Captain Nerdy No.1

It is with great pleasure (and not a little consideration) that we are proud to introduce the first Captain Nerdy for 2010!! A man who (seemingly has to) single handedly guard the fortunes of Verdy , ward off evil and lop out his salty, weather beaten "old chap" to piss in FC Tokyo`s chips come rain or shine. A big round of applause for Captain Bird`s Eye Ladies and Gentlemen!! As a proud sailor of the seven seas throughout 1970`s and 80s; Captain Birds Eye scoured the oceans of the world for THE juiciest fish eyes and arseholes to (barely unless you ate the whole box) fill the stomachs of the UK`s children/student population with his Crispy Crumb Fish Fingers. A legend beffiting a place at the head of the  (Only The Best for the Cap`ns) Tokyo Nerdy Table!!!   Welcome aboard Cap`n!!

Kashiwa Reysol

....often batter Tokyo Verdy and why should this game be any different? No reason at all, going by pre-season and the opening two games. Unfortunately, our attack is currently as threatening as Julian Clary armed with a bejewelled temperance spoon. I haven`t seen Reysol this season but will assume they have 11 players with 22 legs between them and their bus driver knows the way to Ajinomoto. In that case we are knackered.....or are we??
No we bloody aren`t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The source of many teams inspiration is the leader on the field. Think Moore, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Robson, Souness, Keane, Viera. Some captains are simply fantastic at football others unbelievable at aggro. As Seitaro Tomisawa is our "leader" on the field.... Tokyo Nerdy is proud to introduce another Captain who will watch over the good ship Green until Seitaro Tomisawa retires, is sold (surely you jest??!!....lol!!) or gets knocked out by a passing 4th grader...

Kashiwa Reysol Preview and New Captain Nerdy!!!

.....to come tomorrow!! Meanwhile Reysol`s folically flambouyant striker Franca has lost his headband, applecatchers and contact lenses all at the same time. Which will he find first?? Any suggestions most gratefully recieved.

Pig Soldiers!!

News of two boys thrown overboard from the good ship Green. Midfielders Takahiro Kawamura (31) and Junpei Shimura (21). Kawamura served his time around the league running through the Jubilo youth system, Jubilo, then off for a stint in South America (one assumes) cutting up the halftime oranges at River Plate and back to Jubilo, Cerezo, back to Jubilo again and finally to us. Love`s Jubilo Iwata that boy!! He signed up for Police United in Thailand and wants to be a "Big" player over there....Shimura is off for a shot in Paraguay at the fantasic sounding General Caballero. Good luck boys!!

It`s a BIG...

....and we`ve ALL gotta take a bite!! My lord what on earth was that?? I have watched some rubbish in my time watching Verdy but today was the worst ever... well one of the worst (The defeat to SC Tochigi who were then in JFL in the Emperors Cup is my personal number 1, plus defeat to Honda FC in same competition, plus being blitzed by Reysol to go down..need I continue??). A more thoroughly inept performance attacking wise you will struggle to find. The stats say we mustered 17 shots on goal but I kid you not when I say Mizuhara was forced into ONE save from a gentle grass cutter in the opening minutes!! If Taira Inoue is the best we have to play as the lone striker, Jesus we might as well all go home now. Every single shot including that one was either shin rolled, scuffed, powerless or wide. The Giravanz goal itself was a result of the ONLY decent strike in the entire game. The ball was only half cleared from a dangerous crossball which seemed to have just missed at least eight oncoming strikers, it then fell nicely on the edge of the box for Shigemitsu to fire home. What should have been the turning point of the game came just before halftime when Oshima was shown a straight red for leading with his elbow whilst jumping with Tsuchiya. Seemed harsh to me but couldn`t really tell from the replay. Anyway, Verdy predictably had the possesion for the remainder but couldn`t do a thing with it.  Just to rub salt in the wounds Oguro only went and banged in a hat trick for Yokohama FC this afto....Humph!! Humph!! Triple Humph!!

On The Buses....

The Boys set off for Kyushu today on the Green Bus. Hard kids at the back smoking fags (British meaning not American meaning, hopefully) pressing their arse cheeks against the back window, shouting, throwing sandwiches around and flicking the V`s at any passing motorist who happens to be looking.

Or possibly all being ever so sensible, listening to their  i-(s)pods,  chatting about each others hair, admiring each others tan and arranging the next game of willy-tig in Chofu Woods.

So Giravanz Kitakyushu? Who are they and are they any good? They have just come up from the JFL and according to their first two games (losses to Yokohama and Tokushima) , we can rest assured that they aren`t any good. Phew!! So that`s 3 points for us, great!! Why the confident swagger you might ask?? Four words: Hiroki "The Cat" Mizuhara. Currently custodian of the Kitakyushu goalie gloves and a keeper who made ex-Verdy "legend" Yoshinari Takagi look like the love child of Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton delivered by Lev Yashin in the Peter Schmeichel City Hospital. The first goal on the clip, miles out but fair enough even the above legends had an ocassional bad day at the office, THE SECOND???? Watch the clip to the end and tell me WTF happened there then please?? I can roar with laughter about it now  but I found new swear words that I didn`t know I knew when I watched it at the time. I raise a glass to 3 points Verdy!!

Nerdy 1 - 3 Cavaliers!!

We are on a Cavalier tip this evening readers after the opening day defeat to The Cavaliers of Kumamoto.It`s not all bad though as Tokyo Nerdy 1969 has a 100% record in the prediction stakes so far with the LOSS prediction being bang on the money with Verdy`s opening reverse to Roasso Kumamoto.

Not sure if anybody from Kumamoto sports a pointy beard, has  a penchant for long hair or defends the Crown from rampaging hordes of Inspiral Carpets fans in 17th Century England, but what they do have is 3 points on the board. Hiramoto opened up the scoring for us from his new left back position in the 52nd minute before our Captain (not at all) Fantastic Tomisawa was at fault for both of the Kumamoto efforts. First of all he was beaten about in 7 countable ways in the air by the Kumamoto striker who looped a header past Shibasaki onto the post, he could only watch helplessly as the ball  came back off the upright and trundled across  the goal line to be lashed into the unguarded net from a distance of centimetres. Following this he was far too easily beaten in the box on the way to Kumamoto`s second. Back to the drawing board for the Boys and into the naughty corner with the "D" cap on for Tomisawa. Still next up we`ve got New Wave Kita Kyushu with an old friend on board!! More on that tomorrow!!

Finally,one more Cavalier for you, this one being notorious for being generally crap and an absolute twat to start on a winters morning. First hand experience, Scotland, winter, about 1984, Uncle Don`s driveway. There is also a dog called a Cavalier but people who like looking at pictures of  ugly dogs on the internet late at night (the four legged ones with tails) are lacking something in their lives and we will not entertain such people here.

Dirty Horse and Ale Pie

Five in the morning here in the UK,cold, wet, miserable weather but good to be back. Back in my dump of a hometown, I have already re-acquainted myself with a good (well as good as a 4 quid pie can be)  steak and ale pie and a couple of pints of Banks' Bitter. I don't even  like bitter but as I can't buy it in Japan; I feel like I should indulge.  Speaking of re-acquainting, the boredom of pre-season is over!! New season starts tomorrow!! Are we going to win?? I'd say it's going be a big ask judging on our frankly poor pre-season efforts BUT I could be a million miles away with my prediction and we could lay witness to an earth shattering display of free flowing, attack minded champagne football. The likes of which hasn't been seen since England shocked the nation with their 4-1 demolition of the Dutch at Euro 96. Now that would be a treat. Chances are we will see a turgid display of J2 level incompetence but being as it's the first game of the season we are allowed to dream are we not??

Winners and Losers!!

Thank the Lord!!!! Pre-season is now finished, the last training game done. The Boys chalked up another reverse to a side from Kokushin University. 1-0 was the final score to wrap up a remarkably unconvincing pre-season. Scoring goals is seemingly going to be extremely tough this season. Hiramoto again came in at left back and looks to be first pick in that spot. Doi made his first appearance for the second half and let one in.  We are ABSOLUTELY unconvinced of Hiramoto being put in at left back as a tactical choice, but who knows until we see it in action?? I can`t say for sure that it isn`t going to work, but I`m 99.9999 per cent sure. On the plus side, I`m looking forward to seeing the Takagi brothers in action as I`m sure we`ll be seeing the younger Verdy Youth squad member Shun, as well as older brother Toshiyuki at some point.
So, on to next weeks match up. Whilst the Green Boys were sorting out their hair and polishing their nails at the weekend, Roasso Kumamoto picked up a decent result in the opening week, coming from behind to draw with JEF United. Captain Bigtree is now in charge of the horse eaters of Kumamoto and we can be pretty sure he`ll have his charges fired up for their first awayday of the season. We too at Tokyo Nerdy will be as fired up as possible but unfortunately we will be reporting from the UK, battered by jetlag. For the first time in I don`t know how many years, the home opener will be minus mine plus a couple of other bodies. An interesting sidenote is that Verdy NEVER(ish not for 6 years)  lose their opening game of the season!! Unlike like Wolves who NEVER win theirs....

The "Piss Ant Minor League Team" ......

....will always have a dad bigger than yours!! A cousin with firmer tits than yours!!  An older sister that could knock your older brother out cold!! An Uncle with bigger tits than your sister!! A  younger Sister with a hairier ballbag  than your Grandfather.... AND  more silver to polish than FC Tokyo will EVER have!!  DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME PRIVATE PYLE?????!!!!!!!

Practice Makes.....

                                                                                                              

A win for the Boys in yesterdays kickabout against Hosei University. 2-1 was the final on goals from centre half Takahashi (who was being used in a midfield role) and Adebayor, who had come on for Takahashi. Line ups?? Oh Ok....
First Half:
GK: Shibasaki
DF: Wada, Iida, Fukui, Yoshida
MF: Takano (Youth), Takahashi, Takagi [Shun] (Youth), Iio, Mukai
FW: Inoue
Second Half
GK: Suzuki
DF: Wada, Iida, Fukui, Yoshida
MF: Takano (Youth), Takahashi, Takagi [Toshiyuki], Minami, Takagi [Shun] (Youth)
FW: Inoue
If we are going to have a picture of people practicing something, might as well pick something good. We are no experts on cheerleading here at Tokyo Nerdy but we reckon these girls are probably pretty good at it....

Eye of the Taira!!

And the winner of The 2010 Official Tokyo Nerdy 1969 Crap Hair Award goes to Verdy`s goal shy striker Mr. Taira Inoue. A superb effort. Perm?? Check. Ginger colouring?? Check. Mousse?? Check, all topped off with a few visits to his local tanning salon to finish off the look. We have a winner Ladies and Gentleman. Number 13 indeed.....Click on the picture to see it in it`s full glory!!