Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Pimping your blog is like campaigning to be the Pope - it's unbecoming to promote yourself, so you ask someone else to do it for you.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Hey skip take down that pic of UNC's May or I'm gonna have to lay some smackdown on you. All of us here at U of I are still sad about losing that game. Actually, leave it up! We are proud of our team (I'm wearing one of my many orange shirts at the moment). I was just giving you heck for putting up the pick of May. Man May is one big dude! And back on topic: Good to see Matsui doing well in France.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] He isn't a starter for a team. He is spending his time on bench I heard
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] That's actually Rashad McCants, who definitely won't be on campus next year. Which is why I have him as my avatar, since he probably won't do much in the pros. Seriously though, Illinois gave us a great game. If the 3-pointers were falling, you guys would have won. But you live by the 3, you die by the 3. BTW, check out Bluedaddy19's av. And yeah, very happy for Matsui. I think he's in the perfect situation, a low key league and a team that will give him plenty of opportunities.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Almost all European-based Japanese players having difficulty adapting in Europe.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] hmmm... well the list you sited is a little old, but I think on the whole the players who are doing well are doing well because they finally are playing with teams/coaches who have faith in them and consider them necessary to the team -- like Ono, Nakamura, Matsui, Takahara. The worst off are probably Yanagisawa (who has had problems getting coaches to let him start in games for consecutive games), Okubo (who had two injuries already that has hindered his time with his club), and Hide Nakata (who is not struggling with adapting, just struggling with his play/career). Koji Nakata is in a weird position, because although he's had a number of embarassing incidents during games, coach Troussier is still completely supportive of him -- so it's up to Koji to communicate better with his team (esp the defense line) and relax a little...he still has many chances ahead. Inamoto, well he may find a better team outside of the Premier, and I think he's thinking of looking for another team this year...not sure.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] It depends on how you look at it really. In terms of being completely native to european style of play as if they were born and bread as european footballers, almost all Asian players have had difficulty. On the other hand, if it's a question of having a significant impact to their respective teams in their own right, at times patchy though it may be, then to be fair I think quite a lot of them have adapted well locally, including the abovementioned Japanese players. So it really depends on where you draw the baseline and what you expected. Ronaldinho level of adaptation & development would certainly be a challenge for any nation, I should think. Even skillful Brazilians have been known in the past to struggle adapting to european's physical style.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Junichi Inamoto came on as a substitute for West Brom last night [Wed 20 Apr], halfway through the first half of their league match at Tottenham: a pretty amazing turn of events, given that WBA manager Bryan Robson has consistently said that he didn't think Ina was up to the Premiership. The most notable moment for him was immediately after the Tottenham equaliser early in the second half, when he put in a tremendous low angled shot from the right-hand side of the penalty area, which Spurs keeper Robinson just - and I really do mean just - got his fingertips to and turned round the far post. Very very close. The game finished 1-1, a decent performance from WBA and one that moved them once again out of the relegation zone. They're now on a run of form that might be enough to see them break the hoodoo which says that whoever is bottom of the Premiership at Christmas always ends up going down. The other teams near the foot of the table (specifically, Southampton, Norwich and Crystal Palace) have four games to play, but West Brom have five - although they do have trickier looking fixtures than those other teams. It's far more of a nailbiter than the top of the league, certainly, and interestingly from our point of view it looks as if Inamoto might actually end up having some level of involvement.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Hamburger SV 3-0 Hansa Rostock 49' Emile Mpenza (Belgium) 61' Collin Benjamin (Namibia) 64' Naohiro Takahara (Japan) Le Mans 3-1 Nancy (French 2nd division) 1 assist by Matsui Le Mans is at the top of the table now.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Right Click and Download: here's a very jazzed up video recapping the Le Mans/Nancy game. There is a quick shot of Matsui as he sends his cross to Fanchone for the goal. Lookin' good!
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] thanks for the details, furtho. Robson sounded mighty elated about the team's performance after the Spurs game, he use Ina in the next game (subbed in at halftime) but not in the one this weekend (they lost 0-4 to Middlesbrough and tied with Blackburn 1-1). I forget, did Robson come to WBA after Ina was transferred there? (I assume that's it, otherwise why would they pick Ina if they didn't think he was Premier material?) And what do you think about Ina's chances in the UK? I think he has his heart set on staying there (a tough challenge for a Japanese player), but I'm not sure...where would a player like him fit better?
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Personally, I think Inamoto should transfer to Holland, or France. That way, he gains a wealth of experience simply by playing day in and day out. He is currently playing for a weak team in the EPL, and at that, he rarely plays. By moving to France or Holland, I think he will prosper just as Shinji Ono has. To put it simply, the EPL is a tough league to play in, and I honestly think Inamoto would fare better in either the Eredivisie or Ligue 1 (don't forget, both these leagues are still top-notch European football leagues.... just not as good as the EPL). I mean, he didn't play for Arsenal. He was used in exhibition matches and the FA Cup... as substitutes. As the Arsenal goons affectionately called him, he was "t-shirt," simply because Arsenal made money off of his jersey sales in Japan and Asia. But yeah... to halt my rambling, I think he should move to Holland or France for better playing time. Even Portugal maybe.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] I was thinking I'd like to see him in Holland too -- I watch quite a bit of Eredivisie b/c of Feyenoord, and I think it's a really great crowd atmosphere and the level is like you said good enough. I remember though that last year Ina was trying to convince Ono to leave Holland. The impression I got was that Ina didn't really seem to be impressed by their league, or at least he felt Ono was languishing there. But I wonder how he thinks now, after all this time not playing...
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Inamoto came on as a substitute at half-time in the Middlesbrough game at the weekend, when West Brom were already 3-0 down. He wasn't even selected as a substitute for yesterday's game against Blackburn. Yes, Robson came to the club a few months after Inamoto had signed for them. The comparison with Ono is an interesting one; my take on it is that Ono is a decent player who has been wise / lucky with his choice of club outside of Japan. Inamoto, on the other hand, is a decent player who has been fantastically unlucky when it comes to the clubs that he's ended up at - Cardiff when they ran out of money, West Brom when they changed their manager to someone who didn't rate him. But in choosing to come to England, he's also made life very difficult for himself, given that it's probably about the most physically-demanding (NB. not best) league in the world - and, in my opinion, very tough for a Japanese player of average stature to cope with. When he was with Cardiff he got toughened up and undoubtedly has the skill to shine at that level; but in the Premiership, he's never really been able to impose himself on a game, whether with Fulham or West Brom (obviously not much chance to do so at the latter). Personally I'd love to see him do well at a club in England, but it has to be said that he'd have more opportunity to do so playing in any of the leagues that have been mentioned lately on this thread.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] I think there's a big difference in personality too. Ono seems to be a guy who can be the "glue" wherever he goes. Inamoto doesn't seem to have that locker room presence. There was talk a couple of years ago that Inamoto may end up at Feyenoord with Ono. I don't know how much truth there was to the talk, but that would've helped him a great deal, being on the same team with a close friend. I agree with the earlier comment that France and Holland are the best leagues for Japanese players.The only catch with Holland is that you have to go with either Feye or PSV, or you have little chance of playing continental football, or so it seems (I'd mention Ajax too but they seem to get enough talent from Europe and Africa). PSV is a great model for success - they built their team with a core of younger players and a seasoned veteran in Cocu. And unlike Premiership clubs, they have an incentive to develop youngsters because they buy low and sell high. For the club, every player is an asset. That's the kind of club Inamoto needs to be at, and I think there's too much money in the Premiership for a club to operate like that.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] From much of the feedback I had seen from Albion sites, Inamoto impressed at Spurs but less so at Boro (when yeah, we were already behind) and he hasn't seen action since. Bryan Robson did not accept Cardiff's request to extend Ina's loan to the Bluebirds because he would likely be needed in our attempt to stay up. When Jonathan Greening got suspended, it was hinted that Ina would see some action. He actually made his first team debut at Tottenham. Say what you like about Robbo, but I'm not sure Inamoto would have played at all had Gary Megson remained WBA's manager. Ina was with the club for a while before Meggo was sacked, and I honestly don't think Gary knew quite what to do with him, or how to utilise him in our midfield. After spending a few months at Cardiff, I think Robbo had a better idea of Ina's abilities. It's disappointing to me as an Albion supporter that he hadn't been given more of a chance. In England he may be more suited to a Championship club first; and Albion seem to be heading there next season. But Ina probably will look for a better opportunity elsewhere after the season ends.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] Thanks, DevilDave, for the insight. We only get blips of info on Ina here in Japan, so it's always good to hear from someone who actually follows the Albion games...
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] for those who said inamoto should have gone for a dutch or french team...i agree....totally...Ina's been cool and all, but he is not really right for the ep...maybe in his Fulham days but not now...at all...if he wants to get a place he better pucker up coz it's gonna take a long time to play first team football... ...and really he tried to persuade Ono to come to england"? how cute!
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] West Brom achieved the remarkable feat of avoiding relegation from the Premiership with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth on the last day of the English league season. Inamoto was named as a sub, but did not play. His side went into the match bottom of the division, fighting with Norwich, Crystal Palace and Southampton to avoid being one of the three sides to go down. With all the games kicking off at the same time, all four teams moved into the single position of safety during the course of the afternoon as goals were scored and conceded (especially the latter in the case of Norwich, conceded - they crashed 6-0 at Fulham). With 25 minutes of the season remaining, West Brom were looking doomed, but substitute Geoff Horsfield then made it 1-0 for them against Portsmouth with a powerful volley - his first touch after coming on - to move them ahead of their three rivals. Even then things changed, as Crystal Palace went in front at Charlton to put West Brom back into the relegation zone again. But Charlton defender Jon Fortune then equalised with eight minutes to go and with Keiran Richardson making certain of the three points for WBA, coach Bryan Robson has to be given credit for engineering a great escape for his club as the first team in the history of the Premiership to be bottom at Christmas and then not be relegated.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] woo hoo! they broke the curse. And Le Mans are officially heading to Ligue 1 next season. And Daisuke Matsui has already signed his three season contract with them. But Marseille coach Troussier is leaving the club next season -- what will happen to Koji? And btw, no thanks to Troussier coming back to JapanNT.
Re: Official Japanese Abroad Thread 2004-05 [R] At least this time the ball made it over the line before the celebration started.