The J-Talk Podcast

We're back with a full run through of all the results and major talking points from Matchday 2 of the new J1 season.

Timestamps: Friday night - Kawasaki v Iwata to 18:00 and Yokohama F.Marinos v Fukuoka to 25:55

Saturday's winners, from Machida through to Gamba Osaka to 1:03:50, and the three draws to 1:31:10, before a check of the Matchday 3 fixtures to end.

The JTET team is back in action with a full review of the opening weekend of J2 and J3. In part 1, James Taylor and Jon Steele discuss three games from J2, pick their Most Bravo Player, and preview the coming weekend’s fixtures. Part 2 is J-Talk: Short Corner with Mike Innes; he has all the action from last weekend in J3 and looks ahead to round 2.

Start to 07:20 Yokohama FC v Yamaguchi

07:20 to 12:30 JEF United v Yamagata

12:30 to 19:05 Tokushima v Kofu

19:05 to 24:10 Most Bravo Player

24:10 to 30:15 Round 2 preview

30:15 to 39:10 JTSC J3 Saturday games

39:10 to 50:50 JTSC J3 Sunday games

50:50 to end JTSC J3 round 2 preview

History was made, and repeated, in J1 Matchday 1, and Dan Orlowitz joined us to chat about some of the biggest games, and storylines, from the opening weekend of the new campaign.

Dan guests in Part 1, and we begin with the two games he was at, starting with Tokyo Verdy's return to the big time on Sunday, and the Greens were very impressive even though Yokohama F.Marinos spoilt their party late on (to 19:00), before we move on to Hiroshima's 2-0 win over Urawa, as they officially christened their brand new stadium in style, with Yuki Ohashi the two-goal hero (to 34:40).

We then move on to Gamba Osaka getting a 1-1 draw away at promoted Machida, with a discussion on the transportation/access issues that threaten to tarnish Zelvia's name with away supporters (to 57:35), before we finish with FC Tokyo's 2-2 draw away at Cerezo Osaka, with Ryotaro Araki stealing the show with two goals in his Tokyo debut (to 1:09:35).

Then in Part 2 we round up the other six games, including Kashima's cruise away at Nagoya, before we finish with a look ahead to the best games on the Matchday 2 slate.

If you haven't already, please check out Dan's new(ish) newsletter, The Hachi.

With less than 24 hours until the new J2 campaign gets underway, JTET is back and banging for one final pre-season pod.

In this mini-episode, James Taylor and Jon Steele begin by reviewing valiant Ventforet Kofu's ACL Round of 16 clash with Ulsan, which ended in defeat (but no disgrace) for Yoshiyuki Shinoda's men. We also talk a little bit about what kind of legacy Kofu's Asian adventure might leave for the side from Yamanashi, and J2 as a whole (Start to 17:20).

After that, James and Jon take a look at the weekend's opening round of J2 fixtures, picking out a couple of key games to keep an eye on (17:25 to Finish).

Enjoy your J-football this weekend!

We wrap up our top flight season previews with FC Tokyo and Nagoya, before looking ahead to Matchday 1 of the 2024 season.

In Part 1 Tom Pennington from the FC Tokyo Kai-Guys guests to chat about how The Gasmen can turn things around after last year's mediocre campaign, with some exciting attacking talent signed in the winter. And its an early win for FC Tokyo vs city/stadium rivals Verdy, as Tom's segment clocks in a fraction longer than Lewis' in our previous episode (to 57:58)!

Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben discuss Nagoya's interesting winter in the transfer market, and whether they can push for the top four (to 1:28:45), before we finish the episode with Jonny's league-wide Ones To Watch, and a full preview of J1 Matchday 1.

The opening round of J2 fixtures is just a few days away, so James Taylor and Jon Steele, with special guests, have the final batch of J2 previews:

Start to 09:50 Renofa Yamaguchi (Jon and James)

09:50 to 18:25 Oita Trinita (Jon and James)

18:25 to 26:00 Kagoshima United (Jon and James)

26:00 to 34:20 Roasso Kumamoto (Garry)

34:20 to end V-Varen Nagasaki (Daniel and Chikashi)

Thank you to Garry, Daniel and Chikashi, and for contributing, to Mike for his help with the Kagoshima section, and to Patreon subscribers for the ongoing support. Enjoy the football!

Mike Innes returns with previews of the remaining 10 J3 clubs, a whistle-stop tour of the Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa regions, as well as a look ahead to the opening round of fixtures.

Start to 03:20 Azul Claro Numazu

03:20 to 05:22 FC Gifu

05:22 to 07:30 FC Osaka

07:30 to 09:30 Nara Club

09:30 to 11:40 Gainare Tottori

11:40 to 13:37 Kamatamare Sanuki

13:37 to 15:45 FC Imabari

15:45 to 17:45 Giravanz Kitakyushu

17:45 to 19:55 Tegevajaro Miyazaki

19:55 to 22:00 FC Ryukyu Okinawa

22:00 to end round 1 preview

Thanks for listening, and thank you to everyone who supports the pod on Patreon. Patreon subscribers should look out for Mike’s exclusive J3 predicted table later this week!

Well, we've finally done it! At the seventh time of asking we've finally eclipsed the two-hour mark in our previews as we run the rule over the three promoted clubs.

First cab off the rank is Tokyo Verdy, and it was our great pleasure to welcome Lewis White on for his big pod debut to chat about Verdy's return to the top division after a 15-year absence, their offseason wheeling and dealing and their prospects for survival (to 55:05).

Up next is ambitious newcomers Machida Zelvia, up in the big time for the first time (to 1:32:25), before we wrap up with fallen giants Iwata, who have yo-yo'd between the top two divisions in the past ten years.

James Taylor and Jon Steele return with another special guest and previews of 5 more J2 teams ahead of the 2024 season:

Start to 09:25 Shimizu S-Pulse (Jon and James)

09:25 to 16:35 Fujieda MYFC (Jon and James)

16:35 to 22:35 Tokushima Vortis (Jon and James)

22:35 to 29:40 Ehime FC (Jon and James)

29:40 to end Fagiano Okayama (@Fagi_INTL_Fans)

Thank you to Fagi_international for contributing, to Mike for his help with the Ehime section, and to Patreon subscribers for the ongoing support. Stay tuned for part 4 later this week!

With the ACL back and banging this midweek, Jon and James got together to preview Ventforet Kofu's Round of 16 clash with K-League giants Ulsan. 

Over the course of a 15-minute chat, the boys take a Wikipedia-informed look at the Ulsan side, and offer their thoughts on our J2 representative's chances of progressing to the Quarter-Finals.

We hope everyone enjoys the mini-pod!