New Ankaragucu book !

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3126709

Greetings Kankas, I have now completed the Ankaragucu book i have been working on and it is now available to purchase from the above link. You just click on it and it will give you a preview and along the bottom there is a buy now option.

The book was made to remind us of the good times in the clubs history, my computer was full of Ankaragucu photos, so i thought it would be a good idea to make one. The book is for sale at £19 and that is the website who publishes the books price, i don't make anything from it. It is available in softback, and hardback, although the hardback is a few pounds more expensive.

Hope you enjoy it and spread the word. In other news, well done to Hibs on progressing to the Scottish Cup final, im sure Jim will be in a good mood. And Ankaragucu lost 3-1 to Karabukspor. Ill let Jim report on that.

JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT THE SEASON WAS OVER .....

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Surprise, surprise ....... another competition has been dreamed-up to further embarrass an already beleaguered Ankaragucu !

The Spor Toto Cup has been introduced to run alongside the play-offs for the Chimps Cup and the Europa Cup.

There are two groups in this 'Mickey Mouse' Cup -

A. Karabuk, Ordu, Samsun and Ankaragucu
B. Antalya, Gaziantep, Kayseri and Gencler

Well, looking at it another way, it gives Ankaragucu 3 matches to prepare for the harsh realities of life in the Bank Asya League, or 6 if it is home and away (not sure about that yet).

This Cup kicks-off this weekend -

Saturday 3pm - Karabuk v Ankaragucu
Sunday 1.30pm - Samsun v Ordu
Sunday 1.30pm - Gaziantep v Gencler
Monday 7pm - Antalya v Kayseri

I doubt very much if these matches will be on TV, but I'll have a looksee tomorrow and let you know. Also, no details yet on further fixtures, but I'll let you know here when known.

Please excuse my lack of enthusiasm !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

And that's that

It certainly wasn't the end Genclerbirligi wanted. Things were looking so good just a few months ago with hopes high that we could finish in the top four. In the end though it was a dissapointing loss away to Istanbul BBS that saw Gencler finish in 9th position.

Istanbul BBS 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi

The maths were in our favour. A win or a draw and we would be in the play-offs. A loss meant we could still make it as long as a at least one other team in the race lost. They didn't and we got knocked out.

It was a pleasant enough evening at the Beer Bus. A few of the crowd of the earlier Ankaragucu match joined us as did a number of fans from the Alkaralar group.

We were there quite early and as a result there isn't actually all that much I remember of the match. Well, we had some shots, not particularly good ones. Oh yes, and Istanbul scored a very nice goal.

And that's that. The season ends in a whimper. Pretty depressing for Ankara football fans all over.

THE KANKAS TURN-OUT IN STRENGTH TO BID FAREWELL TO ANKARAGUCU

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The largest turn-out of kankas of the season were in the Stadium yesterday to bid farewell to Ankaragucu as they exitted the Super League and were officially relegated to The Bank Asya League.

In attendance were Oz Kanka Chris, Little Oz Kanka Mathew, Maniac Kanka Harun (his mummy gave him permission to attend a match at last !!!), Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Kaleci Kanka Tansu, Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo, Cider Kanka John, No Name Kanka Simon and yours truly. We also had two guests from Down-Under, Michael and Jordy hail from near Melbourne, and are on a cycling holiday in Turkey.

Kayseri showed no mercy to Ankaragucu as they gave a footie lesson in the art of possession and clinical finishing.

Ankaragucu 0 Kayserispor 5

Team - Bayram, Veli, Volkan, Umit, Ishak, Serkan, Bilal, Mert, Gokhan, Kaan and Atilla.

Substitutes - Cagayan, Oguzhan and Orhan

Gecikondu was full as usual with only a small group in Maraton, and Gecikondu kept us entertained throughout the match with their singing. There was also a lady assistant referee on the main stand line who entertained us, but in a professional sense, she did a good job.

It only took Kayseri 13 minutes to open the scoring when Kujovic knocked in a rebound shot which came off the post.

Ankaragucu was making the odd foray into the Kayseri half and on 17 minutes brought out a good save from Gokhan in the Kayseri goal.

Kayseri should have made it 2 a minute later when a one-on-one with Bayram was saved but the rebound was goalbound until a goal line clearance saved the day. A few minutes later it was almost 2 when a great header hit the bar with Bayram beaten.

However, the 2nd goal duly arrived on 34 minutes when Kujovic again scored. I didn't actually see it because I was writing in my notes that Gecikondu was chanting for President Obama to resign !! Don't ask me how they arrived at that piece of nonsense !!!

No 3 arrived a few minutes later when the cut-back arrived in the box for Troisi to tap in for an easy goal.

Ankaragucu almost made the break through just before half time when a rocket just outside the box when just past the post and Kaan brought out a great save from Gokhan.

Kayseri continued to dominate in the 2nd half and it took my Man of the Match, Diego, who had come on for the 2nd half as a substitute, till the 69 minute to make it 4. It was pure class and fashioned by himself as he cut in from the left and let fly with an unstoppable shot.

Atilla should have done better when a mistake in the Kayseri defence allowed him a half chance, but the delayed his shot and Gokhan was able to deflect the ball for a corner.

10 minutes to go and that man Diego again made it 5. He was allowed to waltz past about 5 defenders and score the goal of the match.

With time running out, Gecikondu called Maraton over to the dividing fence for a 'sing-in'. Unbelievable !

Then at the final whistle they called for the players to do a lap of honour which they duly obliged and threw their shirts into the crowd.

So, Ankaragucu bow out, but the players can be proud of their efforts and hold their heads high.

As to what the future holds for Ankaragucu, we will have to see what unfolds during the summer months. As I've said before, this team will not be able to make a quick return to the Super League. The Bank Aysa League is full of strong teams and it will be no picnic for Ankaragucu.

Watch this space for further.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu say farewell to the Turkish Super Lig

Ankaragucu say farewell to the Turkish Super Lig this weekend as they play there final league game at home to Kayserispor on Saturday.

The question is, how long will it take Ankaragucu to return if ever ? In the previous three times Ankaragucu have been relegated they have bounced back twice at the first attempt. This time it will take a miracle for Ankaragucu to return first time, the club look set for another relegation battle next season.

The young side will take to the pitch on Saturday hoping they can get that first win in 17 attempts since they took on Mersin back in January. Kayserispor have had a poor season themselves and will be disappointed that they haven't finished in the European Places. Although Manager Shota Arveladze is building a young side for the future and will be hoping to push on next season.

The last time the two sides met Kayserispor won 3-0 thanks to goals from John Troisi (2) and Sefa Yilmaz. They will be hoping to finish there season with a win and have some very good players in Sefa Yilmaz, John Troisi, Christian Riveros and the talented Nordin Amrabat.

Ankaragucu will welcome back Ishak Dogan from suspension and will look to give the Tribunes something to smile about in what can only be described as the worst season in the clubs history.

Ankaragucu say farewell to the Turkish Super Lig

Ankaragucu say farewell to the Turkish Super Lig this weekend as they play there final league game at home to Kayserispor on Saturday.

The question is, how long will it take Ankaragucu to return if ever ? In the previous three times Ankaragucu have been relegated they have bounced back twice at the first attempt. This time it will take a miracle for Ankaragucu to return first time, the club look set for another relegation battle next season.

The young side will take to the pitch on Saturday hoping they can get that first win in 17 attempts since they took on Mersin back in January. Kayserispor have had a poor season themselves and will be disappointed that they haven't finished in the European Places. Although Manager Shota Arveladze is building a young side for the future and will be hoping to push on next season.

The last time the two sides met Kayserispor won 3-0 thanks to goals from John Troisi (2) and Sefa Yilmaz. They will be hoping to finish there season with a win and have some very good players in Sefa Yilmaz, John Troisi, Christian Riveros and the talented Nordin Amrabat.

Ankaragucu will welcome back Ishak Dogan from suspension and will look to give the Tribunes something to smile about in what can only be described as the worst season in the clubs history.

How the payoff system works

Spine wrote this in a comment. Thought we ought to promote it to here.

Sorry, that should be playoff, of course. Don't know what came over me.

Anyway, the the long and short of it for us is this: It's going to be a real job for Gencler to win a European place this year.

Here's the scam (sorry, plan) the Federation has come up with: At the end of the season the top four teams form the “Super Final Championship Group” (hereafter Top Group) and the second four teams form the “Super Final Europe League Group” (hereafter Second Group).

(I am reminded here of “super secret double probation” from Animal House for some reason.)

The two groups play each other home and away for six weeks of matches. They each begin the payoff league with HALF the points they won in the main league (halves rounded up). I guess this makes it competitive even if one team is streets ahead at the end of the main season. There's a complex set of rules outlined here for what happens if teams end the payoffs on equal points.

Anyway, at the end of this springtime jamboree of champagne football and additional television revenue, European places are allocated as follows:

- First Place in the Top Group goes directly to the Champions League and is declared Champion of that season in Turkey (even if they finished fourth, I guess)

- Second-placed goes to Champions League pre-qualification

- Third joins the winner of the Turkish Cup in the UEFA Europa League, or whatever it's called now.

And....

- Fourth plays the winner of the Second Group for a place in UEFA Europa. This will be a single game and it's set for May 20.

So for the four Second Group teams, there's an awful lot of football to be played for a pretty slim chance of Europe.

Any errors here mine.

Yours, Spine