Turkey - Vestel Venüs Sultanlar Ligi - 2019/2020

    Quote from sloth

    And Serbia have Brankica... When you have full confidence in your OH, and you know that you don't need to kill yourself to win a game, you can play way more comfortable and it reflects in your own game, the game flows naturally... Kim and Natalia are not so trustworthy in this level anymore

    Brankica has shortcomings in defense, which makes it essential for the use of Busa. She receives all the ball covering brankica. OH is a position you have to both receive and attack.

    I don't think kim+natalia is weaker than brankica+busa.

    Also as a individual, I barely find better OH than Kim, Natalia. Only Zhu would be better than them, and other OH seems to be in the similar level or lower than them.

    Quote from zenith

    Brankica has shortcomings in defense, which makes it essential for the use of Busa. She receives all the ball covering brankica. OH is a position you have to both receive and attack.

    I don't think kim+natalia is weaker than brankica+busa.

    Also as a individual, I barely find better OH than Kim, Natalia. Only Zhu would be better than them, and other OH seems to be in the similar level or lower than them.

    Like individual and when we talk about whole cariers Busa+Mihajlovic is weaker than Kim+Natalia duo but now Mihajlovic+Busa duo do much better than Kim and Natalia duo. Busa is very stable recevier on the other hand Mihajlovic is superb spiker and she spikes for both like Busa is recevier for both and they do that usualy amazing.

    Kim and Natalia simply does not contribute to Ecz nothing or not enough in meaningfull moments, Natalia played some matches solid, Kim had her shinening moments but at the end play of Ecz is usualy set to Boskovic in whatever position she is.

    That is not way of volleyball which can win on long duration.

    Conegliano use Egonu and Serbia use Boskovic on the best possible way. Mota just can not do that.

    yes, have the same feelings.

    Vakifbank did not play well in the begining of this season. However, they keep improving under Guidetti's coaching, especially Haak, she is now a different player.

    On the other hand, ECZ is going downwards. No chemistry at all.

    What a pity of ECZ! Motta has to go.

    Quote from Bogdan123

    Like individual and when we talk about whole cariers Busa+Mihajlovic is weaker than Kim+Natalia duo but now Mihajlovic+Busa duo do much better than Kim and Natalia duo. Busa is very stable recevier on the other hand Mihajlovic is superb spiker and she spikes for both like Busa is recevier for both and they do that usualy amazing.

    Kim and Natalia simply does not contribute to Ecz nothing or not enough in meaningfull moments, Natalia played some matches solid, Kim had her shinening moments but at the end play of Ecz is usualy set to Boskovic in whatever position she is.

    That is not way of volleyball which can win on long duration.

    Conegliano use Egonu and Serbia use Boskovic on the best possible way. Mota just can not do that.

    That's because gamze literally gives all the boskovic, and ecz's result is nothing more than the condition of bosko that day.


    They should give balls to other players as well when it is not that crucial so bosko can attack efficiently in the critical moments. And kim natalia is enough to do that. But this kind of bosko bosko thing can't bring them title. And that's why strategy is needed. But none of them is seen in ecz and I think it is largely because of the head coach.

    I agree with most of what people are saying but I do think Kim and Natalia can still be effective against the top teams, even if not quite as strong as they used to be. The problem is that neither Lloyd nor Gamze can consistently set good balls and trying to kill awkward balls repeatedly against top teams is very difficult. Boskovic can do it (though even she struggles at times) but it’s asking too much from the OHs in their current shape. That’s not the only issue, Gamze wasn’t helped today by the reception and the MBs aren’t really world class talents, but the setter is the main problem imo.

    Quote from Sisko95

    I agree with most of what people are saying but I do think Kim and Natalia can still be effective against the top teams, even if not quite as strong as they used to be. The problem is that neither Lloyd nor Gamze can consistently set good balls and trying to kill awkward balls repeatedly against top teams is very difficult. Boskovic can do it (though even she struggles at times) but it’s asking too much from the OHs in their current shape. That’s not the only issue, Gamze wasn’t helped today by the reception and the MBs aren’t really world class talents, but the setter is the main problem imo.

    People should know how hard it is to hit gamze/Lloyd's setting when the opponents hit the balls from maja/cansu/naz/wolosz.


    Biggest problem in ecz is motta and next the setters.

    I think Motta is the one demanding from Gamze to set to Boskovic in such tight moments.


    Besides, Gamze likes to play a fast game, like Glass with US and Antonijevic in her golden days. She loves to use her middles but look at Eczacibasi middles, even Gibbemeyer is not an Alpha in attacking compared to their opponents' MBs such as Zehra. Yesterday she used Ergul as soon as she came in.


    So it is not only developing strategies and tactics through out the season but Eczacibasi also fails to pick right players in transfer seasons. This team's setter should not be Gamze or Lloyd, if you want Gamze, give her at least 1 MB who can score consistently.

    Eczacibasi has so much money but they didn't signed any top MB. I don't get it. :what:

    Quote from crovolley

    Eczacibasi has so much money but they didn't signed any top MB. I don't get it. :what:

    Because no top middle blocker wants to sit on the bench all the time and only play in CL:roll:

    Quote from Let's go orange

    Because no top middle blocker wants to sit on the bench all the time and only play in CL:roll:

    And also because the only elite Turkish MBs are already employed by their 2 main rivals.


    It seems Motta will become the volleyball version of Arsene Wenger, only without the early successes to justify the years of subsequent blind faith/torture. If Boskovic had even an ounce of hubris and cockiness that a player of her skills ought to have (which she doesn't), she would pose an ultimatum "Him or me" to club higher-ups. That would probably be the only way to get rid of him in the next few years. Unfortunately, by all accounts, she seems to have a very meek and mellow personality (at least outside of court).

    Quote from Janko

    And also because the only elite Turkish MBs are already employed by their 2 main rivals.


    It seems Motta will become the volleyball version of Arsene Wenger, only without the early successes to justify the years of subsequent blind faith/torture. If Boskovic had even an ounce of hubris and cockiness that a player of her skills ought to have (which she doesn't), she would pose an ultimatum "Him or me" to club higher-ups. That would probably be the only way to get rid of him in the next few years. Unfortunately, by all accounts, she seems to have a very meek and mellow personality (at least outside of court).

    I agree but she seems to be frustrated recently, she has been there for long time now and it doesn’t look well for them. I am sure she would be say “this has to stop” at some point.

    Quote from Janko

    And also because the only elite Turkish MBs are already employed by their 2 main rivals.


    It seems Motta will become the volleyball version of Arsene Wenger, only without the early successes to justify the years of subsequent blind faith/torture. If Boskovic had even an ounce of hubris and cockiness that a player of her skills ought to have (which she doesn't), she would pose an ultimatum "Him or me" to club higher-ups. That would probably be the only way to get rid of him in the next few years. Unfortunately, by all accounts, she seems to have a very meek and mellow personality (at least outside of court).

    She could definitely do that and she'd win! But knowing Tijana, it's not in her character to be that kind of petty person, which is a good trait of course but we really need Motta gone :D Also aside from the volleyball court and trainings, people seem to like Motta as a person. But hey, Guidetti is not likeable but wins games and that's the job at the end of the day.


    But trust me if this season Eczacibasi ends with no cups, Motta is gone, most definitely. From what I understood, this is the season he should show what he can do with this team so... That's not going too well so far.

    But He has 1 Cup in his pocket and second place at WCCH.


    If He won one more Cup He will be save.. :whistle:

    Quote from crovolley

    But He has 1 Cup in his pocket and second place at WCCH.


    If He won one more Cup He will be save.. :whistle:

    CL or Turkish League/Cup win would be bad for people that want him gone indeed. I still think though the possibility of him leaving would exist if he would only win the cup. Turkish League and CL are the priorities at the moment.


    Maja Ognjenovic's main goal was to win Turkish League this season, so let's hope she accomplishes it :heart:

    If ecz can't hire top MBs because they can't play in turkish league, then the alternative would be signing Kubra akman, or Dicle babat.


    Whatever, Gibbmeyer should be out. She doesn't have an upper hand compared to turkish MBs, even not considering she is foreigners. I think ecz could hire much better MB than gibbemeyer though one can't play in the turkish league.


    And, I really agree that boskovic thesedays somewhat very exhausted. Maybe it's because she achived very less compared to NT. If ecz wants bosko to stay, then they should fire motta in the firsthand and find another good players.

    Quote from zenith

    If ecz can't hire top MBs because they can't play in turkish league, then the alternative would be signing Kubra akman, or Dicle babat.


    Whatever, Gibbmeyer should be out. She doesn't have an upper hand compared to turkish MBs, even not considering she is foreigners. I think ecz could hire much better MB than gibbemeyer though one can't play in the turkish league.


    And, I really agree that boskovic thesedays somewhat very exhausted. Maybe it's because she achived very less compared to NT. If ecz wants bosko to stay, then they should fire motta in the firsthand and find another good players.

    Both Kübra and Dicle had ongoing contract with their clubs if I remember right:/ Aslı is having an amazing season but I doubt that she would leave GS, I feel like she will be an iconic player of the club just like Eda is for FB. I think they should just focus on Yasemin's development and give her as much playing time as possible. Yasemin and Zehra were at the same level while both were playing in junior NT and from then on, Zehra kept improving under the guidance of Gui while Yasemin was training in Karayolları:down: She is for sure improving, but she has way more potential than what we see right now. I think it would make more sense to let her play than Beyza or Ergül. In the long run the latter two won't contribute more than Büşra Cansu while Yasemin has the potential to be someone like Zehra or Kübra at least:whistle:

    After first half of the season ends, I want to summarize some statistics from teams;


    Best blocking teams per set:

    ECZACIBAŞI 3,5

    VAKIFBANK 2,8

    KARAYOLLARI 2,7


    Best serving teams per set:

    FENERBAHÇE 2,5

    VAKIFBANK 2,4

    ECZACIBAŞI 1,8


    Best attacking teams:

    VAKIFBANK 51%

    ECZACIBAŞI 49%

    FENERBAHÇE 48%


    Best receiving teams:

    VAKIFBANK 42%

    THY 32%

    BEŞİKTAŞ 31%


    Vakıfbank is the best attacking and by far best receiving team of the league and they are second at both blocking and serving. This pretty much explains how balanced team they are and how much they deserve to be on top of the ranking.


    Eczacıbaşı is best blocking team by far although their MBs are not 'world class'. I think their high blocking numbers could be attributed to the fact that their wing trio Boskoviç-Kim-Natalia are exceptionally good blockers in their positions. Also Gibbemeyer, Beyza and Yasemin are all pretty good at blocking so far. At serving, they don't have scary servers (neither Boskoviç nor Kim are consistent servers this season) while their opponents have Ebrar, Haak, Vargas, Eda and Bahar. Eczacıbaşı is second best attacker team while their reception seem to suck this season (8th). That's surprising since their libero Simge is one of the best receiver liberos and Kim-Natalia duo is supposed to be a decent receiving line. Unfortunately both of them are underperforming at reception so far.


    Fenerbahçe is best server team as they have been last couple of years thanks to Vargas, Eda, Bahar and even Mihajloviç. Almost everyone in this team is a great server. They are 4th best blocker team just a bit behind of Karayolları (with 2,5) and as expected their reception stats are not the best thanks to their 2 player receiving system despite of their unstable liberos.


    Galatasaray is number 4 at serving, attacking and reception whereas their weakness as a team seems to be their blocking (2,2 per set, 7th best overall). The shortest MB of the league, Aslı Kalaç is doing a great job at blocking so far however, Belien is underperforming and neither Anthi nor Rykhliuk are good blockers despite their heights.


    Besides the top4, other interesting stats are:


    Karayolları is 3rd best blocker team thanks to beast performance of Gerasymova and tall players Elif Şahin and Tutku Burcu Yüzgenç. On the other hand, they are second-worst serving and attacking team of the league, which justifies their 11th position in overall ranking.


    THY is second best receiver team due to the good performances of their liberos Funda Bilgi and Berin Yıldırım as well as surprisingly solid reception of Anne Buijs. However, they are the 3rd worse blocker team. Ozgenur is doing an OK job but none of other MBs or wings are contributing at blocking points. They are missing a blocker MB like Ruseva.


    Beşiktaş is doing a surprisingly good job at reception as well despite of a reception line of Merve Dalbeler-Mislina Kilıç-Fulden Urel. However, they are terrible at pretty much all other departments.


    Yeşilyurt was terrible at reception (22%, 11th overall). Not surprising since Derya has been doing a very bad performance so far and Tuğba is not a solid receiver neither (although way better than Derya anyways) their second libero is also extremely bad receiver so they don't have much help from the bench. On the other hand, Yeşilyurt is 5th best attacker, blocker and serving team of the league compromising their bad performance at reception.


    PTT is the worse serving team (0,9) but still a pretty good blocking team (2,4)