Official 2016 J2 thread

Great season overall!=)

Did anyone else catch the last 3 minutes in the Consadole-game? Consadole's back 4 were passing the ball around to eachother while everyone else were watching. Zweigen's 2 FW's didnt bother putting any pressure on, and the rest of the players just patiently stayed in their positions. It was ridiculuous to watch, and I guess not fair play from the other team's point of view, but obviously both teams were very happy with the current situation.

For once none of the teams that needed to win or get a result screwed up.. That's very rare in J1/J2!

Except for Giravanz of course...

 

It doesn't really matter what Matsumoto did in the season, when they don't perform when it matters. Had they just been a little bit smarter they would have killed the game at 2-1. Fagiano left tons of rooms for counters, but instead of going for the 2-1 goal that would all but secure a place in the final, Matsumoto decided to park the bus and waste time.

That is something that tactically strong teams like Italy have been good at in the past, but there are very few teams in J2 that possess this quality. And it usually backfires. If you look at the number of times teams in J2 ( also J1 to some extent) have taken the lead and then gone on to lose the game in the end ( or the other team scores a late equalizer), and then compare to it ANY other league in the world the numbers would surprise you.

Whether it is due to the teams/players being weak tactically or mentally or just lack of experience I know, but it certainly is a big factor.

Surprised that the final will be played at Kincho and not Nagai. Must be some other event going on there?

 

Can't say I agree with Tiago on this one. Fukumori is not a CB, he should play as a LWB. Souza has had an ok season, but definitely not good enough to be on the team of the year He's a rather limited player I think, and way too slow on the ball to deserve a place on the team of the year. I think he will be eaten alive in J1.. Hiroki Miyazawa was the best MF in J1 this season I think, and should be ahead of both Souza and Yajima here. Also a bit surprised to be Kiyotake here.

And coach of the year should be Shuhei Yomoda. Shimizu is a richer club than Consadole, and with decorated players like Omae and Chong Tese in your team you are expected to be promoted no matter what. They were also the biggest pre-season favorites alongside Cerezo, while most pundits and experts had Consadole to finish around 5th - 10th place. Yomoda took a rather mediocre Consadole-side and turned it into the best team in the league. He didn't spend big or buy too many players, but still managed to improve the team's performance by quite a lot compared to previous managers.

 

Nope. He played alot on the left side in a 3-back defensive line as well, but in any case acted more as a LWB than a CB. You don't get 10 assists if you are a CB....