Daizen Maeda

I agree with the observation that he's come on leaps and bounds.

When he first came here, he was a striker that basically just ran straight at defences. This was never going to wash in our league of hammer-throwers, but him closing down opponents in possession did work really well. However, he just didn't seem to possess the skillset to operate as a winger, plain and simple.

You're now seeing him using a bit more skill to beat opponents and cut inside. It's not all just speed. His end product will probably never be the standard we would like but he's a far more effective player now in possession than he was under Ange. And some credit has to go to Rodgers for that, because I wouldn't have predicted him making those kind of strides in his mid-20s after two years at the club.

 

Impossible not to love the wee guy.

 

Has anyone ever seen a player so visibly scared of an opposing player every time they face?

It's mental how petrified their captain is of him..

 

I honestly believe he nearly broke into a wide cheesy grin yesterday. Seriously though, he looks as if he's really enjoying his football as do the whole team. Compare and contrast with the huns players

 

I feel this too and you are spot on about the sense of belonging and the family side of it. A really special place for them and no doubt they are enjoying their time here. I like how they have been welcomed and helped by others in the team, but I also think about the Japanese lads as a unit and how they must be enjoying having each other around.
Its a mad journey for them and one I bet they never expected.

 

Still on 26..

Peak years, seems to be getting better..

Find it incredible we haven't had any bids, well publicly..

 

Ssssshhhhh

 

Rodgers has elevated his game to new levels since the turn of the year. Don’t get me wrong he was vital to us before that and contributed a lot, but he looks a different animal now.

 

Daizens issues are trying to cross the ball with his left peg....he's right footed. Maybe play him right wing? ‍♂️

 

He scores far more often on the left, than he does on the right.

 

Tbf I rarely actually see Maeda, hatate and kyogo together that much! They all seem such different characters whereas I think Iwata was closer individually to the other Japanese players from the interactions publicly. The fact they can all speak good English now, they’ll have relationships with most of the other players they maybe didn’t have as much before.

for example, Taylor’s wee giggle at kyogos reaction in English to his goal at the weekend! Haha think there’s a very tight unit across the board in the club right now, great to see

 

It’s not that type of system. The wingers can cross, sure, but that’s not their primary job under Rodgers’s style. It’s more about driving at the opposition defence with and without the ball, linking up with the other forwards and with the advancing full-backs, and looking to either play a through-ball or get a shot away.

That’s why (sometimes with the exception of Forrest) Rodgers tends to play them on the opposite side to their preferred foot. For example, Daizen (being right-footed) will naturally cut inside when playing from the left. Doesn’t mean he aims to come narrow all the time. He can and does sometimes stay wide and/or hit the byline.
But what it does mean is that, when using his stronger foot, his first touch is always going to be goal-side, which helps with being direct and maintaining good link-up.

 

Interesting!

 

Yeah I think he works far better as something approaching an inside forward. It's allowed Forrest to come back into the side as well, as he still has the technical ability to cut in and shoot, even if he's not the fastest as a winger.

 

Kyogo said something when he first signed along the lines of...yes it's nice to have fellow countrymen here where we can speak our language, but we all want different experiences. If I wanted to hang around with Japanese peole all the time I wpkdm have stayed in Japan.
Essentially they want different experiences and love the new cultures etc

 

That's cos the skipper plays on that side

 

My brother was in a cafe near Kelvingrove last year and Daizen was in with his kids. Said they were having a riot, running about having a laugh. Only noticed when they were leaving one of them was Kyogo . Biggest kid of the lot.