A Brazillion Brazillians!! That`s TWO and counting....

He`s not The Messiah!! He`s a very naughty boy....

Verdy doubled up there Brazillian count today with signing from Cruzerio of De Souza Alves Luiz Diallisson. Or "Apodi" for short. I wondered how the hell you get Apodi from the name but apparently it`s where he is from. Sounds more exciting than a new signing called "Wolverhampton" or "West Bromwich" though I would like a player called "Lower Gornall" as my great aunt`s family lived in the area and they would have been more than pleased to have a Brazillian in the Japanese Second Division flying the Lower Gornall flag I`m sure. The new boy is listed as a midfielder but has also seemingly served time at right back. He looks a bit like a spooky Jesus and that makes feel uneasy. Hopefully, the opposition will also have the same feeling as you can`t very well scythe down the Son Of God can you? He`s loaned from Cruzerio (who he played for only ONCE) and has spent the last five few years loaned out to various Brazillian clubs. Still of course HE`S BRAZILLIAN!! HE MUST BE BRILLIANT!!!.....Just like Leandro!!....Ugh.... Welcome aboard!!

Twenty Thousand Yen And a New World Record

For a football shirt....are they having a laugh?? I would expect a real Green and White zebra with four legs and an African tribesman to feed and water it for that much. I earlier commented that football shirts are a rip off  throughout the country calmly (prior to looking at the Verdy webstore just now) but just to put a perspective on it it for our UK readers who feel clubs take the piss: 153 Quid is the price for a shirt!! For our American readers 240USD!! Dick Turpin wore a mask and Robin Hood stole to feed the poor. What is our excuse??
However on the plus side we now have TWO world records!! One is The Fastest Sending Off By a Professional Player Anywhere Ever and possibly (though Roy Castle is yet to confirm) another with The Most Expensive Non Autographed/Special Edition "Normal" Top in the World Ever. If anybody out there can find a football top more expensive than this, we at Tokyo Nerdy 1969 will send you a superb exclusive Official Tokyo Nerdy 1969 Prize.
(Disclaimer) The prize will probably be shit. Figuratively of course.

Lifetime Guarantee

Ordinarily, I`d say no thank you......

Some things in life are set in stone. Night follows day, black is the opposite of white, water boils at 100 degrees, brussel sprouts taste like shit and Tokyo Verdy tickets are 1500円. Well readers, one of the rules has been broken today, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN (at least) 10 YEARS VERDY HAVE PUT THE PRICES UP. Tickets have always been 1500円 on my watch until today. Today I bought a ticket for behind the goal for the opening game against Mito for 2000. The cheapest as of 2011 is 2000円. Can`t grumble really as we`ve had a good 10 years and Verdy prices are now in line with most of the rest of the league. Unfortunately for us FC Tokyo now have the cheapest seats in the capital going for 1600円...not a good deal for us in trying to attract the casual fan and could have an effect in terms of the derby games. If you aren`t bothered about football or are gonna just check it out on a holiday, 1600 v 2000 is a no brainer and even moreso for fans with families to consider. We`ve missed a step there  I think. Then again, as a business 6,000 at 1500 is the same as 4,500 at 2000 so sting the regulars and still hope to pick up the casuals...errr...eeerrrm...what the feck is that??!!!
However, this is not the only price increase and not anywhere near as annoying as the other one. The MOFO`s in the government (or is it the convinience stores themselves??) have in their wisdom applied a 105円 "sales tax" to all sports (and I assume all other) tickets bought from convinience store machines. 50, 000 sell out at Urawa? Ker-ching!! Japan National Team game at Nissan Stadium KERR-CHING!! 105 on one ticket admittedly doesn`t seem much but applied across the whole league for a whole season, across the Yomiuri Giants, across the whole of baseball, across the whole of ticketing in this country....holy shit that`s more than a tax and a half!! They`ll be putting the train prices up next....seriously if that happens blood will be spilled. Not by me personally however being from a land where train prices go up regardless of any discernable reason other than the passage of time. I`ve bought two sets of tickets in the last two days and paid 420 Yen on top of the ticket price. One bloke 4 tickets, I can`t be arsed with the maths but seemingly I shall travelling to work on a magic carpet in the coming years with all this government cash sloshing around. (Or buying the same old shitty sandwiches from a solid gold convinience store from a millionaire clerk looking down his nose at me).

Thespa Kusatsu Private Gentlemans Club and a Sneaky Fiver

Ollie Plimsoles

The Boys are off to Kusatsu on Sunday, a kick around with fellow J2`ers Thespa is the next stop on the Verdy pre-season tour. Apparently, no cameras, no video phones, no sketching, no mime artists and most definatelty no interprative theatre troops are allowed to record, sketch or interpretate anything through the medium of a weeping willow, or an acorn growing into a bloody oak tree......gotta wonder what the hell the Education Board of the UK was thinking in the 70s having kids do such shite in freezing cold school halls the length and bredth of the country. Probably wasn`t a kid alive who didn`t wish they`d just get the ropes, the monkey bars, the crash mats and the vault out. Do some PROPER indoor PE!! Music and Movement my arse...Hello, I`m Ollie Plimsoles...
Before the trip, the Boys slapped another kindergarten squad 5-0, goals from Marahao, Kawano, Ichikawa, Kim Tae Yon and Takanaka. Jesus Christ this pre-season the opposition are either ABSOLUTE SHITE (most likely) or The Boys have turned into 11 Maradona`s. (The young Elvis version rather than the Vegas version). I look forward to opening day to decide which of the above is true.

4 Out Of 4

The Boys edged out Yokohama Marinos in the latest friendly yesterday. Marahao eqaulised an opening Marinos goal before Goal Machine opened his pre-season account with the winner in the second half. No news of line ups for this game (or any other so far this preseason) but seemingly whichever line up Coach Kawakatsu is choosing it`s the right one. Hope is a dangerous thing especially in the land of Verdy, but so far so good this pre-season. The goals are going in the right end, two J1 scalps and all FORWARDS appear to be doing well. After having only Hiramoto and Inoue as out and out strikers last year, we are looking good in terms of possibilities, combinations and competition for places up top.

David Cameron`s 10 Second Wonder Goo Challenge!

Koya Shimizu played a grand total of 10 seconds in the last game of the season last year, didn`t touch the ball but seemingly did enough to get a full transfer to Urayasu Junior FC in Chiba...Does this count as news? Errrr..No. I`ll get me coat. Sorry...TAXI FOR NERDY!!

Franca to Verdy??

Horrible rumour that buoffanted ex-Reysol striker Franca is Verdy bound......nothing concrete yet so let`s hope it`s utter bollocks. He is nearly as old as me and my dancing days are well and truly over bar the "embarrassing dad" turn at a wedding disco.

Two Fingers, One Headband and er...Breasts??

Wrapped up, Stacked up, Numbered up, Packed up!

Choice is yours Len......

Bloody freezing outside so what better way to spend the afternoon catching up on the Greens? First up some more news from the Shizuoka training camp. The Boys have had another two training matches against University squads and come through unscathed following easy wins in both match ups.

The first a 6-2 result with Inoue netting twice (holy shit!!), new boys Hirashige and Ichikawa finding the target along with Kensuke Fukuda.

The second match up saw The Greens romp home to a 6-0 victory with Hirashige scoring twice, Yoshiaki Takagi, Inoue (this is getting silly....), New boy Marahao and  Yuki Kobayashi all getting on the board.

It must be said that both squads are University level so not too much should be read into these wins....except that Verdy were entirely unconvincing against such quality in pre-season 2010.  You can only batter into oblivion what is put in front of you and the new boys have seemingly got the bit between the teeth and will be pushing each other all the way for the first eleven on March 6th.

Next up is a match up with J1 Yokohama Marinos at Marinos Town on Sunday, altogether stiffer opposition so let`s see how we do there.

Other news, Brazillian midfielder Leonardo (who has been on Verdy`s books since the dawn of time but always loaned out) has finally been fully transferred to Giravanz Kitakyushu. After 16 appearances and 2 goals for Tochigi in 2010, the crappest team ever to play in Japan have taken a punt on him. He must be delighted to have found a club but he must wonder if he`d be better off picking up his maraca`s, glittery thong, feather head dress and chancing his luck in Asakusa High Street of a weekend. All the best Len and good luck!!

Unkle Derek`s STATE Of The Union Shed!!

Sometimes talking about Tokyo Verdy isn`t enough so, following the suggestion from a good friend (Unkle "Derek"....you know who you are) we have decided to try to boost the readership of Tokyo Nerdy 1969 with a few pictures of "chicks with tattoo`s" to begin with though we`ll have to see what come`s later. Without further ado, A Big Round of Applause and hefty boot to the back of the shed along with the rusty nails and old hosepipes from all at Tokyo Nerdy 1969 for Entry Number 1!!!!

WHAT A STATE!!!! Back O` The Shed!!

Jesus Christ!!! Inoue Scores The Winner!!

OK so it`s only a training kick around but The Boys beat Albirex Niigata 2-1 over three halves today. Young Kobayashi equalised a Niigata penalty, then Tokyo Nerdy`s pet hate Taira Inoue poked a stick in the eye of this blog with the winner. "Inoue Scores The Winner!!" I think that might be the first time ever that headline has been written.

Tokyo Derby Is Back!!

A Happy Dwarf in a Big Fireman`s Hat. I Like It.

A big hats off to the schedulers for J2 this season, the Tokyo Derby First  Round will be an evening kick off at Ajinomoto Stadium on May 4th in Golden Week. An absolute bumper crowd will be out for that one I would have thought and I for one will be buying tickets as soon as they are on sale. Round Two will again be at Ajinomoto on Sunday October 30th.

Stadium wise, nearly everything is at Ajinomoto this season, with only three games at the Olympic Stadium one at Komazawa and rather disappointingly none at Nishigaoka. So plenty of seats for everyone all season, micrpohones in front of the stands for the people watching on TV and a funeral parlour atmosphere for all involved. APART FROM the FC Tokyo games which will be absolute barnstormers. If there are any casual football fans reading this out there considering taking in a game whilst in Tokyo; don`t think for one second of going to any other game involving either team apart from the two listed above. And if you are going to buy a ticket, get one in the Green side!!
Please click on the fan below to check the full list of fixtures. Pencils at the ready!!