Cut, keep, or ????? Defenders

Arguably the weakest link in the Verdy winning chain, Ramos has struggled to put a consistent unit on the field. Verdy is currently ranked 11th in goals allowed with 55, only besting Thespa Kusatsu and Tokushima Vortis.

I'm not sure exactly where to begin so I just will

Masayuki Yanagisawa: the best thing that can be said for Yanagi is that he is very popular with the fans. He has a blog and he does alot of the fan promotions and public events. Off the field, he is one guy that you would like other athletes to be more like. On the field, he's awful. He's short, he's slow, he gets caught out of position and he is easily injured. Bump him up to the front office, let him set up a lower level team like JEF Ichiharas JFL squad or have him put on the Verdykun suit and play with the kids. DON'T LET HIM ON THE FIELD AGAIN!

Verdict: you have to ask?

Masaki Iida: 20 year old defender from Ryutsu Keizai University hasn't been seen around Verdy parts lately but he has some potential. He's a big kid, which is something lacking in the back 4. I don't know if he's still with the squad. If he is, keep him on.

Verdict: ?

Kenta Togawa: Not my favorite player on Verdy's squad, possibly played the worst game I've ever seen a defender not named Dedimar play against Kashiwa in the 4-1 massacre. But, and this is a very big, bigger than Flavios butt but, he has worked very hard to redeem himself and has played some decent football in his return. Midsized and medium speed, he's only 25 and still has some time to learn how to play the position right.

Verdict: Keep

Takaki Shigemitsu, Takumi Hayama, and Naoki Mihara: Of the three, Mihara is the least finished product. none of them have made a mark this season and none of them have gotten a match. Hayama is going to be 28, Shigemitsu 24 and Mihara 20.

Verdict: Keep Shigemitsu, loan Mihara to Tokushima and cut Hayama

Satoshi Nagano: considering Avispa is gonna get gutted after the presumed drop to J2 (unless they start turning it around behind Iio magic), there's probably no chance of keeping him. He's played allright in the games he got into and he's probably better than one of the 4 in the lineup (here's a hint.....he plays in the middle and he's not Togawa).

Verdict: ?

Taisei Fujita: He tries hard but he's not very good. He's been replaced by Ishikawa and Kaimoto as the branch. He's been a pro for 6 years since he was 18 years old so the potential is arguably there but he's not improving in a huge way.

Verdict: ?/cut- let's see if he gets some play in the final 4th

Yugo Ichiyanagi: A few rocky performances for the U-21 Japan team player but hey, he's young and he's got a good amount of talent

Verdict:easy call.......keep

Yukihiro Aoba: I don't understand why Ramos has messed around with Aoba's playing time. he has performed well in D and the midfield when he's got a chance but it seems like Rui has to have his favorites back in the lineup no matter how bad they perform (not a trait that is limited to Rui alone). He's a decent player who is getting stunted by the Rui shuffle and it does him no good to not play on a mediocre second division squad. Keep him and play him or don't and let him go.

Verdict: ?

Koijiro Kaimoto and Tatsuya Ishikawa: Joined the squad at the same time and after a couple of rocky patches are starting to really solidify the back 4. Great at getting the offense started. My only complaint is that Ishikawa needs half of Kaimotos aggression.

Verdict: Kaimoto keep and Ishikawa ? (depending on what Kashima wants)

Seitaro Tomisawa: He was a guy that fans were really happy to have back. He got hurt early but has come back to fill in nicely in small spurts. It gets kinda dicey when Tomisawa plays for longer stretches.

Verdict: Keep him

Kenichi Uemura: 1 game, not very good. 32 years old..............no upside. Average size. Doesn't do anything particularly well

Verdict: cut

Eugene Killoran: the Irish youth has one year left before he hits 20 and a decision has to be made on making him a senior international. No reason to cut him until then

Verdict: keep

Shigenori Hagimura: Wow, where to begin? The former Reysol stalwart was brought in after a less than impressive stint in Niigata to be the veteran anchor for a Verdy backline that was shaken to the core. Hagimura seemingly has the veteran acumen, the experience, and the size to be the anchor for reemergence. WTF happened? He follows a decent performance with a stinking bomb of a game, making mental mistakes that would make the greenest rookie blush.

At least two times this season Hagimura has notched goals for the opposition. Moreover, he has managed to aid and assist on a few others. A player with that much experience shouldn't be that mentally lax. What a waste.

Verdict: I'd hope that Joe Pesci would do his pen dance ala Goodfellas but that's a little harsh so let's just cut him and wish him good luck in his new role as Mito centerback.