It's been a busy week around Crew Stadium, starting with the announcement that former LA Galaxy midfielder Chris Birchall signed a mulit-year contract with the Black & Gold on Monday. The Soca Warrior took the time for an exclusive Q&A with TheCrew.com shortly after the announcement.
On the heels of last week's clean sheet in Portland, Andy Gruenebaum earned a spot on ProSoccerTalk's MLS Team of the Week, but despite being the fifth overall performer and top goalkeeper in Week Nine's Castrol Index, Gruenebaum and defender Josh Williams were only recognized as Honorable Mention for MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week.
Speaking of Williams, he and his partner in central defense, Eric Gehrig, shared a similar path to the Crew's starting lineup after going undrafted out of Horizon League universities.
After rough starts to the 2012 season, the Black and Gold's Emilio Renteria and Sebastian Miranda hope to keep improving in the coming matches, writes MLSsoccer.com's Craig Merz.
Finally, The Crew announced on Thursday that the club will host Barclays Premier League side Stoke City on July 24 in an international friendly. Crew fans will plenty of time to get to know The Potters before the match this summer.
