Reid... Leeds boss for just 22 games.

FORMER LEEDS UNITED boss Peter Reid recently reflected on his time at Elland Road.

Reid was initially appointed as manager on 21st March 2003 with the task of keeping Leeds United in the Premiership – a task in which he succeeded.

Two remarkable away results, a 6-1 triumph over Charlton at the Valley and a thrilling 3-2 victory over Arsenal at Highbury, helped keep Leeds in the top flight as they eventually finished six points clear of the drop zone.

“We managed to stay up and I think a lot of people forget that we got some great results”, said Reid.

After minor speculation linking the then Celtic boss Martin O’Neill, Reid with the Elland Road hotseat, Reid was then given a one-year rolling contract with the club for upcoming 2003-2004 season. However with the club in financial turmoil, Leeds were forced to sell their best players Reid explains:

“Harry Kewell went and we didn’t get enough money for him. It was a very  difficult time for the football club.”

Not only did Kewell sign for Liverpool for just £5 million, £2 million of that was rumoured to have gone to his agent. Olivier Dacourt’s loan move to Roma was made permanent for £3.5 million and Paul Robinson looked set for a move to Aston Villa to join up with David O’Leary.

Reid also loaned out Danny Mills (Middlesbrough), Stephen McPhail (Nottingham Forest), Matthew Kilgallon (West Ham) and James Milner (Swindon). Replacements were lined up.

“I tried to get Paolo Di Canio off West Ham but he went to Charlton and Patrick Berger off Liverpool but he went to Portsmouth. I panicked a bit and brought about eight players in on loan because there was not substance to the club.”

Di Canio... was Leeds target.

Jermaine Pennant, Didier Domi, Lamine Sakho, Zoumana Camara, Cyril Chapuis, Salomon Olembe and Roque Junior were all brought into the club on loan deals.

However having won just two games by early November, Reid was sacked.

“I was there at the wrong time. When I went in I didn’t realise that they were going to financially implode.

“Leeds is a fantastic club and I’m delighted that they’re doing well. I just want them to go up. It’s a club with a great tradition and a great support and I hope to see them back up there.”

After a stint as manager of Thailand, Reid is now assistant manager at Premiership club Stoke City.

LEEDS UNITED’S summer transfer target Warren Feeney looks set to be released from his Cardiff City contract in January.

The Northern Ireland international looked to be on the verge of a move to Elland Road during the summer, but a hip injury scuppered the deal.

The 28-year-old has made just one substitute appearance for Cardiff and Leeds boss Simon Grayson is likely to be alerted to his availability.

Feeney started his career at Elland Road, but failed to break through into the first team. He is also believed to be good friends with ex-Leeds midfielder Harry Kewell and the pair were supposedly each other’s best man at their weddings.

The Socceroos have made heavy weather of their Asian Cup qualifying campaign thus far and boss Pim Verbeek has responded by drafting in all his big guns for Saturday’s crucial clash with Oman. Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer, Brett Emerton, Lucas Neill and Mark Bresciano are among those that have flown to Muscat from Europe and all are expected to start as Australia aim to secure what would be their second win of the group stage.

Oman proved difficult to break down when the sides met in Melbourne last month, however and Verbeek will not have the option of employing regular first-choice striker Josh Kennedy in Saturday’s return clash as the Nagoya Grampus target-man has been ruled out by a back injury. Scott McDonald was widely expected to be drafted in as a replacement for Kennedy, but the Celtic man has been overlooked in favour of Alex Brosque who has been in fine form for Sydney FC.

Another A-League frontman, Perth Glory’s Mile Sterjovski has also been included in the squad despite having struggled with an ankle injury in recent weeks.

Verbeek’s opposite number Claude Le Roy, meanwhile, has the rare luxury of a full-strength squad from which to make his final selection, including overseas-based stars Ali Al Habsi of Bolton and Emad Al Hossani of Belgian side Charleroi. Midfielder Fauzi Bashir is also fit and will be looking to build on his impressive performance in Melbourne when he caused the home side all manner of problems.

Despite the strength of the squad, this is shaping up to be a tricky trip for the Socceroos for whom a win is essential if they are to get their qualifying campaign back on track. Oman retained possession superbly last time the two sides met and felt, with some justification, that they were unfortunate not to secure a share of the spoils. Throw in the fact that the quality of the surface at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex is something of an unknown quantity and that temperatures are likely to be oppressively high and it all adds up to a potential banana skin for the men in green and gold. With the in-form Cahill as their driving force, the Socceroos may just be able to get over the line, but it’s unlikely to be pretty and very unlikely to be a goal-fest.

Prediction: Oman 0-1 Australia

Kendi basima ayakta kalmanin vakti gelmisti. Cesitli forumlarda, sitelerde, sozluklerde atildigim maceralarin sonunda kendi coplugumu olusturmak icin dogru zamanin geldigini dusunuyorum.

Elimden geldigince basta Galatasaray olmak uzere, etrafimizda gelisen her turlu spor olayiyla ilgili uc bes kelime de olsa birseyler karalamak cok iyi olacak…

Okunup okunmamasi pek umrumda degil acikcasi. Bir anlamda kendimi rahatlatmak olacak. Yazdigimiz hangi platformda onemsendik ki burada onemsenmeyi bekliyoruz?

Eger bir hatam (Uslup olarak, bilgilendirme olarak.), begenmediginiz bir nokta falan olursa “sevgi-saygi” cercevesinde dilediginiz gibi belirtebilirsiniz.

Selametle,

Macrofobia

ჰარის, რომელიც შარშან გავუშვით 5 წლის განმავლობაში გაუთავებელი ტრავმების გამო, თურქეთში თითქმის უტრავმო და ძალიან შედეგიანი სეზონი ჩაუტარებია – 15 გოლი, 30-ზე ნაკლებ თამაშში. ესეთი გულდასაწყვეტი ფაქტი LFC-სთან დაკავშირებით დიდი ხანია არ მომხდარა. თან ახლა, როცა მარცხენა ვინგერის პოზიციაზე ვერც ბაბელი და ვერც რიერა ვერ თამაშობენ საჭირო დონეზე. Sad.

While Florentino Pérez has been busy attempting to revenge his fantasy football frustrations (“why won’t The Sun let me have Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká and Karim Benzema!?”) on Real Madrid, another of Europe’s less glamorous elite clubs has been undoing a “sporting project” of their own.

Galatasaray, the most successful club in the history of Turkish football, recently appointed one of the world’s most successful coaches in Frank Rijkaard - one of the few people in footballing history to have won European and national titles in Holland, Italy and Spain as a player and as a manager. Alongside him, assistant coach John Neeskens, who helped mastermind Guus Hiddink’s 2006 World Cup heroics with Australia and has worked on and off with Rijkaard for the last 11 years. The pair have been charged with rebuilding a club that beat Arsenal and then Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup and subsequent European Super Cup in 2000, but has since lost their stars like Hakan Şükür, Cláudio Taffarel, Gheorghe Popescu and Gheorghe Hagi.

So what have the dynamic Dutch duo then to arrest the decline that saw Istanbul rivals Beşiktaş pinch the Turkish Süper Lig last year as Galatasaray stumbled to fifth? Well, the team they have inherited is made up mostly of talented domestic players. Aside from some familiar faces to fans of the Premiership - namely Harry Kewell, Milan Baroš and Tobias Linderoth - Brazilian playmaker Lincoln had been their only international player of note. But Rijkaard has been quick to lure a couple of experienced internationals to beef up the Turkish club.

After 11 years playing in Spain’s top flight with Real Mallorca and Atlético Madrid, Argentinean goalkeeper Leo Franco has been recruited to fill the long empty boots of his fellow South American Taffarel. A veteran of the 2006 World Cup, Franco has 21 caps for his country and played more than 300 La Liga games during his reign in Spain. He also representd a great bit of business, having moved on a free after his contract with Atlético expired at the end of June. Yet there is no doubting that Rijkaard is willing to splash the cash, having forked out over £10 million to land former Lyon wide man Kader Keïta. A powerful attacking presence on the right wing, the Ivory Coast international spent two years with the French club – helping them to a record seventh consecutive title in 2008 – and should provide the perfect counterfoil to Kewell’s guile on the opposite wing.

Don’t expect Galatasaray’s activity in the transfer market to stop there, either. In the last few weeks they have been linked to Dutch internationals Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and John Heitinga, West Ham’s Lucas Neill, and two more Lyon players, Ghana skipper John Mensah and French star Sidney Govou. Whether or not any of these players join Rijkaard’s crusade to Istanbul, expect Galatasaray to join Manchester City in the hunt for a seat at football’s top table next season.

Read more here

• Galatasaray gets Beşiktaş defender Gökhan Zan for free
• Could Lincoln be on his way out of Galatasaray?
• Galatasaray’s Ayhan Akman: Rijkaard will develop Turkish soccer

Malum Fenerbahçe’ mizin ezeli rakibi, Süper ligimizin kayırılma konusunda gözbebeği Galatasaray, Avrupa’ da gözden düşmüş futbolcuları ayağa kaldırma kulübü oldu.

Geçen seneden beri merak ediyorum aslında. Bir Milan Baros, bir Harry Kewell Avrupa’ da gözden düşmemiş olsalardı gelirler miydi Galatasaraya… Hiç sanmıyorum çünkü öncelikle bir ülke olarak Türkiye’ miz maalesef gözden düşmüş futbolcuların son aşamada akıllarına gelen, gündemlerine giren bir ülke değil mi?

Zamanının Milan Baros’ u, devrinin Harry Kewell’ ı transfer edilmek istenselerdi, Fenerbahçem dahil herhangi bir Türk Kulübü alabilir miydi onları? İkna edebilir miydi Türkiye’ ye gelmeye?

Kimi zaman düşünüyorum da, (fakir) Galatasaray’ ın Türkiye’ deki kollanma olgusu çekici gelebilir diyorum bu Avrupa’ nın yıldız eskilerine. Hani mesela Baros’ a sezonda yeterince penaltı garantisi verilmiş olabilir ikna olması için. Üstüne ofsayttan ya da elle gol attırma vaadleri…

Baros’ un geçen sezonki penaltıdan, ofsayttan ve elle attığı gollerini düştük mü ne kalıyor ki geriye? Oysa Avrupa’ dan ona bakanların diyecekleri malum! “Tüh ya Baros’ a bak Türkiye’ de ayağa kalktı ve döktürüyor! Gol kralı bile oldu” (gerçi gol kralını çıkaran Galatasaray 5. sırada bitirebildi ligi ama olsun). “Vay canına! Milan Baros, küllerinden doğdu!”.

Acaba Avrupa’ da en son Fransa liginde kalsaydı yine yuvarlak hesap 31 maçta 21 gol atabilir miydi Milan Baros?

İstatistiklerine bakınca mucize gibi görünüyor öyle bir sonuç. Bir de hiçbir ligde ona bu kadar penaltıdan, ofsayttan ve elden gol attırılmadığı açıkça anlaşılıyor…

Tablo şöyle birşey:

1998-2002 Banik Ostrava – 76 Maç / 23 Gol
2001-2005 Liverpool – 65 Maç / 19 Gol
2005-2007 Aston Villa – 42 Maç / 9 Gol
2007-2008 Olympique Lyon – 24 Maç / 7 Gol
2007-2008 Portsmouth – 12 Maç
Toplam: 222 Maç / 58 Gol
2001- … Milli Takım – 66 Maç / 32 Gol

Ve şimdi de başka bir can alıcı soru: Acaba Milan Baros Fenerbahçe oyuncusu olsaydı bu kadar penaltı, bu kadar ofsayttan gol ve bu kadar el golü atabilir miydi? Attırırlar mıydı? Fenerbahçe’ nin golcüsü Güiza kadar olmayan ofsayt gerekçesi ile kesilir miydi? Güiza’ ya yapılan ve asla verilmeyen faullere cezalar, sözkonusu mağdur Baros olunca hemen verilir miydi??

Evet evet Avrupa’ da gözden düşmüş bir futbolcu olsam ve kendime bir kulüp bulmam istense, ilk tercihim kesinlikle Galatasaray olurdu.

O yüzden de, geçtiğimiz sezon Lyon’ da sıfır çeken Abdul Kader Keita’ yı, şimdiden yeni sezonda süper ligimizin Milan Baros’ la gol krallığında çekişecek olan oyuncusu ilan ediyorum…

Tabii ki çekirge yine zıplayabilirse…

Don’t worry people. The sobriety of my last post on the latest crisis to bedevil Rugby League hasn’t scared me away. A frantic time of year hasn’t kept me from Federer’s historic conquest, the hit and giggle bubble gum dribble otherwise known as the 20/20 World Cup, and the latest SBW hysteria. I haven’t even caught Swine Flu at the footy yet, despite leaving Leichhardt feeling decidedly ill after watching another ill-fated episode of “Marshall #7”; the most headless chook in the NRL since, well, Brad Fittler’s headless chooks.

But I had to jump back on the soapbox to defend Our Socceroos.

Let’s put the Socceroos’ achievement into context. At this stage of the 2005/6 campaign, Frank Farina was still in charge, about to enter his annus horibilis at the Confederations Cup, before Guus Hiddink stole the imagination of the country – but most people don’t remember him launching a disparaging tirade on his team when they stuttered to a 2-1 win in the Solomon Islands.

Yet here we are, comfortably qualified.

On one hand, the level of expectation heaped on the current Socceroos is testament to the ground-breaking pedestal they created for themselves in Germany.

I wrote here last year that through Asia we have avoided a roll of the dice by enjoying the right of qualifying like 95% of the rest of the world. If we were good enough we would be in South Africa.

And baby, we are heading to South Africa. Forget stuttering 2-1 results, the Socceroos have been professional and ruthless in a quest that isn’t easy. Bigger, prouder and more prestigious football countries than humble Australia will be enviously watch the World Cup from home next year.

In a country where international success in games we dominate is a given, one feels the feats of the Socceroos might not quite be grasped.

After 32 years in the wilderness, we’ve gone back to back.

What a fabulous achievement.

Or have I missed something?

The arm chair critics have been noting the anti-climactic whimper with which we sealed qualification. Where was the hurly burly of a heart-wrenching penalty shoot out? How can you be rewarded for being shrewd, tactical and cunning enough to get the result you need in inhumane conditions in the middle of the desert, albeit via a 0-0 draw?

There will never be another moment like this. Chills every time.

But this was a campaign full of clutch moments. Cahill, Chipperfield, Bresciano, Neil, Culina, Kennedy, Wilkshere. The big boys have stepped up when it mattered.

On Monday, as I flicked through the paper to find an ode to another one of Australia’s great sporting achievements, I found myself almost as deep as the TAB form guide before a mention of our qualification. Huh?

Then yesterday I woke up to a vitriolic back page rant about how Pim Verbeek is killing Australian football. Add to that Nick Walshaw’s anachronistic homage to the Socceroos, and Phil Rothfield’s blog, and the Socceroos have come in for a heap of vile criticism at one of the most historic moments in the sport’s history.

What have they done wrong, besides upsetting News Limited’s apple cart with rampant success?

Now seriously, I love my league as much as much as the next yobo, or give me a day of test cricket as much as the next Aussie. But I love my football as much as any football aficionado.

Do we send Simon Hill to bag the buffoonery of league matches, or the Bogans that sit in the stand? No.  Does Mike Cockerill write soppy colour pieces ridiculing the mind-numbing pedanticness of a Super 14 referee? No. Those sports are what they are and fans support them for what they are.

So why does The Tele feel the urge to bag this sport? You tell me? I can only think of one reason.

Without harping on the sour grapes, I want to deal briefly with the criticism levelled at the Socceroos:

1)      Verbeek’s media ban. The wily Dutchman is dammed if he does, damned if he doesn’t. Was widely panned last year for giving the next generation a shot, which led to a dismal result against China at home in front of a huge gallery in Sydney. So this time he says there is no let-up, the game is serious – and gets panned for not rolling out his troops for a love-in public relations campaign to give the Tele what they want.

Fair Dinkum. It’s just an excuse for a tabloid headline – when the headline should’ve read: “Pride of the Nation”.

Anyone notice Craig Bellamy hiding his NSW troops in a country retreat the week before the supposed ‘promotional’ Origin match in Melbourne? Did that threaten the future of the sport? Um , I don’t think so.

Should Pim have slapped a media ban on the players? No way in hell. But the public wanted to know if he was taking the match seriously, and he was.

Have media bans threatened the future of other sports? No. So please, spare us the vile agenda.

2)      Resting players:  who didn’t play last night – after a 20 hour trip back from the desert to play a football match two days later on the back of an exhausting season?
Cahill, Kennedy, Neil, Grella, Bresciano, Chipperfield, Valeri. Injured, suspended, on the cusp of a yellow, or club commitments. Simple as that.

Unfortunate, unfair to the paying public, but its the way the cookie crumbles in the big business of international football.

But when the executive sports editor of a major daily says:

“We’ve made the World Cup? Woopy Do! As I said to an earlier blogger, It will be a very exciting couple of weeks then 21 million Australians can get on with their lives and follow the real football codes again.”

The message just hasn’t got through.

But I’ve said enough – what do you reckon?

AUSTRALIA have booked a ticket to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa with a scoreless draw against a determined Qatar at the Al Sadd Club in Doha.

Needing only a point to officially seal qualification, the Socceroos got the job done against a youthful Qatar side to ensure back-to-back World Cup appearances for the first time.

The home side proved tougher opposition than they had in three previous losses, but Australia could feel unlucky not to have won after Tim Cahill struck the post with a spectacular bicycle kick in the first half and Qatari keeper Qasem Burhan made several brilliant saves in the second.                                     
 
The win means the Socceroos cannot finish any lower than second in Asia’s Group A, with the top two teams earning qualification.

They joined Asian rivals Japan as the first two sides to qualify for next year’s tournament, after the Blue Samurai sealed their spot with a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan earlier on Saturday.

Hosts South Africa are exempt from qualifying.

Both sides made a tentative start in front of a small but vocal  Doha crowd, with the Socceroos content to keep possession in the hot and humid conditions.

Qatar’s star striker Sebastian Soria Quintana looked dangerous early on and had the first real chance of the half after getting in behind Chris Coyne, but he flashed his shot across the face of goal.

The Socceroos muscled their way back into the game before Cahill was denied one of the great goals by the woodwork in the 27th minute.

Josh Kennedy, who impressed up front, flicked on a Mark Bresciano free kick with his head, before Cahill found himself in space, controlled with his chest and drilled an overhead kick into the right upright.

Harry Kewell became increasingly menacing after switching to the right win, going close to scoring himself before creating another move which led to Vince Grella firing a volley just over the bar in the 33rd minute.

Qatar had two chances late in the half with Cahill blocking Quintana’s effort and Mark Schwarzer punching away an ambitions long shot from Ahmed Faris.

Australia stepped up their game early in the second half with a flash of chances within a 10-minute period.

The first came to an unlikely source in defender Chris Coyne, who had his shot cleared off the line after attempting to turn in a headed Cahill effort.

The impressive Everton midfielder was again another stunner when his powerful drive was brilliantly saved in the 57th minute by Burhan.

Burhan was called into action again to tip over a Kennedy shot from out wide and once more in the 63rd minute when Kewell collected a brilliant Grella ball, cut inside Ibrahim Majed and forced another great save by Burhan with his right foot.

Continued to threaten and fired across the face of goal in the 80th and although they didn’t get the goal they perhaps deserved, it meant little when the whistle blew to ensure another historic World Cup appearance.

The Socceroos now have matches against Bahrain and Japan at home to celebrate.

Source www.news.com.au

With the crucial World Cup Qualifier fast approaching we ask the Qantas Socceroos Strength and Conditioning coach how the team will combat the searing temperatures in the Middle East.

Perth Glory are close to completing the signing of Mile Sterjovski as their marquee player for the forth coming season, and as signings go it will be a good one for the Western Australian club. One that could see them score the required goals to get them into the finals for the first time.

However with all due respect for Sterjovski, should he be a marquee player, in fact should Jason Culina? Prior to that should Zelic, Aloisi or Mooore, have been?

Of the list above Craig Moore has been far and away the best performer of the Socceroos to return home; the question is however do his performances warrant marquee status and a salary of in excess of $400k? Does he put an extra thousand bums on seats? Has he taken Queensland – now Brisbane Roar to a championship?

It may sound harsh, but I do not believe that these returning Socceroos deserve the marquee status that they are afforded. Some of those mentioned came back well after their “use-by” date had expired, Lazarides, Zelic and Foxe to name three, yet all commanded salaries way beyond what they game back on the pitch.

Surely if we are honest there are only two outfield Australian players who would warrant the status of being a Marquee player, and they are Kewell and Viduka. The latter however would be wise not to consider a move back to the A league, as with his injury woes of late it may damage the excellent reputation he has. The sensible thing to do would be play the World Cup and then retire with his head held high.

Schwarzer would be another that warranted such status, but those of us who pay to see a goalkeeper are few and far between.

Culina will be on a far bigger salary than Sterjovski, and the pressure will be on him to perform. The last thing we need is another Aloisi. It was sad and painful to watch Aloisi struggle last season. Yet was it really a surprise? When he joined the Central Coast Mariners they were riding high at the top of the league, when he joined their form dipped, as his style of play did not suit the style that the team had been playing.

Which raises the issue of these returning Socceroos needed to find a club that suits their style best rather than chasing the big dollars or their reputations will be damaged in the long term. Secondly they say it takes a foreigner a season to settle in the big leagues in Europe, could that not be the case here in Australia too, as the pace and skill level is, whether we like it or not, far removed from the top leagues of Europe.

Yes, we need the not so big names to return home to boost the A League, but being also-rans in terms of being top names, no matter how hard the A league clubs try and pump them up, do they warrant the big bucks? Maybe a performance-based salary would be a better option. Then the fans will not feel ripped off and we will see who has come back to play and who hasn’t.

Die Saison ist beendet, Zeit für ein wenig Bilanz.

Trainerwechsel
Von den vier „Großen“ hat nur Fenerbahçe seinen Trainer nicht im laufenden Wettbewerb ausgewechselt. Bei Galatasaray kam Urgestein Bülent Korkmaz für Michael Skibbe, Beşiktaş tauschte Mustafa Denizli für Ertuğrul Sağlam aus und 5 Spieltage vor Ablauf der Saison musste Ersun Yanal bei Trabzonspor seinen Stuhl räumen. Während Beşiktaş eine furiose Aufholjagd startete und am Ende mit dem türkischen Pokal und der Meisterschaft das Double holte, kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass Europameister-Trainer Luis Aragones bei Fenerbahçe nur deswegen noch im Amt ist, weil seine Abfindung bei einer vorzeitigen Trennung enorm kostspielig hätte werden können.

Galatasaray und Bülent?
Die Tage von Bülent Korkmaz dürften mit dem Ende des Saison auch gezählt sein, nach der Entlassung von Michael Skibbe konnte kein nennenswerter Sieg mehr errungen werden, alle Derbies wurden verloren, im türkischen Pokal schied man sang- und klanglos gegen Sivasspor aus und im UEFA-Cup setzte es ein peinliches Aus gegen den HSV, nachdem man zu Hause schon mit 2-0 Führung fast sicher in der nächsten Runde war. Einziges Argument pro Korkmaz dürfte sein vergleichsweise niedriges Gehalt sein, was bei dem ewig klammen Verein keine unerhebliche Rolle spielen dürfte. Zwar geistern seit Wochen die Namen renommierter Trainer durch die Presse, (Houllier, Schuster, LeGuen, Adrianse), diese dürften aber wohl sowohl von ihren Gehaltsvorstellungen als auch von Ihren Transferwünschen kaum finanzierbar sein. Demnach sollte man sich nicht wundern, wenn der Verein sich plötzlich deutlich für einen Verbleib des Coaches ausspricht.

Der Kader
Was passiert jetzt mit Galatasaray in der kommenden Saison, nachdem man sich mit Mühe mit Rang 5 auf den letzten Platz für die Qualifikation zur Euroliga gekämpft hat? Einige Baustellen sind unübersehbar. Diva und Mimöschen Lincoln muss dringend den Verein verlassen. So unbestritten seine spielerischen Fähigkeiten auch sind, so sind seine Leistungen zu stimmungsabhängig, als dass man im Verein weiterhin seine Allüren hinnehmen kann. Spätestens mit der Rückrunde war Lincoln eine enorme Belastung für Mannschaft und Zuschauer und erneut wurde deutlich, dass dieser Egomane nur spielen kann, wenn er zu 150% und pausenlos gepudert und umschmeichelt wird.

Während Baros und Kewell der Mannschaft weitergeholfen haben, ist die Situation von Tobias Linderoth noch ungewiss. Der Schwede hat seit 2 Jahren keine Hand voll Spiele bestreiten können und leidet weiterhin an mysteriösen Verletzungen. Shabani Nonda, hinter Baros Stürmer Nr. 2 hat eine enttäuschende Saison hinter sich und dürfte auch auf der Liste derjenigen stehen, die bei entsprechender Gelegenheit abgegeben wird.

Vakant ist weiterhin die Position der Nr. 1 im Tor, nachdem Morgan De Sanctis nach Ablauf des Leihgeschäfts zurück nach Spanien zum FC Sevilla geht. Weder Orkun noch Aykut sind Torwärte von Format und scheinen auch keine Talente zu sein, die langfristig die Sehnsucht nach Größen wie Simoviç, Taffarel oder Mondragon stillen können. In der Abwehr fehlen mit Emre Güngör, Servet und Uğur Uçar drei Langzeitverletzte, mindestens ein erfahrener Innenverteidiger wird nach dem Abgang von Fernando Meira noch dringend benötigt.

Das Mittelfeld sieht bei Galatasaray noch am schönsten aus, wenn man davon ausgeht, dass kein Spieler an die Verteidigung ausgeliehen werden muss. Mehmet Topal, Ayhan und Barış auf den defensiven Positionen, Arda und Kewell offensiv klingen nicht schlecht, allerdings fehlt es dahinter an Qualität. Bei Mehmet Güven wartet man weiterhin auf den Durchbruch, Aydın kam in der Rückrunde kaum noch zum Einsatz. Einzige Hoffnung dürfte ein Verkauf von Lincoln und damit einhergehende Neuverpflichtungen sein.

Ausblick
Alles in allem ist die Personaldecke bei Galatasaray extrem dünn, das Portemonnaie fadenscheinig und der Druck enorm. Der Bau des neuen Stadions gerät wegen finanzieller Probleme immer wieder ins Stocken und man kann fast davon ausgehen, dass sich der Verein bis zum Abschluss der Bauarbeiten durch die kommenden Spielzeiten mogeln wird, um mit den dann neuen Einnahmequellen vielleicht einen Neuanfang zu beginnen. Bis dahin ist sportlicher Erfolg wohl nur durch mannschaftliche Höchstleitungen zu erwarten. Wenn es dagegen rumpelig läuft, kommen gerade einmal Saisons wie diese dabei herum.

Sure, everyone knows that i hate frederico macheda. i relished in the fact that he was substituted after what can only be described as a reserve team performance for Dimitar Berbatov. But this did not just highlight the unnecessary hype that has surrounded Macheda for the last two weeks after his two fluke goals.

It also showed how much money football teams were wasting on players. berbatov came on and the first thing he does? misplaces an eight yard pass right out of play. £30million in transfer fees and i’m sure a ridiculous weekly wage packet to put the ball out of play. he brought zero inspiration to his team, went on to misplace passes another two times and not to mention miss a penalty in the shoot out. Even Macheda could have managed three passes and a penalty…

Man City are the worst. Robinho, another £30million transfer on ridiculous wages. Scores one goal in 2009 and vicious rumours of dressing room bust-ups and of course his little unauthorised trip back to brazil. Nigel De Jong, 18million for a player who has done what this year? Jo, £18million, goes out on loan at christmas. Wayne Bridge has never and never will be worth £12million and Shay Given is leaking goals left, right and centre. And despite winning 4-2 this weekend i heard that West Brom played them off the park… at home!

Arsenal buy in Rosicky who is hailed as Robert Pires’ replacement only for him to contract Harry Kewell Syndrome and not play three games in a row for the two seasons he’s been there.

Other players under the spotlight include Darren “its only taken three years to justify my £18m transfer” Bent, Scheva cost an absolute packet and did nothing and Jimmy Bullard put Hull along way out of pocket with his dodgy knees.

Fault for the credit crunch? football teams are up there on the blame list…