Arsenal Lead the Roque Santa Cruz Race But Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Join the Chase!
Press reports suggest that it’s Arsenal that are leading the chase for Blackburn’s Paraguayan international striker Roque Santa Cruz though they are just one of a number of Premier League clubs chasing him. The 26-year-old enjoyed a superb first season in England following his bargain £3.8million move from Bayern Munich last summer. He scored a superb 19 League goals in 37 apperances and is one of the most sought after strikers in the top division with at least the Gunners, United, Man City and Spurs thought to be in the race for his signature.
Santa Cruz enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in the last campaign, his 19 League goal haul was the first time he’d ever scored double figures for League goals in a season. In fact, his record in 8 seasons in Germany with Bayern is not that impressive at all. He scored 31 goals in a total of 155 appearances, basically a record of 1 goal in every 5 League games. However, his chances at Bayern were limited by a number of top class international strikers that the current German champions have possessed over the years though 2 goals in 26 League appearances (12 starts) in the 2006/07 season is hardly a good record. The 26-year-old’s highest League tally in Germany was 5 goals so it’s not surprising that Bayern let him leave.
Despite a poor record in Germany, Santa Cruz has a good international scoring rate of 18 goals in 59 appearances for Paraguay. He also made his debut for his nation at the tender age of just 17 in the Copa America. The tall target-man had a superb first season for Blackburn but when examining his career there surely must be doubts whether he is worth the £15million plus price tag currently being reported.
Arsenal may be looking to cash in on Emmanuel Adebayor which explains their interest in the Paraguayan as a readymade replacement whilst Spurs have a similar situation with Dimitar Berbatov. His former club manager Mark Hughes is also reported to be interested in taking the player to Eastlands which would surely solve City’s problematic search for a consistent striker. Then there’s the champions United who continue their search for a proven targetman to complement the ‘holy trinity’ of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.
So do you think Santa Cruz would make a good signing for your club? Do you feel he can make as good an impact as in his first season in the Premier League? Finally, which side do you think he’s most likely to join? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Arsenal, Blackburn, Manchester City, Manchester United, Roque Santa Cruz, Tottenham
June 12th, 2008 at 12:32
Man United will get blown out of the water if Arsenal come in for him like we did with Ramsey as for City and Spurs…are you having a laugh?
June 12th, 2008 at 12:34
There are better strikers out there than him in my opinion,not bad but as the writer says no track record at the top level consistently, could be an expensive one season wonder!
June 12th, 2008 at 12:45
If he wants silverware then it’s either Spurs or United isn’t it…the other 2 don’t win any these days!
June 12th, 2008 at 12:49
That’s right Yidyank, if he want’s to challenge for the Carling Cup then Spurs is definitely the place to go.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:56
If Arsenal sell Adebayor for 30mill, I’d hope that means we go for Villa and Santa Cruz. There is no way Van Persie or Eduardo can be the #2 striker heading into the season.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:58
ha ha ha ha ha ha - why does everyone fall for it everyday (including me) these stories are made for hits from rival fans slagging each other off. Do like a good bit of banter though!
June 12th, 2008 at 12:59
Adebayor isn’t worth £30m, if someone offers you that snap their arm off then by a striker who can finish!!
Await goalscoring comparisons with Keane and Berbatov…….
June 12th, 2008 at 13:08
slag the Carling Cup off all u like, its silverware that you would of all loved to win just to stop u from having another trophy-less season
June 12th, 2008 at 13:09
I hate him but Adebayor is fantastic guys. I wouldnt take £30m, id want a lot more. I think his ability to strike the ball is second to none and his strength an awareness are amazing. Hang on to him Gooner mugs if u know whats good 4 u
June 12th, 2008 at 13:18
Adebayor and Santa Cruz will be one season wonders. £30m for Adebayor and £15m for Santa Cruz is an absolute joke!
Tottenham paid £10m for Berbatov, are they suggesting that Adebayor is three times the player Berbatov is?!?
Another joke, Bentley for £15m! At this rate the EPL teams will be bankrolling the country as they seem to be the only people who have any money!!!!
June 12th, 2008 at 13:22
Arsenal can have santa Cruz… he’s useless… like McCarthy… where was he this season.. just another one off… 8 yrs with Bayern (why they kept him for so long god only knows) show’s you that!
June 12th, 2008 at 13:23
Is it just me or does the Carling Cup only become the “Worthless cup” when you don’t win it?
Also proves Arsenal are still living in the past on their unbeaten season.
Move on, it was 5 years ago!
June 12th, 2008 at 13:26
Steve - i can honestly say i would not have “loved to win” the Carling Cup - it is a joke competition for joke trams that can’t challenge on any other fronts. For proper (non-midtable downwards) teams it just gets in the way of other competitions hence the 2nd teamers getting a run for Arsenal. Spurs fans consider winning the CC as indicative of a good season - do you really think arsenal fans would consider a season winning just the CC and nothing else any more successful than winning nothing. Steve you are dillusional - Spurs add nothing to the premiership and will not be missed when they get relegated and go bankrupt. Teams with no history will never attract top players (except for fluke finds like berbatov)
June 12th, 2008 at 13:48
Who has no history Jake??? Tottenham? Have a word with yourself mate, seriously. Do yourself a favour and do a little bit of research before you go making idiotic comments. I gather you don’t realise that of the ‘2nd teamers’, as you put it, that lost to Spurs in the CC, 8 of them featured against AC Milan!! Are you calling them also rans too? As for Spurs adding nothing to the Premiership, apart from being the most entertaining team in it (apart from Man U).
Fluke finds like Berbatov? You call us dillusional?? oh and what are joke trams?
June 12th, 2008 at 14:22
funny that Jake, Chelsea a team narrowly beaten to the title by United and narrowly beaten in the Champions League didnt think it was a joke cup and unless you think their team of superstars is a “joke team” as well then its clearly just another jealous gooner pretending Arsenal are the only driving force in London
June 12th, 2008 at 14:33
Save him the hassle, here u go mate, everything Tottenham Hotspur have ever won
FIRST TEAM
Football League Champions 1950-51, 1960-61
F.A.Cup Winners 1900-01, 1920-21, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1966-67, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1990-91
Football League Cup Winners 1970-71, 1972-73, 1998-99, 2007-08
European Cup-Winners Cup Winners 1962-63
UEFA Cup Winners 1971-72, 1983-84
Football League Division Two Champions 1919-20, 1949-50
Southern League Champions 1899-1900.
Western League Champions 1903-04.
London League Premier Division Champions 1902-03.
Football League South ‘C’ Division Champions 1939-40.
Football League South Champions 1943-44, 1944-45.
Southern District Charity Cup Winners 1901-02, 1904-05 (joint), 1906-07.
London Challenge Cup Winners 1910-11, 1928-29.
F.A.Charity Shield Winners 1920-21, 1951-52, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1967-68 (joint), 1981-82 (joint), 1991-92 (joint).
Dewar Shield Winners 1901-02, 1933-34, 1934-35.
Anglo-Italian League Cup-Winners Cup Winners 1971-72.
Norwich Charity Cup Winners 1919-20
Norwich Hospital Charity Cup Winners 1946-47, 1949-50 (joint).
Ipswich Hospital Charity Cup Winners 1951-52 (joint).
Costa Del Sol Tournament Winners 1965,1966.
Nolia Cup (Sweden) Winners 1977.
Japan Cup Winners 1979.
Sun International Challenge Trophy (Swaziland) Winners 1983.
Peace Cup (Korea) Winners 2005.
RESERVE TEAM
London Football Combination Champions 1919-20, 1921-22, 1925-26, 1952-53, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1961-62, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1994-95
Football Combination Cup Winners 1966-67 (joint), 1996-97
London League Champions 1898-99.
London League First Division Champions 1902-03.
South Eastern League Champions 1901-02, 1902-03, 1904-05, 1910-11.
London Challenge Cup Winners 1936-37, 1947-48, 1958-59, 1963-64, 1970-71, 1973-74.
Peterborough Infirmary Charity Cup Winners 1926.
Studio Ten Challenge Trophy Winners 1992.
Transpennine Express Trophy Winners 1993.
Ryedale Trophy Winners 1994.
Shepherd Trophy & East Coast Soccer Festival Winners 1996
‘A’ TEAM
Eastern Counties League Champions 1949-50, 1957-58, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1961-62.
Eastern Counties League Cup Winners 1948-49, 1958-59.
East Anglian Cup Winners 1949-50, 1957-58.
London Mid-Week League Champions 1956-57.
Metropolitan League Champions 1966-67.
Metropolitan League Autumn Shield Winners 1968-69.
‘B’ TEAM
Metropolitan & District League Challenge Cup Winners 1951-52, 1963-64, 1964-65.
Sudbury & Suffolk Charity Cup Winners 1953-54, 1954-55.
YOUTH TEAM
F.A.Youth Cup Winners 1969-70, 1973-74, 1989-90
South East Counties Senior League/Division One Champions 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1994-95
South East Counties Senior League/League Cup Winners 1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1990-91 (joint), 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97
Southern Junior Floodlit Cup Winners 1964-65 (joint), 1969-70, 1989-90, 1991-92
London F.A. Youth Challenge Cup Winners 1946-47, 1948-49, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1976-77
International Youth Tournaments;
1959 Rotterdam, 1960 Berrenrath, 1965 The Hague, 1966 Bremen, 1971 Rotterdam, 1972 Rotterdam, 1974 Rotterdam, 1975 Geneva, 1976 Brussels, 1987 Dusseldorf, 1991 Bellinzona, 1994 Ostrach, 1999 Berne, 2005 Angers.
JUNIOR TEAM
FA Academy League Group A Champions 2001-02
South East Counties Junior League Champions 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1974-75
South East Counties Junior League Cup Winners 1965-66, 1968-69, 1971-72, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1980-81
London F.A. Winchester Cup Winners 1950-51, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1962-63, 1964-65.
John Ullman Cup Winners 1987-88,1989-90
International Youth Tournaments;
1990 Northern Ireland Milk Cup, 1991 Wettingen, 1992 Wettingen, 1996 Northern Ireland Milk Cup.
Not a big club?
June 12th, 2008 at 14:36
Hello spuds bunch (sounds munchy), well, arsenal is not the only force in london .. there is also chelsea and west ham, and perhaps qpr, brentford, watford (is that still greater london?) .. oh, there is the joke of the millenium residing in some place appropriately called white hart lane .. who are attempting to jokingly clone whatever arsenal does .. arsenal shows interest in a player, then they want the player too and would spend money they haven’t got chasing after that player .. and still end up narrowly escaping relegation.
June 12th, 2008 at 14:38
Is that the same team that DEMOLISHED you 5-1 in January?
June 12th, 2008 at 14:39
see what I mean about the jokers residing in white hart lane … see the list above .. u couldn’t have made it up .. LOL LOL LOL …
below are some of the wonderful titles the jokers have won over the years .. notice they win titles almost every year .. what a great big club …
Some of spuds greatest titles:
=============================
Dewar Shield Winners 1901-02, 1933-34, 1934-35.
Anglo-Italian League Cup-Winners Cup Winners 1971-72.
Norwich Charity Cup Winners 1919-20
Norwich Hospital Charity Cup Winners 1946-47, 1949-50 (joint).
Ipswich Hospital Charity Cup Winners 1951-52 (joint).
Costa Del Sol Tournament Winners 1965,1966.
Nolia Cup (Sweden) Winners 1977.
Japan Cup Winners 1979.
Sun International Challenge Trophy (Swaziland) Winners 1983.
Peace Cup (Korea) Winners 2005.
June 12th, 2008 at 14:45
yeah or add to that more European success than you
June 12th, 2008 at 14:46
Typical Arsenal fans not seeing the bigger picture, instead taking the easy joke bait and picking out the minor trophies. All Steve was pointing out is that we have a long illustrious history contrary to the comment that the lovely and eloquent Jake made about us.
And just how are we trying to clone your success? Our manager isn’t a Paedophile, nor does he have a penchant for young African boys.
June 12th, 2008 at 14:48
Steve, that argument is no good when presented to Arsenal fans, none of them were around before they won anything. i.e. Pre 1993.
June 12th, 2008 at 15:02
Agreed Brendan, they are unfortunately small minded children when it comes to anything to do with Tottenham and as i have stated, we still have more European success than them which i’m sure they’re not to keen on
June 12th, 2008 at 15:06
I know mate, they have a narrow minded view on success. You see in the real world winning something (a race or a game or a business deal) is always better than finishing 4th in something. Same rules do not seem to apply in football?
June 12th, 2008 at 15:08
Funny how arsenal also list stuff like that ay!
A prime example:
Emirates cup..er how can anyone else win that when only 4 teams enter an one of them is always playing at home!!!
June 12th, 2008 at 15:10
An as for the cloning comment spurs were playing the lovely football way before arsenal, they were one of the pioneers of it! Back when arsenal were playing boring boring football..thus the chant boring boring arsenal! Arsenalk bored us with rubbish for many many years before wenger came..where as spurs were playing great attacking football!
June 12th, 2008 at 15:18
Gooner brains only remember what they want to remember guys, its like selective hearing only with memories. Funny how they forget the “Highbury Library” and the “Boring Boring Ar5ena1″ chants quickly. Only the other day i sw them all posting about our “small stadium” and laughing like they’ve had a 60,000 seater for 50 years! makes me laugh. Anyway who cares what they think, they can enjoy life with no signings at Cashburden Grave whilst we sign players like Modric (who they were desperate to sign just last season) and dos Santos who i’m sure now ‘must’ be crap because he plays for Spurs. Mugs
June 12th, 2008 at 16:13
………..And it’s all gone quiet over there!
June 12th, 2008 at 17:30
Funny that we had no intention of signing Modric, its also hilarios when you read that the yids have won only 2 league titles, and in 3 years that will be 50 years without winning the league, how embarrasing for such a ‘big’ club as you claim to be. You yids are so bitter, as you strive to be everything that we are, challenging for the premiership,(winning it also but lets not rub salt in your wounds), playing in the elite of European football season after season,(thats something spurs will never do), playing entertaining football, filling our ground, and even though you have such a small capacity you still cant sell out for every game, going unbeaten in a league season, its no wonder you are so jealous of our stature, style, panache and success, and that why you wil always be in our shadow! Just have a look at your so called honours, you have won the Norwich Charity Hospital cup, lol, talk about clutching at straws myself laughing! Keep dreaming yid scum, you will never be as big or as successful as us, that must stick in your throats!!
61 Never again
Always in our shadow
AFC PRIDE OF LONDON