The week Fenerbahçe nearly lost its manager
İsmail Kartal resigned after the 1–1 Champions League draw with AS Roma on September 10. By Saturday he was back at work (5) (6). ESPN reported the club refused to accept the resignation (13), and Kartal has since explained to president Aziz Yıldırım what drove the decision (7). Hürriyet called it a new white page (11).
That is the story of the week, and it says more about this club than any scoreline. A coach walks out on Thursday and takes training two days later. The turbulence was not in the table. It was in the hallway outside the president's office.
Eleventh place, and the form line that explains it
Fenerbahçe sit 11th with 6 points from 4 games, goal difference +2, and a form line of L W W L D. Read that again. Two wins, two defeats, a draw, and no run longer than two matches.
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The home defeat to Beşiktaş on September 5, 1–2, is the one that stings, because Fenerbahçe had just won 0–2 at Samsunspor on August 30. They beat Konyaspor 4–2 at home on August 22. Then they lost to Beşiktaş. Then they drew with Roma.
This is not a bad team. It is a team that cannot hold a level for three weeks. The chaos around Kartal did not come from nowhere. Four league games, four different versions of the same side.
Muriqi in, Lukaku waiting
The striker call is already made for Gaziantep FK on September 14. Vedat Muriqi is expected to start ahead of both that match and Eyüpspor on September 20, with the shirt fight reopening after the international break (9).
Meanwhile Romelu Lukaku has played 106 minutes off the bench (8). The Belgian is a summer signing who arrived with big expectations and has not met them yet (20) (21). One Belgian analyst has explained the slow start as the product of circumstances around him, not his own level (10). Read the sources closely and Fenerbahçe's plan for him is patience rather than a rescue (20).
Muriqi gets the minutes now. Lukaku gets the plan.
What to watch at Gaziantep
Monday's trip to Gaziantep FK is the easiest fixture on paper this club will get all month. Fenerbahçe have won the last 12 official meetings between the two, including the last 9 in the league and 3 in the Turkish Cup (2). Kick-off is 20:00 at Gaziantep Stadium, with Mehmet Türkmen refereeing (12) (18).
Marco Asensio is the only absentee from the squad (3) (4) (8), still working individually after the injury picked up against Konyaspor in week 2, though a return date has now emerged (17). Lose or draw this one and the Kartal story is not over, it is just paused. Archie Brown, who was close to leaving in the summer and is now a fixture on the left (15), is the name to watch if Fenerbahçe need a spark.
