We kick off our Chaos Energy J.League Cup previews with five teams from the East group, and after Jonny and Ben run the rule over J1 Champions Kashima (to 14:13), Jon Steele guests to chat about the sensational promotions achieved by J2 Champions Mito and Playoff winners Chiba, and how both teams might fare in the top flight (Mito to 45:20, Chiba to 1:08:10).

In Part 3 Jonny and Ben finish off the episode by checking in on Kashiwa (to 1:23:20) and Urawa (to end).

The JTET team (with special guests) are back to conclude their J2 retrospective for 2025.

In the first segment, James and Jon discuss the fortunes of Kofu (Start to 06:35), Fujieda (06:35 to 11:00), and then Oita (11:00 to 19:25).

Then we hand over to pod debutant Tom for his take on Sapporo's 2025 campaign (19:25 to 24:55). After that, we welcome Fin back to the show for his thoughts on Sendai (24:55 to 37:45).

James and Jon reconvene to run through a quartet of teams from the (very) wrong end of the J2 table: Toyama (37:45 to 43:55), Yamaguchi (43:55 to 49:00), Ehime (49:00 to 53:30), and Kumamoto (53:30 to 01:03:00).

To make sure that we round things off on a positive note, we end with Allen's look back on an unforgettable season for JEF Chiba (01:03:00 to Finish).

Thanks to all of our contributors, and to all of you for listening - we'll be taking a short podcasting break until the first week of February (when we'll post a 100 Year Vision League preview episode)!

*Support The J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Join in with the discussion on our JLeague Chat Discord server: https://discord.gg/6Tr3MBAy

Happy New Year to you all, and welcome back to another season of The J-Talk Podcast. We're beginning the year with a bang, as we celebrate our 600th episode, and after a brief catch-up (and explanation of the pod for new listeners), Jonny and Ben welcome in Dan Orlowitz, to chat about the highs of 2025, as detailed in the J.League Season Review, (all in Japanese, use browser translation) and to look ahead to the Chaos Energy J.League Cup.

Happy New Year, everyone!

In a vainglorious attempt to get 2026 off to a flying start, we do our best to review the J2 season across a pair of bumper episodes (Part 2 is on the way).

In the early stages of this pod, James and Jon wax lyrical about a quartet of J2 clubs: champions Mito (Start to 04:30), runners-up Nagasaki (04:30 to 08:30), as well defeated Play-Off sides Tokushima (08:30 to 11:00) and Iwata (11:00 to 15:45).

Then there's a chance for James to take a breather as Jon chats in-depth to special guest contributor Steve Fryer about another team vanquished in the Play-Offs, Omiya (15:45 to 59:40).

James is back on deck to talk to Jon about a further trio of teams after that: Tosu (59:40 to 01:03:55), Yamagata (01:03:55 to 01:08:00), and finally Imabari (01:08:00 to 01:12:55).

The pod ends with dynamite drop-ins from two of our regular club-specific contributors: Martin Spivey tells us all about Akita's 2025 campaign (01:12:55 to 01:21:40), before Leslie Mabon does similar for Iwaki (01:21:40 to Finish).

We hope everyone enjoys the bumper pod - thank you to all of our contributors!

*Support The J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Join in with the discussion on our JLeague Chat Discord server: https://discord.gg/6Tr3MBAy

Jon Steele and James Taylor sign off for 2025 by compiling a best eleven for J2, along with MVP and Manager of the Year (to 30:10). Then in part 2, Jon quizzes James on his J3 team (to end).

Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. Keep an eye and an ear out for J2 season reviews over the next few weeks.

*Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg

*Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

The curtain came down on another season in J2, J3 and the JFL last weekend, and Jon Steele and James Taylor have analysis of the three big games: JEF United v Tokushima (to 20:00), FC Osaka v Miyazaki (to 35:40), and Numazu v Shiga (to 56:45). They also pick a Most Bravo Player from each of the matches (to 1:02:35) and round off the episode with news about the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League and J.League Awards.

Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. Keep an eye and an ear out for J2 and J3 season reviews over the next few weeks.

*Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg

*Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

In the final episode of Big Pod for 2025, Alan Gibson guests as we piece together our Team of the Season. After Jonny and Ben begin the episode with some housekeeping - brief J2 Promotion Playoff and ACL reviews, as well as the groupings for the Chaos Energy J.League Cup - (to 16:26) we first get Alan's thoughts on some early offseason managerial appointments, before working from back to front in selecting the J-Talk J1 Team of the Season.

Jon Steele and James Taylor are back with a full review of all five postseason games from last weekend. The JTET section of the pod begins with a discussion of JEF v Omiya (to 17:05) and Tokushima v Iwata (to 23:35), then a preview of the playoff final, MBP chat and news of managerial changes in J2 (to 39:30). Then, in the JTSC section, the boys discuss Osaka v Kanazawa (to 48:35), Miyazaki v Kagoshima (to 54:30), and Shiga v Numazu (to 1:07:15), before ending with a fixture preview and another MBP award.

Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time.

*Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg

*Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

Kashima claimed a record-extending ninth top flight title in Saturday's final round, and in Part 1 of this episode Jonny and Ben run through the key events in both games that mattered, as a Leo Ceara-inspired Antlers held off a gallant Kashiwa side to win the league by a point (to 25:50).

Then in Part 2, Reysol correspondent Seamus Johnston - armed with a killer stat - returned to the pod to celebrate his side's remarkable rise up the table and hand out Reysol's Player of the Year award (to 56:43), before your co-hosts rounded up the other games from Matchday 38.

The regular season ended in dramatic fashion in both J2 and J3, so James Taylor and Jon Steele tried to get their heads around just what exactly happened. They start by going through the first half of the J2 matches (to 07:00), then the second half (to 11:25), and reflect on automatic promotion, the playoffs, and relegation in turn (to 33:05). Then they elect their Most Bravo Player (to 36:05), catch up on some managerial news (to 40:45), and preview the playoff semi finals (to 46:05). After a quick break, it’s onto J3, for a discussion of automatic promotion and the playoffs (to end).

Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time.

*Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod

*Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg

*Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

This week's bumper episode features a star turn from Ryo Nakagawara, who joins Jonny and Ben to review the crunch games involving the top two in J1 Matchday 37 (to 28:45), and preview the final day matchups between Kashima & Yokohama F.Marinos, and Kashiwa & Machida (to 48:50), before we stick our necks out and make predictions on the destination of the title (to 55:42).

Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben scoot through the other eight games from Sunday (to 1:16:30), and hand out five more Player of the Season awards.