21 #FC琉球

Intro

As advertised, it was an eventful evening yesterday. FC Ryukyu held serve with Albirex Niigata by winning 2-0 at home over Tokyo Verdy. Ryukyu and Verdy were once again involved in some sort of fracas in their opening match of the season against each other, where Yuhei Sato was red carded in the first half providing a massive advantage to Ryukyu the remainder of the match. It is the second red card in three games for Verdy when playing Ryukyu and this is turning into a rivalry on par with one might see in the bigger leagues where two teams just detest each other. I like it!

Match Highlights
Man of the Match
Review of the Keys to Victory
Prediction
Talking Points
Round 8 in J2
Conclusion

1. Match Highlights

2. Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu CMF Yu Tomidokoro: Yu drew both fouls that led to the Verdy Red Card and Penalty Kick. He then converted the PK for his first goal in 23 months.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Exploit the chaos and ensuing confusion. Likelihood 4. Early on Ryukyu were able to create some chances for themselves but once Verdy had a man sent off in the first half, Verdy resorted to all out defending which limited Ryukyu’s ability to take advantage of the disarray that might otherwise have been present.

2. Cut out the Verdy short passes around the box. Likelihood 3. Verdy really weren’t doing much prior to their sending off and therefore weren’t able to play to their strength after.

4. Prediction

Tipped this one to end 3-1 in favor of Ryukyu and they did end up winning by a 2 goal margin. Season Record 5-1-2.

5. Match Day 8 Talking Points

1. Misses by both sides. There were plenty of opportunities for both Ryukyu and Verdy to jump out to an early lead but all the shots seemed to sail high and wide. With the exception of one Kiyotake shot that called the Verdy keeper into action. Abe had a couple of chances throughout the game but either miss timed his jump or was in the wrong spot to get onto the end of the ball.

2. Forget the spectacular if you cannot do the practical correctly. Up to the Verdy Red Card, Ryukyu were struggling a little bit to get the offense going. Kiyotake’s back heel to nowhere nearly set Ryukyu back and though it may have been a way to jump start the momentum, no one was expecting it leading to a turnover and counter by Verdy.

3. The Tanaka goal shows us just how good Ryukyu are at quickly changing the sides of the attack. It should also be noted, like many of the boys over at the @JTalkET state weekly, how important Abe is to this side even when he doesn’t get on the score sheet. Abe maintained possession in the Verdy end, found Numata, who picked out Kiyotake, who then laid it off to the wide-open Tanaka for Ryukyu’s first goal.

4. Maybe it’s time we try the old “Route 1” attack on net. I understand that is trendy to be hypercritical of your side, even when they are producing results, so excuse me on this one. Ryukyu are very good at sending in crosses these days. Most of their goals result from these passes, but yesterday Verdy was able to snuff out a lot of these out and Ryukyu didn’t bother to switch to the frontal assault right up the middle. As more and more tape on Ryukyu becomes available, teams will begin to figure out how to stop Ryukyu, and though they are quite adept at changing directions quickly, it would help to have the middle of the pitch attack in the locker when required.

5. Verdy’s Red Card was just dumb. I have no idea what Yuhei Sato was thinking when he went in for Yu’s family jewels but it certainly tipped the scales in favor of Ryukyu afterwards. Sato was probably complaining more about his stupidity for putting the spikes into the groin of Yu than the Red Card as he really had no business putting up any type of protest.

6. You are never awarded style points in this league. Once Verdy went down to 10 men everyone expected Ryukyu to dominate possession and the scoring. It is not as simple as in hockey with a man advantage, as the opposition can compact the defensive area and close out many of the shooting lanes while they absorb the siege from the other side. Ryukyu had a ridiculous number of corner kicks (13) and free kicks (13) yesterday but had to rely on a PK to put the game out of reach. Oh well, winning ugly is still winning and the 3 points is all that really matters in the end.

7. A slight let off by Ryukyu at the end. It is easy to get complacent when you’re up by 2 goals with a man advantage and Ryukyu were bailed out by a Verdy offside call and near miss at the end. The highlights suck for showing the offside call but I believe the shot was redirected by an offside player for Verdy though they nearly scored just a few minutes later from a set piece.

8. Getting goals from all over the place is another benchmark for a quality side. Ryukyu just find a way to get the job done. Everyone is doing their part to keep a clean sheet, score goals and see out wins. They are a really exciting squad to watch these days.

6. Round 8 in J2

Albirex Niigata are still top after a second half goal saw them through over Zweigen Kanazawa 1-0 on Saturday. Kyoto Sanga blew the doors off Kitakyushu 6-1 and have officially begun their ascent to the top of the table while V-Varen Nagasaki stumbled at home losing 3-0 to Machida Zelvia. Ehime grabbed their first win of the campaign over Omiya as the managerial change is starting to pay off for this side. Finally Matsumoto surprised everyone with their come back draw against Kofu and Blaublitz Akita continues to pile up crucial points this year.

7. Conclusion

FC Ryukyu have their first of four mid week matches this season when they travel to Machida on Wednesday night. Ryukyu face two teams in a row, Machida and Kofu, that they have never beat during their time in the J2. So you know exactly where any points earned against them will fall in the Points Over Expectation Table.

Machida are coming off a big win at Nagasaki despite missing their best two attackers in Chong Tese and Dudu. The games against Zelvia and Kofu in short succession will be a stiff test for one of the older sides in the league who are benefiting from a relaxed schedule compared to 2020 but Ryukyu have shown the ability to respond to adversity all season.

Match Day 8 Preview: (2) FC Ryukyu vs (10) Tokyo Verdy 4/17/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu have the opportunity to take the pole position in J2 this weekend with a win over Verdy and anything but a win from Albirex Niigata. The matches between Ryukyu and Verdy have been quite festive these past two seasons and I see no reason for that to change this weekend. But much like Omiya, who Ryukyu defeated and shutout last season, and then drew at home this year, Verdy were shutout by Ryukyu on both occasions last season. Is another draw in store for Ryukyu or can they continue their winning ways?

Weather Forecast & Match Info
Match Day 7 Recaps
Team Previews
- FC Ryukyu
- Tokyo Verdy
Keys to Victory
Prediction
Round 8 in J2
Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from the Club

Looks like it will be raining up to and through the first half. Just in time for the wind to pick up. Besides bringing those ponchos and bags to protect your valuables from the rain, you may want to consider a change of clothes, especially for the kids if their soaking wet as that wind could really get to them. Also, please remember to social distance at the gate, food vendors, seats and restrooms.

FC Ryukyu will allow visiting Verdy fans to attend this match as the tickets were already sold but they will not be allowing visiting fans into the stadium on Match Days 10 and 12 under what they are calling a “period of priority measures.”

Click>>> Match Day 8 Information from FC Ryukyu

2. Match Day 7 Recaps

FC Mito Hollyhock 0-2 FC Ryukyu

Tokyo Verdy 3-1 Renofa Yamaguchi FC

3. Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: Ryukyu own a 2-1-1 record against Verdy with the two wins occurring in 2020 when Ryukyu shut out Verdy twice. Who can forget that first win when Shinya Uehara was kicked in the gut by Shohei Takahashi late in the game leading to an Abe PK and ultimately a Ryukyu win. Then Ryukyu blew Verdy away 4-0 at home thanks to two first half goals by Yoshio Koizumi (sheds a tear). But in 2019 it was a different story altogether.

Ryukyu drew 1-1 in their first ever meeting thanks to Dany Carvajal stopping a PK after he bloodied his nose on the foul, and the spectacular finish by Uesato on the volley deep into stoppage time. The return leg was far less exciting, more like excruciating, when Verdy smashed Ryukyu 5-1 in Okinawa. Junki Koike bagged a hat-trick that game and Verdy, with possibly nothing to celebrate in years, commemorated the momentous occasion by making t-shirts in honor of the hat-trick. Perhaps 2020 was a bit of payback for FC Ryukyu.

Through Ryukyu’s first seven games they are averaging 11.5 shots, 6 of which are on target, and 49% possession. They’ve had two games where they only mustered 2 total shots on net, Iwata and Omiya, otherwise they have been pretty consistent around 8 shots on target per game. A vast majority of Ryukyu’s goals this year have come from crosses where Verdy has been anything but spectacular in defending those plays. What I like to see is that different players are getting on the score sheet and starting to gain some confidence. Kiyotake had his breakthrough last week, thanks to Keita setting him up perfectly, and Shimizu grabbed his second goal of the campaign. It has been a bit of a dry spell for Abe these past few rounds but all that could change on Saturday.

One thing that cannot afford to change is the defensive wall Ryukyu have been putting up this season. FC Ryukyu are the best defensive unit in the J2 (not a typo) having only conceded three goals. Chinen, Okazaki and Taguchi will likely be busy this weekend as Verdy are averaging 15 shots, 12 on net, over their last two games. While Ryukyu may not fear Verdy bombing in crosses they do need to be very cognizant of the short passes Verdy use in and around the box to create space and shooting lanes.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that bad blood exists between these two sides, though someone from Ryukyu every year seems to be involved in some sort of fracas, but these games are turning into a nice set of hotly contested matches. Ryukyu enter this game much like they did two weeks ago against Omiya where Ryukyu are coming off a nice road win while their opponent is coming to town on the back of some recent strong performances after a rough start to the season.

Tokyo Verdy: After a rocky start to their season, culminating with a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Albirex Niigata, Verdy has course corrected and pulled themselves out of the relegation zone with two consecutive home victories. When Verdy was setting up in a 4-3-1-2 formation they looked disorganized at the back and were providing ample turnovers for their opponents to capitalize on. But they switched from a 4-3-2-1 to a 4-1-4-1 this past round against Renofa and looked much more in control of the game than they have in quite some time.

In their last five games Verdy own a 2-1-2 record with a draw against Zelvia; consecutive losses to Kanazawa and Niigata; and then consecutive wins over Mito and Renofa. Verdy looked sluggish in defense against Machida Zelvia and allowed the hosts to jump out to a 2-0 lead until a PK brought Verdy back into the game followed by the equalizer when Junki Koike caught the Zelvia defense napping. This time it was Verdy’s turn to jump put to an early lead against Zweigen with a 4th minute goal by leading scorer Koike, but then the wheels came off for Verdy.

Zweigen went on to score 4 goals by exploiting Verdy turnovers and confusion before Verdy responded with a late goal when the game was well out of hand. If the wheels fell off against Kanazawa then the entire car exploded at Niigata with the aforementioned seven goal shellacking. All the problems from the Zweigen matched carried over into this one and Verdy looked more like a team that was thrown together at the last minute destined for a local derby at Y.S.C.C. than a J2 club.

Luckily Verdy’s schedule eased up when they returned home to host Mito and Renofa. Verdy again scored early in the Mito match, survived the Mito barrage in the first half after Mito equalized, before digging out the winner in the second half. Hideki Nagai made a decision to switch the formation against Renofa, and that almost looked like another disaster when Renofa nearly scored in the 4th minute before actually going in front of Verdy in the 11th minute. But Verdy responded with a goal of their own two minutes later and then another in the 24th minute. They capped off the day with Junki Koike’s 6th goal of the campaign to walk away 3-1 winners.

Despite the recent Verdy resurgence, they are still the worst defensive side in the league conceding 17 goals this season. A majority of those goals came against Niigata, but even had Verdy managed a lower score line at Niigata it may not have done much to their overall total. Verdy have conceded 5 more goals then the next two teams, Nagasaki and Ehime who have each conceded 12. The players to watch out for on Saturday are Junki Koike and the Sato brothers, Yuhei and Ryoga (I don’t think they are actually brothers). Junki and Ryoga account for 2/3 of all the goals Verdy have scored this season and Yuhei is the leading assist provider in the side.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Exploit the chaos and ensuing confusion. Likelihood 4. Verdy may have slightly improved defensively this past week but that was against Renofa Yamaguchi. At Niigata and against Kanazawa, two sides who are playing much better than Renofa, Verdy was in shambles at the back. Players looked confused on where to run to and who to mark and they were guilty of turning the ball over in their own half multiple times. There was one goal in the Machida game where Verdy had 8 defenders inside the 6-yard box, couldn’t get to the rebound in time, and allowed the Zelvia player a free shot on net from just inside the 18-yard box. That wasn’t even from a set piece. Verdy may have enjoyed a modicum of success against Renofa but I don’t think they have turned the corner on these mistakes just yet.

2. Cut out the Verdy short passes around the box. Likelihood 3. This is the lone strength of Verdy as a majority of their goals stem from short passes that quickly open up the opposition’s defense. That means Chinen, Okazaki and our two central midfielders need to be spot on when attempting to intercept passes, making challenges, as well when they are watching the attacking runs from Verdy players.

5. Prediction

Verdy have been piped for multiple goals against stronger opponents this season. We won’t see the Verdy floodgates thrust open like we did when they played Niigata, and Verdy are still one of the top scoring sides in the league, but I am going for broke and say FC Ryukyu take this one 3-1. Season Record 4-1-2.

6. Round 8 in J2

(1) Albirex Niigata versus (3) Zweigen Kanazawa is the standout match this round. (3) Kyoto Sanga FC, (5) Jubilo Iwata, (6) Ventforet Kofu and (7) Blaublitz Akita are looking to make up ground on the leaders with some very favorable matchups this week.

The J-league International YouTube free broadcast this week features (12) Fagiano Okayama hosting (11) FC Mito Hollyhock. Fagiano are coming into this match having pulled out a very late draw against Ehime FC last week whereas Mito enter the round having lost their last two games.

7. Conclusion

FC Ryukyu are off to the best start in their history and really need to keep their foot on the gas in this one. For their part, Verdy are a side that can light up the score board (on both sides) at any given moment. Strap yourself in for what should be an exciting game between these two sides that history has shown is anything but boring.

Match Day 37 Report: (17) FC Ryukyu vs (9) Tokyo Verdy 11/29/20 #FC琉球

Intro

The 4-0 drubbing of Tokyo Verdy by FC Ryukyu was a bit unexpected considering Verdy were in the midst of a slight surge up the table. But the boys from Okinawa controlled every facet of this game that saw Koizumi bag a brace, Kawai slamming home a top corner bullet, and Numata bouncing one off the cross bar – and then the head of the Verdy Goalie – for his second goal of the campaign.

It was also the first time we saw FC Ryukyu sporting their #OneOkinawa Blue kit. A bit unfortunate that they didn’t have the shorts to match. In any event, FC Ryukyu ended the tough schedule of November with 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses, which is by far their most productive month of the season.

Match Day 37 Highlights

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qny3bl3PWw0

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3468279

Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu MD Yoshio Koizumi: 2 goals, created chances everywhere, an outstanding total performance on Sunday.

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Play Mistake Free Football (or close to it): Likelihood 2. I think we would all have to agree that FC Ryukyu did exactly this on Sunday.

2. A Healthy Strike Duo of Abe and Uehara: Likelihood 2. Neither featured, but Koizumi, Kawai and Numata stepped up in their absence.

Match Day Prediction

Tipped it 2-1 for FC Ryukyu and they went above and beyond at 4-0.

Match Day 37 Takeaways

1. Koizumi put on a clinic. He bagged two goals but was far more lethal in the set-up play. It was a shame that Abe wasn’t in there as he would have scored a brace himself with the way Koizumi was playing. He nearly added an assist but Ikeda and Koya couldn’t match Koizumi’s pace on the fast break, as they both failed to get on the other end of a pass that was begging to be buried.

2. That was a shockingly good defensive performance yesterday by Ryukyu. After losing 3-0 to Iwata we should have assumed that FC Ryukyu were going to be vulnerable at the back. But no Verdy attack materialized on Sunday. Suzuki started over Fukui but Higuchi stuck with Taguchi after that brutal loss to Iwata. And well, it paid off.

3. I am not sure what is going on at GK for FC Ryukyu. We locked Dany up for at least 2 more seasons yet it seems Higuchi prefers Taguchi at the moment. Taguchi played well, made some nice saves, but none that Dany couldn’t make either. This is a strange development moving forward and I am not sure what to make of it.

4. Injuries are mounting once again. Abe and Uehara were not fit enough to make the bench so Hitomi got his shot up top and made his 2020 debut. Getting a longer look at Hitomi is good idea as both Abe and Uehara are in the twilight of their careers. But I’d still like to see Abe return to the lineup to add to his goal tally.

Koizumi also took a knock to his right foot and was seen with a visible limp after the game. It is likely he’ll be rested against Kanazawa on the short week, but hopefully he can return against Okayama the next weekend.

Match Day 37 in J2

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j2-league/startseite/wettbewerb/JAP2

No change at the top as all 3 of theses sides won this round. V-Varen Nagasaki briefly moved into second place with their win over Niigata on Saturday, but Delgado’s goal against his former club allowed Avispa to hold serve this round. Tokushima Vortis won 4-3 but only after allowing Zweigen Kanazawa to score 3 goals to level the match, before finally netting the winner in the 80′ minute.

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/tabelle/wettbewerb/JAP2/saison_id/2019

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqZFT6kv0Y

Conclusion

FC Ryukyu end the month on a very positive note while also embarking on a stretch of 4 consecutive home matches. Next up is Zweigen Kanazawa. This team just took Tokushima Vortis to the brink this past weekend so it will be no easy task to beat them on Wednesday.

“If You Want it Now, Then Here it Comes” Match Day 37 Preview: (19) FC Ryukyu vs (8) Tokyo Verdy 11/29/20 #FC琉球

Intro

As you may already know, FC Ryukyu have no true rival in any of the tiers of the J-League. They are far removed from the other teams on mainland so they don’t even have a true derby match to look forward to each season. If anything, we have to manufacture our disdain and hate, perceived or real, for other clubs around the league.

Well there is no better team to start than with like Tokyo Verdy. The history between these clubs is not long, each has gone 1-1-1- against their opponent, but the wins have always been for the visiting side. The first time these two sides met back in early 2019, it was Uesato who scored a very late equalizer deep in stoppage time for the only draw on record. That match also featured a bloody and broken Dany Carvajal saving a crucial PK to keep the game within reach for Ryukyu. Verdy repaid that transgression by eviscerating FC Ryukyu 5-1 in front of their home crowd later that year with Junki Koike bagging a hat trick for the visitors. Verdy even made T-Shirts to commemorate such a momentous occasion in their otherwise flaccid 2019 season.

Then there were the fireworks on Match Day 10 this year. FC Ryukyu once again looked like the stronger side, and had several chances to grab the lead, but it wasn’t until Shohei Takahashi opted to kick Shinya Uehara in the abdomen after a contested ball in the air that saw both players land on top of one another. It was uncalled for, stupid, and a dangerous play in which Takahashi was lucky to leave the match with just a Yellow Card.

But it didn’t end there. Uehara was fouled in the 82′ and the Tokyo Verdy players proceeded to go on an 8 minute tirade against the officials, which included some very ugly scenes for the J-League as a whole, before Abe stepped up and slotted the PK home for the decisive victory.

So with the recent history of these two teams in mind, plus the facts that Verdy may feel they have some unfinished business to attend to, as well as FC Ryukyu wanting to settle some scores for that foul, this should be testy affair on Sunday afternoon.

Last Round Highlights for Each Team

Match Day 36: FC Ryukyu vs Jubilo Iwata (0-3)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaF0pdK1qog

Match Day 36: Tokyo Verdy vs Avispa Fukuoka (1-1)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssjnlEi_ObQ

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: There are more questions than answers heading into Match Day 37 for FC Ryukyu. For example: (1) What is the health status of both Takuma Abe and Shinya Uehara? (2) What has prompted the move away from Dany Carvajal to Junto Taguchi at Goal Keeper the past 3 rounds?

Since these questions are almost never asked, or answered, it is anyone’s guess. Let’s assume that Uehara is dealing with some minor injury, and that Abe is need of some veteran rest as he played in nearly every match for FC Ryukyu up to a few weeks ago. But, as we’ve seen the past few games, when FC Ryukyu lack a true striker up top in Higuchi’s 4-2-3-1 formation, the goals dry up quickly.

I said last week that FC Ryukyu needed to get a longer look at some players they want to consider resigning next year, and that has happened to a degree, but I also want this side to remain competitive – especially at home – as no one wants to see this side finish poorly to end 2020.

Match Day 36 featured the return of several players to the FC Ryukyu lineup. Yamaguchi made a return after two months away and Okazaki made his 2020 debut after battling several injuries this year. Okazaki’s return helps with Suzuki and Chinen’s absence from the lineup but I don’t think we should get to excited. Okazaki struggled mightily last season and the thought of his pairing together with Yong Jick in a competitive match is very worrisome.

There are some encouraging signs despite the goal draught and shaky defense for this team. Koizumi has been in top form and is playing himself into a bigger club contract next season. He is a mercurial talent that will need to leave this club to reach his full potential and I hope it isn’t in the footsteps of Nakagawa and Uejo, who struggled a bit with their new clubs.

Keita Tanaka, Koya Kazama, and Kazumasa Uesato are the anchors for this team and will need to pick this team up off the floor and bring them back to their winning ways on Sunday. Finally, maybe this will be the game that Shinji Ono finally gets that first FC Ryukyu goal. I couldn’t think of a better time and lets just hope it is in a winning effort, and not a losing one.

Tokyo Verdy: After their loss to FC Ryukyu, Verdy recovered nicely by winning 3 in a row, and 4 out of 5 games that brought them just inside the top half of the table. A spot they have occupied for much of the season. The highest position Verdy has achieved this season is 5th, with most of the time spent bobbing up and down between 7th and 11th.

Verdy’s longest winless streak occurred between Match Days 27 and 32 when they went 6 games without a win. Since then, they are undefeated, winning 3 out of their last 4 games. The most impressive win in this stretch came against Kyoto Sanga FC followed by Verdy easily dispatching Thespakusatsu Gunma and Renofa Yamaguchi. In their most recent game, Verdy drew 1 all with second place Avispa Fukuoka when they surrendered an own goal shortly after taking the lead.

The side-by-side comparison table indicates that Verdy are a slightly better on the road compared to playing at home but both these sides possess an identical record for home and away form over their last 5 games. Verdy are led up front by Junki Koike, Yuhei Sato, Ryoya Yamashita, Shion Inoue and Jin Hanato who added two goals to his tally the round prior.

There is not much more I can say about this squad other than they are good, but not great. Very indicative of a mid table team that is going nowhere, but certainly a place we as FC Ryukyu fans would relish at this point.

Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Play Mistake Free Football (or close to it): Likelihood 2. Verdy are a patient team that can bide their time until their opponent makes a few mistakes. Then they punish them. The games against Renofa and Gunma are the closest comps when it comes to how this matchup may play out with Verdy demolishing those lesser sides when they broke down. Verdy are not immune from their own mistakes, but FC Ryukyu need to make less of the catastrophic mistakes on Sunday if they wish to win.

2. A Healthy Strike Duo of Abe and Uehara: Likelihood 2. It is anyone’s guess if they even dress, but Abe was able to break out of the high press by Verdy the last time they played, which really opened up the offense for FC Ryukyu. Uehara also adds the aerial assault and nose for the goal that FC Ryukyu so desperately need right now. If neither is featured on Sunday, I fear we will see a repeat of the last few matches were FC Ryukyu may possess the ball in the middle third of the pitch, but have no way of making the final push on goal.

Match Day Prediction

FC Ryukyu have seen their goals dry up whereas Verdy are surging ever so slightly by swatting inferior competition to the side. But, this game isn’t played on paper, and emotions could be running high on Sunday so I’ll say this ends 1-1 in a rather inglorious fashion. Joking. 2-1 to FC Ryukyu!!!!!!

Match Day 37 in J2

(1) Tokushima Vortis and (2) Avispa Fukuoka both face sides in the bottom half of the table and will look to hold serve this week when (3) V-Varen Nagasaki host (6) Albirex Niigata in what should be considered a must win game for Nagasaki if they wish to remain in striking distance of Fukuoka for 2nd place.

Not one, but two free broadcasts this round! The first one looks enticing and I will be tuning in, along with a few friends, to see if Nagasaki can get the job done.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ruou4VQHc

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGe1-KwVANU

Conclusion

Just a little over three weeks left in the season and FC Ryukyu currently sit at 3-1-3 in the month of November with one more game to go. They close the book on this month at home, which is also the start of 4 consecutive home games for Ryukyu, so hopefully this provides some rest to these weary road warriors.

Verdy have nowhere to go this year as they are to far outside of the promotion zone but would love nothing more than to embarrass FC Ryukyu in front of their fans again. All the makings to a start of a great rivalry. And I say, “if it is blood you want, we’ll give you some.”

I need Soldiers. Too Arms!

Match Day 10 Review: (16) Tokyo Verdy vs (17) FC Ryukyu 8/8/20 #FC琉球

Intro

Apparently a week of training that was interrupted by the sudden CV-19 outbreak inside the squad did the team some good. Ryukyu traveled to Tokyo this past Saturday with little preparation and won a very cagey affair from a late Takuma Abe penalty kick to push their undefeated streak to 4.

Match Recap
Man of the Match
Review of the Keys to Victory
Match Prediction
Match Day 10 Takeaways
Round 10 in J2
Top Goals from Round 10
Conclusion

1. Match Recap

A back and forth affair with neither team producing much in the oppositions end.

2. Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu FWD Takuma Abe. You could make a case for Dany Carvajal as he kept a clean sheet but was aided by the fact that Verdy never really threatened the Ryukyu net. Tanaka was doing all the “little” things right on Saturday by creating and snuffing out attacks as well. But in the end it goes to Abe who once again showed his lethal finishing abilities, and mental resolve, after having his PK attempt delayed for 10 minutes before calmly sending the keeper in the wrong direction.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory

1. This game will likely be decided in the last 15 minutes. Likelihood 4: Think the highlights reinforce this point.

2. Attack the flanks with speed. Likelihood 4: I am going to say we did not do this consistently enough as there were only about 2, maybe 3 times, I saw Ryukyu try to set the edge by using speed to get past the Verdy defense.

4. Match Prediction

Went with a 2-2 draw and it ended 1-0 for Ryukyu. Gladly take the L with my prediction this round. 1W-2D-7L to date.

5. Match Day 10 Takeaways

The Good. FC Ryukyu looked very good in the build up play during this game and nearly took the lead on several occasions. Abe is so vital to our success that any missed time on his part will derail the teams momentum. Ikeda’s development into a quality player is coming along nicely and he will only continue to get better. Keita Tanaka has a relentless motor, was excellent in both the attack and defense, and gives 110% effort every single time he is out there. Finally, the 4-1-4-1 is working well and I see no need to change the set up until we get some healthy players back in training.

The Bad. While the game was a near even split between the two sides, many of our attacks simple petered out near the 18-yard box. Too often we would see Ryukyu attackers on the flanks pulling up to pass the ball back thus allowing Verdy to get defenders back into position. I understand that there are times when pulling back is warranted, but I’d like to see more aggressiveness from our players and try to push past the edge defenders. At the very least, there is the possibility of winning a corner. Even if you don’t, it is the same as turning the ball over to the opposition somewhere in their own half which is what we saw on Saturday.

The Ugly. Shohei Takahashi’s foul on Uehara on the penalty area was nothing more than a display of a lack of emotional maturity. Chances are that Uehara may have fouled Shohei, but that does not mean he is allowed to commit a dangerous act by kicking his studs into and across another player. Shohei was lucky to just receive a yellow and equally as ugly was the actions by the Verdy players after the blatant foul was confirmed by the referee and his staff. The match was delayed for a good 10 minutes and that is something that I have never seen outside of games with VAR.

6. Round 10 in J2

https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/startseite/wettbewerb/JAP2

There was a lot to enjoy this round as there was goals galore and two come from behind victories with high score lines. In fact, there were a total of 33 goals scored this round. Finally, it was Tokushima Vortis who handed top seed V-Varen Nagasaki their first defeat of the season.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/tabelle/wettbewerb/JAP2/saison_id/2019

7. Top Goals from Round 10

#1 Akira Silvano Disaro’s blast for Kitakyushu. (9:30)

#2 Shuma Mihara from Ehime as he takes a great first touch from a rebound and then sends a screamer down range. (3:10)

#3 Utaka from Kofu. Not for any one of his goals, just the sheer volume (x4). (starts at 1:04)

8. Conclusion

The early season set backs and tough results that once created a lot of doubt have now turned into valuable lessons that FC Ryukyu are applying each week. It is not often that FC Ryukyu win low scoring games where they do not concede as they’ve only manged to win 17 out of the 215 J-League games since 2014 in this manner. That’s roughly less than 8% of all their games. On the other hand, Ryukyu have conceded 3 or more goals in a match 34 times, or 16% percent of the time. 14 of those lopsided score lines have occurred since Ryukyu entered the J2 and it would be a welcome sight to see them reduce the number of heavily conceded games to around 2-4 each year.

Up next for FC Ryukyu is Ventforet Kofu. A team that snapped the 36 game home unbeaten run in 2019 with a heavy 5-2 defeat. They also beat Ryukyu 2-0 on the last match day of 2019 to make their way into the J2 playoffs but FC Ryukyu had a patch work lineup in place after suffering numerous injuries at the end of 2019. Kofu have only lost once since the restart and they come to Okinawa sporting a 5 game winning streak. It will be another tough test for FC Ryukyu on Wednesday evening but one I am looking forward too.

“Fight the Good Fight Every Moment” Match Day 10 Preview: (12) Tokyo Verdy vs (21) FC Ryukyu 8/8/20 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu are fresh off their first win of 2020 and undefeated in their last three games. Tokyo Verdy are undefeated in their last five matches having come off quality draws to Niigata and Nagasaki. Both teams have issues in the attack, but Verdy has proven very capable of choking out the potent attacks for Nagasaki and Niigata. Ryukyu seem to be improving each week but this will be their first test against an opponent who, like Ryukyu, have faced some tough competition the prior weeks and proven resilient.

Weather Forecast
Match Day 9 Recap: Tokyo Verdy
Match Day 9 Recap: FC Ryukyu
Team News & Injuries
Keys to Victory
Match Prediction
Round 10 in J2
Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast

Looks good!

2. Match Day 9 Recap: Tokyo Verdy

3. Match Day 9 Recap: FC Ryukyu

https://fcryukyublog.home.blog/2020/08/03/match-day-9-report-17-fagiano-okayama-vs-21-fc-ryukyu-8-1-20-fc%e7%90%89%e7%90%83/

4. Team News & Injury Report

Tokyo Verdy: The last time these two sides met, Verdy ran roughshod over FC Ryukyu at home en-route to a 5-1 pasting. In their earlier match up, it was FC Ryukyu getting the better of Tokyo Verdy with a late second wonder goal from Uesato that leveled the match. If you recall in that game, Dany suffered a busted nose after bringing down a Verdy attacker, was awarded a yellow card for his attempt, and then promptly saved the ensuing PK to keep FC Ryukyu in the game.

As mentioned in the introduction, Verdy are undefeated in their last 5 matches. They dispatched Kofu and JEF with ease before going on a run of three straight draws against Yamagata, Niigata and Nagasaki. In fact, Verdy have only lost once since the restart of the season.

The draws against Niigata and Nagasaki are impressive as those are two of the more potent attacks in the J2 at the moment. While Verdy has only scored 1 goal these past 3 weeks, they have the ability to snuff out your team’s attack while biding their time for their own chance to score.

Verdy are lead by #25 Jin Hanato, #20 Shion Inue, #8 Kanya Fujimoto, and #9 Yuhei Sato in the attack. The combination of Hanato, Inoue, and Fujimoto can produce some skillful deliveries and goals and is one we need to watch out for on Saturday. Verdy also swapped out Shibasaki at GK, after having conceded 5 goals in 3 matches, for Matheus who also surrendered 5 goals since the change, but those goals are spread across 6 matches.

The goal keeper change has served Verdy well and it will prove a tall task for FC Ryukyu to crack the back line and score goals on Saturday.

Tokyo Verdy Injuries & Suspensions: None are reported at this time.

*Verdy rotates between a 3-4-2-1 and 4-3-3 and this would be their most dangerous lineup. FC Ryukyu’s lineup is based on injuries, CV-19, and squad rotation.*

FC Ryukyu: Getting that all important first win out of the way has provided a nice boost to the morale of this team. While I do not expect them to suddenly surge up the table, I do believe they will put together a nice stretch of results over the coming weeks.

There are a few factors weighing heavily against FC Ryukyu this week that may alter the course of this match. Defender Chinen and MF Motegi tested postive for CV19. Due to the PCR test being administered on Tuesday August 5th, all training for the club was suspended.

This means FC Ryukyu will not have trained at all prior to the match on Saturday. I highly doubt they will try to jam in a training session on the expected travel day of Friday August 7th, and hopefully there has been some preparations and discussion about the game plan via Zoom this week. Who knows? Maybe the long rest may do some tired legs some good.

It is a shame that a disruption like this has occurred, but not unexpected, as FC Ryukyu were gaining some serious momentum. They dominated Okayama in possession and in shots and you could feel that more goals were in store for the side that struggled mightily early this year. All we can do is watch how FC Ryukyu respond to yet another adversity in a season that has had so much already.

FC Ryuky Injuries & Suspensions: As mentioned last week, FC Ryukyu will be without Shinji Ono for some time and we are still waiting to hear the extent of the injury that Koki Kazama suffered this past round (probably need the swelling to go down for an accurate MRI). Factor in that defender Chinen, and MF Motegi, are likely on the sideline for at least two weeks after testing positive for CV-19, FC Ryukyu will have some serious decisions to make as to who will travel, and who will start against Verdy.

5. Keys to Victory

1. This game will likely be decided in the last 15 minutes. Likelihood 4: Verdy are a dangerous team, both to their opponent and themselves, in the final quarter of the game. They can produce moments of brilliance, as well as momentary lapses in judgement. FC Ryukyu would do well to be clear of Verdy at this point in the match but, even if they are down by 2 goals come the 75th minute, I still think they could eek out a draw if they counter punch Verdy while they lose focus. The inverse is also applicable in that FC Ryukyu need to see out the match if they find themselves in the lead.

2. Attack the flanks with speed. Likelihood 4: Verdy’s weakness may be the outer edges of their defense and if Ryukyu can get past those defenders, create a little time and space, it could make all the difference. It seemed that whenever Verdy has conceded a goal, it began with their last line of defenders being pulled apart when an attacker got to the edge. FC Ryukyu have the speed, the question is, can they do it?

6. Match Prediction

I do not like this match up one bit as I cannot get an accurate read on Tokyo Verdy. One factor that could play a part is that FC Ryukyu will have been forced to travel twice as much Verdy this week but Ryukyu also have an extra day of rest. There is also an outside chance that some of the players will be left behind stemming from the positive CV19 cases. Break all ties in favor of the hosts? I think not in this case and see a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

7. Round 10 in J2

(3) Tokushima versus (1) V-Varen Nagasaki is the premier match up this round with (6) Niigata vs. (2) Omiya a close second. However, if both Omiya and Vortis falter, and Kitakyushu win over Gunma, the newly promoted J3 side could suddenly find itself in the top 2 of the table.

8. Conclusion

There are some uncertain times ahead for both the fans of FC Ryukyu and the team. FC Ryukyu have to contend with a CV-19 outbreak inside the club, while their fans need to control their movements in and around Okinawa with the surging number of CV-19 cases. I think we all should’ve expected something like this to happen as Ryukyu have to travel by air for all of their away matches and the refusal to close the prefecture borders. Keep in mind, those are not privately chartered flights and if anyone is sick, or asymptomatic on those flights, our players and staff have a higher propensity to fall ill compared to other J-League clubs.

While there is always a chance that some players may become seriously ill, the greater risk is that to their families and the local community. All we can do now is “fight the good fight” by wearing a mask, washing our hands, practice social distancing, only go out when absolutely necessary, and hope the players remain symptom free so as to continue the season unabated.

Stay safe everyone and heed Rik Emmett’s words below.

The J-League Interview Series Part 6: Tokyo Verdy (@Verdy_Eng) #verdy #FC琉球

It has been a long 6 weeks since the last entry in this series dropped with the fabulous duo of Alex and Thomas from the FC Tokyo Kai Guys Twitter account. A lot has changed for many of us with the ongoing battle against COVID-19 and the struggle to maintain some semblance of normal life. In my case, it has been a mix of struggles and joy. It was really hard trying to explain to my young children why they can, or cannot, frequent some establishments and play with their friends while juggling my career. It has also been a blessing to spend so much time with them that I might not have otherwise been able to do had CV-19 not came to the forefront.

While it seems Okinawa, in addition to other places around the world, are experiencing some success at combating the spread of CV-19, we should not let our guard down or rush a return to a way of life before the virus took hold this past January. It is all our responsibility to limit the impact of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and probably 20th wave of CV-19 by adhering to the protective measures put in place by the local authorities as well as using a bit of common sense.

Even with all of this, the protests in the U.S., and rest of the world, show us that there are far more important things than football in this world. Complex problems require complex solutions and just because things are unsettling to discuss or are difficult to solve does not mean we should’t make every effort to do so.

With that being said, this Blog is here to provide an insight into FC Ryukyu as well as provide some enjoyment for those that love the sport of football. I will always remain true to those ideas but I have a responsibility to mention things outside of football from time to time that are just too important to ignore.

On that note, we are quickly approaching the return of the J-League here in Japan with a target date of June 27th for the J2/J3 and July 4th for the J1. That means I will be transitioning out of this interview series and back into the normal match day previews, reviews and oped pieces. Please enjoy this interview and as always, stay safe.

Just a reminder since it has been so long between entries, my questions and responses will appear in bold on here. Enjoy the interview.

Today we are lucky enough to speak with the author of the unofficial Tokyo Verdy Blog, https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/, as well as the https://jleaguefanchris.wordpress.com/ blog, Chris. Chris, welcome, it is a pleasure to finally be able to conduct this interview. I began following your Tokyo Verdy blog shortly after it started last season as I truly enjoy the perspectives from all those that blog or tweet about their J2 team in English.

What I didn’t know was that you started blogging back in 2013 with your JLeaguefanchris blog. Over 7 years of blogging is pretty impressive my friend considering the amount of time and effort (unpaid at that) it requires to conduct these labors of love.

So, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came into supporting the J League, Tokyo Verdy and most importantly, why you began your two blogs?

First off, it’s a pleasure to do this interview. Well my name is Chris and I am a wrestling/anime and manga/video game fan along with being a big football fan. I have loved football since I was very young and then I got into anime and manga when I was in my teens, which made discovering the J-League no surprise after doing some research and getting to know the teams in the league.

When I was in college at about 16, I actually got into supporting Tokyo Verdy as I saw they were dealing with financial problems at the exact time that the old Spennymoor club (United), a team I followed, folded. I really felt sorry for both set of fans who love Verdy as much as I did United so I kind of started keeping my eye on Verdy. But it was the 2012 World Cup in Japan and South Korea where I really became heavily invested in the JLeague and when I began the JLeagueFanChris twitter account/blog.

A few years later I actually started the Verdy twitter account/blog because I found Verdy to be my kind of club with all of the problems they’ve had before and I’ve had to deal with while supporting Spennymoor United.

Q. Apologies to all for switching gears, but I have to ask Chris about the town of Spennymoor England that he lists as his location on Twitter. I have never been that far north in England and I had to poke around Wikipedia to see what the town was all about.

I see that it is a relatively small town of around 20,000 people but there is a football club, Spennymoor Town FC, that ply their trade in the 6^th tier of English football known as the National League North -where they currently sit 6^th and well inside the promotion playoff bracket- but with the season suspended it remains to be seen how their bid for promotion will play out.

Do you support this club or do you fancy one of the larger clubs that are in relative proximity to your current location? They do have a fantastic crest and kit though!

Well I do support Spennymoor Town and I have done since the new club came around in 2005. I was 10 years old since I started following The Moors (the nickname for the club) when my dad brought me along to a cup final game in the Durham Challenge Cup (County Cup for the Durham FA). After Spennymoor United folded in 2005, a new club called Town rose from their ashes and started in the Northern League Division 2 and have spent a couple of seasons in that league.

The 2019-20 season sees the club in the National League North – missed out on promotion to the National League losing on penalties in the Play Off Final to Chorley last season but it was a fantastic time overall. I’ve been to see a couple of Newcastle games, one FA Cup game and a Europa League game but I follow Spennymoor Town Home and Away, it’s my main passion in life and I’ve lived here all my life.

That’s awesome. I can relate to your sentiments on following smaller clubs that are trying mightily to make their way up the lower leagues with aspirations of achieving lofty goals. It makes it all the better when they do.

I’m actually a volunteer for STFC – I sell programs and then go off to start filming the games for highlights to be made for YouTube (MoorsTV). I actually started filming clips of the goals in 2005 and uploaded them to YouTube but now it’s turned into recording the full 90 minutes.

I couldn’t hold it together for a full 90’ minutes as a FC Ryukyu fan to film their games.

Spennymoor Town’s progress has been amazing – the people behind the scenes who have built the club up have done such amazing job – the ground, the STFC youth’s pitches, the moors tavern pub and the sports bar in the ground – just got a ladies team this season as well and they have done really well.

Spennymoor, like a lot of places in the north, was a coalmining town with the village called Tudhoe also known for coal mining coal. Rothmans International (Cigarette Factory), Thorns Lighting, Electrolux, Black & Decker and Woolworths were some of the big shops/companies that were in the main high street/out of the town but only Thorns is left out of the 4 and the main high street is looking pretty bad with only a very few shops remaining. Greggs/A Local Opticians, the post office, charity shops, amusement shops and plenty of pubs and newsagents around the town as well. It has a lovely park called the Jubilee Park, a leisure center, a library, a hardware shop and plenty of supermarkets. Spennymoor has its own bus station at the bottom of the main high street which goes into Bishop Auckland/Durham/Newcastle since the 60’s

That was a very nice introduction to your hometown, thanks for that.

Q. Seeing how your JLeagueChris blog dates back to 2013, where you one of the original bloggers in English for the J league at the time? What information, blogs, podcasts or twitter accounts were around in 2013 that covered the J League in English?

I’m not sure on being one of the original ones to start blogging about the JLeague, that’s probably down to the likes of JSoccer Magazine (@JSoccermagazine), the JTalk Podcast (@JTalkPod) and a few other bloggers that were around before me like Fujieda MYFC and Stuart Smith’s FC Gifu blog. But I think was the first one to blog the scores from J1/2/JFL at the time as only limited info on the league was available in English on sties like Wikipedia and Soccerway. I probably used them the most in the early days of JLeagueFanChris

Q. You first ever tweet from the Unofficial Tokyo Verdy English Twitter Account was the match preview vs. V-Varen Nagasaki back in August of 2017 but how long was the Unofficial Verdy English blog around before that tweet?

The blog was probably around maybe a month or so prior as I spent a majority of my time designing it, making the layout presentable and gathering as much info about the players/coaches as I could before making the match preview against V-Varen. I also needed to make sure the tags are all there and so much more – it was a lot of work but when I got started, I just started to enjoy making the matchday preview’s/reviews.

I am with you there; I think my match day previews are both my favorite to write as well the best thing I put forth. My match day recap usually contains a lot of the frustrations (or praise) depending on the week’s result. I am not as good as the boys on the J-Talk Pod series who have a much better take on the games from a technical perspective and can offer a far better post-match analysis than my usual rants and raves.

Q. Have you been to Japan before to see Tokyo Verdy live?

No, I would love to go to Japan and see Verdy live though. I wouldn’t just see Verdy though. I’d spend time exploring the Tokyo area and maybe take in a Verdy away game as well so I can see how people travel to away games in Japan compared to here in the UK.

Let me tell you, away games are a blast. First, you get to experience another part of Japan that you may not have otherwise and for anyone considering taking in any match in Japan, home or away, you need to refer to Chris’s Lost in Football Blog/Vlog (@LiFJapan) as he breaks everything down in spectacular fashion so even those of us living in Japan, who don’t speak Japanese (me!), can navigate to the stadium and enjoy the local area.

Q. How often do you tune into the Tokyo Verdy matches each week? Do you watch them on Bet360 similar to how @DanielVVN does?

I just watch the Tokyo Verdy highlights from the official JLeague YouTube channel or off Verdy’s own YouTube channel

Q. It should be noted that you are no longer going to conduct the Match Day Preview/Recaps for Tokyo Verdy moving forward. While I will miss reading your entries each week, I completely understand that sometimes life gets in the way of our hobbies. May I ask what happened? I do see that you will still provide information regarding your club on the blog though.

To be honest, I just feel like I was copying the same thing over and over again for each preview/review. I thought it would be better to stop them but I won’t stop blogging info about players/new coaches etc because I like to know about all the players who will be playing in the green shirt of Verdy and their history when it come to prior clubs they’ve played for and where they come from.

Whatever happens in the future, I hope you can return to form as it provided a great glimpse into the club each week.

Q. On that note, whenever this season resumes, or when the 2021 campaign begins, I would love to solicit your input in any match day preview/review when FC Ryukyu and Tokyo Verdy square off if you wouldn’t mind.

I wouldn’t mind it at all.

Q. Speaking of 2019, that was a truly exciting match the first time that FC Ryukyu faced Tokyo Verdy in April 2019. The return leg in Okinawa made me want to vomit though as we would lose that match, plus the remaining 3 games at home in 2019 while being outscored 11-3 in that small stretch! But, that first game over a year ago was exciting.

I saw the highlights on the JLeague YouTube page and that first game as a Verdy fan was a sickener when FC Ryukyu equalized in injury time but the away game was a big win with a hat-trick for a Verdy player. As a fan of Spennymoor it’s happened this season with a 3-0 loss away to Kings Lynn but a 5-1 win over Gloucester City at home – football can be full of highs and lows.

Well said brother. The emotional roller-coaster ride every week makes football great.

You can see all of Chris’s work on these matches at the links below.

https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/2019/04/12/matchday-9-2019-season-preview-tokyo-verdy-v-fc-ryukyu/

https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/2019/04/18/matchday-9-2019-season-review-tokyo-verdy-1-1-fc-ryukyu/

https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/matchday-36-2019-season-preview-fc-ryukyu-v-tokyo-verdy

https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/2019/10/18/matchday-36-2019-season-review-fc-ryukyu-1-5-tokyo-verdy/

Q. What was your outlook for Tokyo Verdy heading into the 2020 season? What transfers, in and out, really impacted the squad this year?

It’s kind of hard to know only after one game being played before the halt due to COVID-19. I really don’t know how the new players will impact the team but Verdy usually have a fair few player coming in and going out with some of them coming in from their fantastic Youth teams. I hope Verdy finish in the top 10 this year but I’d prefer they fight for the playoffs after a few seasons of getting into the top 6 but finishing 13th place last year.

It seems so many questions still surround the restart of the season, where games will be played if broken down geographically and then of course, how promotion will work.

Q. So, what have you been doing to occupy your time during this “interim” period between Verdy matches?

Getting into football in other countries that are still playing despite what is going on in the world right now with CV-19. For example, I’ve started watching football from Belarus and South Korea since it’s been strange to have no football occurring at all in the UK but football, but there is talk of restarting behind closed doors here.

Q. Tokyo Verdy were founded in 1969 (as Yomiuri FC). I am not sure if that makes them one of the oldest, or oldest, remaining clubs still in existence today but that is a lengthy history. What are some of the more memorable, and forgettable moments, in the club’s long history?

Yes, it’s a long history for Verdy or as Yomiuri FC when it started in 1969. It was Yomiuri who made the rapid rise into the JSL (Japan Soccer League) Second Division and winning 2 titles and getting promoted to the JSL First Division and winning 5 titles. Then the JLeague started in 1993 (winning the JLeague Cup in 1992) and winning 2 league titles as Verdy Kawasaki along with winning a couple of Emperors Cup’s along the way have provided some great moments for this club.

But the forgettable moments began with having to leave the Kawasaki area after low crowds and then relegation from J1. Though they only spent 2 seasons in J2 and returned to the J1 for 1 season before being relegated again in 2009 and have remained in the J2 ever since. It hasn’t been all bad for Verdy in J2 – even though the average crowds is lower than you would want- Verdy has had some success in J2 recently .

I took in a Tokyo Verdy vs Ehime FC match last year at the Ajinomoto and it has to be nearly impossible for Verdy to fill that stadium each week due to the overall size. Not sure if they’d prefer playing at one of the smaller pitches That would make for a better atmosphere or they simply won’t based on the history of the club and some perceived notion that they must play in the Ajinomoto as an original plank-holder of the J-league.

Q. Considering that Tokyo Verdy has been around for 51 years, who are their bitter rivals and what makes for the best derby match?

Probably Verdy’s rivals are their fellow Tokyo side at Ajinomoto Stadium, FC Tokyo, along with JEF United Chiba and FC Machida Zelvia.

Q. I see that you also do some work on the women’s national league here in Japan, the Nadeshiko League. How did you begin following women’s football and do you follow Women’s Football throughout Europe as well? I ask, as I would assume the European Leagues, and not sure which one in particular, have some of the best women’s players in the world?

I did a bit of research on Verdy and also did some research on the team in NTV Beleza who were formed in 1981 as Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza. They are probably the most successful Women’s team in Japan having won Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League a whopping 17 times and finishing runner up 12 times. They have also won the Empress Cup 14 times, league cup 7 times and even the Super Cup twice and done the domestic treble twice (2007 and 2018).

As England have the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship – women’s football has been growing a lot in England’s top Women’s leagues and all the way down to the local leagues in each region. I’m really glad the women’s game is actually getting more support.

Q. If not mentioned earlier, what other sports and teams do you support? (if you like esports as well that’s great)

FC Krumkachy (Belarus First Division).

Wasn’t expecting that, nice answer.

Q. What is a typical match day routine for you in England with the J-League and whatever other teams you follow?

Matchday for Spennymoor home games begins with me waking up and having breakfast and listening to the radio until about 12pm. I then get dressed in my typical match day attire consisting of trousers/polo shirt, jumper and a nice pair of shoes. I then get a lift down to the football ground around 1pm and have a meeting with the stewards before getting ready to receive the fans coming to the ground.

I prepare the match day programs to sell to people and then at a certain time I go off to start recording the players and officials coming out of the tunnel. After the match, I’ll head to the tunnel to a get an interview with the management and/or a player(s) and then give the SD Card to my media man so he can do the highlights for YouTube

For away games it begins by going to the pub before catching the bus that takes us to the game where ever it maybe. I’ll pick up my media pass/ticket for the media area where I will film the game and then leaving the footage with the media team before heading back home and returning to the pub where I started the day.

Match days are quite busy for you it seems. Love the pub routine on the book ends of the away trip.

Q. What has been Tokyo Verdy’s best kit throughout it’s history? (Have a pic?)

There are a couple of famous Yomiuri FC kits that look so nice but it’s kind of tough to really choose but I got my own shirt, it was the 2015 Tokyo Verdy home shirt.

Pic?

Q. It seems at times that Verdy can get a lot of Shtick when it comes to results and promotion. Why is that? Is this a side that many like to hate or a just unfortunate at times which has developed its own reputation?

I guess it was because Verdy were such big name in back in the 90’s and now they are struggling to secure promotion or large crowds in the J2. But a lot of teams in any country start off small and then grow big and some teams struggle with low crowd sizes or other things like financial problems.

I am experiencing all of that right now -as far as from a financial and crowd size perspective – for FC Ryukyu.

It’s a real shame for those who follow Verdy through with all these ups and downs for the club but they support the team through thick and the thin. And they love going to Verdy games to fly the green flags and supporting the players through it all.

Q. I missed a massive opportunity when I was in England to partake in some pies from the birthplace of these delectable items. For a guy whose only ever eaten a pie in Thailand from an Expat restaurant, or the frozen type out of the Japanese Max Value, please describe the best kind of pie and the best way to eat one of these things?

As a vegetarian of 30 years, it’s tough for me to even have any sort of pie when it comes to the meat sort. As a dish I usually have is vegetables and Yorkshire puddings – it’s really the best as my parents make some lovely Yorkshire puddings.

Q. Since we are on the subject of food, what are some of the best places to eat where you live and what are their specialties?

Frankie and Benny’s or TGI Friday’s is usually where me and the family go. But there are some great Italian/American restaurants here, but if we stop off when the driver needs a break then it’s McDonalds, WHSmith’s or Burger King or something else like that.

Q. Who is your favorite player in the 2020 Tokyo Verdy squad and who is your all-time favorite to dawn the green?

Takahiro Shibasaki – Goalkeeper – Number 1 – as a bit of a goalkeeper when I was younger, I always go for the goalkeepers, so Shibasaki is my pick and he’s currently probably one of the longest serving players at Verdy. But Verdy has some really good players in the squad this year.

All-time favorite players have to be Naoto Kamifukumoto – another goalkeeper, just the name stands out and he really didn’t miss many games in the 2018 and the 2019 seasons (played 42 times each season). Another player was Alan Pinheiro – probably one of my favorite forwards at Verdy and scored a fair amount of goals before he left for fellow Tokyo team in JEF United Chiba.

Q. In your opinion, how well does the club release information to the fans across their official accounts and web pages and what would you like them to change/address in the future?

Verdy actually do a good job releasing information regarding the season tickets or players signing/being released/signing a new contract etc. Tokyo Verdy’s website also has English/Spanish/Brazilian/Thai languages in addition to Japanese, so it’s makes for a fantastic experience for many readers looking to find any info regarding the history of the cub or match day info.

The 5 language options are very impressive.

Q. Also, have you had any contact with the club, in any form for any reason once you’ve started your blog or as a supporter?

Not really, I got a follow back which I’m very happy about and I’ve had a retweet from the official account regarding the 4-3 win over FC Gifu a few seasons ago and that’s about it.

That’s solid.

Q. Have you met any famous footballers (J-League or other) during your time as a fan of the sport?

Peter Reid (opened one of the main stands at Spennymoor United), Peter Beardsley (been at a few Spennymoor Town games last season) and I’m sure there have been a few players for teams like Middlesbrough/Newcastle/Sunderland who have had pre-season games here that I may have bumped into.

Q. Tell us the name of the podcasts/twitter Football accounts, outside of the J-League, you follow and why we need to as well?

For podcasts it’s usually the World Football Phone In, The Peter Crouch Podcast, Fighting Talk and BBC F1 Podcasts – a lot of BBC podcasts usually and for video games is Dreamcast Junkyard Podcast and for non-league football – it’s the Non-League Football Show.

Q. How has life changed for you and friends and family during these difficult and unprecedented times with COVID-19?

For me personally, life hasn’t changed all that much. Like everyone else being stuck inside their house, I’ve had to deal with life without football.

For the family, it’s affected my dad from going to work but he can still work from home, but my mom cannot go out and help her mother and friends with anything like shopping or cleaning the house like she normally would.

Missing my friends at the football club but there are some people at the football club that have continued to take care of the football pitch and any other things that need doing when football does return.

The floor Is yours Chris. Please talk/discuss/point out anything you wish.

A genuine thank you to you for letting me do this interview – please make sure you and your family and friends stay safe as well. Let’s hope we can get through this really strange time and go back to seeing football but most of all, taking care of people/family and friends.

Well said.

Well, Chris, it was an absolute pleasure. Please stay safe and I hope the long layoff between Tokyo Verdy matches can rekindle the fire you had for producing the Tokyo Verdy Match Day Previews and Reviews. You can follow Chris at his two Twitter accounts of @Verdy_Eng and @JLeagueFanChris along with his Tokyo Verdy Blog, https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com. Until next time; stay safe, stay at home and let’s all kick this COVID-19 thing together!