Urawa Preview

As with last weekend's match with Yokohama F Marinos, the forthcoming encounter with Urawa Reds is a difficult one to preview. The task is made harder due to the fact that the Reds game has become the most important in the tenure of Squirrels coach Jang Wae Ryong, on account of what seems to be a sudden and profound loss of confidence in Jang - certainly among Omiya supporters but also, it would seem, among the players as well. The parallel with Robert Verbeek, in charge at Ardija in the first half of 2007, grows more and more obvious.

If the Marinos game was a test to see how the Squirrels team had recovered from their record 7-0 thrashing in Hiroshima, Jang failed in his responsibility to rally the players and somehow persuade them to perform. An unmotivated side was outplayed and outfought by the Sailors and if the Ardija boss is not able to make rapid improvements before Saturday, then Omiya are most likely heading for a heavy defeat at the hands of their Saitama rivals. An Ardija team without fight will surely get overturned by the Reds if Volker Finke is able to do anything approaching a half-decent job.

In his quest for flexibility, Jang seems to have failed to communicate a message of what he wants from his players, and without doubt there is confusion among Squirrels fans regarding how the team is playing. Mato Neretljak aside, it's questionable, too, how much the players themselves - especially the senior squad members - are taking responsibility. Injuries have not helped, although aside from Masahiko Ichikawa there have been no clear announcements about the likes of Hayato Hashimoto, Park Won Jae or Naoki Ishihara. If anything at all good is to come out the Reds game, the Omiya team needs leadership and focus. At the moment, it's hard to see where either of those things are coming from.

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