The first league match saw us drop two points against the newly promoted Goztepe away from home; and with Trabzonspor visiting us at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium it was no doubt that anything less than the three points would be acceptable yet we dropped points once again.
So what went wrong and what went right during the first couple matches of the league?
1) Volkan Demirel's performances in preseason and in the first two league matches show that he's no longer capable of being Fenerbahce's first choice; maybe even second choice goalkeeper. With okay performances last season; many fans including myself thought that Volkan will step up his game this year with the competition provided by Carlos Kameni for his spot but that can't be further from the truth. Volkan's time as Fenerbahce's number 1 has unfortunately come to an end; and although he's a legend of the club; he should settle as Kameni's substitute for this season. Still however, it's wrong for fans to be booing him in the stadium or cussing him over social media; one thing you can know for sure is that he's doing his best; dont blame him; blame the manager who's playing him.
2) Robin Van Persie's time is over. Robin not only seems lazy and uninterested in training; with fans scolding him (and Ozan Tufan) over a twitter video that showed their (lack of) efforts in training; but van Persie, who's on a rumored salary of around $120,000 a week has failed to score a single goal this season (including preseason friendlies). Even the young striker Ahmethan Kose who has no experience seemed more lively than him. Robin might still be able to settle with more service from players like Giuliano, Ekici and Valbuena; but unless he can make a 180 degree turn, his time for us is over.
3) Soldado showed his qualities when he came on for Roman in the second half. The Spaniard helped the team a lot with his pressing and created space for his teammates; his off the ball movement is really impressive and he knows how to draw defenders out of position which resulted in the creation of space for other forwards. Soldado however failed to convert a couple chances yesterday and did the same against Vardar and he keeps the doubts over his finishing ability unanswered.
4) Giuliano is a joy to watch and will be a great addition for us! The Brazilian playmaker, already being dubbed as the new Alex by many fans due to the similarities between him and the Brazilian legend (both are born in Coritiba, both wore the number 20 jersey on their arrival and both came as 27 year olds) had a passing accuracy of 100%, completing 25 out of 25 passes after he had replaced van Persie at half time. With time he will settle well into the team and will ease off the pressure from Valbuena.
5) Valbuena, depsite his age, is the most hardworking player we've had since Kuyt. The Frenchman didn't stop running for 90 minutes, helping out in attack, midfield and defense. He reaped the benefits of his performance by scoring a penalty and hopefully with an improved attack and more solid defense (that gives more freedom to our attack) Valbuena's efforts can pay off even more. Great transfer and what a bargain at only $1.7 million.
6) We need a new centerback. Skrtel is a great centerback but he needs someone next to him. Roman Nuestadter is not a typical centerback having played most of his career as a defensive mid and he's shown that he isnt the most consistent player at the back. The rumored arrival of Gustavo Gomez is probably revealing for us but a more solid player like Vida would've been more assuring for our defensive situation.
7) Aatif Chahechouhe will be a joy to watch with such attacking and creative players. Against both Vardar and Trabzon, Aatif made a good and immediate impact when he came off the bench. Anyone who watched Aatif with Sivasspor knows his qualities and when surrounded with creative and technical players, his attacking output is undoubtedly there. He will be an important player for us this season just like Alper.
8) Alper is flourishing as a central mid. For two years he was wasted on the wings by Ismail Kartal and Vitor Pereira, he was sometimes used in the middle by Advocaat but its a joy to see Alper given more freedom and chances to attack with Aykut. Alper has the skills and the brains to be a key player for us.
9) Time to end Josef-Topal. Josef is a good player, Topal is a good player too, but Josef-Topal is the most horrendous midfield duo of Fenerbahce's recent history (yes, worse than the times we saw a duo of Josico-Maldonado in 2008). Josef and Topal are carbon copies of each other; physical, defensively sound players who also happen to be slow and lack goalscoring threat (unless its headers from set-pieces). One of them has to be dropped.
10) Ismail showed good passion and an improved performance yesterday and Isla seems to be a very good addition; Dirar is the type of winger that Aykut likes (tough, presses opponents, etc..) but we need a more attacking player to be on the right flank. Maybe Alper or Aatif will play there sometimes but hope to sign the rumored Orallena from Valencia.
What do you think about the match, share your opinion in the comment section below.
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