“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sagan Tosu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Kenta Nishizawa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryo Shiohama is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The mood at Sagan Tosu has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sagan Tosu is running low.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sagan Tosu have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Francisco Bonfiglio provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Vykintas Slivka was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The mood at Sagan Tosu has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sagan Tosu, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sagan Tosu have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The mood at Sagan Tosu has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sagan Tosu they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kenta Nishizawa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryota Izumori is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.35 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It needed Francisco Bonfiglio to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Jubilo Iwata, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The mood at Sagan Tosu has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sagan Tosu is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Sagan Tosu can tell you which week it ends in.
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Vykintas Slivka was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Yokohama F. Marinos defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Kenta Nishizawa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryo Shiohama is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Miguel Velázquez has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Sagan Tosu have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Marked 5.44. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The mood at Sagan Tosu has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sagan Tosu they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sagan Tosu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Richard Harris provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Richard Harris. 3‑2 against Ventforet Kofu, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Jurato Ikeda has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Sagan Tosu have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Richard Harris was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Hiroki Akino was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Jun Nishikawa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.68. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Vykintas Slivka in the middle of it, and Urawa Reds unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
2.56. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Ryo Shiohama's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sagan Tosu, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Dylan Tevreden is living that version at Sagan Tosu, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Vykintas Slivka was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Jun Nishikawa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.54. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
It needed Vykintas Slivka to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Jubilo Iwata, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
He is going to Nagoya Grampus, the club has $1.4M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sagan Tosu have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.91 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sagan Tosu have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Kashima Antlers will make the call about Ayumu Toyoda this week. Sagan Tosu have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Jo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.80 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ryo Shiohama, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Kenshin Yuba was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.64. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sagan Tosu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Sagan Tosu
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Sagan Tosu can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Jo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Out, 0‑1 to Yokohama F. Marinos, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Position 17 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Jo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sagan Tosu can pretend not to have heard.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Sagan Tosu will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Kenta Nishizawa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryo Shiohama is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.38 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Jo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Kenta Nishizawa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kenshin Yuba commits to Sagan Tosu for another 4 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryo Shiohama is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ryo Shiohama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ryo Shiohama was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ryota Izumori: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Fuchi Honda was one of the reasons people came, and $720.0K does not replace that by itself.
Fuchi Honda has left for Gamba Osaka in a $720.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Sagan Tosu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenta Nishizawa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sagan Tosu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Yoshiki Narahara has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.