TimT

Turkey is a quality side but don't have enough quality or deep bench with game changers to win a major tournament. However, a quarter final or even a semi final is a possibility. It's a difficult team to beat on their good day when Merih Demiral (Juventus), Caglar Soyuncu, and Zeki Celik (LOSC Lille) form the three positions of the back four. Hakan Calhanoglu (AC Milan) is a tremendous play maker. His corner kicks have been deadlier than his penalty or free kicks. If Zlatan Ibrahimovic stayed healthy Hakan could have assisted a dozen goals only from his corner kicks however other Milan players have been wasteful. Despite the fact Burak Yilmaz, who is 35 years old and had a hat trick against the Netherlands a few days ago, and Yusuf Yazici can be series goal threats as they have been in LOSC Lille this season, they are not top level forwards. Yilmaz is older and slower now but still is better and faster player than Cenk Tosun. In his first season in Ligue 1, he was one of the top strikers until he got injured and didn't play for months.

Kabak played the last 15 minutes. Why would the manager play Kabak while his team is up 3-0 if he had even mild symptom? Obviously, he also knew Kabak didn't perform well in the previous game. The manager brought him in so Kabak can build his confidence and learn a few things from Soyuncu.

Meanwhile, Ozan Kabak of Liverpool is supposedly sidelined with a flue or something. I think the coach didn't want to play him after his performance against the Netherlands. Honestly, Kabak was awful vs the Netherlands. He ducked in the second goal and gave away a last minute penalty kick after his attempt to stop Matthijs de Ligt. The coach realized he was the weakest link in the defense and brought in a new CB and pushed Kabak to CM position since Turkey had already used all her substitutes.

Soyuncu scored a goal with a nice header from a corner kick and gave 2-0 lead to Turkey against Norway. He's been absolutely a beast in the first half. He's playing like a true leader.

...

Those who believe in Team Work often reminds us all that "the team is as good as its weakest link." Has anyone took a look at the Match Ratings board recently? IF you look at the lowest rated player for each game, it's been steadily going down since the first premier league game vs Manchester City, 7.8, and not once it has bound back for fifteen games. The ratings stayed above 7.0 after eight games and dropped below it with AEK Athens game in the Europa League. It was above 6.0 for two games, and over 5.0 for two games. The lowest rated player was below 5.0 for the last three games. By the way, the same can be summarized for the team performance throughout the weeks.

Except the last ten minutes in the first period, the defense was very solid but Fofana was exceptional. Similarly, the midfield was very good but Praet was excellent but was fatigued in the last ten minutes. BR needs to stretch the field so he should bring both Under and Barnes though they need to be told to track back. they should be able to handle it comfortably for 45 minutes or so.

...and usually, when it is not a just decision, the player won't be able to convert. So the miss was fair.

Penalty is a harsh decision.

It is a handball.

Vardy is picking up more injuries lately. If he can stay healthy, he can last a few more seasons. Since the yearlong schedule is going to be very hectic, if BR can reduce his play time, that maybe possible. Look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Anyone can hardly say Ibrahimovic is 39 based on his fitness and performance. Also, two more things should be considered: the cost of the new striker, and the level of production while maintaining his desire to be part of the unit in LCFC while preserving team cohesion. You can't do all that if you bring a top notch striker who will cost $$$$. The management can also strengthen its hand during negotiation with the players. You do not want to turn Vardy into a bench player either if the competition goes to the favor of the newcomer. With a player like Aspas, you can split 95 minutes without dropping productivity in the final third. It doesn't have to be every game, you also give enough rest to each striker anyone BR sees it fit. After that, you do recruiting on a youngster in the next three or four years. If the manager has a highly dependable and rotational striker force for 3 to 4 years, that is awesome. in terms of stability, it's a long enough time for any team. You take a big load off of Brendan Rogers's shoulders.

Iago Aspas of Celta de Vigo from La Liga should be one to consider as an additional striker in the roster. I have been following this dude for the last two seasons. Barnes, Under, and Aspas will tear apart the Premier League.

Mancunianfox said "Dzeko has had a great career and done the business at many good clubs so I don't want to be disrespectful but it seems obvious that Under is a much better fit with a striker like Vardy." Under linked with Dzeko really well under Euesebio Di Francesco. I would be pleased if he does link with Vardy as well. Then, we can make the comparison between the two. Anyhow, this is what I said when his move from Roma was finalized back in September: Posted 18 September Oh man, I can't believe Cengiz Under will be playing for LCFC! During a discussion here last year. I bragged a little bit about this young player. I am all smiling and so excited to watch him. It feels like getting Mo Salah to LCFC. I am not saying Under is as good as Mo Salah. Just that, this is a tremendous signing. I would have never thought Under would really come to play for LCFC, no disrespect. I always thought if he ever played in the Premier League, it was going to be one of the London or Manchester Clubs. Really, really happy for LCFC. I hope he stays injury free. The Premier League is just for his style. He's incredibly fast and great at beating defenders in 1-on-1 situations. He's got long range accurate shots, crosses and etc. I know some mentioned of Perisic, and I really really like Perisic but I would have picked Under on any day vs Perisic because Under is younger, faster, takes better shots, and a better dribbler. 18 September by TimT

He didn't play in his natural winger position. I think Brendan Rogers is trying to explore his hidden abilities to see if he can use Under maybe as #8 and #10. I have never seen Under play in the center of the midfield for Roma and his national team.

Brendan Rodgers needs to take risk and utilize an hybrid 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 with three upfront with Barnes, Vardy, and Under. Recently, all the attacks are coming from Barnes who overworks and burns out and then BR tries the same from the right wing with under by replacing Barnes.

Brendan Rogers was intimidated by A.Villa's performance in trashing of Liverpool so there was no offensive play by LCFC throughout the game. Barnes tried to something but he choked almost all the time. When the team doesn't play up tempo pressing and offensive game, it's difficult for him to do well alone. It wasn't his day. Brendan Rogers knew his team set up didn't work. Instead of switching to a different set up, all he did was be brought in Hamza Choudhury for Mendy. The game is tied at 0-0, and the left wing hasn't been any productive, doesn't it make more sense to bring a quick winger who has pretty decent ball control and dribbling skills similar to Barnes on the left wing to force the opponent to retreat? Perez hasn't been effective as a playmaker but if Brendan Rogers had switched to 4-2-3-1 formation, the opponent had to come with solution to stop the fast wingers on both sides which would ultimately have curbed Villa's tempo and offensive play. Hamza is really not good enough as a lone DCM but he would probably be more effective in a 4-2-3-1 formation. He has good technique and better ball control when knowing he is covered when committing error or misplacing a pass.

He had a good game but let's remember LCFC played very defensive game. The team's play was darn boring. LCFC carried the ball to the opponent's half in a meaningful way rarely. Most of the time, the ball was in LCFC's half.

Caglar Soyuncu is out due to his injury against Serbia tomorrow in the UEFA Nations League. Now, Wesley Fofana gets a chance to jump higher!

LCFC is vulnerable when play with 3 central defenders in the back since Brendan Rogers applied it since the second half of the last season. Today, the CBs are not playing well either. However, Soyuncu protects the central left of the defense and he was were he was supposed to be. I dislike defensive players simply protecting space when there is no opponent and imminent danger in that their space, they should look to cover the path of the outside runner. Yes, Soyuncu should have been more aware of his surroundings but also Antonio was not stationary inside the box he run into the box from the far left and he should have been covered by the left full back. In the second goal, Soyuncu run from the central mid to the right of the field which was supposed to be protected by both Amartey and Evans. Both were slow to react.

Oh man, I can't believe Cengiz Under will be playing for LCFC! During a discussion here last year. I bragged a little bit about this young player. I am all smiling and so excited to watch him. It feels like getting Mo Salah to LCFC. I am not saying Under is as good as Mo Salah. Just that, this is a tremendous signing. I would have never thought Under would really come to play for LCFC, no disrespect. I always thought if he ever played in the Premier League, it was going to be one of the London or Manchester Clubs. Really, really happy for LCFC. I hope he stays injury free. The Premier League is just for his style. He's incredibly fast and great at beating defenders in 1-on-1 situations. He's got long range accurate shots, crosses and etc. I know some mentioned of Perisic, and I really really like Perisic but I would have picked Under on any day vs Perisic because Under is younger, faster, takes better shots, and a better dribbler.

it's a penalty kick.

Merih Demiral is a tremendous player with great potential. He suits well in physical aspect of the EPL and has great desire to play in the Premier League. I would say a less expensive alternative would be Ozan Kabak of Schalke 04. IMHO, here is the comparison of these two center-backs, who are Turkish internationals, to LCFC's Caglar Soyuncu: Merih Demiral and Caglar Soyuncu were discovered by Lucescu, the manager of Turkish NT at the time, prior to Euro 2020 qualifiers over two years ago. Demiral, two years junior of Soyuncu, has been the first choice for the CB position and he's played every minute of the 10 matches in the Euro 2020 while Soyuncu was usually a third option and alternated with Kaan Ayhan of Fortuna Dusseldorf for the second CB position in a 4-2-3-1 formation which Turkey has mostly utilized in the Euros. After Merih Demiral has moved between a couple of youth rank teams, Fenerbahce in Turkey, and Sporting B in Portugal, he played for Turkish super league club Alanyaspor for the first period of last season. He, then, ended up in Serie A's Sassuolo in the January transfer window where he was immense and received high praise from clubs and pundits in Italy despite the fact he only played the second half of the season in Serie A at the age of 20. Some of the top clubs around Europe followed his progress but Juventus was quick to sign him though only after Juventus had already decided to bring Matthijs de Light in, who cost three times the value of Demiral. Meanwhile, Juventus paid twice the transfer fee for Demiral than Sassuolo paid to Alanyaspor. The price tag and the salary of De Light might have played a role why Demiral didn’t get much playing time for Juventus even though De Light hasn’t played exceptionally well at times. Merih Demiral was superb at Sassoulo and flawless throughout the Euro 2020 matches for Turkey. In contrast, Caglar Soyuncu was error prone for Euro 2020 except in the last two important international games which he played after being regular in LCFC this season. Maybe, it was something to do with Soyuncu being a young and an inexperienced player at the time who spent the last year on the bench while Demiral was regular at Sassoulo. Anyhow, the roles have changed for the ongoing season. Soyuncu has been a regular player for LCFC, and Demiral has been mostly on the bench understandably except in the last month prior to winter break after his superb performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the European Champions League. Demiral has put on the MOTM performance in a star-studded Juventus FC in each game he played. Following the Euro 2020, Turkish football fans were asked about the best performers in Turkish NT. After the manager, Merih Demiral was the unanimous choice of the fans, trailed by Roma's exciting young winger Cengiz Under. Caglar Soyuncu came 5th or 6th place among the players. However, Soyuncu's astounding performance in LCFC this season has allowed him to pair with Merih Demiral in the last two very important Euro games, away vs France (1-1), and home game vs Iceland (0-0). Turkey had 8 clean sheets out of 10 games, and conceded only 3 goals. Demiral is taller, 6'3", so he is much better aerially. His timing, positioning, and reading of the game is excellent. He is as fast and even appears to be faster than Soyuncu. He is a "beast" in the defense. Even though he is only 21, he has leadership quality, and the fans love him for his tenacity. Sarri said of Demiral following the win against Sampdoria “he has this great positive energy that he transmits to his teammates." His teammates and the Turkish fans feel more at ease and less panicky when he is in the middle of the defense. He is a superb tackler though looks a little rough at times even though he generally avoids any card. Probably, the referees think it's only a fair play. In comparison to Soyuncu, Demiral appears to be less technically gifted. I was annoyed by his horizontal and reverse passes in the past. Notwithstanding, as an understudy of Chiellini and Bonucci, he has exhibited he’s made improvement during his most recent performances with the Turkish NT and in the Champions League vs BLeverkusen, and in the Serie A matches. Another thing he improved greatly was that, unlike Soyuncu, he used to look more nervous with the ball in his feet under pressure in big games last year. Probably, that has partially contributed to reverse or parallel passes. That has completely gone since he has been at Juve bar his very first game which he played months ago. It shows he is a quick learner. On the other hand, his long forward straight and diagonal passes have been always pinpoint to the address, either finding his teammates running into the penalty area or are in the wide area. Although Demiral's passing accuracy is very high, he still might be inferior to Soyuncu in forward passing efficiently or silky and crafty Cruyff like moves Soyuncu exhibits quite often. Another quality to Demiral's game is his ability to score or provide assist through dead balls. He is more like VVD. Ozan Kabak of Schalke FC is alternative to both Merih Demiral and Caglar Soyuncu. At 19, Kabak is another highly gifted center back whose qualities are at par with both players, Demiral and Soyuncu. Kabak is a product of Galatasaray. He was promoted to Galatasaray senior squad last year at the age of 18. He played only a dozen games and was immediately brought into Stuttgart during the January window last year. He was regular there and he scored a few goals as well. At the end of the season, Kabak was named the young rookie player of the year in Bundesliga at the age of 18. There was a clause in his transfer agreement that he would be allowed to transfer out if Stuttgart relegated, which he activated and Schalke 04 signed him. He was injured prior to the start of the season, when he return from his injury, he became regular in Schalke 04 since November. He scored and provided assists (I believe 3 goals+1 assist) in consecutive games. He was named the player of the month in November in Bundesliga at the age of 19 after playing a month of football following his recovery. Ozan Kabak is very technical, calm under pressure, excellent tackler, can dribble well and pass accurately, and a threat in dead ball possessions. His technique is similar to William Saliba. IMHO, he can even play a CDM position when needed. Though, he might not be as fast as the other two. Demiral's value has skyrocketed recently; mainly, it is due to his brilliant performances in the limited time with Juventus; and also, many top clubs are interested in him. On the other hand, Ozan Kabak may be valued a lot less at the moment.

For the soft g (ğ) pronunciation, it's somewhere between "gay" and "hey." I think the word "gay" is probably one of the best examples. Just don't put too much stress on the (g), like saying "Good!"and "Goal!" in a reactionary tone. That's all. Çağlar = Chag-lar Söyüncü = Si(r)-yewn-je(w)

Think about it for a second! You're watching your favorite team vs Manchester City, the fake blues, at home. The fans are all trying very hard to pronounce Caglar Soyuncu. The kid is disappointed and everyone including him is performing poorly because of it. Suddenly, you rush to the help of this young awesome player. You give him a boost like a case of Red Bull would do to you. Suddenly, Your favorite team turning the the Fake Blues into their original color, the Purple. Your team is up, and numbers on the scoreboard are moving like the sales in Amazon,com. on your favor. Imagine, it all happens just because you could pronounce Çağlar Söyüncü properly. You become the other hero. You reward yourself with a box of "Lokum," the turkish delight. Beware, consuming too much lokum takes your six packs away...no not your Budweiser, damn it!

Yes, it certainly does. Even though this may be minuscule, it provides a good pay check as well if you are employed by MI5, SIS (also known as MI6), NCA, GHCQ. Also, there are plenty of other opportunities in multi-national corporations which trade with or operate or would like to expand to the Turkish speaking regions particularly if you get familiar with various Turkish dialects that are spoken in the former USSR, and also countries like Iraq, and Iran where quiet a sizable of the populations speak Turkish due to being conquered and ruled by the former Turkish empires. Of course, the most important thing in being fluent in Turkish is that you get to pronounce Çağlar Söyüncü properly.