The J-Talk Podcast

On this ripping new episode Sean Galbraith and Steve Fryer guest to review Saturday's Levain Cup Final, then Stuart Smith and Charlie Houghton chat all things J2.

In Part 1 Sean and Steve, who were at opposite ends of Saitama Stadium for Saturday's showpiece, discuss Shonan's impressive performance that saw them lift the league cup for the first time over an under-par Yokohama (to 22:10). We then chat about the run-ins for the two clubs, with both still involved in the #RelegationDogfight (to 37:35), before finishing with Kashima's incredible performance to make it through to their first ACL Final, the first leg of which they will host this Saturday against Persepolis from Iran (to 45:45).

Then in Part 2 Charlie (on debut) and Stuart review the key results from Sunday's J2 Matchday 39, that again saw a lot of movement in and around the top seven (to 1:19:35), before we assess the run-ins for the promotion and playoff contenders (to 1:28:50). We then switch our attention to the foot of the table, where Kyoto and FC Gifu took huge steps to survival with key wins on Sunday, while we also chat about the promotion playoffs format (to 1:46:35), and finish with a check on J3.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Sean - @1amSage

Steve - @ardija01talk

Stuart - @sushi_football

Charlie - @FRsoccerCharlie

And via their twitter account, check out the Gol Bezan podcast's terrific preview of the ACL Final.

On this week's episode of J-Talk Dan Orlowitz guests to round up all of the results from J1 Matchday 30, while there are also special appearances from our Kawasaki correspondent Neil Debnam, and our Grampus guy Adrian Serna, after huge wins for their respective teams over the weekend.

In Part 1 Neil joins us to talk about the thrilling spectacle that was Frontale's 5-3 home win over an increasingly desperate Kobe side on Saturday night that, coupled with Hiroshima's latest implosion, away at Shimizu, sees Kawasaki four points clear with four to play (to 30:05).

Then Dan and I cover wins for both Osaka clubs, and Urawa over Kashima (to 37:15), before Adrian joins us to chat about sitting in 'the yellow sea' (amongst the Kashiwa fans) and Nagoya's crunch 1-0 win at Reysol last Friday night, as well as his confidence that Grampus will still be in J1 in 2019. We also discuss Tosu, and their prospects now that Massimo Ficcadenti has been shown the door and Fernando Torres is back amongst the goals, while Adrian has concerns that the managerial merry-go-round at Kobe could doom them to finish in the bottom three (to 56:20).

From there Dan and I wrap up the other two games from the matchday (to 1:02:45), and look ahead to Saturday's Levain Cup final, Kashima's ACL semi final 2nd leg vs Suwon and the Emperor's Cup quarter finals, before finishing on a high by discussing Japan's terrific 4-3 win over Uruguay last week.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Dan - @aishiterutokyo

Dan's archive at The Japan Times

Neil - @frontalerabbit

Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog

Adrian - @758adrian

K League United's ACL Writer's Chat - includes podcast at bottom of article

It's that time of the month again, when Stuart Smith and Jon Steele return for the latest of our J2 Specials.

We begin with the three all-top half clashes from the weekend's Matchday 37, and then run down the recent form and automatic promotion and playoff prospects for the current top seven. From 59:45 Stuart and Jon give their predictions for both races, and we bring you all you need to know on the implications of Machida (ineligible for promotion) finishing in the top two or top six. Part 1 runs to 1:07:20.

We then move on to a fruitful weekend for most of the bottom four, and their recent form, and from 1:24:50 Jon and Stuart give their predictions for the bottom two, with Part 2 running to 1:28:20.

From there its a check on J3 and FC Ryukyu's romp to the title, and also touch on how Numazu finishing in the top two of the third tier would affect relegation from J2 (to 1:33:55), then we finish with a look at the Levain Cup semi final results, and Japan's win over Panama last Friday night.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Stuart - @sushi_football

Stuart's We Are Gifu blog

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Neil Debnam and Alan Gibson guest this week to round up of all the action from J1 Matchday 29, as the season enters the stretch run (but now has to take a two weeks off due to the international break).

We begin with the leaders Kawasaki and their hard-fought draw away at Kashima on Sunday, with a chat about J.League refereeing thrown in at no extra charge, while we also round up the thrilling first leg of the ACL semi final last Wednesday that saw Antlers fight back from two goals down to take a slender lead to Suwon for the return leg (to 20:50). We then turn our attention to Hiroshima, whose season appears to be crumbling under their feet after a stunning home battering at the hands of lowly Kashiwa (to 27:50).

Wins for FC Tokyo (yes, really!) and Yokohama are then discussed, followed by the draw between Sendai and Urawa (to 42:25), before we turn our attention to the two big #RelegationDogfight six-pointers from the matchday, with a focus on strugglers Tosu and Kobe (to 52:50).

Then its derby time, with Gamba triumphing in the Osaka edition, and Shimizu caning their Shizuoka rivals Iwata, before we crystal ball how the relegation picture will pan out (to 1:07:40), and finish with a quick chat on the Japan squad for their friendlies against Panama and Uruguay.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Alan - @JSoccerMagazine

JSoccer.com

Neil - @frontalerabbit

Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog

Scott McIntyre and Scott Whitelock guest on this very special episode of J-Talk to round up the weekend's J1 Matchday 28, and look ahead to the first leg of Kashima's ACL semi final against Suwon of South Korea.

In Part 1 Scott McIntyre and I discuss Kawasaki taking over at the top flight summit after their win at Nagasaki, which followed another slip up by incumbents Hiroshima, this time away at Gamba Osaka. We also discuss the run-in for the top two, and the outlooks for both Gamba and Nagasaki, who were the bottom two when the matchday began (to 25:20). We then move on to Kashima's big day out at Kobe, and the deepening sense of crisis both on the pitch and in the dugout at Vissel (to 35:40).

Then Scott Whitelock, the Suwon correspondent for K League United, joins us to chat about the Bluewings' road to the ACL semis, their recent K League 1 form, and key players that Antlers will have to be wary of over the two legs. Plus, Scott tackles the age-old question: Does the ACL really mean more to Korean teams than it does to their J.League counterparts? (to 1:14:35)

Finally, in Part 3 Scott McIntyre and I finish our wrap of the typhoon-affected J1 matchday, and look ahead to how the top flight #RelegationDogfight may play out.

#AUDIO ISSUES# At times it does appear that Scott (McIntyre) might have been in the general vicinity of a helicopter, but I have it on good authority that might have had more to do with static on our Skype connection, which also got a bit tired towards the end, so it appears I cut him off a few times - as tempting as that can be, I'm pleading innocent and blaming it on Skype.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Scott McIntyre - @mcintinhos

Scott Whitelock - @ScottySSBFC

K League United - On twitter

K League United - The website

In this bumper episode of J-Talk, Sam Robson guests to fill us in on all the goings-on in J1 Matchday 27, and then Chris Hough and Tobias Dreimann share their experiences of watching the J.League in our Groundhopping Special.

Sam and I begin with what is now shaping as a proper title race in the top flight, after Kawasaki continued to ramp up the pressure on leaders Hiroshima with another key victory against an in-form side (Nagoya), while Sanfrecce dropped points for the second straight week. We then look down the table, with half the league either in serious relegation strife or looking over their shoulders with seven games remaining (to 51:55).

Then Tobias returns, and Chris makes his J-Talk debut, to discuss their J.League watching experiences, Tobias having made several trips to Japan and working in a number of games on his travels, and Chris getting to almost 20 different grounds this year having made his J.League-watching bow on a cold Wednesday night up in Sendai in March. The guys share not only their favourite places to go, but also the nuts and bolts of planning a trip from scratch, right down to the nitty-gritty of buying tickets and finding places to stay. Hopefully, if you are thinking of taking the plunge and getting to a J.League stadium, advice from Chris and Tobias will come in handy.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Sam - @FRSoccerSam

Chris - @LifJapan

Lost in Football Japan

Tobias - @condrei

Transfermarkt.com Japan

J.League Germany @jleagueDE

Sean Carroll and Dan Orlowitz guest to round up the goal fest that was J1 Matchday 26.

We begin at Todoroki, where Dan watched Kawasaki batter Sapporo 7-0 - could this be a launching pad for another late-season title push for Frontale (to 13:00)? The stumble by leaders Hiroshima at Tosu might just have reignited the title race (to 19:45), then we move on to the 'race' for 3rd, with FC Tokyo remaining there by default despite a sixth straight game without a win (to 27:30).

We move on to Kashima's chances of making a first ever ACL semi final 'away' at Tianjin on Tuesday night (to 31:50), then after Dan hops on a train and off the pod, Sean and I discuss yet more frustration for Ange Postecoglou and his Yokohama side against Urawa on Sunday night, before moving on to Nagasaki's shock win over Nagoya, and the rest of the #RelegationDogfight picture, before looking ahead to the J1 Matchday 27 fixtures (to 55:25). We finish with a brief review of Japan's 3-0 win over Costa Rica last week, a performance lit up by Shoya Nakajima.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Dan - @aishiterutokyo

Sean - @seankyaroru

Sean's Sakka Nihon website

Stuart Smith and Jon Steele return to the pod for our latest J2 Special, with just under a quarter of the second tier season remaining.

We begin with a check of where the playoff contending and relegation battling 'lines' are, before looking at the situation at the bottom of the table, where FC Gifu have sunk like a stone on the back of nine straight defeats. Stuart searches for answers and speculates on the future of manager Takeshi Oki - how long can he hang on? (to 16:20). We then move on to the other battlers (to 21:20), before a long overdue check on J3 and the implications of awarding J2 (& J1) licences for the following year's campaign so late in the season (to 30:45).

We then move to the top of the table and current pacesetters Machida and Matsumoto, review the playoff prospects for teams currently in the top six, and discuss whether those on the outside looking in - Omiya & Tokushima - can unseat one or more of them.

We finish with a quick check of the Levain Cup quarter final results, and look ahead to Japan v Costa Rica on Tuesday night.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Jon - @J2KantoBites

Stuart - @sushi_football

Stuart's We Are Gifu blog

Adrian Serna and Neil Debnam return to the podcast to offer very different perspectives on J1 Matchday 25.

In Part 1 Nagoya correspondent Adrian revels in Grampus's remarkable (my word of the week) transformation that has seen them rise from the foot of the table to 11th after seven straight wins, the latest of which was a 6-1 away pasting of Iwata on Saturday night. We discuss how Nagoya's five big summer transfer window additions have helped turn things around, Jo's remarkable (there's that word again) purple patch, and the progress of Adrian's crowdfunding campaign to get a tattoo of Grampus manager Yahiro Kazama's face on one of his butt cheeks (to 21:45). We then finish off Part 1 with a check on the Matchday 25 results for other teams in the bottom half of the table (to 30:30).

Then in Part 2 Kawasaki correspondent Neil is in a slightly more somber mood after Frontale wasted their chance to keep a semblance of pressure on leaders Hiroshima by losing 2-0 away at second from bottom Gamba Osaka on Saturday. We analyze Frontale's failure to build momentum throughout the season, and particularly since the league resumed after the World Cup, and wonder whether the team has returned to its previous flaky ways (to 45:30). We then wrap up the episode with a check on the remaining results from the matchday, and touch on Hajime Moriyasu's first Japan squad, with the Samurai Blue set to face Chile and Costa Rica in the next week.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Adrian - @758adrian

Neil - @frontalerabbit

Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog

After another bumper weekend of J1 action, Dan Orlowitz and first time guest Lionel Piguet guest on this week’s podcast to wrap it all up.

We begin at the Noevir Stadium in Kobe, where Takefusa Kubo upstaged Andres Iniesta and Lukas Podolski by scoring Yokohama’s opener in their 2-0 away win, then move on to the Best Amenity Stadium, where things went appreciably better for Iniesta’s fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres, who netted his first league goal for Tosu in their 3-0 home win over struggling Gamba Osaka.

Lionel then has to leave us (at 29:35), so Dan and I wrap up the rest of Sunday’s action (to 38:30), before we turn our attention to vital 1-0 wins for both of the top two on Saturday, then cover the other games and look ahead to this weekend’s Matchday 25 (to 55:40).

At the end of the podcast I ask Dan to fill us in on his initial impressions of his new job at The Japan Times.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Dan - @aishiterutokyo

Lionel - @lionelpiguet