Turkish League 2016/2017

  • Fenerbahce is just fine and people underestimate them already for no reason. Just wait and see. Eda Erdem is a beast like always but I think Fenerbahce should have signed/hired Özge Nur instead of Vakif (I know it's impossible --> Galatasaray) but still or maybe like Ceylan Arisan. I'm pretty sure Polen will have a main role in Fenerbahce to make her as good as she possibly can be. And it is about time for her to be a starter and have a safe position in a team. So I don't see Sheila or anyone really coming for at least this season. Also Natalia will be great for FB. And we already saw with Vitra last year that having the best players doesn't necessarily make you champions.

  • And does anyone know where Damla Cakiroglu is :'D I saw her once at European League and thought she was so strong but then she was in Vitra last year but never played and now she's gone from the league :white:


    Edit: Never mind guys I just saw that she had signed with Beylikdüzü from 2nd league


  • Am I the only person here thinking that Fenerbahce actually has a bad team this year? :whistle: I really don't believe that they can finish in top 2...Once again I expect GsD and Sariyer to make a surprise and leave Fenerbahce out of final 4, unless Fenerbahce transfers a solid MB...

    Fenerbahce seems weaker than the previous three seasons but it's still a good team, for the domestic league at least. On paper Vakif and Eczaci this year are far ahead of all the other teams in the world.
    The last season you said the same words and in the end Fenerbahce finished 2 (1st in the regular season) even though Eczaci was a very strong team.
    A solid MB? do you mean a foreign one? They don't need her in the TL, i don't think the MB position will affect the chance of Fenerbahce especially when we know that they won the domestic league and the cup before one year with Dicle as MB.
    I respect your opinions but can you tell how many matches GsD won against Fenerbahce in the previous 3-4 seasons..? without talking about Sariyer.

  • Hope Fenerbahce sign with Sheilla Castro

    I don't know if any teams in Europe is ready to sign Sheilla after her two horrible seasons in Turkey.
    Fenerbahce won't transfer any player unless they find a new sponsor for the team.

  • Fenerbahce seems weaker than the previous three seasons but it's still a good team, for the domestic league at least. On paper Vakif and Eczaci this year are far ahead of all the other teams in the world.
    The last season you said the same words and in the end Fenerbahce finished 2 (1st in the regular season) even though Eczaci was a very strong team.
    A solid MB? do you mean a foreign one? They don't need her in the TL, i don't think the MB position will affect the chance of Fenerbahce especially when we know that they won the domestic league and the cup before one year with Dicle as MB.
    I respect your opinions but can you tell how many matches GsD won against Fenerbahce in the previous 3-4 seasons..? without talking about Sariyer.

    I was not talking about GsD-Fenerbahce competition. Volleyball is not about how individual players are, it's a team play and system dynamics matter a lot. During last years, Fenerbahce had defensive OHs next to KYK, like Bosetti who received well and defended like crazy, so that KYK could focus on attacking more. How will it work this year you think? I know Natalia had good stats in the NT until the finals, but there she was receiving with Garay. Fenerbahce is really vulnerable in receiving line this season compared to most other seasons, unless Seyma Ercan makes a big improvement and helps team a lot. Besides these, Tomkom is an amazing setter but she does great job when the receiving is good. She likes to play fast, with many combinations. I'm sure she will make KYK the best scorer in most matches but for that, she needs good receiving, she needs solid MBs who can score and a fast OPP. Polen is not the fastest OPP I know, Eda's level dropped even last season, same for KYK. All in all, I think Fenerbahce made a big mistake by not making good local transfers like Beri mentioned. This could be Özgenur, a good local setter, a good local OH. Please also remember that it is Natalia's first season ever in abroad, her performance and adaptation is a big question mark.


    Leaving Sariyer aside and analysing GsD of this season for you compared to last season, they had troubles in killing the ball. Receiving and defense worked pretty well but Centoni was the only player who could kill the ball. Jackson's attacking dropped significantly and Asli has her limits. Now, they transferred Sinead Jack, who pounds the ball everytime and Ruseva who is a solid blocker and attacker. I don't like Seda Tokatlioglu that much, but now GsD has a better attacker to sub Guldeniz or Leys when they have troubles to kill the ball as well. So compared to last year, this team improved the quality of Middles, plus offering alternatives for OHs and OPP. I really don't know if this will be enough to beat Vakifbank, Eczaci or Fenerbahce but remember that GsD was the only team who has beaten Vakifbank in playoffs...

  • I was not talking about GsD-Fenerbahce competition. Volleyball is not about how individual players are, it's a team play and system dynamics matter a lot. During last years, Fenerbahce had defensive OHs next to KYK, like Bosetti who received well and defended like crazy, so that KYK could focus on attacking more. How will it work this year you think? I know Natalia had good stats in the NT until the finals, but there she was receiving with Garay. Fenerbahce is really vulnerable in receiving line this season compared to most other seasons, unless Seyma Ercan makes a big improvement and helps team a lot. Besides these, Tomkom is an amazing setter but she does great job when the receiving is good. She likes to play fast, with many combinations. I'm sure she will make KYK the best scorer in most matches but for that, she needs good receiving, she needs solid MBs who can score and a fast OPP. Polen is not the fastest OPP I know, Eda's level dropped even last season, same for KYK. All in all, I think Fenerbahce made a big mistake by not making good local transfers like Beri mentioned. This could be Özgenur, a good local setter, a good local OH. Please also remember that it is Natalia's first season ever in abroad, her performance and adaptation is a big question mark.


    Leaving Sariyer aside and analysing GsD of this season for you compared to last season, they had troubles in killing the ball. Receiving and defense worked pretty well but Centoni was the only player who could kill the ball. Jackson's attacking dropped significantly and Asli has her limits. Now, they transferred Sinead Jack, who pounds the ball everytime and Ruseva who is a solid blocker and attacker. I don't like Seda Tokatlioglu that much, but now GsD has a better attacker to sub Guldeniz or Leys when they have troubles to kill the ball as well. So compared to last year, this team improved the quality of Middles, plus offering alternatives for OHs and OPP. I really don't know if this will be enough to beat Vakifbank, Eczaci or Fenerbahce but remember that GsD was the only team who has beaten Vakifbank in playoffs...

    As you know Fenerbahce parted ways with their main sponsor Grundig, so i'm really surprised how they managed to renew Kim's contract, sign Natalia and Nootsara.. I'm glad that they didn't end up with an awful team like 2012/2013.
    Natalia is a mystery box, i don't know what to expect from her but one thing is sure, she is not going to be worse than Lucia. The system of Kim + 2 liberos worked well in the last two seasons but it's time to change it and take the risk. If Natalia can play as she did this summer, i think Fenerbahce will be fine.
    The setter is always a real pain in the ass for the Turkish teams.. Vakif is lucky to have Naz.

  • I don't agree with the comments about FB becomes weaker this year. I strongly believe that they can play final with Vakıfbank this year (Since I expect a disappointing ) performance from Eczacıbaşı)


    With a limited budget, it was smart to sign with 3 really good players instead of 4 mediocre ones. A strong MB is never been a big asset unless team has good local setter which is not the case for Eczacıbaşı and FB. Fenerbahçe wasted foreign MBs at bench in previous years due to foreign player rule. KYK is phenomenal player and I believe with Tomkom she will play better than last year. Natalia is best Brazilian spiker and since she can play as both OH and Opp it is a great match for FB who doesnt have a wide bench. Lacking a strong MB wont be a problem, when you have already a scorer slider, another scorer MB is not crucial, especially when they have 2 very good scorer OHs.


    To me, Nilüfer Belediyesi and Seramiksan will be the ones which will be relagated at the end of season.

  • Nice summary Canter! I would say Seramiksan is the weakest team so far. Jessica-Susan is a solid MB, I remember her from Azerbaijan and she is good. Barcellini has never been a solid spiker and don't know what to expect from her. Other spikers are a big question mark too.


    For Nilufer, I know only one player is not enough but Crncevic is an amazing OH and one of the best all around players. She reminds me Gözde Sonsirma/ Esra Gumus with her style, not as explosive as Gözde though. It's a great transfer but rest are so so...


    Am I the only person here thinking that Fenerbahce actually has a bad team this year? :whistle: I really don't believe that they can finish in top 2...Once again I expect GsD and Sariyer to make a surprise and leave Fenerbahce out of final 4, unless Fenerbahce transfers a solid MB...


    actually i dont remember Crnevic therefore they looked weak to me...if she is as good as you said then they may avoid being relegated


    my fav. team amongs the mediocre teams is Sarıyer Belediyesi
    i wonder about Bjk's performance.they are second fav team of mine


    do you know who will be the opp of Halkbank ? and which teams are your fav. this season ?

  • "on paper"..FB looks a little weaker than the previous seasons but still a strong team... the paper doenst say everything everytime..
    last year VB was behind EcV and Fb but they won the league


    on paper VB and ECV look really strong! not easy for Fb to beat these two teams


    with support of spectators Natalia can have a good season here..i also believe she is best Brazilian attacker but she should attack as intelligently as Sheilla..Sheila is not a power spiker as her

  • Thank you guys for all the comments :) It's nice to hear other opinions!


    I was comparing Fenerbahce with previous years. This year as Serdar mentioned, they will collect points mainly from KYK and Natalia, depending on how Natalia adapts to a new volleyball culture. Last year they had KYK and Mihajlovic, plus a solid receiver like Lucia who often plays with very few errors. This year we will see KYK-Natalia-Polen trio instead. I think Eda is probably and still the best local MB in Turkey, but her level dropped since last 3-4 years. In my opinion Fenerbahce three obvious weaknesses this season compared to last year: (i) receiving line is shaky; (ii) Tomkom/Ezgi are both very short and have difficulties to block; (iii) their main opponents have world class MB duos. I love Tomkom and will be really interesting to see how she makes this team play!


    Canter, Crncevic is a good team player but I don't think she can carry a team all alone. My favorite team is Vakifbank, I expect GsD and Sariyer to make really big surprises. Besiktas is also a promising team but young stars will need time to find their ryhthem. It will be so good to watch Özge Kirdar again!

  • I think Halkbank also has an interesting roster. Both Bayramova and Starceviç are balanced, all-around OHs and Salas is quite reliable as an Opp. Also talented OH/Opp Burcu could contribute as a bench player. In addıtıon to Burcu, Halkbank also has setter Aslıhan Kılıç who is playing with U19 NT. Both Ceyda Durukan and Hande Naz Şimşek are decent MBs. My only concern is their bad trainer :S

  • Aliyeava's passing is terrible. :whistle:


    She receives more than 30-40 times every match with NT ans still does a decent job. I am sure she will do a better job in a team with a good receiver such as Starcevic. To me, both of these players are quite underrated.

  • I don't think Odina is such a bad passer as Hodge, Klineman, Neriman but I don't think she is underrated either.. She can give some decent passes to the setter, in a team that mainly relies on their wings, so she should do an okay job.. After a great first season in Turkey, Starcevic was praised greatly by many people but IMO last season was mediocre for her.. maybe with another good player besides her she'll do a better job

  • Zhu Ting will go to Turkey on Sep.12.

    My favourite roster of Chinese (in 2022)
    male NT:
    S - Yu Yao-chen, Chen Lei-yang
    OP - Jiang Chuan, Dai Qing-yao
    OH - Zhang Jing-yin, Yu Yuan-tai, Liu Li-bin, Fu Hou-wen
    MB - Zhang Zhe-jia, Peng Shi-kun, Li Yong-zhen, Jiang Zhen-yang
    L - Yang Yi-ming, Yang Tian-yuan


    female NT:
    S - Yao Di, Diao Lin-yu
    OP - Gong Xiang-yu, Sun Xiao-xuan
    OH - Li Ying-ying, Wang Yi-fan, Wu Meng-jie, Zhuang Yu-shan
    MB - Yuan Xin-yue, Wang Yuan-yuan, Zheng Yi-xin, Liu Yu
    L - Ni Fei-fan, Xu Jia-nan