The excuses were flying thick-and-fast in the aftermath of Gamba Osaka's thrilling 4-3 AFC Champions League victory over Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on April 9. They were mainly flying from the mouths of Melbourne apologists, who were quick to point out that Victory were missing Australian international Archie Thompson, that the salary cap had cruelled their chances of beating a "rich" club like Gamba Osaka, and that, given that the A-League is currently in the midst of its long off-season, Melbourne were lacking match fitness.

Some of these statements contained an element of truth, but they masked the fact that Melbourne were beaten on the back of making elementary mistakes. It's notable that for all of the Victory's pre-match claims that they had been "scouting" Gamba games - they were apparently unaware that Yasuhito Endo always looks for captain Satoshi Yamaguchi from corners (which is how Yamaguchi scored in Gamba's clash with Shimizu S-Pulse just three days earlier), or that Takahiro Futagawa is one of the best long-range shooting specialists in Japan.

Perhaps the most irritating claim, however, was the one made by Melbourne fans claiming that their team had been beaten by a "full strength" Gamba line-up. Pardon?

A cursory glance through the Gamba team-sheet for the match at the Telstra Dome reveals that the Osakans were missing defender Akira Kaji and striker Ryuji Bando. Kaji has won over 60 caps for Japan. Bando has seven, but would surely have more had he not been struck down by a series of injuries over the past couple of seasons.

Their replacements were Hideo Hashimoto - an experienced player, but nominally a midfielder, and ex-Oita Trinita striker Masato Yamazaki. In over 250 league appearances in Japanese football, Ryuji Bando has scored more than 80 goals. Yamazaki has made about 80 league appearances. He's scored just three times. Full strength line-up? Not quite.

It's notable that Melbourne fans were so quick to highlight the absence of Archie Thompson but were oblivious to Gamba's own injury woes. Not only does it suggest a lack of grace in defeat, it also highlights that when it comes to Asian football, Australians remain - on the whole, fairly oblivious to the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. That's not surprising - Japanese fans would be hard pressed to name a single A-League player. Yet their fans are arguably more circumspect when it comes to assessing an opponent in the aftermath of defeat.

Now, as both teams prepare for the return clash at Expo '70 Stadium on the northern outskirts of Osaka, it's Gamba who hold all the ready-made excuse cards. Not only is first choice shot-stopper Yosuke Fujigaya injured, but so too is his deputy Naoki Matsuda. That means that 23-year-old rookie Atsushi Kimura will feature between the posts for the Panasonic-outfit, for what could be a nerve-wracking Champions League debut.

As for Akira Kaji and Ryuji Bando, both were expected to return from injury towards the back end of April, but with Gamba set to play five J. League fixtures over fifteen days at the end of the month, it's unlikely that either man will feature against Melbourne. Indeed Gamba will no doubt have an eye on their upcoming regional derby with Vissel Kobe - a club that seems to exist merely to irritate their Kansai cousins from down the road.

Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat has already proclaimed that his team can't offer any excuses, with the Victory's AFC Champions League campaign hanging in the balance. Noble sentiments from the fiery skipper, but only time will tell if they ring true.

So, it has come to this. Six games played. One victory. One draw. Four losses. Shimizu S-Pulse are in a bit of a slump. It was bound to happen.

Several months ago I hypothesised that Shimizu S-Pulse's new Brazilian signings Marcos Paulo Alves and Marcos Aurélio might struggle in an S-Pulse jersey. The former was signed despite the fact Shimizu already had a player in his position - the inimitable Teruyoshi Ito.

The latter's signing was even more puzzling. In Korean striker Cho Jae-Jin, S-Pulse once possessed a reliable goal scorer. He took a while to get going in Japanese football, scoring just nine goals in 29 league games in 2005. The next season was more profitable, as he found the net 16 times in 32 league games. Last season he scored 13 goals in 28 games - a decent return in an injury-blighted season from a player who suffered personal disappoinment at the Asian Cup.

Most importantly, Cho Jae-Jin was exactly the type of player that Shimizu needed. Powerful. Direct. Strong in the air, and with the ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play. Sure he wasn't the most skillful of strikers. Sometimes his touch resembled a brick wall. But you could always rely on the big man barging defenders out of the way to power home another Daisuke Ichikawa cross.

Now the 185cm tall Jae-Jin has been replaced by the 167cm Marcos Aurélio. Shimizu's once bustling forward line has been reduced to a parade of midgets. I can only guess that Marcos Aurélio was signed in case the 161cm Fernandinho needed to borrow a pair of boots.

That's why I'm putting my hand up for a club in need. Hasegawa-san, you can pick me. Yes I've lost a bit of pace since my halcyon days as a libero for Hills Independent u-13's, but I think I can get the job done. I've got my jersey sorted (we just need to find a new squad number for Naoaki Aoyama).

It's not that I'm anti-Marcos Aurélio. It's just that missing a stoppage time penalty thirty seconds after coming on to the pitch in a 0-0 draw with Omiya Ardija is perhaps not the best way to endear yourself to the fans.

I don't think the former Santos man will be scoring nine goals in 29 league appearances this season. He looks to be on his last legs at the club already. He needs a goal. If he can't score one against Tokyo Verdy in the League Cup on Wednesday evening, then help us all. I'm limber. I'm ready. And goodness knows, I can bang them it at a rate of more than zero goals per game as well!