Things don’t look bright at the moment.We are coming off an ugly 3-0 loss against a below-average Galatasaray side.We fell behind in the fourth minute thanks to a terrible error by GK Rüstü,dominated for an hour,blew 3-4 chances and conceded again with a Rüstü howler and that goal closed the game right there. We didn’t play well but Galatasaray side did nothing special to deserve that big of a margin at the scoreline. We are now trailing them by nine points after just 5 matchdays.We may talk about our league run later, it is time to forget all and concentrate on Manutd game because it may just be the kind of game to kickstart a season. First let’s remember what happened when the last time an English team stepped in İnönü.

Besiktas Manchester United
Venue: BJK İnönü Stadium,
Kick-off: 1930 BST;
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Traveling squad:

Dimitar Berbatov, Wes Brown, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Darron Gibson, Antonio Valencia, Ben Amos, Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs, Tomasz Kuszczak, Darren Fletcher, Gary Neville, John O’Shea, Ji-sung Park, Fabio, Ben Foster, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Nemanja Vidic, Nani.

They dont have any injury concerns of course i leave out the ones with long term casualties. They are coming off a 3-1 away win over Tottenham at the weekend.They were struggling at the beginning of the season (they are known for their slow starts to the campaigns) but they look like picking up their form. There is also the Manchester derby at the weekend so it is possible that Sir Alex Ferguson will rotate the squad and give some surpring names a run.

On the other hand we look like we are in a little slump although i still think that the results did not match the effort we put on the field so far. We only managed to play 1 game in front of our fans due to the fixture and our 1 match ban. At İnönü on a good day, we can match any team at any time.

Starting lineup
Well, especially before a big game or a derby it is impossible to guess which team Mustafa Denizli will field.He loves to make surprises,likes to put his mark on the game and wants to win the game with an unexpected use of a player or tactical approach.But i feel we will see something like this.

Rüstü

İbrahim Kas Ferrari Sivok İbrahim Üzülmez

Fink
Ernst Tello

Serdar Tabata
Bobo

That lineup looks solid defensively and considering SAF’s more cautious approach at away games, we should do fine.But it is easy to say we will have a hard time creating a clear chance.We have some weapons that can come off the bench and change the flow but their forms are a big question mark.

Matchups
Rüstü vs himself : We know that on a good day he can keep a clean sheet with a number of great saves but he also gives nightmares to the fans with his piss-poor decision making at set pieces and corners.I hope he will rise to the occasion.

Rooney vs Besiktas defence:Wayne is on fire with 5 league goals so far so it will be very hard to contain him.

Besiktas forwards vs amnesia: So far in the league we have scored a total of 3 goals in 5 games and only one of them coming from our forwards. They should remember how they were terrorizing the opposition defences last year and step it up.

İnönü vs Manchester United: If we are to snatch something from this match, it cant be without the help of the crowd.

Tomorrow i will also be on the stands to watch the game and i hope i will witness another historical win over a giant.Forza Besiktas!!

Coach Denizli started the game with a 4-3-3 he prefers most of the time. Our youth system product İbrahin Kas who has just returned to the club from Getafe started at the rightback alongside Ferrari,Sivok and İsmail Köybasi. The defence looked solid as usual with Hakan Arıkan at goal. The three-man midfield of Tello,Ernst and Fink dominated the middle of the park and had good forward runs. Serdar Özkan had a surpring man of the match performance (keep it boy) but our ‘’supposed to score duo’’ Nihat and Holosko went quiet again. It is clear that Nihat wants to score badly and that puts him into huge pressure.I hope he can get a couple against Estonia with the national team so this ‘’he scored his last official goal against Czech Republic in euro 2008’’ can finish. He is also having problems communicating with Holosko who sometimes seems like he doesnt know what he is doing. All in all it was one of those games in which all players fight till the end but cant get the breakthrough. We hit the bar two times,had many shots on target.Put one of those in the first half and this game would be a blowout.

CL Draw

Well when it is Besiktas in a draw, it is always an accident waiting to happen. Once we managed to find ourselves in a Cl group of Barcelona,Milan and a Leeds team which had its only champions league run of their history in the year they were with us. That group had 2 semi finalists that year. 4 years ago in Uefa cup we drew Tottenham from the fifth pot for a 5-team group.Five years ago after eleminating from the CL with a last minute goal scored in Sparta Prague-Lazio game we continued in Uefa cup but in our first round in Uefa and booooom we have Valencia who went on to win the cup that year. So it goes on and on.
This year the draw meant one thing for me. You cant complain that much on the teams you get from the first pot,they are all giants. I just did not want to see Wolfsburg name from the 4th pot with us. But all Besiktas fans knew they were gonna get Wolfsburg, it was inevitable.
And we got our wish.We got the German champion not Debrecen or Apoel.

Group B
Manchester United
Cska Moscow
Besiktas
Damn you Wolfsburg

We wont argue about who will end up first in the group but all other spots are up for the graps i think. Had we not got Wolfsburg i was sure that we will at least get the 3rd spot for Euro league but now it also seems diffucult. We are starting with ManYoo at home and then making trips to Russia and Germany respectively. The fixture also seems bad as Wolfsburg may play their last game at home against ManUtd reserves and we may end up with zero points in the first 3 games.

The Transfer
On the last day of the market we made a last minute singing from Gaziantepspor,Rodrigo Tabata.It cost us a well 8 million euro price to get him. He is an 28 year old Brazilian midfielder.I did not watch him many times but it will be interesting to see how he will fit in to our system as far as i know he is a central attacking midfielder. Now we have a lot of options for every area and let’s see how the coach will rotate these guys.With the ‘’6 foreign players can play in first 11’’ rule i think Ernst and Ferrari will play all the games but the other ones will change every game.

Our next trip away to Galatasaray and then Manchester at home. These games can well be our turning points of the season as we are already 6 points behind in the league and we also need a good start in Europe. I hope to make previews before these matches.Forza Besiktas!!!

Players

Hakan: He was not really tested throughout the game but looked confident and reacted well on a few occasions that old Hakan would easily screw up. 7/10

Sivok:.He had a comfortable first half defensively and made good forward runs from the defence. But when our midfield resistance dropped later he struggled and flirted with the red card 2 times and was lucky not to be sent off. 6/10

Ferrari: He was a rock all game never missed a step and completely dominated the air. Take him out and this game aint a clean sheet. 8,5/10

İbrahim Üzülmez:He was useless all game and never had a forward run from left back.Take
him out and i won’t have to suffer for 80 minutes he was playing. 4,5/10

Erhan: Well he was not having that bad of a game to be substitued at half time. Solid defensively ,he had runs down the right channel but unfortunately the movement and spacing in the box were much much brutal than his crosses.So i dont blame him. 6/10

Ernst: Classic Fabian performance. He hustled a lot in midfield and especially in the second half did a good job stopping a few counters.But creativity is just not his thing and that was what we lacked all match. 7/10

Ugur Inceman: Continued with his run of ‘’I played 10 minutes of good football the last match after coming off the bench.The coach plays me in the first XI this time. I have a pirlo-like hair and am as slow as a turtle so i have to try through balls that never find the forwards’’
games.That is clear that he is not capable of holding a regular place in this team. 5,5/10

Fink: One more time he was sacrificed too early (half time) by the coach.He was taken off in order to open up a place for a striker. After he was out the midfield had huge gaps that luckily G.birligi could not benefit. 6/10

Tello: One of the few bright spots of the game.He sent in a few good crosses that strikers failed to connect.He ran a lot,made last-ditch tackles and had a decent game.7,5/10

Nihat: I know there is too much pressure on him.He just could not find that deadly touch yet.He had a couple of chances that he used to bury his eyes closed.’(his trademark first time shots with his right foot) We hope that he saves them for the Galatasaray game. 6/10

Holosko: Surely it was not the type of game he likes as the opposition got behind the ball with 11 men, there was a little space for him.You know him but you ask just a little more of ball control and technique.You cant break down the defence with your head down ,entering aimlessly into a pile of bodies and normally he couldnt. 6/10

Nobre: Entered in the beginning of the second half. Since there was no service, i cannot blame him but he was not that man that draws fouls and battles for headers with passion. And we know that without his hustle and passion he is nothing. 6/10

Rıdvan: It was very surprising to see him playing. He is good at attacking and he is fastt. He should learn that he is a rightback and you shouldnt close down whoever and wherever you like.Needs a lot of tachtical work but i loved him.Good debut. 6,5/10

İsmail Koybasi: I didnt understand why he did not start the last two games and especially this game it was clear that a surging fullback like him would do wonders for our attack. I know he is very young but he has tons of potential ,quality and his replacement is not having a great spell of form. Unfortunately he played only ten minutes.7/10

The coach Denizli: Like the first game away at Belediye again i think that it was a mistake to substitute 2 players at halftime. Kind of he limited his moves himself. And it is never wise to substitute 2 fullbacks in a game you are the favourites to win.And please next time start İsmail Köybasi instead of Üzülmez . 5,5/10

Our next game is at home against Gaziantepspor.This will be the first game with our fans at Inonu as we served a one-match ban in the previous home game. I expect an easy win and hope to have some confidence before our trip to Galatasaray. Forza Besiktas!!!

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR?

There are three main objectives this season. Champions league, league title and Fortis cup. Personally i dont care about the coppa anymore as we won it three times in the last four years. We have the direct qualification for Champions League and we will be in the third seed in the draw for groups as it seems for now.Although a qualification for knockout phase is on the cards with a good draw, it is very likely to see a third place finish and a Europa League ticket for us. And in Turkey of course we will challenge for the title with our main rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.They made quality signings (especially Galatasaray with Elano, Keita and Frank Rijkaard as coach) so it will be interesting to fight with them as both of these clubs surprisingly had terrible seasons last year.

NEW FACES
Although we won the double ,we had a busy summer on the market and are still working.But it looks like the restriction to number of foreigners in turkey affects us right now. We have already eight –the limit- although there has been the talk of either freezing club captain Matias Delgado’s contract or selling talented Brazilian striker Bobo for buying another attacking midfielder such as Deco,Giovanni Dos Santos named in the press.But i think we should give more time to this squad to improve and not make decisions that may disrupt the harmony or hurt the club economically in the future. Here are the signings made in summer.

Matteo Ferrari: Experienced centre-back signed from Genoa. He had a very good season after his Matteo Fiat days at AS Roma.(By the way i am also a very good romanista) Hopefully he will add a physical presence at the back and stay away from those own goals. Note:8/10

İsmail Köybasi: Young left-back came from Gaziantepspor.We had always had huge gaps on the left defensive flank thanks to İbrahim Üzülmez so this is the most exciting summer signing for me.He has pace,skill and technique,needs a little defensive work but will serve for the club for yeaaaars. Note:9/10

Erhan Güven: Signed from Ankaraspor. He plays at the right-back. So far he had his ups and downs in friendlies but i think we should wait a little more to judge his true ability and potential.He is likely to be a reliable player though. Note:7/10

Michael Fink: 27 year-old german midfielder spent the last season at Frankfurt. He will partner another german Fabian Ernst in midfield.He is a very hardworking DM and i like his attitude.He also scored in his league debut from distance. Note:7/10

Nihat Kahveci: The most surprising signing of the summer.Nihat who grew up in Besiktas Youth Acedemy, had very succesfull seasons in Spain with Sociedad and Villareal.He rejected moves to Turkey numerous times before so it is a bit shocking to see him with Besiktas shirt this early. His latest injury card is of course a question mark but he is quality and has a lot to offer both on and off the pitch if he is healthy.It is clear that he is not ready yet.But the quality is there . Note:8/10

Rıdvan Güven:A hot prospect fort he future. He plays at right back and he is only 18 years old.He will not take a lot of minutes this year but looks promising for the future. Note: 7/10

By the way our team drew with the goddamn İstanbul Belediyespor again( we cant win at away to them for 3 straight years) in the first week of the league. Overall it was a decent performance for us as they scored with their only real chance in the game. We lacked a little bit of creativity and sharpness up front as our forwards are simply out-of-form at the moment.And yesterday we played the second game of the season, and won 2-0 against Antalyaspor.The same problems seems to continue as we had our problems again in the offensive end but our defence looked absolutely solid. As the matches are played ,we will also rise up to the challenge on the attack for sure.

We’ve played well actually.Bursaspor goalkeeper  Ivankov have done a great job on the gake this evening,covering his field compeletely to the goals.Ibrahim Toraman have shown why he is left out from the national team,played the ball with hand 2 times and dismissed by refree Deniz Çoban,who shown a great authorithy on the pitch and never lost the control of the game.

Denizli came up with his familiar 4-2-3-1 formation,after the dismissal of Toraman,he reverted to 4-2-2-1.Our team has shown a lethal display,but Bobo was on his bad day and he was far from satisfiyng the expectetions,as a result of his poor performance,he ruined many chances and let our team draw.Our defence also made crucial mistakes after Toraman dismissal,Gökhan Zan missed many interceptions and he let his man escape many times,but Bursaspor strikers were unable to convert chances into goals,or Sivok,who shown a determined display in tonight’s match,covered his mistakes.I will insist that Gökhan Zan is not anywhere the standard to play in Besiktas team untill he is transfer-listed.

Tonight’s match have also proved that we need a compelete striker for the next season.Bobo “was” a good player but he failed to fulfill his potential and his performance this season is not really promising.Nobre is determined but his talents are limited,so I strongly recommend a striker transfered.Ernst totally covered the midfield and his consistent performances kept going,he shown an impressive display this evening.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you after Fortis Türkiye Kupası match.

Forza Besiktas.

Serdar Özkan was the only player who showed some determination during the match,who replaced injured Holosko.

Our players were tired.So I accept their “tired” football last night.Defence was fine this time except Serdar Kurtuluş,but if we bear Veysel Cihan’s extravaggant performance in mind,we cant offend him because of his average performance.All the team played average.Gökhan Zan is showing improvements mentally,and I believe he adjusted himself to Besiktas back,and started showing some real defence.He was also effective in set pieces in offence and made crucial interventions to Veysel’s crosses.

Serdar Özkan tried to show some creativity during the match,but he needs to improve and has a long road to ruin to become a key player who is capable of turning the matches.In those kind of matches,when both teams are playing around the average,the players who are different than the others,like Gheorge Hagi,Alex de Souza as recent examples,come on the stage and change the score with immediate effect,lead the team through the victory.Yusuf was the player who took that role in Besiktas team,but his lack condition and late age,which is 34,for football didnt let him show a performance,and he failed to fulfill his role.Serdar Özkan’s lack experience and late-sub Ugur Inceman’s lack ability was the main factors of the lost 2 points.

However,we also have some good improvements.The tactics are based on the creative front-line players and their effectiveness,but as you use more frontliners,means that you need a perfectly organised defence.Our defence organisation was 7 out of 10 last night.Not high but if we compare with the recent performances,we have to admit that there is an improvement.Ernst is not in his real performance but his pace of settlement is incredibly hopeful about the positive effects he will add to our team.

I want to congragulate Denizli for his man management.Gökhan Zan is back,Serdar Özkan is much better,Ibrahim “Insane” Üzülmez is extremely determined and Ernst’s ability is shiny.But I want to warn him also.If we lose the following Trabzonspor match,everything is over.Its our luck that Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray also lost point this week,which means they will try everything to cover it up next week,like us,but our opponents are another team which is very willing to hold the title after years,Trabzonspor.Ersun Yanal have created a well organized team with a rock-solid defence and determined strikers,so we have to fight hard to take the 3 points out of them.

Lets wait and see what will happen in the following weeks.

Thanks,and see you.

At last,the main point I’ve been criticising for weeks have been covered.Our team was well organized at the leauge match,and our players were determined,but the defensive mistakes caused by defensive midfielders,who was Edouard Cisse on that match,observed again.As I’ve said many times,Cisse does not have the quality to play on that team.At the beginning,his will was covering his inadequate football ability,but when it has gone,he gave nothing to the team.He is also physically and mentally can not satisfy the role of a midfield anchorman.Ernst can.

Ernst is the player which Besiktas needs,as a result,we can say that Demirören has nothing to do with the transfer except paying the fees.I’m a hundred percent sure that Denizli lead the management to compelete that transfer,gratz for him.He is determined,decisive,aggresive and has high passing and tackling abilities.His physical appereance is perfect for a defensive midfielder.His playing style has nothing to do with Cisse,he is more like a mixture of Borowski and Gravesen.I also notice that he managed to score 11 goals in 260 matches in his career,which is not a high statistic,which means we can not expect curved-hard long shots and fantastic long-rode goals from him,but I’m sure he is compeletely able to command midfield and cover the spaces left by the offenders.His arrival is not an easy work,convincing a German player who plays as an important player for Schalke04 in Bundesliga,you can not ignore the toughness of this,so I believe all the fans are fully satisfied with this transfer.

After Denizli,the transfers made are correct and to the heart of the target,so I’m again hopeful of our title chances.Denizli has the respect the board,the players and the fans should show to the manager of the team,and all those actions taken by the board,the will and discipline the players show during the matches are the proofs.

Its also said that Nobre couldnt settle the deal with Besiktas.I’m wondering where can he play better than Besiktas.La Liga?Not fast enough.Premier Leauge?Oh come on that must be a joke.Serie A?Have no finishing ability.So,he will go back to Brazil,or roam around anatolia,like others who left Besiktas because of their greed.So I recommend him to accept the deal Besiktas offers,otherwise he can not achieve any success on his remaining career.On the other hand,I wonder why are we trying to keep him on the team.Bobo is much better,and Bobo is not good enough,which means Nobre is useless,which means we should send him off and make a new transfer who has a real ability of striking and forwarding the team.

Thats all for today,so see you after the match next week.

Forza Besiktas.

Lets start with our new transfers,their performance,and than criticise the overall.

Yusuf Şimşek was the best transfer that could possibly made in the short term.I want to congragulate Mustafa Denizli.He is the only manager in Demirören era gained a full control over the team,tactics and transfers.Also,the team was in a high condition this evening,although the break.Galatasaray,for example,lost the game agains Sivasspor in earlier today,of course the could-have-been-no-worse Sivasspor pitch and weather conditions,and the refree mistakes during the match were important reasons of their loss,but I watched the game live and also observed that Galatasaray were lacking in condition.Besiktas did not.Very nice.

Yusuf played very determined this evening,it was obvious that he is not used to the team and the players yet,but his effort let me remain optimistic on his transfer.He gave 3 goal passes during the match,but our strikers were unlucky,that’s all.Holosko played very well also.I believe that Yusuf’s presence will also effect the performances of Holosko and Nobre,because either were better tonight,maybe because of the whole perfection of the team,I dont know,but I know that Yusuf will effect the quality of our football in a positive way,so I’m glad to see him in our team.

Another player who shown great performance tonight was Ekrem Dag.He has shown a great deal of process since Denizli came into charge of the squad,and he played his best match tonight.He was aggressive,determined,effective on both defence and offence,and I’m not sure that he has fulfilled his potential.He has a long road to ruin but his performances tonight has deserved an appreciation.

Lets spoke out some negatives and stop acting like optimistic.We are losing the ball.Too much.And this leads us to the problem I’ve mentioned before the season end the last time I wrote,which is the midfield central player issue.Cisse seems upset,and he’s not willing to play in Besiktas anymore,and whoever the player is,the name is not a matter,if does not show the will to play in Besiktas JK,should leave the club for the good.Sivok is not a midfielder,he is a defender and he does not suit the position.We need a creative defensive midfielder immediately who has a high passing ratio and tackling ability.Ugur Inceman can only be a substitute,he does not have the abilities of a key player who can play in Besiktas team.Fabien Ernst from Schalke 04 could be an excellent signing,but I’m pretty sure Schalke will ask a high fee clause for him and since we are dealing with financial issues thanks to the wrong transfers made by Yıldırım Demirören,I think that transfer will not be completed.

Selçuk Dereli has shown an idiopatic red card to Zapotocny,and not because I’m a fan,but I’m sure that he did not managed to succeed the game well.He is named to manage important matches in international area,and it is a shame for me to see that Turkish refree with a low performance and non-objective.I hope he improves his attitude.

Last words are for us,the fans,again,the attendance of the fans to the stadium was very high,and the performance of our team’s 12th man was tremendous,so thanks for the fans who participated in the game live.

Forza Besiktas.

This time,again I will not criticise my team’s performance based on the score.

But this time,my words are not gentile.

Let me mention before I begin,Holosko,Tello and Zapotocny were the 3 of 14 who played well.Especially Filip has shown a great determination and scored one,who proved that he is the most valuable player in Besiktas this season.

Oh,by the way,he is actually the only valuable player.

Okay,lets begin with the system.3 defenders and a tight midfield is the absolute anti-tactic of 4-4-2.If you have defenders like Nesta or Ferdinand midfielders like Gattuso and Vieria.If you have defenders like Gökhan Zan and midfielders like Ugur İnceman,you will face the defeat.And it will hurt.It did hurt.The wings of Galatasaray ran like steam-machines.Gökhan Zan was awful,again.Ibrahim Toraman lacked in interceptions and air balls,again.Rüstü was on his classical average performance again,and proved that a legend is over in Turkish football history,again.Despite his lack condition and low satisfaction from our club,Seric was the only part of the defence today shown some will to play,like the former match he played so I congragulate him.But the matter of fact is not how Seric played well,how the whole other defenders played worse than him.Again.Interesting,isnt it?

What about midfield?Lets start with our team’s leader and creative midfielder Matias.He scored the first goal,oh,how nice,he finished so cool that De Sanctis and Galatasaray defenders had nothing to stop the opporturnity,and what else?A huge nothing and a very beautiful red card.Red means passion and anger in colour schemes,and dissmision in football.A captain,left his team alone,in a derby.Perfect,huh?What about Cisse?Did anyone see him doing any action today?Yeah,he played whole 90 minutes,and where was he?I think he was eating popcorn in the middle of the gake while Galatasaray was scoring goals and using midfield are like a highway.And Ugur Inceman?Shake it up guys!We found our first transfer-listed player at the first half of the season.He has no positive affect,he played really bad,his stupid actions resulted into a penalty,he was messy and he was a total disaster!

Offence?Ah,a little Nobre and mix it with the only one Holosko,thats it.

I reassure my manifest here.As long as Demirören rules this club and keeps making low-quality transfers and season-middle manager changes,this club will never,ever hold the title.Blaming the manager is the easiest thing to do when you lose games.Denizli has nothing to do with the worst ever football tonigh,but his player selections today is an important affect on the score.Bobo was like a small fishing boat lost in the huge ocean,and Inceman was the most harmful thing that affected our team tonight,so,I’m sure he wished that he would have not selected them tonight,of course,it is too late to take it back after you made the damn shot.It was a very long one.It failed.

Besiktas totally failed today.No good football,no good tactics,no determination,only Holosko and his performance.

Inadequate players and chairman of this team will keep giving our team damage unless an action is taken.

Forza Besiktas.

But the main problem is different.Although the team is not in a bad form,the board under control of Demirören keeping their promising developement of their fussy management over the club.

Okay,lets be objective.Did we manage lift the title ever on Demirören term?No.What was the quality of the transfers we made with respect to his “transfer comitee” and own decisions?Average.Oh,almost forgot,in addition to those average transfers,a bunch of released bumblers.What about the managers appointed?Rıza Çalımbay-awkward.Sağlam-average.Tigana-average.Bosque-Awkward.So what about the financial situation of the club?Worse ever.

So as we’ve proved our head’s incompetence of managing a football club,why is he still sitting at the damn chair?And why are we still calling him as “The Chairman of The Board”?I hope that our team fails to win the title this year,otherwise this fathead will result the success to his own decisions.The team is good,the players are showing enough contribution and detemination in all matches,Denizli is trying,not hard but at least trying,to adapt the team to matches and sharing his all tactical knowledge with the squad,at the end,he’s a supporter of our team.But Demirören is still trying hard to ruin the team.

There was a project Fulya,according to press statements,this project will save the club’s future and let our financial state improve significantly.But(!),our gorgeous chairman have managed to destroy this opporturnity with his indisputable decisions,and now,one of our board member’s state the press a comment,and one of ‘em another.

What a shame.

Hope that things will change,our team is doing well I believe,but if the board doesn’t improve his attitude,there’s no doubt we wont win the title unless they get out of the management.