The last time Crouch scored against Arsenal, it was for Southampton at St. Mary's. Prutton and Van Persie were sent off that day. Crouch scored in the 67th to tie the game at 1-1. He didn't score the next two times he faced them but today he scored a hat trick. Knowing the English press, this will be fuel for the debate over him play for the English national team. Seems more like it adds to the question if he's the next Emile Heskey.
Props to Josh at Throughball for the update on the Minnesota Thunder stadium situation. Awhile back their efforts with Minneapolis to build a soccer stadium at the Parade Stadium site fell through. It looks as though they're working with St. Paul to come up with plan to build on a site around downtown. I'll be sad to see them leave James Griffin since it's nickname is "The Jimmy".
We're still months away from the summer transfer window but that hasn't prevented the rumors from flowing. Here's a few of them floating around : Cannavaro to Napoli - Yep, that's right. They may be in the Serie B but apparently Fabio is willing to entertain a move to his hometown club. Valeri Bojinov to Barcelona - Barcelona are looking at the 21 year old Bulgarian Bojinov as a replacement for the Javier Saviola (out of contract). Micah Richards to Manchester United - Soccer365 is reporting that Manchester United are looking to put in a £20 million bid for the 18 year old. Is Glazer looking to placate fans by spending some money or can a fullback really be worth that much money? Florent Malouda to Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus - There's nothing definite yet but the 26 year-old French International (22 caps) is talking about a move. Although he admits a move to Chelsea is unlikely with Mourinho's future there seemingly up in the air right now. Jefferson Farfan to Chelsea, Arsenal - PSV's fast dribbling Peruvian striker is being linked with a few clubs both as a sale and as a loan move (Chelsea). He's also been linked with a move to Newcastle. Arjen Robben to Barcelona - The rumor is that the 23 year old is ready to move on and make use a new FIFA rule that allows players that have played in a foreign country for 3 years to buy-out the rest of their contract and move. Barcelona are unwilling to meet Chelsea's £12m+ asking price for the Dutch winger but reportedly more than happy to throw an extra £2m in the pot to buy-out the remainder of his contract.
The inaugural USL-MLS Challenge is over and as reported by The MLS Zone the Los Angeles Galaxy have won. The pre-season tournament was played between the Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, Puerto Rico Islanders and Rochester Rhinos. The Galaxy are 6-1-2 in pre-season play sans David Beckham. Is this sign of things to come?
