A season that promised much has turned badly sour for FC Tokyo, and the firing of manager Hiroshi Jofuku may not be enough to stop the rot.
Tokyo pulled the plug on Jofuku's second spell in charge at the weekend and replaced him with coach Yoshiyuki Shinoda after a 1-0 defeat to Kawasaki Frontale left the capital city club 13th in the overall table. Tokyo had realistic ambitions of winning the title after finishing fourth last year, but with 20 points now separating the team from third-place Urawa Reds and 12 games left to play, the playoff ship appears to have sailed.
"I can't even say the words 'win the title,' " said Tokyo striker Muriqui after Saturday's game. "First of all, we need to start picking up points."