The J-Talk Podcast

Three more clubs go under the microscope in Part 2B of our J1 Season Previews with guest Jonny Nicol (though he's basically part of the furniture these days).

In Part 1 (to 27:40) we chat about one of the league's great entertainers (both for good and bad reasons), Sapporo.

In Part 2 (to 48:40) we cover the welcome return to J1 of second tier champions, Niigata.

And finally on this episode, we discuss last season's surprise packets, Kashiwa.

After a short (and cold) winter break, Jon Steele & James Taylor kick off their J2 season previews with a focus on 8 clubs in the Greater Kanto area (with help from special guests)!

Timecodes:

02:00 to 09:30 - Machida Zelvia

09:50 to 16:05 - Tokyo Verdy with Lewis (@illusionofease on Twitter)

16:05 to 22:30 - JEF United Chiba

22:55 to 52:20 - Omiya Ardija with Jon & Steve Fryer (@ardija01talk on Twitter)

52:20 to 58:50 - Thespa Kusatsu Gunma

58:50 to 01:05:00 - Mito Hollyhock

01:05:00 to 01:11:35 - Tochigi with Matt Bruce (@MatthewDBruce on Twitter)

01:11:35 to Finish - Ventforet Kofu

We asked our club correspondents to keep these questions in mind when recording their segments...

1)  What do you think of the new signings that your team has made, and who will be the most important in 2023?

2)  What do you think about the departures from your team this winter, and which player departure are you most disappointed by?

3)  If your team has a new manager, are you happy with the appointment? (If your team has the same manager, are you comfortable with them?)

4)  Where do you think your team will finish this season? (Head & heart!)

5)  What are you most looking forward to in J2 overall this year (this could be related to your team, or the division in general)?

Hope everyone enjoys Part 1 - the other season preview episodes are coming up soon!

This week's five club preview is split into two separate pods, with two of the league's heaviest hitters featured first.

In Part 1 Ralf Seidl guests to chat about Urawa's 2022 campaign, their ins and outs in the transfer market, and expectations for the new season under (yet another) new manager, Maciej Skorza, plus some ones to watch in 2023 (to 32:50).

Then another giant, Kashima, the most successful club in the history of the J.League, are put under the microscope. After 2022 started so promisingly, the season petered out, so what can Daiki Iwamasa do to get Antlers back in title contention (leave, according to Sam!)?

Check out Jonny's terrific J1 Predicted Lineups piece and stay tuned for three more previews coming soon in Part 2B.

And away we go! Jonny Nicol guests in the first of our four part series previewing all 18 top flight clubs ahead of the new season, with the four Kansai clubs the first cabs off the rank. Timestamps are your friend here if you want to skip to a specific team, for each we chatted about their 2022 performance, major transfers in and out (not necessarily in that order), the manager, players to watch, and overall expectations for the new campaign.

Kyoto (to 25:40)

Gamba Osaka (to 56:20)

Cerezo Osaka (to 1:17:10)

Kobe (to end)

Happy new year to you all, and welcome to a new season of 'big pod'! In our first episode of 2023, we welcomed Dan Orlowitz back to the podcast to chat about some of the big changes coming to the J.League in 2023 and 2024, and the possibility of the league switching to an autumn-to-spring season in the future (to 25:10.

In Part 2 we reflected on Japan's showing at the World Cup, and the JFA's decision to extend manager Hajime Moriyasu's contract for a further four years, before teasing our season preview pods - that begin next week - with some of the biggest moves of the winter transfer window thus far (we did not have the Giakoumakīs to Urawa news at the time of recording).

Mike 'The Magic' Innes is back again with another 'J-Talk: Short Corner' takeover of JTET, finishing his club-by-club review of the J3 season by casting his forensic eye over six teams from Japan's southwestern region.

The sides in question this week enjoyed/endured very contrasting fortunes in 2022, making this episode a real rollercoaster - hope everyone enjoys it! 

Thanks to Mike for all of his painstaking work on these review pods, and to everyone for listening - 'J-Talk: Short Corner' will return soon!

Timecodes:

01:00 to 04:50 - Kamatamare Sanuki

04:50 to 08:50 - FC Imabari

08:50 to 12:25 - Ehime FC

12:30 to 16:00 - Giravanz Kitakyushu

16:00 to 19:25 - Tegevajaro Miyazaki

19:25 to Finish - Kagoshima United (with listener questions)

James Taylor and Jon Steele got together for the final time this year to discuss how the teams finishing from 16th to 22nd in J2 fared. They were joined by Matt Bruce (@MatthewDBruce) to cover Tochigi, Steve Fryer (@ardija01talk) to talk about Omiya, and James Gallagher (@FLManInJapan) to review Ryukyu. James and Jon discussed Yamaguchi, Kofu, Gunma, and Iwate, before closing the episode with a question from @akakichnoeleven.

 

00:00-05:57 Renofa Yamaguchi (James and Jon)

05:58-15:42 Tochigi SC (Matt Bruce)

15:43-21:52 Ventforet Kofu (James and Jon)

21:53-54:25 Omiya Ardija (Steve Fryer in conversation with Jon)

54:26-1:00:56 Thespakusatsu Gunma (James and Jon)

1:00:57-1:21:12 FC Ryukyu (James Gallagher)

1:21:13-end Iwate Grulla Morioka and listener question (James and Jon)

 

Stats were courtesy of jleague.jp, transfermarkt.com, football-lab.jp, sporteria.jp, and @Data_Swan.

 

Thanks again to our contributors for their analysis, and to Patreon subscribers for their ongoing support. And of course, thank you to everyone who listened throughout the year. See you in pre-season!

Mike 'The Magic' Innes returns with Part 2 of his 'J-Talk: Short Corner' takeover of JTET, reviewing the J3 season with a focus on six teams in the central area of Japan this time.

Hope everybody enjoys the episode - Part 3 is coming soon!

Timecodes:

01:00 to 04:40 - Matsumoto Yamaga

04:40 to 08:55 - Kataller Toyama

08:55 to 13:00 - Fujieda MYFC

13:00 to 16:45 - Azul Claro Numazu

16:45 to 21:00 - FC Gifu

21:00 to Finish - Gainare Tottori

James Taylor and Jon Steele are joined by another all-star cast to review the seasons of J2’s midtable teams (9th to 15th): Lewis (@illusionofease) reviews Tokyo Verdy, Martin Spivey (@bantam84) covers Akita, Daniel Kuroda (@NagaSapo_EN) talks about Nagasaki, and Victor Arroyo (@JFootballAnaly1) reviews Kanazawa. Plus James and Jon deal with JEF United, Mito, and Machida.

00:00-11:16 Tokyo Verdy (Lewis)

11:17-15:39 JEF United Chiba (James and Jon)

15:40-27:59 V-Varen Nagasaki (Daniel Kuroda)

28:00-54:33 Blaublitz Akita (Martin Spivey)

54:34-1:00:03 Mito Hollyhock (James and Jon)

1:00:04-1:13:59 Zweigen Kanazawa (Victor Arroyo)

1:14:00-end Machida Zelvia (James and Jon)

(The timings might be a bit off; Audacity and VLC Media Player were not very cooperative.)

 

Stats were courtesy of jleague.jp, transfermarkt.com, football-lab.jp, sporteria.jp, and @Data_Swan.

Thanks again to our guests for sharing their thoughts on their teams, and to Patreon supporters. More J2 and J3 review pods are coming up over the next few weeks.

A very tough one to take. Japan were excellent for large periods of their Round of 16 clash against Croatia, but ultimately succumbed on penalties. This episode was recorded straight after the final spot kick.