While Crew supporters retain the hope of a big-name announcement, at the moment nothing is imminent. Columbus still has a designated player slot at its disposal. A late attempt to bring back Brian McBride was thwarted by the striker's decision to sign a one-year extension with Fulham, his current employer in the English Premiership.

If you ask the players, they're perfectly happy to practice without the constant attention of the media. "I think it's a bit unfair of the fans to think we need to add a whole bunch of talent to this team, but it is understandable after last season," said Crew forward/midfielder Joseph Ngwenya. Indeed, the Crew failed to make the playoffs last season, a decent 3-3-1 record in its last seven games is reason to hope for next year. During that run, the team's offense, headed by Ngwenya, Jacob Thomas, Jason Garey and Brazilian rookie Ricardo Virtuoso, started to click, outscoring its opponents, 12-5.  

Said a confident-sounding Ngwenya, "We've got some chemistry now and we're used to playing together. You can say we had nothing to lose at that point in the season and that's why we played well, but you can't argue with the results. That's something to build on." Read the original story...