The second half of the season is in full fling and things are looking bad for the big boys. The race is still relatively tight – first and sixth are separated by eight points, a gap which was as low as four points just a week before the winter break. But it seems more and more that there are only three true contenders left and two of them ply their trade outside of Istanbul.
The popular story around town is the demise of Fenerbahce. Their form has been woeful since the winter break. Two home draws against Trabzonspor and Gaziantepspor (in both they were lucky to rescue a point) have been followed by a pathetic display away to Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor. That’s three games in Istanbul, two points and one goal. Ridvan Dilmen wrote in his column this is physically and tactically the worst Fenerbahce he has seen in years. Erman Toroglu – rightly – raked Luis Aragones over the coals for his tactics. His insistence on a five-man midfield with Emre and Alex paired with a holding midfielder has stunted the offense which looks more like Stoke City than the slick machine run by Zico last year. Kazim and Semih, two young, dynamic and hungry players have been marginalized, Guiza is cutting a forlorn figure and new signing Gokhan Emreciksen hasn’t had a sniff of the field yet. On Sunday they failed to score a single goal against a team that played unjustly with ten men for nearly 70 minutes and had let in six against Eskisehirspor the week before. Much like his countryman in Liverpool, Aragones is on a strange power trip that is killing his team. Surely it is a matter of weeks before he is shown the door.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray high command is convinced there is a conspiracy against them this year. On the weekend, they drew 1-1 against Kayserispor, tough competition despite their lukewarm form this year. Lincoln, just back from the treatment table, didn’t last half an hour before seeing two yellow cards. Galatasaray was incensed but the calls were soft but defensible. The first was given for simulation that video evidence proved to be a correct decision and the second for impeding a free kick in the middle of the field. Why are footballers so stupid? Kayserispor finally equalized an earlier Shabandi Nonda strike when Morgan di Sanctis dived away from a shot coming straight at him. The post-match was marked by Arda sobbing uncontrollably and Galatasaray expressing disappointment at the Turkish Federation with a public message and an application for a match replay. That did well to deflect attention from Michael Skibbe’s decision to draft center midfielder Mehmet Topal in at left-back with a perfectly fit Volkan Yaman available and a Tobias Linderoth sighting in the second half. Galatasaray has stuttered but Nonda is rounding into fine form and Harry Kewell will be returning from sick leave soon. Four points is not a mountain to climb for such a talented squad.
Because Fenerbahce has no chance of winning the title with this form so by process of elimination the TFF favoritism against Galatasaray can only be advantageous for Besiktas, right? Except that they too lodged a complaint against the referees not so long ago. Seriously, these clubs need to stop their pathetic whining and realize all their troubles arise either from the management or the players. Besiktas have been plagued by seasons of inconsistency under the iron fist of Yildirim Demiroren. This season has been no different as the stupid decision to sack Ertugrul Saglam and install big name Mustafa Denizli has borne no fruit. Still, despite only two goals and a goalless draw away to Konyaspor this week, they have earned seven points out of the last nine. That’s a decent haul and, who knows, maybe they’re still in the title hunt. While there isn’t a single name on that squad recognizable outside of Turkey, there is still enough talent to make an unlikely run despite the best efforts of an overmatched management and over-rated manager.
Meanwhile, Sivasspor and Trabzonspor continue to wrestle at the top and as each week passes it looks more feasible that one of them could break the Istanbul grip on the Turkish title. Sivas have been in imperious form. They came out of the winter break by dismantling a ten-man Galatasaray at home, knocking the same team out of the Turkish Cup on penalties and beat Kocaelispor 2-0 on the weekend. All without captain Mehmet Yildiz. Pini Balili has been in awesome form and new forward Yannick Kamanan, signed for all of a quarter million dollars, adds yet another attacking dimension to the team. Trabzon too are in good form. After the winter break, they should have won a rocking goalless draw in Istanbul against Fenerbahce by three or four. They have followed up that game with two wins on the trot against Ankaraspor (away, 2-0) and Ankaragucu (home, 2-1). Gokhan Unal and Umut Bulut are criminally wasteful but with Ibrahim Yattara they form a fearful attacking triad that creates enough chances that they will eventually score. It’s Anatolia rising and that’s a welcome trend for neutral observers sick of the antics of the Istanbul clubs.
Other scores:
Hacettepespor 2-2 Eskisehirspor, Genclerbirligi 1-2 Bursaspor, Antalyaspor 2-1 Denizlispor, Gaziantepspor 2-0 Ankaraspor
