News here is that our manager Jose Coucerio has been in Portugal looking for or being interviewed for another job, can our Portugal posters Erwin and Steveeeeeeee shed any light on this?

More Diyarbakir news, three players have had there contracts terminated by the club, they include the goalkeeper Gökhan. The other two were squad members rather than first teamers, Ümit and Erdinç. The sporting director and assistant coach who resigned did so because they could not get along with Güvenç Kurtar the coach. The team looks doomed and unless Denzilispor can get some wins quickly those two look likely to be going down with Ankaraspor.

The updated league table, played, points and goal difference.

1Bursaspor 25 55 +30
2Galatasaray 25 53 +25
3Besiktas 25 51 +19
4Fenerbahçe 25 49 +19
5Trabzonspor 25 43 +17
6Kayserispor 25 43 +16
7Eskisehirspor 25 42 +8
8IBB 24 37 -3
9Antalyaspor 25 33 +6
10Gaziantepspor 25 33 +2
11Gençlerbirligi 25 32 +1
12Kasimpasa 25 31 -1
13Ankaragücü 25 26 -5
14Manisaspor 25 24 -9
15Sivasspor 25 24 -18
16Diyarbakirspor 24 21 -15
17Denizlispor 25 17 -17
18Ankaraspor 25 0 -75

These teams still have to "play" Ankaraspor so the real table is below

Eskisehirspor
Ankaragücü
Trabzonspor
Fenerbahçe
Sivasspor
Diyarbakirspor
Manisaspor
Bursaspor
IBB

1Bursaspor 26 58 +33
2Galatasaray 25 53 +25
3Fenerbahçe 26 52 +22
4Besiktas 25 51 +19
5Trabzonspor 26 46 +20
6Eskisehirspor 26 45 +11
7Kayserispor 25 43 +16
8IBB 26 40 0
9Antalyaspor 25 33 +6
10Gaziantepspor 25 33 +2
11Gençlerbirligi 25 32 +1
12Kasimpasa 25 31 -1
13Ankaragücü 26 29 -2
14Manisaspor 26 27 -9
15Sivasspor 26 27 -15
16Diyarbakirspor 26 24 -12
17Denizlispor 25 17 -17
18Ankaraspor 25 0 -75

Points in the bag are always more valuable, Bursa are really 5 points clear with a game in hand, they do have to travel to Ali Sami Yen and there last game is at home to Besiktas, yes the same club which allegedly got them relegated in the mid 2000s and the same club which refused to allow Bursa fans into the ground this year despite promising they would, how badly could this backfire?

Gala lose at Trabzonspor, really does look hopeful for Bursaspor.

Etienne wrote:
Gala lose at Trabzonspor, really does look hopeful for Bursaspor.

Galatasaray lost after a huge fuck up by Emre Güngör, they had left Servet out as well so the press loved that.

Bursaspor host Denizlispor tonight and then play away to IBB on Friday, they could be eight points clear if they win both games.

Many things to report from the past week but no time to post them.

Things are really looking bright for Bursa now. And it seems that they still play without much pressure, at least compared to the Istanbul sides.

But this has also been a good bunch of results for Fenerbahce. Besiktas and Galatasaray dropping points means that they are back in the top three. Next week it's Gala - Fener at Ali Sami Yen. If Fener can pull out a win here (fat chance), it's still on!

Where to start?
Best to start with my team, from comments made by steveeeeee it looks like Jose Coucerio is off at the end of the season to become chairman of the Portugal League, I will be sad to see him go as he is decent manager who I think has tried to play football too clever for this league, against the big sides we have never really struggled and often played our best football. More though it means starting all over again.

Against Fenerbahçe on Saturday night I managed to get my mug on TV a number of times, one of the teachers I work with often gets VIP seats so I watched the game two metres behind Daum, watching him go ape shit and swear in German is very amusing from up close.

Another refereeing controversy though, Emre lashed out at our left back but only got a yellow card, Mehmet Topuz punched one of our players in the leg in front of the referee but got nothing. If it had been a bigger more important game with something at stake for both sides it would have kicked off as the referee had lost control.

I will continue with last weeks Galatasaray Ankaragücü game, there was a fair bit of trouble and this resulted in Ankaragücü getting a ban of one match played behind closed doors, a 3-0 win over Kayserispor this weekend, which they had no time to effectively appeal.
The main talking point was the attack by one Galatasaray supporter on another who was wearing a black and white jacket, the colours of Besiktas. The attack happened on the roof of one stand and despite the intervention of a security guard the victim jumped of the stand, fell awkwardly, and is in hospital fighting for his life.
The ban, a small fan and no stadium ban, the reason, their next home match is against Fenerbahçe.

To sum up, Ankaragücü's 200 away fans cause their team to get a one match behind closed doors ban but the other incidents involving Galatasaray fans do not result in a similar or heavier ban.

The conspiracy theorists and those who, like me, believe that the TFF are favouring Galatasaray are making a lot of this.

It would not be the same if I didn't mention Diyarbakirspor, for the events at the IBB match they have been hit with an additional three match stadium ban, three home games to be played in another city behind closed doors. So that is six now.
The first of them was played in Kocaeli on Saturday, a hell of a long way from Diyarbakir, and they beat Antalya 1-0.
Two of their foreign players have left, Ayman the holding midfielder from Egypt has had his contract terminated and Abbas, the centre half from Iraq, has disappeared.

Last night saw the final league game of this 26th week, a nervous Bursaspor beat Denizlispor 2-1 and are now 5 points clear at the top. The first half atmosphere was something else, if you get a chance check out their next home game to see what I mean.

Round 27 starts on Friday night with Bursaspor again in action, this time away to IBB at the Olympic Stadium. A win and they will be eight points clear but having played a game more, they also have a superior goal advantage but the league is first decided on a head to head, they beat Galatsaray 1-0 so the match on 25 April is going to be huge.

It's worth mentioning that Bursaspor have the better on Fenerbahce, head to head (if away goals apply here).

Tonight is the semi final first leg between Fenerbahce and Manisaspor. Difficult to gauge how much Fenerbahce will put into this, as the most important derby in quite some time is just a few days away. They have also struggled in both league games against Manisa, winning the home match 2-1 in injury time and then salvaging a point in injury time again in the away match.

Bursa have the edge on Besiktas on head to head as well, they won away 3-2.

Last night saw a 2-0 cup win for Fenerbahçe and tonight it is Trabzonspor against Antalyaspor in the other semi.

The managerial merry-go-round sees Mesut Bakkal take over from Mühsin Etrugral at Sivasspor, a difficult job for him and a shame to see a manager who has tried to do the right things and been unlucky quit. When the talismanic Mehmet Yilzdiz was fit the team looked likely to survive.

Another development in the Diyarbakir saga is that Bursaspor have offered their stadium to be used for all the behind closed doors matches.

It is extremely rare for my radio station to mention Turkish football on the morning news but I half-heard them saying today that several hundred people had been arrested in Turkey on allegations of Europe-wide match-fixing? These people included players and coaches.

Kid A wrote:
It is extremely rare for my radio station to mention Turkish football on the morning news but I half-heard them saying today that several hundred people had been arrested in Turkey on allegations of Europe-wide match-fixing? These people included players and coaches.

This story broke yesterday with the news slowly coming in of who is involved. It follows a complaint made to the public prosecutor in Sariyer which is one of the districts of Istanbul. It is separate from the investigation launched by magistrates in Bochum and different from the betting scandal that broke in the SE in the winter. This time it does seem big, really big with some names and in particular one club involved, IBB
(Istanbul Büyüksehir Belidiyespor). Some of the players/coaches/ex-players taken into custody so far include Arif Erdem, ex-Galatasaray and assistant coach at IBB, Fatih Aykel, ex-international, Kenan Hasgiç, Bosnia international keeper and IBB player, Erman Kiliç, ex-IBB now Sivasspor, Recep Öztürk, Konyaspor's keeper but subject of match fixing allegations while at Gençlerbirligi, and two players from Kayserispor, Umit Koçin and Durmus Bayram. Other players have also submitted sworn statements, including Taner Güler from IBB.

When I know more I will post them.

As a Gaziantepsor fan we noticed that Kenan Hasagiç always seemed to get himself suspended before playing Fenerbahçe and the people I know who have seen him at IBB are not surprised to see him under suspicion of something more.

Latest news is that 46 people were taken into policy custody and most seem to have since been released.

Arif Erdem has since made a statement to the press saying that he has nothing to hide etc.

Djemal Berberoviç, Emin Aladag and Burak Akyildiz, all of Denizlispor were taken from their homes to court to give formal defences but the club manager says it is unrelated to this operation.

Sercan Yildirim's manager Metin Korkmaz along with Hakan Korkmaz were also taken into custody, if it is the same Hakan Korkmaz he was involved in a match fixing scandal while playing for Istanbulspor, they lost a home game against Gaziantep Büyüksehir Belidiyespor 5-0.*

There were also arrests of lower league players and coaches in Samsun, Trabzon and Antalya.

Recep Öztürk, Umit Koçin and Durmus Bayram have all been flown to Istanbul.

*I was given his Gaziantepsor shirt as a present.

New developments:

Fatih Aykel, Recep Öztürk and Ali Riza Gültekin, the chairman of a lower league club where Fatih know plays, were all remanded in custody and spent last night in prison.

Fatih Aykel is specifically being questioned about three games he was involved in while a Kasimpasa player last season, they are:
Bursa,a 1-0 defeat
Ankaragücü, a 2-2 draw which he did not play in
Sivasspor, a 4-0 defeat where he was at fault for the first two goals

He has also been accused of being a member of a gang as well as match fixing.

Metin Korkmaz's name was mentioned in all of Fatih's statements.

Arif Erdem, Kenan Hasagiç and Taner Güler all spent a night in the cells before being released. I wonder if they will feature in IBB's game tonight at home to Bursaspor. I will be going to lend my support to their efforts to become champions. Rumours of 20,000 fans coming may not be far off as yesterday 9,000 tickets had been sold.

Leading up to derby day, Bursaspor have lost 2-1 at IBB, and Besiktas turned it around with a 3-2 win over Eskisehirspor, after going two goals behind in 20 minutes.

The unexpected handout from IBB means that a draw in today's Istanbul derby will not be as disastrous for the sides involved as expected. However, I'm convinced both teams feel strongly that they need the win to stay in the race.

Fener's biggest concern in the coming hours is Emre Belözoglu. After being diagnosed with a minor muscle tear after Thursday's cup match, it is uncertain whether or not he can play. It'll be a huge boost for Gs if he can't, and add to that the possibility of Arda Turan returning for this match...

Needless to say, I'm scared. And, it turns out, also unable to see the match live.

Bursa did indeed blow it away to IBB, between 35-40,000 fans were at the game, including me, but it just never happened. Disallowed goals for offside, two penalties not given and playing against a side who only sit back and play on the counter. The most disappointing fact for me was how the fans never really got going, two goals down and everyone seemed resigned to defeat, a goal pulled back but it only helped for five minutes.
Many places in Bursa were closed on Friday and open on Sunday to allow people to go to the game.

Saturday saw Besiktas come back from 2 down to beat Eskisehirspor 3-2 and get themselves back into the four horse race.

Last night in a pretty poor game Galatasaray had most of the play but lost 1-0 to Fenerbahçe, a mistake from Leo Franco cost them and he has taken the wrath of the fans.

A project I have started with some of my students rather than shameless self promotion. The basic aim is to get some more videos and photos on here but really to get my students writing in English about something they always want to talk about.

I suspect you and I are the only ones who have voted, AE ;)

MachoMorten wrote:
I suspect you and I are the only ones who have voted, AE ;)

So that means you have doubled the number of votes cast, cheers.

I hope to start putting some videos on there and photos etc, feel free to send me stuff, the more rabidly biased the better.