Colorado Rapids Looking to Sign USMNT Forward Alan Gordon
By Sean Curtis
The Colorado Rapids are rumored to be in talks with Alan Gordon to help bolster their offense for the 2017 season. How good of a signing would this be?
The Colorado Rapids finished the 2016 regular season in second place in the MLS while boasting the best goals against total in the league. Unfortunately, they also had the lowest amount of goals scored by any team that made the playoffs. Following the end of the season, the Rapids let a number of offensively minded players go because they simply were not getting the job done. After drafting defense, all eyes have been looking for a transfer to bring much needed offense to the team. The search for offense appears to have landed the Rapids on Alan Gordon.
Gordon is a 6’1″ 35-year-old forward who has bounced around to man teams in the MLS, but he has primarily played for he LA Galaxy. In 245 games he gas 52 goals and 28 assists, not terrible numbers but also not mind-blowing. He also has one cap with the USMNT. In the past MLS season, he made 22 appearances (7 starts) while tallying 3 goals and 1 assist.
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This only looks to be a good signing if it proves not to be the only signing the Rapids make in the transfer window because, simply put, Gordon will help but is not the answer. First, Gordon was mainly used as a substitute for LA and many of his starts were because of injuries to Robbie Keane. In his starts, he often did not go 90 minutes and would get subbed off between the 60th and 70th minutes. All this says that he would make his best impact in the “super sub” role.
The other reason the Rapids will need more than Gordon is his play style. Gordon is not the type of player that can take the ball and make something amazing happen. He is the kind of player that will be a surefire finisher if you give him the ball in a dangerous position. Looking at the roster, I only see Shkelzen Gashi and maybe Marlon Hairston as players that can attempt to provide him the service he would need to make an impact.
There is a way this could be good, however. The Rapids will definitely benefit from his veteran leadership, and he could be very useful if he is indeed used as a super sub when the team needs a late goal.
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Also, the Rapids can get him fairly cheep. According to an article by Burgundy Wave, the Rapids have around $1 million to use in cap space. Gordon only cost LA $110,000 last year. If he is paid a similar amount, the Rapids keep around $900,000 to bolster the rest of their offense. Keeping in mind that a 3rd designated player would only cost around $450,000, the Rapids could sign Gordon and still do a little more offense shopping in the coming weeks.
What do you think about this potential signing? Comment below to join the discussion.
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