Roar Rookie

Ken Matsushima

Roar Rookie

2,440 Article Reads
6 Articles Written
5 Comments Written

About

Member Since:: March 2012
Based In:: Japan
Favourite Sports:: Football,

Latest Articles

Showing articles 1 - 6 of 6 |

J.League Wrap: Week 7

24 Apr 2012

Australian football fans have had enough controversy for one week, after their grand final was decided on a questionable penalty kick call. So I won’t bore you this week with a lot of gripes about officiating.

J.League wrap: Week six

17 Apr 2012

Two teams that have featured prominently in Australian football fans’ budding impressions of the J.League – Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers – entered the week in a very unfamiliar position: the very bottom of the league table. Kashima sat dead last on Saturday morning.

J.League wrap: week five

10 Apr 2012

Though the season is just getting under way, and some of the early leaders may fall off the pace in time, it was nevertheless intriguing to watch 2012′s last two unbeaten J-League teams come face-to-face on Saturday.

Home-grown football could be Japan's path to World Cup glory

4 Apr 2012

Last week, Gamba Osaka made headlines with their decision to fire coach Jose Serrao just three weeks into a new season.

J.League wrap: week four

3 Apr 2012

Most of the focus in the mainstream press this week was on Vegalta Sendai, which remains the only team with a perfect record. They defeated Cerezo Osaka 2-1, and looked convincing doing it.

J.League weekly wrap: round three

29 Mar 2012

The topsy-turvy J1 season may be only three weeks old, but already it is clear that the pecking order has changed. Traditional powers are still seeking their first wins and teams with a history of mid-table anonymity are sitting on top of the heap.

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Ken Matsushima has written a total of 5 comments

J.League Wrap: Week 7

Everyone knows that only tough guys wear pink (^c,^)

24 Apr 2012

J.League wrap: week five

It is a conscious decision to clean house, and one that shows how forward-thinking the club is. I remember in 2002 or 03, when the first period of glory was ending, the team cut all its former NT players at once - Akita, Soma, Narahashi, Hasegawa, Takakuwa - and started playing a bunch of rookies and 2nd-4th year players who nobody really knew, with names like Ogasawara, Motoyama, Nakata, Yanagisawa and Nozawa. It was a tough year and a lot of people thought the team was crazy to make such drastic changes all at once. But I think history shows that it was a wise strategy. People who werent around in 2002 may wonder why the team is depending on guys who nobody has ever heard of, like Osako, Endo, Shibasaki, Doi, Shoji, Yamamura, Nishi and Umebachi are playing regularly while veterans like Nakata and Motoyama are on the bench. The answer is that the Antlers actually have guys in the front office and the coaching staff who think a year or even two years ahead, rather than making all their decisions on the basis of what it takes to win the match this weekend. Among that list of names that nobody has heard of, I guarantee that at least three (and probably more) will be NT players by the time they are 25. The Antlers will get back on track eventually. Its a question of when, rather than if. Unfortunately I dont know if you can say the same abut Gamba. As for the fans, its true that some people are panicking, but those are the ones who dont really understand the Antlers' history and reasons for success. The true "Ibaraki faithful" knew what to expect before the season even began. The people who freak out due to five weeks of struggle dont really deserve to be described as "Ibaraki FAITHFUL". NB: Kashima has a perfect 2-0 record in the Nabisco Cup, which is when most teams play younger personnel. I would not be at all surprised to see them end the year in the bottom half of the table, but add to their silverware collection with another Nabisco Cup title.

10 Apr 2012

J.League wrap: week five

We discussed Gamba's woes last week. Although it is a bit surprising, when you consider that the team's two veteran midfielders - Yasuhito Endo and Tomokazu Myojn - are having the worst season of their respective careers, it isnt hard to see where the problem lies for Gamba. For the Antlers though, it is a very different story. They have completely rebuilt the team in just five weeks. Only three players who were regulars last year started this week (one being the keeper, Hitoshi Sogahata). The truth is that the longer they go without a win, the more justification it gives Jorginho to push even more of the veterans out. This week the starting lineup include three true rookies (Kazuya Yamamura, Takahide Umebachi and Shoma Doi) and two players who had never started prior to this year came on as subs. When you look at all the changes it is a bit less surprising that they have struggled, though I dont think anyone expected it to take quite this long to get a win.

10 Apr 2012

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