We spoke last night, almost straight after the Japan game, so firstly Jon and I covered Japan v Oman, with the Samurai Blue getting their final stage campaign off to the perfect start with a 3-0 win, before we got down to business discussing the talking points around the most open J2 season in years.
This 52 minute podcast runs in two main parts:
- Part 1 (A): A quick getting-to-know-you chat with Jon (to about five minutes in);
- Part 1 (B): The World Cup qualifier and Japan's upcoming schedule (to 18:20);
- Part 2: J2 through 17 games - A review of key results from Matchday 17, the top six and teams in the playoff mix, Jon's picks for promotion and the playoffs, as well as a lengthy discussion on the new playoff and relegation systems amongst other issues.
Listen on the player above or download the mp3 by clicking on the J-Talk logo on the left. For iTunes subscribers (our sincerest apologies about last week's lost podcast!) this episode will hopefully be available for you tonight (Monday).
Thanks for all the work you put into broadcasting this great podcast each week.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, what is the problem with getting the podcast into iTunes? Does Apple have to screen each podcast or something?
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteThanks very much for your kind words, much appreciated.
Re: iTunes, the problem is that every week I email the audio file to my Japanese mate, and he uploads it whenever he has the time. I have no idea how to do it (probably really easy but I'm a tech numpty) so I rely on him to post them and if he's busy it often takes him a couple of days to get round to it.
I hope them usually being late on iTunes doesn't detract too much from your enjoyment of the pod...have you tried downloading the mp3 from the file host? Not a perfect solution maybe, but you would be able to listen as soon as they come out.
Cheers,
Ben
Hey Ben, first time listener here.
ReplyDeleteReally good podcast. Very interesting talk on the play-off system in J2. I agree with Jon that it is a very interesting system. In my opinion there should be an advantage to the team that finishes higher up in the league and this system is a good way of providing it.
Also, as a fairly regular watcher of FC Gifu I hope they avoid the relegation/play-off spot. Maybe if they played all their games away from home (their away form isn't that bad this year) they may have a better chance!
Hiya Stuart,
DeleteThanks very much for your comment mate (and the follow on twitter!).
Yeah I think the playoffs is a top idea, should keep interest going right throughout the season, although I would've preferred home and away in the semis. And a neutral venue for the final for that matter, but I realise that would be difficult logistically, as you wouldn't get much of a crowd for two non-Kanto teams at Kokuritsu for example.
Anyways, I hope the win over Chiba is the start of a turnaround for FC Gifu and they can kick-on up the table to safety.
Just out of interest, if the worst happened and they were to get relegated, what sort of an impact would that have on the way they were run? Do you think they'd be able to stay professional playing in the JFL?
Hope it doesn't happen of course but just curious what you think.
OK mate, hope you'll listen again in the coming weeks and thanks again.
Cheers,
Ben
I can understand what you are saying about the play-offs, and suppose it would be a bit odd if, having finished in 3rd place, you knew you could go up without needing to win games. (I think I followed the process correctly - the higher placed team only needs to draw, right?) Having said that, I feel it is a just reward for finishing higher up the table. It will be interesting to see how those play-off matches go.
DeleteAs for FC Gifu, if the worst does happen then I'm pretty sure they would cease to function as a professional outfit in the JFL. They are very much at their limit financially now and they needed a supporter collection to help them through last season. I haven't got official stats, but I would guess that the average attendance is less than 3000. If they lost the J-League money, Sky Perfect money, and the money that that comes in when "big" teams visit, then I can't see how they could stay professional.
Anyway, hopefully it doesn't come to that and Gifu finish 20th or above!!!
Glad people enjoyed the podcast. It was a lot of fun to do!
ReplyDeleteBen, looks like we might have found our go-to guy for FC Gifu info here!
Thanks again Jon,
DeleteWas great to have you on, you certainly know your stuff and the pod came out really well I reckon.
Speak to you soon, I'll do my best to provide little J2 updates until then!
Cheers,
Ben
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