The Red Streak in 2011

To say that the Reds are a streaky team would be somewhat accurate; especially during this time of the year. Unfortunately for the Reds; it's never a good streak. The story it seems that the Reds start off with a lost, then play good for a few weeks which places them near the top of the table; everyone's hopes are lifted and expectations seems fresh. But then just before the mid-season break it all just seems to fall apart.

This season it all seems abit familiar, but also oh so very different. The season of cause started of with a lost to Kobe (nothing new there; the lost to start the season that is), and then the second game win gives everyone hope. This season of cause is abit "scattered" due to the earthquake and tsunami; so our second game was in fact our section7 game and the part of the season where the Reds traditionally "play well" in just hasn't been played yet. What's more concerning is that the games that were missed will be played during the summer break, which is when we play at our worst. Am I reading too much into things or am I just trying to make an excuse for what's happening?

Our last seven games reads like this; W-L-L-L-D-D-D. So hopefully our next three games would reap 9 points and heading into the right direction.

So how was the game itself? We just couldn't hold on for the win. I wouldn't say that our defence is solid, but it has been effective of late. We just seem to let our guard down for a moment and allow the opposition to score. The one thing that has been lacking lately has been our consistency. We have been showing positive signs, but not enough to warrant a win.

Petrovic again tinkered with the front line; this time starting Takasaki along side Edmilson and changing to a 4-4-2 formation. It did make Edmilson look more dangerous and netted him a goal. But with Mazola's return, I think I would prefer to see a front three of Genki-Takasaki-Mazola just to change things up abit and see how it goes. Could it work? Yes, but will it happen? I highly doubt it. I think Eji is on too much to be starting on the bench; but his play of late hasn't warranted him being in the starting XI.

This is how we line up;

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Takahashi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Ugajin
MF: Keita; Kashiwagi; Richardes; Haraguchi
FW: Takasaki; Edmilson

Subs
72min Takasaki > Hara
77min Keita > Nobu Yamada

Up next in J-1 is the Saitama derby against Omiya on the 11th of June. But next is the Nabisco Cup. I hope the Reds fighting spirit shines through the next few weeks.

Being happy with a point

As the saying goes "Beggers can't be choosers" and right now for the Reds any point will do. Of cause the preference is always the 3 points for a win, but the way the Reds are playing a point will sometimes have to do. The importance of the point we earned against Kashima? We are now out of the "drop zone" on 5 points (from seven games).

The game finished 2-2, but really it was a game of two halves (well for the Reds it was at least). The Antlers played pretty well for the entire match, and if I was an Antler, I would have been disappointed not to come away with the 3 points. Esspecially after witnessing how the Reds played in the first half; if it was a dream, it would be beyond a nightmare. Nothing was happening and no passes were connecting (it felt like it anyways). Seeing the referee blow for half time, I had wished that it was full time. I didn't want to know what could have been in the second half. (Mind you we were only down 1-0)

Luckily for the Reds there was a second half and with it came a glimmer of hope. That glimmer came in the form of Mazola who came on at half time replacing Sergio. I don't know what it is, but with Mazola on the field, the Reds looks more dangerous. So why hasn't he started a game yet for the Reds? The other player who  made an impact for the Reds is Takasaki. Came on in the 64min and scored a goal 3mins later. How's that for impact?

Takasaki has always played well for the Reds, though not in the J-1. When playing in training match Takasaki seems to always have a nose at goal. Which begs the question, "Is it time to replace Edmilson?"

Mazola scored the equaliser 2mins after Takasaki's but wont be available to start next week after collecting 2 yellow cards. I would like to see Mazola in the starting XI. Seeing Mazola on the opposite wing to Haraguchi seems very tempting right now and makes us somewhat dangerous. Add Takasaki in the middle, could that be our most potent front 3? Have to wait and see.

For now, this is how the Reds lined u against Kashima;

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Takahashi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Ugajin
MF: Keita; Kashiwagi; Richardes
FW: Sergio; Haraguchi; Edmilson

Subs:
HT Sergio > Mazola
HT Keita > Yamada, No
64min Kashiwagi > Takasaki

Up next the Reds welcome the Swans of Niigata on Saturday. Should I be expecting a win?

How low can we go?

I originally wasn't going to mention the game; but seriously the way things are going it's better to be honest. The game was played on Monday and really didn't mean much, unless you start to read too much into things, because then things get really scary.

Being a top division team, playing a training match against a second division team should be a gimme right? Yes we played our second string, or even third string team, but a club like the size of Urawa going into a training match against a J-2 team; a win is expected, a draw is not good but acceptable, but a lost is worrying (to put it nicely).

The J-2 team Urawa played a training match against on Monday (16/5) was Tochigi SC and the final score; a 2-1 lost. Can any positives be taken from the match? Yes there can be and I will touch on that later, but lets start with the negatives. A team which features a mixture of fringe players (Hara, Tsuboi, Takasaki, Aoyama), players coming back from injuries (Naoki Yamada, Umesaki) as well as our up-and-coming players (Kojima) and youth squad; a 2-1 defeat isn't really what I would have expected. It's quiet disheartening because if our first XI isn't playing well (which it isn't) these are the players we can turn to? The question I now ask is "How low can we go?"

Now it's time to put on my Red coloured glasses and find some positives from the match (or should I say magnifying glass because there isn't much). Naoki Yamada played the full 90mins, scored Urawa lone goal and overal had a good game, Umesaki played 70mins of the game the best part of it all is that both of them didn't come off injured. I'm actually tempted to say replace Richardes with Naoki in the starting XI; but we'll see in a few weeks.

This is the starting XI against Tochigi SC:

GK: Kato
DF: Tsuboi; Horinouchi; Tsutsumi; Noda
MF: Aoyama; Kojima; Naoki
FW: Umesaki; Takasaki; Hara

Today we face the might of Kashima, a team we haven't defeated in a while. The question is "is the only way up?" or "how low can we go?"

A step in the right direction

I didn't really know what was to be expected from the weekends game against Cerezo Osaka. Should I have expected a victory against another struggling team? Did I want to live with the disappointment again? Being a Reds supporter though, disappointment should be the norm, especially over the past few years. So the final outcome: I wanted the 3 points, of cause looking through Red coloured glasses, but was ready for anything.

So how did it end up and how did I feel? The game finished 1-1 and in a word relieved. Getting a point is better then nothing and the way we played also shows a step in the right direction. Our play was scrappy and not the finished product (hopefully), but we still managed to scored an early goal through Haraguchi. I think that early goal relieved the pressure from our defense, something that hasn't been done lately.

Our attack isn't gunning on all cylinders yet and as a result the pressure is on defense to hold out the opposition. So what's been missing? Well I'm in the opinion that we need a "target" striker. Edmilson just isn't doing this year. He isn't giving the midfield and wingers a target to go for in the box. It shows by the lack of goals this year, but its good to see Haraguchi scoring in the last two games. No I don't see him as being the "target man" that we've been lacking, but he has been impressive.

In terms of the squad this week; it's good to see Keita back in the starting XI. Having our captain on the field is always an advantage. Another change in the starting XI is Sergio starting in place of Hara, who replaced the injured Tatsuya last week. On the bench Mazola is missing, from what understand is he's injured. Even though Umesaki didn't check into the game, it was good to see him back in the squad. Hopefully he doesn't get injured anytime soon to show what he's capable of, only time will tell though.

This is how we lined up against the pinks of Osaka.

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Takahashi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Ugajin
MF: Keita; Kashiwagi; Richardes
FW: Sergio; Haraguchi; Edmilson

Subs
75min Keita > No. Yamada
83min Ugajin > Noda
85min Edmilson > Takasaki

Up next we have the Antlers...

Not so golden week

At the best of times, it's not easy being a Reds' fan. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. The Reds are rarely anyone's second team. So when the Reds' isn't performing to deliver results, the J-League world is a very lonely place. A lot of people cheer when the Reds are down; sad but true.

So now with golden week behind us, we come out of it with 3 defeats and a combined scoreline of 1-6. Something just isn't right there; we can't score goals, but at the same time we can't stop goals either (defend that is). It took over 270mins of golden week action before Genki finally scored a goal for the Reds (in injury time against Kashiwa, the third game of golden week) and to be honest, that is just not good enough! 

At the moment I don't see what Petrovic is seeing but I can't see what he can do with what he has now. Who from the current squad can he bring in that can make a difference. The only movements I can think of is put Mazola on one wing, and Genki on the other and maybe replace Nobu Yamada with Keita when he's healthy, but besides that there isn't really anything. I couldn't see what bringing Hara into the starting XI in place of the injured Tatsuya would have done and it shows. He wasn't effective and seeing Mazola in his place for a full match would have been alot better. I must admit thought seeing things in hindsight makes things alot easier.

Anyways this is how the Reds' lined up against Kashiwa;

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Takahashi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Ugajin
MF: No Yamada; Kashiwagi; Richardes
FW: Hara; Haraguchi; Edmilson

Subs:
23min Ugajin > Noda
65min Spiranovic > Sergio
77min Hara > Mazola

Up next is Cerezo Osaka on Sunday. I don't know how to predict this one; they're an under performing team so far this season and it will be interesting to see which of the two"kicks-off" their season 2011 on Sunday. No surprise that I'm picking Red over Pink.

Not a pretty sight

Ten days ago the Reds defeated Nagoya 3-1; and now that feels like it's a distant memory. We all were excited of what the 2011 season would bring and my prediction of a top 3 finish for the Reds wasn't through some "RED COLOURED GLASSES".

Now it's back to reality and things are turning ugly quickly. Saturday's lost to Sendai I can accept. It was the Reds' way of assisting in the rebuilding of the city that was devestated by the earthquake an tsunami (so I keep telling myself anyways; and no disrespect to the beautiful people of Sendai), but today's 2-0 defeat to Yokohama FM means we're back to where we started. Should I expect another 7 game losing streak like last year because I don't know if I can take it anymore.

From the Reds point of view the game was a big fat UGLY. Our attack UGLY. Didn't show any signs that it wanted to score a goal. We had the ball but really didn't do anything with it; it wasn't a pretty sight at all. It was only 10 days ago that this same line up scored three goals against the defending champs, and now nothing. We've played over 180mins and have a big fat "O" goals. The defence isn't any better. A lapse in concentration resulted in 2 goals; seriously how hard is it to focus for an entire 90mins and how about the 4mins of injury time as well. [/rant]

Even though it's the same as the last two games; this is how we lined up against Yokohama FM

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Takahashi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Ugajin
MF: Yamada (No); Kashiwagi; Richardes
FW: Haraguchi; Tatsuya; Edmilson

Subs
69min Tatsuya > Mazola
75min Spiranovic > Takasaki

It's frustrating to see that 10 days ago we saw the potential and now this. Let's hope we can regroup and refocus in time for Saturday when we travel to Kashiwa, because to be honest with you if we keep this up, we must prepare ourselves for the now usual mid-season slump.