The J-Talk Podcast

J-Talk: Extra Time - The J3 restart

It has been a while!! Finally, the J3 promotion race is ready to get back into full, crazy swing. Who will finish in the top two? Who are dark horses? Who are the players to watch out for in the second half of the season? 

 

Jon Steele & Stuart Smith guide you through the runners and riders in J3, take a detour through some Fukushima foul-ups, some transfer treasures, and finally take a look ahead to this week's fixtures. 

Enjoy the return of J3. 

Episode 381 - J1 Matchday 25

With Yokohama F.Marinos continuing to whittle away Kawasaki's buffer at the top of J1, this seemed the perfect time to have Stuart Woodward back on the podcast, and he joins us to chat about the 5-0 shellacking of Sendai on Saturday, and what's been going right during their 12 match unbeaten run. We also discuss another frustrating evening for the champions, who were held to a draw at Hiroshima (to 31:40).

Then in Part 2 we run through the other eight games, including key wins for Tosu, Kobe, Nagoya and Urawa in the hunt for third.

JTET - J3 Summer Special (Part 3)

In the third installment of our J3 Summer Specials, Jon and Mike take a closer look at the 'bottom third' of the current J3 league table, and round off the discussion with some existential chat about where Fujieda and Numazu (in particular) find themselves in the grand scheme of things!

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

JTET - J3 Summer Special (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our J3 Summer Special, Jon Steele & Mike Innes run the rule over the teams that are sitting from 6th to 10th in the third-tier standings during the summer break.

*Quick note: The announcement of Fukushima United's 3-point deduction for breaking COVID-19 protocols means that the league table looks a little bit different than when we recorded the pod, but don't worry - the analysis is still achingly, vitally relevant!

Thanks for supporting JTET and Big Pod - look out for Part 3 of our J3 Summer Special online soon!

 

JTET - J2 Round 25 Review

On this week's show, Jon Steele was joined by Jonny Nicol (@BlogGamba on Twitter) to run though all of last weekend's (weather-affected) J2 action!

The boys started by discussing Jonny's incredible impressive recent blog output, some of the more interesting recent transfers, and the big games from the relegation dogfight over the weekend (Part 1).

After that, the rest of the Round 25 games were covered, along with a listener question (Part 2), before some previews of midweek Emperor's Cup games (already played by the time this pod is being posted) and the upcoming J2 games in Round 26 this weekend (Part 3).

Thanks for all the support, and enjoy the show (no intro music this week since Jon forgot to add it - sorry)!

Episode 380 - J1 Matchday 24

The weather wasn't great, but the football definitely was over an extended J1 weekend, and Alan Gibson made a very welcome return to the pod to help us review the Matchday 24 action.

We begin with a quick chat on Kobe, who were off over the weekend after their game in Hiroshima was postponed, and then move on to talk about a big win for Yokohama F.Marinos over Oita that, coupled with Kawasaki's draw at Kashiwa, means we can properly start talking about a Title Race. Kashima are up to 3rd, and their win over Tokushima rounds out Part 1 (to 33:39).

Part 2 includes important wins for Nagoya, Fukuoka and Gamba Osaka amongst others, as we take stock of the league with roughly one-third of the season remaining.

J-Talk: Extra Time - J2 Round 24

Absence makes the heart grow fonder apparently, and Jon Steele & Stuart Smith were both VERY glad to see the return of J2 last Monday - after the Olympic break - and what a dramatic Monday it was. With injury time goals a plenty, outstanding volleys, bad pitches, and more drama than you can shake a stick at, the gents take you through what you need to know from the return of J2 including:

- Kyoto going clear at the top
- Kofu & Jubilo share the spoils
- Crazy ending in Niigata
- Matsumoto shred Akita
- and a look ahead to this weekend's fixtures 

 

As always, thank you for you support - stay safe & enjoy the football coming your way soon!

Episode 379 - J1 Matchday 23

What a weekend in J1! After some Olympic and transfer window housekeeping in Part 1 (to 22:50), we dive in to a terrific top flight matchday beginning with Yokohama FC's stunning win at home over Nagoya, then contrasting results for the top two - F.Marinos stumbling at Shimizu while Kawasaki cruised at Oita - before wrapping up Part 2 with Tosu continuing their dominance over Tokyo, and Kashiwa claiming a huge win at the death over Kobe (to 52:15).

Then in Part 3 we wrap up the other five games, including more late drama at Shonan, and Tokushima claiming a huge three points at home over Gamba Osaka.

JTET: J3 Summer Special (Part 1)

With the third tier in the middle of its summer recess, Jon Steele & Mike Innes got together to review each team's progress over the first half of the J3 season. 

In this episode, the guys take a forensic look at the teams currently occupying the top five positions in the league table (and Jon compares Fukushima United's squad-building with him struggling to carry an armful of laundry up a staircase).

Look out for Part 2 & Part 3 soon!

JTET - J2 Summer Special

After a week or two of downtime, Jon Steele was once again joined by Stuart Smith for a catch-up, 'Summer Special' JTET with a J2 focus. 

In Part 1, the boys discuss the season so far, and the major transfer news from the summer window. 

In Part 2, they look forward to the 'second half' of the second-tier season, and end with a (rather long!) debate about alleged 'power harassment' at Tokyo Verdy.

Hope everyone enjoys the show!