Well Sponichi and Nikkan have stated that Hattori's paycut might be huge. The number is an astounding drop from 50,000,000 to 10,000,000.
Yikes
Anyhow here is a special tape from Negotiations
Hattori is in black btw
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=veIXcySqItY
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Soilent Greens Winning 11!
Song of the night http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=EOepheinkCM&feature=related
Well......end of the year so I figured I would pick my Soilent Green 11, made up of guys who weren't in the big J league 11 but had good years.
Formation 3-5-2
GK Koji Ezumi-Omiya Ardija
You put this guy on a team like Kawasaki and they win the championship. He had a great season considering the fact that most of the year he was behind Leandro and 3 backup caliber players. I give him comeback player of the year as well considering there were big questions about him being a J1 player in 2007.
DF Masato Morishige-Oita Trinita
How the best defender on the best defense in the J League slips through the cracks is beyond me. Great all year long.
DF Yuta Nagatomo- FC Tokyo
Another miss because of the reps of the guys in front of them. Nagatomo was a revelation this year for a team that has historically struggled. Nagatomo was dangerous on the flanks with a nice set up for the dangerous Cabore and Akamine.
DF Shohei Abe-Nagoya Grampus
Quietly did a consistent job all season. Doesn't have the gaudy stats on offense but defensively was there game in and out.
MF- Mu Kanazaki-Oita Trinita
Another one that slipped through the cracks. Kanazaki made Oita and the league forget about Umesaki.
MF- Sidiclei-Kyoto Sanga
Lock down defense and a push on offense helped Kyoto survive. The guy is ageless and looked better than the past couple years at Gamba.
MF- Diego- Verdy
Came through when the team easily could have fallen apart and really was the only offensive option. If he's still around for the last 4, Jubilo would have found themselves in J2.
MF- Masaki Fukai-JEF Chiba
Everybody points to the job Alex Miller did to save Chiba but I gotta say it was Fukai that made the difference in JEF survival. No Fukai, no J1.
MF- Minoru Suganuma-Kashiwa Reysol
10 goals on an economical 51 shots. Great season and he could get better if he gets his stamina up.
FW- Gilsnho-Jubilo Iwata
Dirty player......I hate him. He's good.
FW- Shinji Okazaki-Shimizu S Pulse
Came on a bit late but really led the offense, especially with the injury to Jungo Fujimoto. Looks to have a big jump next year.
Soilent Tot- Nagatomo
Soilent star-Okazaki
Soilent Manager-Pericles Chamusca Oita
The sad 11
GK Yuya Sato-Consadole Sapporo
DF-Yasuhiro Hato-Omiya Ardija
DF-Makoto Tanaka-Jubilo Iwata
DF-Toshihiro Hattori-Verdy
DF-Hiroyuki Nishijima-Consadole Sapporo
MF-Davi-Albirex Niigata
MF- Yuichi Komano-Jubilo Iwata
MF-Takehito Shigehara-Kashiwa Reysol
MF- Lopes-Yokohama F Marinos
FW-Genki Nakayama-Consadole Sapporo
FW-Leandro-Verdy
Sad sprout- Sato
Sad sack of Soilent shhhhhhh.....Shigehara
The Joseph Hazelwood memorial award for leadership-Josip Kuze-JEF
Well......end of the year so I figured I would pick my Soilent Green 11, made up of guys who weren't in the big J league 11 but had good years.
Formation 3-5-2
GK Koji Ezumi-Omiya Ardija
You put this guy on a team like Kawasaki and they win the championship. He had a great season considering the fact that most of the year he was behind Leandro and 3 backup caliber players. I give him comeback player of the year as well considering there were big questions about him being a J1 player in 2007.
DF Masato Morishige-Oita Trinita
How the best defender on the best defense in the J League slips through the cracks is beyond me. Great all year long.
DF Yuta Nagatomo- FC Tokyo
Another miss because of the reps of the guys in front of them. Nagatomo was a revelation this year for a team that has historically struggled. Nagatomo was dangerous on the flanks with a nice set up for the dangerous Cabore and Akamine.
DF Shohei Abe-Nagoya Grampus
Quietly did a consistent job all season. Doesn't have the gaudy stats on offense but defensively was there game in and out.
MF- Mu Kanazaki-Oita Trinita
Another one that slipped through the cracks. Kanazaki made Oita and the league forget about Umesaki.
MF- Sidiclei-Kyoto Sanga
Lock down defense and a push on offense helped Kyoto survive. The guy is ageless and looked better than the past couple years at Gamba.
MF- Diego- Verdy
Came through when the team easily could have fallen apart and really was the only offensive option. If he's still around for the last 4, Jubilo would have found themselves in J2.
MF- Masaki Fukai-JEF Chiba
Everybody points to the job Alex Miller did to save Chiba but I gotta say it was Fukai that made the difference in JEF survival. No Fukai, no J1.
MF- Minoru Suganuma-Kashiwa Reysol
10 goals on an economical 51 shots. Great season and he could get better if he gets his stamina up.
FW- Gilsnho-Jubilo Iwata
Dirty player......I hate him. He's good.
FW- Shinji Okazaki-Shimizu S Pulse
Came on a bit late but really led the offense, especially with the injury to Jungo Fujimoto. Looks to have a big jump next year.
Soilent Tot- Nagatomo
Soilent star-Okazaki
Soilent Manager-Pericles Chamusca Oita
The sad 11
GK Yuya Sato-Consadole Sapporo
DF-Yasuhiro Hato-Omiya Ardija
DF-Makoto Tanaka-Jubilo Iwata
DF-Toshihiro Hattori-Verdy
DF-Hiroyuki Nishijima-Consadole Sapporo
MF-Davi-Albirex Niigata
MF- Yuichi Komano-Jubilo Iwata
MF-Takehito Shigehara-Kashiwa Reysol
MF- Lopes-Yokohama F Marinos
FW-Genki Nakayama-Consadole Sapporo
FW-Leandro-Verdy
Sad sprout- Sato
Sad sack of Soilent shhhhhhh.....Shigehara
The Joseph Hazelwood memorial award for leadership-Josip Kuze-JEF
Monday, December 29, 2008
Enter the Donkey!
Song of the day.......party like it's 2006......minus the guy who could score at will. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Cx05u-ggc&feature=related
Well, Sponichi has some more wonderful news for fans of guys who make you cringe when they step onto the field. Harutaka Ono and Yuzo Funakoshi allegedly want in on the paycut plan.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/30/10.html
Also Sponichi has managed to fold a JEF rumor into VerdyWorld quite nicely. Takumi Wada looks to be one of the 800 targets Sir Alex has on his wishlist.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/30/09.html
Well, Sponichi has some more wonderful news for fans of guys who make you cringe when they step onto the field. Harutaka Ono and Yuzo Funakoshi allegedly want in on the paycut plan.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/30/10.html
Also Sponichi has managed to fold a JEF rumor into VerdyWorld quite nicely. Takumi Wada looks to be one of the 800 targets Sir Alex has on his wishlist.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/30/09.html
Not Sooooooooooooooo fast there, Chief!
Song of the Day.......because sometimes they do come back http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=y7a0vPrbwmc&feature=related
So Sponichi dropped this little bomb on us this morning......
Ramos and Hattori are trying to work a deal so the 35 year old left back can rejoin the team and help them go up to J1 again.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/29/06.html
According to the article, it looks like he needs to shave a bunch off of his 50,000,000 yen contract from last campaign. And according to (the ALWAYS RELIABLE) Sponichi, he's willing to do this. Ramos is worried that the only true left back signed to the team is Nasukawa, who is coming straight from college.
NEW YEAR.....NEW LOOK
Like it? Check out the links......I added a few that I was too lazy to include before, including Tricolore Pride (Marinos), Forza Gifu, and the newly relaunched Shrimp with Yokohama FC, as well as a brand new Gamba site called Since 1991.
If I haven't linked you, it's probably because I either A. Don't know you are out there B. Know you are out there but have seen that you aren't returning the favor to the many good J League bloggers out there or C. I forgot.
A and C is easy to remedy. Drop me a line with your site address and I'll put you up. B is easy to remedy too......drop me a line with your site address and I'll check your site and put you up.
We are a little family that is growin every day.............don't be the skeezy cousin that tries to scam the rest of the family out of stuff!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Ohhhhhh, you meant 5 new players?????
Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=vSv9HfztxMg Yesterday truly is over
Well Sponichi, absolutely bereft of all JEF Chiba rumors, has reported that Verdy will fill the 5 spots with guys currently under contract.
Which means we could see these three back.
Yugo Ichiyanagi had a disappointing stint with Vegalta Sendai, appearing in only 16 games and thouroughly making an ass of himself in pre-season by getting drunk and destroying someone's compact car. Bienvenue!!!!
Kenta Togawa had an even less effective season, appearing in 9 games as a center back for Satoshi Tsunami at Yokohama FC. At least he didn't destroy any vehicles........THAT WE KNOW OF!!!!!!
Finally, Kohei Kiyama is a 20 year old FW who came out of the Verdy youth system. Kiyama spent the last 2 years at Fagiano Okayama. Kiyama helped the squad achieve promotion to J2, notching 18 goals to end as second highest scorer on Fagiano and 4th overall in the JFL. the young striker turns 21 next year so plenty of upside with this kid.
I think Verdy needs midfielders......badly!
Coming and possibly going?
Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1JSBhI_0at0&feature=related
So I screwed up again. Anyhow Leaonardo has indeed returned from Sagan Tosu and will be one of the 3 foreign players for 2009.
Quick facts
Leonardo is a 22 year old forward/midfielder who stands about 175cm tall and weighs 74kg.
He is a product of the elite Aomori Yamada HS program as well as Japanese Soccer College. 2 years ago Verdy promptly signed him and loaned him to Sagan Tosu where he notched 9 goals in 54 games.
Nasu possibly to Jubilo
Sponichi took a small break from saying everybody under the sun is going to JEF Chiba (Obviously doesn't have anything to do with your sponsorship deal, does it?) to announce that Jubilo Iwata is in pursuit of central defender Daisuke Nasu, who currently is on a 2 year deal with the club. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081226008.html If Nasu does transfer, Jubilo would probably have to cough up a decent fee for his services. Jubilo is in hot pursuit of a centerback after telling their collection of centerbacks that they aren't so hot.
So I screwed up again. Anyhow Leaonardo has indeed returned from Sagan Tosu and will be one of the 3 foreign players for 2009.
Quick facts
Leonardo is a 22 year old forward/midfielder who stands about 175cm tall and weighs 74kg.
He is a product of the elite Aomori Yamada HS program as well as Japanese Soccer College. 2 years ago Verdy promptly signed him and loaned him to Sagan Tosu where he notched 9 goals in 54 games.
Nasu possibly to Jubilo
Sponichi took a small break from saying everybody under the sun is going to JEF Chiba (Obviously doesn't have anything to do with your sponsorship deal, does it?) to announce that Jubilo Iwata is in pursuit of central defender Daisuke Nasu, who currently is on a 2 year deal with the club. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081226008.html If Nasu does transfer, Jubilo would probably have to cough up a decent fee for his services. Jubilo is in hot pursuit of a centerback after telling their collection of centerbacks that they aren't so hot.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Green Eggs and Ham
HAM????
EGGS?
GREEN!!!!Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=DEB7i8bSwNA&feature=related
Nikkan Sports is reporting Verdy, NTV, and Hide Nakata group SunnySideUp is taking a break in negotiations for 2008. President Hagiwara stated (I think) that he wants a partner in place by March. So NTV might be out before the season starts.......or after......maybe.
2 In, 3 to go?
Well, my question was answered http://brilliantomiya.blogspot.com/2008/12/next-big-thing.html 2 of Verdy's magical mystical young guns were signed to play with the big boys. MF/FW Yu Tomidokoro and DF Takuya Wada were signed to fill in some of the blanks left by the mass purge early this month. Both were key parts of the VYouth push to 3rd place in Sahara Cup play.
One of the possible 3 new additions has been pontificated by Weekly Soccer Magazine (Who has nothing else to do now that the season is over..........Last 0 doesn't make a good headline.)
Good News, Nick!
Yoshinari Takagi has reupped for another season as Verdy keeper extraordinaire. Takagi comes in for his 10th season as a Verdy player. Only Kazuki Hiramoto has a longer tenure with the club, however Yoshinari has the longest consecutive tenure. Just to let you know.
Finally.......
Hiroki Kawano gets a trip to Qatar!!!! Yeehaw! Kawano gets picked for the U-20 squad headed to Qatar from January 6th to the 21st.
Merry Christmas and go Kashiwa!!!!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Big thanks!
December 20th marked 3 years of Verdy bloggery here at Soilent Green and I'd like to thank you all for being here through the good and bad!
Gracias mi Amigos!!!!!!!
Best song EVER!!!!!! http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=QJHnRtZkiHo
Oh? Not so much?
PART 1 of Soilent Greens year end wrap can be found here
http://tokyofootie.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-year-in-reviewpart-1.html
I figured a godawful piece of long-winded self indulgent blather deserved a site of it's own...............and since GunsNRoses.com was already taken, I went with this.
TAKAGI WANTS 25
Sports Hochi is reporting that Takagi has requested 5 more players for the mammoth 51 game campaign coming up next season. Takagi wants at least 25 field players for 2009.
As it is now here is a list of the guys currently signed up
Italics denote possible transfers
GK Takagi/Shibasaki/Suzuki
DF Fukuda/Nasukawa/Iida/Nasu/Tsuchiya/Tomisawa/Miyasaka/Tsurumaki
MF Kawano/Shibasaki/Sugawara/Shinmura/Fujita/Diego
FW Iio/Hiramoto/El Samni/Inoue/Oguro/Leandro/Hayashi
If the team keeps all 21 then 5 sounds about right but I'm not sure if they are done cutting or if they will wait until they sign a few first. Selling Diego right now would probably cause Verdista to set a couple fire bombs at Mr. Hagiwara's palatial estate.
Leanardo goes back to Brazil
He's the dude that Verdy signed and loaned to Sagan for 2 years.........Yeah, I didn't think about him either. Uhh, good luck?
Gracias mi Amigos!!!!!!!
Best song EVER!!!!!! http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=QJHnRtZkiHo
Oh? Not so much?
PART 1 of Soilent Greens year end wrap can be found here
http://tokyofootie.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-year-in-reviewpart-1.html
I figured a godawful piece of long-winded self indulgent blather deserved a site of it's own...............and since GunsNRoses.com was already taken, I went with this.
TAKAGI WANTS 25
Sports Hochi is reporting that Takagi has requested 5 more players for the mammoth 51 game campaign coming up next season. Takagi wants at least 25 field players for 2009.
As it is now here is a list of the guys currently signed up
Italics denote possible transfers
GK Takagi/Shibasaki/Suzuki
DF Fukuda/Nasukawa/Iida/Nasu/Tsuchiya/Tomisawa/Miyasaka/Tsurumaki
MF Kawano/Shibasaki/Sugawara/Shinmura/Fujita/Diego
FW Iio/Hiramoto/El Samni/Inoue/Oguro/Leandro/Hayashi
If the team keeps all 21 then 5 sounds about right but I'm not sure if they are done cutting or if they will wait until they sign a few first. Selling Diego right now would probably cause Verdista to set a couple fire bombs at Mr. Hagiwara's palatial estate.
Leanardo goes back to Brazil
He's the dude that Verdy signed and loaned to Sagan for 2 years.........Yeah, I didn't think about him either. Uhh, good luck?
Monday, December 22, 2008
GDI!!!!!!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=gOhxEyPSEoY&feature=related Closest thing to Christmas music you are gettin out of me this year.
Allright so today at work we had no classes, school is winding down so I sat down and wrote 12 handwritten pages on the season so far including the turmoil at the end of the season figuring I could throw it up tomorrow. I get home, look at my e-mail (nothing from my lady friend who I managed to piss off by cancelling something the day before after I had pretty much worked 3 months to set up. I got sick.....it happens. )
Anyhow I then go to all the assorted sites to see if Verdy have cut anyone else or if Ajinosta is stained with the blood of NTV execs yet.
Then I go to Japanesesoccer.net to see the next 30 players Sanga are rumored to sign and lo and behold Dokool has his 3rd and final installment of Verdy in turmoil or whatever Foxnewsish title he has going on right now. I swear the little bastard is a closet Verdy fan. Anyhow, I read it.
And it's really good
Somethin weird is happenin with their site so I can't give you the link right now but I will.
HERE IT IS http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=548#respond
Good read.
Oh yeah BTW 396 pissed off suporters met with el Presidente yesterday. Should've been a blast.
Allright so today at work we had no classes, school is winding down so I sat down and wrote 12 handwritten pages on the season so far including the turmoil at the end of the season figuring I could throw it up tomorrow. I get home, look at my e-mail (nothing from my lady friend who I managed to piss off by cancelling something the day before after I had pretty much worked 3 months to set up. I got sick.....it happens. )
Anyhow I then go to all the assorted sites to see if Verdy have cut anyone else or if Ajinosta is stained with the blood of NTV execs yet.
Then I go to Japanesesoccer.net to see the next 30 players Sanga are rumored to sign and lo and behold Dokool has his 3rd and final installment of Verdy in turmoil or whatever Foxnewsish title he has going on right now. I swear the little bastard is a closet Verdy fan. Anyhow, I read it.
And it's really good
Somethin weird is happenin with their site so I can't give you the link right now but I will.
HERE IT IS http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=548#respond
Good read.
Oh yeah BTW 396 pissed off suporters met with el Presidente yesterday. Should've been a blast.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Welcome back
Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=2ofLbG4Ovfw&feature=related
Yeah second song this week by this guy but I like his stuff
Anyhow short news day.
Verdy did reup 6 players for 2009 and I can't complain about any of them
GK Shibasaki and Shimizu
DF Iida, Fukuda, and Shinmura
MF Shibasaki
Not too bad.
Was gonna write more but Axl Rose took up most of the bandwith with his nearly 5000 word response about why he's a victim. You can see it on GunsNRoses.com if you dare.
Yeah second song this week by this guy but I like his stuff
Anyhow short news day.
Verdy did reup 6 players for 2009 and I can't complain about any of them
GK Shibasaki and Shimizu
DF Iida, Fukuda, and Shinmura
MF Shibasaki
Not too bad.
Was gonna write more but Axl Rose took up most of the bandwith with his nearly 5000 word response about why he's a victim. You can see it on GunsNRoses.com if you dare.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The next big thing?
Song of the day (If Verdy ever finds it's way back to greatness) http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1XWjTXQutf4&feature=relatedVerdy went down south to Osaka Nagai 2 stadium to take on youth powerhouse Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the quarterfinals of the Sahara cup. After being down 2-0, Verdy youth put 3 in, including a brace by Yu Tomidokoro, the young fella pictured up at the top. The win guaranteed Verdy youth their best finish since making the semis in 2005. The final 4 pits Tokyo J1 and J2 versus Osaka J1 and J2 ironically enough. Perennial hosts Cerezo take on last years title holder FC Tokyo while Verdy battle Gamba, a 6-1 winner over Kashima.
The game marks the second time in 2 games that Tomidokoro has netted the winning goal to help VY advance. My question is this, WHY ISN'T HE SIGNED FOR NEXT YEAR?
Better do it soon before someone beats you to the punch.
EMPERORS CUP NEWS.....
can be found on a site that actually gives a rats *** about the 8 teams left in the competition, cause I sure as hell don't.
CORRECTION
This actually is a correction. Vendo graciously pointed out that my money figure was wrong on the fine. It's 1,500,000 not 150,000. I wouldn't complain if someone gave me either. I would complain if someone tried to take it from me. ( *COUGH* Koshigaya City Hall *COUGH*)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Fukunishi leaves one final gift
Song of the day dedicated to Fukunishi http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=P47oPw_lIPA&feature=related
(Special thanks to JC for turning me on to this)
This slipped through the cracks but Verdy got fined 150,000 for accumulating too many negative points during the season. Verdy led the league with 81 yellows and came third in red cards with 6 (behind Kashiwa and Consadole). The overwhelming leader in this category was Takashi Fukunishi with 13 yellows and 2 reds. VERY NICE!
THE CLOCK HAS STARTED
Opening day has been announced for March 7th........we should be seeing opening day opposition in January. God that is a short break, ain't it?
CLARIFICATION
Not really a clarification but an answer to a response about the 5 players. Jun Marques Davidson is one of my favorite players in the J League and I was very sad to see him go from Omiya. After 2005 his career kinda plateaud. The one real constant in his career has been Miura as his coach and to be fair I think part of his problem has been Miura. It also has been his only opportunity. Suzuki at Niigata didn't give him much of a chance and he was used sparingly but effectively at Vissel Kobe.
He's 25 so there is a chance to prove he can consistently produce in J1 but his window is starting to close. Ultimately he is the one that needs to adapt to systems and he has yet to. My dream is that he comes back to Omiya and helps them win a J1 crown. I would love to be proven wrong in my assessment of him.
FINALLY
Our friend Dokool has his second installment up of Verdy in crisis.
Article here http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=545#respond
I gotta say he misses alot in this installment. Yeah too many old guys I agree but there were alot of other problems. The section on Hulk was just oversimplified. Hulk didn't leave at the start of the season because of his bad lockerroom behavior. As a matter of fact he never stopped trying and was one of the few guys consistently producing in 2007 when Verdy hit the huge slump. he carried them on his back up to J1 and nobody on the team wanted to get rid of him.
Kawasaki decided to play fantasy league soccer and put him with another big ego in Juninho who needed the ball to be effective. It was bad evaluation on the part of Kawasaki and really the reason why they didn't win this year.
A major problem was Leandro, who did nothing but disrupt the team since he got here. Leandro was also hoping to be transferred. During the summer break, Leandro and Hulk both returned late (2 days before the Omiya game) and Hashiratani did nothing to discipline them, causing arift between the Brazilian players and the Japanese players. Hashiratani handed out a punishment after the Japanese players demanded one and lost Hulk and Leandro in the process.
Another huge problem was the failure of Oguro to fill the void. It's popular to knock Takahara but Oguro came in on a huge transfer and did nothing. It was a huge failure on the part of the Verdy front office to evaluate the level of erosion in Oguro's game.
The third problem was a severe lack of on field discipline. 9 players served time on yellow card accumulation violations, leaving a team in relative upheaval constantly having to readjust it's lineup. Diego plays that game against Sapporo and your column is about the Jubilo crisis.
I'm hoping the third installment includes something new on the sponsor crisis and the mismanagement of funds by NTV and CyberAgent. Anyhow, we will post a link and Dokool is welcome to respond and I'll give him some space at the front. I'm sure Nick will have something to add as well.
(Special thanks to JC for turning me on to this)
This slipped through the cracks but Verdy got fined 150,000 for accumulating too many negative points during the season. Verdy led the league with 81 yellows and came third in red cards with 6 (behind Kashiwa and Consadole). The overwhelming leader in this category was Takashi Fukunishi with 13 yellows and 2 reds. VERY NICE!
THE CLOCK HAS STARTED
Opening day has been announced for March 7th........we should be seeing opening day opposition in January. God that is a short break, ain't it?
CLARIFICATION
Not really a clarification but an answer to a response about the 5 players. Jun Marques Davidson is one of my favorite players in the J League and I was very sad to see him go from Omiya. After 2005 his career kinda plateaud. The one real constant in his career has been Miura as his coach and to be fair I think part of his problem has been Miura. It also has been his only opportunity. Suzuki at Niigata didn't give him much of a chance and he was used sparingly but effectively at Vissel Kobe.
He's 25 so there is a chance to prove he can consistently produce in J1 but his window is starting to close. Ultimately he is the one that needs to adapt to systems and he has yet to. My dream is that he comes back to Omiya and helps them win a J1 crown. I would love to be proven wrong in my assessment of him.
FINALLY
Our friend Dokool has his second installment up of Verdy in crisis.
Article here http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=545#respond
I gotta say he misses alot in this installment. Yeah too many old guys I agree but there were alot of other problems. The section on Hulk was just oversimplified. Hulk didn't leave at the start of the season because of his bad lockerroom behavior. As a matter of fact he never stopped trying and was one of the few guys consistently producing in 2007 when Verdy hit the huge slump. he carried them on his back up to J1 and nobody on the team wanted to get rid of him.
Kawasaki decided to play fantasy league soccer and put him with another big ego in Juninho who needed the ball to be effective. It was bad evaluation on the part of Kawasaki and really the reason why they didn't win this year.
A major problem was Leandro, who did nothing but disrupt the team since he got here. Leandro was also hoping to be transferred. During the summer break, Leandro and Hulk both returned late (2 days before the Omiya game) and Hashiratani did nothing to discipline them, causing arift between the Brazilian players and the Japanese players. Hashiratani handed out a punishment after the Japanese players demanded one and lost Hulk and Leandro in the process.
Another huge problem was the failure of Oguro to fill the void. It's popular to knock Takahara but Oguro came in on a huge transfer and did nothing. It was a huge failure on the part of the Verdy front office to evaluate the level of erosion in Oguro's game.
The third problem was a severe lack of on field discipline. 9 players served time on yellow card accumulation violations, leaving a team in relative upheaval constantly having to readjust it's lineup. Diego plays that game against Sapporo and your column is about the Jubilo crisis.
I'm hoping the third installment includes something new on the sponsor crisis and the mismanagement of funds by NTV and CyberAgent. Anyhow, we will post a link and Dokool is welcome to respond and I'll give him some space at the front. I'm sure Nick will have something to add as well.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Dokool responds
Today's song http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=v9U6r9P_Js4 First time I heard it was at Kokuritsu...........2-1 verdy
Our friend from Chofu, Dokool responds and boy is it a doozy!
My responses are in bold
Figured this would come around =PThe 2006/2007 was admittedly bad writing/phrasing, but my main point was that all of those signings came at the cost of not bringing up younger players, which surely you agree with.
Fair enough.
I'm not totally as up to date with youth systems as I should (then again I'm pretty sure being up to date with youth systems means that you care way too much about this sport),
http://www.jsgoal.jp/2008jyouthcup/record/index.html#content That took about 2 minutes.......god I should get a life! (BTW I was being nice before but when someone makes references to the nerd trifecta of comics, star wars, and I'm guessing pro wrestling, they should take it down a notch on questioning lifestyle choices. )
but point taken. In any case a youth system that isn't being strongly utilized has about as much meaning as a Magnum-sized condom in a salaryman's sock drawer. Sure, it's capable of doing amazing things, but if it's never going to be used then what's the point?
There's a huge difference between having a weak system and having a system that is being wasted. Sugeno is a great keeper who came out of the system and is a pro. Shingo Nejime is a reasonably good MF pro who came out of the system. The youth program is putting out decent J league players. They just aren't playing for Verdy and it shouldn't be like that.
The hypothetical thing is really a matter of perception - if you'll be so kind as to let me make a baseball comparison, I'd compare it to my hometown Phillies (who have been perennial underachievers until this year) and the Yankees (who have been underachievers since their last WS win).Nobody expected the Phillies to go anywhere because there was an unspoken understanding that they'd have a strong lineup with great players that would inexplicably play mediocre-or-worse baseball for most of the season, then get hot in August/September and just miss out on a playoff bid. But this is the first team in pro sports to get 10,000 losses, only one WS, yadda yadda yadda. So the fans kinda shrugged and said "maybe next year."Yet, by buying up high-priced superstars every offseason, the Yankees created the expectation that they were the inevitable champions. But they still flopped in the playoffs every year, creating an aura of failure. This aura stands out even further when compared to the Yankees' historical success.tl;dr, the bar of expectations is much lower for FCT than it is for Verdy. Not saying it's fair or deserved, but it is what it is.
So what your saying is, FC Tokyo is doing the right thing by settling for eternal mediocrity over going for greatness and failing? You are happy being the Yakult Swallows of soccer? Really?
Anyhow thank you Dokool for being gracious enough to respond and I'm looking forward to critiquing your next two articles.
THE DON QUIJOTE OF J LEAGUE PLAYERS
Well looked at the list of guys let go and I came up with 5 who I'd like to see play for Verdy
Kazunari Okayama-Vegalta DF He just hit 30 and he is a decent DF/MF. Not sure why he got released but as a depth guy he would be good.
Yutaka Tahara-Kyoto FW the 26 year old forward would be great next to Hiramoto in a 2 top and far more efficient than anyone else on the squad. 26 is a good age for this team and he has proven in the past that he can score at the J2 level.
Masato Ohashi Kawasaki MF I know, I know.......been there done that. He's not a starter long term but as a guy who can come in for 20 minutes or so he wouldn't be bad. And his set piece work is priceless.
Yuichi Nemoto Chiba DF/MF Gorgeous left foot that is rare in the J league. has regressed in the past 2 years but maybe a stint in J2 might get the confidence back.
Jun Marques Davidson Consadole MF.......big mid who is the classic tweener, not good enough for J1 but too good for J2.
Our friend from Chofu, Dokool responds and boy is it a doozy!
My responses are in bold
Figured this would come around =PThe 2006/2007 was admittedly bad writing/phrasing, but my main point was that all of those signings came at the cost of not bringing up younger players, which surely you agree with.
Fair enough.
I'm not totally as up to date with youth systems as I should (then again I'm pretty sure being up to date with youth systems means that you care way too much about this sport),
http://www.jsgoal.jp/2008jyouthcup/record/index.html#content That took about 2 minutes.......god I should get a life! (BTW I was being nice before but when someone makes references to the nerd trifecta of comics, star wars, and I'm guessing pro wrestling, they should take it down a notch on questioning lifestyle choices. )
but point taken. In any case a youth system that isn't being strongly utilized has about as much meaning as a Magnum-sized condom in a salaryman's sock drawer. Sure, it's capable of doing amazing things, but if it's never going to be used then what's the point?
There's a huge difference between having a weak system and having a system that is being wasted. Sugeno is a great keeper who came out of the system and is a pro. Shingo Nejime is a reasonably good MF pro who came out of the system. The youth program is putting out decent J league players. They just aren't playing for Verdy and it shouldn't be like that.
The hypothetical thing is really a matter of perception - if you'll be so kind as to let me make a baseball comparison, I'd compare it to my hometown Phillies (who have been perennial underachievers until this year) and the Yankees (who have been underachievers since their last WS win).Nobody expected the Phillies to go anywhere because there was an unspoken understanding that they'd have a strong lineup with great players that would inexplicably play mediocre-or-worse baseball for most of the season, then get hot in August/September and just miss out on a playoff bid. But this is the first team in pro sports to get 10,000 losses, only one WS, yadda yadda yadda. So the fans kinda shrugged and said "maybe next year."Yet, by buying up high-priced superstars every offseason, the Yankees created the expectation that they were the inevitable champions. But they still flopped in the playoffs every year, creating an aura of failure. This aura stands out even further when compared to the Yankees' historical success.tl;dr, the bar of expectations is much lower for FCT than it is for Verdy. Not saying it's fair or deserved, but it is what it is.
So what your saying is, FC Tokyo is doing the right thing by settling for eternal mediocrity over going for greatness and failing? You are happy being the Yakult Swallows of soccer? Really?
Anyhow thank you Dokool for being gracious enough to respond and I'm looking forward to critiquing your next two articles.
THE DON QUIJOTE OF J LEAGUE PLAYERS
Well looked at the list of guys let go and I came up with 5 who I'd like to see play for Verdy
Kazunari Okayama-Vegalta DF He just hit 30 and he is a decent DF/MF. Not sure why he got released but as a depth guy he would be good.
Yutaka Tahara-Kyoto FW the 26 year old forward would be great next to Hiramoto in a 2 top and far more efficient than anyone else on the squad. 26 is a good age for this team and he has proven in the past that he can score at the J2 level.
Masato Ohashi Kawasaki MF I know, I know.......been there done that. He's not a starter long term but as a guy who can come in for 20 minutes or so he wouldn't be bad. And his set piece work is priceless.
Yuichi Nemoto Chiba DF/MF Gorgeous left foot that is rare in the J league. has regressed in the past 2 years but maybe a stint in J2 might get the confidence back.
Jun Marques Davidson Consadole MF.......big mid who is the classic tweener, not good enough for J1 but too good for J2.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A friend from across the field calls out the green
Song of the day dedicated to the red and blue http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=z7n37GME3fw
Seems our resident FCT fan and Aishteru Tokyo blogger Dokool has a little somethin to say about Verdy.
The article is here at the brand spanking new JapaneseSoccer.net (run by a little cabal of English speaking J league bloggers. http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=435#respond
Not a bad article and the criticism is something I have been harping on since I started writing (Gahhh 3 years ago!).
Three things irritate me though
1. In attempting to claw its way back to the top, the team - again - signed a gaggle of veteran National Team members and Verdy OBs including Yukio Tsuchiya (Verdy Kawasaki member in ‘97-98), Tomo Suguwara (95-98), Kazunori Iio (who’s spent much of the last decade bouncing between Verdy and other teams), Toshihiro Hattori (in the picture), and so onand so forth. While this didn’t really work in 2006 as the team finished a dismal 7th place, a year later Verdy found its rhythm and returned to J1 on the back of its aging core following a 2nd place finish
Just for accuracy sake, Tsuchiya and Hattori didn't sign until 2007. 2006 saw Sugawara and Iio return as well as a ton of bargain basement fringe players and old Brazilians. 2006 saw Koji Maatsura and Shigenori Hagimura get a ton of minutes.
2. lacking a strong youth system
The youth system is one of the more competitive and talented ones in the country. It was just 3 years ago that the team was 2nd in Sahara cup and they are currently in the quarterfinals. The problem is that the young guys aren't being developed once they hit the big team. the youth system is solid.......they just need to use it to full efficiency. That's a problem with hiring short sighted managers like Ossie Ardilles and Rui Ramos who had the pressure to win now. Actually to be fair, Morimoto and Kawano came up through these two and both have promise to be really good......just not for Verdy.
3. let me pose a hypothetical question. You run a team that was once the crown jewel of the Japanese football system, tarnished by a string of poor decisions, lacking a strong youth system and on shaky financial ground. You share a stadium with a team that even in a bad year still doubles your average attendance and has a strong vision for the future. Sure, they’re perennial underachievers, but in the last decade they’ve still won as many trophies as you. After an embarrassing tumble to the second division, you’ve clawed your way back to the top on the backs of aging former stars who are a straw or two short of collapsing. What do you do?
Let me answer with a hypothetical of my own. You are the biggest team in the biggest city in your country. You are backed by an energy company with a big pocketbook and you double your rival in attendance in your worst years. You have one of the best youth systems in Japan and a plethora of resources. Yet you constantly underacheive and have only been able to match your poorly funded, severly mismanaged rivals (fielding an aging bunch of malcontents and has-beens) in trophies in this decade. What the hell are you doing?
I'll give you the next post D.
TAKAGI goes bargain shopping
J League tryouts took place yesterday and today and new head man Takuya Takagi went down to Osaka to check out 124 new prospects.
Here is the list in Japanese
相川 進也（札幌）大塚 真司（札幌）吉瀬 広志（札幌）鈴木 智樹（札幌）富永 康博（札幌）西澤 淳二（札幌）磯崎 敬太（仙台）岡山 一成（仙台）金子 慎二（仙台）佐藤 由紀彦（仙台）シュナイダー 潤之介（仙台）高橋 駿太（山形）内藤 友康（山形）根本 亮助（山形）本橋 卓巳（山形）金古 聖司（鹿島）大橋 直矢（水戸）椎原 拓也（水戸）塩沢 勝吾（水戸）高橋 昌大（水戸）岩田 正太（草津）金生谷 仁（草津）加藤 韻（千葉）熊谷 智哉（千葉）田中 淳也（千葉）照井 篤（栃木）中原 浩介（千葉）堀川 恭平（千葉）松本 憲（千葉）結城 耕造（千葉）横山 聡（栃木）鷲田 雅一（栃木）岡野 雅行（浦和）荒谷 弘樹（大宮）石亀 晃（大宮）西村 卓朗（大宮）若林 学（大宮）池上 礼一（ＦＣ東京）小澤 竜己（ＦＣ東京）足助 翔（東京Ｖ）海本 幸治郎（東京Ｖ）園田 清次（東京Ｖ）廣山 望（東京Ｖ）吉武 剛（東京Ｖ）鈴木 達矢（川崎）原田 拓（川崎）中田 洋介（横浜ＦＣ）梅田 直哉（湘南）加藤 望（湘南）川股 要佑（湘南）北島 義生（湘南）濱崎 陽平（湘南）三田 光（湘南）井上 雄幾（甲府）鵜飼 建吾（甲府）神崎 大輔（甲府）木村 勝太（甲府）宇留野 純（甲府）田森 大己（甲府）保坂 一成（甲府）山本 僚（甲府）寄井 憲（甲府）北村 隆二（岐阜）河野 直人（岐阜）小峯 隆幸（岐阜）奈須 伸也（岐阜）深津 康太（岐阜）
長谷川 太郎（横浜ＦＣ）山田 卓也（横浜ＦＣ）海本 慶治（新潟）諏訪 雄大（新潟）寺川 能人（新潟）渡邊 圭二（名古屋）森野 徹（磐田）石井 俊也（京都）大久保 裕樹（京都）田原 豊（京都）伊藤 博幹（Ｇ大阪）千葉 貴仁（Ｃ大阪）山本 浩正（Ｃ大阪）伊藤 将大（神戸）木下 真吾（神戸）栗原 圭介（神戸）曽我部 慶太（神戸）豊満 貴之（神戸）増田 清一（神戸）関 隆倫（岡山）阿部 祐大朗（徳島）石川 裕司（徳島）入船 和真（徳島）河野 淳吾（徳島）小山 拓土（徳島）柴村 直弥（徳島）島津 虎史（徳島）高橋 健史（徳島）玉乃 淳（徳島）古田 泰士（徳島）本間 康貴（徳島）松本 昴聡（徳島）神丸 洋一（愛媛）笹垣 亮介（愛媛）星野 真悟（愛媛）南 祐三（愛媛）宮原 裕司（愛媛）横山 拓也（愛媛）本田 真吾（福岡）石田 博行（鳥栖）加藤 秀典（鳥栖）鐡戸 裕史（鳥栖）長谷川 豊喜（鳥栖）山城 純也（鳥栖）河野 健一（熊本）小林 陽介（熊本）斉藤 紀由（熊本）佐藤 祐介（熊本）鈴木 祐輔（熊本）関 光博（熊本）町田 多聞（熊本）川田 和宏（大分）河原 正治（大分）根本 裕一（大分）
I'll talk about 5 guys I like who are in this heap later.
Seems our resident FCT fan and Aishteru Tokyo blogger Dokool has a little somethin to say about Verdy.
The article is here at the brand spanking new JapaneseSoccer.net (run by a little cabal of English speaking J league bloggers. http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=435#respond
Not a bad article and the criticism is something I have been harping on since I started writing (Gahhh 3 years ago!).
Three things irritate me though
1. In attempting to claw its way back to the top, the team - again - signed a gaggle of veteran National Team members and Verdy OBs including Yukio Tsuchiya (Verdy Kawasaki member in ‘97-98), Tomo Suguwara (95-98), Kazunori Iio (who’s spent much of the last decade bouncing between Verdy and other teams), Toshihiro Hattori (in the picture), and so onand so forth. While this didn’t really work in 2006 as the team finished a dismal 7th place, a year later Verdy found its rhythm and returned to J1 on the back of its aging core following a 2nd place finish
Just for accuracy sake, Tsuchiya and Hattori didn't sign until 2007. 2006 saw Sugawara and Iio return as well as a ton of bargain basement fringe players and old Brazilians. 2006 saw Koji Maatsura and Shigenori Hagimura get a ton of minutes.
2. lacking a strong youth system
The youth system is one of the more competitive and talented ones in the country. It was just 3 years ago that the team was 2nd in Sahara cup and they are currently in the quarterfinals. The problem is that the young guys aren't being developed once they hit the big team. the youth system is solid.......they just need to use it to full efficiency. That's a problem with hiring short sighted managers like Ossie Ardilles and Rui Ramos who had the pressure to win now. Actually to be fair, Morimoto and Kawano came up through these two and both have promise to be really good......just not for Verdy.
3. let me pose a hypothetical question. You run a team that was once the crown jewel of the Japanese football system, tarnished by a string of poor decisions, lacking a strong youth system and on shaky financial ground. You share a stadium with a team that even in a bad year still doubles your average attendance and has a strong vision for the future. Sure, they’re perennial underachievers, but in the last decade they’ve still won as many trophies as you. After an embarrassing tumble to the second division, you’ve clawed your way back to the top on the backs of aging former stars who are a straw or two short of collapsing. What do you do?
Let me answer with a hypothetical of my own. You are the biggest team in the biggest city in your country. You are backed by an energy company with a big pocketbook and you double your rival in attendance in your worst years. You have one of the best youth systems in Japan and a plethora of resources. Yet you constantly underacheive and have only been able to match your poorly funded, severly mismanaged rivals (fielding an aging bunch of malcontents and has-beens) in trophies in this decade. What the hell are you doing?
I'll give you the next post D.
TAKAGI goes bargain shopping
J League tryouts took place yesterday and today and new head man Takuya Takagi went down to Osaka to check out 124 new prospects.
Here is the list in Japanese
相川 進也（札幌）大塚 真司（札幌）吉瀬 広志（札幌）鈴木 智樹（札幌）富永 康博（札幌）西澤 淳二（札幌）磯崎 敬太（仙台）岡山 一成（仙台）金子 慎二（仙台）佐藤 由紀彦（仙台）シュナイダー 潤之介（仙台）高橋 駿太（山形）内藤 友康（山形）根本 亮助（山形）本橋 卓巳（山形）金古 聖司（鹿島）大橋 直矢（水戸）椎原 拓也（水戸）塩沢 勝吾（水戸）高橋 昌大（水戸）岩田 正太（草津）金生谷 仁（草津）加藤 韻（千葉）熊谷 智哉（千葉）田中 淳也（千葉）照井 篤（栃木）中原 浩介（千葉）堀川 恭平（千葉）松本 憲（千葉）結城 耕造（千葉）横山 聡（栃木）鷲田 雅一（栃木）岡野 雅行（浦和）荒谷 弘樹（大宮）石亀 晃（大宮）西村 卓朗（大宮）若林 学（大宮）池上 礼一（ＦＣ東京）小澤 竜己（ＦＣ東京）足助 翔（東京Ｖ）海本 幸治郎（東京Ｖ）園田 清次（東京Ｖ）廣山 望（東京Ｖ）吉武 剛（東京Ｖ）鈴木 達矢（川崎）原田 拓（川崎）中田 洋介（横浜ＦＣ）梅田 直哉（湘南）加藤 望（湘南）川股 要佑（湘南）北島 義生（湘南）濱崎 陽平（湘南）三田 光（湘南）井上 雄幾（甲府）鵜飼 建吾（甲府）神崎 大輔（甲府）木村 勝太（甲府）宇留野 純（甲府）田森 大己（甲府）保坂 一成（甲府）山本 僚（甲府）寄井 憲（甲府）北村 隆二（岐阜）河野 直人（岐阜）小峯 隆幸（岐阜）奈須 伸也（岐阜）深津 康太（岐阜）
長谷川 太郎（横浜ＦＣ）山田 卓也（横浜ＦＣ）海本 慶治（新潟）諏訪 雄大（新潟）寺川 能人（新潟）渡邊 圭二（名古屋）森野 徹（磐田）石井 俊也（京都）大久保 裕樹（京都）田原 豊（京都）伊藤 博幹（Ｇ大阪）千葉 貴仁（Ｃ大阪）山本 浩正（Ｃ大阪）伊藤 将大（神戸）木下 真吾（神戸）栗原 圭介（神戸）曽我部 慶太（神戸）豊満 貴之（神戸）増田 清一（神戸）関 隆倫（岡山）阿部 祐大朗（徳島）石川 裕司（徳島）入船 和真（徳島）河野 淳吾（徳島）小山 拓土（徳島）柴村 直弥（徳島）島津 虎史（徳島）高橋 健史（徳島）玉乃 淳（徳島）古田 泰士（徳島）本間 康貴（徳島）松本 昴聡（徳島）神丸 洋一（愛媛）笹垣 亮介（愛媛）星野 真悟（愛媛）南 祐三（愛媛）宮原 裕司（愛媛）横山 拓也（愛媛）本田 真吾（福岡）石田 博行（鳥栖）加藤 秀典（鳥栖）鐡戸 裕史（鳥栖）長谷川 豊喜（鳥栖）山城 純也（鳥栖）河野 健一（熊本）小林 陽介（熊本）斉藤 紀由（熊本）佐藤 祐介（熊本）鈴木 祐輔（熊本）関 光博（熊本）町田 多聞（熊本）川田 和宏（大分）河原 正治（大分）根本 裕一（大分）
I'll talk about 5 guys I like who are in this heap later.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Yes Virginia, there is a Verdy manager
Takuya Takagi says yes.......our long National Nightmare is finally over.
The question now is what kind of team will he field?
The starting 11 if the season starts today
BOLD means likely not to be here
Italics mean help!
FW OGURO
DIEGO
MF Iio Shibasaki
MF Sugawara Tomisawa
DF Nasu Iida Tsuchiya Fukuda
GK Takagi
BENCH: GK Shimizu, FW Hiramoto, FW Inoue, MF Kawano, MF Shinmura
EWWWW!
Oh well, got a new head man.......how bout a song!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXSqWVXACE&feature=related
The question now is what kind of team will he field?
The starting 11 if the season starts today
BOLD means likely not to be here
Italics mean help!
FW OGURO
DIEGO
MF Iio Shibasaki
MF Sugawara Tomisawa
DF Nasu Iida Tsuchiya Fukuda
GK Takagi
BENCH: GK Shimizu, FW Hiramoto, FW Inoue, MF Kawano, MF Shinmura
EWWWW!
Oh well, got a new head man.......how bout a song!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXSqWVXACE&feature=related
Sunday, December 14, 2008
And a child shall lead them......
Song of the day
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSlWD1yYA0&feature=related
Good news today in Verdy valley, the mighty youth of Verdy obtained a 2-1 victory over the other Mitsubishi, Yowa FC. Goals were scored by Kento Kuri and highly rated prospect Yu Tomidokoro.
Verdy youth move on to Nagai to face the always tough Sanfrecce youth program. Sanfrecce currently has 15 players on their books who came out of the youth program including key players Akihiro Sato, the Morisaki twins, Yoijiro Takahagi, Tomoaki Makino, and Yosuke Kashiwagi to name a few.
This would be a great model for a team with rapidly declining fortunes to follow. Verdy currently has 2 from 2001 to now (Kawano and El Samni).
AROUND J2
While Verdy waits for Takagi to make up his mind, J2 rivals have quickly moved to fill in spots
Shonan have hired in former Olympic coach Yasuharu Soramachi to take over the squad.
Yokohama FC hire former Omiya gaffer Yasuhiru Higuchi to replace Tsunami
Consadole Sapporo add Brazilian U-23 Thiago Quirino Da Silva from Djurgardens in Sweeden.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSlWD1yYA0&feature=related
Good news today in Verdy valley, the mighty youth of Verdy obtained a 2-1 victory over the other Mitsubishi, Yowa FC. Goals were scored by Kento Kuri and highly rated prospect Yu Tomidokoro.
Verdy youth move on to Nagai to face the always tough Sanfrecce youth program. Sanfrecce currently has 15 players on their books who came out of the youth program including key players Akihiro Sato, the Morisaki twins, Yoijiro Takahagi, Tomoaki Makino, and Yosuke Kashiwagi to name a few.
This would be a great model for a team with rapidly declining fortunes to follow. Verdy currently has 2 from 2001 to now (Kawano and El Samni).
AROUND J2
While Verdy waits for Takagi to make up his mind, J2 rivals have quickly moved to fill in spots
Shonan have hired in former Olympic coach Yasuharu Soramachi to take over the squad.
Yokohama FC hire former Omiya gaffer Yasuhiru Higuchi to replace Tsunami
Consadole Sapporo add Brazilian U-23 Thiago Quirino Da Silva from Djurgardens in Sweeden.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Well, He knows how to work on a budget
First, Song of the day from Live http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJI9MnRg48&feature=related
Big talk from the tabloids is that former Yokohama FC head man and current Verdy number 2 Takuya Takagi is the leading candidate to take over Verdy. Takagi led a nearly miraculous run in 2006 after taking over a team of young players and aging stars from yesteryear 1 game into the season. Takagi led the Satellite team to first place in their division in 2008. Not a bad selection considering he knows what the young players on the squad are capable of and what needs to be added.
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and Nozomi Hiroyama were both officially cut yesterday, putting the list of outgoing players at 11. Kento Tsurumaki returns to the squad after a unfulfilling stint at Mito Hollyhock.
The big news is that southern squad and 2007 fellow promotion graduates Kyoto Sanga FC have put up an offer for leading scorer and team MVP Diego. It's not disclosed how much it's for or if Constantine Teo approves. The super agent is the real lynchpin in all of this. If Mr Teo decides that Diego will be rich and successful in Kyoto, he will go to Kyoto. End of story.
FINALLY
Verdista/Tokyo Hearts are contemplating a season long boycott if things don't change in the FO
http://ameblo.jp/verdista/entry-10176827268.html
If that happens, the team is probably done.
Big talk from the tabloids is that former Yokohama FC head man and current Verdy number 2 Takuya Takagi is the leading candidate to take over Verdy. Takagi led a nearly miraculous run in 2006 after taking over a team of young players and aging stars from yesteryear 1 game into the season. Takagi led the Satellite team to first place in their division in 2008. Not a bad selection considering he knows what the young players on the squad are capable of and what needs to be added.
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and Nozomi Hiroyama were both officially cut yesterday, putting the list of outgoing players at 11. Kento Tsurumaki returns to the squad after a unfulfilling stint at Mito Hollyhock.
The big news is that southern squad and 2007 fellow promotion graduates Kyoto Sanga FC have put up an offer for leading scorer and team MVP Diego. It's not disclosed how much it's for or if Constantine Teo approves. The super agent is the real lynchpin in all of this. If Mr Teo decides that Diego will be rich and successful in Kyoto, he will go to Kyoto. End of story.
FINALLY
Verdista/Tokyo Hearts are contemplating a season long boycott if things don't change in the FO
http://ameblo.jp/verdista/entry-10176827268.html
If that happens, the team is probably done.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Verdy is NOT GONE!
Those were the tearful words of a manager who had just seen his team fall to J2. A former National teamer and a member of the legendary Verdy Kawasaki teams at the dawn of the J League, Tetsuji Hashiratani has always been a good general in the Verdy army.And like a good soldier, he took responsibility for the failures of his aging core of players, his best friend who was the architect of the fiasco, and a collection of corporate backers who couldn't really give a rat's ass anymore whether or not the team lives or dies.
Tetsuji Hashiratani is gone, and he probably shouldn't be. He resigned.
Verdy however is not.
Song of the day Going On by Gnarls Barkley
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ENE1eWtW7e8&feature=channel
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Idle Speculation
So a couple things before we move on to J2 Part Deux
Verdy supporters bunkered in for 7 hours waiting for the team president to come (He didn't but a GM did) classy way to rea your fans after dumping on em a week before. Maybe that's why you lose so much money, you don't have a clue what your doing and you still think Verdy are the Kyojin of soccer (It's Urawa BTW).
Nick makes a good argument that Verdy got relegated before the game
Well we are done then...bad calls agreed in the final game but on another day we could have been 4 down by the time the penalty was given. We lost a bad decision by the referee in the final game but over the course of the season we very simply haven`t been good enough in all departments. If you are in the bottom two after a 34 game season then its because you are the 17th best team in the league. Not a good number whichever way you look at it.I don`t take yesterdays game as the final nail as I would say it was pretty much a foregone conclusion before we kicked off. We were down before today, we went down when 1-0 up against Urawa and conceded in the last minute, we were down when we couldn`t put Sapporo away even after all and sundry had given them a beating to send them down early. We were down when JEF were on their own terrible run and we couldn`t put them away. We were down when Diego was suspended for the most important part of the season (and more importantly we had NO-ONE to replace him). We were down when Leandro was being played continually even though he was AWFUL and keeping Kawano out. The whole Hulk mess...I can`t even be arsed.....Still guys, let`s not be all down hearted, we are about to go on a 3 month unbeaten run!! Also, by the looks of things there are gonna be some AWFUL teams in J2 next year, let`s see if we can finish above them!! A sad weekend but hey, there is still next season and I for one refuse to be downhearted!! We will be back, maybe not next year or within a few years, (unless there is some shedload of cash that some unwitting Russian billionaire wants to throw away). The sponsors are withdrawing according to the papers, the stormclouds are gathering but we can all rest safe in the knowledge that we aren`t and never will be as fundamentally dull as FC Tokyo!! The ONE highlight of the season was pissing in FC Tokyo`s chips at Kokuritsu...deafening silence at the end. Fantastic!!Onwards and (temporarily hopefully) downwards the Boys March On!!
Good points. After the FCT win Verdy was a respecable 9-3-9 but won only once in 13 games, losing 8 times.
Finally Naoya Saeki got released by Omiya.......who cares, right? Well without having any real evidence, I'm gonna speculate that he will be in a Verdy uniform next year. Relationships are a big deal and he has connections with both Iio (Avispa) and Tsuchiya (Omiya, Kobe) as well as a pedigree in Verdy's youth system. There are no strong candidates to play c-mid alongside Sugawara (who also played with Saeki in Kobe) so I'm guessing he will be an affordable selection. And he's 30 so he's not ancient......yet.
Verdy supporters bunkered in for 7 hours waiting for the team president to come (He didn't but a GM did) classy way to rea your fans after dumping on em a week before. Maybe that's why you lose so much money, you don't have a clue what your doing and you still think Verdy are the Kyojin of soccer (It's Urawa BTW).
Nick makes a good argument that Verdy got relegated before the game
Well we are done then...bad calls agreed in the final game but on another day we could have been 4 down by the time the penalty was given. We lost a bad decision by the referee in the final game but over the course of the season we very simply haven`t been good enough in all departments. If you are in the bottom two after a 34 game season then its because you are the 17th best team in the league. Not a good number whichever way you look at it.I don`t take yesterdays game as the final nail as I would say it was pretty much a foregone conclusion before we kicked off. We were down before today, we went down when 1-0 up against Urawa and conceded in the last minute, we were down when we couldn`t put Sapporo away even after all and sundry had given them a beating to send them down early. We were down when JEF were on their own terrible run and we couldn`t put them away. We were down when Diego was suspended for the most important part of the season (and more importantly we had NO-ONE to replace him). We were down when Leandro was being played continually even though he was AWFUL and keeping Kawano out. The whole Hulk mess...I can`t even be arsed.....Still guys, let`s not be all down hearted, we are about to go on a 3 month unbeaten run!! Also, by the looks of things there are gonna be some AWFUL teams in J2 next year, let`s see if we can finish above them!! A sad weekend but hey, there is still next season and I for one refuse to be downhearted!! We will be back, maybe not next year or within a few years, (unless there is some shedload of cash that some unwitting Russian billionaire wants to throw away). The sponsors are withdrawing according to the papers, the stormclouds are gathering but we can all rest safe in the knowledge that we aren`t and never will be as fundamentally dull as FC Tokyo!! The ONE highlight of the season was pissing in FC Tokyo`s chips at Kokuritsu...deafening silence at the end. Fantastic!!Onwards and (temporarily hopefully) downwards the Boys March On!!
Good points. After the FCT win Verdy was a respecable 9-3-9 but won only once in 13 games, losing 8 times.
Finally Naoya Saeki got released by Omiya.......who cares, right? Well without having any real evidence, I'm gonna speculate that he will be in a Verdy uniform next year. Relationships are a big deal and he has connections with both Iio (Avispa) and Tsuchiya (Omiya, Kobe) as well as a pedigree in Verdy's youth system. There are no strong candidates to play c-mid alongside Sugawara (who also played with Saeki in Kobe) so I'm guessing he will be an affordable selection. And he's 30 so he's not ancient......yet.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
How do I put this........
Verdy goes back down to J2 after putting up a valiant yet ultimately predictable losing effort against former city rivals Kawasaki Frontale. Sadly, the most predictable thing about it was one of the dodgy J League refs would put his nose into it by making an absolute abortion of a call. How that is a straight red is beyond me. How that is a PK is beyond me. How that is anthing but a card for simulation is on me. Seriously, why did he intervene in that when Kawasaki was handling Verdy fairly easily, just missing on a bunch of close shots.
Garbage call, garbage ref. I haven't been one to jump on the "J league is filled with a bunch of BS refs who are either corrupt or incompetent" bandwagon. And I don't think I am one-sided in my criticism. But that was garbage. End of story.
So where do we go from here?
Nagai and Fujita are not options now that J2 has been "acheived". they shouldn't hsve been options in the first place especially now that the team has decided on a youth movement.
FACES YOU WON'T SEE
Shigenori Hagimura got his walking papers yesterday. Not my favorite player by an stretch of the imagination but he did put in a couple good efforts.
Coach Hashiratani will hand in his resignation after taking the drop. The team is looking at internal candidates like Takagi and Matsuda......the coach of NTV Beleza of the women's league.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081207006.html
Another note in the story is that Diego is being actively pursued by both Kobe and Kyoto, who both now seem to be linked to every player imaginable. I think he will be gone.
Not sure about Rui, especially if Nakata and his compan take over.
FACES YOU MIGHT SEE
Verdy has a bunch of guys out on loan who could be coming back. Kenta Togawa and Yuzo Ichiyanagi might be called back for defensive reinforcement (I'm gonna say yes on Togawa and
no on Ichiyanagi) and maybe Sagan Tosu mid Leonardo, who isn't impressive but he is very cheap.
Finally I leave you with a song
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=0bM0wVjU2-k
Garbage call, garbage ref. I haven't been one to jump on the "J league is filled with a bunch of BS refs who are either corrupt or incompetent" bandwagon. And I don't think I am one-sided in my criticism. But that was garbage. End of story.
So where do we go from here?
Nagai and Fujita are not options now that J2 has been "acheived". they shouldn't hsve been options in the first place especially now that the team has decided on a youth movement.
FACES YOU WON'T SEE
Shigenori Hagimura got his walking papers yesterday. Not my favorite player by an stretch of the imagination but he did put in a couple good efforts.
Coach Hashiratani will hand in his resignation after taking the drop. The team is looking at internal candidates like Takagi and Matsuda......the coach of NTV Beleza of the women's league.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081207006.html
Another note in the story is that Diego is being actively pursued by both Kobe and Kyoto, who both now seem to be linked to every player imaginable. I think he will be gone.
Not sure about Rui, especially if Nakata and his compan take over.
FACES YOU MIGHT SEE
Verdy has a bunch of guys out on loan who could be coming back. Kenta Togawa and Yuzo Ichiyanagi might be called back for defensive reinforcement (I'm gonna say yes on Togawa and
no on Ichiyanagi) and maybe Sagan Tosu mid Leonardo, who isn't impressive but he is very cheap.
Finally I leave you with a song
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=0bM0wVjU2-k
Friday, December 05, 2008
Do Your Best!
One game to go Byatches!
Here is a musical inspiration for Verdy
Considering half the squad was in their prime when this group was popular I think it should do the trick
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgFGW8KAdE&feature=related
Here is a musical inspiration for Verdy
Considering half the squad was in their prime when this group was popular I think it should do the trick
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgFGW8KAdE&feature=related
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
One guy who ain't happy
Coach Hashiratani.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/03/06.html
He did ask a poignant question........Why shake up the team now before the most important game of the season? Really, he was asking why screw me out of my career after I bled green?
He's done a decent job with a team that was aging and not good and he deserved the chance to go into the game without the fo doing subterfuge.
What's he gonna do if they end up in the playoff against a Cerezo squad who made an offer to Fukunishi.......do you think he's gonna go 100% for a team dropping him when he knows the team across the field wants him and could potentially give him another gig in J1?
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/03/06.html
He did ask a poignant question........Why shake up the team now before the most important game of the season? Really, he was asking why screw me out of my career after I bled green?
He's done a decent job with a team that was aging and not good and he deserved the chance to go into the game without the fo doing subterfuge.
What's he gonna do if they end up in the playoff against a Cerezo squad who made an offer to Fukunishi.......do you think he's gonna go 100% for a team dropping him when he knows the team across the field wants him and could potentially give him another gig in J1?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Why the dump now?
It wasn't clear yesterday why the announcement was made to dump salary before a big game but today a little announcement came out from Nikkan Sports. I'll give my theory on why I think yesterday's dump and todays rumor connects.
http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20081202-435682.html
First, NTV/Yomiuri is desperately trying to get out from under the debt of Verdy once and for all. Nikkan is reporting that (I think) Sports and Talent Management group Sunny Side Up started talks to acquire 50% ofVerdy from NTV thereby making them patrners with CyberAgent. One of the minority owners in SSU is former National Team player and philanthropist Hidetoshi Nakata (6.91%) . The theory is Nakata would be heavil involved in management once SSU takes over.......if all goes to plan.
Some noteworthy members of the SSU family include swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, hot dog eating champ Kobayashi, and NT strikers Kisho Yano and Masashi Oguro. NTV has accrued about 1.2 billion yen of debt according to the article and want to cut their losses.
I think the cuts were a bookmaking trick to make the team more desirable on paper. J1 doesn't matter as much as the bottom line and renting Nishigaoka is far cheaper than Ajinomoto. So yeah.......it's business.
Ever since the underwhelming response to Verdy after the move from Kawasaki, NTV-omiuri haave really checked out of caring for the team. Really, when you are showing games at 3am and you own the team, you really don't care about it.
http://www.ssu.co.jp/
IN OUT SPECULATION
http://ameblo.jp/adgjmptw1969/image-10172434486-10115858182.html
Nikkan Sports is speculating that 4 more will be cut and one rental will be expunged
DF Sho Miyasaka, MF Nozomi Hiroyama, DF Shigenori Hagimura, and MF Tsuyoshi Yoshitake are all rumored to get cut. Also the loan agreement between Shimizu over DF Takumi Wada is not likely to be renewed.
Weekly Soccer Magazine also reports that Verdy is targeting 24 year old FW Naoki Ishihara from Shonan Bellmare. Ishihara is number 3 in J2 in goals scored at 18 in 40 games. Ishihara is a small speed guy who would partner nicely with a post player like Oguro.
http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20081202-435682.html
First, NTV/Yomiuri is desperately trying to get out from under the debt of Verdy once and for all. Nikkan is reporting that (I think) Sports and Talent Management group Sunny Side Up started talks to acquire 50% ofVerdy from NTV thereby making them patrners with CyberAgent. One of the minority owners in SSU is former National Team player and philanthropist Hidetoshi Nakata (6.91%) . The theory is Nakata would be heavil involved in management once SSU takes over.......if all goes to plan.
Some noteworthy members of the SSU family include swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, hot dog eating champ Kobayashi, and NT strikers Kisho Yano and Masashi Oguro. NTV has accrued about 1.2 billion yen of debt according to the article and want to cut their losses.
I think the cuts were a bookmaking trick to make the team more desirable on paper. J1 doesn't matter as much as the bottom line and renting Nishigaoka is far cheaper than Ajinomoto. So yeah.......it's business.
Ever since the underwhelming response to Verdy after the move from Kawasaki, NTV-omiuri haave really checked out of caring for the team. Really, when you are showing games at 3am and you own the team, you really don't care about it.
http://www.ssu.co.jp/
IN OUT SPECULATION
http://ameblo.jp/adgjmptw1969/image-10172434486-10115858182.html
Nikkan Sports is speculating that 4 more will be cut and one rental will be expunged
DF Sho Miyasaka, MF Nozomi Hiroyama, DF Shigenori Hagimura, and MF Tsuyoshi Yoshitake are all rumored to get cut. Also the loan agreement between Shimizu over DF Takumi Wada is not likely to be renewed.
Weekly Soccer Magazine also reports that Verdy is targeting 24 year old FW Naoki Ishihara from Shonan Bellmare. Ishihara is number 3 in J2 in goals scored at 18 in 40 games. Ishihara is a small speed guy who would partner nicely with a post player like Oguro.
Monday, December 01, 2008
BLOODY MONDAY
So the braintrust at Verdy Incorporated went and cut 7 players in the past 2 days. Strange timing to cut your Captain, your starting keeper, and your starting central midfielder one week before your biggest game. Anyhow the message is clear......the team is old and reall isn't good and if they are destined to suck, they are gonna do it younger and cheaper.
Here Here!!!!
Arguably the shocker of the day is the severing of Doi, who has manned the nets in all 33 games for Verdy. Decent season after last years stinker
The only under 30 player who got cut. Asuke got hurt and lapped by Shibasaki and Kawano. Good year to get cut because 3 new job sites are opening up in J2 and Tokushima cut 15 today so there are opportunities aplenty.
The league leader in yellow cards is rumored to be headed south to Cerezo Osaka. Good luck with that.
The captain of the Ramos era gets cut after another injury plagued year. Has Yokohama FC written all over him.
Captain number two takes a pink slip after a pretty sub-par year. Back to Jubilo for a victor lap and a gold watch?
Scored the goal that got Verdy into J1 but hasn't managed to score any to keep them in J1. Adios Donkey!
I saw him play one or two good games a couple of years ago......I think.
Here Here!!!!
Arguably the shocker of the day is the severing of Doi, who has manned the nets in all 33 games for Verdy. Decent season after last years stinker
The only under 30 player who got cut. Asuke got hurt and lapped by Shibasaki and Kawano. Good year to get cut because 3 new job sites are opening up in J2 and Tokushima cut 15 today so there are opportunities aplenty.
The league leader in yellow cards is rumored to be headed south to Cerezo Osaka. Good luck with that.
The captain of the Ramos era gets cut after another injury plagued year. Has Yokohama FC written all over him.
Captain number two takes a pink slip after a pretty sub-par year. Back to Jubilo for a victor lap and a gold watch?
Scored the goal that got Verdy into J1 but hasn't managed to score any to keep them in J1. Adios Donkey!
I saw him play one or two good games a couple of years ago......I think.According to a story in Hochi Yomiuri, Verdy is cutting over half it's payroll because of low attendance and the bad economy. All guys who are on one year contracts and hover around the above 30 range have been notified that their services are no longer needed. The one name that has popped up that isn't on the official list is Nozomi Hiroyama. The Hochi article also has stated that 10 players have been notified about their upcoming vacations. I'm gonna say Leandro and Hagimura are the other two.
In other news, Jun Tamano and Takuya Yamada both got their walking papers.
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