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.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A friend from across the field calls out the green
Song of the day dedicated to the red and blue http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=z7n37GME3fw
Seems our resident FCT fan and Aishteru Tokyo blogger Dokool has a little somethin to say about Verdy.
The article is here at the brand spanking new JapaneseSoccer.net (run by a little cabal of English speaking J league bloggers. http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=435#respond
Not a bad article and the criticism is something I have been harping on since I started writing (Gahhh 3 years ago!).
Three things irritate me though
1. In attempting to claw its way back to the top, the team - again - signed a gaggle of veteran National Team members and Verdy OBs including Yukio Tsuchiya (Verdy Kawasaki member in ‘97-98), Tomo Suguwara (95-98), Kazunori Iio (who’s spent much of the last decade bouncing between Verdy and other teams), Toshihiro Hattori (in the picture), and so onand so forth. While this didn’t really work in 2006 as the team finished a dismal 7th place, a year later Verdy found its rhythm and returned to J1 on the back of its aging core following a 2nd place finish
Just for accuracy sake, Tsuchiya and Hattori didn't sign until 2007. 2006 saw Sugawara and Iio return as well as a ton of bargain basement fringe players and old Brazilians. 2006 saw Koji Maatsura and Shigenori Hagimura get a ton of minutes.
2. lacking a strong youth system
The youth system is one of the more competitive and talented ones in the country. It was just 3 years ago that the team was 2nd in Sahara cup and they are currently in the quarterfinals. The problem is that the young guys aren't being developed once they hit the big team. the youth system is solid.......they just need to use it to full efficiency. That's a problem with hiring short sighted managers like Ossie Ardilles and Rui Ramos who had the pressure to win now. Actually to be fair, Morimoto and Kawano came up through these two and both have promise to be really good......just not for Verdy.
3. let me pose a hypothetical question. You run a team that was once the crown jewel of the Japanese football system, tarnished by a string of poor decisions, lacking a strong youth system and on shaky financial ground. You share a stadium with a team that even in a bad year still doubles your average attendance and has a strong vision for the future. Sure, they’re perennial underachievers, but in the last decade they’ve still won as many trophies as you. After an embarrassing tumble to the second division, you’ve clawed your way back to the top on the backs of aging former stars who are a straw or two short of collapsing. What do you do?
Let me answer with a hypothetical of my own. You are the biggest team in the biggest city in your country. You are backed by an energy company with a big pocketbook and you double your rival in attendance in your worst years. You have one of the best youth systems in Japan and a plethora of resources. Yet you constantly underacheive and have only been able to match your poorly funded, severly mismanaged rivals (fielding an aging bunch of malcontents and has-beens) in trophies in this decade. What the hell are you doing?
I'll give you the next post D.
TAKAGI goes bargain shopping
J League tryouts took place yesterday and today and new head man Takuya Takagi went down to Osaka to check out 124 new prospects.
Here is the list in Japanese
相川 進也（札幌）大塚 真司（札幌）吉瀬 広志（札幌）鈴木 智樹（札幌）富永 康博（札幌）西澤 淳二（札幌）磯崎 敬太（仙台）岡山 一成（仙台）金子 慎二（仙台）佐藤 由紀彦（仙台）シュナイダー 潤之介（仙台）高橋 駿太（山形）内藤 友康（山形）根本 亮助（山形）本橋 卓巳（山形）金古 聖司（鹿島）大橋 直矢（水戸）椎原 拓也（水戸）塩沢 勝吾（水戸）高橋 昌大（水戸）岩田 正太（草津）金生谷 仁（草津）加藤 韻（千葉）熊谷 智哉（千葉）田中 淳也（千葉）照井 篤（栃木）中原 浩介（千葉）堀川 恭平（千葉）松本 憲（千葉）結城 耕造（千葉）横山 聡（栃木）鷲田 雅一（栃木）岡野 雅行（浦和）荒谷 弘樹（大宮）石亀 晃（大宮）西村 卓朗（大宮）若林 学（大宮）池上 礼一（ＦＣ東京）小澤 竜己（ＦＣ東京）足助 翔（東京Ｖ）海本 幸治郎（東京Ｖ）園田 清次（東京Ｖ）廣山 望（東京Ｖ）吉武 剛（東京Ｖ）鈴木 達矢（川崎）原田 拓（川崎）中田 洋介（横浜ＦＣ）梅田 直哉（湘南）加藤 望（湘南）川股 要佑（湘南）北島 義生（湘南）濱崎 陽平（湘南）三田 光（湘南）井上 雄幾（甲府）鵜飼 建吾（甲府）神崎 大輔（甲府）木村 勝太（甲府）宇留野 純（甲府）田森 大己（甲府）保坂 一成（甲府）山本 僚（甲府）寄井 憲（甲府）北村 隆二（岐阜）河野 直人（岐阜）小峯 隆幸（岐阜）奈須 伸也（岐阜）深津 康太（岐阜）
長谷川 太郎（横浜ＦＣ）山田 卓也（横浜ＦＣ）海本 慶治（新潟）諏訪 雄大（新潟）寺川 能人（新潟）渡邊 圭二（名古屋）森野 徹（磐田）石井 俊也（京都）大久保 裕樹（京都）田原 豊（京都）伊藤 博幹（Ｇ大阪）千葉 貴仁（Ｃ大阪）山本 浩正（Ｃ大阪）伊藤 将大（神戸）木下 真吾（神戸）栗原 圭介（神戸）曽我部 慶太（神戸）豊満 貴之（神戸）増田 清一（神戸）関 隆倫（岡山）阿部 祐大朗（徳島）石川 裕司（徳島）入船 和真（徳島）河野 淳吾（徳島）小山 拓土（徳島）柴村 直弥（徳島）島津 虎史（徳島）高橋 健史（徳島）玉乃 淳（徳島）古田 泰士（徳島）本間 康貴（徳島）松本 昴聡（徳島）神丸 洋一（愛媛）笹垣 亮介（愛媛）星野 真悟（愛媛）南 祐三（愛媛）宮原 裕司（愛媛）横山 拓也（愛媛）本田 真吾（福岡）石田 博行（鳥栖）加藤 秀典（鳥栖）鐡戸 裕史（鳥栖）長谷川 豊喜（鳥栖）山城 純也（鳥栖）河野 健一（熊本）小林 陽介（熊本）斉藤 紀由（熊本）佐藤 祐介（熊本）鈴木 祐輔（熊本）関 光博（熊本）町田 多聞（熊本）川田 和宏（大分）河原 正治（大分）根本 裕一（大分）
I'll talk about 5 guys I like who are in this heap later.
Seems our resident FCT fan and Aishteru Tokyo blogger Dokool has a little somethin to say about Verdy.
The article is here at the brand spanking new JapaneseSoccer.net (run by a little cabal of English speaking J league bloggers. http://www.japanesesoccer.net/wordpress/?p=435#respond
Not a bad article and the criticism is something I have been harping on since I started writing (Gahhh 3 years ago!).
Three things irritate me though
1. In attempting to claw its way back to the top, the team - again - signed a gaggle of veteran National Team members and Verdy OBs including Yukio Tsuchiya (Verdy Kawasaki member in ‘97-98), Tomo Suguwara (95-98), Kazunori Iio (who’s spent much of the last decade bouncing between Verdy and other teams), Toshihiro Hattori (in the picture), and so onand so forth. While this didn’t really work in 2006 as the team finished a dismal 7th place, a year later Verdy found its rhythm and returned to J1 on the back of its aging core following a 2nd place finish
Just for accuracy sake, Tsuchiya and Hattori didn't sign until 2007. 2006 saw Sugawara and Iio return as well as a ton of bargain basement fringe players and old Brazilians. 2006 saw Koji Maatsura and Shigenori Hagimura get a ton of minutes.
2. lacking a strong youth system
The youth system is one of the more competitive and talented ones in the country. It was just 3 years ago that the team was 2nd in Sahara cup and they are currently in the quarterfinals. The problem is that the young guys aren't being developed once they hit the big team. the youth system is solid.......they just need to use it to full efficiency. That's a problem with hiring short sighted managers like Ossie Ardilles and Rui Ramos who had the pressure to win now. Actually to be fair, Morimoto and Kawano came up through these two and both have promise to be really good......just not for Verdy.
3. let me pose a hypothetical question. You run a team that was once the crown jewel of the Japanese football system, tarnished by a string of poor decisions, lacking a strong youth system and on shaky financial ground. You share a stadium with a team that even in a bad year still doubles your average attendance and has a strong vision for the future. Sure, they’re perennial underachievers, but in the last decade they’ve still won as many trophies as you. After an embarrassing tumble to the second division, you’ve clawed your way back to the top on the backs of aging former stars who are a straw or two short of collapsing. What do you do?
Let me answer with a hypothetical of my own. You are the biggest team in the biggest city in your country. You are backed by an energy company with a big pocketbook and you double your rival in attendance in your worst years. You have one of the best youth systems in Japan and a plethora of resources. Yet you constantly underacheive and have only been able to match your poorly funded, severly mismanaged rivals (fielding an aging bunch of malcontents and has-beens) in trophies in this decade. What the hell are you doing?
I'll give you the next post D.
TAKAGI goes bargain shopping
J League tryouts took place yesterday and today and new head man Takuya Takagi went down to Osaka to check out 124 new prospects.
Here is the list in Japanese
相川 進也（札幌）大塚 真司（札幌）吉瀬 広志（札幌）鈴木 智樹（札幌）富永 康博（札幌）西澤 淳二（札幌）磯崎 敬太（仙台）岡山 一成（仙台）金子 慎二（仙台）佐藤 由紀彦（仙台）シュナイダー 潤之介（仙台）高橋 駿太（山形）内藤 友康（山形）根本 亮助（山形）本橋 卓巳（山形）金古 聖司（鹿島）大橋 直矢（水戸）椎原 拓也（水戸）塩沢 勝吾（水戸）高橋 昌大（水戸）岩田 正太（草津）金生谷 仁（草津）加藤 韻（千葉）熊谷 智哉（千葉）田中 淳也（千葉）照井 篤（栃木）中原 浩介（千葉）堀川 恭平（千葉）松本 憲（千葉）結城 耕造（千葉）横山 聡（栃木）鷲田 雅一（栃木）岡野 雅行（浦和）荒谷 弘樹（大宮）石亀 晃（大宮）西村 卓朗（大宮）若林 学（大宮）池上 礼一（ＦＣ東京）小澤 竜己（ＦＣ東京）足助 翔（東京Ｖ）海本 幸治郎（東京Ｖ）園田 清次（東京Ｖ）廣山 望（東京Ｖ）吉武 剛（東京Ｖ）鈴木 達矢（川崎）原田 拓（川崎）中田 洋介（横浜ＦＣ）梅田 直哉（湘南）加藤 望（湘南）川股 要佑（湘南）北島 義生（湘南）濱崎 陽平（湘南）三田 光（湘南）井上 雄幾（甲府）鵜飼 建吾（甲府）神崎 大輔（甲府）木村 勝太（甲府）宇留野 純（甲府）田森 大己（甲府）保坂 一成（甲府）山本 僚（甲府）寄井 憲（甲府）北村 隆二（岐阜）河野 直人（岐阜）小峯 隆幸（岐阜）奈須 伸也（岐阜）深津 康太（岐阜）
長谷川 太郎（横浜ＦＣ）山田 卓也（横浜ＦＣ）海本 慶治（新潟）諏訪 雄大（新潟）寺川 能人（新潟）渡邊 圭二（名古屋）森野 徹（磐田）石井 俊也（京都）大久保 裕樹（京都）田原 豊（京都）伊藤 博幹（Ｇ大阪）千葉 貴仁（Ｃ大阪）山本 浩正（Ｃ大阪）伊藤 将大（神戸）木下 真吾（神戸）栗原 圭介（神戸）曽我部 慶太（神戸）豊満 貴之（神戸）増田 清一（神戸）関 隆倫（岡山）阿部 祐大朗（徳島）石川 裕司（徳島）入船 和真（徳島）河野 淳吾（徳島）小山 拓土（徳島）柴村 直弥（徳島）島津 虎史（徳島）高橋 健史（徳島）玉乃 淳（徳島）古田 泰士（徳島）本間 康貴（徳島）松本 昴聡（徳島）神丸 洋一（愛媛）笹垣 亮介（愛媛）星野 真悟（愛媛）南 祐三（愛媛）宮原 裕司（愛媛）横山 拓也（愛媛）本田 真吾（福岡）石田 博行（鳥栖）加藤 秀典（鳥栖）鐡戸 裕史（鳥栖）長谷川 豊喜（鳥栖）山城 純也（鳥栖）河野 健一（熊本）小林 陽介（熊本）斉藤 紀由（熊本）佐藤 祐介（熊本）鈴木 祐輔（熊本）関 光博（熊本）町田 多聞（熊本）川田 和宏（大分）河原 正治（大分）根本 裕一（大分）
I'll talk about 5 guys I like who are in this heap later.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Yes Virginia, there is a Verdy manager
Takuya Takagi says yes.......our long National Nightmare is finally over.
The question now is what kind of team will he field?
The starting 11 if the season starts today
BOLD means likely not to be here
Italics mean help!
FW OGURO
DIEGO
MF Iio Shibasaki
MF Sugawara Tomisawa
DF Nasu Iida Tsuchiya Fukuda
GK Takagi
BENCH: GK Shimizu, FW Hiramoto, FW Inoue, MF Kawano, MF Shinmura
EWWWW!
Oh well, got a new head man.......how bout a song!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXSqWVXACE&feature=related
The question now is what kind of team will he field?
The starting 11 if the season starts today
BOLD means likely not to be here
Italics mean help!
FW OGURO
DIEGO
MF Iio Shibasaki
MF Sugawara Tomisawa
DF Nasu Iida Tsuchiya Fukuda
GK Takagi
BENCH: GK Shimizu, FW Hiramoto, FW Inoue, MF Kawano, MF Shinmura
EWWWW!
Oh well, got a new head man.......how bout a song!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXSqWVXACE&feature=related
Sunday, December 14, 2008
And a child shall lead them......
Song of the day
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSlWD1yYA0&feature=related
Good news today in Verdy valley, the mighty youth of Verdy obtained a 2-1 victory over the other Mitsubishi, Yowa FC. Goals were scored by Kento Kuri and highly rated prospect Yu Tomidokoro.
Verdy youth move on to Nagai to face the always tough Sanfrecce youth program. Sanfrecce currently has 15 players on their books who came out of the youth program including key players Akihiro Sato, the Morisaki twins, Yoijiro Takahagi, Tomoaki Makino, and Yosuke Kashiwagi to name a few.
This would be a great model for a team with rapidly declining fortunes to follow. Verdy currently has 2 from 2001 to now (Kawano and El Samni).
AROUND J2
While Verdy waits for Takagi to make up his mind, J2 rivals have quickly moved to fill in spots
Shonan have hired in former Olympic coach Yasuharu Soramachi to take over the squad.
Yokohama FC hire former Omiya gaffer Yasuhiru Higuchi to replace Tsunami
Consadole Sapporo add Brazilian U-23 Thiago Quirino Da Silva from Djurgardens in Sweeden.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSlWD1yYA0&feature=related
Good news today in Verdy valley, the mighty youth of Verdy obtained a 2-1 victory over the other Mitsubishi, Yowa FC. Goals were scored by Kento Kuri and highly rated prospect Yu Tomidokoro.
Verdy youth move on to Nagai to face the always tough Sanfrecce youth program. Sanfrecce currently has 15 players on their books who came out of the youth program including key players Akihiro Sato, the Morisaki twins, Yoijiro Takahagi, Tomoaki Makino, and Yosuke Kashiwagi to name a few.
This would be a great model for a team with rapidly declining fortunes to follow. Verdy currently has 2 from 2001 to now (Kawano and El Samni).
AROUND J2
While Verdy waits for Takagi to make up his mind, J2 rivals have quickly moved to fill in spots
Shonan have hired in former Olympic coach Yasuharu Soramachi to take over the squad.
Yokohama FC hire former Omiya gaffer Yasuhiru Higuchi to replace Tsunami
Consadole Sapporo add Brazilian U-23 Thiago Quirino Da Silva from Djurgardens in Sweeden.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Well, He knows how to work on a budget
First, Song of the day from Live http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJI9MnRg48&feature=related
Big talk from the tabloids is that former Yokohama FC head man and current Verdy number 2 Takuya Takagi is the leading candidate to take over Verdy. Takagi led a nearly miraculous run in 2006 after taking over a team of young players and aging stars from yesteryear 1 game into the season. Takagi led the Satellite team to first place in their division in 2008. Not a bad selection considering he knows what the young players on the squad are capable of and what needs to be added.
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and Nozomi Hiroyama were both officially cut yesterday, putting the list of outgoing players at 11. Kento Tsurumaki returns to the squad after a unfulfilling stint at Mito Hollyhock.
The big news is that southern squad and 2007 fellow promotion graduates Kyoto Sanga FC have put up an offer for leading scorer and team MVP Diego. It's not disclosed how much it's for or if Constantine Teo approves. The super agent is the real lynchpin in all of this. If Mr Teo decides that Diego will be rich and successful in Kyoto, he will go to Kyoto. End of story.
FINALLY
Verdista/Tokyo Hearts are contemplating a season long boycott if things don't change in the FO
http://ameblo.jp/verdista/entry-10176827268.html
If that happens, the team is probably done.
Big talk from the tabloids is that former Yokohama FC head man and current Verdy number 2 Takuya Takagi is the leading candidate to take over Verdy. Takagi led a nearly miraculous run in 2006 after taking over a team of young players and aging stars from yesteryear 1 game into the season. Takagi led the Satellite team to first place in their division in 2008. Not a bad selection considering he knows what the young players on the squad are capable of and what needs to be added.
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and Nozomi Hiroyama were both officially cut yesterday, putting the list of outgoing players at 11. Kento Tsurumaki returns to the squad after a unfulfilling stint at Mito Hollyhock.
The big news is that southern squad and 2007 fellow promotion graduates Kyoto Sanga FC have put up an offer for leading scorer and team MVP Diego. It's not disclosed how much it's for or if Constantine Teo approves. The super agent is the real lynchpin in all of this. If Mr Teo decides that Diego will be rich and successful in Kyoto, he will go to Kyoto. End of story.
FINALLY
Verdista/Tokyo Hearts are contemplating a season long boycott if things don't change in the FO
http://ameblo.jp/verdista/entry-10176827268.html
If that happens, the team is probably done.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Verdy is NOT GONE!
Those were the tearful words of a manager who had just seen his team fall to J2. A former National teamer and a member of the legendary Verdy Kawasaki teams at the dawn of the J League, Tetsuji Hashiratani has always been a good general in the Verdy army.And like a good soldier, he took responsibility for the failures of his aging core of players, his best friend who was the architect of the fiasco, and a collection of corporate backers who couldn't really give a rat's ass anymore whether or not the team lives or dies.
Tetsuji Hashiratani is gone, and he probably shouldn't be. He resigned.
Verdy however is not.
Song of the day Going On by Gnarls Barkley
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ENE1eWtW7e8&feature=channel
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Idle Speculation
So a couple things before we move on to J2 Part Deux
Verdy supporters bunkered in for 7 hours waiting for the team president to come (He didn't but a GM did) classy way to rea your fans after dumping on em a week before. Maybe that's why you lose so much money, you don't have a clue what your doing and you still think Verdy are the Kyojin of soccer (It's Urawa BTW).
Nick makes a good argument that Verdy got relegated before the game
Well we are done then...bad calls agreed in the final game but on another day we could have been 4 down by the time the penalty was given. We lost a bad decision by the referee in the final game but over the course of the season we very simply haven`t been good enough in all departments. If you are in the bottom two after a 34 game season then its because you are the 17th best team in the league. Not a good number whichever way you look at it.I don`t take yesterdays game as the final nail as I would say it was pretty much a foregone conclusion before we kicked off. We were down before today, we went down when 1-0 up against Urawa and conceded in the last minute, we were down when we couldn`t put Sapporo away even after all and sundry had given them a beating to send them down early. We were down when JEF were on their own terrible run and we couldn`t put them away. We were down when Diego was suspended for the most important part of the season (and more importantly we had NO-ONE to replace him). We were down when Leandro was being played continually even though he was AWFUL and keeping Kawano out. The whole Hulk mess...I can`t even be arsed.....Still guys, let`s not be all down hearted, we are about to go on a 3 month unbeaten run!! Also, by the looks of things there are gonna be some AWFUL teams in J2 next year, let`s see if we can finish above them!! A sad weekend but hey, there is still next season and I for one refuse to be downhearted!! We will be back, maybe not next year or within a few years, (unless there is some shedload of cash that some unwitting Russian billionaire wants to throw away). The sponsors are withdrawing according to the papers, the stormclouds are gathering but we can all rest safe in the knowledge that we aren`t and never will be as fundamentally dull as FC Tokyo!! The ONE highlight of the season was pissing in FC Tokyo`s chips at Kokuritsu...deafening silence at the end. Fantastic!!Onwards and (temporarily hopefully) downwards the Boys March On!!
Good points. After the FCT win Verdy was a respecable 9-3-9 but won only once in 13 games, losing 8 times.
Finally Naoya Saeki got released by Omiya.......who cares, right? Well without having any real evidence, I'm gonna speculate that he will be in a Verdy uniform next year. Relationships are a big deal and he has connections with both Iio (Avispa) and Tsuchiya (Omiya, Kobe) as well as a pedigree in Verdy's youth system. There are no strong candidates to play c-mid alongside Sugawara (who also played with Saeki in Kobe) so I'm guessing he will be an affordable selection. And he's 30 so he's not ancient......yet.
Verdy supporters bunkered in for 7 hours waiting for the team president to come (He didn't but a GM did) classy way to rea your fans after dumping on em a week before. Maybe that's why you lose so much money, you don't have a clue what your doing and you still think Verdy are the Kyojin of soccer (It's Urawa BTW).
Nick makes a good argument that Verdy got relegated before the game
Well we are done then...bad calls agreed in the final game but on another day we could have been 4 down by the time the penalty was given. We lost a bad decision by the referee in the final game but over the course of the season we very simply haven`t been good enough in all departments. If you are in the bottom two after a 34 game season then its because you are the 17th best team in the league. Not a good number whichever way you look at it.I don`t take yesterdays game as the final nail as I would say it was pretty much a foregone conclusion before we kicked off. We were down before today, we went down when 1-0 up against Urawa and conceded in the last minute, we were down when we couldn`t put Sapporo away even after all and sundry had given them a beating to send them down early. We were down when JEF were on their own terrible run and we couldn`t put them away. We were down when Diego was suspended for the most important part of the season (and more importantly we had NO-ONE to replace him). We were down when Leandro was being played continually even though he was AWFUL and keeping Kawano out. The whole Hulk mess...I can`t even be arsed.....Still guys, let`s not be all down hearted, we are about to go on a 3 month unbeaten run!! Also, by the looks of things there are gonna be some AWFUL teams in J2 next year, let`s see if we can finish above them!! A sad weekend but hey, there is still next season and I for one refuse to be downhearted!! We will be back, maybe not next year or within a few years, (unless there is some shedload of cash that some unwitting Russian billionaire wants to throw away). The sponsors are withdrawing according to the papers, the stormclouds are gathering but we can all rest safe in the knowledge that we aren`t and never will be as fundamentally dull as FC Tokyo!! The ONE highlight of the season was pissing in FC Tokyo`s chips at Kokuritsu...deafening silence at the end. Fantastic!!Onwards and (temporarily hopefully) downwards the Boys March On!!
Good points. After the FCT win Verdy was a respecable 9-3-9 but won only once in 13 games, losing 8 times.
Finally Naoya Saeki got released by Omiya.......who cares, right? Well without having any real evidence, I'm gonna speculate that he will be in a Verdy uniform next year. Relationships are a big deal and he has connections with both Iio (Avispa) and Tsuchiya (Omiya, Kobe) as well as a pedigree in Verdy's youth system. There are no strong candidates to play c-mid alongside Sugawara (who also played with Saeki in Kobe) so I'm guessing he will be an affordable selection. And he's 30 so he's not ancient......yet.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
How do I put this........
Verdy goes back down to J2 after putting up a valiant yet ultimately predictable losing effort against former city rivals Kawasaki Frontale. Sadly, the most predictable thing about it was one of the dodgy J League refs would put his nose into it by making an absolute abortion of a call. How that is a straight red is beyond me. How that is a PK is beyond me. How that is anthing but a card for simulation is on me. Seriously, why did he intervene in that when Kawasaki was handling Verdy fairly easily, just missing on a bunch of close shots.
Garbage call, garbage ref. I haven't been one to jump on the "J league is filled with a bunch of BS refs who are either corrupt or incompetent" bandwagon. And I don't think I am one-sided in my criticism. But that was garbage. End of story.
So where do we go from here?
Nagai and Fujita are not options now that J2 has been "acheived". they shouldn't hsve been options in the first place especially now that the team has decided on a youth movement.
FACES YOU WON'T SEE
Shigenori Hagimura got his walking papers yesterday. Not my favorite player by an stretch of the imagination but he did put in a couple good efforts.
Coach Hashiratani will hand in his resignation after taking the drop. The team is looking at internal candidates like Takagi and Matsuda......the coach of NTV Beleza of the women's league.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081207006.html
Another note in the story is that Diego is being actively pursued by both Kobe and Kyoto, who both now seem to be linked to every player imaginable. I think he will be gone.
Not sure about Rui, especially if Nakata and his compan take over.
FACES YOU MIGHT SEE
Verdy has a bunch of guys out on loan who could be coming back. Kenta Togawa and Yuzo Ichiyanagi might be called back for defensive reinforcement (I'm gonna say yes on Togawa and
no on Ichiyanagi) and maybe Sagan Tosu mid Leonardo, who isn't impressive but he is very cheap.
Finally I leave you with a song
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=0bM0wVjU2-k
Garbage call, garbage ref. I haven't been one to jump on the "J league is filled with a bunch of BS refs who are either corrupt or incompetent" bandwagon. And I don't think I am one-sided in my criticism. But that was garbage. End of story.
So where do we go from here?
Nagai and Fujita are not options now that J2 has been "acheived". they shouldn't hsve been options in the first place especially now that the team has decided on a youth movement.
FACES YOU WON'T SEE
Shigenori Hagimura got his walking papers yesterday. Not my favorite player by an stretch of the imagination but he did put in a couple good efforts.
Coach Hashiratani will hand in his resignation after taking the drop. The team is looking at internal candidates like Takagi and Matsuda......the coach of NTV Beleza of the women's league.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20081207006.html
Another note in the story is that Diego is being actively pursued by both Kobe and Kyoto, who both now seem to be linked to every player imaginable. I think he will be gone.
Not sure about Rui, especially if Nakata and his compan take over.
FACES YOU MIGHT SEE
Verdy has a bunch of guys out on loan who could be coming back. Kenta Togawa and Yuzo Ichiyanagi might be called back for defensive reinforcement (I'm gonna say yes on Togawa and
no on Ichiyanagi) and maybe Sagan Tosu mid Leonardo, who isn't impressive but he is very cheap.
Finally I leave you with a song
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=0bM0wVjU2-k
Friday, December 05, 2008
Do Your Best!
One game to go Byatches!
Here is a musical inspiration for Verdy
Considering half the squad was in their prime when this group was popular I think it should do the trick
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgFGW8KAdE&feature=related
Here is a musical inspiration for Verdy
Considering half the squad was in their prime when this group was popular I think it should do the trick
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgFGW8KAdE&feature=related
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
One guy who ain't happy
Coach Hashiratani.
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/03/06.html
He did ask a poignant question........Why shake up the team now before the most important game of the season? Really, he was asking why screw me out of my career after I bled green?
He's done a decent job with a team that was aging and not good and he deserved the chance to go into the game without the fo doing subterfuge.
What's he gonna do if they end up in the playoff against a Cerezo squad who made an offer to Fukunishi.......do you think he's gonna go 100% for a team dropping him when he knows the team across the field wants him and could potentially give him another gig in J1?
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/12/03/06.html
He did ask a poignant question........Why shake up the team now before the most important game of the season? Really, he was asking why screw me out of my career after I bled green?
He's done a decent job with a team that was aging and not good and he deserved the chance to go into the game without the fo doing subterfuge.
What's he gonna do if they end up in the playoff against a Cerezo squad who made an offer to Fukunishi.......do you think he's gonna go 100% for a team dropping him when he knows the team across the field wants him and could potentially give him another gig in J1?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Why the dump now?
It wasn't clear yesterday why the announcement was made to dump salary before a big game but today a little announcement came out from Nikkan Sports. I'll give my theory on why I think yesterday's dump and todays rumor connects.
http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20081202-435682.html
First, NTV/Yomiuri is desperately trying to get out from under the debt of Verdy once and for all. Nikkan is reporting that (I think) Sports and Talent Management group Sunny Side Up started talks to acquire 50% ofVerdy from NTV thereby making them patrners with CyberAgent. One of the minority owners in SSU is former National Team player and philanthropist Hidetoshi Nakata (6.91%) . The theory is Nakata would be heavil involved in management once SSU takes over.......if all goes to plan.
Some noteworthy members of the SSU family include swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, hot dog eating champ Kobayashi, and NT strikers Kisho Yano and Masashi Oguro. NTV has accrued about 1.2 billion yen of debt according to the article and want to cut their losses.
I think the cuts were a bookmaking trick to make the team more desirable on paper. J1 doesn't matter as much as the bottom line and renting Nishigaoka is far cheaper than Ajinomoto. So yeah.......it's business.
Ever since the underwhelming response to Verdy after the move from Kawasaki, NTV-omiuri haave really checked out of caring for the team. Really, when you are showing games at 3am and you own the team, you really don't care about it.
http://www.ssu.co.jp/
IN OUT SPECULATION
http://ameblo.jp/adgjmptw1969/image-10172434486-10115858182.html
Nikkan Sports is speculating that 4 more will be cut and one rental will be expunged
DF Sho Miyasaka, MF Nozomi Hiroyama, DF Shigenori Hagimura, and MF Tsuyoshi Yoshitake are all rumored to get cut. Also the loan agreement between Shimizu over DF Takumi Wada is not likely to be renewed.
Weekly Soccer Magazine also reports that Verdy is targeting 24 year old FW Naoki Ishihara from Shonan Bellmare. Ishihara is number 3 in J2 in goals scored at 18 in 40 games. Ishihara is a small speed guy who would partner nicely with a post player like Oguro.
http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20081202-435682.html
First, NTV/Yomiuri is desperately trying to get out from under the debt of Verdy once and for all. Nikkan is reporting that (I think) Sports and Talent Management group Sunny Side Up started talks to acquire 50% ofVerdy from NTV thereby making them patrners with CyberAgent. One of the minority owners in SSU is former National Team player and philanthropist Hidetoshi Nakata (6.91%) . The theory is Nakata would be heavil involved in management once SSU takes over.......if all goes to plan.
Some noteworthy members of the SSU family include swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, hot dog eating champ Kobayashi, and NT strikers Kisho Yano and Masashi Oguro. NTV has accrued about 1.2 billion yen of debt according to the article and want to cut their losses.
I think the cuts were a bookmaking trick to make the team more desirable on paper. J1 doesn't matter as much as the bottom line and renting Nishigaoka is far cheaper than Ajinomoto. So yeah.......it's business.
Ever since the underwhelming response to Verdy after the move from Kawasaki, NTV-omiuri haave really checked out of caring for the team. Really, when you are showing games at 3am and you own the team, you really don't care about it.
http://www.ssu.co.jp/
IN OUT SPECULATION
http://ameblo.jp/adgjmptw1969/image-10172434486-10115858182.html
Nikkan Sports is speculating that 4 more will be cut and one rental will be expunged
DF Sho Miyasaka, MF Nozomi Hiroyama, DF Shigenori Hagimura, and MF Tsuyoshi Yoshitake are all rumored to get cut. Also the loan agreement between Shimizu over DF Takumi Wada is not likely to be renewed.
Weekly Soccer Magazine also reports that Verdy is targeting 24 year old FW Naoki Ishihara from Shonan Bellmare. Ishihara is number 3 in J2 in goals scored at 18 in 40 games. Ishihara is a small speed guy who would partner nicely with a post player like Oguro.
Monday, December 01, 2008
BLOODY MONDAY
So the braintrust at Verdy Incorporated went and cut 7 players in the past 2 days. Strange timing to cut your Captain, your starting keeper, and your starting central midfielder one week before your biggest game. Anyhow the message is clear......the team is old and reall isn't good and if they are destined to suck, they are gonna do it younger and cheaper.
Here Here!!!!
Arguably the shocker of the day is the severing of Doi, who has manned the nets in all 33 games for Verdy. Decent season after last years stinker
The only under 30 player who got cut. Asuke got hurt and lapped by Shibasaki and Kawano. Good year to get cut because 3 new job sites are opening up in J2 and Tokushima cut 15 today so there are opportunities aplenty.
The league leader in yellow cards is rumored to be headed south to Cerezo Osaka. Good luck with that.
The captain of the Ramos era gets cut after another injury plagued year. Has Yokohama FC written all over him.
Captain number two takes a pink slip after a pretty sub-par year. Back to Jubilo for a victor lap and a gold watch?
Scored the goal that got Verdy into J1 but hasn't managed to score any to keep them in J1. Adios Donkey!
I saw him play one or two good games a couple of years ago......I think.
Here Here!!!!
Arguably the shocker of the day is the severing of Doi, who has manned the nets in all 33 games for Verdy. Decent season after last years stinker
The only under 30 player who got cut. Asuke got hurt and lapped by Shibasaki and Kawano. Good year to get cut because 3 new job sites are opening up in J2 and Tokushima cut 15 today so there are opportunities aplenty.
The league leader in yellow cards is rumored to be headed south to Cerezo Osaka. Good luck with that.
The captain of the Ramos era gets cut after another injury plagued year. Has Yokohama FC written all over him.
Captain number two takes a pink slip after a pretty sub-par year. Back to Jubilo for a victor lap and a gold watch?
Scored the goal that got Verdy into J1 but hasn't managed to score any to keep them in J1. Adios Donkey!
I saw him play one or two good games a couple of years ago......I think.According to a story in Hochi Yomiuri, Verdy is cutting over half it's payroll because of low attendance and the bad economy. All guys who are on one year contracts and hover around the above 30 range have been notified that their services are no longer needed. The one name that has popped up that isn't on the official list is Nozomi Hiroyama. The Hochi article also has stated that 10 players have been notified about their upcoming vacations. I'm gonna say Leandro and Hagimura are the other two.
In other news, Jun Tamano and Takuya Yamada both got their walking papers.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
This is the last song I will ever sing........
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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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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Monday, November 24, 2008
Could've been worse
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
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
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Three
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
7 to the chopper
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
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
Monday, November 17, 2008
Dear Leader Inukai speaks yet again!
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
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
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Coming Back?
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
Oh yeah.......Verdy Kawasaki?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
2 bits and a rant!
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
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
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
3 Verdy players make the grade
According to Weekly Soccer Magazine
Yukio Tsuchiya, Daisuke Nasu, and Diego were named to the 2008 50 best J League players.
Congratulations!
Yukio Tsuchiya, Daisuke Nasu, and Diego were named to the 2008 50 best J League players.
Congratulations!
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