The J-Talk Podcast

Episode 489 - Avispa Buzzing After First Trophy Triumph

Fukuoka broke the longest major trophy drought in J.League history at the National Stadium on Saturday, and Daniel Hawkins guests to revel in Avispa's 2-1 victory over Urawa in the Levain Cup final.

After praising heroes Kazuya Konno, Hiroyuki Mae and Daiki Miya, among others, we chat about what this success means for the club going forward, and how it shapes expectations for coming campaigns.

Finally, we wrap up the episode with a look ahead to the crunch clashes at both ends of the table in the weekend's J1 Matchday 32.

J-Talk: Extra Time – J2 Round 40 & J3 Round 33

The JTET team is back in action with a full review of J2 and J3. In part 1, James Taylor rounds up Saturday’s J2 matchday 40 games (start to 06:45), then in part 2 Jon Steele talks you through Sunday’s games (06:45 to 16:35). Part 3 is analysis of the two games with implications for automatic promotion, Shimizu v Kumamoto and Iwata v Tokyo Verdy, and a preview of the coming weekend’s fixtures (16:35 to 43:55). Finally, Mike Innes is on hand with the latest from J3 in J-Talk: Short Corner (43:55 to end).

Episode 488 - J1 Matchday 31

Kobe slipped on a Bellmare banana skin on Saturday afternoon in J1 Matchday 31, and the top flight title race has new life after Yokohama F.Marinos moved to within two points of Vissel after a big win away at Fukuoka (to 28:15).

The relegation dogfight is still a battle in three after Kashiwa threw away two points at home against ten man Kawasaki (to 43:10).

JTET - J2 Round 39 / J3 Round 32 Review

A bit later than planned this week (apologies!), the JTET crew are back and banging with a full roundup of all the latest action from J2 and J3.

In Part 1, Jon Steele rounds up half of last weekend's J2 fixtures (Start to 12:35), then hands over to James Taylor for a review of the rest of the second-tier games (12:40 to 19:00) - James also mentions Kofu's disappointing ACL trip to China in midweek.

After that, you'll hear Jon and James chatting in depth about some of the big J2 talking points from Round 39, with a focus on those crazy 3-2 matches in Tokyo and Fujieda (19:00 to 43:40). The boys (alright, middle-aged men) then preview all of the Round 40 matches coming up this weekend (43:40 to 54:25).

Bringing up the rear is Mike 'The Magic' Innes - as always, he has all of the J3 news that you need to know in 'J-Talk: Short Corner' (54:30 to Finish).

Hope everyone enjoys the show, and the weekend football!

Episode 487 - J1 Matchday 30

After a big weekend of action at both ends of the top flight table, Sean Carroll joined Jonny and Ben to round it all up.

We begin at the National Stadium, where table toppers Kobe passed another huge test on their way to a maiden J1 title when they comfortably saw off Kashima on Saturday (to 30:50), while Yokohama F.Marinos stayed four points adrift with a home win over Sapporo (to 45:50).

Next we link the top three to the relegation dogfight by chatting about Urawa's home win over Kashiwa on Friday night, then move on to massive wins for Reysol's fellow dogfighters Yokohama FC and Shonan (to 1:08:10), before rounding up the other four games and looking ahead to the ACL in midweek and next weekend's J1 Matchday 31.

JTET - J2 Round-Up / J3 Round 31 Review

JTET is back with a streamlined episode this week, thanks to the relatively light slate of J2 games last weekend!

In Part 1 of this week's show (Start to 09:50), Jon Steele review the pair of rearranged J2 fixtures that took place last Saturday (Akita v Machida, plus Fujieda v Gunma), and looks ahead to a very intriguing Round 39 slate coming up on Saturday and Sunday.

Then in Part 2 (09:55 to Finish), normal service is well and truly resumed as Mike 'The Magic' Innes takes you on a J3 journey in 'J-Talk: Short Corner'. Mike has a full review of last weekend's Round 31 games from the third tier, plus a look ahead to the upcoming Round 32 card.

Hope everyone enjoys the episode - thanks for all the support, as always!

Episode 486 - Moriyasu’s (Asian) Cup Runneth Over

Jonny and Ben chat about Japan's win over Tunisia on Tuesday night, and the battle for places in the Asian Cup squad (to 21:15), then move on to a brief review of the Levain Cup semi finals (to 33:00) before finishing with a look ahead to J1 Matchday 30 and the top flight run-in at both ends of the table.

JTET - J2 Round 38 / J3 Round 30 Review

Ready for the weekend, another all-new JTET episode is ready for launch!

To get things underway this week, Jon Steele and James Taylor look back at a busy weekend of J2 matches in Round 38 (Start to 14:30) - Jon also reports on Kumamoto's big day out at Kashiwa in their Emperor's Cup Semi-Final last Sunday.

In the 'J2 Chat' segment (14:30 to 51:00), Jon and James got together to discuss some of the main talking points from the weekend action. 

The gents talked in detail about Shimizu v Iwata (14:30 to 22:45), and followed that up by sharing their thoughts on Omiya v Yamaguchi (22:45 to 31:50), before doing their best to make sense of Iwaki's 2-2 draw at home to Sendai (31:50 to 43:00). 

The boys then rounded off their chat by previewing this weekend's J2 action, a sparse selection with only a pair of rearranged games on the slate for Saturday (43:00 to 51:00).

Bringing up the rear as ever, Mike 'The Magic' Innes then takes over for another installment of 'J-Talk: Short Corner', bringing you all the news and previews from J3 in fine style (51:00 to Finish).

Thanks, as always, for supporting the pod - enjoy the show!

Episode 485 - Weekly Round-Up

With the international break in full swing, Jonny and Ben got together to review Sunday's Emperor's Cup semi finals (to 21:00) and the ACL action from last midweek (to 35:10), before looking ahead to the Levain Cup semis (to 42:10) and the upcoming Japan national team friendlies.

JTET - J2 Round 37 / J3 Round 29 Review

Once again, the good ship JTET sets sail with a full review of the latest J2 and J3 action.

To start things off this week, Jon Steele and James Taylor team up to run through all of the J2 action from Round 37 (Start to 15:20) - James also includes a quick report on Kofu's big ACL home debut against Buriram United in Tokyo from Wednesday night.

After that, Jon sat down with Sean Carroll for some serious J2 discussion. The boys (alright, technically men) began with a review of Kofu's big night at the National Stadium, since Sean was there (15:30 to 36:00)!

Also under the microscope in this segment are in-form JEF Chiba, who find themselves right in the thick of the Play-Off push (36:00 to 58:30) - can they finally return to J1 after their prolonged absence?

Sean also helped Jon to preview the upcoming Round 38 fixtures, as well as giving his thoughts on Kumamoto's big Emperor's Cup Semi-Final tie against Kashiwa this Sunday (58:30 to 01:22:15).

To finish things off in style, Mike 'The Magic' Innes has all of the J2 latest for you in 'J-Talk: Short Corner' (01:22:20 to Finish).

Hope everyone enjoys the show!