Well once again we
face the reality of not knowing what players are currently injured – other than
waiting until the starting 11 and reserves are announced pre-match – so we have
to assume some injuries have carried over from last week and what to expect moving
forward.
# 2 Masutani Kosuke CB: Absent from the starting 11 and reserves against Ehime F.C., I am not sure what injury he has picked up. I was there to see him finish out the match vs Omiya and he looked fine so he must’ve taken a knock in training or picked up an injury. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery because we will need all hands on deck in the back for the grueling J2 campaign.
# 33 Fukui Ryoki CB: Was dealing with some serious lower leg cramps near the end of the match vs Ehime FC and had to be subbed off in the 93’. This shouldn’t be a major issue going forward as his match fitness should improve over time along with playing a full match. In his defense, he was all over the pitch making play after play so getting worn down like he did while assisting in maintaining a clean sheet is totally understandable. Hydrate and stretch big man and hopefully we see you out there against Tokushima as that is a nice pairing at CB for FCR with Okazaki.
#4 Okazaki Ryohei CB: He seemed to take a nasty knock in the match and stayed down clutching his lower right leg. Despite Tokumoto signaling that either a trainer or change was required while standing over him, Okazaki was able to see out the match. He didn’t display any noticeable limp or loss of lateral movement or speed but we’ll see how he progresses throughout this week and if he’s in the starting 11/reserves next week. We really can’t afford to be dealing with too many injuries at the back this early as each of the players I’ve mentioned so far have been pretty solid for FCR.
#10 Tomidokoro Yu MF: Probably the injury update that most FCR fans want to read about. I was lucky enough to speak with Tomidokoro at this week’s match when he walked by me heading to the stands for a community relations event. I asked if he was doing alright and he replied with a “yes.” I asked him what was his injury and he pointed to his foot. This could indicate anything from an ankle sprain, soft tissue injury, plantar fasciitis or footballer’s ankle. Here is the good news, he was not walking with any noticeable limp, moved up and down stairs with ease, raised and lowered the injured foot with no issues.
Of course I had to ask when he would return to the lineup, to which he replied, “one week.” This is encouraging news because whatever ailed him has had time to heal and begin the strengthening process and will allow him to return to practice and ultimately match fitness. It seems FCR will be without his service for at least one more week and barring any setbacks in training, we’ll see him out there against Montedio Yamagata.
Well that’s all for
player injury updates. I simply lucked out by being in the right place at the
right time to hear directly from the player as to what was afflicting him. I
hope there are no repercussions for the players engaging the fans and being as
candid about their injuries as Tomidokoro was, but I’m grateful that he was and
hope we have greater visibility on the match fitness of all the FCR players.
There has been a lot of noise on twitter after our last match concerning the
lack of fans who attended the match. It’s understandable considering there were
close to 8,000 people at the opening match two weeks prior in much poorer
weather conditions compared to around 2,500 for this last one. Hopefully it can
be attributed to the poor weather and this article can be a distant memory
going forward; but at the end of the day the bottom line is, FCR must get more
fans into the stands to have a sustainable future in the J2 and beyond.
In my opinion, there are three potential factors acting against FCR when it
comes to getting people to attend matches. They are: affordable public
transportation to the games, the climate of Okinawa and the demographics of the
island. First is the accessibility issue. The only forms of public
transportation to and from the match are buses. There is no rail system and
taxis can be expensive depending on your origin. It is not realistic to think
that many fans are willing to sit on buses for long periods of time just to
attend a match at their own expense. I know FCFR has offered shuttle services
in Naha and Awase but there are so many more areas on the island to consider.
Second is the climate of Okinawa. Despite being a tropical destination for
many tourists, playing matches between 1200 and 1800 is not feasible during the
summer months. I can recall back in 2014 and 2015 when FCR was playing matches
at these times and it really dampened the football watching experience. Players
had to take constant breaks in that heat and at times it derailed the overall
momentum for those teams. It just isn’t safe conditions for either the players
or the fans and I am glad to see the JLeague schedule a majority of FCR games
in the evening during these months.
Finally, the population of Okinawa is spread out over a wide swath of land
and a majority of the workforce here is possibly employed in the tourism or
retail (izakaya, restaurant and bar) industries. Therefore, those people who
could afford the cost of a ticket on a regular basis are probably at work
during the 1800-2000 kickoffs and cannot attend the games on a consistent
basis, thus potentially limiting the number of season ticket holders and casual
fans. When added together these three factors almost reinforce one another and
make it difficult to find a large audience to attend matches on a regular
basis.
Please keep in mind that I pulled a majority of this data from the Japan
External Trade organization but I am making some very liberal assumptions when
it comes to the number of employed persons per industry and overall median
income for the people of Okinawa. You could poke numerous holes throughout that
argument.
All this points to the notion that more community engagement is required by
FCR. This is not to say that FCR is doing nothing in the local community, quite
the opposite actually, but maybe there is potential to target more of the
Okinawa and foreigner populations on the island. Let’s look at what could be
done to target some of the foreigners on island.
As an American living and working in Okinawa I rarely see any advertisements
for FCR on any of the bases. There are around 50,000 American military
personnel, families and civilians here on Okinawa and a majority are sports
fans. As an American it is quite challenging watching your local sports team
due to the large time differences between the Japan and the U.S. and that makes
FCR an attractive option. I am aware that FCR will offer free entry on
occasions to the SOFA personnel but what I am talking about is engaging more
with the likes of the Marine Corps Community Services and Moral, Welfare and
Recreation organizations. Simple things such as announcing upcoming home games
over the AFN radio during the morning and evening commutes could impact a very
large audience and draw in more potential fans. Now let us look at what can be
done to attract the local populace.
Since a majority of the FCR website is in Japanese I assume that most people
in Okinawa are aware of what community engagement events FCR conducts. What I
am suggesting are some changes that I’d like the club to explore to entice
greater attendance at matches. First, let’s try to improve the awareness and
atmosphere as you approach the Tapic Stadium. Hang some pennants on the light
poles of the road ways indicating the presence of a professional football team.
Walking off the train in Omiya it was immediately apparent that the town was
Orange and Blue and there were pennants everywhere leading up to the stadium.
Simply an awesome atmosphere and made me excited as an opposing teams’ fan.
Leverage the fact that Okinawa City claims to be the home of FCR and get them
to authorize the hanging of pennants on their streets surrounding the stadiums
at no cost to FCR.
I am not sure if FCR conducts any meetings with the head of their
supporters’ club, Hiro, but he is the most visible supporter of the club and
the strongest voice. Engaging with Hiro on issues concerning the fans and
locals will go a lot further than simple surveys at the stadium.
Another idea would be to team together with the Ryukyu Kings and attempt to
market a total Okinawa Sports package that included a ticket to both a Kings
and FCR game on the same weekend (SAT & SUN or vice versa) at a reduced
price. Getting insight from an organization that seems to constantly sell out
home games and keep a lively atmosphere can only help.
Offer greatly reduced ticket prices across a wide spectrum of categories.
For example: slightly reduced tickets for college students every game (if they
don’t already), drop the price of tickets at or after kickoff and at half time,
provide reduced pricing on the special select S seating for each game if
tickets go unsold so people can experience the match from a different vantage
point. Explore the possibilities of special seating sections for families away
from the rowdy supporters, or sell special seating on the track near the pitch
at premium prices for those that want to get as close to the action as
possible.
I am not aware of the dynamics for any FCR partnerships so this is all
speculation that FCR doesn’t do this right now. I therefore have no idea if
partnerships with resorts, resort groups or restaurant establishments on island
could be beneficial to the club. It certainly would be nice if some places like
Sukiya, Yoshinoya, KFC or Blue Seal would offer a food promotion based on the
presentation of a ticket stub or Season Pass from FCR supporters following a
match.
In the end we must consider a some of things. First, unlike some
professional teams in America, FCR faces the realistic possibility of promotion
and relegation throughout different leagues that require different operating
budgets. It is imperative to increase the demand signal from the population of
Okinawa now so in the event FCR does achieve high levels of success, the fan
base can support and sustain the club. Finally, it’s not realistic to think
that one day there will be a 35,000-seat stadium filled to the brim for each
match. The island just cannot support a stadium that size. But consistent
attendance levels of 10-15,000 is a very realistic possibility. Third, FCR may
have already explored a majority of these options and found them not feasible.
Those of us that support FCR want nothing but the best for this club and that means allowing the club to execute their immediate, mid-term and long-term goals for success. This hinges on several factors but a crucial one is attendance levels. If we wish to buy top players and compete at high levels, near capacity attendance is required for each home match. It also means FCR cannot simply say it is too hard to do these things if they wish to grow their fan base. 19 home games are left, not including the Emperor’s Cup, so let’s do all we can as supporters at the grass root level to draw in more fans.
Proposed layout for a pennant ring surrounding the stadium.A road leading directly to the stadium. It just lends itself well to hang some FCR flags along this street don’t you think?Reverse view from same street at the entrance of the park. The spill over FCR parking lot is just off to your left.
Well not the best of weather to draw in the fans but nevertheless FCR was looking to remain perfect on the season and secure a vital 3 points at home vs Ehime FC.
FCR came out in their typical 4-2-3-1 with one noticeable change, absent from the starting lineup and reserves was # 2 Masutani. We must assume he picked up an injury during the last match or training but it is anyone’s guess at this point. Ehime FC elected to switch formations this match and employ a 4-3-3.
Early action saw Ehime attempting to unlock our defense with long through balls that were either headed out or went over the touch line. FCR had a few opportunities early but the attacks fizzled out when FCR was dispossessed near the box. In the 10′ FCR finally broke through by capitalizing on a giveaway to #14 Uejo who made an outstanding run into the box and sent a cross over to #9 Suzuki , who was wide open and would’ve had a brace for the third time in a row, but the cross was deflected slightly by the Ehime defender and the deflection curled around the keeper into the bottom right of the goal. It was very important to score early as it seemed to relax the boys and would mean that Ehime may press a little more than they wanted thus opening themselves up for a counterattack.
The remainder of the half was marked by Carvajal making some nice saves and #7 Nakagawa missing a few golden opportunities to further the FCR lead. At times our defense was getting pulled apart slightly and Ehime had some nice chances on net but one each attempt was sent high or not struck with any power. As expected, Ehime had a lions share of possession with 60% in the first half compared to FCR’s 40%.
The opening minutes of the second half were very pacey and created multiple opportunities for both sides. FCR had two chances early to convert with the most notable from # 5 Tokumoto who just missed. FCR had a bit of a scare in the 51st minute when Ehime broke through our ranks and had that been a better pass to their player, who had to turn the opposite direction instead of hitting him in stride, Ehime may have leveled as he was alone on goal. Carvajal was then called into action in the 54′ to make a a nice save and maintain the FCR lead. Tokumoto sent a couple of dangerous crosses into the box in quick succession shortly thereafter but no one was able to convert either of them into a goal.
In the 75′ minute Tanaka was able to release Suzuki down the middle/left side and Suzuki converted the shot for his J2 league leading 5th goal. Having the 2 goal buffer was very reassuring with just under 15 minutes to play and it also meant the Ehime would have to press if they wished to get back in the game resulting in more scoring opportunities for FCR.
The final nervy moment for FCR was when #10 from Ehime FC, Kamiya, once again bested the FCR defender, #3 Nishioka, and sent a shot into the side netting. The most notable moment after that was the very ambitious effort by #20 Uesato, who tried a long range shot from the halfway line when the Ehime GK was far out from his own goal. Another 12 inches lower and that ball may have gone in but it landed just inside the top netting. The match was a little terse near the end when frustrations boiled over on a very poor challenge from the #10 of Ehime FC on FCR. He kicked out the foot of Nishioka who had possession deep in the Ehime corner and then Nishioka rose up to shove Kamiya. This resulted in both players being yellow carded and hopefully a fine for Kamiya as the replay shows it was a very poor challenge.
At full time FCR 2 – 0 Ehime FC. All 3 points secured and because of the total amount of goals FCR has scored on the season, 9, FCR was once again atop the J2 table.
Some additional game notes: We got our first look at a couple of new faces, at least to me, for FCR this past week. #33 Fukui took over CB duties for Masutani and I must say he looked good. He made a very well timed challenge to stop a Ehime counterattack that could of tied the game and was all over the pitch making plays. He makes a nice pairing with #4 Okazaki and may even press Masutani out of the lineup depending on how the long the latter is dealing with injury. He was noticeably dealing with leg cramps near the end and hopefully his match fitness improves over time as its not even hot in Okinawa yet, wait till summer! We then got to see #13 Kawai come on in place of Uejo and he made some very nice runs down the left side and almost drew a PK near the end that the ref wiped out. Seems like a nice player to bring on late to run at the opposing teams tired defense. #19 Nishikawa and # 19 Ochi also came on late but I didn’t get to see enough of them to make any assessments.
Final Notes about the Match: Ehime ended up controlling the ball for 60% of the match as they intended too but were unable to convert any of their opportunities. There were a few misses and miss hits but Carvajal played exceptionally well. He seems to be in the right place at the right time creating difficult angles for opposing players to navigate. FCR must remain strong at the back if we are to do anything this season. On that note, it wasn’t the best game for Nishioka this week as he was constantly being beat #10 and other players down the left side. A few of those time made for some very tense moments when Ehime was free on net. Ehime focused much of their attack down our left side and if opposing teams continue to target our left side we will need to start dedicating a MF to come back and provide support, thus disrupting our game plan of attack, attack, attack. We will also look to tighten up some of the errant passes in the opponents end and that will surely come in time with the starting 11 of FCR becoming more familiar with one another.
In the end, FCR won and that is the most important thing for this newly promoted J2 team. The “safe zone” to stay in the J2 for the following season the past 5 years has been around 42 points (42-37-43-43-42) and if that is the case this year, FCR are roughly 20% of the way to securing J2 football next season.
Match Day Info: 03/10/2019 (H) FCR vs Ehime FC (A) at the Tapic Stadium (Okinawa Comprehensive Park) Kickoff at 1600.
Weather Forecast: Rain throughout the day with a slight break near kickoff. Expect overcast skies and intermittent showers throughout the match. Temperature will be in the high 60s (Fahrenheit) with 15mph winds expected. So bring a rain jacket and umbrella if you’re sitting in Sections A or S and you don’t want to get wet.
Ehime FC 7th place in J2 at time of blog. W1 D1 L0. Typical Formation 3-4-2-1.
The last two matches for Ehime were both at home and it’s really a tale of a bit of bad luck and bit of good luck for Ehime during those games. First vs JEF United Chiba they were unlucky to be awarded a PK for an absolutely blatant handball in the box and therefore that match ended in a 0-0 draw. Agaisnt Tokyo Verdy they were lucky not concede late in the match when Tokyo Verdy hit the post twice.
As a whole this team seems to be improving over the course of the first two games. Wild, errant shots on net declined and they began to enjoy large chunks of possession vs Verdy.
Ehime FC Players to monitor: #8 Naganuma RMF. Very quick player who can create and take chances very well. We cannot give him a ton of time and space in our end or else he will make life very difficult for FCR tomorrow. #10 Kamiya LFW. Improved from the first match to the second where he was constantly getting free to run across the front of the box and take shot on net. #19 Fujimoto LMF. Scored the only goal on the season for Ehime FC with a very nice take. He held off the Verdy CB very well and powered to the center of the box and then drilled one past the keeper.
FCR 3rd Place in J2. W2 L0 D0. Formation 4-2-3-1
We will once again look to capitalize on any Ehime FC mistakes as we did our last two opponents. Last week we found a serious weakness in Omiya’s left side since about 75% of the chances we created throughout the match came from that side. We will once again need strong play from #11 Tanaka on the right, leading J2 goal scorer #9 Suzuki, with #7 Nakagawa creating chances and #5 Tokumoto stopping counter attacks down our left side.
Prediction: I don’t really do these nor know where to begin since this is the inaugural J2 season for FCR. The bottom line is FCR needs to continue their fast start in the league before the grind of the J2 and all its fixtures catch up to us. Since it seems both teams favor a counterattacking style, this game may see long spells of possession by either side in the middle third of the pitch resulting in not much else other than time wasting. Hopefully FCR can continue their attacking ways and break through the Ehime FC defense early and convert one or two chances. A 0-0 draw is just as likely as a 2-1 outcome so I’ll go with the latter since goals are fun.
FCR desperately needs to secure full home points early in the season so let’s cheer them on and stay dry. See you at the match in Section A!
Would love to know what player injuries FCR is currently dealing with for the squad.
I was surprised last week when Tomidokoro was absent from the squad at Omiya. Didn’t see anything reported. Did it happen via match or training? What was mechanism of injury? How long will he be out?
Are JLeague teams not required to report injuries? How do we get injury updates on our players and the opposition?
My friends, this is a subject dear to my heart. This is probably one of the best things – besides watching your team win- to take part in at a sporting event. The idea of getting together with friends, family and even strangers who are supporting the same club you do, hours before a match and sharing food, drinks, stories and games is awesome.
So what is tailgating? It is defined as; “host or attend a social gathering at which an informal meal is served the back of a parked vehicle, typically the car park of the local stadium.”
Most Americans understand what this is and is something I sorely miss living overseas as it just doesn’t happen on the large scale compared to America. I am not sure of Europe or other places so please let me know what goes on there.
Here we tried a few times the past couple of seasons in the lot just outside the Comprehensive Park Pool parking lot (labeled as an empty lot w/ number 23 on google maps). You cannot brings grills into the park and cook food outside of the designated areas so this are is sorta like the wild west of the U.S. back in the day as it seems little rules apply out here. However, it never took hold and this was a time when FCR averaged under 1,000 fans per home game so not many people were exposed to what we were trying to accomplish.
I’d love to try and get this going at some point and hope that if any people from Okinawa or mainland Japan are in the area and want to get it going please let me know.
All we need is a: Grill, meat/chicken/fish, beverages and the desire for a good time starting at 3 to 4 hours prior to kickoff.
Well once again let down by the fact that none of the FCR kits come in a size larger than L/XL in US sizes. I understand this could be motivation to lose more weight and fit in a kit finally but I see other clubs offering kit sizes in 3L/4L/5L. Hope one day I could special order that size. I understand the club cant risk paying money for those sizes and then they are going unsold so hopefully that could be an option.
Also, any unsold kits from years past should be greatly reduced in price; i’d love to decorate my “man cave” with seasons past jersey’s. Especially the one when they lifted the J3 championship shield.
There is an outstanding service provider known as DAZN here in Japan that allows you to watch all the FCR games on a PC, smart phone w/ their app or Apple TV. There maybe more devices but these are the 3 I use most often.
Now there are 2 ways I know of to get a subscription with DAZN.
First, if you have a Japanese credit card or possibly bank account you can sign up directly with their website. Second, and the one I suggest for those of us here without Japanese accounts, is use Docomo for your cell phone provider.
I am not sure if Docomo and DAZN still run this promotion but as a Docomo subscriber you’d only have to pay 750 Yen per month that is automatically added to your bill. You can then use your docomo account to create and log into DAZN.
The only other option I can think of is to have a Japanese Friend or Spouse set up the account in their name and provide you the log in info.
I was told by DAZN that you can log in with the same account multiple devices. They told me this because I was asking how I could watch multiple games at the same time on the same screen and they don’t have that feature yet so they suggested the above.
The last two points; first, DAZN servers know when you’re using a VPN so you cannot access it outside of the country you signed up for. If you sign up for an account using U.S. Bank info you’ll probably get a U.S. based account that cannot access anything from here in Japan.
Second, DAZN is 1,500.00 YEN per month (USD $15.00 or less depending on exchange rate) and is well worth it. There is a ton of football content: All 3 JLeagues (J1,J2&J3), English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Seria A, UEFA CL & Europa League, most countries FA Cup and then the bevy of other sports from Motorsports to tennis. For those of you that miss American NFL, they have that too and its far better than paying for the NFL GamePass at $200.00. You get all the prime time NFL games per week and one at each of the 1 & 4 pm kickoffs. Plus the NFL Redzone which is the best if you’re lime me and love Fantasy Football.
Wish I would’ve wrote this as my first post but hopefully this helps with those of you wondering what is what with this years squad.
GK: Carvajal: New signing and looking very promising
DF: Tokumoto; Developing into a great LB/LWB. Surprising vertical on headed balls and very aggressive on DEF with nice crosses in attack. His development since J2 is nothing short of outstanding.
DF: Okazaki: new singing. Much needed height at the back for FCR.
DF: Masutani; A player in the mold of Gary Medel from Chili; speed and aggressiveness make up for his lack in height. Also another FCR product from J3 for many seasons, shaping up to a quality CB
Tanaka: An Okinawa favorite. Set this club on their trajectory 4 seasons ago. Plays with an edge (aka don’t take no crap), will conduct a “professional foul” from time to time, lethal finisher (except for PKs – love ya bro but i had a heart attack when we didn’t convert that one 4 years ago to bring us top of the J3 table in extra time). The exact type of player FCR needs right now who possesses experience and quality. Appreciate his loan spell in 2017 and return in 2019. An FCR Legend ladies and gentlemen so please enjoy.
Uesato: A signing that may go unnoticed but this man is the MF general. His face is familiar to me and not sure where he started but do not care he’s fighting with FCR now. Passes are precise and can unlock opposing Defenses. Again , another quality signing and someone who will most likely give us 3-4 wins this season.
Nakagawa: This dude is on a serious trajectory. I’m afraid FCR will lose him like we did Togashi this off season. He is already displaying maturity and poise at the Attacking MF position that is very exciting. Dude was near the top of J3 for goals scored last season and I bet he’s near the top of J2 for chances created/scored this season. Please don’t sell!!!!
Tomidokoro: Ladies and gentlemen, this is the face of the FCR Franchise. Absolutely unstoppable with his FKs and the soul of this team. He won’t score the most goals but he’ll net the most important ones. Kids couldn’t have a better role model.
Suzuki: Finisher, finisher finisher. You always want the leading scorer of your squad to be the Striker. Last year we didn’t but we scored so many goals from open play and FKs by MF that it didn’t matter. Simply put, the man has a nose for goal and finishes. I’m guessing 26 goals on the year.
ryukyuarmy.com 