Bursaspor - A Turkish Delight

[leckuno]

Name: Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği
Nickname: Yeşil Timsahlar (Green Crocodiles)
Stadium: Bursa Büyükşehir Stadium
Capacity: 43,761

Training Facilities: Excellent
Youth Facilities: Excellent
Junior Coaching: Adequate
Youth Recruitment: Basic

Honours;
Spor Toto Super Lig: 2010
Ziraat Turkiye Kapasi: 1986
TFF 1.Lig: 2006
TFF Super Kupa: 1986, 2010, 2015



Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern.

In the 2009–10 season, the club's men's football team won its first Süper Lig title after finishing with 75 points, one point ahead of the runners-up Fenerbahçe. Bursaspor became the second club outside Istanbul to win a Süper Lig title, joining Trabzonspor who won the first of its six titles in 1975–76. The club has also won the Turkish Cup once and the Prime Minister's Cup twice, as well as the First League twice. The club's first, and most successful foray into European competition came in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup when it reached the quarter-finals. Bursaspor also took part in the 1986–87, losing in the first round, as well as the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, where it lost in the quarter-finals.

Since winning the league title in 2010 the club has faced financial difficulites and now finds itself sitting in the 3rd tier of the Turkish football pyramid and is even now only classed as a midtable team showing how far they have fallen in just 12 years since winning the title and competing in European football. The downfall all happened from 2015 when the club started to try and spend big to be able to compete in Europe and it cost them as they ended up being relegated in 2019 before a second relegation 2 years later in 2021.


Stadium

Now this really is worth a google are you really need to see for yourself as its been designed with the clubs nickname in mind and there is a crocodile head on the outside of the stadium.

In 2015, it was time for the Bursa side to bid farewell to their historic Atatürk home, and move into their brand new Timsah Arena. Its imposing construction with plus 43,000 seats made it to the third largest in the league. “Timsah” is Turkish for “crocodile”, which is one of the team's two nicknames (“The Green Crocodiles”).The clubs downfall happened just after the opening of the new stadium sadly so not been able to fufill the full potential of it.

The Why?

So why have I decided to pick Bursaspor again after giving up the first time. The first being that I've really struggles to find a save to get me interested this season as they challenge just hasn't been there so with this I plan to try and set a few challenges. So the Super Lig sits all the way down in 19th spot meaning it has a massive amount to grow which is the same as the national team sitting all the way down in 40th spot with their best finish in an international tournament being 3rd in 2002. Next the save lets me focus on bringing youth players through the ranks making use of the clubs facilities once we improve the coaching and recruitment but hopefully we can still unearth the odd player before that. Finally its restoring a team back to the top of the country and winning the main league again before taking on Europe​

 

[leckuno]

Board Vision

The board thankfully don't expect too much from us this season where they just want us to finish mid table this year and start to repair the clubs financial damage which has been caused over the last few years which takes us nicely to the next point.

Club Finances

This just shows how far the club has fallen now that we only have £100,000 left in the bank and I don't see it improving anytime soon as we crawl back up the leagues.

It certainly won't be easy though as the club are currently in £50million of debt and having to pay back £210,000 a month towards it until 2030 so its going to be a long time

Supporter Vision

We have a very large core supporter group which is good as they will fill nearly half our stadium. They are a bit more demanding than the board with expecting a top half finish along with playing entertaining football which is something I'd expect to do anyway. The one downside to them though is they have a high influence on the board meaning that we are going to have to keep the fans happy to keep the board happy. We have plenty of space to be selling more season tickets as well with only 3,052 sold so far so it can grow significantly over the years.

Squad

Well with promoting a couple of players we have a squad of 18 players this season at the moment but there are some glaring holes in our squad with no decent full backs so we've got some work to do.

Transfers

Canberk Aydin

A new RB which is a big improvement on the youth player we currently have

Hakan Arslan

A new startling left back which brings some well needed experience into the young squad

Tolga Topalouglu

A young DM who looks like they could have a decent bit of potential and add something to the squad

Burak Demiregen

Another full back who can cover both sides so will be a big help for cover

So after managing to sign 4 players on free transfers then on the 1st July we then got hit with this lovely news

A season and a half of no more signings so will need to hope for decent youth to come in.

The Start

Time to see what the squad is made of and see how we fare at the start of the season​

 

[juninho123]

Best of luck with this rebuild. Funnily enough I just started a game here as well for the same reason, although I didn't realise you could sign players before that transfer embargo took effect. So I've not signed anyone unfortunately and won't be able to for a year and a half which will be painful!

 

[leckuno]

Best of luck with this rebuild. Funnily enough I just started a game here as well for the same reason, although I didn't realise you could sign players before that transfer embargo took effect. So I've not signed anyone unfortunately and won't be able to for a year and a half which will be painful!

Yeah had to try and make the most of it. I lost out on quite a few players though who chose to go elsewhere

 

[leckuno]

The Start

Bursaspor v Isparta 32 Spor

A great start for us to the season as Ayaroglu gets a brace and he was always going to be a key player for us this season. I was disappointed with the red card as we can't afford to be losing first team players

Somaspor v Bursaspor

Guler was on fire here with 4 goals to get us an easy 3 points

Bursaspor v Nazilli Belediyespor

Another straight forward win here and more importantly our first clean sheet as our team continues to get to grip with the tactics

Corum FK v Bursaspor

A very nervy match as it was a proper ping pong battle here and we never felt safe even with a 2 goal lead.

Bursaspor v Osmanlispor

What a start to the game as Sahin scores within the opening moment by taking it past 3 players before slotting home but it was disappointing not to score again though

Turkiye Kupasi 2nd Round
Bursaspor v Darica G. Birligi

We did a bit of rotation here in the cup but Guler scored the fastest goal in competition history after just 13 seconds but we did leave it very late to finish the game off.

League

We're the only team to still have a 100% record and have a game in hand as well as we set ourselves up nicely for the rest of the season

October

We've got 7 games this month as we'll need to find the right balance when it comes to player fitness so rotation will be key so players will need to step up​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

You picked up on this again mate?

 

[leckuno]

You picked up on this again mate?

Yeah started over on it as need a decent challenge and actually looking forward to it and helps that I was expecting the transfer ban this time haha

 

[leckuno]

October

Duzcespor v Bursaspor

A game that I was really disappointed with as we managed to throw away a 2 goal lead as our defence went to sleep after our 2nd goal

Bursaspor v Menemen Spor

A much better performance this time as we raced to a 2 goal leaf in just 5 minutes and then never looked back after that.

24Erzincanspor v Bursaspor

Yet again we throw away a 2 goal lead. If we were able to sign players I'd be looking for some new defenders in the next window so they should count themselves lucky.

Bursaspor v Batman Petrol Spor

This time it was up to us to fight back from a losing position as Altindis headed home from a corner

Turkiye Kupasi 3rd Round
Bursaspor v Sapanca

We rotated some players here since we were playing a non-league team and our defence nearly cost us again here with a really poor performance but thankfully we progress into the 4th round

Amed SK v Bursaspor

Another tough game for us and both teams getting some dodgy penalty decisions but thankfully we got the 3 points in the end.

Bursaspor v Sanliurfaspor

Some poor defending gave Sanliurfaspor a penalty to take the lead but thankfully Guler was able to get onto the end of a long ball to get us another point.

League

We've got a 2 point lead at the top of the table after a poor month with us picking up 4 draws so its all close at the top of the table

Player Development

This shows how important the club is to Turkish football with us having contributed 13 players who are currently playing in the Super Lig

November

A bit quieter this month and another decent draw for us in the cup as well which we can hopefully progress again.​

 

[leckuno]

November

Sivas Bld. v Bursaspor

We continue our poor run of form here as we have to fight back from a losing position to get a point

Turkiye Kupasi 4th Round
Bursaspor v 24Erzincanspor

The first time we've met a team in our division in the cup and we came close to throwing away a 2 goal lead again but thankfully we managed to get the 3rd goal to see us into the 5th Round

Bursaspor v Arnavutkoy Bld.

We fall behind yet again but this time Hurmaci made all the difference as he managed to score a cracker from outside the box before slotting home from the penalty spot

Esenler Erokspor v Bursaspor

For the first time since September we've managed to win 2 games in a row as Guler gets a nice brace.

Bursaspor v Inegolspor

We make it 3 wins in a row now as we finally find the confidence needed to finish games when we're given the chance.

League

We're slowly increasing our lead at the top of the table every month as we're now 3 points ahead

December

4 games this month before the winter break along with the 5th round of the cup against Super Lig opposition​

 

[leckuno]

December

Afyonspor v Bursaspor

Guler gets us off to a great start with slipping it past the keeper after just 6 minutes and then again just after half time. There was the fear though that we would do our usual and blow a 2 goal lead but manage to hold on

Bursaspor v Bayburt Ol Spor

Our first convincing win in a long time as the confidence is now flowing, it was disappointing to concede at the end though

Tarsus Idman Yurdu v Bursasport

Of course we drop points to the team sitting bottom of the league, its sadly just how it works usually when its top against bottom

Turkiye Kupasi 5th Round
Bursaspor v Antalyaspor

Safe to say we just coulnd't handle Haji Wright today as he showed the gulf in glass between us. Sahin did give us a glimmer of hope scoring just after half time but they were just too strong.

League

We've increased our lead up to 4 points now so we just need to keep going and hope for the best now that we've reached the halfway stage of the season.

World Cup

The USA had a very easy run to the final it seems and even went on to beat Portugal to lift the World Cup

January

The players have a bit of time off to recuperate before getting back to things with 3 games this month as we get the 2nd half of the season underway
​

 

[leckuno]

January

Isparta 32 Spor v Bursaspor

We get back underway from the winter break and hit the ground running picking up where we left off and we finally get a clean sheet as well with the 3 points

Bursaspor v Somaspor

Guler made the difference here in the 2nd half getting the all important 2nd goal for us to get the 3 points.

Nazilli Belediyespor v Bursaspor

We got extremely lucky here with the penalty in the first half as it was right on the edge of the box so could of gone either way but we had our fighting spirit to come back from 1-1 to get the goal with 5 minutes to go

League

We've had a very good month and now have a whopping 10 point lead at the top of the table

February

Just the 4 games this month to look forward to​

 

[leckuno]

February

Bursaspor v Corum FK

When Guler gets going he's a great striker as he bangs in another hat-trick for us with some brilliant finishing. Corum did make it tough for us though as they managed to keep their foot in the game for the whole 90 minutes.

Osmanlispor v Bursaspor

Again we were made to work for it as Osmanlispor managed to pull it back twice before Guler got the important goal to get us the 3 points.

Bursaspor v Duzcespor

Another game against a team fighting for the playoff spots and its a free kick from Hurmaci into the top corner

Menemen Spor v Bursaspor

Finally a bit of an easier game here as we get two goals in 2 minutes to get us the 3 points

League

The league should be ours hopefully as we now have an 11 point lead so promotion should be here sooner rather than later

Senior Affiliate

Well some good news is that the board have finally agreed to give us a senior affiliate and we have managed to get Galatasaray which can hopefully help us one we can sign players again

March

Our busiest month for most of the season and some games close together so we're going to need to rotate some players to get us through​

 

[leckuno]

March

Bursaspor v 24Erzincanspor

1st v 2nd here and it was a very even game right until we got the breakthrough with just 9 minutes to go as Sonmez gets his first goal for the club

Batman Petrol Spor v Bursaspor

A much more commanding performance as we put in a great first half performance scoring a big 3 goals.

Bursaspor v Amed SK

Guler with another hat-trick but it was nervy as Amed SK pulled it back twice but thankfully we were able to get back in front and stay in front this time

Sanliurfaspor v Bursaspor

We always seem to struggle against the teams in the playoff spots and it was no different here as Guler gets the only goal of the game with a nice lob of the keeper

Bursaspor v Sivas BLD.

We got away with this one a bit thanks to 2 penalties in injury time right at the end and Sahin was able to keep his cool

Arnavutkoy Bld. v Bursaspor

A really boring game here that we should of done a lot better against the team sitting 2nd bottom of the league

League

We're now confirmed as being in the playoffs at the least but should be able to rap the title up over the final month as we have a 15 point lead

Youth Intake

We have a very positive intake this season but to be honest none of them are going to be long term players for us but may be used to fill gaps. If you want to see any individual players then let me know and I'll post a screenshot

April

The final 5 games of the season so we should be able to wrap the title up within the first game if everything goes to plan​

 

[leckuno]

April

Bursaspor v Esenler Erokspor

Of course we finally lose a game when its down to the final 5 but the sending off was the turning point as they were able to get into the box and get a penalty to win the game

Inegolspor v Bursaspor

What a first half as we run riot scoring a whopping 5 goals. We did concede 2 in 2 minutes but this win was enough to seal the title for us and we get promoted at the first ask.

Bursaspor v Afyonspor

Guler makes the difference right on the strike of half time as we get to the parade the trophy in front of our own fans after a win

Bayburt Ol Spor v Bursaspor

Of course we get another huge win now that the title is won but it does help build confidence for next season

Bursaspor v Tarsus Idman Yurdu

Guler has been a huge player for us all season and he signs off with a hat-trick in our final game of the season as we finish off in style

League

Well we ended winning the league easily in the end now we just need to try and see what we can do next season.

Budgets

We get a decent wage budget for next season with it jumping up to nearly £30,000 which is a huge increase. Its just a shame we can't sign anybody until the January transfer window. Luckily though we have been able to sign players to new contracts to see us through until then.

Player Stats

You can see how good our team was this season with the fact that Guler got 36 goals in just 30 games along with the stats for everybody else as well.​

 

[Nightman]

Congratulations on winning the title. Good luck in next season!

 

[leckuno]

Season 2

So I don't think I've ever had a preseason thats been over so quickly but it does help that I can't sign any players so no need in spend my window looking for them. The one good thing is we managed to tie all our players down for another season apart from Hassan Ayaroglu who sadly refused to renew his deal so leave the club on a free transfer

Transfers Out

So down to the planned out goings we did out best to make sure we didn't lose any first team players and even tried to keep the younger players leaving to the bare minimum as well

Preseason

So preseason was a bit of a mixed bag as we played some glamour friendlies against the bigger teams to get some well needed cash in while also playing much smaller teams and sadly there were a few upsets there as well

Expectations

So our expectations are thankfully the same as the boards as all we'll be looking to do is avoid relegation from the league and then look to build on it once we can sign players. We got an extra boost in transfer fees but selling an add on clause for £250,000 to again help boost the bank balance

So looking at the season preview we are expected to finish deal last which isn't surprising with the transfer ban ongoing for another 6 months but I feel we can surprise a few teams along the way and stay up

August

We start with 2 home games and our home form will be crucial to us staying up​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Good luck for the new season fella!

 

[leckuno]

August

Bursaspor v Boluspor

A bit of a drab game but to be fair I am more than happy to start our season off with a draw.

Bursaspor v Bandirmaspor

And we record our first win in good fashion as we score two well worked goals in the space of 8 minutes

Bodrumspor v Bursaspor

And we're brought straight back down to earth here after we took a well deserved lead but sadly we just couldn't cope as they ran riot in the final half hour as our goal spurred them on

League

I would be happy to finish it 12 place come the end of the season/

September

Well the season kicks on now and its going to be interesting to see how we do​

 

[leckuno]

September

Bursaspor v Umraniyespor

What a game as we faced the recently relegated Umraniyespor as we show just how good we can be on our day

Erzurumspor FK v Bursaspor

And again brought right back down to earth as we are dealt a humbling defeat

Bursaspor v Altinordu

Two goals right at the end of each half is just enough to play out a 1-1 draw and give the fans something to cheer about.

Karacabey Dld. v Bursaspor

What a game as we fight back from behind twice to then go and take the lead with 10 minutes to go to claim the 3 points.

Bursaspor v Genclerbirligi

It was great to take the lead early on and give us the confidence to go and grab a 2nd just after half time as well as Guler shows he can still bang them in at a higher level

League

We somehow find ourselves up in 5th spot now after 8 games. The teams around us have games in hand but we're still doing a lot better than expected.

October

4 games to keep our run going in the league to see how high we can finish​

 

[leckuno]

October

Manisa FK v Bursaspor

Thank goodness for Guler as we looked to be down and out of the game falling 2 behind but a quick reply to their 2nd goal got the confidence going as we walk away with a hard fought point.

Bursaspor v Kayserispor

We seem to becoming the fight back champions here as we have to come from behind twice to get another good point. Its safe to say though we really need to look at our defence.

Keciorengucu v Bursaspor

We were looking good for the 3 points until Sahin got sent off as after that were able to make full use of the extra man and battered us. At time it looked like they had more than just the one extra player.

Bursaspor v Goztepe SK

We finally record a win this month all thanks to a free kick from 36 year old playmaker

League

We drop down to 6th spot and again the teams all around us have a game in hand as well

November

We enter the cup at the 4th round this time before carrying on in the league.​