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The First Few Weeks

With players returning in February, Jeff's role began interestingly as the young forward Seiki Aizawa turned up one Friday stinking of alcohol, looking ill and certainly unfit for the brief practice session remaining. Immediate discipline was necessary as Seiki was sent home, and Jeff looked to establish his authority early on. He could not tolerate such behaviour if he wanted to take this club forward - and the players were soon made aware of the fact that if they wanted to stay at this club and earn a footballing career - they really had to want it - and behave accordingly. Seiki's error he hoped, could merely be put down to the exuberance of an excitable young man, misled by his unhelpful friends.

The DJS guide though was proving interesting reading, though initially it seemed to be merely reporting the tens of transfers that were occurring between his rivals, and Jeff hoped that he too would enjoy a little success in this regard sooner rather than later. However with so little money in the bank it seemed highly unlikely. Selling some of the better players, including want-away Brazilian talent Rodrigo was a possible option but he had to have the replacements to come in beforehand.

Away from the football ground Jeff continued his own personal study of his new surroundings, he had walked the local mountains where possible, enjoyed the beautiful sights on offer in the city of Sendai - a really quite splendid area in it's own right, and had taken the time to briefly visit the Hokkaido Island - albeit on the premise of routing out a few possible leads that Masayuki had offered him with regards to prospective talent, but he'd left empty handed.

When time was on his hands Jeff would continue to sneak around the lands supposedly considered off-limits in certain sectors, and on one such occasion he had bumped into a young man with a definite purpose affixed to his gaze, he hadn't stopped long, as despite Jeff's efforts he appeared stubborn in his desire to help Jeff understand what secrets lay in the nearby lands. Jeff had watched the athletic lad, of around 16 years of age scamper off towards Sendai, intent on achieving whatever it was that was drawing him there. It would not be the first meeting between the two individuals. Jeff didn't find what he was looking for that day, and returned to the club.

The first signing for the club arrived shortly after, but not from the sources many at the club might have expected - indeed it was Jeff who had plucked this loan signing, from England. He clearly kept in touch with news back home, and having read of reports of various unhappy folk looking for work elsewhere, he tried his luck and was rewarded as Watford's Charlie Miller arrived on a 4 month loan deal until June - the attacking midfielder had plenty of talent - and given that Vegalta were not even paying his wages it was a risk worth taking.

Another first arrived not long after with a friendly at home to J-League 1 side Reysol. It was Jeff's first chance to show the fans what he was capable of and what the players were able to do, and lining up in an orthodox 4-4-2 formation, the team performed very well indeed, though only in front of 3073 fans, with plenty of empty seats staring into Jeff's face. It would take a good while indeed before the fans started flocking to the side. The strongest side had started, created a 2 goal lead through Yasutaka Kobayashi and Rodrigo, both very well taken goals before changes and a goal a piece for both sides - Vegalta's coming from Naoki Chiba, as a 3-1 win was an enjoyable start to Jeff's career out here.

In his cottage back home that evening, Jeff reflected on the match quietly. The atmosphere had been quiet, but he had been pleased at how comfortable he had felt out there. He supposed that really it was all just the same. On the touchline, the players doing the job, or not, and communication was universally accepted through the art of manic arm waving. As he opened the last few remaining boxes that he'd brought with him - moving on such a scale was never going to be swift transition - he was thinking of how on earth he had ever had concerns about such a move. This was his idyll for now - with the testing challenge to go with it.

The follow up victory over another J-League 1 side renewed confidence in his side and his ability as the two stars of the first match repeated the feat 5 days later with a superb 4-1 victory over Vissel Kobe though this time it was 2 goals apiece for Rodrigo and Kobayashi in the win - one which did receive a good reception from the hard core set of supporters as the first team picked up fitness. The final match at home to Montedio Yamagata was used as a platform for Jeff and Hiroyuki to assess the fringe and reserve player further. An excellent effort saw Vegalta twice come from behind to win 3-2, though it was sub and first teamer Rodrigo who added a further 2 goals to his pre-season tally. The efforts of young midfielder Motoki Imagawa caught the eye in midfield, whilst recently disciplined Seiki Aizawa also demonstrated his new found eagerness to not be such a wally in the future with a hard working performance up front too.

retired_mika318

Oooh. Mystery in the midst. :eek: :thup:

A thoroughly entertaining read once again BoN.

When do you start your job for the Japanese tourist board btw?

KUTEW :thup:

retired_embartl

ha, cheers Timbo - though I should say with the season about to start the primary focus will be on the football - though the league does have a month off at the end of May which will obviously allow for the extras to flourish a bit *touches wood*


The Official Presentation

In early March, and with the season opener with Urawa Red Diamonds drawing ever near the Chairman Shinichiro Matsumoto and General Manager Yoji Iki requested the presence of Jeff for the first of what would no doubt be many press conferences with the club, to assess the club's chances in the year to come. Assurances would now doubt be required, whilst Jeff needed to get his face across to the fans, though for Jeff he had a couple of quick lessons to learn...

SM: Listen Jeff-San, these conferences, they are important to the club. We respect the fans and we respect the press. It is imperative we put on a very professional appearance. I am disappointed to see you dressed in such... common attire. Please Jeff, you are to follow me quickly.

A bad start for Jeff then, who couldn't help but feel very intimidated by the boss, and embarrassed by his so called common attire ( tracksuit ). All those ideas of "doing a Clough" and asserting authority at the club had gone out the window very swiftly - there was no doubt about who ran this club. He followed Shinichiro to a side room, where to his astonishment a selection of pristine suits, all dark colours, varying in the slightest differences in the slimness of the pin stripes. Each was accompanied by what seemed to be a blue tie with the club's crest in bright yellow. With a standard white shirt as the back drop, Jeff's image was suddenly to be transformed.

SM: Pick and choose Jeff-San. I am sorry this has clearly not been translated to you yet, but here we are now. The conference will commence in 34 minutes, and you will be positive and up lifting. Do not worry about the Press. Answer the questions honestly - you have my full support. Yoji-san will be there too to prevent any journalist from crossing a line and it should last no longer than around 5-10 minutes. If that. We run on efficiency Jeff-san though I am sure Yoji has already briefed you on that.

JB: Understood Shinichiro-san.

And he did. Led through to the smaller than expected sized Conference area Jeff was bewildered at first to be met by the flashing glare of flash cameras and the video kind, focussed directly on him, monitoring his every move as he took his place next to Yoji Iki at the short neat table, with so many microphones perched in front of him as he waited for the introduction from Yoji Iki which duly arrived, in Japanese beyond Jeff's comprehension, as he only managed one or two words, and that included his name.

YI: Good Afternoon everyone. As you are of course well aware by now - we have appointed this Englishman Jeff Bland as our new manager in a quest we hope to establish Vegalta Sendai as a top, top side in Japanese soccer. He is very able, very qualified and we have enjoyed working with him so far and the three pre-season victories we are sure are a sign of events to come. Now you may a select number of questions to Jeff to satisfy whatever curiosity you may have.

A slight nod, a few shouts, and a few raised arms, before the first one was chosen, and the question was swiftly translated by Yoji. Though Jeff had a decent enough grasp of the language it had been decided he would speak in English this time round as he allowed his confidence to grow gradually.

Yoki Miura : Yoji Miura, Sendai City News here. Mr. Bland-san I want to ask the most obvious question - what attracted you to Sendai?

JB: Er thanks for that Yoji-san. I hope you forgive me for answering in English - my Japanese isn't up to standard yet, but I am very eager to learn and my desire to challenge myself in such an environment was a key factor in firstly deciding I wanted to put my skills to use abroad and specifically in Japan. With that in mind I had to wait for an opportunity to arise, it did so and I was very impressed by Vegalta's offer. They sold me to the point where I thought I had to sell myself to them!

A short laugh.

JB: It is a wonderful club and I am delighted to be here, the town is beautiful and the surrounding countryside areas are a delight too, so in every aspect I am very comfortable here.

More noise, more hands and then the next question and translation.

Faritmura Ryang: Faritmura Ryang, Sports Weekly, what have you made of Vegalta so far and what do you hope to achieve during your time here?

[b] JB: [b] I have been pleased by the quality here. I already knew there were good players here and the eagerness goes without question. The enthusiasm in training has certainly paralleled if not eclipsed what I knew in England and that is a bonus. I can only work with players who want to be here and they definitely do. We have talent and we have enjoyed some early success in the practice matches, though I will not read too much into that yet. There is plenty of hard work to be done but I believe we can of course take this club to the next level and promotion, but only time will tell whether we are capable of achieving that.

And so it continued.

Takashi Miki: Takashi Miki, DJS, What do you know of the other clubs in the leagues and of the attitude towards soccer generally in Japan?

JB: Well on the first point, you know as well as I do, that I am new here, I do not have an extensive knowledge of the histories of all the clubs so far but I have a great network of support with me, and my assistant Hiroyuki Matsumoto and Kazuo Echigo are both tremendous coaches and well versed in the soccer clubs here. I trust their knowledge 110% and it will not take me long to realise the strengths and weakness of who I am competing with. That is not a problem. As for the second part I appreciate soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in terms of enjoyment, playing at colleges and indeed interest and I think that's fantastic. I would hope that I can be part of this growth and development of the sport. Japan has the potential in every aspect to have a league that could sustain a similar degree of interest as the major European Leagues and it can be a force nationally. It may take time but the most important aspect - a strong desire is there. That and money of course.

Yasuhide Ihara : Yasuhide Ihara, Sendai Times, do you have any plans to strengthen the squad immediately and are the rumours correct that the Brazilian pair are upset?

YI: I will answer this question on behalf of Jeff-san thank you Yasuhide-san. You know very well those sorts of questions are not permitted in these conferences and as such this will be the final question of the day. Ricardo and Rodrigo will be with us as long as the club deems appropriate - every foreigner, including Charlie Miller will be given assistance in settling in this country. It is never easy to move to an alien culture all of a sudden and it is understandable for players to need time to ge themselves acquainted. Under Jeff's direction we are confident they will find themselves content to be here, though that situation is as ever subject to change. As for better news for the fans, we are working on bringing in a new midfielder now - he is another South American, a midfielder and should be with us shortly so the fans can rest happy. Now I thank you for your time, this conference is over.

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief, as he was finally able to get out of there and change into more comfortable attire. Shinichiro and Yoji both congratulated him on the smooth running of the conference, before offering him an invite to a pre-season dinner with the board of directors and friends - formal dress only. An acceptance, a sigh and a collection of the pristine suit precluded Jeff's return to his own house once more. Only a few days now - and it would all kick off. He could hardly wait.

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Vegalta Sendai - Guided By An Englishman

First Leg - Gaining A Rep

Matchday 1, H v Urawa Red Diamonds, Sunday 18th, Breezy, 8,102

4-4-2: Ishikawa; Saito Mikuriya Ricardo Tazawa; Yamada, Zaizen, Miller, Kobayashi; Rodrigo Fujiyoshi.

The opening match saw Jeff's side take to the field in only a half full stadium. The new player in question, 20 year old Paraguayan midfield had signed before the game but was not awarded a place on the bench, though there would be time for Juan Carlos Ruiz Diaz to make his impact. Given the club itself was relatively new this was not a surprise but there was a determination to improve this by creating a side fit to entertain and attract the new breed of fan that was emerging in the streets, with the Beckhams and Owens on their shirts. All they needed was more Nakata's to show them that their own league was worthy of supporting. The 6 goal thriller that followed was certainly a decent start.

In what proved to be an exciting match, it was Rodrigo's strike partner who began the entertainment early on as Shinji Fujiyoshi was fought his own personal battle with the entire Diamonds side it seemed, winning it convincingly as he thumped in a fine effort in the 6th minute - and there was Jeff's first official goal. It was nice to get it early. After Nobuyuki Zaizan fired over from close range moments later, there was another first for Jeff - though the concession of such a weak goal wasn't a memory he hoped would last as Sinji Jojo capitalised on poor defending to make it 1-1 after 10 minutes. Chances were exchanged after that in what was very much the epitome of an end to end match before the young Brazilian forward Adiel headed the Diamonds ahead on 32 minutes as Ricardo fluffed it against his compatriot. The dismay was only short lived though as the fighting spirit Jeff had been trying to instil in his side showed early fruition in a spectacular 5 minute spell that completely stunned Urawa Reds and had the home crowd delighted.

Firstly Yasutaka Kobayashi punished a weak clearance from a Tazawa corner with low drive on 36 minutes, before 2 minutes later it was Charlie Miller who restored Vegalta's lead. Zaizan's run and shot had unluckily hit the bar but the ball fell at Miller's feet and the midfielder couldn't miss. With the Red's still trying to work out what was happening, Takahiro Yamada carried the ball down the left flank, feeding Rodrigo before he could be dispossessed, who in turn found Zaizan on the edge of the area. A clever chip was spectacularly hammered in by Kobayashi again and at 4-2 the crowd had certainly earned their money's worth. Jeff turned to catch a glimpse of a smile trying to be suppressed on Shinichiro's face. Ha. The game might as well have ended at half time though as Vegalta played out the second 45 relatively comfortably, the only down point being the injury to Yamada at the end but it didn't spoil a fine opening day victory for Jeff and Vegalta.

Vegalta Sendai 4 Urawa Red Diamonds 2 Fujiyoshi 6, Kobayashi 36, 41, Miller 38; Jojo 10

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A superb start to his career continued to please Jeff as the confidence booster and been earned and though he knew so little about the other clubs so far he felt reasonable confident that they had every chance of making a charge for promotion this year. It had been an energy sapping afternoon though, and once all the post match formalities had been completed it was off home for an early night in his comfortable new bed, thoughts remaining only on the games ahead.

In midweek there was another counsel with Masayuki Tagaki who had returned from his initial scouting of various players for Jeff to consider.

JB: Jesus Masayuki! You've given me almost 60 players here!

MT: Yes, don't worry they're listed in order of who should be given consideration immediately.

JB: So i might as well throw away the bottom 40-50 yes? I told you I only want the creme de la creme.

MT: Jeff-san I appreciate that, but you need back ups and some of the youngsters who aren't good enough now could develop into prime targets later on. What if the first choices there don't want to come - who are you going to get? Remember we still don't have a recognised left back...

JB: I know, and Katsuyuki Saito who deputised there last time, has suffered slight bruising in training. He won't make it for the next match so we really need to try and bring someone in there imperatively.

MT: Ok, well there are decent options on that list that you should considerer. I know money is a factor and a problem but it should become available you should be ready to swoop. You'll have to take my word for it though there is absolutely no-one worth loaning in that position. You'd be better off going with a right sided defender we already have.

JB: Thanks Masayuki - well I'll have a flick through what you've said and see what can be done. There seems to be one here who's cheap enough on first glance, but thanks for doing this I appreciate it. Anyway see you tomorrow at training.

retired_mika318

Season underway \o/

Seems like the Vegalta Sendai fans are going to get as much out of this as I am currently :thup:

retired_embartl

heh, well I'll apologise now for the upcoming holiday's which will see a delay in the update of this and t'other for a couple of weeks :p

Matchday 2 A v Consodole Sapporo @ Atsubetsu Park, Sunday 25th, Breezy, 6775

4-4-2: Ishikawa; Saito Mikuriya Ricardo Tazawa; Nakajima, Zaizen, Miller, Kobayashi; Rodrigo Fujiyoshi.

The weekend match saw a first trip across the Islands - north to Hokkaido to play Consodole Sapporo, a side who had won and lost their first two matches which only served to prove they were talented yet beatable. Saito just about declared himself fit in time for this match, though Charlie MIller was dropped in favour of Tomohiro Hasumi, allowing Diaz a place on the bench, filling up the quota of foreigners allowed in a matchday squad ( 3 )and Koji Nakajima replaced the slightly injured Yamada on the left.

In a battling opening, which was certainly a more tighter affair than the previous week's insanity, midfielder Kobayashi picked up an early yellow card for a rash tackle and sadly that seemed to tame his efforts afterwards as he was too eager to avoid a dismissal. The hosts had the first chance to take the lead but Takashi Sakurai fired his long range effort over the bar, but Rodrigo and Zaizan responded quickly as the pair combined to force a succession of corners at the other end. That was seeming to be the only action of a bitterly dull match which was being played more or less inside the centre circle, but just before the break the visitors were celebrating. Rodrigo and Zaizan were again key players in creating the goal but it was Nakajima making his first start chipped in perfectly for Shinji Fujiyoshi to break the deadlock and Jeff was mightly happy.

Unsurprisingly the hosts began the second half trying to increase the tempo of the match, they laughably appealed for a couple of non penalties before Sakurai had another volley flying over the bar after an admittedly fine move from Consodole. As the side were struggling to keep a rhythm going, Jeff knew his side would not be leading for long unless he changed things, and Makoto Segawa replaced Kobayashi shortly after the hour mark and the fresh pace helped add some impetus to the visitors attack. With twenty minutes to go it suddenly became 2-0 though as Vegalta struck viciously and it was Segawa who scored it - adding the finishing touch to a superb run and cross from the tricky Koji Nakajima. Ruiz Diaz was then offered the chance to make his debut, but his substitute immediately saw the hosts reduce the lead as Rodrigo conceded a free kick. Fortunately however, the side held on for another 3 points, and it was 100% still for Jeff and Vegalta.


Consodole Sapporo 1 Vegalta Sendai 2 Komatsuzaki 74; Fujiyoshi 41,Segawa 70

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Admittedly it was only two games in but the record looked good for Jeff so far. If you included pre-season matches it made for pleasant reading. On the training pitch there was progress too as Masayuki had done a little extra rooting around, and produced a couple of young kids who had played in the clubs newly established academy. Their potential had been spotted, and Yutuka Yamaguchi, a 17 year old left back was awarded a professional contract. He was a promising kid though his position was certainly a bonus. The other lad Tsuyoshi Wada was a 16 year old forward who'd need more time but he certainly was one to look at and Jeff was very satisfied with how swift his changes had been brought together. He had to thank Shinichiro and Yoji for putting those suggestions into place with immediate effect. The Jeff Bland factor had started, he grinned privately.

The following day there was further progress to as a left back was belatedly brought in as Yoji came to inform him.

YI: Jeff-san we have good news for you. The acquisition of Tomohiro Morikawa from Tochigi SC should be brought to a swift conclusion soon enough.

JB: Ah good. Arigatoo Gozaimasu.

YI: Yes well Jeff-san we do not expect to pay for any more players right now Jeff. We do not have the money in the bank so if there are to be more we suggest you look for free transfers. The fee for Tomohiro was minimal and his wage demands match what we are prepared to offer.

JB: Arigatoo Gozaimasu Yoji-san. I assure you that I am happy with the squad. I have also told our Yugoslavian defender he is not required any longer, and assuming his agent makes this public knowledge I expect we may have bids for him, which will raise some money.

YI: You have a mind I like Jeff-san. That is good news - I will pass this information on to Shinichiro. Now, I must bid you goodbye, I have work to, Konbanwa.

retired_embartl

Matchday 3 A v Sagan @ Tosu, Sunday 1st April, Dry,4541

4-4-2: Ishikawa; Morikawa Mikuriya Gaya Tazawa; Nakajima, Zaizen, Miller, Kobayashi; Rodrigo Fujiyoshi.

It was a long trip South to Kyushu Island for the next match as Jeff revelled in his new homeland, for him away matches were another outlet for his adventuring mind. This time he faced opponents who hadn't scored many in their matches thus far, but enough to claim an early second spot in the table. They were very tight at the back too. For Vegalta, Morikawa came in to make his debut at left back, whilst Eiji Gaya made his first start of the season in place of Ricardo. Miller was back in the centre of midfield too.

This game brought with it a newfound part of the Japanese rules he'd neglected to read up before hand but the good form continued once more though not without enjoying a very hard match. A bright start saw on form striker Shinji Fujiyoshi start the scoring once more for his side when he met a Zaizan cross at the near post on 12 minutes before 3 minutes later he and the side prevented the hosts making an immediate response when from the other side Rodrigo crossed for Fujiyoshi to head in the second. An excellent start finally spawned a fiery reposte from Sagan who realised they needed to wake up quickly as they piled the pressure on. Ohmi Sato and Myoshi both tested Ishikawa with fierce drives and on 30 minutes the latter forced a corner. Iwamoto crossed, Ishikawa missed it and Kazunori Iio scored his first goal for his club since joining on loan from Verdy.

It was game on once more but in truth it was more or less one way as for a long spell before and after the break as they kept coming forward but fine defending was keeping them at bay, and Jeff realised his side really were missing some bit in midfield - not having a defensive man in there to help stem the tide. He did what he could though, bringing on a slightly more solid Diaz on for Miller with half an hour remaining and the Paraguayan did improve the battle in there, as Vegalta found a little joy at the other end for a change as Rodrigo was handed successive chances to restore the 2 goal lead bu both times the striker passed up the opportunity as the 1 goal lead continued to seem oh so vulnerable. Segawa again replaced Kabayashi with 10 minutes to go but his legs were wasted as Sagan were pressurising firmly with apparent lack of success.

In the 90th minute Hisanaga crossed the ball from the right and there was Iio to make it 2-2 and Jeff held his hands in his face - whilst deserved the timing made it bloody annoying. The final whistle went and Ryan believed he was settling for a draw until Hiroyuki grabbed him by the shoulder to politely inform him league matches went into a golden goal extra time scenario to try and find a winner - which shocked Jeff, but he readied himself once more - encouraged the players and inside 8 minutes he was a happy man once more as a break away attack started by a clearance from Morikawa handed the points to Vegalta - and the day became a very enjoyable one indeed as Shinji Fujiyoshi raced on collected the ball and fired the ball into the net to delightedly collect a well deserved hat-trick.

Sagan Tosu 2 Vegalta Sendai 3 (Iio 30,90; Fujiyoshi 12, 15, 97)

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The result proved another pleasing event for the board. The team had finished 4th last year, and the progress under Jeff's stewardship had certainly been noticed but the 3 wins now had the side in 2nd place with a game in hand on the leaders. Goals too hadn't been a problem as Shinji Fujiyoshi had enjoyed a flying start to the season, whilst the other members of the side had performed to a high standard. Hiroshi Ishii had returned too from his search for players, and whilst the list was once again mammoth, the same old problem of money was an issue - though of course this didn't stop Jeff keeping tabs on those worth watching in case of a change in circumstances with the accounts. Hiroshi was welcomed back to the training ground, though Masayuki decided to go off on a more general quest around the Asian countries in search of potential stars.

Matchday 4 H v Ardija, Sunday 8th April, Dry, 4931

4-4-2: Ishikawa; Morikawa Mikuriya Gaya Tazawa; Nakajima, Zaizen, Miller, Nakamura; Rodrigo Fujiyoshi.

A second home match against an inconsistent side brought only a slight change as Kobayashi was replaced by Manabu Nakamura, whilst the attendance was disappointing. Despite a bright start to the year with clear signs of the side being of a promotion standard, the crowd had managed to fall by a few thousand which indicated increasing the crowds would definitely require some long term planning in Japanese football generally, that or the fans would hopefully soon realise that Baseball is an incredibly boring game compared to a fast paced soccer match.

The first half showed why Jeff's side were doing so well as they completely controlled the match with the midfield in charge, the absence of a defensive player not even an issue, whilst Gaya and Nakamura impressed on their rare starts. Charlie Miller was also an outstanding performer in the match, and he robbed Fujiyoshi of the first scorer award when, in the 22nd minute he took Zaizan's ball in his stride, raced towards goal and fired in a sweet effort to open the scoring. However Shinji Fujiyoshi still got his obligatory goal this match 15 minutes later, this time the recipient of a Miller pass, with Zaizan again having been instrumental in creating it. It had ended a very tough opening to the match that had seen 3 yellow cards awarded as Rodrigo and Gaya were cautioned for Vegalta.

Any thoughts the visitors would stage a comeback in the second half were extinguished in the 57th minute when Koji Nakajima swung in a corner which Rodrigo headed in - the Brazilian netting his first of the season and indeed his first club goal. It was game over and the fans were very happy, despite the anticlimactic end to a match even if the players were able to rest their legs whilst Chiba and Segawa were able to come on and lend a hand to the easing out of the result and 4 wins out of 4 continued the splendid opening to the season and Jeff left to go home in very high spirits.

Vegalta Sendai 3 Omiya Ardija 2 Miller 22, Fujiyoshi 37, Rodrigo 57