Tubby Reports From The Battle of Tokyo

Tokyo Nerdy Official Roving Reporter Tubby has been good enough to send in the following pictures and match report. Nice one!!!

Should have been 35,912....

The Battle of Tokyo- Kick Out The Jams

The Battle of Tokyo - Kick out the JAMS! 

A Green In Blue In the Red and Blue

King Amar-ara-ara-arse

The Good Guys

Was a lovely day for it, sun cracking the flags and a sense of excitement in the air as i walked up Ajinomoto-way in a sea of blue and red. Inside the 35000 FC Tokyo fans seemed rather subdued as the patch of 1000 or so green and whites in the corner out-sang them. The Red and Blues quickly put a stop to that though with a hearty chant of "Oh Verdy Kawasaki!". That was like a Green rag to a bull but luckily the kid on away-fan steward duty managed to keep the riled Verdy supporters from spilling over onto the pitch.

Fantastic crowd and a cracking atmosphere for a J2 match though. I was sat among the hun and anticipating the game ahead as I sipped on my smuggled beer and nibbled on my eda mame before kick-off. My mood soon changed as a grey sky fell over the place and the FC Tokyo fans started up a full rendition of that hideous excuse for a song that is "You'll Never Walk Alone". My eda mame were starting to taste a little bitter.

Well that set the tone for a pretty dull first half. The only real highlights were those in the Verdy boys hair, boom boom! (with the exception of Tsuchiya of course). Couple of chances at each end but not much to get too excited about. Verdy's standard of play seemed pretty decent though. A lot better than I seem to remember but then again I can't seem to remeber much of Verdy's past play as my eyesight isn't what it used to be (my mum always said it would make me go blind) and I'm usually two sheets to the wind and nattering to Tokyo Nerdy when I watch the Boys in Green.

The first half finished with a bang, with Lucas rising above the Verdy defence to head in first half stoppage time. Don't know what it is about the name Lucas but it seems to be the most popular name in Brazil at the moment. Not the most glamorous of Brazilian names mind - just brings back memories of a smelly girl who was in my class at school. She had the "Lucas-mange" allegedly.

After going a goal behind just before the whistle, the second half promised fireworks from Verdy and did they deliver? Well they had a couple of excellent attempts at trying to hoof the ball out of the stadium when clean through on goal and also what looked like a stone wall penalty when a Verdy player was through on goal only to be brought down by the last man. In the end it resulted in a yellow card to the Verdy guy for simulation - the luck of an Evertonian some might say.

In the end Verdy got the point that they deserved. They put the pressure on with a couple of corners, one of which flew in to the top corner after deflecting off a Verdy/FC Tokyo leg, boot, arse or something. Still not sure who got the goal but Tokyo Nerdy reliably informs me that TV replays confirmed it was a Verdy goal.

The game petered out after that, the only point of note being the referee deciding to hand out his season's allocation of yellow cards in 2nd half stoppage time. Not sure what they were for. Maybe another one of those dodgy betting scams set up by Rooney's dad. Come to think of it, the referee did look a bit Scouse.

So J2's best defense against J2's best attack resulted in a possibly predictable draw. At least there was a couple of goals though and pretty decent day out all-in-all.
Boo's rang out at the full-time whistle - with the Verdy contingent going a bit mental in their corner. Tubs just sat there over-exaggeratedly applauding - slowly, loudly and proudly - showing his appreciation for the Boys in Green. Onwards and mid-tablewards!

Chest Shaver`s Of The World FC Tokyo 1 -1 Verdy

WAN.. or choose your own adjective

Had a long day at work only to find that my Sky dish had somehow moved a millimetre in the wind and the signal had gone down therefore ensuring the game I`d taped was lost forever.....Until Tokyo MX TV came galloping over the horizon with a replay at 7pm. Result!  One added "bonus" was that I got to see Tokyo MX TV`s prime cock handler announcer "Jonathon" for the second time this season. Thankfully his time on screen was short but his Arshole Dial was fully turned up to 11 for the time he was on screen. Some people in life are just annoying and he is most definitely one of them.
Yesterday he went for the Roberto Mancini suit and big scarf look and had obviously spent a good deal of time in the mirror trying to perfect his look. Get a grip you fuckin` muppet!!!  Nobody gives a fuck about your scarf (except me obviously), get your own style, get your own life and stop polluting the screen of innocent viewers.
Three hours to get ready, socks and pants taken out from a colour co-ordinated drawer, facial massage, pore cleanser on, hair combed 40 times with 40 different products, nails filed, chest shaved (chest shavers are twats), watch selected from a velvet box containing six different watches, fresh t-shirt out of the bag, quick look at some wanky Men`s Fashion s(h)ite, suit on, scarf in his "man bag" and off to the studio. Probably the same kind of twat who queues up for 4 hours for a Krispy Kreme donut (or whatever other shit tossers in Tokyo line up for just because everyone else does). Some people say Metrosexual though I prefer the term wanker. Metrosexual has too many underlying nuances with regards to sexuality whereas with wanker everyone knows exactly what the speaker is referring to. That bloke is a WANKER.
So to the game, if you are a neutral supporter you would have struggled to make it to half time without nodding off. There was plenty of gusto though little in the way of goalmouth action. FC Tokyo looked the more likely with Verdy offering just a little through Abe with Maki struggling to make any inroads. It was Lucas who opened the scoring with a well placed header right on halftime with Verdys clsoest being a free kick effort from Kikuoka which smacked back off the bar with the keeper beaten.
Into the scond half and Verdy were to equalise through an own goal from close range to make it all square. Both teams huffed and puffed and blew some half chances though neither side really did enough to win.
So all square for the season and unfortunately no more Derby`s until at least 2013.

GOAL!!!

FC Tokyo and Verdy have played twice this year and though I can`t speak for the Blue and Red three quarters of the city I know Verdy fans would love for the derby to be a more regular occasion. 36,000 in attendance yesterday and 25,000 for the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Even in J1 FC Tokyo will only do those kind of numbers when Urawa or maybe Marinos come to town. Verdy most definitely need the games as they NEVER do those numbers and will more than likely be back down to four or five thousand for the next home game. Football needs derby games and when one disappears it leaves a gaping hole....especially for the shit team in the shit division. Onwards and Upwards The Boys Waddle On!!

Derby Day, Nabisco Cup Final and Curry.... Tochigi 2 - 4 Verdy

Curry is good but not that good.

Verdy scored a cracking win going into the derby this weekend up-ending Tochigi with Seichiro Maki`s first of the season on his first start. Takuma Abe scored another two and Kikuoka finished off the scoring on Wednesday. Derby Day tomorrow I`m not going because of work so you can whistle for any kind of enthusiasm for this weekend. (Unless we win and after I`ve watched the tape I might have something to say).
It`s also Nabisco Cup Final weekend with Urawa and Kashima going for the Mickey Mouse Title. Barry at UK-Ultras had an interesting take on the devaluing (10 out of 10 on the Wank-o-meter) of the tournament and possibilities for it`s future which you can read here. Well seemingly the league have taken action and have taken Barry`s criticisms on board and have come up with a plan to entice the fans to the Final and set up a stampede for tickets for next season. CURRY RICE......Now I`m a big fan of the national dish of Japan but  even I struggle to see how a 900 Yen serving of curry rice on a plastic plate is going to draw in the support. That sums up the Nabisco organisers right there.

Absolute Shit..... Verdy 1-2 Toyama

No idea who they are but I assume they are REALLY shit. Could be Graeme Souness crossed with Jimmy Hill and Freddie Mercury doing the  Rod Hull and Emu impression  on the left.

The reasons why Verdy are going nowhere this season have been summed up this week. A draw with Mito (17th place and therefore shit), beat Tokushima (4th and therefore decent) then lose to Toyama (15th and accordingly shit). Verdy are predominantly shit with the occasional flashes of decent. Any need to report further on this season.....? Big Dogs Cock!

Verdy 1 - 0 Tokushima

Verdy registered their first win over a top 6 side this season with Takura Kikuoka`s effort on four minutes enough to separate the sides. Sapporo got drilled by Sanga to leave the gap to 3rd at 8 points. Too much? Yup. Next up Kataller Toyama tomorrow before the Derby next weekend.

Countdown to 2012 Mito 1 - 1 Verdy

Killing Time

Maranhao for Verdy on 56 minutes, Tsukasa Ozawa equalised with 8 minutes to go. Didn`t watch it, not bothered about the replay. Tokushima up next on Wednesday but it`s getting difficult to work up the enthusiasm to set the video. Can`t make the return derby game, can`t make the Urawa away game both because of bloody work. One or maximum two games for me till the end of the season and then I am DONE. One plus point is that Urawa dropped into the drop zone at the weekend thanks to Omiya`s win so it`s possible that everyone in J2 will get a decent ground to go to next season. Let`s hope so! I raise my glass in the hope of an Urawa relegation. Though Verdy haven`t been anywhere near to going up in any of the last three seasons; in terms of "big" games I can`t think of two better teams to go down in two seasons than FC Tokyo and Urawa. Let us hope that FC Tokyo`s (more than likely) trip back to J1 is just a blip and they can happily re-join us in J2 in 2013.....
On a side note what a completely shit weekend of sport. Wales done in the rugby, Wolves done by the Tesco Shit Baggers and Verdy shit as usual. Gotta wonder why I bother sometimes.

Into the Next Round! Verdy 7 - 1 V-Varen Nagasaki

Verdy break their Cup duck and here`s another....er broken duck.

Verdy put there Emperor`s Cup hoodoo behind them with a mashing of V-Varen Nagasaki at the weekend. A pleasant day at Komazawa started with Nagasaki threatening to spoil the day by taking the lead on 20 minutes before they were battered into submission through goals from Maranhao (2), Abe (2), Kikuoka, Kobayashi and Tsuchiya. Couldn`t really ask for more though the crowd was a paltry 2,701. Why does nobody give a flying crap about the Cups in Japan? Verdy battered one of the best of the JFL and next up; (assuming they can put away the University side) currently one of the worst in J1. Urawa play Wednesday night for their place in the next round.

Emperors Cup 2011

State of that!!

Another Emperors Cup extravaganza starts and probably finishes for Verdy next Monday with a game at Komazawa against 3rd placed JFL outfit V-Varen Nagasaki. JFL`ers? Piece of piss you`d think until you look at Verdy`s record against JFL opposition since they won the Cup in 2005. Played four lost four. Honda FC, Honda Lock, SC Tochigi and Machida Zelvia have all done the Greens from the lower division. In fact Verdy have the unenviable record of having lost all five Emperors Cup games since winning the thing. Sanfrecce Hiroshima were also on hand to dump on the Greens.
One interesting titbit is that should Verdy pull off a result and if Urawa Reds also manage to actually beat somebody this season then the two teams will meet in the 3rd round at Saitama Stadium. C`mon The Boys!! We might not be going up this year but to put Urawa out of the Cup and pour even more misery on their season would certainly be a nice tonic. And failing that going to a ground with a crowd bigger than an English non league game will make a welcome change. SO C`MON VERDY FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE WIN A GAME TO SET UP A GOOD DAY OUT FOR THE IDIOTS DAFT ENOUGH TO STILL GIVE A SHIT!!!

Happy New Year!! Tochigi 0-0 Verdy

Down and Out In Tikrit Hills

A Happy New Year to All readers of Tokyo Nerdy 1969, may 2012 bring you all that you wish for!! 2011 is all but mathematically done for Tokyo Verdy so let`s look forward to next year. Barring a miracle the likes of which hasn`t been seen since Mary got away with blaming her pregnancy on a supernatural, omnipresent all seeing, all hearing figment of her imagination; we will be spending another year in J2 with all the excitement, razamatazz and glamour that comes with it.
Once again the Verdy faithful can look forward to a stadium packed to the rafters in one tiny section of the area behind one goal. Another season of "Do you remember when we were half decent.....?" Another season of starting with high hopes only to fall flat and in the end not quite make it. There have been some absolute plus points this season with the goals flowing like turps in a tramp`s beard against the lower ranked teams but when we`ve come up against the top teams, when it matters?? Just not good enough. Of the games against the top 6 teams we have taken just FOUR points from a possible TWENTY ONE. The draws against JEF, FC Tokyo, Tokushima and this week SC Tochigi a pitiful return for a team who started the season as an outside bet for third.
There have been some wonderful moments this season and some real spankings but that doesn`t cover the failings of the season overall. Pre-season Verdy were looking good for a run at promotion with the scoring problems of last season seemingly addressed with Maranhao, Ishikawa and Hirashige all brought to add to the weak looking line up of Hiramoto, Inoue and Iio.
The goals have indeed flowed but last seasons rock solid defence has fallen apart. New signing Kota Fukatsu just wasn`t up to the job after Tomisawa got injured. Shibasaki doesn`t inspire confidence either and as a keeper it`s essential that your back four has faith in your ability.  I can`t blame the whole season on one incident but can`t help feeling the injury to Yoichi Doi in the FC Tokyo game has contributed hugely to the leaky defence. It`s not only that he is a better keeper than Shibasaki in terms of his own game, he is also far more vocal in organising his back line and delivers a damn good rollicking when required.
On the plus side the midfield play at times this season has been breathtaking. One touch passing and play around the box has been superb. Kawano has been superb this year after having an up and down 2010, Kikuoka has emerged from the shadows of Yoshiaki Takagi to take his position in the team and scoring some cracking goals on the way. Yuki Kobayashi will definitely be moving on to brighter things in the future given his form this season. He plays the mopper upper role very well and it can only be a matter of time before he is cherry picked.
Probably the story of Verdy`s season has been the "come from nowhere" story of Takuma Abe. Stuck up front as an emergency striker due to injuries Abe has bumped, barged and blasted his way to the top of the scoring charts with some superb displays. As I said before he has the knack of being in the right place at exactly the right time and does the simple things well. He makes Hiramoto and Maki look positively ANCIENT in comparison with his speed of thought and inter play around the box. I look forward to seeing more of him next season for sure.

The Lady Above a Virgin or Tokyo Verdy in J1 in 2012?

So what about the rest of this year? Well just sit back enjoy the games and look forward to 2012 and try again. If at first, second and third you don`t succeed?? Fuck the whole thing off and support Nadeshiko Japan. Onwards and Nowhere The Boys March On The Spot!!