J-Talk: Extra Time - Orange Alert

Episode 323 - J1 Matchday 2

J1 made its long awaited return on Saturday, and Sean Carroll joined Sam and Ben for a full review of J1 Matchday 2.

We begin with the Osaka derby and Hiroshima making it a dirty day for Kobe, before heading to Kanto and wins for Kawasaki and FC Tokyo ahead of Wednesday's Tamagawa Classico (to 43:20). Then a Musashi Suzuki (and Chanathip) inspired victory for Sapporo, the goalless draw at Saitama Stadium, Nagoya and Sendai winning on the road, and Oita ruling Kyushu.

To support the podcast on Patreon, please visit patreon.com/jtalkpod.

J-Talk: Extra Time - WE ARE BACK!!

Episode 322 - J1 Is Back!

The wait is over... It's baaaaack!

Alan Gibson and Scott McIntyre join Sam and Ben for a full preview of the J1 Matchday 2 slate.

In Part 1 (to 46:26) Alan shares his thoughts on the Osaka Derby, Hiroshima's visit to Kobe, Shimizu hosting Jo-less Nagoya, and Oita entertaining Tosu (though whether the game will be entertaining is up for debate) in the Kyushu Derby.

Then Scott joins us as we look ahead to Yokohama F.Marinos' trip to Urawa, Kawasaki and Kashiwa at home to Kashima and FC Tokyo respectively in tasty looking ties, Shonan hosting Sendai and Sapporo visiting Yokohama FC.

To support the podcast on Patreon, please visit patreon.com/jtalkpod.

J-Talk: Extra Time - Back with a (silent) Bang!

What's that? There's football this weekend in Japan? Well, thank Christ for that! 

Stuart Smith & Jon Steele take you through the storylines that permeate the restart of J2, and the start of J3. They include:

- A big time manager head to head
- An already crucial clash in Kyoto
- The Tokyo Classic
- An "elevator game" in Kanazawa
- And why Imabari FC are the most important team in Japan this year....

As ever, thanks for your support & feedback, we really appreciate it. If you have anything you want to say to us, drop us a Tweet. 

But in the meantime, please enjoy this episode! And, as always, thank you for your support.

• Stuart - @sushi_football
• Jon - @J2KantoBites
• Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

Episode 321 - J.League Ultimate XIs Draft

#Originally posted as a Patreon-exclusive podcast at the end of April#

Part history lesson, part thought experiment, all round fascinating listen.

Cesare Polenghi and Alan Gibson guest to draft their all-time J.League XIs, and you'll love being a fly on the wall for it.

The Patreon posts with Gibson FC and AC Polenghi laid out in formation and with career and honours information are now out from behind the paywall, so after you've listened please check them out, and a Twitter poll (pinned tweet @JTalkPod) will follow in which we want you to choose which team would win a one-off game between them, but for now, sit back, relax and enjoy.

For access to other exclusive podcasts and posts, please consider supporting the podcast for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/jtalkpod.

J-Talk: Extra Time - Show me the (J3) Money!!!

Episode 320 - Fixtures, Anyone?

J-Talk: Extra Time - News Dump

Governments prefer to do this on Friday afternoons when people are either in the pub or completely disconnected from important stuff. We, however, want our listeners to be informed as much as possible. That's why we've crammed a lot of recent events into this week's episode. Jon and I (Stuart) talk: 

- The latest Covid-19 update
- J2 opening fixtures released
- FC Tokyo U23 out of J3
- Kyoto Sanga fine for Nazi-themed flag
- No banners in empty stadia, but cardboard cut-outs ok? 

Programming note - the J3 finance special (that is 'special' used in the very loosest of terms....) is coming at you next week. We thought you needed a break from the financial stuff after last week.

But in the meantime, please enjoy this episode! And, as always, thank you for your support.

• Stuart - @sushi_football
• Jon - @J2KantoBites
• Patreon - https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

Episode 319 - Its A Marathon And A Sprint

After Sam and Ben begin the episode with a smidgen of K League chat, and housekeeping following announcements last week from both the J.League and AFC (to 15:08), they welcome back frequent guest Alex Bishop - one half of the FC Tokyo Kai-Guys from twitter - for a chat on FC Tokyo winding up their Under 23 team before the start of the new J3 season (to 42:10). The guys then move on to discuss how Tokyo (and other teams) might handle such a gruelling set of upcoming fixtures - with The Gasmen potentially playing between 45 and 50 games in less than six months - ahead of the release of the J.League fixture list next Monday.