Matsuda in for Suzuki. Fukuda starts. Still no Matheus.

Comfortably the worst Scotland performance for a good few years. Only a friendly but I’m not sure what we’ve learned from being so half-arsed against a Japanese second string for a large part of the game, other than “wing backs are important to us.”

This is… shite.

Nooooooooooooooo. Why.

Be-have.

Good article.

“My position has *always* been that the 100-Year Vision League is the pinnacle of Japanese football competition, and I strongly believe a penalty victory really is the same as a victory in normal time.”

Matsuhashi back. Can’t think of much to say about that. Think we’ll be exposed and caught flat when FCT get behind Uchida and Fukazawa, and they will.

Proper double take at this jidaigeki samurai who I thought was wearing some very retro Mito Hollyhock gear.

Hmmm. Adidas dialling it in, it seems. Both very nice though.

My daughter now unfailingly waves at the Toden Arakawa tram whenever it rattles past. Doubt she'll get a wave and a tinkle of the bell back, sadly.

Meh. Best thing: nice wee passages of interplay, Yamami looked direct. Morita. Worst thing: flat-footed back line; reminder we have no real quality finishers or line-leaders. Lamest thing: Erisons’s David Brent celebration. It’s the Million-Year Vision Express League, mate. Naebody cares.

15,000 in tonight. Good away support for a league that doesn’t matter on a Wednesday night.

Let’s not get back into bad habits, lads. Don’t need to wait till you see the whites of Brodersen’s big baldy heid before shooting.

Bit of a shuffle here: Tanabe in against his old mob and a *very* fresh back line. Yoshida and Shirai starting is cool. Happy to see it confirmed that Morita only had a bit of cramp at the end against Urawa.

"nobody in history ever cared about their feelings" "the angry young white men after me will carry out the apocalypse" "empathy is an evolutionary dead end" people afraid of themselves trying really hard to believe that petty resentment and selfishness is ontalogically correct

I think yesterday is the first time I’ve actually seen us win outright at Kokuritsu. Nice.

Genuinely can’t remember the last time Matheus missed a game through injury. Expect little to nothing from this today, but nice to be out in the sun.

A Hello Work true story: "I'd like to apply for unemployment benefit. I have a job lined up so I won't be a burden for long, basically from December when I was laid off to the next week or so." "So you won't be looking for a job?"

Update: March shite an aw.

That’s an inexperienced line-up today. Inoue and Suzuki in the back three again is likely going to struggle against the champs, but pleased to see Shirai and Nakayama get a run out. Could be a doing, but ultimately it’s a good chance for risk-free game time ahead of 26/27.

Accidentally trained my daughter to point and boo at the Tokyo Gas guy who appeared on today's episode of The Wakey Show. Might have been copying her father who was pointing and booing at the Tokyo Gas guy on today's episode of The Wakey Show. Sorry not sorry.

Are Sanfrecce getting pumped by Real Sociedad or someone?

War is the continuation of posting by other means.

Thought Verdy would be the worst defensive performance I'd see today, but Kilmarnock stepping up to prove me wrong. 🐿️

Neither Matsuhashi nor Hayashi make the squad after the Zelvia game (the guy that put Matsuhashi out scoring last night, so good job there, officials). More worried about Hayashi’s absence though.

Wife and kiddo decided to stay on in Osaka for the weekend, so I'm officially allowed to go to the Marinos game. @greenbyzantine.bsky.social, see you there!

Circle Jerks and Gorilla Biscuits in Shibuya. Got absolutely smashed in the pit, put on my arse by a guy twice my size landing on me as I was picking some other dude up. Worth it. Just the best. xHxCx START TODAY!

👏

NEW PODCAST: First for J-Talk patrons (free feed at 7.30pm), we welcome Tokyo Verdy correspondent @reverunscombover.bsky.social back to the pod to chat about his side's fast start to the CEJLC, before we run through the rest of the Matchday 3 slate. www.patreon.com/posts/episod...

February in Tokyo really is the worst month. Zero motivation to do anything except wait for March.

That Cerezo equaliser 👌

Haud that, Kuroda.

Playing all the original songs the chants are based on over the Ajista tannoy is a nice touch: currently enjoying Dropkick Murphys in the pisser.

Killie represented in far-off Singapore.

緑のハート。 Singapore Premier League: Geylang International vs Hougang United.

STOP THE COUNT

Still in Singapore so will miss this. One change, the impressive Arai starting this week.

Got 中国語上手’d yesterday for saying 谢谢 to the waitress who brought me a Tsingtao. I like having incredibly low expectations placed on me. On this gear tonight. Pleasantly tasteless.

Things that have given my daughter a fright and/or made her cry since arriving in Singapore: 1) Jewel Rain Vortex at Changi. 2) The hotel lift. 3) Pampas grass at a Chinese restaurant 4) The very nice security guard who said hello. 5) Looking out the hotel window. 6) Sitting down in the bath.

Anyone know if this is accurate? V-Varen really splashing the cash already. Morita not being in there but still playing for us is a testament to his character. Never seen him slap the badge - saw plenty of others who did then buggered off in the next window.

Good performance from Verdy today. Less so from the Keiō Line, which has had Tozai-at-rush-hour levels of overcrowding both before and after the game. Just about to take Keisei to Narita, which unlike effete west Tokyo is a hardy east Tokyo line that never completely shits the bed at a bit of snow.

Won’t complain about being top of the league for ten minutes. Will face much stiffer tests this season, but given the dross of last year that’s a really heartening start.

17,941 today. Not bad given the conditions and smaller away support.

Nup, can’t muster a complaint so far. Mito haven’t offered much but the new back line have managed it well. Nothing earth-shattering going forward, but solid and competent for the first 45.

Think it’s going to be a big season for Own Goal given the dearth of other attacking options.

And there we have it: the first Verdy sta-men of the Diddy Explosion Centurion Cup 2026. Not expecting much from that front line, but looks like Uchida has made that WB position his, which is cool. Biggest question is how the defence manages without our start striker [sic] Taniguchi.

The wean testing the air. Her verdict: game on.

No way that's a red for Cerezo.