Oguro gone to FC Tokyo.....

Nothing more to say really, he was wasting his time in J2, as we at Tokyo Nerdy stated pre-season, "Why score tap ins in J2 when he could be scoring tap ins at the lower end of J1??" Cheers for the goals and let`s hope the only goals he scores at Ajinomoto from now on are in his own net!!

Snow Brown and (Just the one) Lucky Dwarf...Verdy 1 -1 Tokushima

There is a saying that goes "if you throw enough shit at the wall some of it will stick" and I also have a friend who once wrote an obsenity on a pub toilet wall with his own "business" so I know it to be true. As you can see in the picture, the slogan in the picture is not an obsenity (though the action of writing such a thing blatantly is) therefore this is absolutely not the work of my friend, his word had four letters, started with "C" ended with "K" and had another "C" in it plus a vowel so "give me two from the top, three from the middle and any others you fancy Carol"..... well the wall tonight must have been made from some some hellishly non sticky stuff as the shots rained down on both goals but the keepers made a grand total of 3 saves between them and after a quick check on the Official J-League Spod-o-Meter the three saves came from 24 shots. Doi made one in the first half and another in the second and the Tokushima goalie made one save in 90 minutes. Poor game and an even poorer result given the circumstances in which the goal was conceded.
Wouldn`t you just know it??!! What happens when you sing somebodys praises?? They immediately go out and do the exact opposite of the praise you have just given....after some superb recent performances and what looked like another clean sheet in the bag, the "the reinforced, inpenetrable, iron curtain, barbed wire, monstrosity that is Verdy`s defence this season" were undone in a straw reinforced, feather boa curtain, Barbara-ed wire, ugly bird fashion.....all this immediately after Verdy`s Official Lucky Dwarf Kazunori Iio bagged his second of the season courtesy of a looping header in the 80th minute. Not much to talk about for the game today.....crap result considering the manner of the goal conceded, not much of a game. We still can`t score more than one goal and only 2,500 were there to see it. Hell of a lightning storm tonight though, I must have seen more fork lightning on my ten minute bike ride from the station back to mine than I`ve seen in my ENTIRE life!! So, the evening wasn`t entirely wasted!! C`mon The Boys!!!

Goal Number 5 for the year from Top Scoring Verdy Goal Machine, Kazuki "Goal Machine" Hiramoto!! Cheers Mate!! Eat My Goal!!

If you were on the front row you`d squat surely?? Far to open to innuendo from the less mature end of the internet. Of course you`ll find no such comments here.Iio looks very  keen though Hiramoto is just looking gay in the old sense of the word.....

See you on the way down.....Verdy 1 - 0 SC Tochigi

So another 1-0 win, another 3 points and up to 8th place. Top of the Pack of the midtable teams with little to play for. It`s not much of a title to win but we`ll take it. It was a sweaty affair at Green Stadium which at the moment resembles more concrete grey stadium with the refurbishments going on there. Looks like it`ll be a tidy stadium when completed though, with no track and for football only. Well done Tochigi City Office for having the foresight to upgrade without feeling the need to put in a running track. Good work.
A crowd of 5,000 showed up for the first summer night game of the season and had quite an entertaining affair to watch with Verdy coming out of the blocks fast with Kikuoka through 1 on 1 with the keeper after only four minutes unfortunately with an all too predictably weak effort which should have been buried. Verdy were on the front foot for most of the first half with Iio just missing the target from the edge of the box after being put through, though his chance was far more difficult than Kikuoka`s. Hiramoto was largely anonymous for the first half yet it was he who got free down the right immediately after halftime and sent over a pinpoint cross for Kawano to again head weakly at the keeper when completely free. This was the second GOLDEN opportunity to score and yet again they missed. Still the season long problem of finishing is haunting the forwards and it was through a stroke of luck that Hiramoto was to score the winner. In the 72nd minute Iio crashed a shot against the bar from outside the box, Hiramoto followed up and had his shot parried by the keeper, given another bite of the cherry he scuffed his second shot across the face of the goal and in off the Tochigi defender. Following this Tochigi came to life and looked dangerous for the first time in the game, though not dangerous enough to break through the reinforced, inpenetrable, iron curtain, barbed wire, monstrosity that is Verdy`s defence this season. Hats off to the boys at the back, they are doing the business. Yokohama FC got promoted a few years back on the back of not conceding and nicking 1-0`ers. Verdy are highly unlikely to be able to get as far as 3rd place but they`ll certainly be a lot higher than 19th come the last game of the season.

Two Pints o` Lager and a Packet o` Crisps Please!!!

So the second half of the season kicks off this weekend with the Boys lying in 10th position safely above the wooden spooners but unfortunately too far away to be promotion space botherers. First game back and we`re off to SC Tochigi for a run around at their Green Stadium on Sunday evening. SC Tochigi have been the surprise of J2 this season currently flying high and within touching distance of the final promotion spot. They lost their last two before the break so hopefully The Boys can do the business. However, the old problem of scoring goals is still likely to be at the fore without any summer signings to add to the squad. Nevermind though readers we still have another half a season of more than likely meaningless J2 style entertainment to get through but now is the start of the best time of the season.......THE SUMMER NIGHTGAME SEASON!!!!!!!  For those unfamiliar with Japan, in summer it`s as hot and humid as the devils ballbag in summer and the J-Leauge in it`s entirity play league games in the evenings for the whole of July, August and into September. There can be fewer more pleasant ways to spend the evening than at the stadium, cold beer and food of choice in hand, Jesus!! Even watching Tokyo Verdy at this time of year is a pleasure!! Welcome back one and all Tokyo Nerdy 1969 readers!! Here we go again!!!