Much has been made of Fenerbahce’s dismal start to the season. Six points in their first four games, successive drubbings at home (1-4 Kayserispor, 2-5 Arsenal) and a solitary point in the Champion’s League group stages would be a horror start to any team (excepting Tottenham and Roma) – let alone one with grandiose dreams following a march to the quarterfinals in Europe last year. The turn of events has been so stark and so noticeable that a major football site – ESPN Soccernet – has profiled them in depth in an article and in a podcast.

Last season ended on a sour note. On one hand, Fener were fancying themselves a dormant European giant, the type of Turkish force not seen in Europe since Galatasaray were regularly humbling clubs like AC Milan at the turn of the century. Their form had seen them defeat Inter, PSV, Sevilla and Chelsea at home though a London defensive barrier built on Russian riches was too much to breach at the end. However, what should have been treated as a great year at a great club was ultimately deemed a disappointment as archrivals Galatasaray won the Turkish league. Out went Zico and in came Aragones.

Fenerbahce have done this before. Indeed, so have all of the big three. Managers are discarded so easily in Turkey that it is any wonder they come in the first place despite the riches waved at them. And these aren’t no-name guys we’re talking about. At Fenerbahce alone, Guus Hiddink, Joachim Low and Carlos Alberto Parreira were sacked after a year or so in charge. At Besiktas, Vincente del Bosque, fresh off a La Liga title with Real Madrid, didn’t even last that long. If managers don’t stay, then strategies and squads continually change. Even a seven-year old could tell you clubs cannot sustain a decent stretch of success when you play musical chairs with technical directors. Unfortunately, upper management in Turkey rarely exceed said seven-year-old in footballing knowledge.

At Fener, Aziz Yildirim and his cronies have built a financial power that many clubs across Europe would admire. Taking advantage of a huge fan base, they have marketed the club brand to earn millions and provide Fenerbahce with vast resources that other teams in Turkey cannot come close to matching. Of course, like any megalamoniac money-soaked leadership, they have invested in expensive players who run a few circles around the pitch then sprint to the bank to cash their paycheck: Ariel Ortega, Nicholas Anelka, Mateja Kezman, for example. As a consequence, the youth ranks have suffered. Semih made it through unscathed but Selcuk and Can look like they’ll be plying their trade at a Black Sea club within a few years. The most promising youth has been brought in from other teams – Ilhan Parlak from Kayserispor, Gurhan Gursoy from Adanaspor, Yasin Cakmak from Rizespor and Ugur Boral from Genclerbirligi. Meanwhile, Galatasaray seem to churn out young Turkish talent like eggs from a hen.

Aziz Yildirm has been around for a decade and he has overseen considerable domestic success as well as that magical European run last year. Not all the blame lies with him although most level-headed Fener fans would point their fingers first in his direction. Growing pains under a new manager, a couple of key injuries, untimely dips in form and the loss of a great holding midfielder in Mehmet Aurelio have also taken their toll. There is no continuity, no trademark flowing football and the defense is more prone to errors than ever. But even with all those problems, how bad is the situation really at Fenerbahce?

Eight matches into the year, they sit a long ways down the table on twelve points. That seems like a paltry sum but the season is young. Like Bayern Munchen and Milan, reports of a giant’s demise might have sounded a little too early. Those two teams are now back on track and now Fenerbahce look to be as well. Those twelve points, while a seemingly pathetic amount, are only six points off the lead and two behind Galatasaray, whose own problems have been under-reported. While the Champion’s League campaign is effectively over and even a third-place ticket into the UEFA Cup may be out of reach, the Turkish league is a different story.

Fenerbahce have been poor away from home, winning only once in four attempts. Twice – against Hacettepespor and Sivasspor – they scored first only to succumb at the final whistle. Two weeks ago against bottom club Kocaelispor they had to come back from a goal down to take the lead… only to concede an equalizer. Only a goal in deep stoppage time spared their further blushes. Perhaps this week, Fener have turned around their season with a convincing 5-2 thumping of pretenders Bursaspor. The quality may still be missing but the victory was comfortable despite two late Bursa strikes. Still, that was a home game and the true litmus test lies ahead with fixtures against Eskisehirspor away and then the Galatasaray derby at home.

Speaking of those two teams, Galatasaray lost in Eskisehir, a disappointing result after a resounding victory against Trabzon last week. Eskisehirspor put in a great display in front of their home fans to gain a famous victory. Souleymane Youla scored a wonderful goal to open the match, netted the winner in stoppage time and set up his mate for the icing goal in a 4-2 victory. Unfortunately, Eskisehirspor’s performance was overshadowed by some disgraceful actions by protesting Galatasaray players (even worse than the disgraceful actions of Fenerbahce players protesting a missed penalty call – at least their protest was at halftime). The Galatasaray players had no problem with Milan Baros using his arm to help him settle a ball for a goal but lost the plot when a goal was scored on them. Eskisehirspor fired in a free kick with several players in an offside position and the ball caromed into the goal. It was striker Umit Karan’s first goal of the season. Unfortunately, he plays for Galatasaray. The referee was completely correct but the Galatasaray players, led by Umit Karan himself, held up play for over five minutes before the referee booked five of them. Galatasaray now sit in sixth place with 14 points and have woefully underperformed for a team loaded with talent.

Besiktas hung onto first place after rescuing a goal apiece draw with Sivasspor in Istanbul. Sivas probably won’t replicate their amazing run from last year but they’re near the summit again, having won four points in two games against Istanbul giants. Trabzonspor, fresh off a 3-0 spanking by Galatasaray, missed a great chance to go top when they drew against Gaziantepspor. Meanwhile, Ankaraspor have won five of six, including good victories against Sivasspor and Kayserispor, to move into third. They are two points behind Besiktas but games against Bursa, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray in the next four may bring them back to reality. Meanwhile, at the bottom, Kocaelispor and Antalyaspor’s woes continue as they’ve combined for zero wins and three points out of a possible 48. I’d mark them for the drop already but in the two games I’ve seen them play they’ve seemed pretty decent. Like I said earlier, the season is still young.