The J-Talk Podcast

This is it... surely. After a few false starts, the J.League announced return to play dates for J1 and J2, and a commencement date for J3, last Friday, and Sean Carroll joined Sam and Ben to chat all about it.

Thanks to Jonny, one of our supporters on Patreon, for his questions - if you've been listening regularly you know the guys have been greatly indebted to our patrons for topics and talking points during the COVID-19-enforced hiatus.

If you'd like to support the podcast on Patreon, for as little as $1 a month, please visit patreon.com/jtalkpod

Ahead of an official announcement on Friday May 29th, Jon Steele & Stuart Smith discuss the proposals regarding the restart (or the start, if we're talking J3....) of the J.League, and the challenges it faces. 

The gents also talk crowd noise, go over FC Ryukyu's financial results, wax lyrical about Zweigen Kanazawa's proposed new stadium, have a bit of gossip on an up & coming player who might be heading to Europe....all in under 40 minutes!! 

** Apologies for the audio quality on Stuart's side. For some reason the usual recording software didn't work and so we had to use the embedded recorder in Skype which didn't work as well as the other one. I hope it doesn't affect your listening enjoyment **

We really appreciate all the support & feedback we get from you listeners. We hope you enjoy this episode!

Stuart - @sushi_football

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

What a career, what a life in football. From Waseda University to a European Champions League Final, then trying to break in to a World Cup-winning squad. From retiring to having a kick-about with Park Ji-Sung, and then returning to the pitch.

Sam and Ben were thrilled to be joined by Ami Otaki, who was a brilliant guest - open and honest about all of her experiences along the way, and passionate about Nadecare, the NPO she started with Saki Kumagai and Yukari Kinga in 2019.

Get following @nadecare on Twitter!

Jon Steele & Stuart Smith return for short. sharp round up of the latest news from Japanese football including:

Is the J.League gearing up for a return?

Squirting soap on the changing room floor

How to fill an empty stadium? 

Handsome Mitch Langerak

Good & bad J.League content

We appreciate all the support & feedback we get from you listeners. We hope you enjoy this episode!

Stuart - @sushi_football

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

After a brief K-League and Bundesliga chat at the beginning of the episode, Sam and Ben welcome in Jason Coskrey, the hardball head honcho (chief baseball writer) at The Japan Times, for a chat on how the coronavirus has affected the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) schedule, how they might proceed once it is determined safe to begin play behind closed doors, and the collaboration between NPB and J.League during the pandemic, among other topics.

Thanks to our patrons for their terrific questions (and their ongoing support), and to Jason for taking the time to speak with us. Please follow Jason on twitter (and tell him J-Talk sent you!), and check out his Japan Times archive.

Welcome to the "Hat & Roger" - pull up a chair and let's talk some Japanese football! (The reference will become clear...)

Are we edging closer to a return to the J.League? Jon Steele & Stuart Smith believe so, piecing together 'evidence' from various sources and they talk about the situation in Japan now, and whether they'd feel safe going to watch games in stadia come July. 

Also, happy 27th birthday to the J.League, a rethink for the Emperor's Cup and other stuff in this streamlined, yet full, 39 minutes. Enjoy!

Stuart - @sushi_football

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

It's another welcome return on this week's pod, as Richy Palmer guests to help us wrap up Sven's terrific Patreon message - the gift that has kept on giving for Sam and Ben in recent weeks!

First we look at J.League Associate Membership - the system by which lower league clubs apply to become J - then give a couple of scenarios if the league were to ever reach it's target of 100 clubs within 100 years.

From there its a check on the eight prefectures that are without a J.League club: Richy assesses them from just about ready to a fair way off - and which areas of the country without a professional club would benefit the most from one.

And we finish with a look at Chris Hough's superb new video - A football adventure across Japan - on his Lost in Football Japan YouTube channel.

Follow Richy on Twitter: @GifuRichy

It seemed a lot of you had things to get off your chest with regards to the J.League, and so Jon Steele & Stuart Smith listened and passed judgement. They disagreed a lot, and that means you won't be happy with some of our responses....but, hey - that's life! 

So, from monochrome kits, to Kazu, to reserved seating, here is the Room 101 response episode. Enjoy! And stay safe, wherever you may be listening.  

Stuart - @sushi_football

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

After we reveal the winner of the 2020 Levain Cup, Sam and Ben are joined by budding novelist Scott McIntyre for a hard-hitting look at the prospects of a mid-June return for the J.League, and an anytime-in-2020 resumption of the ACL.

Look out for Scott's debut novel 'Love In The Time Of Corona' on bookstands at an airport near you when it is safe to resume air travel.

Follow us on twitter:

Scott - @mcintinhos

Sam - @FRsoccerSam

The Pod - @JTalkPod

With the K-League returning this weekend, follow Sam's Football Radar colleague Alex Lee.

Room 101 - from George Orwell's seminal 1984, or Nick Hancock's BBC TV show depending on your level of interest in English literature. 

Stuart & Jon decided to build a J.League themed Room 101 and put our Japanese football pet hates in - although I (Stuart) did go a bit off piste. Still, maybe you agree with us or maybe you think we're being pedantic. As long it provokes discussion I'm all for it. 

So what do you think? What deserves to go in the J.League Room 101? Let us know. 

Thank you to all the Patreons who support the pod. It is great to see such support and we hope you enjoy these episodes amidst all the other bad stuff happening in the world now. 

Stuart - @sushi_football

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Big Pod Ben - @JTalkPod

Big Pod Sam - @FRSoccerSam

Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod