Ankaragucu complete signing of duo !

Ankaragucu today completed the signings of Mehmet Erdem Ugurlu and Muhammed Gonulacar. The signings show the intent of the Ankaragucu board as they look to push on in the second half of the season as they aim to become champions.

Mehmet Erdem Ugurlu is a striker signed from Polatli Bugsasspor while Muhammed Gonulacar has signed from the brilliantly named Batman Petrolspor. We would like to welcome both players to the club.

Thank You Calvin Sosibo !

Calvin Sosibo could be forgiven for having any ill thoughts toward Ankaragucu, after his move from South Africa in 2009 along with Kagisio Senemela which saw both player leave the club due to unpaid wages. For Sosibo the move to Turkey was one that started promising as he impressed in the 3 games that he played for the club. Signed at the same time as Darius Vassell who also experienced the problems with wages not being paid.

Both Senemela and Sosibo would move back to South Africa to continue their careers while Ankaragucu dropped down the leagues and lost all of their players due to the mis management of the club by Melih Gokcek and Cemal Aydin. Over the last year Mehmet Yiginer has tried to negotiate with former players and management to cut deals with players who were owed money by the club. Calvin Sosibo was one of those players who agreed to take a cut deal on the money owed to him by the club.

You won't hear me say a bad word about any player who doesn't agree to take a cut deal on money owed to them, after all the club owe these players the money. However Calvin and many other players saw the problems the club have faced due to previous regimes, with the club still heavily in debt, it is impossible for the club to pay all those debts in full, plus the interest thats been added on and survive.

I have spoken to Calvin a few times and he has only had good things to say about the club and its fans. He follows this blog along with Timur Ozgoz, Darrius Vassell and other former players all of who have positive things to say about the club and its fans.

With the January transfer window set to open, it allows Ankaragucu to sign players again as they prepare for life next season as well. The transfer ban will be applied again at the end of the season. With Sosibo without a club, if Ankaragucu win promotion it would be nice to see the South African back at the club under the correct circumstances.

We at the Round Ball in Ankara would like to thank Calvin Sosibo for his loyalty and continued support for the club.

Atabey Cicek set for Ankaragucu loan move !

Ankaragucu are set to take Genclerbirligi forward Atabey Cicek on loan when the January transfer window opens. According to Yurtspor Gencler President Ilhan Cavcav has stated that the youth team player will join Ankaragucu on loan until the end of the season.

The highly rated forward has a good goalscoring record for the Turkish Youth national sides. With Levent Kale, Ibrahim Sahin and Umut Nayir the main strikers for Ankaragucu it will give them some competition going into the second half of the season.

In other news, there are talks on the twitter pages about the future of Ankaragucu with the upcoming Congress. Talk is that the club might change its name to Ankaragucu A.S replacing the historic MKE Ankaragucu much to the anger of the fans.

More to come on both stories as they develop...

Why can't we play like this every week?

"Her yer ruşvet, yer yer yolsuzluk," shouted both the Genclerbirligi and Besiktas fans. All brotherly love ... until kick-off that is and then it was back to normal service. During the first half there were worrying reports of gas and water cannons being used in Kizilay but by the time we passed through at about 10:30 pm the police had cleared the place. Don't worry about all that though...

Genclerbirligi 1 - 0 Besiktas

After the massive turnout two weeks ago for the Gencler-Galatasaray match this week it was just me, Flying Dutchman and Little Oz for tonight. Cider Kanka at least joined us for a beer before hand... but hey, where were you all?

The inability of any of us to ever remember that Friday night kick-offs means that there will be lots of traffic is something that amazes me every time I'm sitting in a taxi stuck in traffic 15 minutes before kick-off on a Friday night.

We got in okay with a minute or two to spare, just in time to join in the with the political love-in stuff and then to see Gencler come out with one of those weird banners, you know the type that say "Donate to the anti-cancer fund", or "help a disabled child", or "give peace a chance". This week we had "Make sure you are registered to vote". A reminder? A warning? I don't know.

Kick-off and wooo... Gencler are on the attack. Nice attacking football and some great one-twos. The team was the same as usual and it seems as if they are beginning to gel nicely. My guess is that means we will probably sell half of them off in the next transfer window.

But back to the game this evening and I was liking what I saw.

Two of the three kankas at this evening's match.

The first chance though fell to Besiktas but in the end they didn't even manage to get a shot on the target. It sort of summed up the night in the way that the Besiktas forwards seemed extremely lackadaisical in their attitude and ability to strike the ball. So often they seemed to give Ramazan the softest of saves to make.

Also early on came something I've rarely seen in football. Jimmy took a shot at goal, a bloody hard shot, and it whacked the Besiktas No. 22 (search internet time) and it whacked Ersun Gullum in the head. Most of the Gencler fans thought he was wasting time and the medical staff who came on clearly didn't realise what was happening but this bloke had just had the equivalent of a king hit. He got up and came back on but it was very clear he was concussed, even if none of the Besiktas staff could see it. A few minutes later and even the blindest could see that this bloke was off with the fairies. Off he went.

We continued to play nicely and then almost out of nothing Gosso stole the ball, sort of weirdly passed it to Zec who from the corner of the box swiveled and scored. Bloody hell.

Having gone one-nil up our coach switched things around, sending Zec to the left-wing, Jimmy to the right, put Gosso into a sort of left midfield position and completely buggered up my understanding of the play. I think it was a crap decision but somehow or other we were still managing to get into good attacking positions. A big part of the reason why we were doing well was that Besiktas were playing well below their best... but still.

Not long before half-time we had one hell of a chance that really should have been converted. Tosic had been set free on the left with a defender in front of him and the keeper behind that defender. To his right was Stancu running full pelt and in the perfect position but Tosic mistimed his pass, Stancu had to stop and on the wrong foot sent a cross in when what we wanted to see was a good pass that he could have whacked at full pace at goal. Mmmm..

Anyway, second-half and I was feeling confident that we would go another goal ahead especially when Jimmy played a nice ball to Zec who was by this time playing on the left, Zec sent the perfect ball across the goal, past the keeper and to Stancu who was all of two metres away from goal, kicked it into the ground and over the bloody goal! AAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

We continued attacking and Petkovic forced the Besiktas keeper to make one brilliant save... but as the clock began to run down it was Besiktas who got desperate for a goal. It seemed at times the referee was desperate as well.

We all had a good laugh after the ref gave Besiktas a free kick just outside the box for what had actually been a Besiktas hand ball. The laughing bit came a bit later. All the players were crowded around the ball and Ramazan was at the far post about to organise the wall when a Besiktas player took the free kick and scored. Immediately the referee called it back much to the disgust of the Besiktas players and their supporters. It sort of summed up their night really. When the free kick was taken again Ramazan made a good diving save.

Ramazan made a number of good saves yet again tonight but he really does have to practice kicking the ball to an area within sight of one of our players and not directly to the feet of an opposing player. On at least one occasion tonight a well placed lob would have caught him out.

On we go and Besiktas continued to attack but they didn't really scare us and so at the final whistle we got to sing.

EDIT: I've just watched the highlights and will now admit that the free kick awarded against us was in fact the correct decision. I would like to apologise for any negative comments that I may have made concerning how the the referee should restore his honour by selling simits. Still doesn't explain how all the other 50/50 decisions went Besiktas' way.

A nice away win for Gencler

You do have to worry about referees in Turkey. In the end it didn't affect the result but Antalya were awarded a penalty that was so clearly not on that you wonder if certain "Singapore figures" weren't involved.

Antalyaspor 2 - 3 Genclerbirligi

I think it was actually colder at the Beer bus on Sunday evening then it was at the actual stadium last week. As the Fenerbahce game was on at the same time as ours, us Gencler fans were out in the cold seats... Well, at least the Beer Bus had the match on at all, unlike anywhere else in Kizilay.

First five minutes and Antalya were unlucky not to be two-nil up. Shots were being saved, other chances were missed... Gencler were in disarray. There were moans galore from us fans when Jimmy sent a nicely timed pass to Tosic who sent it back in to Petrovic. Bang and goallll!

It was sort of against the play and the Antalya fans must have been quite pissed off. Actually, where were the Antalya fans? There were bugger all there.

Then about the 30-minute mark they must have been even more pissed off as Ermin Zec sent a cross in to Petrovic who headed it from just inside the box past the diving keeper.

By this stage Gencler were making a number of breaks and we were clearly on top.

Then came the refereeing howler as he pointed to the spot for absolutely nothing.

Having scored from the penalty Antalya were back in it. They were attacking and we were counter attacking. It was looking a bit scary until Tosic sent one in to the big fullback Ante Kulusic who headed it in. 1-3

Match was pretty much over and we were fairly calm (except for the shivering) when Gencler old-boy Isaac Promise was left unmarked and scored with a nice header. It was too late though.

A good away win and much needed three points. Next week will be a tough one against Besiktas at home. Friday night 8pm.

Oh yes... The night was topped off by the fact that ... Fenerbahce lost!

ANKARAGUCU ALMOST FALL INTO THE BROWN SMELLY STUFF, BUT ….. COME UP SMELLING OF ROSES !!!

Team - Bayram Olgun, Metin Aydin, Aytac Oden, Selim Teber, Emre Tasdemir, Mehmet Cakir, Serkan Sirin, Serhat Gulpinar, Kaan Kanak, Ibrahim Sahin, Levent Kale

Subs - Gokhan Akkan, Hasan Ayaroglu, Harun Aydin, Aydin Toscali, Onur Atasayer, Gurkan Alver



Geetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu almost came unstuck against a resolute team today, but in the end they did the necessary, ie, …... stick the ball in the net …...... twice !

ANKARAGUCU 2 Bandirmaspor 0

I met up with Paddy Kanka (Paul) coming for his 2^nd ever match and then we were joined by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon pre kick-off.

It was a bloody cold day with freezing fog and it was a wee bit chilly up ma kilt !!!   However, we North Berwick boyz are made of strong stuff and so it was no big deal !

The match was very 'cat and mouse' in the opening 20 minutes and then the match exploded with Ankaragucu missing two chances over the top and past the post due to carelessness by Cakir and Kaan.   

Bandirma was also threatening with two great saves from 'Man of the Match' Bayram in the 22^nd minute and again in the 29^th minute.

Then, just as Bandirma was beginning to gain the upper hand, Ankaragucu struck against the run of play.

A cross came in from the left and Ibo (who I have castigated in the past) rose and headed in to our relief, and bring Maraton back into song ! Against the run of play ? Mmmmm …. yes, but let's not dwell on that !!

2 minutes later and Ankaragucu was awarded a penalty (didn't see the reason so far away from the action, but Nadeem will say …... yes, or …....... no). Mr Reliable, Levent, stepped up and made a scuffed effort which was easily dealt with by the goalie. I suppose there always has to be a situation when this happens, but ….... not this time Levent …...... lutfen !!! Consistency is everything !!

Ankaragucu tails were up now and the Bandirma goal was laid to siege in the last few minutes of the half with Cakir and Kaan blasting the ball over (again) and past the post in good positions.

Bandirma started the 2^nd half looking good and for the first 20 minutes were looking capable of stilling the noise of the tribunes who didn't give up singing.

However, it was Ankaragucu who started to take control and in the 61^st minute it should have been 2. A pin point cross came in from the left to Levent who was lurking in the far post area. He met it perfectly and a goal was assured. Wrong ! The goalkeeper made a miraculous save and we were left looking aghast at each other !

Bandirma wasn't finished and were unlucky not to equalise on 64 minutes when a goalmouth aberration was finally cleared when a lucky foot came out to clear the ball to safety,.

Then, when nerve ends were jangling …... Emre came to the rescue. An attacking move down the left gave Emre the opportunity of coming into the penalty box and curling a great shot around the goalkeeper into the far right corner for a truly wonderful goal.

Ankaragucu was fortunate to be 2-0 up, but ….............. at least the ball had been despatched to its rightful place, ie …...... between the sticks !!

Ankaragucu then played the 'run the clock down' system well until the final whistle and I suppose we can be happy with the result against a very good Bandirma team. Btw, they had about 100 fans in the away end, but they really didn't have much to sing about !!

Back we went to Crossroads for celebrations for a welcome Ankaragucu win, and …........ to celebrate Damon's birthday. We were joined by Brat Kankie Laura, Ejder Kankie Aysen and Cider Kanka John.

The only downside to spoil the evening was news that Altinordu and Alanya had also won. Not to worry says I …....... we still have a long way to go and we are in a good position to leap out of the tracks at the end of the winter shut-down and continue where we left off !

Btw, on a style note …..... Damon was wearing a fetching and luvvvly pair of ear warmers at the match today. Another point for him in the race to be 'Most Stylish Kanka of the Year'

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Bandirmaspor match preview !

Ankaragucu host Bandirmaspor on Sunday at the 19 Mayis stadium in the last game before the winter break. Both teams have had a good first half of the season and are looking to close the gap on the leaders Altinordu and Alanyaspor. The last two times Ankaragucu have faced one of the leaders they have won 1 and lost 1 with the win coming against Altinordu and the defeat against Alanyaspor.

Last week was another good win for Ankaragucu as they won 2-0 at Altay and another clean sheet to make things even more impressive. Bandirmaspor are on a good run themselves having won their last two games against Altay and Kizilcahamamspor. Their start player is German born midfielder Tayfor Bingol who is also a former Genclerbirligi player.

The Ankaragucu team should be much the same as the last couple of games. Bayram will keep his place in goal, with Aytac and Selim set to be the central defence pairing. Up from Levent Kale will start but Umut Nayir picked up an injury so is doubtful. If Ankaragucu play to their full potential it should be another 3 points on the board. Going into the winter break with a minimum of 2 points off the leaders sets the team up nicely for the second half of the season.

The game will again be shown live on Baskent TV. Kick off time is 1330 Turkish time. The Kanka group will be attending the game as usual in their usual part of the stadium. Lets hope they are there to cheer on another win for Ankaragucu.