The Magic Roundabout New Kids On The Block 2012 Part Two

I thought there was only supposed to be one gay one in Boy Bands?

Verdy have been busy "Hangin` Tough" in the off season picking up all manner of waifs and strays to fill the gaps. We`ve got two new Brazilians, some ex-J1 and the inevitable promotions from the youth squad.
First of all let`s go to the Brazilians. Both new guys will be familiar to J2 watchers with Josimar (what Pat Jennings` nemesis?? holy shit!! no not THAT Josimar...) and Alex coming to Verdy after solid enough careers at Ehime and Kustasu. Am I excited? NO and A BIT, in that order.
Josimar had 14 goals in 77 for Ehime. OK, Ehime weren`t a great side but still hardly breathtaking stuff. I would expect him to line up on the bench behind Abe and Maki as backup. Next up Alex from Thespa Kusatsu. He is likely to be the direct replacement for Hiroki Kawano and if Kawano wasn`t so good then Alex would be a rock solid signing. He`s a very tidy player but will have his work cut out to fill Kawano`s boots. Will more than likely operate down the right flank or just behind the front two. Alex had 12 goals in 41 since signing for Thespa midway through 2010.
At the back we have Masaki Chugo coming in with tons of experience from Kashima Antlers, JEF United and last year a full playing season clocking up 23 appearances at J1 Cerezo Osaka. Chugo will possibly jump ahead of Naoya Saeki as defensive midfield partner for Yuki Kobayashi and at 29 should be OK for a few years. Good signing and in theory should be able plug a few of the leaks from last season. Another stopper is ex-U-20 international Mitsuyuki Yoshihiro signed from Ehime following spells at Hiroshima and Consadole.  Yoshihiro will be providing competition for Mori and Nakatani in the full back slots and again I would expect him to be back up initially.
Into the midfield again and we have three new signings with Verdy picking up Jubilo veteran Norihiro Nishi, Shingo Suzuki from Kyoto and Junki Koike from Mito Hollyhock. Nishi is a right midfielder and a virtual ever present in the Jubilo side for the last 12 years. 31 years old, stepping down to J2 after feeding at the top table for 12 years. Let`s hope he still has the heart. Suzuki comes in from Kyoto Sanga and at 34 years old looks to be a bit of a waste of a shirt the old "tons of experience" cliche, did his best work in a seven year stretch at Albirex Niigata with 55 goals in a 200 and something appearances stretch that finished six years ago...Finally in the midfield comes Junki Koike from Mito Hollyhock. An original product of the Urawa youth team, Koike made 4 appearances before transferring to Kusatsu for a season where he picked up 6 goals in 49 appearances before moving on to Mito Hollyhock. He picked up a further 6 goals in 67 in his time there and also one of the most ridiculous monickers around being dubbed  "The Mito Messi". We`ll see, but I`ll be most surprised if he is pictured with The Balloon D`Or next season.
Promotions from the youth squad include schoolboy international striker Shuto Minami, promising midfielder Ryota Kajikawa who we saw a glimpse of last season, forward Ryuji Sugimoto who again played a few minutes last year, defenders Shunsuke Tachino, Toshio Shimakawa and finally a Gamba reserve keeper Futori who will probably never see the light of day. That`s it people your 2012 Tokyo Nerdy Magic Roundabout.