this post when I have it.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gencler go down at the last

It didn't really matter for either team but a decent crowd came out on Saturday night to see Gencler take on Galatasaray only to see us stuff up at the end.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 3 Galatasaray

Little Oz Kanka, Flying Dutchman Kanka, Miss Apples and myself showed up nice an early at the Beer Bus and then squeezed in with a bunch of Alkaralar as we taxied off to the stadium.

Whilst the atmosphere wasn't as fun as last week, no one really cared that much about the result but it was our last home match for the season and we wanted to see Gencler go out with a win.

It was not to be.

In the first half Galatasaray were absolute crap and it was no surprise when Emre scored in the 27th. It was a bit lucky really. Orhan had a shot which Emre managed to deflect past the keeper. Still it had us on our feet.

Some silly defending resulted in us conceding not long before half time. Still, most of us were confident we could win it.

Second half and Galatasaray stepped it up a bit but still we were optimistic. Then just a few minutes in and Galatasaray scored what was one of those "oh dear" goals. Galatasaray's Culio had a shot from just outside the box. Ozkan jumped high got a hand to the ball which hit the crossbar bounced in, and then out. Well done to the referee because it certainly looked like a goal from where we were. At the same time though it was one of those things that the ref could so easily have got wrong.

Two-one down but still we reckoned we could get it. And our hopes were high when Emre scored his second. I'm not exactly sure what happened as I was lifting Little Oz Kanka in the air so he could see. All was good in the world and then.... the ref killed us off.

I have no idea why but Jedinak, who had a poor game overall, was given a yellow in the first half for almost nothing, and then he was given a second yellow for a "foul" in which there was absolutely no contact at all. I'm not sure what the appeals process is for these things but they certainly have a good case if they do try and get the decision overturned.

Much cursing later and then our keeper made the mistake that cost us the match. The ball was sent in and Ozkan failed to keep control of it only to allow Colin Colin Kazim Kazim to poach the winner. The Galatasaray fans started swearing at us and so we ended the match with the good old chant "Hepiniz Istanbul cocugusunuz"

Ankaragucu VIPs Visit Eski's School

Mesut Bey smiling when he found out that there was a Scottish Ankaragucu supporter in Ankara.

Some of Eski's Ankaragucu supporters. From left to right - Muhsin, Sefa, Ege, Emre, The Great Man Himself, Omur and Alper.

(Photos courtesay of ... Since1910.net)

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Eski's School (Ozel Buyuk Kolej) had a visit from Ankaragucu yesterday in the form of General Manager Ender Yurtguven, Technical Director Mesut Bakkal and Club top goalscorer Sestak.

The students turned out in force and gave them a rousing welcome, especially the Ankaragucu supporters in the audience who gave the VIPs some 'Ankaragucu Songs' before the presentation began. It was almost like being in the Stadium.

Some of the students didn't 'mince words' and fired questions about the possibility of Ankaragucu 'selling' next Sunday's match. Ender Bey elected to give the 'party line' answer and put that question 'firmly to bed' !

There was also questions about hooliganism, in particular aimed at Ankaragucu supporters, but again that answer was fielded 'diplomatically'.

The School Public Relations Manager then called me up to the front to uproarious applause from the students and I put a few questions to Mesut Bey as follows -

'Having been an Ankaragucu supporter for 23 years, why is it that at the end of almost every season there is a 'clear-out' and a new influx of players ? How can the players be expected to form a 'team bond' if they think that they will only be with the Club for one season ? Can we expect that present day successful team players like Sapara, Sestak, Rajnoch, Bednar, Fatih and Vittek will be retained next seasaon to continue the success which you (Mesut Bey) have brought since your arrival at the Club ?

As you would expect, the anseres were all positive and let's hope Mesut Bey can influence the Chairman and deliver !

I then mentioned our website/blog and gave a brief history of its formation and present activities. I also gave Ender Bey the Kanka Group Round Ball in Ankara Card and invited him to check out the site on a regualr basis.

They all thanked me for my interest and support of Ankaragucu and I retreated to my seat to thunderous applause from the students.

A very enjoyable experience for all concerned.

I'm very pleased to see Mesut Bey out-and-about around the Ankara schools. Great 'PR' which will hopefully 'bear fruit' in the long-term in addition to the short-term.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Fenerbahce - Match Preview

Image taken from Haber.Com

This Weekends match is the much awaited game between Ankaragucu vs Fenerbahce which will be played at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul. Fenerbahce are joint top of the league with Trabzonspor and lead on goal difference by three goals. Ankaragucu will go there hoping to take something from the game and spoil our rivals title hopes. Onur has already mentioned that Ahmet Gokcek has promised to pay the debts and give the players a bonus if they win the match.

Aykut Kocaman replaced Christophe Daum in the summer and after a difficult start where Fenerbahce were knocked out of Europe and a poor start in the league, his side have performed very well. Since the January break Fenerbahce have been the form team on a fantastic run of form. Eighteen games undefeated, you have to go back to the 12th of December for Fenerbahces last defeat. Anyone guess who it was against ? Yes Ankaragucu !!!!. A 2-1 win in Ankara thanks to two goals from Stanislav Sestak. We also beat them 4-2 in the Cup in Ankara to.

Fenerbahce have a lot of options in Attack with Mamadou Niang and Sahin Senturk scoring 25 goals between them. In midfield they have quality players like Miroslav Stoch, Belezoglu and the leagues top scorer Alex who is on 22 goals. At the back Diego Lugano is an important player for them and Andre Santos. However there defence is there weakness and if Ankaragucu are to get anything from the game they need to put them under pressure and attack.

Ankaragucu under Mesut Bakkal have only lost one out of the nine games under his leadership. Our latest result a 1-1 win away at Sivasspor. The weekends game will be interesting to see who Mesut chooses to lead the front line. Robert Vittek hasn't looked anywhere near his best since his return from injury. Fatih Tekke and Stanislav Sestak would be a good choice, Fatih an ex Trabzonspor legend would love to do his former team a favour and Stanislav will be looking to return to the team after his goal last week. Roman Bednar will also be in contention for a place.

The pressure is on Fenerbahce to win in front of there home crowd and not throw it away like they did last season. I'm predicting a 1-1 draw and Sestak to yet again be our hero against Fenerbahce.

ANKARAGUCU - TOP GOAL SCORER RETURNS ..... AT LAST

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Welcome back to the team Sestak and may your stay with Ankaragucu be a long one !

Sestak came on as a substitute 10 minutes into the 2nd half to show the goal-shy Ankaragucu players how it should be done.

Sivasspor 1 ANKARAGUCU 1

Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo, Oz Kanka Chris and I met up at the new venue for Ankaragucu's 'away' matches. The Fat Cat Bar on Tunalihimli. Very pleasant sitting outside in 'the garden' pre-match in the warm late afternoon Spring sunshine. The interior is also quite pleasant.

The team -

Senecky
Ugur, Guven, Aydin and Murat
Gabric, Adem, Umut and T. Dogan
Fatih and Vittek

Substitutes used - Sestak, Ozgur and Bednar (Rajnoch is apparently being rested for the Big One next week !)

The match got underway and it was Sivas which looked the more menacing of the two teams.

The match was only 7 minutes old when Senecky saved bravely at the feet of a Sivas attacker. It was a classic move down the right and a cut back into the path of the incoming attacker, and on any other day would probably have produced a goal.

Ankaragucu was 'slow out of the traps' but they started to press forward and Fatih almost made the break-through with their first serious attack after 20 minutes. He broke clear of the Sivas defence, noticed Korcan coming out of the goal-area and tried to lob the ball over his head. However, he totally misjudged the pace of the ball and it went well over.

Sivas had another chance to open the scoring on 35 minutes when they were awarded a free kick about 30 metres out. In came a real bullet of a shot which was a goal all the way, but somehow Senecky got his fingertips to it and he deflected the ball over the bar for a corner. Fantastic save !

The only other serious chance of the first half fell to Vittek who was put through, but his shot went whizzing past the post.

Into the 2nd half and still it was Sivas who had most of the possession, looking sharp and were faster into the tackle.

However, Ankaragucu finally woke up halfway through the 2nd half and it took substitute Sestak to do it.

A great pinpoint pass from the left wing was sent over by Murat to the unmarked Sestak on the right who volleyed the ball first time into the goal via the left post with Korcan transfixed and bemused ! Great vision by Murat and a great stike by Sestak.

Sivas was rattled but their heads stayed up. Senecky was called into action 5 minutes later to make another great save.

Then on the 75th minute mark, the equaliser arrived and the Ankaragucu defence must accept responsibility for day-dreaming. However, having said that, all credit to Sedat for his predatory instincts. It was a Sivas corner and the ball was flighted over into the danger area. Bednar mis-timed his jump to clear and Sedat came in behind him to bullet the header in. Where was the defence me asks ??!!

How to defend corner kicks is a tactic which is practiced by most teams on the training ground, but this was obviously forgotten by Ankaragucu on this occasion. I'm sure Mesut Bey will have had a few choice words about it post-match !

There were two other goal scoring chances at both ends before the final whistle.

A Sivas attacker was clear through on goal but fortunately lost control of the ball at the vital moment which gave Senecky the chance to clear the danger.

5 minutes before the end, an Ankaragucu free kick rebounded off the post with Korcan beaten - couldn't see who took the free kick.

So, another draw and I suppose on the balance of play it was a fair result.

Man of the Match has to be Senecky for showing us some fine goalkeeping skills.

Sivas achieved their objective with the threat of relegation now removed.

All eyes are now focused on next Sunday when Ankaragucu take on Fenerbahce in Istanbul.

Fener and Trabzon are locked together at the top of the League on equal points but with Fener having a 3 goals advantage over Trabzon.

The burning question is ....... can Ankaragucu deliver a win and give Trabzon the opportunity of winning League the following week ?

As always, watch this space for the answer !

KO and meeting time to be announced later in the comments section of this post.

It will be necessary to reserve seats in The Fat Cat for this match, so please tell Harun if you intend to join us so that he can make a reservation with the Manager, Murat Bey.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Fun in the sun

Spring finally arrived on Sunday and with nothing at stake in the Genclerbirligi - Konyaspor match the smallish crowd were in party mode. At one stage someone even produced a guitar, the crowd went silent as the first chords of various songs were played and then the whole of Maraton sang along, including a particularly rousing rendition of our version of "Bella Ciao", the anti-fascist Italian partisan song. All this was while play was proceeding. It wasn't a great match, but it wasn't bad either and Gencler deserved their the victory.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 1 Konyaspor

Mothers' Day on Sunday and we prepared a big brunch for various relatives at Chateau Kanka. When I say we prepared a brunch, I mean, I went for a walk with Little Oz Kanka to go and get our car from where I had left it the previous night after having one or two drinks.

Brunch done and Mrs. Oz Kanka sprawled herself on the sofa while Little Oz Kanka started pestering her to take him to the cinema. I offered to take Little Oz off to the football. He wasn't too keen until Mrs. Oz shouted "Please, it is Mothers' Day. Please go to the football."

And so, out of the kindness of our hearts we headed off to the Beer Bus congratulating ourselves on such a public display of our love of Mrs. Oz.

Peep, peep, peep, and Gencler came out well. Some nice attacking football, some terrible offside decisions being given against us and six minutes in we had our first chance when Oktay (I think) hit the post. Konya's defence was pretty rubbish and we should have gone up earlier then we did but Zec seemed to be completely out of form.

We were missing shots or they were being saved and then finally in the 41st minute Yasin capitalised on a mistake in defence and fired from an angle for a great goal. The only thing is, it looked pretty clear from where we were sitting that was from an offside position. The chants went up praising the assistant referee for giving us an offside goal.

Half time, 1-0 up and all was good in the world.

The goal we conceded was due in no small part to a complete and utter lack of concentration. Konya had a corner and the Gencler players were simply not ready, some with their backs to the ball not realising that the it was in play. Somehow the ball made it into the box and it fell to a Konya player who stuck it into the back of the net. An utterly stupid goal to concede.

In this screen grab from the video below you can see that the ball is already in play, two Gencler players, plus the goalkeeper have their backs to the ball, another is bending over trying to get his breath back.

Luckily the crowd didn't really care and went on singing and generally having a good time when our winner came thanks to about the only half-decent thing Zec did all match when he passed to Oktay who smashed it past the keeper.

All up a great day in the sun. This week we have Galatasaray on Saturday night. Should be a fun night.

PROGRAMME FOR SUNDAY

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The Gencler Kankas will no doubt be going to the 19 Mayis Stadium for the 4pm KO.

However, as I mentioned in my post a few days ago, there is a problem later in the evening when three matches KO at the same time, ie, 8pm.

Most of the pubs in Ankara will be screening the Fener match (yeuk .... spit !!) and a few others the Trabzon match, but ............. Maniac Kanka to the rescue !

He has found a pub who's manager is an Ankaragucu supporter !

So, we will meet there for the 8pm KO. Maniac, Battle Damaged and I will be there at about 6.30pm so please join us for another Ankaragucu victoreeeeee.

It is The Fat Cat Bar on Tunalihimli (the old Marlyn Monroe Bar) near the top of the street. Opposite Papsi Bar.

Look forward to seeing you there to celebrate a Gencler, Ankaragucu and Trabzon victoreeeeee !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

PHOTOS FROM THE ANKARAGUCU v KARABUK MATCH

Who's the lucky guy ???

Battle Damaged Kanka attempting to concentrate on the match AND his cekirdek !!!

Is he a proud father, or ........ is he a proud father ?!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Some late photos just arrived which were taken during the Ankaragucu v Karabukspor match last Sunday which you may wish to see, and perhaps .......... comment on ?!

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but who can doubt that Maniac Kanka Harun has an extremely beautiful daughter ?!

btw, Did anyone notice that Maniac Kanka was wearing red and black ? Let him explain that one !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Sivasspor - Match Preview

Photo taken from Ankaragucu.org

This weekends match will see Ankaragucu travel to Sivasspor in what will be a big match for Sivasspor. They only need one point to Secure safety and there place in the Super Lig for next season.

The game will also see Mesut Bakkal take on his former club. Mesut has done a fantastic job at Ankaragucu in his time here. We will be hoping he is given the job on a more permanent basis and rewarded with a new contract.

The last time the two teams met ended in a 1-1 draw in Ankara. Michael Klukowski headed Ankaragucu into the lead in the first half, but Ermin Kilic gave Sivasspor a share of the points with a second half goal.

Sivasspor come into the game on good form. They have only lost one of there last seven games, there last game was a 1-1 draw at home against Genclerbirligi. There star players and ones to watch are Ermin Kilic who has scored 7 goals this season, Ricardo Pedriel who is on 8 goals and there Polish youngster Kamil Grosicki who is very quick and skilful. After a poor start to the season Sivasspor have improved under Riza Calimbay and will hope to climb the league next season.

Ankaragucu continued there good form with another good performance on Monday night at home to Karabukspor. As Jim mentioned in his report, but for a fantastic game from Tomic in the Karabuk goal, we would have won the game. Early team news is that Stanislav Sestak is available for selection after recovering from injury. Jarioslav Cerny is also fit and was named a substitute against Karabukspor. It will be interesting to see if he plays any part. Would like to see Umit Sozen getting more time as he showed some nice touches on Monday night.

Prediction time, this will be a tough game, both teams on form with Ankaragucu hoping to finish as high up the table as possible, and Sivas wanting to secure safety. I'm going for 1-1 and Robert Vittek scoring our goal.

ANKARAGUCU WIN THE 'GOAL-MISSING COMPETITION' !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Headline suggested by Harun, and an apt suggestion you will surely agree when you have read this report !

Ankaragucu did what they do best, ie, attack, but .............

ANKARAGUCU 0 Karabukspor 0

We met up in The Beer Bus Bar as normal - Maniac Kanka Harun and his beautiful daughter Hazal, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Onur, Mert and Onur's High School buddies, and I.

It was pissing down with rain when we entered the Stadium - 10 minutes late. Unbelieveably, the Stadium was almost full which was amazing for a Monday night match and with the weather so piss poor. Gecikondu in particular was full and they didn't stop singing from start to finish !

Karabuk had a big support in the away end. At least 200 and they tried to give us a song from time to time, but difficult to hear them !

Team -

Senecky
Ugur, Rajnoch, Aydin and Murat
T. Dogan, Kagan, Adem and Gabric
Fatih and Bednar

Substitutes used - Vittek and Umut

The 1st half was played at a frantic pace and was mostly end to end with Ankaragucu having the best chances. Senecky was only troubled once from a corner but he made a good save.

Ankaragucu had four good chances, the first falling to Dogan in the 20th minute but he shot tamely at Tomic when he should have done better.

Murat slung over a great cross on the 35th minute mark to the unmarked Fatih. He put in a great goal-bound header which was miraculously palmed away by Tomic.

A few minutes later, Bednar sent in a rocket of a shot from just outside the box which brought out another great save from Tomic.

Almost on the half time whistle and Rajnoch flashed a header just wide.

The 2nd half was one way traffic for the most part towards Tomic, apart from a brief flurry of attacking from Karabuk near the end.

Ankaragucu was in full-cry and a goal just had to come !

10 minutes in and after some good work from Gabric down the right, he crossed for Bednar to tap-in but Tomic saved well.

A few minutes later it was Dogan's turn to make a good run down the left. He crossed to Fatih to flick-in but again Tomic was there to make the save.

On 70 minutes now and it's still Ankaragucu doing all the attacking and Fatih almost made the break through but Tomic did well to save at his feet.

10 minutes to go and Vittek probably had the best chance of the match. With an open goal he blasted over ........... arghhhh !

2 minutes to go and Ankaragucu was almost caught cold. A dubious free kick was given out on the right. It was slung over and a Karabuk head got to the ball first and fortunately it rebounded off the bar with Senecky beaten.

From the resulting corner came the controversial moment of the match.

The ball was crossed into the box and Aydin and a Karabuk player challenged for it. Whistle goes and the referee is pointing to the penalty spot.

He obviously gave the penalty for a hand-ball from Aydin and there was chaos in the box with players protesting and ............. sad to say ............ coins being thrown onto the pitch from behind us in Maraton which fortunately didn't hit anyone. (Hope the Referee doesn't report it !).

We saw later in a replay that the linesman on the far side was speaking to the referee via their link-up amid all this chaos.

Then ...... amazingly ....... the referee changed his mind and awarded a free kick to Ankaragucu !

It is purely conjecture on my part, but I think the linesman probably told the referee that Aydin had been pulled-back, lost his balance and it was ball to hand !

Some of you may be sceptical of my interpretation, but (as an ex-Class 1 referee) I can see no other reason why the referee would change his mind after having awarded the penalty.

You must also bear in mind that the referee and linesman see the match from different angles and therefore the linesman was probably being honest in what he saw. It is for the referee to decide whether to accept the linesman's advice.

There was still time for Vittek to pass-up another great chance when he hit the post in the dying minutes of the match.

Final whistle and all credit to all the Ankaragucu players (including the much maligned Murat) for a great attacking display which on any other day would have produced 4 or 5 goals.

Man of the Match has to be Tomic for his outstanding display of goalkeeping.

This weekend's matches will be played on Sunday -

Sivas v Ankaragucu
Gencler v Konya

I'll give KO times tomorrow in the comments section.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim