'Arse'ne Wenger

This morning was just like another one at work. Well, that was what I thought but then I saw this article on The Guardian Football page.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/aug/14/arsenal-arsene-wenger-premier-league

He said he acted like he hadn't seen what his players did on the pitch. Like spitting on the other managers and harsh tackles and all those bollocks.

I kept on doing my work and an hour later my yiddo friend in the office told me about that and we were cracking up the next moment. Innit funny?

He knows he's a wanker and finally he went all open about that. You know those people who look like ponces but they claim they aren't. When they finally come out, you say "Bloody 'ell, I knew it!". That's gotta be Arse N Wanker now.

A nice self-realisation. Keep up the good work.

What a Super League!

Turkish Super League ain't as Super as you'd think. Stadiums aren't great. Supporters aren't loyal. Players aren't professional. Chairmen are more popular than they should be. And most important part is; Football is usually boring.

As a Fenerbahçe supporter, what I see is a team defending for a good 60-70 minutes and try to score from a freekick or whatever to snatch a point from a big opponent. There are some players that have a job of marking the key players of the opposition by chopping them down.

The new season, however, is expected by lots of fans with excitement. The transfer window has been extremely interesting. Ankaragücü, a regular customer of the "Mid-table finishers Pub" have signed Darius Vassell. He was so surprised by the fans' reaction to his transfer and the mad crowd that greeted him at the airport that he went back to the UK to reconsider that move. He'll probably keep missing sitters and then claim that he couldn't get used to living in Turkey and sign for a club like Birmingham City and enjoy his five o'clock tea while watching the replays of his misses.

Galatasaray, on the other hand, have signed players like Abdul-Kader Keita, Elano and Leo Franco. Well, Manchester City don't give a crap on how much they spend on players. What about Galatasaray? They are like Andy Dufresne, crawling in a sewage full of debts but never breaking free of them. And who can blame them? A French-influenced club supported by terrorists! It's only Arsenal to match the characteristics of Galatasaray. If they were playing in another country, they would have suffered points deduction. Noone has the guts to do that in Turkey though. Bollocks!

I feel like I should end this post here. We'll all see what a "super" league we are going to be watching for the next 9-10 months. Are you excited? It may sound stupid but, I AM!

No Guitars?

I was listening to Editors today. Rain in the middle of July is a rare occasion in Istanbul so I grabbed my music player and went to the seaside.

As soon as I got back home, I checked the Internet to see if there were any clues about the new Editors album to be released in September and there I found it... NO GUITARS!

Apparently, Editors are not going to use guitars in their new album. I thought that was what made them special. I don't get this though. Bloc Party did pretty much the same thing on their last album (Intimacy) and the final result was terrible.

I can't wait to listen to the album but I also have fears that I won't be enjoying this winter with a new Editors record.

Hot Hot Heat

Summer time is a big problem for me. I can't stand heat and all. I can't believe there are two months to go.

People never believe me when I say that I don't like summer, though. I mean, when it's cold, you get a jumper and a thick coat and proper clothes but in the middle of July, it doesn't matter if you rip your skin off. You'll be hot.

My place is really close to the seaside and it's popular among young couples for a stroll. Now that it's summer time, I really don't wanna go near the sea to enjoy a little bit of breeze. I guess it was way better with the gray sky and the sea in January. Sure that and Editors' album, "The Back Room".

I already miss that.

Made of Stone

Last February, I had a chance to go to Cyprus to visit my brother and to see the sights around. Actually, I don't have a lot to say about what I saw out there but one.

I wanted to see the city, Kyrenia so we got in a car and started driving from Famagusta and since we were taking the shorter way, I can't say that it was a comfortable journey. Anyway, after 15 minutes I saw that church on the left side of the road. Two kids were playing games around it but the church looked really old and damaged. The cross on the roof had been taken down and the walls were covered with graffiti.

At that moment it hit me. The church was there because there were people attending, at least back in the day. I bet the Greeks attending that church had Turkish friends. What made them become so violent? In the end they knew each other. They danced to the same music, drank the same Ouzo/Rakı, ate the same food and maybe fell in love with the same people.

When I saw that church, I was listening to Stone Roses - Made of Stone -hence the name of the post- and probably this is the reason why I'm so overemotional about what happened to those people and what might have happened if they hadn't fought back then.

This trip also added to my favourite football teams. When I saw the ghost town Varosha closely and realized that the team Anorthosis Famagusta had to move South because of the war, I started to support them.

I hope the Cypriots realize that they need each other.

Back to the Spirit

It is always a bit hard to go back to your hometown if you've spent more than 3-4 months in the big city. I decided to start my vacation in my hometown to get rid of the stress of work and the madness of the city.

For some reason, this time it seemed way more attractive to be in the countryside for a bit. Gave me a feeling of safety and warmth...

Let me tell you the best part; Watching my hometown's football team play its last game of the season. I've always loved watching amateur games. I remember watching 4 games a weekend at some stage of my high school years. What makes me happy about watching the match is seeing my primary school friends play and giving them suggestions, swearing at the referee and knowing that he's hearing what I say, talking to my locals about how life is and eating dodgy food.

Well, the score was 3-1. We won and finished at the bottom of the league with only 2 wins. There were about 40 people watching. I'm pretty sure I do not enjoy most of the Turkish Super League games as much as I enjoy the local teams' games. That's probably why I named the post as "Back to the Spirit" and you'd understand what I mean if you had seen the dust behind the left winger's shoes while he was running.