retired_google

The new season is upon us already? Seems it was only yesterday the sushi stand was boarded up for the winter.

Had some disappointment, crashing out of the 3rd round of the post-season Emperor's Cup. We dispatched 2 amateur sides, both away, before drawing F Marinos at the (huge) Yokohama International. Must be our boys were a bit intimidated by the 70,000+ seats (though match attendance wasn't even 17,000), because we were down 3-0 within the first 20 minutes. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif" alt="frown[/IMG] Got a consolation goal late, but that was it.

Close season was fairly uneventful. Snapped up a pretty fair Japanese DL on a Bosman. He's 24 and will be replacing the English/Irish player/coach who decided to retire from the playing staff after just 1 season in Japan. A massive 470 million yen from J-League1 television rights, plus season ticket sales means the club's financial status is "secure." I suggested to the board that they invest in youth development as our training facilities "need some investment." They promptly said they would be expanding the training facilities. Saaaay....working for a Japanese board isn't bad at all.

Anyway, we're busy preparing for life in J-League1. It promises to be a hard slog and the board expect a brave battle against relegation. On the bright side, the board's investment during last season plus the television revenue (board investment was about double the television revenue) means I'm sitting on a very fat transfer kitty should I need to strengthen the squad during the season. Midfield looks set, but the strikers aren't quite up to speed, IMO. Defense outside of left back could be shaky too. Between the sticks, I'm probably going to go with the 19-yo I handed the job to in the middle of last season, though the previous incumbent (positively gray-headed at 31 [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG] ) is available should I need a veteran hand to steady things, Just too many positions to upgrade all at once.

retired_google

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Muss the Rednosed LLaMa:
Congrats on promotion Jason but have to pick you up on one point The Mighty Blues would never buy that former geordie poof you must have used the spawn [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am innocent m'lud!

retired_google

A brave battle against relegation? Feck yeah, baby.

A rough introduction to J-League1 for Vent Foret, no doubt made more difficult by the fact that I didn't schedule any friendlies ahead of the season. *cough*

As a result, we took only 1 point from a possible 21 to start the season. A very minor tinker with the tactics and some rotation of players (helped no doubt by finally getting into match fitness through league play) and we've climbed out of the drop zone, picking up 7 points from a possible 9 in our last 3 matches. (and really should have beat Sanfrecce at home in the last one: they were offside 19 times [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif" alt="eek[/IMG] )

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Japanese J-League 1 - Wednesday 1st May 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002 Tables============================================ ================================================== ==TablePos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Urawa Reds 10 4 0 1 16 11 4 0 1 13 5 24 2nd S-Pulse 10 4 1 0 10 3 3 0 2 9 8 20 3rd Purple Sanga 10 5 0 0 12 5 1 2 2 8 9 19 4th Jubilo 10 2 3 0 9 6 3 0 2 9 6 18 5th FC Tokyo 10 4 0 1 13 9 2 1 2 8 7 18 6th Grampus 10 4 0 1 9 7 2 0 3 9 12 18 7th Antlers 10 4 1 0 7 1 1 1 3 9 12 17 8th Verdy 10 3 1 1 15 8 2 0 3 5 7 15 9th Reysol 10 3 1 0 13 6 1 0 5 8 13 13 10th F Marinos 10 3 0 2 10 7 1 1 3 7 11 12 11th Cerezo 10 2 0 3 7 9 2 1 2 7 9 12 12th Sanfrecce 10 2 0 3 5 8 0 2 3 4 8 8 13th Vent Foret 10 2 1 3 5 8 0 1 3 3 10 8 14th Frontale 10 2 0 3 8 11 0 2 3 4 12 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15th Avispa 10 2 2 1 8 5 0 0 5 5 13 7 16th JEF Utd 10 1 1 3 8 11 0 0 5 7 13 3 </pre>

Crashed out the Japanese Cup at the first hurdle, losing to J-League2 side Consadole in both legs. I was fielding an A/B team to conserve some of the A team players for league play. Yes, I was concentrating on the league. (one of the rare times I've ever buggered off a cup) [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

retired_google

WAHGERTY!11

I've won championships. I've won cups. I've won promotions on the last day. But nothing gave me as much sheer exhileration as this.

Vent Foret kept stumbling, treading water, never breaking out of the relegation battle. But then things really went bad: a stretch where we went 0-1-8 (including losses to fellow relegation battlers Avispa at home, and away to Sanfrecce, who were a man down the entire 2nd half). Meanwhile, JEF United were starting to pick up some steam. The result: we'd slipped into the drop zone.

Sure enough, we lost 0-2 to Cerezo, but fortunately JEF United lost to Purple Sanga to set up a last day battle. I had beaten them 2-0 at Oze earlier in the year. But this match was at JEF United and I had to win. A draw would do me no good. Slight problem though: I hadn't won an away match all season.

So with our backs to the wall, I called for an agressive gameplan. We'd stay in our 4-4-2 alignment, but with an attacking mentality, pressing defense, and playing the offside trap. Of course, this wasn't much different from what I'd been playing all year (only, our forwards are ****e and the defense had been leaking goals. You know the backline is a problem when your keeper is getting 7s and 8s and you're still giving up 2 goals a game).

We would go ahead just after the quarter-hour with a nice goal. The lead would not stand up though, as JEF equalized before the stroke of halftime. 1-1, and we're back to being relegated. I was gutted. But the players were registering 7s, so I decided to keep plugging away. I would be rewarded with the lead on the hour, and a 3rd goal would come our way 15 minutes from time. A couple of frights from JEF, but they would not take our goal.

Full time: JEF United 1-3 Vent Foret. We escape the drop on the last day and send JEF United down to J-League2. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG]

I was so thrilled I did a David Pleat impersonation. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

Now we just await the Emperor's Cup draw.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Japanese J-League 1 - Sunday 24th November 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002 Tables============================================ ================================================== ==TablePos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Jubilo 30 12 3 0 32 12 8 1 6 31 23 63 2nd Antlers 30 13 1 1 32 14 7 2 6 35 35 62 3rd Purple Sanga 30 11 0 4 28 19 9 2 4 35 27 57 4th Reysol 30 13 1 1 44 18 5 1 9 23 25 54 5th FC Tokyo 30 12 0 3 37 20 5 4 6 22 26 53 6th Urawa Reds 30 11 1 3 36 27 6 0 9 27 29 52 7th F Marinos 30 10 0 5 32 20 6 2 7 22 24 48 8th S-Pulse 30 9 2 4 31 21 7 0 8 25 27 48 9th Cerezo 30 7 1 7 27 23 7 2 6 22 19 44 10th Grampus 30 8 2 5 25 23 6 1 8 27 33 43 11th Verdy 30 8 3 4 33 21 5 2 8 14 21 42 12th Sanfrecce 30 8 0 7 25 26 1 2 12 13 29 29 13th Avispa 30 3 4 8 24 32 4 0 11 22 37 22 14th Vent Foret 30 4 3 8 17 27 1 2 12 14 32 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15th R JEF Utd 30 4 2 9 19 30 2 1 12 21 38 18 16th R Frontale 30 3 1 11 22 32 1 2 12 12 39 15 First PeriodPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Jubilo 15 5 3 0 17 8 4 0 3 14 10 30 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Urawa Reds 15 6 0 1 22 14 4 0 4 17 13 30 3rd Antlers 15 7 1 0 13 2 2 2 3 15 16 30 4th FC Tokyo 15 7 0 1 18 10 3 1 3 11 12 30 5th Purple Sanga 15 6 0 2 15 10 3 2 2 12 9 28 6th Reysol 15 6 1 0 22 9 3 0 5 14 15 27 7th S-Pulse 15 4 1 2 12 8 5 0 3 14 13 26 8th Grampus 15 5 0 2 12 10 3 0 5 12 19 24 9th Cerezo 15 3 1 3 11 12 4 1 3 12 11 22 10th F Marinos 15 4 0 4 16 14 2 1 4 9 13 18 11th Verdy 15 3 2 2 17 12 2 1 5 5 10 17 12th Frontale 15 3 0 5 11 14 1 2 4 8 16 14 13th Vent Foret 15 3 2 3 7 8 0 2 5 5 15 13 14th Sanfrecce 15 3 0 4 8 12 0 2 6 6 14 11 15th JEF Utd 15 2 1 4 10 14 1 0 7 11 19 8 16th Avispa 15 2 2 4 11 14 0 0 7 6 17 7 Second PeriodPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Jubilo 15 7 0 0 15 4 4 1 3 17 13 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Antlers 15 6 0 1 19 12 5 0 3 20 19 32 3rd F Marinos 15 6 0 1 16 6 4 1 3 13 11 30 4th Purple Sanga 15 5 0 2 13 9 6 0 2 23 18 29 5th Reysol 15 7 0 1 22 9 2 1 4 9 10 27 6th Verdy 15 5 1 2 16 9 3 1 3 9 11 25 7th FC Tokyo 15 5 0 2 19 10 2 3 3 11 14 23 8th Cerezo 15 4 0 4 16 11 3 1 3 10 8 22 9th S-Pulse 15 5 1 2 19 13 2 0 5 11 14 22 10th Urawa Reds 15 5 1 2 14 13 2 0 5 10 16 22 11th Grampus 15 3 2 3 13 13 3 1 3 15 14 19 12th Sanfrecce 15 5 0 3 17 14 1 0 6 7 15 18 13th Avispa 15 1 2 4 13 18 4 0 4 16 20 15 14th JEF Utd 15 2 1 5 9 16 1 1 5 10 19 10 15th Vent Foret 15 1 1 5 10 19 1 0 7 9 17 7 16th Frontale 15 0 1 6 11 18 0 0 8 4 23 1 </pre>

Oh, and in the 2002 WC: Argentina 3-0 Brazil. Germany take 3rd. England, Scotland and Wales all made the WC; Scotland and Wales drawn into the same group. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG] And Wales finish 2nd, Scotland 3rd. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG]

Forget who Wales were knocked out by (it was 2nd round), but England crashed in the 2nd round to Uruguay on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

[This message was edited by Jason the Yank II on 16/12/2002 at 05:45.]

retired_google

Ace...I've been doing some research on Vent Foret, and IRL they are hideously crap. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/j2/ventforet.html

Maybe I should send my CV with my CM successes at the club. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG]

retired_google

Well not a bad end to the season.

Escaped relegation on the last day (see above), and made a run to the Emperor's Cup quarter-final. We couldn't win away from home during the season, so what happens? Yeah, 3 straight away wins (last match of the league, 2 cup matches).

Like all J-League1 clubs, we were given a bye into the 3rd round of the cup. We shocked Antlers 1-3. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG] Then beat JL2 side AlbireX 0-1 in the 4th round. Unfortunately we failed to show up in losing 3-1 to Grampus Eight. They ended up winning the cup against JEF United (of course, we relegated them, so there. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG])

Busy preparing for the 2003 season. The board are getting a little more demanding: they now expect us to stay clear of relegation. Which isn't bad. I found a Chinese striker during the 2002 season who registered 3 goals in 7 matches for us. He's been called up to the PRC team 9 times and has 7 goals for them. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif" alt="eek[/IMG] And I've found a Japanese ex-international ML to sign as player/coach. And a 22-yo DC released by S-Pulse who looks like he could provide some extra bolt in central defense for us. All signed on free transfers. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

And in more good news, the training facilities have been upgraded to "adequate," though naturally I've suggested to the board that they invest more. They say they're upgrading them. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG]

retired_google

Yikes.

Organized 3 friendlies to begin the season: 2 non-league sides and Holly Hock from JLeague2. Beat the non-league sides, drew with Holly Hock.

I think it was an omen to the season.

A hideous run of form for Vent Foret. Knocked out of the Japanese Cup at the first hurdle with a 2-4 aggregate defeat to Sanfrecce. Lost both legs. That wasn't the worst of it though.

That would be the NINE defeats in the league to start the season. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif" alt="frown[/IMG] Nothing works: changes in formation, changes in personnel, changing captains. Nothing. So we're rooted to the foot of the table with 0 points from the first nine matches and are already 7 points adrift. We look dead cert for relegation back to JLeague2.

Except...it's not "we" anymore. Although the last defeat landed me on the "slightly insecure" status somehow I managed to convince a European club to hire me.

So now I'm the new manager at Kilkenny City in the Republic of Ireland. Walking into a rough, but promising situation there: the finances are "insecure" (E340,000 in the red) and they just finished the season 9th in Division 1, one spot clear of the bottom in Ireland. The chairman is alright though. Fairly patient (13), an astute businessman (19) and very ambitious (20).

Japanese table at my departure:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Japanese J-League 1 - Monday 28th April 2003********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2003 Tables============================================ ================================================== ==TablePos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Jubilo 9 5 0 0 13 6 2 0 2 9 9 20 2nd Urawa Reds 9 4 0 0 12 6 3 0 2 9 7 19 3rd Avispa 9 4 0 1 13 10 2 1 1 7 6 19 4th Antlers 9 1 3 0 8 5 4 0 1 9 3 17 5th Purple Sanga 9 4 0 1 14 6 1 0 3 7 9 15 6th F Marinos 9 3 0 2 9 7 2 0 2 5 4 15 7th Reysol 9 3 0 2 13 7 2 0 2 6 8 14 8th Grampus 9 3 0 2 10 9 2 0 2 11 12 14 9th Verdy 9 3 1 0 7 4 1 1 3 9 12 13 10th Cerezo 9 1 2 1 7 7 2 2 1 5 3 12 11th Sanfrecce 9 3 0 2 8 7 0 2 2 3 5 11 12th S-Pulse 9 2 2 1 9 7 1 1 2 5 8 10 13th FC Tokyo 9 2 0 2 4 4 1 1 3 6 9 10 14th Bellmare 9 0 1 3 2 6 2 0 3 8 11 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15th Gamba 9 0 0 4 3 11 0 1 4 6 16 1 16th Vent Foret 9 0 0 4 3 9 0 0 5 6 13 0 First PeriodPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Jubilo 9 5 0 0 13 6 2 0 2 9 9 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Urawa Reds 9 4 0 0 12 6 3 0 2 9 7 19 3rd Avispa 9 4 0 1 13 10 2 1 1 7 6 19 4th Antlers 9 1 3 0 8 5 4 0 1 9 3 17 5th Purple Sanga 9 4 0 1 14 6 1 0 3 7 9 15 6th F Marinos 9 3 0 2 9 7 2 0 2 5 4 15 7th Reysol 9 3 0 2 13 7 2 0 2 6 8 14 8th Grampus 9 3 0 2 10 9 2 0 2 11 12 14 9th Verdy 9 3 1 0 7 4 1 1 3 9 12 13 10th Cerezo 9 1 2 1 7 7 2 2 1 5 3 12 11th Sanfrecce 9 3 0 2 8 7 0 2 2 3 5 11 12th S-Pulse 9 2 2 1 9 7 1 1 2 5 8 10 13th FC Tokyo 9 2 0 2 4 4 1 1 3 6 9 10 14th Bellmare 9 0 1 3 2 6 2 0 3 8 11 7 15th Gamba 9 0 0 4 3 11 0 1 4 6 16 1 16th Vent Foret 9 0 0 4 3 9 0 0 5 6 13 0 </pre>

Final League of Ireland Division 1 table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Irish First Division - Monday 28th April 2003********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Cork City 36 12 4 2 23 11 13 3 2 25 6 82 2nd P St. Patrick's Ath. 36 12 2 4 34 15 3 6 9 9 17 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd P Monaghan Utd 36 8 6 4 25 15 5 7 6 9 16 52 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Sligo Rovers 36 5 5 8 17 21 10 2 6 17 14 52 5th Cobh Ramblers 36 5 4 9 12 16 8 7 3 16 9 50 6th Longford 36 6 2 10 14 15 8 5 5 26 23 49 7th Athlone Town 36 8 6 4 12 8 4 5 9 11 22 47 8th Home Farm 36 5 6 7 12 16 7 3 8 14 15 45 9th Kilkenny City 36 4 3 11 5 16 8 1 9 16 19 40 10th St. Francis 36 3 5 10 6 19 3 4 11 9 19 27 </pre>

retired_blondielovespink

That's showing the board. Jump before you're pushed. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG]

KUTGW!

retired_little.splash

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jason the Yank II:
Ace...I've been doing some research on Vent Foret, and IRL they are hideously crap. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/j2/ventforet.html

Maybe I should send my CV with my CM successes at the club. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great mascot
Anyway, once had a rather short spell at Oita Trinita, but after a while the league system irritated me that much that I just resigned [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif" alt="frown[/IMG]

retired_google

New Year's Day....2004. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

Things are going well at Kilkenny. The board only wanted me to improve the squad. Instead, halfway through the season, we're locked in a 4-team dogfight for the playoff spot, all of us level on 27 points. It looks like that's we'll have to fight for, as Bohemians and Sligo Rovers are running away from the rest of us with 42+ points. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif" alt="eek[/IMG]

Needless to say, the board is delighted with my performance. We've had a striker named Player of the Month and he's already set a club record with....9 league goals. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

And oh by the way, Vent Foret finished rooted to the bottom of JLeague1 with sommink like 12 points. So it wasn't just me. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]