LA Galaxy acquire forward Alan Gordon for allocation money

The LA Galaxy announced today that they have acquired forward Alan Gordon from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for allocation money. Gordon was originally drafted by the Galaxy in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, but did not make the team. He joined the team after a brief loan in 2005, and made 96 appearances before he was selected in the expansion draft by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

This trade essentially confirms that the signings of Rob Friend and Samuel were both complete failures. They join Carlo Cudicini in the pile of recent foreign offseason signings that have flopped by midseason, though Stefan Ishizaki is doing a good job bucking the recent trend.

What Gordon does bring is exactly what Friend was supposed to bring and what the team could have used against San Jose. He's a forward that can come off the bench and run around like a madman until something happens. Friend only really proved good at falling down, but due to the unwritten rules of soccer the ball refused to lie for those penalties.

The deal has been rumored for awhile, with Gordon falling out of favor in Silicon Valley and LA needing a target forward they could bring off the bench.