ANKARAGUCU - RELEGATION AVERTED.... BUT, NO CELEBRATIONS !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

A horror show in Ankara last night from ANKARAGUCU saw the celebrations curtailed even though relegation was averted by results elsewhere.

ANKARAGUCU 1 Sivasspor 4

A disappointing turn-out at The Chopin Bar with lots of ANKARAGUCU kankas missing…. Tut tut tut ! Maniac Kanka Harun and Husso Kanka were first to show up, followed by yours truly, then Spine Kanka Steve and French Kankie Hande showed up minus their Gencler colours (very diplomtic of Steve to wear Sari/Lacivert and Hande in her Bond Girl T Shirt !!). Marash Kanka Hakan was next to show, and surprise surprise, he wasn’t drinking Fanta !!! Last up was Aynur Kankie just as we were about to leave for the Stadium.

Photo: Sir Eski Kanka

Into the Stadium on time for Kick-Off and it all started so optimistically with the Sadium almost full of ANKARAGUCU supporter groups. The `Olay Olay Olay` song featured again in the 1st half when ANKARAGUCU was doing all the attacking. Quadrophonic sound from Gecekondu, Maraton, Pegasus and Kapali kept us entertained even if they did distract us from the footie action sometimes !!

It was looking good for ANKARAGUCU with Bebbe and Tita going close and it was only a matter of time before they scored I was thinking. WRONG !!!

Some dithering and indecision in midfield from Da Silva on the half hour mark gifted the ball to Sivas and Cvetkov had the simplest of tasks to score with Serkan left exposed. Da Silva was to continue to have a nightmare match in midfield alongside the equally ineffective Aytekin. I have to ask the question (yet again !)…… how long must we wait for Aytekin to take control of midfield and string more than two passes together ??!!

Half time arrived and we were still optimistic that ANKARAGUCU would take at least one of the many chances which were being created by the impressive Yasin and Dereli. Spine Kanka mentioned that he was sure ANKARAGUCU would score attacking into the Gecikondu end in the 2nd half. Well………… he was right, but …….. he forgot to mention how may Sivas would score at the other end !!!

Photo: French Kanka

Unfortunately, Dereli failed to appear for the 2nd half having sustained a head injury in the opening minutes of the match. However, all credit to him for his typical tenacious display in the first half. It is a pity that some of his colleagues don’t have his spirit and `will to win` attitude !!

Then, disaster struck 5 minutes into the 2nd half. With ANKARAGUCU throwing caution to the wind and everyone forward, Sivas broke away at speed (how many goals have we conceded this season under these circumstances ?!) and Cvetkov again having the easiest of chances with Serkan left exposed yet again.

Two minutes later, with ANKARAGUCU reeling from conceding this `soft` goal, they were caught out yet again with another fast breakaway which Colosimo despatched with ease to put Sivas 3-0 ahead and ANKARAGUCU well punished for their schoolboy tactics !]

Photo: Spine and French Kanka

However, the tactics didn’t change and caution continued to be thrown to the wind, and even our full-back Sedat joined the attack to add height up front. The reward finally came with 10 minutes remaining when a fine piece of skill from Bebbe allowed him to elude his marker and calmly lob the ball over the out-rushing Petkovic for an excellent goal.

Too little too late I was wondering ? Then, 2 minutes later Petkovic had a sudden rush of blood to his head when he booted the ball away when it was going out of play. Having already received a yellow card for time wasting tactics, the referee had no option but to show him the red card (Eski Kanka’s fav colour !!). Not a problem under normal circumstances, but Sivas had already used their 3 substitutes ! So, one of their defender’s (the smallest on the field) took over in goal and I thought …….. hmmmmm, this game isn’t over yet with about 10 minutes remaining.

What an ideal opportunity to test him with some long range shots I was thinking. However, it was not to be with ANKARAGUCU huffing and puffing making one pass too many. So, their stand-in goalkeeper was never put to the test, except to scamble away a corner with the help of his defence.

Yet further disaster was about to unfold. With all the ANKARAGUCU players attacking it was left to Mehmet to score another break-away goal with Serkan again helpless stop it. So, relief at last when the final whistle arrived to save further embarassment. All the ANKARAGUCU tribunes called the Sivas team over at the end to applaud them, and although I didn’t join in, I have to say that they took their chances well and gave ANKARAGUCU a lesson in predatory striking tactics, ie, how to score goals !!!

Before closing, I have to mention one curious tactical facet of the match. After Aytekin has been replaced (much applause from Eski Kanka !) by Devran, he was playing as a left winger and all credit to him for his effort and his undoubted skill, but…………. what was painfully obvious was that he can’t kick a ball with his left foot !! Every time he attacked down the left wing he had to cut in to the right and fire a cross in with his right foot. This was bread and butter for the Sivas right full back who didn’t require a compass to know which way to defend !!! Hikmet Karaman ……… please note !!!

Oz Kanka had requested that Spine and I were to keep a look-out for an Aussie playing for Sivas – I think it was Colosimo ? No matter. It was impossible to tell who was who in the Sivas team due to the tiny writing on their shirts. We would have needed binnoculars and unfortuately none of us brought binnoculars with us !!! So, sorry we couldn’t oblige Oz !

Photo: Maniac Kanka and Aynur

There was no `after match activity` last night due to the depression suffered by Maniac and Eski Kankas. It was straight home with sullen faces !!

Next weekend (probably Saturday) ANKARAGUCU will be playing Fener in Istanbul. There will be no cavalier attacking there I presume. Backs against the wall and keep the scoreline respectable ??!! We will probably be watching this match in The Cappadokia Bar so watch your in box for details.

All the best from a depressed Eski Kanka Jim

Police checks at the footy

Most of you have probably now seen TV footage from Saturday night's Galatasaray-Fenerbahce match. They weren't very nice. The match had to be delayed for ages to clear the field of various objects. Flares were lit and thrown onto the field. Have a look at someone's mobile phone video from the match to get an idea.



How the hell did this happen? I'm not going to go into a sociological study of Galatasaray fans but instead concentrate on the basics of policing football. Or why on earth are the Istanbul police so careless while the Ankara police are overzealous.

I've never seen any violence at a Genclerbirligi match. Things are never thrown at the field or opposition supporters. But yet the police here certainly take their job seriously. Quite a few of us, if not all of us, have had pens, coins and lighters taken off us. It took me all of my persuasive skills for the police to allow me to take a camera into a match. The cops wanted to take out the batteries. I don't try any more and have to rely on Spine's mobile phone for the pictures.

All this for a club that has no history of violence.

Then we have one of the most spiteful derbies anywhere in the world, Galatasaray v Fenerbahce, and the police somehow fail to intercept hundreds of flares.

It wasn't as if yesterday's violence in the stands wasn't predicted. Just take a look at Mehmet Ali Birand's prediction in Saturday's TDN.

At 6:45 p.m., the Fenerbahçe (FB) Soccer Team will take its place on Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Galatasaray (GS) Soccer Team's home field. At once, all hell will break loose.

Various objects, from water bottles to lighters, even clubs will be thrown to the field from the stands. The spectators will unite in insulting the players. The FB team will not be able to tell what hit them.

The point of my rant? The police don't have a clue and treat us small club supporters as potential criminals and then leave to their own devices the fans of Istanbul clubs that have proven to be violent. Hopeless, just hopeless.

The fight for eighth

I was checking in for my flight from Berlin to Istanbul on Friday evening when the bloke asked me in English if I was heading that way in order to get to the Athens to support Liverpool in the Champion's League Final.

A weird question to ask considering that A) I was flying to Istanbul, not Athens and B) I had shown him an Australian passport not a Pommie one.

Having already heard him speaking to the headscarfed woman in front of me I replied in Turkish, "No, I live in Ankara".

"So what team do you support?" he asked me, this time in Turkish. Obviously I told him I was a Genclerbirigi fan.

"Truely?" he asked. I then pulled out not one but four season tickets from my wallet and also showed him my key ring.

"I'm a Fenerbahce fan," said the bloke. I just gave a hrrmmph. What I should have said was "Hepiniz Istanbul cocugusunuz".

I finally got into Ankara and after saying hello to Mrs. Oz Kanka I went off to the match.

There was plenty of competition today. The English FA Cup final was on as was the Galatasaray-Fenerbahce match.

But the true fans made it along. And so it was that myself, Spine and Flying Dutchman Kanka met up at the Chopin.

The pubs in Kizilay were starting to fill up with the Istanbul yalakas (yes men) and quite frankly Spine and myself felt quite self-conscious wearing the Genclerbirligi strip. But stuff em all and on we went to the stadium.

Genclerbirligi 1-0 Sakaryaspor


PHOTO: L-R Flying Dutchman Kanka, Spine and Oz Kanka.

It was most probably the least attended match I've ever been too. At tops I'd say 2,000 supporters. But those who did come were true, true fans. Not for us watching on telly the Galatasaray-Fenerbahce match. Nope, we were there to see our team, having already safely escaped relegation, play a team who were already definitely relegated.

It was also the last home match of the season and for this reason we sang our hearts out. We sang out the names of all our players and we also sang in praise of our opponents.

The match itself and we started off fairly strongly but not all that well.

It wasn't brilliant stuff but Draman Haminu did nicely to get a ball to Erhan Guven who got a shot on only to see the ball sent away by the keeper. From the corner, or maybe it was another corner, Okan Amça got his head to the bladder and sent it into the top post.



After that we got a load of rubbish. Spine said he was just sitting back enjoying the late evening sun and quite frankly that was all there was that was good about the day.

After our keeper Recep Ozturk was taken off for what appeared to be a case of groin-knack, Jesus came on and made a couple of good saves. Well... bloody lucky saves really as he dived and the ball hit his legs on at least two occasions.

Half-time 0-0 and the crowd, small as it was, was finally getting into the mood.

And Genclerbirligi finally came out to play. We were all over Sakarya. The first chance though fell to them and Gokhan stuck his legs out again.



After that though it was pretty much all Gencler. Draman in particular was getting through the opposition and Hakan Aslantaş was giving the opposition worries, even if he was pretty hopeless when it came to defending.

It was on the counter attack that the goal came. Draman was just over the half-way line. He had people in front of him but kept the ball to himself, moving it forward all along. Another player might have passed earlier but Draman kept going until he saw that Isaac Promise was ready to run. The pass went through, Isaac got to it and hit it past the keeper. 1-0.

Jumping up and down in the stands as the fans sang, "We love you Isaac" in English.

After that it was total control but we still couldn't find another goal.

As I said before the crowd tonight were core fans and thus it was inevitable that the anti-Cavcav chants started up at this point.

"Except for Cavcav we love you all," was one. "Take your money back Cavcav," was another. In yet another dig at Cavcav was the chant "we want a champion team next year" (this one is not nearly so bad in Turkish as it sounds in English - ie it is an anti-Cavcav chant and not anti the the team).

But my favourite for tonight:

"No one can stop us from fınishing eighth." (in the league that is)

I know it is rare for this blog to ever give tactical advice... well, sort of... but I really do wonder about the way Gencler plays. Why do we insist on the slow Okan Amca up front and Isaac just behind him. Isaac inevitably stuffs up when he gets the ball with a couple of defenders around but scores when he is up front on the run.

Maybe I'm changing my views on Isaac. Perhaps the problem has been the coach Messut Bakkal and the fact he insists on playing Okan up front when instead he should have Sandro playing in the position Isaac now plays in, and with Isaac up front ready to use his speed to exploit the through balls.



Post match and it was off to engage in our other love, darts. Not playing tonight but watching some girls in the 10,000 lira Ankara championships. I appreciated the darts, Spine and Flying Dutchman appreciated the girls.

LAST HOME MATCHES OF THE SEASON

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

With Oz Kanka in Germany, and perhaps out of touch with what's going on here, I can give a heads-up for this weekend.

According to TRT, the matches will be as follows -

Saturday KO 7pm - Gencler v Sakarya

Sunday KO 7pm - ANKARAGUCU v Sivas

If anything changes then I'll put comments on this post. Also, I am sure Oz Kanka will be sending out a meeting schedule for Saturday.

As for Sunday, I will definitely be going and will be in The Chopin Bar at about 5pm.

Look forward to seeing you if you can make it.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANOTHER REASON TO BELIEVE ?!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

You will recall Oz Kanka's stinging criticism of The Hurriyet in a recent post `Always Quote Your Sources` when he accused The Hurriyet of nicking things from our Blog.

Well.......... surprise surprise........... I think they are at it again !

You will also recall my complimentary remarks about Promising Isaac in Oz Kanka's recent post `Finally` when I urged Hikmet Bey to buy him for ANKARAGUCU, put him alongside Bebbe up front, and then go on and be World Club Champions (well......... something along the lines like that anyway !!!).

So, what did I see in The Hurriyet this morning ? There for the first time this season (or perhaps any season ?!!) was Isaac's name in Team of the Weekend !!!

Now isn't that too much of coincidence I ask ??!! Mmmmmm, or am I being too paranoid ??! Or is Hurriyet sport editors reading our Blog before making any report about the Ankara teams ???!!!

Who's next to follow in Hurriyet's footsteps me asks ?? Could it be Oz Kanka's fav `tabloid` and oracle.............. The Guardian ............... me wonders ???!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

AN EXHALATION OF RELIEF IN ANKARA

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

It was all singing and dancing in Ankara yesterday (an unusual occurrence I can hear you say !) when both Ankara team allowed their long suffering supporters an exhalation of relief.

Antalyaspor 0 ANKARAGUCU 1

There was also singing and dancing in Kadikoy, but we will NOT be mentioning it in this Blog !

Not much I can say about the match (thank you Hurriyet for your in-depth report ?!) except that Bebbe (who else ??) scored the winner 15 minutes from the end of the match.

Burak received a red card 2 minutes after the goal which must surely have put pressure on the defence in the last quarter of the match. However, there are only 2 teams in the league who have conceded fewer goals than ANKARAGUCU (Fener and Besiktas) and this is surely down to Hikmet Bey after last season's poor defensive showing.

Now a message for Hikmet Bey, who I am sure reads our Blog !!!............ The defence is looking good, but we need a high calibre player to do what Ceyhun did for us, ie, create opportunities for scoring. Tita needs help in that area of the field. Also, and equally important, we need a `foil` for Bebbe. Mustafa is getting-on in years and is injury prone. The nucleus is there, but the weaknesses are there for all to see, so, corrective action is essential in the summer break if we are serious about challenging for YooRo footie next season. End of message !!

It is still mathematically possible that the Ankara teams can be dragged back into the relegation zone, but looking at it realistically, it is unlikely.

Sakarya is down, and it looks like a fight between Erciyes, Rize, Denizli and Antalya to see who joins them in the 2nd League.

Looking to next weekend, and ANKARAGUCU will play their last home match against Sivas in what will surely be a `carnival atmosphere` with the Stadium FULL at the ANKARAGUCU sections.

Oz Kanka will be sending out an email when we know the date and timings of the ANKARAGUCU and Gencler matches.

Ready for a celebration ? See you next weekend in The Chopin Bar first and then ....... who knows where after the match !!

All the best from Relieved Eski Kanka Jim

Never Mind the Hibees

A bad weekend for Hibs getting beaten by our local rivals 2-0. Another goalkeeping howler, the amount of points we have lost due to our goalkeepers is unbelievable.

Anyway I'm not going to dwell on Hibs this week as I can not even say we played well and were twarted by the opposing goalkeeper, this week we were well beaten.

My weekend got off to a good start when Mini Red Card Hooligan Kanka Liam's school team played in a Edinburgh tournament. They won 5 matches and drew 1, a very good performance from the boys. A stat worth mentioning is that Mini Red Card Hooligan Kanka managed to play all these matches and only got pulled up by a referee once. It was a good foul as the other boy took a while to recover and then the hooter went so Oxgangs won that match 1-0.

As previously mentioned the game of the weekend was between AC Oxgangs and North Berwick. Mini Red Card Kankas brother Ciaran was playing in this game and contributed to a 2-0 victory to AC Oxgangs. This victory should at least secure second spot in the league and if other results go their way, maybe a league title.

It was an entertaining game played in a good spirit, special mention must go to the North berwick boys on remaining sporting throughout.

Hibbee Kanka