Mike was good, but Morimoto will probably be called up next time if he continues to score for Novara. The only problem that I have with Mike is his mobility.
I rate Hirayama higher than Mike everywhere except for the use of his height. And that's a small problem ... He's also a nasty pitcher : [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7efCW39R4"]???????? - YouTube[/ame]
lol Hirayama Never has scored more than 8+ goals a season in the league. Scores a good goal once in a blue moon. At least he has one supporter.
A 25 goals scorer never scored 25 goals before he did for the first time. You see where I'm getting at ?
but when you are playing with a crown of players like Kagawa,Okazaki and Kengo,and with attacking full backs,for sure you don't need your central striker to run around...You need a good target man commanding the air, capable of scoring goals and creating space for others. Mike is very good at this,while players like Morimoto or Lee can't do this very well. In the glory days of Zaccheroni at Milan and Udinese this role was played by Oliver Bierhoff,surely not the most mobile of the strikers around,but effective as a hammer...
lol How do you know he's a 25 goal a season guy? He's never shown anything remotely close. You still going to be saying that when he's 40? Give it a rest. You don't judge players based on what you think they can do. You judge them based on what they have done. I could score 30 goals in the J-League if I got a 2-3 pks in every match, but that isn't going to happen is it? Anyways, new rumors today that Mike is negotiating with 3 Dutch clubs (AZ, Vitesse, and one other).
It's not a solution yet. Morimoto was supposed to be the answer when he first came in, see where he is. Okazaki was a monster in 2009, he's just a shadow of himself now. Hirayama was a monster after his hattrick against Yemen but bad luck, jealousy and injuries have kept him out. Then Lee was the big thing after scoring against Australia but now the frenzy has cooled off. So wait and see. Spain didn't need any target man to win the WC so it's not a definitive solution. samurai > I'm just doing that to piss you off and it's working pretty well I see.
That only works if you're playing a team that gives you time and space to work the ball around. If you're playing a team like Spain then you won't have as much time and the ball and need quicker players in order to counter-attack. Mike might be good against weak teams (which is kinda what we need since Japan usually does poorly against them), but I think that Japan needs a more mobile striker against stronger/possession-based teams.
well,when Japan will play Spain we'll see... now it's time to face AFC world cup qualifiers against Tajikistan,DPRK and so on...
Side note, I watched VVV against Alkmaar, I covered the last two Nagoya games for Eurosport and I think it's definitely time to call Tulio back and give a wake up call to Yoshida in the form of a big slap and some time away from the NT.
Remember that Mike was seriously thinking about quitting football some three years ago and he succeeded in Tosu which was the last chance for him. He crawled from the bottom and now he's wearing NT shirt. He's now on the top and he deserved that. I have an impression that he's got what it takes to succeed in the football world, higher than usual teen-sensation strikers. Sure, he's not the best FW in the world but at least gives some more options if it comes to NT attacking formation. Oh, and Okazaki is slowly crawling on the list of all time best scorers for NT. Maybe he won't catch up to Kamamoto but a place between Kazu and Hara is very probable in future.
So you have the job? Great, congrats! Anyway I agree that being a regular at Venlo should be no guarantee for a starting spot in the NT. At the same time, I don`t believe it is realistic.
I don't like Yoshida either, but there is literally nothing in the talent pool. All the centerbacks for J-League clubs are 28+ years old and mediocre at best. It doesn't seem to be getting better judging by the U-22's.
Yamamura sees himself rather as DM than as CB, doesn`t he? Anyway, I think Zac isn`t the type who changes a lot. I already mentioned it, but I guess it is more important for him that the team`s hierarchy is functioning, than to shake things up a bit too much with something like bringing in Tulio.
This game display some great attacking Japan had to offer. But to be honest, Tajikistan didn't really push Japan and divide their attention. Japan used Havenaar's height effectively and his presence forward gave the rest of the Samurai Blues space to run rampant. Havenaar served his purpose with long ball and crosses, and did great to create space for others,. But I wonder will it work against tougher, more determined opponents like Uzbekistan and DPRK? Havenaar's height might proved to be an advantage against them. Then what about even more tougher opponents, Havenaar's height won't always be an advantage. I want to see Japan overcome that and attack with more options.
That's really good. Vitesse may be better, he could find a lot of space. I always didn't understand.. why Tulio isn't anymore in NT? Only because is 30? He's better than Yoshida, Iwamasa and Konno pulled together in one player.
Yamamura's best position is DM. I think that Oliviera intends to use him as a CB for Kashima next season. If he intends on breaking into the NT, then it might not be such a bad idea to try out CB for a while since it will probably lead to a faster call-up as DM is one position where there is a wealth of talent.
Tadanari Lee is still our no.1 I think when we're playing a team that wants to 'play'. Havenaar is a great way to beat teams that decide they want to defend for 90 minutes. For example I'd like Lee to start against Uzbekistan at home.
With my J.league knowledge rather limited, I thought of Ueda but realized it may take half a decade still until he could possibly get chosen...
No. Samuraiblue > Kenichi Kaga is a player I rate highly. He's fast, strong, I think he could get a look. His partner Fujita isn't bad. Hamada could be useful if he stops crapping his pants under pressure. Kushibiki and Yamashita are both interesting players. And I don't think Kurihara is that bad.
Yea, Ueda is still 4-5 years away at best. I just hope that he chooses the right club to foster his development. He could literally choose any J-League club he wishes so its not like he's limited in his options.
Center back is a tricky position, he's very young and could get lit up against grown men strikers and strong guys from Brazil.