Piksi is all over the news today,,,

First up, several English newspapers have suggested he is one of the candidates to replace Pat Rice as Wenger's assistant next year. Would Stojkovic be interested in being assistant to Wenger having established himself as our best manager ever? goal.com: Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice to leave at end of the season
日刊；ピクシー監督アーセナル助監督候補に浮上

Next up, The Japan Times has an article on team's season to date, and the need to adapt.

Japan Times: Stojkovic admits he has room to grow as manager

Football | AFC Champions League | Nagoya Grampus 4-0 Al Ain | ESPNSTAR.com

The ESPN View. Yanks have a funny view of what constitutes a cross. :-)
Football | AFC Champions League | Nagoya Grampus 4-0 Al Ain | ESPNSTAR.com

Grampus Win!

At the fourth time of asking (fifth, if you count the Super Cup), Nagoya finally get a win in 90 minutes. They romped to a comfortable 4-0 win over Al Ain in the ACL. The vital win resurrects their ACL campaign ahead of next week's clash with group leaders FC Seoul.

Not the 4-4-2 formation the club lists, and Fujimoto and Ogawa interchanged freely, but this is a better indication of the positions Nagai and Kennedy took up.

First half – Nagoya got off to a lively start with an Ogawa shot clipping the bar after only three minutes. A few minutes later Kennedy had a chance on edge of six-yard box but his control let him down. Al Ain finally took advantage of the space they were being allowed on the flanks and a shot from the right edge of the box flies over. El Ain gradually gained the advantage for the next few minute and Narazaki was forced into a good save after a break through the middle. However they fell behind close to the half hour mark when Kanazaki tucked home after being put through by a neat Kennedy lay-off. Al Ain came back strongly, and Elias blasted over after another dangerous break. Nagoya finally started started to gain the edge in possession in the final third of the half, but the UAE team continued to look dangerous on the break and were being too many free shots. Fortunately, it was easy to see why they have failed to score yet. Despite some promising positions they shooting was woefully inaccurate. Josh Kennedy looked set to extend our lead a few minutes but fluffs a chance from 2 yards after good work by Nagai. Al Ain midfielder Elias had a golden opportunity to pull them level after 38 mins sliced wide with the goal at his mercy. The half looked like ending with us holding out for a narrow one-goal lead, Kanazaki snook in ahead of Kennedy to nod home a second two minutes into the one minute of added time. Second half – The first chance of the second half fell to Al Ain who earned a free kick on edge of box after two minutes, but they failed to test Narazaki with another woeful effort. A much sharper looking Grampus were pressing far more effectively than in the first and this prevent the visitors from getting forward as much. This saw us gradually assume control and both Kanazaki and Kennedy drew fouls on the edge of box as the Arabian defenders started to struggle to contain our movement. Narazaki was only called into serious action once during the half when he tipped over a good effort from edge of box after 14 minutes. On the quarter hour mark, Nagai looked all set to add to the lead but slipped as he tried to volley home a cross from the right, sending his effort inches wide. A minute later, we did extend our lead when Keita (no relation to Sugimoto) put past his own keeper when Masukawa pulled the ball back across the face of goal after Tulio had challenged for the initial ball. Stojkovic then switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the introduction of Yoshimura for Kanazaki. This allowed Ogawa and Fujimoto to take up more attacking positions and the tactic soon paid off after Ogawa is put through after a neat ball from Fujimoto, but Yoshizumi fluffed his shot for an easy safe. Fujimoto was next, heading over from close-range after Nagai had scampered down the left and whipped in a testing cross. Shortly after the half hour though, Fujimoto felled as he broke clear through the middle. Fares Juma receiving a red card for his desperate lunge. Jungo calmly curled home the free kick. As the game wound down Grampus gave some time to young subs Yoshida and Isomura, but the team failed to add to its tally.

Scorers: Mu 27', 45+2', OG 61', Jungo 77'

The Mainichi View: Soccer: Kanazaki at the double as Grampus pick up ACL win

Keano Set for Victory?

It looks as though Roy Keane may take over at Melbourne Victory. However, some reports are playing down the prospects, but this may just negotiating tactics from those involved.
Onlooker Roy Keane will not talk of Melbourne Victory job | The Australian

Grampus Claim First ACL Points of 2011

This game saw Nagoya start their first competitive game for a month. The lack of match practice became increasingly apparent as the game wore one, with the visitors looking the better team in the second half. We started with Nagai upfront, alongside Kennedy and Kanazaki since Tamada is nursing a sore knee.

Seoul started brightly in the first half, with their simple approach creating a couple of half chances, but they soon found themselves behind. Nagai pounced on a poor bit of control in midfield to burst through the middle and flick the ball home with the outside of his foot, as the keeper closed him down. Seoul pressed effectively to prevent us from establishing our rhythm, but rarely threatened themselves. A Fujimoto free kick was well parried by the keeper, after Nagai had been felled by a high challenge. After this we gradually started to establish our rhythm, but the Koreans kept us under enough pressure to prevent creating clear openings.

Seoul again got off to slightly the better start, stringing some neat moves together, but again failed to test Narazaki. The speedy Nagai chased down a back pass and almost grabbed a second as the flustered keeper dithered and eventually had to clear hurriedly. Kanazaki and Nagai then combined well to set up a good chance for Mu, but the Mie native shanked his shot over the bar. However, the visitors looked calm in possession and pulled level when full back Choi Hyun Tae blasted home from 30 yards. Josh Kennedy being a bit lax in allowing the player time to set himself off. Seoul continued to look the slightly sharper, with both Ogawa and Fujimoto failing to impress. Both are more inclined to attack than defend, but the two have not gelled yet, in the three games the team has played so far this season. Fujimoto was replaced by rookie Makito Yoshida after 73 mins. Despite Seoul's edge in possession and speed of thought, it was Grampus that had the better chances to claim the victory. Nagai saw his snap shot drifts wide after the keeper had fluffed an attempted clearance, and late sub Chiyotanda rushed a shot in additional time.

Sponsors desert Chinese football

China's kung fu kickers look like they will struggle to find any one, other than corrupt gamblers, daft enough to give them money. Meanwhile the AFC still lets them play in the ALC.
BBC News - Sponsors desert Chinese football