davieG Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 With over 100 caps for his country, you would think Shinji Okazaki would be undroppable, considering he’s only 30. That, however, is not the case. The Leicester City striker was left out of Japan’s latest international game, a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia, alongside fellow compatriots Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa. The trio, normally so important for their country, were benched by manager Vahid Halilhodzic for the clash, with the Bosnian explaining his decision to the press following the game. In quotes relayed by the Japan Times, the 64-year-old said: “I keep telling the overseas players that they all have to play more for their clubs, I know they’re all in a difficult situation but I tell them over and over again that they have to get into the starting lineup or move to a club where they will be able to play. “Our team depends on the form of the overseas players and I never imagined the situation that we’ve been in for the past two or three months, where 80 or 90 percent of our overseas players are not playing. I don’t know what will happen by March, but with that in mind I am certainly looking at the young players.” Okazaki, who was a regular for Claudio Ranieri last season, has seen his game time drop considerably this season, mostly due to the club’s purchase of Algerian striker Islam Slimani. Only failing to make an appearance twice in the league during the 2015-16 footballing year, the 30-year-old striker has already missed three of a possible eleven games, only making six starts, with two of those ending by him getting subbed off at half-time. Overall, the former FSV Mainz star has made 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals, two of which came in a 4-2 loss against Chelsea in the EFL Cup.
fuchsntf Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 Win win for The foxes. No kilometer rich , draining and hard travelling. leave him out occasionally , then he will be fit, for the games Jan-feb. covering the Afcon period. Also No further Japan call ups..Just rotten Karma... Actually, its the right time for Japan to rebuild, some usefull youngsters coming through.Ready for us in in 2-3 yrs.
DB11 Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 Doesn't feel like he's been playing that much less
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 Should be the first name on the bloody teamsheet. Love you Shinj
Fox92 Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 Good. One of the first on the teamsheet. His role is his own.
Aus Fox Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 He's been out of the Japan team for a while, was disappointed he didn't get off the bench in Australia as I only really went in the hop of seeing Shinjis 50. Japan maybe leaving their stars out but they are in real danger of not qualifying in a tight group, so cannot really afford a rebuild right now.
Wymsey Posted 16 November 2016 Posted 16 November 2016 3 hours ago, Fox92 said: Good. One of the first on the teamsheet. His role is his own. Agree. He's having his best form with the club imo and should be a first-choice player with certain other individuals dropping a bit in form.
sylofox Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 10 minutes ago, Vardinio'sCat said: Their loss, our gain. Not he says sod it I want to play for my country I want out.
ozleicester Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 When your group consists of Syria, Singapore, Afghanistan, and Cambodia, you can select your second choice players. He will change that stance when the challenges really start. meh
Vardinio'sCat Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 31 minutes ago, sylofox said: Not he says sod it I want to play for my country I want out. Fair point, hadn't thought of that. The funny thing is, Shinji's looking more like a regular starter than at any point this season (the giants of WBA being the obvious exception, with the benefit of hindsight!).
sylofox Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 31 minutes ago, Vardinio'sCat said: Fair point, hadn't thought of that. The funny thing is, Shinji's looking more like a regular starter than at any point this season (the giants of WBA being the obvious exception, with the benefit of hindsight!). Not that i want him to go we look a far better side with him. We will get our own back on wba when agent Schlupp gets on board
dbtcity Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 He's only fully missed 1 game this season for us hasn't he and I think that was only down to travelling and ranieri saying he's more like his brother after international breaks
foxy boxing Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 he has been playing a lot for Leicester City recently and is a valuable part of the team at the moment.he is a premier league winner so for the Japan manager to say something like this at this stage is quite bizzare. clearly he doesn't know how much Shinji is playing for us and is maybe trying to preempt something
Aus Fox Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 10 hours ago, ozleicester said: When your group consists of Syria, Singapore, Afghanistan, and Cambodia, you can select your second choice players. He will change that stance when the challenges really start. meh He's in a group with Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and Thailand. Not the best but a significant step up and only a point between top 4
Guest CityFan 06 Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 Got to be honest, for me he's one of the first names on the team sheet. When we do not play him, sometimes we tend to miss his link play between the forward line and midfield. We've got great striker options and if Okazaki plays I feel they can still be implemented somehow, but in my opinion Okazaki should be given a regular role in the team, and I think that role should be CAM if not up front.
crazyleicester Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 Time to do a Fuchs and retire Shinji!!! It wont do his form any harm if he is not flown to the other side of the world for these games. Bow out at the top!!!
filbertstreet Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 21 minutes ago, crazyleicester said: Time to do a Fuchs and retire Shinji!!! It wont do his form any harm if he is not flown to the other side of the world for these games. Bow out at the top!!! let the poor bugger get his 50th goal first!
Dr The Singh Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 I think there has been a mistranslation, what the coach meant that he needs to play more instead of hugging the turf every 10 seconds!! And that is a fair comment!!
Koke Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 Lost in translation me thinks. The Japanese manager is a Bosnian fella so he was probably telling him to stay on his feet more.
Countryfox Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 Love it. The manager WARNS him to play more for us. What exactly does he expect him to do. I know what they are getting at and maybe the press are twisting it a bit but ... What a load of cr@p. Thats his job ... That's what he does for a living !! Like puss said ... Their loss our gain.
WigstonWanderer Posted 17 November 2016 Posted 17 November 2016 The manager is just saying the same as has been said here about English players, that if you aren't playing for your club you shouldn't be considered for the national side.
Dr The Singh Posted 18 November 2016 Posted 18 November 2016 Okazaki is the king of oral sex, the guy loves to muff dive and hit the muff turf at any opportunity will great poise and athletism. No matter how rank the muff, the guy always has a small in his face.......what a guy
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