In An Influenza-Induced Haze

Boy there's nothing I enjoy less than a pre-season with a mysterious new manager, a big hole where our star midfielder was before he went fjord shopping and an unsettled back four. I'm enjoying this while fighting off the last strains of Influenza A.

Yesterday saw the first glimpses of what I imagine will be the starting XI for Omiya crash out against Vissel Kobe. The line-up [see details in previous post below] seem to have been run off the field. Now maybe it's just me, but isn't the definition of madness putting Yasuhiro Hato next to Daisuke Tomita for the third year in a row and expecting any change in results? Was that why Klemen Lavric was placed in the center of the defense against Consadole Sapporo?

Now I know it's just pre-season and the team was a mix of guys who played four games in six days and guys who were getting their first taste of action. It's a new philosophy and it's going to take time. I'm just a bit frustrated to see all the talk of grand plans for ACL domination when we have the same trouble spots as 2006. I don't want to think about next year when the former manager of Norbritz Hokkaido talks about how his philosophy helped get his old squad to the cusp of JFL and how that philosophy will propel us to a top two finish revolving around a combination of Tomita and Hato... again.

ICHIKAWA SCORES

One thing I have enjoyed reading is the emergence of Masahiko Ichikawa. Last year's forgotten man has been making the best case possible for playing time with two more goals in the loss to Vissel Kobe. The reports on Ichikawa that I've read is that he gets in a bad mood when he doesn't win. Excellent! Exactly what I want to hear. I don't want Doraemon as a striker, I wan't a killer ( I know that an "Ichi the killer" reference would be apropos here, but I hated the movie). I want a guy that's gonna gut the opposition and beg for the ball so he can do it again. Here's hoping he's it.

FRIGGIN' HOBBITS

Speaking of guys gutting the opposition, when I read about Frode Johnsen being the impetus behind Daigo Kobayashi's move to Norway, I thought to myself, "What the hell is this guy's problem with us?" Is he still mad that Mauricio Salles scored a goal against Nagoya? Johnsen absolutely kills us everytime he plays against us and now he decides to play agent for our best guy? Am I missing something? Wasn't Yoshizumi Ogawa good enough to be recommended to Norway?

I'm never shopping at IKEA again. That's Norwegian, right? [ed - Er...]

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