J2:The prediction thread

Considering this is my first year paying attention to the second division, there's not a ton of credibility to this but it's my page and I'll do what I want!

Let's start the show...........

1. Consadole Sapporo- I like these guys, they started turning it around the second half of last season, they are having a very solid preseason, picking up wins against Kawasaki Frontale, Avispa Fukuoka, and Yokohama FC. They've been 2nd division for too long and I think they will clean up on weak sisters like Ehime and Thespa.

2. Vissel Kobe- New coach Stuart Baxter will have them playing well come the second half of the season.....there will be talk of a coaching change after a slow start but the guys will respond and take them back to J1. they might be overlooked because they were sooooooooooooo bad in J1 last year. they also had less turmoil than the other two relegation victims.

3. Vegelta Sendai- Joel Santana is another fresh face in J2. This was a team that was one point from being in the playoff that lead to Kashiwa's demise................i don't know if they would have responded to Tsunami after the heartbreak.......Santana will get through to them (In my opinion).

4. Sagan Tosu- They have the scoring punch from last year and they added some help in D. I think they will surprise and hang aroun promotion territory until the end.

5. TOKYO VERDY 1969 Too much competition is going to kill these guys. I think the worst thing that could happen to them is doing well in the first game against Ulsan in the ACL. Rui might believe that he can win both competitions and that will hurt the franchise. TV69 also has around 40 players right now..............how many are they gonna keep, are they fielding an ACL squad and a league squad (I believe they are if you look at the pattern in Guam)? Who is going to Thailand? Who is going to help with the promotion campaign? Who is going to be forgotten completely? On the plus side, there is a lot of veteran leadership.

6. Montedio Yamagata- If former Omiya FW Leandro stays healthy and scores, this team will push up to top 3 or 4. They didn't lose much from a team that finished 5th last year.

7. Tokushima Vortis-Another team that will be competitive and finsh in the middle of the pack. Jun Tamano will have a great season for them.

8. Kashiwa Reysol- Everybody left Kashiwa after the great collapse of 2005, the fans had a sit-in, the team quit, and Kofu humiliated them. Maybe it's a good thing that it's a brand new team but it's unpredictable.......they have had a nice spring as well, but there has to be a cloud hanging over them.

9. Shonan Bellmare- I'm not crazy about this team at all. I think they could add Nakata and still not get promoted. They have been hovering around the lower ends of J2 for awhile and I think that won't change.

10. Mito Hollyhock- They were bad last year and didn't really get much talent to make up for it.

11. Ehime FC- I don't know much about this squad. I'll give them the benifit of the doubt and say they will surprise. They have a ton of Sanfrecce reinforcements.

12- Yokohama FC- They stink and they're old.......hows that for brutal honesty. They couldn't score against Rosso Kumamoto in a trial game last week.......not a good sign.

13- Thespa Kusatsu-No experience in goal is gonna kill them, at least with Ehime, their keepers were in a battle for promotion. I think they won't be as bad as last year but they haven't really upgraded.........in fact the keeper position will be weaker. they are just lucky J3 didn't start this year.