2012: The year so far...

The two words automatically pop into my mind to describe the Reds' season so far in 2012 would have to be "improved" and "stability". With the past few years that we have had; I'm not going to complain with how 2012 is travelling along.

Roughly one-third into the season and we appear to be sitting pretty in fifth place on the J-1 ladder. I know that FC Tokyo and Nagoya has a game in hand but I feel as though we have turned a corner from previous years.

Stability - Petrovic 2.0 has so far worked. From implementing a 3-6-1 formation to the players that he brought in; they have all played a part. The thing that has made the biggest difference is that there is no longer the tension lingering throughout the club. It seems that Petrovic 2.0 has taken ownership of the performance on the pitch and created a new belief .

Improved - Not so much the results, but rather the overall performance of the team. Last year especially we couldn't seem to find our direction and was playing like a rudderless ship. Players like Kashiwagi and Richardes were playing below expectations and no one could really provide that spark; with the exception of possibly Haraguchi.

I know I was against the signing when we signed Popo earlier this year (click), but I would have to admit that I might have to take a rethink of my thoughts. I'm not going to say that signing Popo was a good one, but the expectation of the signing has changed. When we signed a striker, my expectation was goals goals goals, which is something that he hasn't accomplished. He has however brought the best out of Richardes, been a teddy-bear for him as such and so far it has worked.

One thing that I would like to see changed (and could be because I'm an Aussie) is to see Spiranovic in the starting XI instead of Tsuboi. Heck it would be good to see Spira in the squad. To make me sound less Aussie-centric, I would rather have either Hamada or Spira in the XI rather then Tsuboi. It might be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but most of the goals that we have conceeded, Tsuboi seems to be at fault. (I admit that I might be biased).

The job is far from being complete, but I'm glad that we are now at least pointed in the right direction. Lets see what the final two-thirds of the season has install for us.

The many faces of Naoki Yamada

Thought this was hilarious! Wishing you a speedy recovery Naoki.

So how about these Reds...

Guess what?

Besides the fact that the Reds are winning? There is life yet in this blog. For those following this blog, I do apologise for the long silence. As I have mentioned previously time and time again, this blog is my labour of love and sometimes I just can't find the time for it.

When I first started this blog information on the Urawa Red Diamonds were not so easy to find in English. So as a way to improve my Japanese; I'd translate as much Japanese as I can to bring you news and information on the Reds to you in English. But now as the J-League has become much more popular and news on it (and the Reds) have become more readily available. Even if it comes in Japanese there are programs that translate it to English.

So does that mean it is the end of urdblog? Yes and no. Unfortunately I'm not able to give weekly updates on games etc like I use to; slightly too time consuming for my life right now. But I'm still very much passionate about my Urawa Red Diamonds to kill off this blog totally so I will continue to give my opinion on all things Urawa Reds; put in my 2 cents here and there. I am still on twitter (@urdblog) where you can follow me and I will try my best to keep you updated.

Thank you all so much for your support over the past few years; wasn't easy being a Reds supporter but it never is easy. Remember though...

WE ARE REDS!