Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumKasamatsu Stadium 
Seats 22,002
|  |
Mito Hollyhock -- Preseason Summary
Although Mito Hollyhock's finances seem to be healthy, at long last, the team still shows no sign of developing into anything other than an also-ran, making up the numbers in the J2. Financial and organizational support from their prefectural neighbour, Kashima Antlers, may have helped the team to avoid bankruptcy, but it has also prevented the team from developing much of an independent image. It might seem odd that a club from a city with a rich and independent historical background (Mito was the family seat of one of the three extended samurai families that dominated the Tokugawa shogunate) should have so much difficulty generating "local pride", but it seems that the local feelings of people in Ibaraki prefecture have already been monopolised by the Antlers. Mito is little more than an afterthought. Hollyhock is on the verge of becoming nothing more than a "farm club" for the Antlers, in its image as well as in its financial structure.
It must be said that the club has not done much to address this problem. The head office may talk a lot about appealing to a grassroots fan base, and leveraging local pride, but they have not done a very good job of developing that sort of sentiment. Incredibly, only two players on the team hail from Ibaraki prefecture, and one of them is a newcomer -- the first player in recent memory who was promoted from Hollyhock's youth team. Mito has not even managed to tap the flow of players from the two Ibaraki-based universities -- Ryutsu Keizai U. and Tsukuba U. -- both of which are renowned as football powers at the university level. When a team is so detached from its regional base that it cant even attract the local schoolboys, you have to wonder what is going on in the minds of team management.
Amazingly, Hollyhock managed to avoid finishing dead last in 2007. However, this probably has more to do with the apalling performances of Vortis Tokushima than any "accomplishments" by Mito itself. And though they added a lot of younngsters to the roster, youth is a merit that can easily be taken to dangerous extremes. A look at the players wearing the #1 through #10 jerseys for Hollyhock this season shows that only two of them have EVER scored a J.League goal, and the total tally for the entire lot is just three goals! The team is not completely bereft of veterans, but that statistic should tell you a bit about this team's lack of experience.
Two new teams are joining the J2 this season. Unfortunately, this is just an opportunity for Hollyhock to set a new mark for its lowest-level finish ever.
2007 Finish: 12th Place
2008 Forecast: 13th-15th Place
Roster Changes
IN |
| Pos. | Name | Former Team | Status |
|---|
| Mgr | Takayuki Kiyama | --- | New coach |
| FW | Kohei Nishino | Oita Trinita | Rental extended |
| MF | Naoto Ishikawa | Hollyhock Youth | New signing |
| MF | Takuro Kikuoka | Hosei U. | New signing |
| MF | Hiromasa Kanazawa | Yokohama Marinos | Rental->full transfer |
| MF | Kento Tsurumaki | Tokyo Verdy | One-yr rental |
| MF | Takafumi Akahoshi | Urawa Reds | One-yr rental |
| DF | Keisuke Hoshino | Doto U. | New signing |
| DF | Koki Ozawa | W SHO | New signing |
| DF | Takashi Kuramoto | Oita Trinita | Rental extended |
| DF | Edson Bruno Hillario | Shibuya Makuhari HS | New signing |
| GK | Shinichi Shuto | Kashima Antlers | Full transfer |
OUT |
| Pos. | Name | New Team | Status |
|---|
| Mgr | Hideki Maeda | --- | Retired |
| FW | Edinaldo | --- | Released |
| FW | Takaaki Suzuki | --- | Released |
| FW | Yuki Iwadate | Gainare Tottori | Full transfer |
| MF | Shohei Ogura | Yokohama Marinos | Full transfer |
| MF | Fukutaro Shino | --- | Released |
| DF | Takafumi Yoshimoto | Yokohama Marinos | Full transfer |
| DF | Kim Ki-Su | Fukushima United | Full transfer |
| DF | Shinya Hatta | Kamatamare Sanuki | Full transfer |
| GK | Hiroyuki Takeda | Tochigi SC | Full transfer |
|
