SOILENT GREEN 1969

Quitting Time

2009-03-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sljpc3UgWnA

Well, It's been a fun 3 years but now it's time to close up shop.

With the new and already outstanding TOKYO NERDY 1969 up and running, there is no longer a need for Soilent Green. 2 Verdy blogs in English is too much. Besides, if you want snark, DOKOOL is always willing to write a 5 page essay on why FC Tokyo is doing things much better than Verdy so you don't need me for that either.

What we do need however is an English Language Blog for all 36 J1 and J2 teams. Currently we have 18 teams covered by people from all walks of life. When I started, it was just Furtho at G!G!O!A!, the Grampalogue, and Shrimp at Yokohama FC along with Ken at RSN(The godfather of all J league writers) and Rie at the dearly missed Lost in Translation.

All of the new blogs are wonderful and appreciated, from the German who writes about Fukuoka, the Norwegian who writes about Cerezo, the Hawaiian Italian who writes about Kyoto, and the numerous Japanese, Americans, Australians, and Englishmen who have sites as well.Our own Mike Tuckerman has made a name for himself in the international papers......good for him, he actually has talent. And our man Vendo has cornered the market on Ibaraki J2 news.

I also want to thank Nick, the two Ultras and all the other folks who popped in and made the blog more interesting. Comments are appreciated always because half the time it feels like I'm talking to myself.

So I urge everybody to check out the new Verdy blog http://tokyonerdy1969.blogspot.com/
Soilent Green will stay up as a giant rotting memorial to Rui Ramos and the lost years of Tokyo Verdy but won't be updated much if at all.

Also check out all the blogs on J League teams.....the Gamba, Yokohama Marinos and FC Tokyo ones are works of art and the Frontale and Shimizu ones are great. Hands down the best one has to be Omiya though (not that I'm biased).

If you do feel the need to read my stuff, I post occasionally on another blog.....you'll figure it out.

And I see a certain team in Kanagawa has not been duly represented in the blogrolls.

http://fatsaco.blogspot.com/ Now we're at 19, bitches!

Am I the Joaquin Phoenix of the J League? I think I am!

I call SHONANIGANS!!!!!!!!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT 1

2009-03-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our friend Nick has jumped into the blogger fray with TOKYO NERDY 1969

http://tokyonerdy1969.blogspot.com/

I always thought the blog was most interesting when he would give sporadic game reports so now we might be able to see more of that.

One more big announcement tonight. Tune in!

Tsuyoshi goes to America!

2009-02-28T00:31:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYHfh94LfNw&feature=related

Well Tsuyoshi Yoshitake fans.......if you are wondering where the fleet footed lefty has been hiding, wonder no more. Andrew Miller's Battery Shots blog has a list of players invited in to the USL 1 Charleston Battery training camp

http://www.charleston.net/blogs/battery/2009/feb/26/Battery/

If you are not familiar with the USL, it is the equivalent of J2 but with a bit of a twist. The USL has no real relationship with the MLS (unless you want to say animosity is a connection). A familiar face to Verdy fans is Takashi Hirano, who plies his trade at defending USL champs Vancouver. Good luck!

VERDY TIES RYUTSU KEIZAI

You might have already known this but Verdy played RKU in a training match and tied 1-1. Masashi Oguro scored the lone goal for Verdy in the second stanza. RKU came back and tied it 5 minutes later.

Tomorrow

There is a friendly scheduled at 11 between Verdy and Hokushinetsuupercalafragilisticexpialidocis league squad Matsumoto Yamaga FC from Nagano at the luxurious Verdy grounds. If anyoe decides to go, write somethin up and I will post it.

I PREDICT

2009-02-21T02:18:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjvzZoH-mE&feature=related
early REM, like early Verdy was the best

Ken Matsushima has a more in-depth preview at RSN which is a pretty good read
Here it is
http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/news/2009/090221.html
The only thing I don't like about it is the 4th-6th place qualifiers......stop being such a sissy, pick it and stick with it.

Anyhow considering I have not really seen much of any of these teams and don't really know what the hell I'm talking about.......here is my expert opinion.

1. Cerezo Osaka- I'm not drinking the Culpi kool-aid here.....I think he gets canned after a slow start. I think they bring in someone who is able to get the young guys going past the also ran threshhold.

2. Consadole Sapporo- I am however drinking the Ishizaki kool-aid. He's a J League manager and if Verdy let him do the job in 2005, they would never have played in J2. Kashiwa will regret the move.

3. Ventforet Kofu- I thought they were coming around. They were the only one last year to stare down Hiroshima without blinking. AND they added Miracle Mo to boot......so that is nice!

4. Vegalta Sendai-Summer is warm, water is wet, and Vegalta is the last team to be eliminated from the J1 promotion. I think they need a good shaman or something.....I don't get it.

5. TOKYO VERDY- Not so much cause they are good but more so cause the rest of the league is fairly soft. Three or Four of the bigger names won't be with the team by the end. Which is good because I think the younguns are gonna get some shots to show that they are players. So it's gonna be a good thing. Seriously.

6. Shonan Bellmare- They have one of the older teams in the league and they opt for a U-23 manager. NIIIIIIICE! And Tuto? Really? F$$$ing TUTO? You deserve to stay in J2.

7. Avispa Fukuoka-Best team in Kyuushu playing in J2. The best team in Kyuushu period is New Wave Kitakyuushu, followed by the LA GALAXY.

8. Thespa Kusatsu- Did you know that the active J2 goalscoring leader of all-time plays for Kusatsu (Yasunori Takada with 70). freaky, huh? Nozomi Hiroyama is gonna tear J2 a new one.

9. Sagan Tosu- 5. That's the number of goals scored by Koji Hirose. He happens to be the top returning scorer for Tosu. Shimada was a nice pickup. And Takuya Yamada-EXOTIC TERMINATER CLAD IN SOFT PASTEL COLORS REMINISCENT OF AN EASTER PAGEANT joins up as well.

10. Yokohama FC- Look for them to start fast and then peter out like every other Higuchi team that ever played the beautiful game. At least the uniforms are better.

11. Mito Hollyhock- They play hard every game......which is something you can't say about at least 20 other teams in Japan.

GOD THIS IS TIRING........WHO CARES AFTER 11..........ok, let's continue. I can't even name the last 6.

12. Kattaler Toyama-Sure.
13. FC Gifu-OK
14. Roasso Kumamoto- Screw you Tetsu Kina.
15. Ehime FC-It seems like they get worse every year. The cartoons are nice though.
16. Tochigi SC- Allright, I saw them today and they looked awful. Really bad. No defense and not much of an attack to speak of. They have alot of big names but they ain't good.
17. Fagiano Okayama- Go Kosuke!
18. Tokushima Vortis-consistenly bad!

Top 5 scorers
1. Shinji Kagawa-Cerezo
2. Maranhao-Ventforet Kofu
3. Tomoyuki Arata- Mito
4. Tetsuya Okubo-Avispa Fukuoka
5. Leonard-VERDY

Best manager- Ishizaki
Best keeper- Shinji Muro Sagan Tosu
First manager fired- Naohiko Minobe Tokushima Vortis
Kazu goal total-1
Leandro goal total-0

Oguro goes to.........Vissel Kobe on a loan in July.

12.

NEWSAPALOOZA!!!!!!

2009-02-19T04:17:00.000-08:00

4 games in the preseason hopper!

Verdy ties Thespa 3-3
Drops one to Reysol 1-0
Wins 2-1 over Yokohama on a Leonardo brace
and ties FC Gifu 1-1 on a Hiramoto goal

Sat League announced

Verdy gets placed in a 5 team pool with last years sat league playmates Omiya and Vegalta as well as Kashiwa Reysol and Consadole Sapporo

Soooooooo......if you like Yuzo Funakoshi, March 8th in Kashiwa is your first chance to watch him lumber up and down the pitch.
http://www.verdy.co.jp/guide/schedule/satellite.html

Finally, Nick reminded me of a band I liked but a song I didn't

this is the song of the day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R136pVdgnPQ&feature=related

Finally......The player guides are out!!!!!!!

WSM is a bit disappointing.....Soccer Digest better have a better one!

This one is better

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

2009-02-07T02:28:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFrhKs4ZAbg&feature=related

Somebody likes the Doors a bit too much!

First off, Verdy played FC Machida Zelvia in a trainer today and won 2-1 off of a brace by Leonard. Camp starts monday and they have a full slate with games against Thespa, Kashiwa, and Yokohama FC just to name a few.

We start off Soilent Green's barely trying preview of J2 with a visit to the 3 new kids on the block.

Kataller Toyama

Toyama was founded just two years ago, merging regional powerhouse clubs YKK AP and ALO's Hokuriku into one Toyama superclub. One year later, Kataller would find themselves promoted into J2 on the strength of a 3rd place finish. Unlike it's other promoted brethren, Toyama will stick with the core of the club that got them to J2.

The offense is led by the combination of striker Mitsuru Hasegawa and Hideyuki Ishida, who combined last year for 27 goals. Makoto Watanabe anchors the midfield.

A familiar face joins Kataller in defense with the addition of former Verdy defender Sho Asuke.

Not a lot of talent on this squad but it shouldn't matter in year 1.

FAGIANO OKAYAMA

Okayama has alot of similarities to their Toyama cohorts. They both entered JFL in 2007 and gained promotion to J2 in 2008. Okayama finished 4th, just grabbing the last promotion spot. Unlike Kataller, Okayama is not sitting still, bringing in 19 players with various levels of experience in the J2 game.

Fagiano will hope to put alot of goals in the net with a proloific trio of former Verdy man Kohei Kiyama (18 goals), Yasutaka Kobayashi (19 goals), and new signee Kohei Nishino (8 goals at Mito). You might remember Yuhei Ono and Naoki Mihara from their days on the Verdy practice fields.

TOCHIGI SC

Tochigi looks to be the strongest of the three debutants with a group of players on paper that boast a plethora of J league experience. The big signing was former Verdy DF Atsushi Yoneyama who looks to partner with another Verdy alum in captain Yusuke Sato in order to lock down the midfield. Manabu Wakabayashi comes home from Ehime to try and regain the touch that helped him lead the JFL in goals scored in 2005 before he was grabbed up by Omiya. Another Verdy OB is in between the pipes for Tochigi when dreadlocked shotstopper Kiyomitsu Kobari gets the nod.

Don't be too surprised if Tochigi is up near the top of the leader board midway through the season. they have a team of vets who have been through the wars before.

Schedulisimo

2009-02-06T03:04:00.000-08:00

Song of the night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxoD_Ca8W9M&feature=related

I'll give you a more in-depth one later.

You asked so you shall recieve
http://www.j-league.or.jp/data/view.php?d=news&t=program&g=j2_1&y=2009

The first game is away at Tokushima
The first home game is versus pre-season favorite Cerezo Osaka

the last game is at home versus Consadole Sapporo.

And yes Vendo, in June Verdy has their blowout loss at Kokuritsu to Mito.

Meet your Verdy players 2009-Mids and Forwards

2009-02-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJEUSnLZDaM

Rumor in the dirtsheets is that Verdy will go 4-3-3 this year. I'm not sure yet how I feel about that.

Meet the Mids

5. Takahiro Kawamura- It seems like every year, Verdy has to fill it's Jubilo fetish with a member from the Championship teams of the early 2000's and Kawamura fits the bill. The 29 year old central mid comes in after traveling around with Cerezo, Kawasaki, and last year's version of Jubilo in order to fill in the spot left by the "talented" Takashi Fukunishi. Seems a little more like Harutaka Ono.

6. Tomo Sugawara- The gritty little product of the old Yomiuri youth system comes back for his 4th year manning the center of the field for Verdy. A tenacious defender, Sugawara makes up for lack of size and skill with speed and hustle. Unfortunately, Sugawara has been known to pick up small dings throughout the year that keep him out for one or two games at a time. Sugawara is one of a handful of Yomiuri Verdy guys to spend time in Brazil.

7. Hiroki Kawano- The future. Kawano came in as a speedy little wing from the Verdy youth system and scored 2 goals in limited minutes. Kawano was part of the U-20 squads that ventured to the Middle East in 2008-2009 to try and qualify for the U-20 World Cup. His most memorable quote was during one of his U-20 trips when he said something to the effect of, "I don't want to play Mito next year!" Verdy will play Mito 3 times in 2009.

8. Kosei Shibasaki- Versatile midfielder can play either in the center or on the wing. Last year was his first as a regular starter and full-time contributor after coming from Kokushikaan University. Not a great scorer, more of a disruptor in the midfield.

15. Kunihiko Takizawa- Takizawa is another member of Takagi's old Yokohama FC folly to join Verdy. A major contributor over the past 3 years to the Fulie, Takizawa made his mark as a member of Grampus is the early 2000's. Takizawa specializes as a left wing so expect him to challenge and provide depth on the left side of the field.

18. Genki Nagasato- After 3 years of prime time play for Shonan Bellmare, Nagasato inexplicably fell out of favor with the brass at the Kanagawa club and found himself out of a job starting the 2009 campaign. Nagasato is young and versatile. He can play all 6 offensive positions in the lineup. His problem is consistently finding the back of the net.

23. Masato Fujita- Highly touted project out of Meiji University. The MF/DF is said to play in the mold of Yukio Tsuchiya so he's come to the right place.

28. Kento Tsurumaki- Returns after a dissapointing stint at Mito Hollyhock. Tsurumaki looks to add depth on the wing and fill out the practice squad.

30. Yu Tomidokoro- Tomidokoro really started getting noticed after notching late goals in 2 straight Sahara Cup knockout games to help his team advance to a semifinal berth. Tomidokoro will probably learn from the sides early on, but Verdy brass are hoping that he can partner up with Kawano to lay the foundation for the next great Verdy squad.

31. Junpei Shinmura- Another Verdy youth product to not see much time on the field. Shinmura goes into camp as the number 1 backup in central midfield so we might get to see if he actually has some game or not.

Meet the Forwards

9. Masashi Oguro- The former J League scoring king and National Team player came back to Japan from a disappointing stint at Torino in Italy. Flush with cash and unrealistic expectations, Oguro was slated to fill in at Hulk's spot of playmaker. Unfortunately for him and the team, Oguro works best when he is A. in shape and B. playing with a creative partner up top. He had neither. Oguro was only able to manage two goals in 2008. Oguro will try to resuscitate his career in J2 as the main target man and possibly get noticed by a J1 squad desperate for scoring help.

10. Leandro-Last year's big offseason flop comes back for another year of competition with Verdy prodigy Kawano for the wing position. Managed to aid Hulk in disrupting team chemistry by showing up late from spring vacation without team permission. Had a couple bright moments and a few nice goals but mostly put in lethargic performances on the wing. Only one of two foreign players on the roster this year.

11. Leonard- Mystery man for Verdy who came in from the prestigious Aomori Yamada program and was immediately shipped off to Sagan Tosu for 2 years. Displayed up and performances and fell in and out of the starting 11 for the southern club. Can play as a target forward or on the wing.

13. Taira Inoue- Speedy striker has yet to find the back of the net in 2 seasons as a Verdy player. Kind of fell out favor with the constant upheval in the front. Very slight build and can get knocked off the ball in a crowd.

16. Kazunori Iio- Iio is one of those players who you have to marvel at. Not possessing either great speed or size. Iio always seems to be a guy who coaches really like to have on their squad. Iio comes into camp as the backup for the top and wing positions.

19. Yuzo Funakoshi- The big donkey comes back for one more stink with pockets a bit lighter after taking a pay cut. Funakoshi had the dubious distinction of only appearing in losing games for Verdy in 2008. Possibly his finest moment was scoring the goal that helped Verdy gain promotion in 2007. Funakoshi is the tallest player in the J league at 194 centimeters.

25. Kazuki Hiramoto- Hiramoto currently boasts the longest stint as a Verdy player, starting his 11th campaign. Last year was a disaster for the mercurial forward, coming into camp grossly overweight and putting in less than stellar performances. Hiramoto has on occasion put in great displays of ball skills and determination for goals in the past, so it is a mystery why he can't do that on a more regular basis. Another bad season could doom his career as a Verdy player.

27. Ryohei Hayashi- Hayashi comes out of the Verdy youth and Meiji University sytem to challenge for a spot as the main target man. Hayashi was recognized as a University best 11 member in 2007.

Meet your Verdy players 2009-Goalies and Defenders

2009-02-05T03:56:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBo4wZmH0UQ&feature=related Adieu Lux Interior......Rest in Peace!

First off.........Osama El Samni heads to FK Teplice in Czechoslovakia. In 2 years he couldn't crack the starting lineup.......that might have had something to do with Hashiratani and Takagi being player gatekeepers. Anyhow, the Egyptian-Japanese striker has a chance to make his mark in Europe......good luck!

Meet the Keepers

1. Yoichi Doi- The 35 year old keeper comes back to Verdy for a cut rate price after shockingly being told that his services were no longer necessary just days before the final game of the season. The former FC Tokyo stalwart and National Team keeper has lost a step but can conjure up classic performances between the pipes. With the athleticism gone, Doi now relies on good instincts and precise distribution to succeed. After 14 years of J1 play for Kashiwa, FC Tokyo, and Verdy, this will be Doi's first stint in J2. (2nd year with Verdy)

21. Yoshinari Takagi- The longest tenured consecutive Verdy player, Takagi comes into 2009 as a backup to Doi yet again. After 5 years of starting, Takagi found himself watching, only appearing in 3 cup games in 2008. Takagi has always had the talent and physical skills to be a decent J1 keeper but his iffy decision making and lapses in judgement at crucial times leaves coaches leery of completely putting their faith in the big man. (10th year with Verdy)

26. Takahiro Shibasaki- The first man in the net........if you have a training match with Arte Takasaki. Shibasaki starts year 9 as a professional keeper. He has appeared in 3 league matches and 1 cup game in stints with Verdy, Yokohama, and FC Tokyo. With 51 games this year, he might see a match or two.

34. Tomoyuki Suzuki- Suzuki starts his second year as the 4th keeper for Verdy and the presumed keeper of the future. Last year he apprenticed under the professional Doi.

Meet the Defenders

2. Kensuke Fukuda- The pressure is on young Fukuda in year 3 to show he can be a full-time side back. Fukuda has good speed and a nice cross but often misses on defensive assignments and can be overpowered in one on one situtations. Fukuda was unable to unseat (current JEF defender) Takumi Wada from the starting lineup in 2008. Now with the right side vacant, Fukuda heads into camp as the frontrunner for the job.

4. Masaki Iida- The big defender starts year 3 of his Verdy adventure. Wada saw some time in the lineup last year after toiling as a practice sqaud player in 2007. Iida is a good physical presence and will challenge for the starting spot at center back.

14. Seitaro Tomisawa- Tomisawa starts his 8th year with Verdy and is known for doing everything.......poorly. Tomisawa is a big, physical player who can play central defense, midfield, or side back and has the infuriating habit of following a good play with an awful decision. He probably will get the nod in Daisuke Nasu's spot at centerback.

17. Yukio Tsuchiya- Tsuchiya is a man who plays far bigger than his size. Tsuchiya had one of the few great years for Verdy but the wear and tear of the season seemed to slow him near the end. An unfortunate incident with Tatsuya Tanaka while at Kashiwa made him public enemy #1 with the Urawa crowd and drove him from Omiya to anchor Verdy. Tsuchiya will be 35 in July so it will be seen if he can keep up his physical, athletic style for much longer.

20. Kazuya Iwakura- Iwakura rejoins his former manager at Yokohama FC after a one year stint at New Wave KitaKyushu. Iwakura was brought in to compete with Fukuda at the right back position and provide some depth for the squad.

22. Toshihiro Hattori- Hattori comes back to captain the squad after a painful and well detailed break from the team a week before the end of the 2008 season. The longtime Jubilo and National team wing lines up on the left for the third year in a row after taking a huge paycut. Hattori will hit 36 this year, which is old but not uncommon for J2 defenders. Seemed to lose a step last year and relied more on physical play and theatrics when he was beaten. Good locker room presence.

24. Masahiro Nasukawa- Nasukawa's main job this year is to learn everything he can from Hattori and be ready to fill in on the left if he has to. Nasukawa is a highly rated prospect from the Aomori Yamada program and Chukyo University.

29. Takumi Wada- Wada was a starting member of the Verdy youth system that made two semi-final and one quarterfinal appearances in the three major club youth competitions in 2008. Wada is a speedy right back who should see most of his time in practice matches and training.

Numbers Game

2009-02-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=f6RqcEuxY_Q

Influenza!!!! I'm sick!

Verdy puts up the numbers for each player this year. Before you check them out though, read this from the brilliant writer of 3rd Degree, Buzz Carrick. It has nothing to do with Verdy per se, but it outlines the importance of numbers in ways I never could
http://www.3rddegree.net/2009/01/120-fahrenheit-the-thing-about-numbers/

Allright here are the numbers

1. Yoichi Doi
2. Kensuke Fukuda
3. EMPTY
4. Masaaki Iida
5. Takahiro Kawamura
6. Tomo Sugawara
7. Hiroki Kawano
8. Kohei Shibasaki
9. Masashi Oguro
10. Leandro
11. Leonardo
12. YOU GUYS
13. Taira Inoue
14. Seitaro Tomisawa
15. Kunihiko Takizawa
16. Kasunori Iio
17. Yukio Tsuchiya
18. Genki Nagasato
19. Yuzo Funakoshi
20. Kazuya Iwakura
21. Yoshinari Takagi
22. Toshihiro Hattori (CAP)
23. Masato Fujita
24. Masahiro Nasukawa
25. Kazuki Hiramoto
26. Takahiro Shibasaki
27. Ryohei Hayashi
28. Kento Tsurumaki
29. Takuya Wada
30. Yu Tomidokoro
31. Junpei Shinmura
32. EMPTY
33. EMPTY
34. Tomoyuki Suzuki

Kits Ahoy!

2009-02-01T03:17:00.000-08:00

Bonus Track http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc_ZNWBx7-M&feature=related

Like the home ones, don't like the road ones, and do I really need to say anything about the keeper jerseys?

VERDY VICTORIOUS IN FIRST TM

2 35 minute halves against Jobu University saw Verdy go old first and new second in a 4-3-3 alignment

ＧＫ　高木 Takagi

ＤＦ　福田 Fukuda、土屋、Tsuchiya 富澤 Tomisawa、永里 Nagasato

ＭＦ　河村 Kawamura 、菅原 Sugawara、滝澤 Takizawa

ＦＷ　飯尾、Iio 大黒 Oguro、平本 Hiramoto

they went down 1-0 at the half

ＧＫ　鈴木 Suzuki ＤＦ　岩倉Iwakura、飯田 Iida、新村 Shinmura、高橋 Takahashi(ユース)ＭＦ　弦巻、Tsurumaki ブルーノ Bruno (練習生)、柴崎(晃)ShibasakiＦＷ　レオナルドLeonardo、井上 Inoue、河野 Kawano

2-0 to the kids as Inoue and Leonardo scored.

Hattori gets the armband back and the new slogan is DASH 2009.

Sporting Verdy?

2009-01-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=xrr81SRhp_s Andre 3000 down with Tokyo Hearts?

A couple of the Japanese Verdy blogs have pictures of the new unis......Celticy? Sporty? I kind of like em actually. Havent seen the road unis yet but I'm sure they will be posted tonight.

http://ameblo.jp/topop/entry-10201274711.html

http://ameblo.jp/daiyohei/entry-10201258865.html

A couple things quickly........Hagimura and Fukunishi officially called it quits. Hagimura will hold a coaching position with Verdy and Fukunishi will be on TV laughing at stupid comics and eating stuff.

Sorry I haven't written more.......Soilent Green is coming out my nose. I'm sick

New Schedule!

2009-01-26T04:38:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=DnTmRKuMqqs

So yeah......Fukunishi turned down offers from Ehime and the K League to focus on his burgeoning career as TV Talent..........Ass.

Former Verdy DF/CM Atsushi Yoneyama heads to Tochigi. Say hi to Sato!

And finally from the J League website.......schedule day is February 2nd for the big boys and February 6th for the second division.........11 days and counting!

http://www.j-league.or.jp/release/000/00002799.html

Morning snippet

2009-01-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Fukunishi calls it quits?

Sponichi says yes
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/26/08.html

Or maybe Sponichi says Fukunishi likes salad.........my Japanese ain't so good!

WOW

2009-01-25T05:08:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=7V6E8GXkN6Q&feature=related Not ashamed I like the angry Canadian.

enjoy the comic......Oguro gets man of the match so you know it's a fantasy!

2009-01-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=xGyyB9OU66s

OK lots of news and little motivation to do this so let's do this quick!

First....that guy up above. Kazuya Iwakura. New Verdy member.......welcome!

Second.....former Verdy Kawasaki player and recent Consadole Sapporo retiree Junji Nishizawa joined the scouting staff for Verdy on the 19th.....welcome!

Third.....Technical Director Kato.....the guy who managed to blow up the team a week before the big game is out as of January 31st. The rumor is Kazu's brother Yasu Miura will take over ( how come that sounds like a cartoon pair of birds?).....soooooo....welcome!

Fourth...

New uniforms for 2009? This was on the site. Looks like there is a 40 year badge on the uni. The uniform looks the same but something is missing. I'll get to that in a minute.

The team announced Friday that no deal was done yet and NTV was super excited about the upcoming year and getting Verdy back to J1. http://www.verdy.co.jp/news/report/?cmd=DispNews&news_id=613

So in the 40th year of Verdy Yomiuri/NTV there is no sponsor on the jersey from either Yomiuri or NTV. Huh? Seem odd to you too?

More news and the season has begun

2009-01-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

I'd be praying too if I had that lineup

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=209ArurxVG4&feature=related oddly fitting don't ya think?

Training started yesterday and all the boys were in full jog. I still think Iio should have to ride on the donkeys back.
Anyhow, the other tabloids picked up on the TOMAS story, including Yomiuri
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20090119-OHT1T00278.htm
Mainichi
http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/soccer/news/20090120k0000m050053000c.html
Ramos has to have his say
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/20/05.html
Fan goes nuts over the possibility of the end of the Yomiuri era
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20090120009.html
TOMAS-no comment
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/20/06.html
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20090120-OHT1T00057.htm

You can find the other ones yourself

40 Years is Enough for one company?

2009-01-19T01:57:00.000-08:00

More on that later.........Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=QRrU-tG9uZw

First off.....Yoichi Doi is back after negotiating a lower salary. the 35 year old keeper played every minute for the squad in league play after coming over from FC Tokyo. In a bizarre personnel move, he was one of many cut before the penultimate game of the season. Average player last year.....should be good in J2. Welcome back

Sponichi Annex is reporting that Verdy is looking at picking up former Yokohama FC defender Kazuya Iwakura, a 23 year old defender who appeared in 23 games last seson for JFL side New Wave Kitakyushuu. Iwakura was let go after the termination of Takuya Takagi at Yokohama FC. Before that, he appeared in 16 games for the Fulie. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/19/02.html

Now on to the BIG NEWS

Actually big rumor.........again Sponichi is repoting that Tomas and NTV/Yomiuri have worked a deal to take over controlling stake of the club. Article here http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/19/01.html

What I could Babelfish out of this article and summarize so you won't completely go to sleep

On the 18th, Tomas and I'm assuming NTV went into final stages of the company taking over 50% of the team......giving them a controlling stake in the club. They have a quote from President Hagiwara saying that they are in final stages and that NTV will have some stake in the club but not a major one (I'm guessing this is for broadcasting rights because they need to show something at 3 am ).

After a combination of high salaries and the demotion of the team to J2 in 2005, NTV-Verdy sustained losses of 1,200,000,000 yen. The speculation is that it would take 2,000,000,000 yen to keep the team going this year.

Sunny Side Up......the company connected with Hide Nakata and Masashi Oguro were the front runners for ownership but dropped out at the end of 2008. Tomas, a uniform sponsor since 2004 jumped in.

With the new owner, it looks like Technical Director Kato and President Hagiwara are out. Ramos might also step down after everything settles down. The new power player would be Yasutoshi Miura....the former Yomiuri FC/Verdy and Japan National Team defender and older brother of Kazu Miura.

Tomas has advertising stakes in other clubs, including Yokohama FC and FC Tokyo. NTV will still control 20%.

What is TOMAS

http://www.tomas.co.jp/english/index.html

TOMAS is a corporation specializing in education. It's better known as a Juku or Cram School specifically focusing on placing students in universities, high schools, and prestigious private junior high, elementary schools and pre-schools.

the company was founded in 1985 in Tokyo as Tokyo Man-to-Man schools but changed it's name to TOMAS.

TOMAS currently has 5 different types of companies dealing with specific educational subjects, including an international division and an internet specific division. http://www.tomas.co.jp/english/contents_4.html

I'm guessing that one or more of these school logos will be used on the jerseys each year.

TOMAS employs 214 full time instructors and employees and is worth 6.8 billion yen (according to their website as of March 2008). The chairman of TOMAS is Mitsugu Iwasa (pictured above).

Other fallout...........

It's not known what will happen to the land and affiliate clubs of Verdy. Sponichi is reprting that NTV Beleza could be renamed to something with a derivative of TOMAS.http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/19/03.html

What happens to the volleyball club and triathalon team is still a mystery.

Verdy will probably still play most of their games at Ajinomoto. However a map in Fridays edition of El Golazo showed that Verdy has a concentration of support from Tachikawa to Yomiuri land, consisting of 4 townships in Tokyo. I'm not completely sure if Nishigaoka is part of the 4 but looking at a refurbishment ala Omiya Koen might be something to pursue in the future. Verdy won't make money as the second tennant. TOMAS first needs to stabilize expenses and then look for other options.

I'm going to sleep now. I'll dig more tomorrow .

more later

2009-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Doi might return and Verdy gets a new sponsor.......TOMAS?

More tonight!

The Press Conference

2009-01-18T04:42:00.000-08:00

Song of the past 40 years http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhQURN9Szw&feature=PlayList&p=D0C2F575F185E85E&index=22

Yesterday was the big press conference to introduce the new guys and say nice things about the upcoming year.

Takagi talked about how great it was to be a part of the 40th anniversary team and how the number 1 priority is to get back to J1.

Let's build a new Verdy. No mention of a new slogan or new uniforms.....maybe that will be held on the Fan day on February 1st.

Going into camp

2009-01-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=2rqCJdutB8I

Wow......rough day yesterday. Reading team president Hagimura try to spin the huge payout for Diego by saying.......OHHH, the player wanted to go nearly made me throw up. Don't lie about it. He might have wanted to go but there was no way you weren't taking that money.

Anyhow.....the team looks like it's gonna be what it's gonna be

DEPTH CHART

GK Takagi-Shibasaki-Suzuki

Takagi gets the job by default. The best thing for the team though is getting the kid in once in a while to see if he is a player. Shibasaki isn't much of an option but is a good backup.

LB Hattori-Nasukawa-Takizawa-Tomisawa

Budget boy gets a second chance at the spot after a huge pay cut. Nasukawa is the only long term challenge at the spot but I'm thinking the young guy only gets in if there is a crisis.

LCB Iida-Tomisawa-Fujita-Kawamura

I think Iida gets the nod initially because Tomisawa plays everywhere on defense and a team with no depth needs the flexibility on the bench.

RCB Tsuchiya- Tomisawa-Wada-Tsurumaki

Easiest position on the team to call. Put this in ink.

RB Fukuda-Tomisawa-Wada-Tsurumaki

The boy gets a 3rd chance to prove himself.

LM Iio- Kawano-Takizawa-Leonardo

Not sure about this position. Takagi may opt to move Iio up top. Too many options here and not enough differentiation.

LCM Sugawara-Kawamura-Tomisawa-Shinmura

Sugawara gets first crack at the space. Not much depth in the middle.

RCM Kawamura-Shibasaki-Tomisawa-Nagasato

Again I think Tomisawa gets the bench because he is more versatile than the new Jubilo man. Shibasaki could compete for the spot here as well

RM Leandro- Shibasaki-Nagasato-Tomidokoro

Yeah, I don't believe I'm putting him here either. He is the highest paid guy on the team though so he's gonna play until they can foist him on some Brazilian club. Everyone will get a shot here.

2nd FW Hiramoto-Leandro-Iio-Inoue-Leandro

Best of a weak bunch. If Hiramoto comes in with his head straight, he could have a big year.

Target FW- Oguro- Funakoshi-Hayashi

Best not to talk about this.

Big day for transactions

2009-01-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaw-9WElAjc Bye Daisuke

This is going to be quic

OUT: Kosuke Kijima to Fagiano Okayama
Sho Miyasaka
Nozomi Hiroyama Thespa Kusatsu
Daisuke Nasu Jubilo Iwata
Diego Kyoto Sanga (Knew it was coming but still gutting. Is it just me or is the new trend in the Kansai area to not scout your own foreign players.........instead wait for others to do it. Gamba was notorious for it and now Kyoto seems to do the same thing. Shimizu tries doing sloppy seconds as well but they aren't as good as these two. Mehh.....one off the 29 predictions)

In: Kunihiko Takizawa Yokohama FC
Takahiro Kawamura Jubilo Iwata

Back: Toshihiro Hattori
Yuzo Funakoshi (2 out of 3, that's another one off my list)

The full squad is here http://www.verdy.co.jp/information/introduction/player.pdf

28 players for 51 games.........hmm.

Calendar

2009-01-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://video.aol.com/video-detail/pizzicato-five-lupin-the-3rd/3332066331

First things first.......guess that article about Togawa and Ichiyanagi coming back was way off!

The team announced that Togawa will stay at Yokohama FC after all on a full transfer.

Kind of a shock considering he only appeared in 9 games for FC but hey good luck!

Fan day is February 1st......should be a hoot. If anyone goes, take pictures and I'll put em up!

Training camp will be at Miyazaki for year number 3. The camp is only 9 days. I'm guessing it's a short one because the season is 51 games long! That and the fact that there are only about 20 players right now. Ugly!

Project 40

2009-01-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=DB2W06oxDzs&feature=related

2009 marks the 40th of the team currently known as Tokyo Verdy and I need your help! I'm trying to gather a list of the 40 most influential figures in Verdy history. Send in nominees for the Verdy 40 and I will compile the list. Could be great players like Bismarck or Hashiratani or bad players like Dedimar or Kenichi Uemura. It matters not!

Just to let you know, Kazu, Rui Ramos and Hashiratani will be on the list so you don't have to nominate them. Eugene Killoran? Not so likely so you don't need to nominate guys like that either. They don't have to be players or coaches......they could be moneymen, announcers, GM's......sky's the limit!

Send em in. Arigato!

A portent of things to come?

2009-01-09T04:46:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=YG3sS8RBdms&feature=related

Well Sponichi is churning it out again. Seems the re-signing of Hattori is a done deal...they are saying it will be 10,000,000 yen base with incentive kickers to jump it up to 12,000,000.

The same article also said that Verdy will target former Yokohama FC midfielder Kunihiko Takimura and Jubilo midfielder Takahiro Kawamura. Takimura appeared in 39 games scoring 0 goals but putting up 7 assists. Kawamura notched 1 goal in 11 games.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/09/02.html

Not so fast on Nasu!

Verdy TD Kato says no to a 1 year rental offer from Jubilo because Verdy only has him for 2 years. And one has passed.....do the math. Verdy has told the good folks at Iwata to buy him or back off.

So the team is starting to take shape.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2009/01/09/03.html

Finally say adios to Yugo Ichiyanagi who makes his loan to Sendai permanent. Fear not Chofu residents, your cars are safe!

Cash money

2009-01-08T03:14:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=xGE4dnrPPZQ

We'll get to the gentleman above in a moment.

Big news out of Sports Hochi.......4 clubs are hot on the trail of Diego, including Kyoto, who is reported to have put up a record 470,000,000 yen bid for the services of the giant Brazilian playmaker. According to the paper, Diego and the club would like to stay together but if the money is getting into ridiculous numbers, it might be best for parties to take it.

Also according to the paper, it sounds as if Kyoto really want him. The numbers are gaudy but looking at the makeup and formation, it seems like a bad fit for Kyoto......what they might make up in goals, they'll lose in defensive coverage........and what happens with Sato who plays the exact same position as Diego? Sounds a little too much like fantasy football but if they are willing to shell it out, Verdy would be dumb not to take it.

Anyhow, I hope he stays but if he goes, he's not leaving the team in a bind and you can't really hate him for wanting to play top flight ball.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20090108-OHT1T00003.htm

Who is the man in the picture?

I'll tell you.......he is new signing Genki Nagasato, a 23 year old central mid from Shonan Bellmare. Nagasato had a bit of a down year after playing in a majority of games 3 years in a row. Overall, the 178cm mid played 102 J League games for Shonan, scoring 9 goals. Nagasato was cut from Bellmare at the start of December after not getting his contract renewed.

Coming in/Staying/Maybe going

2009-01-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=PBlMrGgpwXE

Kento Tsurumaki comes back from Mito after playing a whopping 8 minutes. Nice! He is young though so that's a plus.

Good news from the front office, Taira Inoue and Hiroki Kawano both got re-upped for 2009

If you are keeping track at home, the team looks like this so far

GK Takagi, Shibasaki, Suzuki
DF Fukuda, Iida, Nasukawa, Fujita, Wada
MF Leonardo, Tsurumaki, Tomidokoro, Shinmura, Shibasaki
FW Inoue, Hayashi

Finally, there has been more rumblings that Daisuke Nasu will move from the 16th worst defense in the 2008 J League to Jubilo Iwata in order to bolster the 15th worst defense in J1.

Awesome! Looks like it's going to be a loan deal so if Jubilo goes down in financial flames like Verdy and Yokohama seem to be doing, then he can be rented to yet another team on the verge of monetary armageddon! Good Luck Daisuke!!!!

Just to let you know

2009-01-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1etr7Xrk_F8

Somebody on BS posted a blog site that has all the salaries of J1 players from 2008

Bit surprising actually
Hashiratani　44歳　３、５００万
Hattori　MF　35歳　５、０００万
Tsuchiya　DF　34歳　４、５００万
Fukunishi（FC東京→）　MF　32歳　４、０００万
Kaimoto　DF　31歳　３、０００万
Hagimura　DF　32歳　３、０００万
Nasu（横浜M→）　DF　26歳　２、５００万
Takagi　GK　29歳　２、５００万
Ono　MF　30歳　２、４００万
Hiroyama　MF　31歳　　２、０００万
Sugawara　MF　32歳　１、５００万
Doi（FC東京→）　GK　35 歳　１、５００万
Tomisawa　DF　26歳　１、２００万
Iio　FW　26歳　８００万
Funakoshi FW　31歳　７２０万
Yoshitake MF　27歳　７００万
Fukuda　DF　24歳　６００万
Inoue　FW　25歳　６００万
Hiramoto（横浜FC→）　FW　27歳　６００万
Wada （横浜FC→）　DF　27歳　５００万
Shibasaki　MF　24歳　４８０万
Shibasaki　GK　26歳　４８０万
Kawano（プロデビュー）　MF　18歳　　３６０万
Miyahara　DF　20歳　３６０万
El Samni　FW　20歳　３６０万
Shinmura　MF　20歳　３６０万
Iida（プロデビュー）　DF　23歳　３６０万
Asuke（プロデビュー）　DF　23歳　３６０万
Suzuki（プロデビュー）　GK　23歳　　３６０万
日本人選手総額　４億１、１００万〈10位〉日本人選手平均　１、４６７万８、５７１円〈10位〉（昨季資料なし）平均年齢　27.04歳〈1位〉（昨季より＋0.31歳）
Diego　MF　22歳　５、０００万
Leandro（サンパウロ〈ブラジル〉→）　FW　28歳　５、０００万
Francisimare（川崎→）　MF　24歳　年俸資料なし（２、０００万と推定）
Hulk（東京V→）　FW　22歳　１、０００万 *Kawasaki number
外国籍選手総額　１億２、０００万全選手総額　５億３、１００万〈11位〉（昨季資料なし）外国籍選手依

Are you serious, the 4th and 5th highest paid guys (Japanese) were Kaimoto and Hagimura?
And why would you cut Doi when he outplayed Takagi and made １、０００万 yen less? And if Hulk was only making that it's no wonder he blew up.

OK so a quick add up shows about 2億4,000万 cut from the payroll with no real boost.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Gaien/7502/football/list08.html

Thank god......Actual news!

2009-01-04T23:15:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=l7BwRL2yhGQ

Well another one hass left the nest. One year wonder Takumi Wada leaves the club after the agreement between Shimizu and Verdy expires. This was the second year in a row that Wada started for a relegated team after manning the back for Yokohama FC in 2007.

The next stop for Wada.......JEF Chiba. Playing with fire aren't we?

Larry can go back to sleep now.

Oh Lord.......

2009-01-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AO9dbmJ_2zU I played this one before but I think it's a good one!

Larry is back.....due to the overwhelming demand (and serious lack of news)

Here's some more

If Princess Diana were alive, she would absolutely be a Kyoto Purple Sanga fan. Think about it.

I'll let you in on a little secret, drinking an ice cold beer while watching Verdy makes the experience that much better. Take it to the bank.

I'm concerned that we might never know who killed Jon Benet Ramsey.

I think Verdy would get a little more pumped up if we played Kylie Minogues version of the Locomotion before each game http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=CcPofgs7vSs

OK, I'll give you a hint, Purple equals royalty and since she was a princess she would like Kyoto.

DeBarge was vastly underrated.

Y'know who would make a good Verdy manager.........Ossie Ardilles.

Dilbert would make a great Verdy mascot.

Kumi Koda......Hubba hubba!

Sometimes at halftime, I like to take a small nap.

Steven Segal would also be good in the role of Rui Ramos. Just saying.

Don't ever break wind in a half empty stadium. Trust me on this one.

I still don't understand why Verdy wear red and blue half the time.

Why is being Rick Rolled such a bad thing?

OK that's all for Larry......he'll be back unless there's actual news or I just get bored with the whole dang thing.

No News is Good News.....

2009-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

When it means World Famous Newsman and #1 International Verdy fan Larry King comes back after a loooooooooooong hiatus to speak on soccer and life.

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=d8sf2dAZnwk&feature=related

Anyhow, Here's Larry!

Verdy had a rough season but they will bounce back.

Rui Ramos still looks like he could start for Verdy.

Mike Myers new comedy, "THE GURU" looks like a sure hit!

Relegation makes people sad.

Barack Obama will be the first African American President.........ever.

My favorite Verdy player of all time.........Rick.

There's a Japanese guy playing in Italy named Oguro, maybe Verdy should think about signing him.

The best team team in the J league comes down to wins, losses, and ties.

Why has there been no interest in a NASH BRIDGES movie? As my kids would say, Don Johnson is the bomb!

Speaking of movies, you know who would make a great Rui Ramos..........Heath Ledger. That kid is going places.

Akiko Wada is one handsome lady!

The best day to go fishing.........Tuesday.

The 3 players I'd pay to see play...........Kazu Miura, Kazu Miura, and Kazu Miura.

The league should make a special rule that allows him to score every game so we can see him dance.

How come there are no good mysteries based on a Safari adventure? Come to think of it pornography too!

I think that if Yuzo Funakoshi comes back, he should have to wear a hockey mask and carry Kazu Iio on his back like "Thunderdome"

Speaking of that......I saw Tina Turner the other day. As my kids would say, I'd tap that!

Final word.......Verdy won't win the J league championship unless they pick up that Oguro kid. They will however win the Nabisco Cup.

* The views expressed by Larry King do not reflect the views of Soilent Green, CNN, or Larry King. Any copying or reproduction without the express written consent of Larry King or Soilent Green would be downright shocking considering even I think this column sucks.

Vacation is over!

Shinnen Akimashite Omedetoo Gozaimasu!

2009-01-01T02:29:00.000-08:00

Song of the day http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=908MNJnjSiQ&feature=related For the ladies of NTV Beleza.

This morning saw the only truly successful team in the whole Yomiuri/NTV family take on INAC in the ladies equivalent of the emperors cup. Needless to say, Beleza coasted to a 4-1 victory, completing the league-cup double and claiming their 5th cup crown in the past 6 years. It was a bittersweet day however as Shiho Onodera (bottom), Tomoe Kato (center), and Nao Shikata all took the field for the final time.

Here's hoping you find as much success off the field as you did on it.

29 predictions for 2009

Every year I make resolutions and every year I don't keep em so screw it. Here are my 29 predictions for 2009.

1. Funakoshi, Ono, and Hattori will all be on Verdy's opening day roster.

2. Diego will not.

3. Leandro will be on the roster but will be gone by July......nobody will miss him.

4. Martin Saito will find his way back onto a J2 roster and play his way into a regular spot.

5. Montedio will sign either Doi or Fukunishi.

6. They will be eliminated from J1 by October.

7. Consadole will be back in J1 in 2010. Verdy will not

8. Vegalta will be the first team to fire their manager. Toshiya Miura will replace him.

9. Cerezo will be promoted after they fire Levir Culpi at midseason.

10. Verdy will get off to a slow start and Sponichi will float numerous rumors that Takagi will be replaced by Rui Ramos. He won't.

11. The young guys will struggle at first but have breakthrough years, helping Verdy get promoted in 2011.

12. Kawano will be mentioned for National team duty. Oguro will not. His Verdy career will end at midseason

13. I will find a Mrs. Soilent Green.

14. I will also be out of tax hell.

15. Some idiot on Big soccer will post how awesome it's going to be for me to see Omiya play Verdy in J2 in 2010.

16. Their team will be relegated.

17. Sanfrecce will make no major upgrades thinking that they can compete. They will finish a respectable 8th. Hisato Sato will be top 3 in goals.

18. Tokushima Vortis will come in 17th.

19. Another big squad will find themselves in the same financial problems as Verdy and lose a major sponsor.

20. It won't be Yokohama.

21. SunnySide Up will be the new sponsor for Verdy. Sensing that the current team won't sell tickets, Nakata will unretire and suit up for Verdy. He will only last the season.

22. We will say goodbye to King Kazu, Gon, Fujita, and Okano in 2009.

23. Heath Ledger will win an Oscar for his role as the Joker.

24. Someone will throw a shoe at Verdy's president.

25. No fan boycott for Verdy.

26. Verdy will go with a striped kit ala Sporting

27. Kent Phillips will be hired by Mito Hollyhock fulltime.

28. Matsu won't protest anything this year.

29. All my readers will have the best year ever!

Happy New Year!

Exclusive:Video of the Hattori negotiations

2008-12-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

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

Soilent Greens Winning 11!

2008-12-30T07:19:00.000-08:00

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

Enter the Donkey!

2008-12-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

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

Not Sooooooooooooooo fast there, Chief!

2008-12-29T01:54:00.000-08:00

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!

Ohhhhhh, you meant 5 new players?????

2008-12-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-12-26T01:23:00.000-08:00

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.

Green Eggs and Ham

2008-12-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

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.

http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20081225-443647.html

http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/f-sc-tp0-20081224-443555.html

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!!!!!

Big thanks!

2008-12-23T01:48:00.000-08:00

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?

GDI!!!!!!

2008-12-22T03:34:00.000-08:00

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.

Welcome back

2008-12-21T01:33:00.000-08:00

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.

The next big thing?

2008-12-20T01:52:00.000-08:00

Song of the day (If Verdy ever finds it's way back to greatness) http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1XWjTXQutf4&feature=related

Verdy 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*)

Fukunishi leaves one final gift

2008-12-19T03:41:00.000-08:00

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.

Dokool responds

2008-12-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

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.

A friend from across the field calls out the green

2008-12-16T03:29:00.000-08:00

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.

Yes Virginia, there is a Verdy manager

2008-12-15T03:21:00.000-08:00

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

And a child shall lead them......

2008-12-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

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.

Well, He knows how to work on a budget

2008-12-12T03:14:00.000-08:00

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.

Verdy is NOT GONE!

2008-12-08T02:52:00.000-08:00

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

Idle Speculation

2008-12-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

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.

How do I put this........

2008-12-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

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

Do Your Best!

2008-12-05T04:22:00.000-08:00

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

One guy who ain't happy

2008-12-03T04:27:00.000-08:00

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?

Why the dump now?

2008-12-02T02:14:00.000-08:00

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.

BLOODY MONDAY

2008-12-01T02:04:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

This is the last song I will ever sing........

2008-11-30T04:22:00.000-08:00

though Verdy might change their minds again........

OK so the Classico sucked big time. Bad performance by almost everyone concerned and where was the defense on the first goal? Where was Hattori period?

1 game to go. Here is the dirt

13. Omiya- 40 pts -10 away Jubilo

OUT Leandro. the good news is Verdy is tied on goal differential with Omiya so a 3 way tie between Omiya, Jubilo, and Verdy would send Omiya into the pro/rel playoff.

14. Albirex 39 pts -15 home Gamba

OUT Chiba. Gamba looks pretty disinterested at the moment but Albirex is struggling. A win and a tie for Albirex will put Verdy into safety

15. Jubilo 37 pts -7 home Omiya

OUT Hatano. The most likely scenario for survival would be a loss by Jubilo combined with a tie. However Jubilo has a fairly good record against Omiya.

16. VERDY 37pts -10 home Kawasaki

OUT Diego. Looks bleak. But anything can happen. They need to attack alot. Kawasaki has trouble against teams that attack. If Verdy bunkers, the will lose.

17. JEF Chiba 35pts -19 home FC Tokyo

OUT Bosnar. Right now JEF is desperatel hoping to sneak into the 16th spot. First it starts with a FC Tokyo squad as hot as anyone right now and looking for a spot in the ACL. This is the one time Verdy fans will root for the other Tokyo team.

CUT

Sho Asuke and Koijiro Kaimoto are the first Verdy players shown the door. Adios Muchachos

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Could've been worse

2008-11-24T01:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah not too much worse though........Oguro finally shows a pulse in this one but Verdy can't crack Consadole.

So now we go to the final 2

Let's go to the board!!!!!!

17. JEF United Chiba 35pts -18

suspensions-none
1 card to oblivion-Bosnar, Saito, Ikeda, Sakamoto, Yazawa, Toda, Maki

Next games A Shimizu H FC Tokyo

Chibapool hangs precipitously over a cliff as the deadline approaches. Do they have enough to muster one final miracle? 2 wins are needed at this juncture......the early malaise has bitten them.

16. VERDY 37pts -8

suspensions-Diego (Out for the season)
1 card to oblivion- Tomisawa, Sugawara, Fukunishi

Final games A Yokohama, H Kawasaki

Why you don't start your best midfielder in a must win game is beyond me, but Hashiratani went with Tomisawa. Next game is an emotional one as another Classico hits against a resurgent Yokohama side. Harutaka Ono had a good seat on the bench last game........could he be the answer for the missing Diego?

15. Jubilo 37pts -6

suspensions- Chano (Out for the season)
1 card to oblivion-Nishi, Bandai

Final games A Kashima, H Omiya

Well, it went from ecstasy being up 2-1, to agony being down 3-2, to finally relief with a last minute notch by Bubba Cullen. Jubilo has a 1-1-3 record without Chano so it's gonna be a bit tough in the final going. Omiya is not a bad game for them in terms of matchups. Kashima on the other hand is a nightmare so stealing one point without any injuries or stupid red cards might be the best the can hope for.

14. Albirex 39pts -14

suspensions- Allesandro, Nagata

1 card to oblivion- Uchida, Yano, Matsuo, Chiba, Matsushita

final games- A FC Tokyo, H Gamba

Another sketchy ref job and Albirex might have to dip into their youth team. FC Tokyo is eager to finally crack the upper eschelon and a spot in the ACL would at least put them in the Shimizu/Kawasaki/Oita category. Add to that the Albirex form on the road and you could have a very long day coming up. Or FC Tokyo could choke bigtime, like they usually do in must win games they are favored in. Gamba looks like they have packed it in so that might be a break. Not sure if Suzuki should just bag the FCT game and play for the last one or not, rest all the guys who are in card danger and focus on Gamba. If Verdy, Chiba, and Jubilo lose on the 29th......I play the odds and do it.

13. Omiya 39 pts -10

suspensions-Leandro (out for the season)
1 card to oblivion-Kataoka, Y.Kobayashi

Final games H Kyoto, A Jubilo

So their two offensive schemers, Chikara Fujimoto and Denis Marques are out for who knows. their best defender is out on a dodgy yellow call and they face two squads that are scratching their way to survival. So what does Omiya have to be happy about? 3 wins 2 ties and 1 loss in the past 3 years of home and away finallies including a 1-2-0 record in December. That being said, a win next Sunday is job 1 right now.

12. Kyoto 40 pts -7

suspensions-NONE
1 card to oblivion- Ataliba, Sato, Ando, Watanabe, Yanagisawa

Final games A Omiya, H Shimizu

Get used to Orange because for the next 2 weeks thats all you will see if you are a Sanga fan. Recent form has been a bit erratic for the southern side as they have gone 1-2-5 in their last 8. rumors are that GK Mizutani sustained 2 broken ribs so it's unknown what his condition is. the one good thing is that they have a hot striker in Atsushi Yanagisawa who notched 4 in the past 2 games. Losing the way they did also has to be gutting. Who knows how the respond.

FREE FROM RELEGATION TYRANNY- Kashiwa and Yokohama

Three

2008-11-22T02:07:00.000-08:00

4 pm is really the important time of the day tomorrow if you are a fan of the green. 4 games kick off at that time that have deep ramifications for the next campaign.

Game 1- Consadole at VERDY- The most important game of the day really. If Verdy can't beat Sapporo, chances are they don't deserve to be in J1, to put it bluntly. The number 1 question is who starts up front? If you believe the tabloids (AND I TOTALLY DO!) you are going to see Iio line up on the wing with Shibasaki, leaving the trio of Oguro, Hiramoto, and Donkey. Personally, I'd go with Hiroyama and Inoue because the speed would kill that backline but that's why I'm not in charge. Consadole sees this game as their last best chance to win in J1 too so don't think this will be easy.......especially with Davi auditioning for new gigs.

Game 2 Omiya at Albirex- BIG GAME!!!!!!!! I think the winner of this one survives. http://furtho.blog4.fc2.com/blog-entry-1309.html#comment GGOA has a good one on this contest.

Game 3 JEF vs Marinos- I'm thinking that JEF will probably squeak out a win in this one considering Marinos took a looooooooong trip down to Shikoku last week to play 120+ minutes versus Urawa. JEF is at home and need the win more as well. All is not so rosy for Chiba though especially if there is a card happy ref in the game. 5 players are close to taking a break.

Game 4 Jubilo vs Kashiwa- Kashiwa is the only squad not in danger of relegation right now so this game is hard to call. We'll see how Komano and Kawaguchi respond to the short rest after their Qatar working holidays. Hold your nose and cheer for Kashiwa.

Finally------Matsu at RSN has a great article on Inukai up on the front page. Seems the only one who thinks Inukai is visionary is........wait for it.......RUI RAMOS who loves the idea of Nabisco going U-23. That way he could bring in more Jubilo retreads. rumor has it that Toshiya Fujita will need a job next year.

7 to the chopper

2008-11-18T03:59:00.000-08:00

Sports Hochi put out a report today that says Verdy will fire 7 players at the end of this month. none of the players were named but let me speculate

Leandro- Almost a given considering he has been an overpriced distraction who failed to either score or set up in reasonable amounts. I don't even think he is in Japan right now.

Yuzo Funakoshi- This one is harder to call than at first blush because the guy scores at the most opportune time for Verdy. And there are no players out there at his size. That being said, he isn't good.

Kazuki Hiramoto- It's time to cut bait on the immensely talented but immensely immature and unprofessional striker. 2 goals in 20 games is unexcusable for a talent like that and considering he came back out of shape and had to beg for his job, this season was the worst thing that he could have done. The good news for him is that with at least 2 new teams coming into J2, he's almost guaranteed a starting gig somewhere......maybe even Yamagata after all the rentals come due.

Tsuyoshi Yoshitake- Injuries and the fact that younger guys like Kawano and Shibasaki have already usurped his spot make Yoshitake expendable. A shame because he had flashes of real talent.

Harutaka Ono/Nozomi Hiroyama- One or the other is probably gone. Maybe both. Both have had injury problems, neither can consistently go 90 and playing time is drying up with the new blood coming in. I hope Ono goes but I think it's Hiroyama for some reason.

Shigenori Hagimura- Part two of Albirex alums being shown the door. Good news is JEF has an Albirex fetish so there will be someplace to land for the guy not quite good enough for J1.

Koijiro Kaimoto- Part 3.......no games played. Injured. Lucky 7.

Takumi Wada is also a rental but Fukuda has yet to take over the spot completely so we might see him stay.

I didn't pick keepers because the article said that they wanted all 4 keepers back

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20081118-OHT1T00060.htm

Dear Leader Inukai speaks yet again!

2008-11-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

So the chairman has decided yet again that the competitions should be dictated and controlled not by coaches and teams but by chairman Inukai himself.

Today he stated that Nabisco Cup needs to be a U-23 tourney. At first blush, I thought hey!! Great idea! Now some young guys can get some time. Then I thought, Hey U-23 players playing against U-23 players..........don't we call that the Satellite league. Then I thought, hey do teams actually have enough players under 23 to actually field a team even with the three overage player exemption? Counting the 3 new signings, Verdy has 10. And wasn't the whole purpose of the so-called BEST MEMBER rule to give the consumer the best bang for their buck?

Then I thought, how many people watch U-18 games......how many people are actually gonna pay to see a team made up of pros and amatuers play in a competitions?

Then I thought.......Chairman Inukai would be far better served worrying about things that can be controlled by the league.......like erratic reffing. And maybe the best members for the competition should y'know not be dictated by league appearances or an artificial age limit but by the head coach. I'm not even against saying 3 or 4 players need to be under 23 if you want to encourage it but seriously, enough rules.

Now I'm thinking Chairman Inukai can stick his ideas up his cornhole

Coming Back?

2008-11-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

Terra sports says that Verdy and Kashima both put out offers.

I'm not buying it personally.............He would never coexist with Marquinhos and putting him on the same field with Diego means you have 2 guys who don't have any interest in defense.

Anyhow enjoy

http://odia.terra.com.br/especial/ataque/fluminense/htm/washington_admite_proposta_do_japao_212247.asp

Oh yeah.......Verdy Kawasaki?

2 bits and a rant!

2008-11-13T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, with a week off coming up before a big game against Consadole, Verdy hit the practice ground against Yokohama FC and dropped one 3-1. Defender Kensuke Fukuda hit one late for Verdy after the blue bombers got 3 on the board.

HIROSHI CALLS IT QUITS

Jubilo midfielder Hiroshi Nanami announced his retirement after 313 games and 34 goals. Nanami had an uneventful 1 year stint in green for the promotion bound 2007 version of Verdy but will go down in J League lore for a stellar career at Jubilo (and a decent stint at Cerezo). Good luck to the man who liked his soccer and his smokes.

Finally...........

Why has the J League decided to intertwine the league competition with the Emperors Cup? This week the league announced that they were going to fine recently crowned Nabisco Cup champ Oita Trinita and relegation threat JEF Chiba for not fielding their "Best Members" in their losses to Sagan Tosu and Shimizu respectively. Why?

Seriously, both teams have much bigger things to worry about than Emperors Cup. Oita is close to seizing a league title after dropping to 14th last year. JEF meanwhile has scratched and clawed their way back into the mix for survival after a horrendous start. Both teams made decisions that playing full strength before crucial matches was not a great idea. And both came out with crucial points.

But the heavy-handedness and utter disregard for club autonomy is rearing it's ugly head. Do you seriously believe that anyone in Oita or Chiba are upset that their squads lost the cup games or would trade the 1 crucial point that each team picked up for a chance to move on in a cup? Really? Do you think the good folks in Shimizu or Tosu are disappointed that their squads were able to advance over severly diminished competition?

It's really a waste to force teams to play their best teams over reserves. One thing the intelligensia at the J League mothership have failed to ponder is that these games (and Nabisco Cup) are wonderful opportunities for new players to get a chance to face live fire without costing their squad chances at success or survival. Players get bloooded in cup competions. Recently watching Omiya's game against Cerezo and not seeing ANY of the potential young strikers is not only bad for the team, It's bad for Japan. I'm not saying that any of those players will be in the starting 11 for the blue anytime soon, but one good game could lead to another and who knows after that.

Finally, why are players serving League suspensions for cup game violations and vice versa. When Diego got his red card halfway through the game, Verdy suffered the ultimate penalty.......they lost. If you want to extend the ban 2 games to next years competition, fine. But penalizing a player the final 2 games of the season is not measued and not fair. Essentially you have crippled the squad. And you have provided teams a great disincentive to play Emperors Cup at all. Balance that with the FA decision for Omiya's Hato to serve a league suspension during a cup game and you see the problems with the league intertwining competitions.

I get the whole ACL angle.........really the refs aren't gonna let Fagiano Okayama ever represent Japan. Enough though. You seriously are ruining a perfectly wonderful competition and turning it into a winter version of that crappy Nabisco Cup

3 Verdy players make the grade

2008-11-11T04:23:00.000-08:00

According to Weekly Soccer Magazine

Yukio Tsuchiya, Daisuke Nasu, and Diego were named to the 2008 50 best J League players.

Congratulations!

WSM grades for 2008

2008-11-10T03:39:00.000-08:00

On a scale from A to E (like school A is best)

A

Diego
Tomo Sugawara

B

Yoichi Doi
Daisuke Nasu
Kosei Shibasaki
Yukio Tsuchiya
Toshihiro Hattori
Hiroki Kawano

C

Kensuke Fukuda
Takumi Wada
Harutaka Ono
Seitaro Tomisawa
Kazunori Iio
Nozomi Hiroyama
Takashi Fukunishi

D

Shigenori Hagimura
Leandro
Hulk
Taira Inoue
Yuzo Funakoshi
Yoshinari Takagi
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake
Kazuki Hiramoto
Masaki Iida
Junpei Shinmura
Masashi Oguro

E

Francisimare
Koijiro Kaimoto
Sho Asuke
Sho Miyasaka
Osama El Samni
Takahiro Shibasaki
Tomoyuki Suzuki

Players with the best record in games played

1 Tomo Sugawara 9 wins 5 ties 6 losses
2 Harutaka Ono 6-3-5
3 Hulk 5-1-5

And the worst

1 Bikkuri Donkey 0-0-5
2 Shigenori Hagimura 0-3-2
3 Masashi Oguro 2-2-7

Two things jump out

1 The swap of Oguro for Hulk has been a failure. Oguro needs service and Verdy doesn't provide much........especially with Diego out. The injuries and national team stints haven't helped either.

YOU BE THE JUDGE!!!!!

DANGER! DANGER! 16th place

2008-11-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

Dropped like a rock.......2-0 Vissel

The shots got more prolific but it was not to be.

So going into the home stretch

JEF Chiba H Yokohama A Shimizu H FC Tokyo
VERDY H Consadole A Yokohama H Kawasaki
Jubilo H Kashiwa A Kashima H Omiya
Albirex H Omiya A FC Tokyo H Gamba
Omiya A Albirex H Kyoto A Jubilo
Yokohama A Chiba H Verdy A Urawa
Kyoto H Nagoya A Omiya H Shimizu

If I had to judge right now, I'd rate the schedules from easiest to hardest as Kyoto, JEF, Verdy, Albirex, Jubilo, Yokohama, Omiya only because Shimizu, Consadole, and Gamba have nothing to play for. Also watch FC Tokyo versus Vissel......if they lose that game then they are probably out of the running for the ACL as well as definetely being out of the Championship race.

Nagoya is banged up as well. Magnum just returned and Narazaki is on the shelf.

Big game of the week 1. Yokohama vs Chiba- big matchup between 2 of the originals. Just when you thought it was safe for Marinos, they are back at the bottom. Feel a bit bad for Chiba who dragged and clawed their way out of danger but find themselves back at 17.

Big game 2. Omiya vs Albirex- In October I had an idea about what I would write for Omiya's obituary but I held off because its November and Omiya owns November. Still playing in Niigata is always tricky. Niigata managed to steal a point in Kashima but their combination of bad defense (13th) and bad offense (18th) has put them in danger. Omiya is almost as bad in both but seem to have a little momentum.

MONSTER GAME OF THE WEEK-VERDY vs CONSADOLE
If ya lose this one then you should probably prepare for the drop. Put Kawano and Shibasaki on the wings, Oguro and Inoue up top and run Consadole to death. They will quit if you get a lead but playing no goal trios up top ain't gonna cut it.

Halftime

2008-11-09T00:04:00.000-08:00

Stats at the break

Verdy Vissel

Shots 1 9
Corners 2 6
Cards 0 Matsuoaka yellow
Subs 39 Donkey
Hiramoto

Score 0-0

In fact all 3 games went 0-0 into the break with the favorites all outshooting the little guys

If the games end like this JEF stands in 17th place with a -15 gd 35
Jubilo is 16th with a -6 36
Verdy goes to 15th with a -6 37
Albirex goes to 14th with a -14 38
Omiya is at 13th -10 38
Yokohama is 12th +1 39
Kyoto is 11th -6 40

The Verdy Show.......with special guest star......

2008-11-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yukio Tsuchiya!!!!!!!!!

Here is your lineup for todays little shindig

DOI
WADA
TSUCHIYA
NASU
HATTORI
FUKUNISHI
SUGAWARA
SHIBASAKI
IIO
OGURO
HIRAMOTO

Bench....Takagi/Fukuda/Iida/Hiroyama/Inoue/BDonkey

As Nick posted yesterday, all the teams that can damage Verdy's J1 future won yesterday to fairly strong competitors. Today's big games see Albirex Niigata travel to Kashima and JEF go south to Oita. On paper it looks like two routs but JEF in fact has a record of 10-1-0 versus the Oitards.

BTW I hate Oita

In 2 weeks bottom dwellers Consadole Sapporo come in to face Verdy. Big and not so surprising news is that coach Toshiya Miura is a goner in 3 games. Since a big 3-0 win at JEF on July 12th, Consadole has gone 16 games without a win and 8 games without a point in league competition. Rumors are circulating that Consadole is scouring greater Chiba for coaches. One rumor has Osim and his dim son taking the reigns of the Northern Kingdom.

Have we not learned the lessons of Kim Il Sung, George Bush the first and Brian Dennehy when the installed their less capable sons into power? (Actually Chris Farley wasn't Brian Dennehys son in real life and he did save the day in Tommy Boy........his brother however is not funny at all....whatever, Osim junior is a tool).

Another name bandied about is Kashiwa man and former Verdy brain Ishizaki who would be a good hire because that guy can coach. Hitachi has decided the need an overpriced Brazilian twat to bung up a decent situation so more power to them.

1 hour to gametime

Diego is done

2008-11-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

Wow........the league put the hammer down and essentially gave Diego the death penalty for this season with a 2 game ban. So more math for ya 2+2 in a 4 game season equals disaster. Adding that to the missing Kawano and the injured Tsuchiya and you see a problem.

The good news is that this is a team filled with grizzled vets who tend to buckle down when the going gets tough. And one of the games is against a downtrodden consadole squad who looks as if they've waived the white flag

The question now is this......where are the goals gonna come from?

VERDY ties Machida Zelvia

TM time 1-1 Taira Inoue notches 1 for the green but they conceed late

Finally Bomberhead is fielding offers from Urawa, Urawa south and OMIYA??????

HUH!!

Diego done for the year?

2008-11-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

It looks like the tabloids are convinced that Diego is a goner for the season after yesterdays red card on the Stoyanov challenge (not surprisingly Iemoto gave the card........he of the Xerox cup fiasco).

Usually, the league gives an automatic game suspension on reds plus games for the degree of severity. Diego and the team are apologizing for the card, signaling that there was some merit to it (I didn't see it so I don't know). Anyhow the team is pulling for a 1 game suspension.....which would be tacked onto the 2 gamer that he's already out for.

The question now is, what kind of lineup does Hashiratani put out

BEFORE THE INJURY/SUSPENSION

Hashiratani went with a 4-4-1-1

Hiramoto

DIEGO
Shibasaki Iio

Sugawara Fukunishi

Hattori Nasu TSUCHIYA Fukuda

Doi

Well, not sure who goes where or what formation will be put in place. Last year they toyed with 3-5-2 and maybe they do it again..............It might look like this

Hiramoto Iio

Fukunishi

Shibasaki Fukuda

Sugawara Tomisawa

Hattori Hagimura Nasu

Doi

Pack the middle and put speed on the wings while letting Fukunishi be the main schemer

Or they could go 4-4-2

Iio Hiramoto

Fukunishi Hiroyama

Sugawara Fukunishi

Hattori Nasu Tomisawa Fukuda

Doi

Oguro could help if he comes back in decent form and Kawano might be back soon to pitch in.

11-1=1-0 Sanfrecce

2008-11-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

It was going to be tough to begin with but 44 minutes in, Verdy talisman Diego gets run with a straight red and Verdy has to play defense for a good 46 minutes.......outshot 17 to 5, verdy succumbs in the last minute to a shot from midfielder Issei Takayanagi.

So for the second straight year Verdy will be watching the final on tv and now can focus on other things like tv dramas and not getting relegated. One worry has to be the punishment doled out to Diego for the straight red. Already having a squat for picking up too many yellows, I would have speculated that nothing major would happen because he was playing in a seperate competition but last week Omiyas Yasuhiro Hato got suspended for his red in the league and had to sit out the Emperors cup game. If it was a bad foul he could be done for the season, which doesn't help considering defensive anchor Yukio Tsuchiya is out for at least 3 to 4 weeks with a bad hamstring.

A glimmer of hope next week is the return of Oguro from crocked status. He will start from the bench against high flying Vissel Kobe.

OTHER NEWS

Former Verdy man and current Red Takahito Soma got an offer to play for CSKA Moscow. His contract is up after this season but all accounts are that he will be a priority for Urawa in the offseason.

I'll post on the new guys coming in later

Bad day so far

2008-10-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

0-0 score but Tsuchiya leaves with a knock very early and Diego picks up a yellow that will sit him for 2 games.

5 to go

2008-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yahoo predicts a 4-5-1 and I agree

Saturday fare is important to certain degrees

Kashiwa hosts Yokohama FM and with YFM on 36 you have to hold your nose and hope Kashiwa gets it

The big game is banged up Jubilo versus Nagoya who has been leaking points like a sieve. A nice 5 goal victory for Nagoya is the big hope here

If Verdy keeps winning it doesn't matter what anyone else does and a win versus Kyoto would push them up towards top half

Sunday has 2 big games

Albirex will host a free falling Urawa in Niigata and again you have to hold your nose and hope the bad team wins

Finally the 7 game unbeaten Chibapool take on the not so much Omiya Ardija who.........well.......score as much as me lately. Either way someone is gonna lose points so it's a net gain for Verdy

Game on

Diego gets it done

2008-10-19T03:54:00.000-07:00

Not gonna do too much of a wrap-up because it stings but Hiroyama and Diego did a great job on the goal. Winning ugly is still winning

Purple rain

2008-10-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

November will see the reemergence of Sanfrecce Hiroshima after the Newly Crowned J2 Champs dismantled Osaka Wayward gynecologecal and gastronomical beauticians University FC 6-0 in a rather easy walk over.

6 different Osaka players not named Hisato Sato notched goals in the contest.

The last time the teams squared off, Sanfrecce won 3-0 after Verdy was unable to find the net on 26 shots. the teams matched up for one other contest in 2005 and Sanfrecce won that one 4-1 as well. Sanfrecce goes into this game fully focused on Emperors Cup while Verdy must focus on staying alive.

Another fear is the resurgence of the Sanfrecce curse. The curse was broen last year when Sanfrecce dropped to J2 but it remains to be seen whether the curse reemerges with Sanfrecces promotion. Lose and Verdy might find out.

Tomorrow the Sattelites play their final match of the season against Montedio Yamagata.

Finall there was a Masaki Saito sighting at Yokohama as the rugged forward scored for Okinawa Kariyushi FC in their 2-1 loss to Yokohama FC. Soilent Greens all time favorite Verdy player deserves another shot in J2. I'm talking to you Tsunami!!!

Roadmap to Armageddon

2008-10-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

Again possibly

This week's schedule has some interesting matchup has some interesting turns before the game against Nagoya tomorrow night at 6.

The first big matchup is Niigata vs Yokohama at Niigata. Niigata is on 35 points but has a terrible plus minus and has games coming up against Urawa, Kashima, FC Tokyo, and Gamba

Yokohama is on 34 and has been hot. A game between them and Verdy is coming up near the end of the season. So I'd say Yokohama winning is the best result for Verdy in this one.

Omiya hosts Kashiwa in another installment of the Noda line battle. Both teams are reeling so the winner will probably get a bit of a boost. Considering the next game is against Omiya, it might be in Verdy's best interest to root for Kashiwa. However, Kashiwa still does not have a win in the second half of the campaign ad they usually abuse Verdy so having them drop would be good too. So........tie??????

Vissel Kobe takes on Kyoto Sanga who is on the cusp of safety. Kobe got a result at Omiya and has a bit of momentum but still is very much in peril. Root very hard for Sanga in this one....Kobe is still vulnerable to the drop.

SUNDAY

2 games occur at 2pm that have major implicatons

Urawa goes to Chiba to take on the yellow hot dogs and their ragtag bunch of misfits. For possibl the first time ever, I have to root for Urawa because Chiba is quickly snowballing out of relegation territory. A loss might send them in a funk. So Just this once......root for an Urawa win

Finally Jubilo takes on Consadole. Frankly if Jubilo drops this one, they are dead. I imagine that the refs won't let anything bad happen to the baby blues in this one but still it won't hurt to root hard for Consadole

So.......Verdy could be sitting adrift in 17th before even kicking a ball.........not great.

Other concerns..........watch Diego closely......he is one yellow away to a two game vacation and that would be massively bad.

Anyhow.......Game on!

Game on

2008-09-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

2 hours til kickoff

Doi
Fukuda
Tsuchiya
Nasu
Hattori
Fukunishi
Sugawara
Shibasaki
Diego
Iio
Hiramoto

Takagi
Leandro
Yoshitake
Hiroyama
Hagimura
Oguro
Donkey

Reports from Sports Hochi are that Kuwait are attempting to raid the J league of their Brazilian goleadors. The first real firm offer is from Al Saad for Davi

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20080928-OHT1T00159.htm

Up to 10 are targeted by the oil rich Middle Eastern Kingdom including Edmilson from Urawa, Marquinhos from Kashima, Juninho from Kawasaki, Allesandro from Albirex, and Cabore from FC Tokyo.

Unfortunately Leandro was not on the list

The home stretch

2008-09-25T05:29:00.000-07:00

The final start in earnest on Sunday.......

Here is the vital stats on the opponents

ガンバ大阪 Gamba Osaka
13 games
5 Wins
3 ties
5 losses
16 GF
19 GA

Who thought a trip to Syria would shake a lethargic giant out of their slumber. Looked good on paper until lately. Gamba did manage to beat Urawa at Saista but Verdy is decent at home.

名古屋グランパス
13 g
7 w
2 t
4 l
20 gf
15 ga

Taking out the Omiya win leaves them with a less than impressive +1 in gd and we might have seen signs of cracking with a loss to Chiba. No Magnum makes this winnable for sure.

大宮アルディージャ
13 g
4 w
3 t
6 l
15 gf
20 ga

The good news for Verdy.......no Denis Marques who made them look sad. The bad news, A giant Slovenian who can actually play. You can get in a shootout with Omiya and win, but if you let them score early and a couple, you will lose. Winnable but tricky the first 6 pointer on the schedule

京都サンガF.C.
13 g
7 w
2 t
4 l
15 gf
14 ga

Economical and tough at home. Kyoto won't blow you out so much as frazzle your nerves with close calls and pressure.

ヴィッセル神戸
13 g
2 w
7 t
4 l
12 gf
16 ga

A team that has the potential to score in bunches but usually doesn't. Plays for the tie on the road. This game has the potential to make or break Verdy fortunes in J1

コンサドーレ札幌
13 g
3 w
1 t
9 l
16 gf
26 ga

The good news is that Sapporo should be officially planning for J2 by the time this game comes around. The bad news is that it doesn't seem to matter because they are feisty little bastards. Must win.

横浜Ｆ・マリノス
13 g
6 w
4 t
3 l
16 gf
9 ga

Marinos is tough at home, letting up the 2nd least amount of goals at home.......not great for a team like Verdy who is a -12 on the road. Keep it close and hope to steal one............it's the mother of all classicos.

川崎フロンターレ
13 g
6 w
3 t
4 l
21 gf
18 ga

Somewhere the people of Kawasaki are smiling. Don't go into this one needing a win.

Off topic-Consadole Sapporo

2008-09-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

One of the great stories in last years J2 campaign was the rise of Consadole Sapporo. Unlike some other squads Sapporo really relied on homegrown character guys instead of loading up with big names, reminiscent of Omiya circa 2004. Unfortunately for Miura and company Sapporo could not recreate the magic in J1. While there is an outside chance for Sapporo to squeak out ........no scratch that......there is abosolutely no way Sapporo is going to pick up 10 points in 8 games to get into the pro/rel spot.

What's next for the 2007 champs?

Guys out the door.....

I'm not sure but the offensive play of Davi and Claiton leads me to believe that someone will make an offer. Davi looks exactly like the type of player a team like Sanfrecce Hiroshima or Gamba Osaka will swoop on to shore up the offense. Claiton might be a tougher fit considering he's old and he doesn't play defense but if a team like Shonan happens to pop up to J1,I definetely see him getting a job. Takahiro Takagi lost his job to baby keeper Yuya Sato. Takagi showed himself to be formidable for both Thespa and Consadole in his time at J2 but has been a disaster this campaign, posting only 2 clean sheets in 19 games. A backup role at Omiya might be a good thing considering the admirable job GK coach Shirai has done with Aratani last year and Ezumi this year.

Guys coming in

It will probably be a combo of guys on their last legs and prospects like Yokohama FC. It won't look like Sanfrecce. If Miura stays, I do see him grabbing a couple more of his old favorites from Saitama like Naoto Sakurai or Aratani or even Hiroshi Morita, guys who can't consistently do it in J1 but could be good in J2. The name I think he could go after is MF Hayato Hashimoto who has virtually vanished from the radar. If Miura is canned.......which I don't think will happen...Verdy head coach Takuya Takagi has to be mentioned in any discussion. He even has some roots with Sapporo, having a cup of coffee with the squad in 2000. If he gets the nod, a ton of young satellite guys could be headed north.

Sapporo was actually the first place I encountered J League football (the gift shop to be precise) so I feel bad to see them drop. It might be awhile before I post one of these again unless Jubilo hits rock bottom

What we learned so far

2008-09-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

Well Verdy finds itself in 15th with games coming up against a suddenly resurgent Gamba squad and a date with front running Nagoya Grampus. The good news is that Verdy was far worse when they beat Grampus the last time they squared off and they won.

Another worry is the resurgence of JEF Chiba and their increasing brand of Ultradefensive Chibapool style. After turning over the roster with castoffs from other squads, the yellowdogs have managed to get a little push to respectability.

A bit of good news is that Jubilo Iwata is downright putrid. A 5-1 thrashing by the putrid part of Tokyo has them at 26 points with 8 games remaining. Looking at past relegation victims.......

2005 Tokyo Verdy drops after winning Emperors Cup/Xerox Cup and Real Madrid friendly. the mixture of old names and young guns fail to mesh

2006 Cerezo Osaka bottoms out after being moments away from victory. A mixture of young talent and old names fail to mesh

2007 Sanfrecce Hiroshima drops to J2 after their cast of players who have caps for the national team at all ages fails to win for a very long time.

And now we have a team with Komano and Kawaguchi struggling to stay afloat. The good news is that their next two games are against a Niigata squad that is downright offensive on the road and a Consadole squad who has to be reeling from yet another last second loss. If Jubilo fails to get at least 4 points out of these two you will see teams getting their shopping lists ready for the gutting. Considering Ruis fetish for retro Jubilo members and you could see one or two next year..........no matter what happens.

6 pointers

10/18 vs Omiya
11/9 vs Vissel
11/29 vs Yokohama

And one must win versus Consadole.

UHhhhhhhhh

2008-09-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

1-0 not Verdy

8 shots........Fukunishi and Oguro pulled at the half

Panic time?

Ecclectic to say the least

2008-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Doi
Fukuda
Hagimura iOi
Tsuchiya
Hattori
Hiroyama
Fukunishi
Shibasaki
Diego
Oguro
DONKEY

Takagi
Yoshitake
Iida
Shinmura
Kawano
Iio
Hiramoto

My first thought is WOW...........2 post offense with the one returner arguably the least effective
Diego better have a great game

Agggggggh!

2008-09-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

4 shots today

Nasu gets the red

Oita wins 2-0

And Verdy drops to 14th

even 80 year old Brazilian Ueslei gets a goal

Anyhow here is something I like

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/billy-bragg-the-boy-done-good/2136999375/?icid=VIDURVMUS04

My favorite football song ever!

meanwhile Chibapool needs a pk and 2 red cards against bottom rung Consadole to win 3-2. I would cry conspiracy but I have no clue why the league would want a team who sells off all their assets and plays a really negative defensive style to stay up. Maybe it's the glorious kits.

Awww God!!!!!!

2008-09-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

2-0 loss to Chibapool

Hagimura gets run in a game of Albirex rejects

Bunkerball wins out.......should be a good warmup for the mother of all that is boring

Oitards are a coming!

Nice to see Toda can still get a job somewhere.......not really.

Damn you RSN

2008-08-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

just realized I copied a title from Ken at Rising Sun News

Sorry......wasn't intentional

Strange Days

2008-08-27T03:06:00.000-07:00

Here s the lineup for tonights game

As you can see I did not go. Okane ja nai yo!!!!!!

The lineup

Doi
Wada
Nasu
HAGIMURA
Hattori
Tomisawa
Sugawara
Shibasaki
Diego
IIO
Oguro

Takagi
Iida
Fukuda
Leandro
Hiroyama
Kawano
DONKEY

So the two swans of the apocolypse are back in the lineup

And Tomisawa has already got yellow

Wins are like wives

2008-08-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the ugliest ones are the best.

On a cold and rainy August night, the two Tokyos took the field for yet another Tokyo derby. Early on it looked as if FCT would claim another victory when Cabore hit a 30 yard rocket shot to put the gasmen up 1-0. The first half was dominated by the red and blue, who should have been up by more if not for the fact that they had the finshing prowess of epileptic monkeys.

Really there were no dangerous chances until Hashiratani went to the bench and dredged up Leandro who instantly paid dividends with a pass to the streaking Oguro, who stumbled bumbled and rumbled in with his first goal in green. After what seemed like 25 yellows on Verdy ( I got one in the 83rd minute for looking at my cellphone too much) the momentum switched colors to green. Finally on the last play of the game, Diego knocked a rocket shot off the chest of the FC Tokyo keeper and out of bounds setting up the penultimate corner. A swooping kick to the waiting Daisuke Nasu gave the win to Verdy in an eerie turn from the last match. So now here comes 1st place Urawa at the same venue.

Fukunishi picked up his 4th.......again so he will sit..........2 games at least.

Leandro gets my man of the match. Why Hiramoto sat was beyond me but it worked so no complaints.

Live from Tokyo, It's Soilent Green!

2008-08-22T00:19:00.000-07:00

I have bought tix for both the Tokyo derby tomorrow and the Urawa match on Wednesday.

If you want to meet, I'll be in the cheap seats tomorrow and the 1969 seats against the Reds.

See ya there!!!!

He's Back

2008-08-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

The Donkey has returned. 1-1 tie versus Vegalta

Crushed like a grape

2008-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is late so I won't rehash the details surrounding last weekends debacle.

4-1 against Kashima.

It's becomng abundantly clear that Verdy can throttle bad teams and have the capability to stink against good squads.

Harutaka Ono is again out with a hernia. Somehow I am not too sad.

Chivas tied Galaxy 2-2. Beckham looked very ordinary.

Maybe I will stay on VACATION.

2008-08-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

So what the hell got into Kaz Iio anyhow? 2 goals and 1 assist? Kazuki Hiramoto, I expect this from on occasion but KAZ IIO? No Oguro for some odd reason as well.

I also have to question the "Veteran Wisdom" of Mr. Fukunishi. He is quietly having a good season but picking up a second yellow in a 4-0 game is really, really dumb. this means Ono probably will see some time against a rested Ogasawara and a pissed off Kashima Antlers, who dropped a bad one against JEF Chiba. Also Wada will be out so that means the reentry of Tomisawa, which means a verrrrrrrrry slow lineup on the wings.

There is also the worst kept secret around the league......without Marcio Richardes, Albirex is a really, really poor squad. On the road they do even worse so putting those two variables together. So, just like in the JEF game, Verdy went for the jugular.....which is a good trait for a squad hovering in the bottom half.

Sattelites get their revenge on Omiya

Hirayama notched the only goal of the game in leading Verdy to a 1-0 victory at NACK 5. Something about orange set them off this week.

MLS Day for Soilent Green......

I will be attending the MLS version of a Derby when Goldenballs and the rest of the LA Galaxy face off against Club Deportivo Chivas del Estados Unidos or Chivas USA in the Superclassico. This is year 4 of the derby, which has been relatively a one-sided affair in favor of the Galaxy. Chivas USA was an offshoot of the wildly popular and all Mexican squad Chivas de Guadalajara, which has a (mostly) strict policy of fielding only Mexican players. If Chivas USA sounds familiar, it might be becuase former Verdy players Takashi Hirano and Takuya Yamada both had small tryouts with the club a few years back. LA goes into this game without the services of Dutch icon and total egomaniac Ruud Gullit,who "resigned" after watching the squad flounder to a 7 game winless streak. Tokyo played LA in a friendly in 2000 and won 2-0.....IIRC.

Ironically, the next game I might see might be the Tokyo Classico at Kokuritsu on the 23rd. Or I might sleep.

For the record, I will be supporting Chivas in this game.

Soilent Green goes back online around the 20th. Unless they beat Kashima by 5 goals and then I'm changing this to a V Varen Nagasaki page because obviously it was me holding this team back.

VACATION!!!!!!!

2008-07-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Soilent Green will be closing it's doors for 2 and a half weeks because I will be in California. I might get bored and write but don't count on it too much

Anyhow, have a good summer and go USA U-23s!

Now it's official

2008-07-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.verdy.co.jp/news/topteam/?cmd=DispNews&news_id=454

5.5 million euros to boot....not too shabby!

Gametime v.19 Jubilo Iwata

2008-07-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the lineup

I will be in and out tonight.......the big episode of ROOKIES is on and if I can be totally honest, I AM HOOKED. Seriously, I know the show is geared for pre-pubescent girls and the lead actor has horse teeth and not one but TWO of the players have some weird Christian Slater thing going but man I can't get enough of this show. It's a car accident and I'm not proud of it but I watch. CONSTANTLY!

But enough about my slightly FEY TV habits....let's get to the game

AND NOW, THE STARTING LINEUP FOR YOOOOOOOOOOOOUR Tokyo Verdy

GK Doi

DF Wada

Tsuchiya

Nasu

Hattori

MF Sugawara

Fukunishi

Shibasaki

Diego

FW Oguro

Hiramoto

Bench

GK Takagi, DF Fukuda, Iida MF Ono, Kawano, Hiroyama, Iio

SHOES OF THE STARS

Not that it matters but WSM put out an article listing what shoes the players wear for all 18 teams

Here is Verdy

Adidas

Doi and Kawano

Mizuno

Fukuda, Leandro, and Hiroyama

UMBRO

Hagimura, Sugawara and Ono

PUMA

Wada, Diego, Iio, Hattori, Fukunishi, Yoshitake, GK Shibasaki, Ashikage, and Miyasaka

Nike

Nasu, MF Shibasaki, Funakoshi (It's gotta be the shoes MONEY!), Iida, and Oguro

Kappa

Inoue, Tomisawa, Hiramoto, Tsuchiya, and Shinmura

Asics

Takagi, Suzuki, and El Samni

Diadora

Kaimoto

Done Deal

2008-07-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

Well, nothing official out of either team but O Jogo got this picture and have an interview with Hulk. I'm guessing he didn't just visit the team shop looking for a cool souvenir.

5.5 hours till gametime

Say goodbye to my little friend-Day 2

2008-07-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks a homecoming of sorts for two of Verdy's elder statesmen, Toshihiro Hattori and Takashi Fukunishi return to Yamaha Stadium to face baby blue Jubilo Iwata in a MATCH FOR THE AGES!!!!!!!!! Actually, the game is semi-important because it will determine positioning for the 12th and 13th ranked team. A win pushes the winner farther away from relegation danger and adds more distance between themselves and the bottom 4. A loss puts them in peril of being caught by a semi-resurgent Consadole Sapporo squad.

Verdy has had trouble with Jubilo to say the least. In 29 league matches, their record is a staggeringly underwhelming 9-1-19. This year in league play and Nabisco Cup, Verdy has managed to put up 2 goals in 3 games. One was a decent effort by Kazuki Hiramoto for his only goal of the season in league and the other by Daisuke Nasu to bring victory and joy.........to Jubilo.

All 3 games this campaign have been chippy to say the least, with a combined 19 yellows and 1 red dished out (the red going to Shigenori Hagimura in what I believe was his only appearance this season). Jubilo has rode on the of Gilsinho, who has bedeviled Verdy with 3 goals and numerous moves. Norihiro Nishi, Hiroki Bandai, and Bad Bobby Cullen have also pitched in to put their names in the account.

Speculation by both Yahoo! Japan (graphic above blatantly stolen from them), and El Golazo is that former Brazilian U-2o captain and Strasborg midfielder Rodrigo will be making his FANTASTICO DEBUT!!!!!!!! at central mid. It also looks like workhorse GK Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi will be in between the pipes after sustaining 15 stitches in last weeks match against Oita Trinita. It seems the geriatric Ueslei not only managed to notch up a brace against the Shizuoka side, he also got an assist by knocking out Kawaguchi and hastening the entrance of backup keeper and potential nightmare Naoki Hatta who managed to let in the winner for Oita.

MORE HULK WATCH

Yomiuri Sports Hochi picked up on the story today

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20080725-OHT1T00242.htm

Our new friend and avid Porto fan Cesar happened to be the anonymous source yesterday that led me to the Porto information. So Obrigado Cesar! Any more info on the Hulk transfer, let me know and I'll post it!

Hulk is going somewhere....maybe!

2008-07-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the Anonymous poster who put me onto Porto as an option.

SoFoot....French Newssite reports that PSG and Porto are in a bidding war

If you speak French, maybe you can figure this out better than me (UltraVerdy, perhaps?)

http://so-foot.football.fr/2008/07/24/8-psg-intret-pour-piquionne
PSG : Intêret pour Piquionne ? "Hulk" direction Porto ?
Par so-foot, jeudi 24 juillet 2008 à 10:26 dans Général / PSG Envoyer à un ami :: title="Lien permanent vers : PSG : Intêret pour Piquionne ? "Hulk" direction Porto ?">#8
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L'internationale français de l'AS Monaco, Frédéric Piquionne, aurait vu son nom coché sur la liste de Charles Villeneuve et Paul le Guen concernant le chantier de l'attaque parisienne. Concernant la folle rumeur "Hulk", brésilien évoluant dans le championnat Japonnais aurais été promis par Pinto Da Costa, président du club champion d'Europe 2004 à ses supporters. A noté que le club portugais se trompe rarement lorsqu'il s'agit de parier sur des futurs talents brésiliens; on se rapelle de Diégo, Pépé, Déco ou encore Léandro Lima futur grand talent pour ne citer qu'eux.
Le Paris Saint-Germain a du mal à finaliser l'arrivée d'un attaquant. Le club de la capitale se heurte toujours pour l'instant au refus du Stade Rennais de laisser partir son attaquant Jimmy Briand (22 ans, 37 matches en Ligue 1 en 2007/2008, 7 buts) malgré des offres parisiennes très intéressantes. C'est pourquoi les dirigeants du PSG réfléchiraient à la piste menant au buteur monégasque Frédéric Piquionne (29 ans, 32 matches en Ligue 1 cette saison, 7 buts). L'international français n'est pas insensible au charme de la ville lumière et il a déjà clamé plus d'une fois son amour pour le maillot Rouge et Bleu. L'Olympique Lyonnais suit également l'ancien Stéphanois mais doit tout d'abord dégraisser son effectif. Ce timing pourrait permettre à Paris de séduire et enrôler le natif de Nouméa.
Quant au second, le président du FC Porto Pinto da Costa viens de promettre la signature de Givanildo Vieira de Sousa dit "Hulk" (21 ans, 13 matches en J-League en 2008, 7 buts) avant la fin de la semaine à ses supporters. Le quotidien portugais Ojogo publie dans son édition de jeudi l'information selon laquelle le dirigeant portugais espère présenter officiellement l'attaquant brésilien du Tokyo Verdy samedi au plus tard. Si aucun accord n'a été trouvé pour l'instant entre les différentes parties, la finalisation du dossier semble proche, toujours selon le journal. Attention toutefois à l'intérêt du Paris Saint-Germain qui pourrait ne pas avoir dit son dernier mot dans cette histoire. Le club français a déjà transmis une offre de 4 millions d'euros, indemnité compensatoire acceptée par son homologue japonais.

Alright, what I got from this article is that there seemed to be an initial agreement between Verdy and PSG for 4 million euros but FC Porto President Pinto da Costa has decided that he really, really wants Hulk for the defending Portuguese champs and promised his supporters that he would do anything to get him.

I also found this from Portuguese website O Jogo

http://www.ojogo.pt/24-154/artigo735950.asp

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, mais conhecido como "Hulk". Aí está o reforço prometido por Pinto da Costa para o ataque do campeão nacional. O FC Porto pretende assegurar a contratação do jogador por quatro temporadas, mas os detalhes do negócio ainda estão a ser acertados entre os portistas, o jogador e o seu clube, devendo, contudo, ficar definidos a tempo da apresentação da equipa aos sócios, no sábado. Givanildo corresponde ao perfil publicado ontem por O JOGO: com 21 anos de idade, é jovem, e, com 37 golos marcados na última temporada, ao serviço dos japoneses do Tokyo Verdy, não lhe falta potencial. Aliás, potência é precisamente uma das suas características fundamentais. Apesar de não ser muito alto (1,78 metros), "Hulk" é um avançado poderoso, fisicamente impressionante, mas com uma capacidade técnica claramente acima da média, características que lhe permitem actuar como um genuíno ponta-de-lança, no coração da área, mas também surgir com a bola controlada desde o meio-campo à procura do espaço para o remate, que surge com qualquer dos pés, mas preferencialmente com o esquerdo e normalmente potente e colocado.
De resto, as mesmas características também lhe permitem ser utilizado mais encostado às alas, surgindo, no Tokyo Verdy, muitas vezes à direita, a driblar para o interior, à procura de espaços para o remate, quase sempre muito forte.
Aliás, a potência e colocação do remate também fazem dele o principal cobrador de livres da equipa japonesa e ajudam a explicar os 37 golos apontados na última temporada. Uma característica que Jesualdo Ferreira certamente estará interessado em explorar, dado ser essa uma das principais pechas do futebol ofensivo dos portistas.
Refira-se que "Hulk" foi dado como certo no Paris Saint-Germain durante as últimas semanas, falando-se, na altura, de um valor de aquisição na ordem dos quatro milhões de euros. No Japão, onde é considerado uma estrela, é frequentemente perseguido pelos fãs pelas ruas.

Now this one says that Porto is pretty hopeful that they lock up Hulk to a 4 year contract by Saturday. Or it could mean that Hulk likes cheese......either way things are heating up.

JOMO ALL STARS NAME MAKI TO THE SQUAD

What? Why? 4 goals.....2 of which were PK's. He's barely starting for possibly the worst J league team ever and the J league decides to honor him because Bare has left. Seriously? Diego is having a better year than that guy. Are they having the game in Chiba? Kazu was busy? What?

Oguro's going camping!!!!!!!

2008-07-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

Masashi Oguro got an invite to play with the big boys in National team training camp on the 28th of this month. Oguro was a member of the doomed group that went to Germany and stunk.

Anyhow, I'm not real excited about this camp because you could literally make a starting 11 out of guys from the bottom of the table and top of J2. At least there won't be any Seichiro Maki this weekend, but rest assured he will manage to squeeze his untalented and thouroughly overrated arse into a starting spot come qualifiers even though Alex miller doesn't seem to think too highly of the 4okuen man.

Nice job and enjoy the s'mores!

The Emperor's Cup schedule is out!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!!!!!!! Big news! My favorite competition in Japan put out their schedule and Verdy has a home game......at Nishigaoka!!!!!! Hooray! I won't be going though because Omiya actually has a game in Saitama this year.

The game will be either on the 2nd or 3rd of November and it will match the winner of the game between random prefectural squad from Tochigi or Chiba or Aomori or some such place and last year's surprise Emperor's cup runner up and defending Xerox Cup champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima. If they are able to advance, they would face the winner of the Kawasaki Frontale/Montedio Yamagata-unnamed prefecture winner in the lovely confines of.......NAGASAKI. I won't be going to that because it's Nagasaki and I don't have the money.

http://www.jfa.or.jp/domestic/category_1/games/2008/ep_cup_2008/round_4.html#N4

DHL offense done..........new nickname?

With the demise of the Diego, Hulk, and Leandro power trio, I was wondering what the label of the new offense should be. Diego.......Oguro..........Hiramoto...............Yeah, I'm coming up with a blank.

Bare off to the UAE?

Gamba Osaka super striker Bare is rumored to be on his way to the lovely confines of the United Arab Emirates and Al Ahari for the ridiculous sum of 10oku en (1,000,000,000 yen). Sports Hochi has the ridiculous report that Gamba is now looking to acquire Shimzu flop Marcus Aurelio to replace the big striker. You're getting 1 billion yen, can't you aim for something higher like, I dunno, Horvy maybe? How about RickHicki? He has as many goals in his career as Aurelio.

Here's a good idea......instead of trying to cherry pick players from other squads, why don't you take some of that cash and invest in a scouting system so you can bring in good players yourself. I know a certain unnamed journalist thought that this plan was just supercool but it's not.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20080723-OHT1T00056.htm

Ahh ya little scamp

Remember when one of the old English National teamers picked up a cheap yellow because he was close to getting the limit and wanted to get it out of the way while he was gone with the National Team and then got hurt and missed a chunk of the season (Was that Beckham? Am I just making this story up in my head ?) Well, Oita kiddie keeper Shusaku Nishikawa decided to do just that because he was one yellow away from losing a game due to suspension. How does a goalkeeper pick up 4 yellows in half a season is beyond me but that's for another time. Anyway, we know he did it on purpose because the precocious little lad told everyone he did it on his blog (dedicated to his secret dream of being a member of HEY!SAY!!JUMP!!! judging by his girlish little photo. )

Anyhow Nishi, karma is a Rosie O'Donnell sized beyotch and I'm afraid you my friend are going to have to pay the tab at the door. Not for doing it..........that's actually a pretty smart move in my opinion......but for blabbing about it on your myspace page.

The Morning after the morning after

2008-07-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

Well Verdy won 2-1 after a couple of tense moments and a dodgy PK call by Iemoto. Hiramoto worked the Hulk position to perfection though, assisting on one goal and getting the call on the other.

Seriously though, 3 overturned goals and 1 iffy PK in the two games since VERY Special Referee Iemoto has come back. What a twat.

Anyhow Nick has provided us with another stellar PBP

Here it is

Well I thought the game was great, all action, woodwork rattled aplenty at both ends, a noisy crowd and 3 points in the bag. The whole approach was different from the word go, the previous tactic of "feed Hulk let him go with it and see what happens" was obviously not the plan on yesterday. I thought we showed that we can play a little yesterday. We moved it around well had lots of options going forward and could have scored more. Standouts for me were Hiramoto, Diego and Oguro. All played very well and all 3 involved in both goals. Superb.At the same time though we were a crossbar away from turning 3 points into 1 deep into second half injury time, with a curling free kick from just outside the box beating Doi in about five different ways!! Anyhow, it came back off the bar and was bundled in by Lee (who was a pain for our defence all night by the way).The ref blew for high feet and a bit of wrestling by the erstwhile striker.To be fair to the ref he blew BEFORE the ball was in the net and tv replays show that there was a push and his feet were high. However, I wouldnt have been up in arms if the goal was allowed to stand. 50-50 call which went our way. No comfort to the Reysol support behind the goal though. I hope the ref doesnt live anywhere near Kashiwa thats for sure!! Well what the heck is going on with Hulk then?? There has been no official word from the club that he has gone and the website is reporting on the birth of Hulks first kid, hence him going back to Brazil. The kids new name??? Youve guessed it "Ian". Hows that for a traditional South American name?? Unless his wifes Welsh and loves Ian Rush or something.... the plot thickens, or doesn`t as the case may be.

Nice work as always Nick. And a good win for Verdy. Next up is Jubilo Iwata who might be without their keeper and Captain Kawaguchi.

Reserve Action AHOY

ヴェルディのスターティングメンバーは、
ＧＫ高木、Takagi
ＤＦ吉武 Yoshitake
、飯田 Iida
、新村 Shinmura
、足助 Ashikage
MF
、萩村 Hagimura
、福田 Fukuda
、廣山 Hiroyama
、河野 Kawano
、ＦW
オサマ Osama
飯尾 Iio
。リザーブＧＫ鈴木 Suzuki、ＤＦ八塚 Hatsuka(ユース)、大木Ooki(ユース)、ＭＦ三竿(ユース)、ＦＷ井上 Inoue。

Goals were scored in the 66th minute by Kaz Iio and the 87th by Taira Inoue after Verdy had gone down 1-0 at the half

Box score here
http://www.albirex.co.jp/contents/teaminfo/result080721_s.php

HULK WATCH-RETRACTION

Let me backtrack a little. As of today, there has been no official word on Hulk's status as a player for Verdy. All the news I have reported on the subject has been pieced together using Japanese wire services, rumors from other boards and my opinion. While I do believe that we have seen the last of Hulk in green given his lackluster play, recent antics, and events over the past couple of weeks, it is still possible he could turn up next month wearing green and acting like a spoiled child. I think the PSG bid has legs and if I had to bet, I would put my money on that, but Ken Matsushima rightly pointed out on his message board that there has been no official word on the transfer of Hulk to France, Portugal or any other destination. As of this moment he is still a member of Verdy.

Also to make it clear, I have about as much inside knowledge of Verdy as anyone else.....which is to say, none. All of my posts are opinion unless sourced so there you go.

Sorry if I have been misleading.

SG