The survivors

2020 was exceptional, because we have seen no relegations for the first time in a long period. But can these four teams survive in 2021?

J2 Weekend preview

With J1 being off for their well earned (?) summer holiday and with certain teams tossing it off against “Europe’s elite” (you can probably tell I’m not really a fan of these summer exhibition games) it is once again time for J2 to step into the spotlight. (AS USUAL, PLEASE DON’T USE THESE AS A […]

State of the J – Shonan Bellmare

(Header photo from @bellmare_staff) The Kanagawa coastline is starting to get busy. Summer is coming, and the beaches are starting to get full of the surfers, loafers & people that just want to get away from the city for the day. But beaches & Eno-Shima aren’t the only attractions in this part of Japan, because […]

J2 preview

This Saturday’s fixture list in J2 is the halfway point marker of the season. Here are some bite-sized previews of fixtures, with predictions as to how I think they’ll pan out. (NOTE – DO NOT TRUST MY PREDICTIONS!) Home wins Avispa Fukuoka vs FC Gifu – Gifu shipped in six goals last week at […]

State of the J – Vissel Kobe

A brief hiatus, our look at the state of J.League teams is back for another salvo, this time looking at the interesting case of Vissel Kobe. The Rakuten backed club from Kansai’s port city looked prime for a title tilt, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Alan Gibson, more familiarly known to you […]

J1 Weekend Preview

A brief look ahead at the upcoming action in J1 Vegalta Sendai vs Cerezo Osaka (6pm, Yurtec Stadium, Sendai) After losing at home to a university team in midweek, Vegalta probably aren’t too enthused at the sight of Cerezo Osaka’s Sakura pink machine rolling into Tohoku. Cerezo are currently second in J1, and have […]

State of the J: Cerezo Osaka

This is a team I’ve been wanting to explore for a long time. The club that brought us Shinji Kagawa & Takashi Inui have long been a glamorous name in J.League circles. Whether it is their iconic pink kit, their legions of female fans, the fact that they brought in Diego Forlan & Cacau and […]

State of the J: Giravanz Kitakyushu

Now this is an interesting case. A club that was seemingly on the way up but now finds itself struggling a bit to get to grips with life in the third tier. Ironically, Giravanz are the envy of many clubs after building a brand new, football specific stadium located close to the centre of their […]

State of the J: FC Tokyo

The team that represents the Japanese capital in J1 had Sky Tree high designs for this season. With manager Yoshiyuki Shinoda installed on a permanent basis after a fine run to end last season, they opened the chequebook (does anyone actually use cheques anymore?) and spent relatively big. Yoshito Okubo from Kawasaki Frontale, Yojiro Takahagi […]

State of the J: FC Gifu

I know, I know. “Why are you talking about FC Gifu? You should be remaining impartial!” I get it, and that is why I’ve enlisted the help of someone who knows a lot more than me about FC Gifu, my old mate @GifuRichy. It has been a very interesting time in Gifu this year. A […]