The J-Talk Podcast

Episode 476 - J1 Matchday 22

After the short summer break, J1 was back with a vengeance last weekend, and guest host Jonny Nicol is on hand to run us through all of the key points from a busy (and very hot) Matchday 22 in the Japanese top flight.

In Part 1 (Start to 08:45), Jonny reviews four of the weekend fixtures (Shonan v Hiroshima, Nagoya v Niigata, Kashima v Sapporo, and Cerezo Osaka v FC Tokyo), and reveals his pick for Player of the Round.

Then in Part 2 (08:50 to 18:34), Jonny looks back at four more of the Matchday 22 games (Kawasaki v Gamba Osaka, Kyoto v Kashiwa, Tosu v Fukuoka, and Urawa v Yokohama Marinos). Jonny also hands out a gong for Under-23 Player of the Round (and it's a name that JTET listeners will also be familiar with).

To conclude this week's pod, in Part 3 (18:38 to Finish) Jonny sat down for a chat with Jon Steele (nope, me neither). The boys discussed Yokohama FC's home game against Kobe from the weekend, answered a listener question or two, then worked together to preview the upcoming Matchday 23 slate (all games taking place this coming weekend).

Hope everybody enjoys the show!

JTET - J2 Round 28 / J3 Round 20 Review

Once again, the well-oiled (not in an alcoholic sense) JTET machine has produced a full and frank review of all the latest J2 and J3 action from the Japanese professional football scene.

We begin with a blow-by-blow account of the weekend's J2 action, with Jon Steele and James Taylor teaming up to cover all 11 fixtures from Round 28 (Start to 16:15).

After that, Jon had the chance to talk to Victor Arroyo (@JFootballAnaly1 on Twitter) for a deep dive into the Kanazawa v Omiya match (the weekend's big clash at the bottom of the table) - that's from 16:15 to 44:00.

Victor then helped Jon to look ahead to a busy midweek of Emperor's Cup football - all 8 of the Round 4 ties are being played on Wednesday night, so the boys focused on the 4 games that will see a J2 side come up against a J1 opponent in midweek (44:00 to 49:40).

Not content with that, Jon and Victor also previewed all of the coming weekend's J2 matches (Round 29 of the season) - that discussion is from 49:40 to 57:30.

As ever, Mike 'The Magic' Innes is bringing up the rear - he has all of the latest J3 news, reviews, and previews in the 'J-Talk: Short Corner' segment from 57:30 to Finish.

Enjoy the pod, and all of the Japanese football coming up this week!

JTET - J2 Round 27 / J3 Round 19 Review

A bit later than planned this week (sorry!), a bumper JTET is live just in time for the next round of J2 and J3 fixtures.

In this episode, we start with James Taylor and Jon Steele reviewing all of the weekend J2 action (Start to 15:00).

After that, it's 'Two Jonnies' time as Jon Steele sat down with Jonny Nicol (@BlogGamba on Twitter) to cover a veritable smorgasbord of J.League topics.

The Jonnies started off with some J1 chat, covering last weekend's rescheduled Kobe v Kawasaki fixture and some thoughts on the overall state of the top flight at the summer break (16:40 to 30:00). 

The gents then shared some opinions on the latest round of big club summer friendlies to hit Japan, with ticket prices at the top of the agenda (30:00 to 40:00).

After that, the boys shifted gears to talk J2, starting with a deep dive on Gunma and Iwata after their 1-1 draw on Sunday evening (40:00 to 51:00), then a more open-ended chat on the state of J2 in general with 15 rounds left to play (51:00 to 01:00:00). 

Keeping things moving, Jon and Jonny talked about some of the recent eye-catching J2 transfers that have taken place (01:00:00 to 01:10:00), then previewed the upcoming Round 28 matches (01:10:00 to 01:20:00).

With the Jonnies exhausted, Mike 'The Magic' Innes, took control of the show after that for his regularly-scheduled 'J-Talk: Short Corner' mini-pod (01:20:00 to Finish). Mike has all of the reviews from J3 Round 19, plus a look ahead to the upcoming weekend's Round 20 matches.

Thanks for your patience with the slow upload this week - enjoy the episode!

J-Talk: Extra Time – J2 Round 26 & J3 Round 18

There was yet another action-packed weekend in Japan’s second and third tiers, and the JTET team is here to review it all. In part 1, Jon Steele rounds up 5 games from matchday 26 of J2 (to 12:15), and then James Taylor has the rest of the games in part 2 (to 18:30). After that, Jon gave James the chance to get some Kanazawa issues off his chest as well as talk about Sendai (to 47:25), then the guys discussed some transfer news (to 58:50) before taking a look at the upcoming J2 fixtures (to 1:08:00). Finally, the battles at both ends of the J3 table show no signs of letting up, and Mike Innes is on hand to review matchday 18 and preview the next round of games in J-Talk: Short Corner (to end).

Episode 475 - J1 Matchday 21

With J-Talk Pod founder Ben Maxwell heading to Australia for a well-earned summer break, Sam Robson and Jonny Nicol took charge of this week's episode: a full and frank review of all of the weekend action from J1.

In Part 1 (Start to 41:30), the boys talk about all of the key moments from the games at the top of the table, then move on to the bottom of the standings in Part 2 (41:30 to Finish). 

Sam and Jonny round off with a quick update on podcast scheduling as Japan's top tier takes a 3-week break (to allow for some lucrative friendly matches against touring European clubs). 

Hope everyone enjoys the show!

JTET - Emperor’s Cup Round 3 Review

After a busy midweek of Emperor's Cup action, Jon Steele looks back over the twelve games from Round 3 that featured a J2 participant. 

Jon runs you through four victories for J2 teams against more illustrious opponents from J1, and covers the other eight matches (where J2 teams battled valiantly but were ultimately defeated).

There's also a quick preview of this weekend's J2 action (Round 26 of the season) at the end of the pod!

Hope everyone enjoys - Jon and James Taylor should be back with a full review of the weekend J2 action (plus J3 with Mike Innes in 'J-Talk: Short Corner') next week!

JTET - J2 Round 25 / J3 Round 17 Review

After another exciting weekend of J2 and J3 matches, the JTET boys (OK, men) are back in town to bring you up to speed with all of the major talking points.

To kick things off (sorry), Jon Steele reviews all of the J2 action from a hectic Round 25 slate (Start to 18:30). There's also a preview of the midweek Emperor's Cup ties that have a J2 participant (18:30 to 21:30) - all of those games are being played on Wednesday 12th July.

While Jon adopts the recovery position with the lights off and the air conditioner on, Mike 'The Magic' Innes takes over - he has all the key points from J3 Round 17, plus a look ahead to this weekend's Round 18 fixtures, in 'J-Talk: Short Corner' (21:50 to Finish). Mike also has a quick mention for the two J3 sides who will be in Emperor's Cup action this midweek.

Hope everyone enjoys the show, and the midweek cup football! Let's keep it Big and Basic.

Episode 474 - J1 Matchday 20

A matchday that promised so much left us with most of the big questions unanswered following stalemates in the crunch clashes at either end of the table, but still delivered plenty of cracking goals and talking points for us to chew on.

We begin at the Toyota Stadium for the battle of the (then) top two, with both teams taking the lead but then pegged back, Yokohama F.Marinos maintaining their four point buffer over hosts Nagoya (to 14:20), but seeing their lead over (now) second-placed Kobe reduced to three points after Vissel won at Niigata on Friday night. We then round out the top four with Urawa's goalless draw at home against FC Tokyo (to 33:40), before shifting to the foot of the table and the Battle of the Bottom at Hitachidai, and then rounding up the rest of J1 Matchday 20 (to 1:08:05).

We finish the episode with a look ahead to some of the intriguing battles on Wednesday's Emperor's Cup third round slate, and pick out some games to watch in the weekend's Matchday 21.

JTET - J2 Round 24 Review

After a full slate of midweek J2 games, Jon Steele and James Taylor strap in for a 20-minute roundup of all of the key moments from Round 24 of the second-tier season.

First of all, Jon guides you through six of the Wednesday night matches (including victory at last for bottom side Omiya, and a setback for promotion-chasing Tokyo Verdy).

After that, James covers the rest of the midweek thrills and spills, and also previews the Round 25 games coming up this weekend (all fixtures are on Sunday 9th July).

Hope everyone enjoys the show - thanks for the support for JTET and Big Pod as always!

JTET - J2 Round 23 / J3 Round 16 Review

No time to waste this week! With a full round of J2 fixtures coming up on Wednesday night (5th July), the JTET team has pulled together to bring you a full review of the weekend's action as quickly as possible.

No guest pundit/expert this week due to the quick turnaround, so in Part 1 (Start to 07:15) James Taylor looks back on a pair of J2 games from last midweek, plus half of the weekend slate (including a scare for leaders Machida at home to bottom side Omiya).

In Part 2, Jon Steele (07:15 to 15:00) takes over to run you through the remainder of the weekend J2 games (including a memorable night for Yamagata and Yoshiki Fujimoto in the Michinoku Derby against Sendai), as well previewing all of Wednesday's nights games in Round 24 (from 15:00 to 17:30).

After all that, Mike 'The Magic' Innes takes the reigns for Part 3 - he has all of the latest J3 news in 'J-Talk: Short Corner' (17:30 to Finish). Mike looks back on a fascinating weekend of J3 games in Round 16, and previews the Round 17 matches coming up next weekend into the bargain.

We're planning to put out a bonus mini-pod later this week to round up all of the midweek J2 action, so please stay tuned for that!