End of season analysis; How do the players rank up? Whos leaving? Where do we go from here???

By: Musab | May 24th, 2008

And here is the final season analysis:

Goalkeepers

Aykut Ercetin and Orkun Usak Both (7/10) Age: 25 and 27 respectively

Both Aykut and Orkun served for us for a pretty much equal duration. After the embaressing 5-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen Aykut took over from Orkun. I didn’t see much difference between the two keepers. Orkun was more vocal and managed his defense well while Aykut had great reflexes and came out for the ball well. Along with the great defense, the two keepers let through very few goals. This is what carried us to the title.

Firat Kocaoglu (?/10) Age:18

Didn’t play a single league or cup match. Sat on the bench though. Maybe we’ll hear more about him later.

Defense

Hakan Balta (7/10) [Left-back] Age: 25

Hakan Balta played pretty well through out the season. While he did have to comptete with fellow left back Volkan Yaman, I believe that throughout the season, Hakan was the better left back. He was able to support the midfield quite well and actually came forth to help out in the attacks. His three goals of the season point this out.

Volkan Yaman (6.5/10) [Left-back] Age: 23

After his stunning free kick in the first week of the season, Volkan showed promise and really did play well. However his young age encouraged the board to buy Hakan Balta for a more experienced left back. Will Volkan get moer experience next year? Let’s see.

Servet Cetin (9.5/10) [Center Back] Age: 26

Servet is an animal, a tank, a beast, call him whatever you want. His sheer strength and determination allowed him out to completely outmuscle his opponents. Many people feel that he was the best player of the season. I wouldn’t argue with them. After his miserable time at Fener, many thought that Servet would just be a good bench player at best. So much for that.

Rigobert Song (8/10) [Center Back] Age:31

At the beginning of the season, Song was the heart in the defense and had formed a great partnership with fellow center back Servet Cetin. However after his huuuuuge blunder at the ACON final game against Egypt, Song just couldn’t play like he used to. If it wasn’t for his great first half performance, Id have given him a much lower score. Despite this, the Galatasaray want to extend his contract, which ends this year, for another season. My verdict? Give him an extention, let’s see how he plays.

Emre Gungor (8/10) [Center Back] Age:23

Emre arrived in the January window from Ankaragucu and immediatly got used to the Ali Sami Yen enviornment. Emre played great for a newcomer throughout the second half of the season. In Song’s absence, he quickly took over the responsibilites. Let’s hope he continues to develop his skills and stays on the right path.

Ismael Bouzid (5/10) [Center Back] Age: 24

The Algerian full back never showed any real promise while playing for the club. While we did get him as a free transfer, he couldn’t even serve as a good bench player. His unnecesary two footed tackles and his panicky style of play made sure that he wouldn’t see much playing time. Chance of leaving: 90%.

Ugur Ucar (8/10) [Right Back] Age: 21

The acne-stricken right back showed great potential throughout the season. His unwielding resolve coupled with his love of getting forward and making great crosses into the penalty box makes him the likely candidate for next year at right back. However during the Konyaspor match, Ugur’s left knee was pretty much smashed to pieces and resulted in his missing out the remainder of the season. In my opinion, if it wasn’t for his injury, he would be playing in the Euro’s this year.

Sabri Sarioglu (7/10) [Right Back] Age: 23

After Ugur’s crippling injury, it was up to Sabri to take his place. While I have criticized Sabri A LOT over the years, I will admit that he did his best to take over. The Turkish media claim that Sabri will be on his way out to Fiorentina at the end of this season. Quite frankly I want him to just get out of here. Maybe there he can understand what a gravy train he had at Galatasaray.

Midfield

Baris Ozbek (8/10) [Right Wing] Age: 21

After arriving from German side Rot-Weiss Essen, few people thought that Baris would be able to step up to the plate. And boy did he. Baris has a great desire to win and to fight to the last minute for the goal. His physical strength and height makes him stand above the rest in the league. His crosses into the penalty box also yielded results. Let’s hope he continues to improve the following year.

Hasan Sas (6/10) [Right Wing] Age: 31

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When Hasan keeps his calm and focuses solely o his football and not on the referee, he is the best right-winger in Turkey. But of course Hasan simply can’t keep his calm. A red card and 5 yellow cards in 8 matches is shameful. Towards the end of the season, Hasan went in for surgery and afterwards gained a lot of weight. I really dont think that Hasan will be able to play next season with his weight gains.

Okan Buruk (6.5/10) [Right Wing] Age: 35

I can’t say much towards Okan. He didn’t get much playing time, and yet he managed to score his goals and do his job properly. Apparently Okan wont be with us next year and will try to continue playing overseas. Maybe MLS???

Tobias Linderoth (7/10) [Central Midfield] Age: 28

Linderoth really is a great player. He gives his best for the entire match, he loves to play a bit rough, and his passes almost always find their man. Shame we couldn’t watch him that much. Hes been injured for months and has only recently begun training for the Swedish national team. The board has already promised that Linderoth wont be going anywhere this summer.

Mehmet Topal (8.5/10) [Central Midfield] Age: 22

Mehmet Topal is really talented with both feet, calm under pressure and possesses a fierce shot from distance. His long legs make him an ideal central midfielder as he is able to recover from any mistakes quickly and recover the ball back with his legs. After Linderoth’s injury, Mehmet really stepped up and came through for the team. Only question is this; will it be Mehmet Topal or Linderoth in the midfield next year?

Mehmet Guven (7/10) [Central Midfield] Age: 20

Can be considered the backup for the backup of Linderoth. Our second Mehmet is also really talented. He has shown that he can be caleld upon when needed and that our midfield is secure for the long run. Maybe we’ll see more of Mehmet Guven next year.

Ahmed Barusso (5/10) [Central Midfield] Age: 23

Barusso came in a loan move from Roma as another Midfield player. He only played two league matches and didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. He gave away a really cheap penalty in his first game. It was really obvious that his mind was back in Rome.

Ayhan Akman (7.5/10) [Left Wing, Attacking Midfielder] Age: 31

Ayhan started the season off really well. However yet another crippling injury put him out for a good portion of the season. Towards the end he was able to get somethings done but at the end of the day, Ayhan’s getting older. I really cant see much in the future for Ayhan. I say keep him for another year, If hes willing to sit on the bench, keep him. If not, send him away.

Arda Turan (9/10) [Left Wing] Age: 21

Where do I start with Arda? Quite simply, he is the most talented player in Turkey at the moment. His ability to get by numbers of opponents, his intelligent style of play, and his great crosses into the penalty box has already led to the Galatasaray faithful labeling him as the “New Hagi”. Several European clubs are interested in him, with Newcastle United offering 11 million pounds. However Arda has already stated that he does not want to leave Istanbul just yet. My opinion? Arda needs to stay. Hes playing great football and his value will only increase from here on out. However every player has his price…..

Marcelo Carrusca (3/10) [Left Wing] Age: 24

Carrusca, you idiot. You have so much potential and yet your so lazy as to not try to even attempt to play the ball. Whenever an opponent comes before you, you just pass the ball back to the defense. And yet you give incredible through balls and can lob a keeper from 30 meters out. Marcelo will probably be sent packing after his complete lack of any desire to win matches. At Galatasaray, thats a big no-no.

Lincoln (8/10) [Attacking Midfield] Age: 28

Even though the Turkish media have slammed Lincoln of every thing a player should not be, I am very satisified with Lincoln. 5 goals in 16 games is a great ratio for a midfield player. Even though he has suffered from injuries, Lincoln’s quality can never be argued against. Next year will be Lincoln’s year to really shine and to shut the critics up.

Forwards

Umit Karan (8.5/10) [Striker] Age: 31

Umit has scored 11 goals this season, almost all of them either vital match-saving goals, or incredible goals that force you off your seat and make you wanna scream Goooooooooooooooooooooooaaal!!!!!!!. Despite his lack of consistencies, Umit is a very hard worker and was instrumental to the final result. Let’s hope he stays with us next year.

Shabani Nonda (8/10) [Center Forward] Age: 31

The thing with Nonda is that while he really knows how to score goals, hes pretty slow in moving with the ball and opening up space for himself. That being said, his vital goal against Fenerbahce which pretty much assured us the title raised him to the level of instant CimBom legend. We only paid a little over a 1,000,000 Euros and he provided us with 11 goals. Transfer of the season? Will most likely stay with us next year.

Hakan Sukur (10/10) [Center Forward] Age: 37

He scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists at the age of 37. Enough said.

Serkan Calik (7/10) [Striker] Age: 22

Little Serkan is really good with his feet but his lack of height is a real disadvantage. However he really is a gifted player and will only go from strength to strength from here on out.

Managers

Karl-Heinz Feldkamp (6/10) [Manager] Age: So old that the blood stopped flowing to his brain

The only good thing he did for this club is reassemble a good squad that was able to be champions. ill give him credit where its due. However his numerous errors can only be explained by old age or bribery. Maybe a twisted combination. After he left, the squad once again began winning matches under interim coach Cevat Guler.

Cevat Guler (8/10) [Manager]

Not much can be said about Mr. Guler. He raised team morale and won every won of the six matches he was in charge of. There has been speculation over whether he can take over, but he has come out saying that he had no plans on doing so and would return to his old duties with the club. Nice guy overall, seemed like a father (literally) figure for the rest of the youngsters.

All in all I believe that we deserved this championship. We played the best football overall, we played attractive attacking football, and by the number, we were the best team.

However there are a couple of disappointing trends that can be noticed. Almost every one of our foreigners did not give their best. As a result, Barusso, Carrusca, and Bouzid will be sent away next season. The board will most likely keep Lincoln, Nonda, and Linderoth for the next season. What we need for the next season is a really good foreign goalkeeper and perhaps another experienced midfielder.

The future truly is bright for Galatasaray. After the Aslantepe stadium project is completed, the board plans on selling the special VIP seats and lodges in a five year plan for a total gain of 250 million Euros. The Riva Tesisler project, when completed will bring Galatasaray at least another 300 million Euros. As we speak the board is sitting with an undisclosed Russian firm on the matter.

In addition we have many young players who are brimming with talent. When Arda, Ugur, Baris, and the like grow older and truly refine their ability, we’ll have a strong core of Turkish talent which can then be coupled with top class foreigners. Hear me now Europe, your nightmare is returning!!!!!!!

Thanks to all who have followed me through the 2007-2008 season. I hope you’ll follow me through the next season as well. Have no fear, I’ll still be here through the summer, catching up on the latest transfers and the like. But I will be spending more time on the Euro 2008 Turkey blog. Feel free to visit and discuss our Ay-Yildizlar

Cildririn! Cildirin! CimBom icin cildirin!!!!!!!