The J-Talk Podcast

Episode 501 - Japan 3-1 Bahrain

The Samurai Blue secured their spot in the quarter finals of the Asian Cup for a ninth straight time with a 3-1 win over Bahrain on Wednesday night, and in this episode we run through the major talking points from the game.

Episode 500(!) - J1 Season Previews Part 1B: Kobe, Kyoto & Hiroshima

We weren't planning on it (but should've known, knowing us!), but our lengthy recording session on Monday meant that our previews stretched over two episodes, and so we proudly present Episode 500 of J-Talk!

Once again Alan Gibson was our guest (though Ben forgot to properly introduce him at the start of the pod) as we preview defending J1 Champions Kobe (to 27:35): What can they do for an encore?; Kyoto (to 49:15): How high can they climb under Cho Kwi Jae?; and Hiroshima: Will Michael Skibbe deliver success in their new stadium?

Thanks to all who have contributed over the years, and to our listeners near and far.

Episode 499 - J1 Season Previews Part 1A: Osaka

Its officially happy new season time as we kick off our J1 Season Previews! Alan Gibson, live and direct from Bangkok, joined us to chat about the first five clubs off the rank, but as our recording stretched over two hours we decided to separate into two episodes, so on this podcast we preview both Osaka clubs - Cerezo and Gamba.

Both finished 2023 in a funk, so what have they done in the offseason to turn things around? How much pressure is on both managers, and who are their players to watch in 2024? Those questions and more are answered here.

J-Talk: Extra Time – Zweigen Kanazawa Season Review

aka “Misery Loves Company”

 

Zweigen Kanazawa supporters James Taylor and Victor Arroyo joined forces for a full and frank post mortem of their team’s terrible season, which ended in relegation to J3. The wide-ranging discussion takes in all aspects of the club (on and off the pitch) before finishing on a slightly more positive note ahead of the 2024 season.

 

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the 2023 JTET season reviews, to Patreon subscribers for their continued financial support of J-Talk, and to everyone for listening. Jon and James will be back for season previews soon!

Episode 498 - Japan 3-1 Indonesia

The Samurai Blue sealed their spot in the Round of 16 of the Asian Cup with a comfortable victory over Indonesia on Wednesday night, with manager Hajime Moriyasu now faced with several selection dilemmas ahead of their next game against Bahrain after his raft of changes for this one paid off.

We run through the game's major talking points, before attempting the fruitless exercise of trying to get inside Moriyasu's head and work out which XI he'll take into the Bahrain game.

JTET - J2 Season Review 2023 (Part 3)

After a longer-than-expected break (sorry!), the JTET team are back to round off their in-depth review of the 2023 J2 season.

To start things off in Part 3, James Taylor and Jon Steele take a look at Tokushima Vortis (01:20 to 06:00), Vegalta Sendai (06:00 to 12:20), and Mito Hollyhock (12:20 to 17:30).

After that, special guest Leslie Mabon (@ljmabon on Twitter) shares his thoughts on Iwaki FC's superb debut season in the second tier (18:00 to 34:00).

James and Jon then return to cast their forensic gaze over Tochigi SC (34:00 to 40:00), Renofa  Yamaguchi (40:00 to 48:20), and (gulp) Zweigen Kanazawa (48:20 to 57:00).

If that wasn't enough, there was only one place we could end the 2023 season review, and it's with Omiya Ardija. Jon sat down with Squirrels supporters Steve Fryer (@ardija01talk on Twitter) to run through a bitterly disappointing year for the orange side of Saitama (57:00 to Finish).

Sorry for the long wait, and we hope everyone enjoys the pod - look out for our 2024 season preview content coming soon!

*For reference, these are the questions that we asked Leslie and Steve to think about for their contribution to the pod:

1) What grade would you give to your team’s 2023 season, and why? (A, B, C, D, E)

2) What was the high point of the season?

3) What was the low point of the season?

4) Who was the most important player for your team this season (you can pick the manager, if he was the most important)?

5) What was the biggest surprise of the season for you (from your team, or any other team in the division)?

Episode 497 - Iraq 2-1 Japan

Japan suffered a disappointing defeat to Iraq in their second group stage game at the Asian Cup, and Ryo Nakagawara joined Jonny and Ben to discuss the frustrating performance.

If you're not already, please follow Ryo on Twitter/X, and subscribe to his newsletter.

Episode 496 - Japan 4-2 Vietnam

Japan's Asian Cup campaign got off to a shaky, but ultimately successful start on Sunday night, and in this episode we run through it all, from a slightly surprising selection decision from the manager Hajime Moriyasu, through that eventful first half in which the Samurai Blue took the lead, lost it, but then got themselves back on top before the break.

We move on to discuss the impacts made by the substitutes and whether that might lead to changes for the next game against Iraq, and praise two-goal hero Takumi Minamino (to 46:00).

We then wrap up the episode with bouquets for newly retired Samurai Blue legend Yasuhito Endo, and chat about some of the new J1 kits that have caught our eye as top flight teams ramp up their preseason preparations.

JTET - J2 Season Review 2023 (Part 2)

After a few days off for the New Year holidays, JTET is back with the second episode of our club-by-club J2 season review for 2023.

This time, Jon Steele and James Taylor kick off (sorry) by discussing Ventforet Kofu (Start to 07:10), Oita Trinita (07:10 to 14:10), and Fagiano Okayama (14:10 to 20:50).

After that, we welcomed a pair of guest correspondents to the show: firstly, Martin Spivey (@bantam84 on Twitter) gave us his thoughts on Blaublitz Akita's 2023 campaign (21:20 to 29:50), and then Garry Irwin (@GarryIrwin on Twitter) looks back on Roasso Kumamoto's season (29:50 to 35:30).

To round off this installment, Jon and James returned to share their opinions on Thespa Kusatsu Gunma (35:50 to 44:00) and Fujieda MYFC (44:00 to Finish).

Thank you for all your support for JTET, and Big Pod - look out for Part 3 of our J2 season review next week!

*These are the season review questions that we asked Martin and Garry to answer on the pod:

1) What grade would you give to your team’s 2023 season, and why? (A, B, C, D, E)

2) What was the high point of the season?

3) What was the low point of the season?

4) Who was the most important player for your team this season (you can pick the manager, if he was the most important)?

5) What was the biggest surprise of the season for you (from your team, or any other team in the division)?

Episode 495 - Asian Cup & Autumn/Spring with Dan Orlowitz

Happy new year one and all. On our first episode of 2024, Dan Orlowitz guests to chat about Japan's Asian Cup squad, and the J.League's decision to switch to an autumn to spring calendar from the 2026/27 season.

As mentioned on the podcast, here are some links if you'd like to donate to the earthquake relief efforts:

Association for Aid and Relief, Japan - https://aarjapan.gr.jp/en/blog/365/

The Nippon Foundation - https://kifu.www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/dras/?lang=en

Yahoo! Japan official donation page - https://donation.yahoo.co.jp/detail/1630064