Rumoured Yoshinori Muto

[nyikolajevics 2,422]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

USA might be not the best example, most of the people there don't give a shit about European football. Premier League is very popular in Japan, they are very enthusiastic fans.

There have been many Australian players in the Premier League, even at big clubs, it's not that special I guess. A Japanese guy playing for the champion might be a big thing though.

[nadavTKL 1,787]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

I agree that when a team signs a local hero, it shoudlnt make the local hardcore football fan support that team, but not everyone is hardcore, infact most fans arent. A japanese guy, or especially a kid who like football can see Muto in Chelsea, and naturaly it would make Chelsea more watchable and and a bit special for him than any other big club in Europe. It could stop there, but it also could make him start liking the team itself, and he'll be a fan in the end who buys shirts and flies to see Chelsea play. You even dont have to be a real fan to do both things.

And about your examples, Everton and Fulham are not Chelsea. Simple as that, its a different story.

Im also saying this cause i see it happens in Israel, if its Yossi in Liverpool, Avram Grant in Chelsea, or in the NBA with the Cavs coach David Blatt.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Imo it works. How well it works is up to the player.

A lot of people are focusing on shirtsales and the new fans a team gets by buying a "marketable player" but that's just short term.

Like David88 said the majority of those new fans will just leave when the player leaves. The majority won't buy a shirt and even if they did there's not much money to make with shirtsales as the club only gets a small percentage.

We aren't going to make millions and gain millions of fans just by buying a Japanese player. It's something that going to take time and will depend heavily on how long the players stays and how successfull he is.

The longer the marketable player stays at the club and the more succesfull he is (more gametime) , the more likely it is that more of those fans will be sticking around (and buying his shirt), even after the player leaves and become proper fans.

At the end of the day though it's all about getting our club name out there. Club names have become brands now. Any time they'll mention his name they'll mention the club name aswell.

Also the fans we gain will also help expand our fanbase further as they'll "infect" other people into showing an interest in our games. I know that might sound odd but ask yourself, how many times has a person become a fan of a club because one of his friends or family members was a fan ? That happens quite a lot.

[Oscar 441]

DO people realize that Samsung was the sponsors the past few season?

Samsung> some unknown Japanese player broke into asian markets. THe board already tapped into the asian markets with its previous shirt deal, this Muto signing is basically a contract clause that was signed most likely..

[David88 3]

Mexicans like Man u more cause of Chicharo. It happens man, I'm sure we'll get quite a bit of Asian fans if we sign him.

As long as he was there, probably...

USA might be not the best example, most of the people there don't give a shit about European football. Premier League is very popular in Japan, they are very enthusiastic fans.

There have been many Australian players in the Premier League, even at big clubs, it's not that special I guess. A Japanese guy playing for the champion might be a big thing though.

That's assuming Muto plays for Chelsea, which is very unlikely in its first season, though. That's a key concept.

I agree that when a team signs a local hero, it shoudlnt make the local hardcore football fan support that team, but not everyone is hardcore, infact most fans arent. A japanese guy, or especially a kid who like football can see Muto in Chelsea, and naturaly it would make Chelsea more watchable and and a bit special for him than any other big club in Europe. It could stop there, but it also could make him start liking the team itself, and he'll be a fan in the end who buys shirts and flies to see Chelsea play. You even dont have to be a real fan to do both things.

A japanese guy who likes football likes Chelsea a bit more because a well-regarded player joins them, that's ok.

He then proceeds to fly to see Chelsea's matches. From Japan. So, at best, Chelsea gains a couple of tickets, sometimes, from a couple of crazy fans.

Gotcha

Jokes apart, as for the shirt, it's the same thing. Shirts are not going to sell in significant numbers apart from an initial boost if the player is loaned, or does not play.

At the end of the day though it's all about getting our club name out there. Club names have become brands now. Any time they'll mention his name they'll mention the club name aswell.

Also the fans we gain will also help expand our fanbase further as they'll "infect" other people into showing an interest in our games. I know that might sound odd but ask yourself, how many times has a person become a fan of a club because one of his friends or family members was a fan ? That happens quite a lot.

Until he's loaned out\doesn't play, the "Chelsea brand" won't grow much in actual generated revenue in Japan, though. Actually, the club who gets him on loan would probably benefit more from it, lol.

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if United's brand got a "depreciation" in Japan after how they treated Kagawa after Ferguson left. So it's not going to be that simple, these type of fans are not just "product consumers", they must be emotionally invested.

However, as I said, I find disrespectful to assume that "it's all about" this or that. Nah. It's about getting a potentially talented player which could end up in first team or resold for a profit, and a potentially lucrative deal on the commercial side.

DO people realize that Samsung was the sponsors the past few season?

Samsung> some unknown Japanese player broke into asian markets. THe board already tapped into the asian markets with its previous shirt deal, this Muto signing is basically a contract clause that was signed most likely..

edit: I think I had misunderstood your post. Btw, Samsung has been a sponsor but Chelsea hasn't bought a korean player. It's good food for thought

If by "contract clause" you're talking about a clause with Yokohama though, that is so unrealistic that I don't even know where to begin.

[blu35_army 550]

if it true,,hope he can shine at least like Ji-Sung Park...

[nadavTKL 1,787]

A japanese guy who likes football likes Chelsea a bit more because a well-regarded player joins them, that's ok.

He then proceeds to fly to see Chelsea's matches. From Japan. So, at best, Chelsea gains a couple of tickets, sometimes, from a couple of crazy fans.

Gotcha

Jokes apart, as for the shirt, it's the same thing. Shirts are not going to sell in significant numbers apart from an initial boost if the player is loaned, or does not play.

In my post im explaining i can understand this signing, i can see where its coming from and i think this signing could drive kids and people in Japan to like Chelsea. Spike's comment suggested it would do nothing, i disagree. But, i dont really know the economical details or facts to say if its really worth it for the club, so i dont really have an opinion about it.

[Oscar 441]

edit: I think I had misunderstood your post. Btw, Samsung has been a sponsor but Chelsea hasn't bought a korean player. It's good food for thought

If by "contract clause" you're talking about a clause with Yokohama though, that is so unrealistic that I don't even know where to begin.

Clubs bent over all the time in sponsors deals.. Nothing unusual.

Jose doesn't even know who this guy is and when has he ever purchased anyone from Japan, let alone asia? This deal is 100 percent a deal made by the board because of a clause in the contract.

[Reddish-Blue 2,223]

I don't see the fuss regarding Muto....he won't be much more than a squad player at Chelsea

[Amblève. 4,995]

If he's gonna ride the bench then hell no. From a pure competitiveness point of view we could use that non-HG spot way better than on a 3rd string stiker.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

he actually did not say that at all, but some people here are trying to get on their confirmation bias I guess. He hinted at the fact that there is obviously a clear commercial benefit\aspect on the operation, but also stressed that the club would not sign a player whose quality is in discussion.

.

I think you need to learn to read between the lines a bit.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Until he's loaned out\doesn't play, the "Chelsea brand" won't grow much in actual generated revenue in Japan, though. Actually, the club who gets him on loan would probably benefit more from it, lol.

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if United's brand got a "depreciation" in Japan after how they treated Kagawa after Ferguson left. So it's not going to be that simple, these type of fans are not just "product consumers", they must be emotionally invested.

However, as I said, I find disrespectful to assume that "it's all about" this or that. Nah. It's about getting a potentially talented player which could end up in first team or resold for a profit, and a potentially lucrative deal on the commercial side.

True, like i said it will all depend on how long he stays and how successfull he his here. If we just constantly loan him out then we'll get little to no benefit.

I agree. Like i said it'll take years to benefit from this as ,like you say, they need to become emotionally invested.

Again i agree. I don't think we're after him purely because of his marketability or because of some ridiculous clause with Yokohoma.

His marketability definitely plays a part but the main reason why we're interested in him is because he's a genuinely talented player.

You put it best : " It's about getting a potentially talented player which could end up in first team or resold for a profit, and a potentially lucrative deal on the commercial side."

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

To be honest it depends.

Chelsea picked up more of an African fan base when players like Mikel, Kalou, Drogba and Essien all played here so it does work but also we signed a lot of Portuguese players in Jose's first spell and I think it had a similar effect. Also with Abramovich being Russian you heard about Russian players being Chelsea fans... Dzagoev and Zhirkov especially were the one we always heard about. Markovic at Liverpool... Chelsea fan... despite being Serbian but yeah.. depends really, doesn't always work that way.

[Joker10 946]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

It works in this sense buddy.

Say hypothetically it is the first day of class and the setting is a typical university in America, and everyone in the class are complete strangers to you. Say you notice that someone else is also from Australia. You will take a more liking to this person then everyone else, because you two share a similarity. Does that mean you two are going to be friends because of that sole reason? probably not.

Same thing with Howard and Everton. I personally like Everton over Sunderland, West Ham, Spurs, Southampton, etc. But i am not going to follow Everton because of an American player only. There are other factors that comes into play.

With Muto and Japanese market: Muto playing for Chelsea plays a factor for someone choosing to support and follow Chelsea. But it wouldn't be the only factor, but undoubtedly it will play a big factor for a typical person.

Why would the rest of Asia support Chelsea because of a Japanese player?

Japan is not equal to an entire continent.

I maybe wrong, but i have noticed Ozil is quite and more then usual more popular among middle easterns football supporters. He is German, with Turkish decent.

[Strike 6,961]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

i think it makes a big impact on viewers new to football. a teenager in Japan just getting into football would support Chelsea because Muto is here.

Don't think it will have much effect on people who are already fans of another team. nothing more than developing a soft corner for the club anyway

[CHOULO19 24,332]

ANd yet I was the only one you decided to quote...

Because you are the only one I saw trying to prove or disprove that using previous "examples" that are only apparently similar on the surface....and being pretty cocky about it

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Why do people think that signing a Japanese player will make the club more popular in Japan? Timmy Cahill is one of my all time favourite players and I don't support Everton.

Do a lot of the American users on here support Everton because of Donovan and Howard? Do they support Fulham because of Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis?

Mourinho already answered that some time ago.

Pity, I couldn't find the exact quote from the article, however he said something like that :

"In Europe, and especially in England, you can't change someone's favourite team and team he supports, but in Asia you can ... then blah blah blah ... we go to Asia and we feel the love from fans there"

And BTW, if anyone remember when Chelsea went to Japan in December 2012 to play FIFA Club World Cup. It was sick. Crazy fans everywhere, at the airport, at the hotel, whenever players go to walk they follow him, when they drive to stadium, there's already lots of people outside the stadium. It seemed like if Chelsea were there to promote the brand not to play competitive football.

[David88 3]

Clubs bent over all the time in sponsors deals.. Nothing unusual.

Jose doesn't even know who this guy is and when has he ever purchased anyone from Japan, let alone asia? This deal is 100 percent a deal made by the board because of a clause in the contract.

Actually he said that he does know who he is, just can't talk about him because we have not signed him yet.

As for "when he ever purchased anyone from Japan", nobody here is suggesting that Muto is coming because the coach requested him.

But do you have an idea about how many transfers are decided by boards and only agreed with the coach? Do you think that a coach has the time to watch random league matches in search for players?

That's not how football works. It's not the coach who just makes a list of names "and that's it".

If you can't see that this deal is so obviously something that interests both parties from all point of views, it's just your personal choice, hardly the reality. And just to be clear, I'd have even accepted a cynical view like "the club is probably looking for a reselling more than hoping that he becomes first team level".

But the "sponsor clause" is just laughable. Remember that the player has to decide, and that all transfers affect FFP. They could've went for any less expensive japanese talent instead of one of the biggest.

btw, it is a known fact that Mou wanted Kagawa at Real (a google will have the story pop up) but I understand what you mean, he was playing in Dortmund already. He certainly has no prejudice towards japanese players, though.

I think you need to learn to read between the lines a bit.

This is José Mourinho, possibly the most straightforward coach in the world. Which is why he had no problem in talking about the commercial aspect. He was being honest, to the point that he specified "a very good player, or a very good prospect".

Even if I wanted to assume that he lied, then what should I think, that the board went on a non skilled player? I've seen him, currently there is nothing that makes he doesn't have potential. He's even an international.

I heard he might be injured now but I'll watch him play tomorrow morning just for the sake of.