The Galaxy could actually be better in 2010 than what they were in 2009. (Getty Images)

We’re a little over half way home in our look at each Major League Soccer club this winter. So far we’ve hammered out Chicago, Colorado, Chivas, Columbus, DC, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, and Philadelphia in out preseason look ins.

So far this winter the LA Galaxy have had a similar offseason that we expected them to have. David Beckham went to Italy to be with AC Milan and Landon Donovan went to England to play for Everton until March. We knew going into the winter months that those things would happen. Unlike last year when there was a lot of bad press about loan moves for Beckham, this year was a little smoother for the two sides.

Aside from that Bruce Arena has made a couple moves since then and even with one draft pick back in January at the SuperDraft he came away with a solid draft grade by me and most people.

Let’s see how the Galaxy are looking right now and what else they need to do to their roster before the season kicks off.

Keepers:

Who they have: Donovan Ricketts, and Josh Saunders.

Notes: No third keeper on the books just yet but I’m sure they’ll have one eventually. It doesn’t matter though as I honestly believe they have one of the best starter/backup duos in the league with Ricketts and Saunders.

We know that Saunders can step in at a moments notice if Ricketts goes down but for the most part Arena has little to worry about in this department.

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Defense:

Who they have: Gregg Berhalter, Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez, Yohance Marshall, Alex, AJ DeLaGarza, Leonardo, and Sean Franklin.

Notes: There were plenty of issues with this group last year, particularly when a team had speed to burn they’d be in trouble. Most folks believe the two Brazilians (Alex and Leonardo) are there to fix that as well as provide depth. Honestly this group is only going to get better considering the amount of youth there. I know Berhalter and Dunivant aren’t young but with guys like Franklin, DeLaGarza and Gonzalez this group should be fine for years to come.

I think they addressed their needs with the two Brazilians too. I haven’t seen much of them yet but a couple folks have told me they’ll fit in fine for Arena in the back. Alex was brought in to fill a left back spot and I’d imagine the Arena and company aren’t as worried about this group as they were two months ago.

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Midfield:

Who they have: David Beckham, Clint Mathis, Eddie Lewis, Chris Klein, Dema Kovalenko, Mike Magee, Juninho, Chris Birchall, and Michael Stephens.

Notes: They won’t have Beckham until after the World Cup, we know that much and really that isn’t a big deal as we saw last year. The big deal with this group is even though they added Juninho and Stephens they haven’t gotten any younger. I’m not sure but I am willing to bet this may be the oldest group of midfielders in the entire league right now. Its a risky move to have that many veteran players in one area of the team and at times last year it costed them.

Still as long as all the right parties are healthy and the ones that come off the bench produce they should see similar results from 2009. I love the addition of Stephens through the SuperDraft. He may end up being one of the more underrated picks of this year.

I would have like to have seen some more work done in this area on the wings but between the draft and the addition of Juninho and Mathis they will likely be fine here.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Jovan Kirvoski, Alecko Eskandarian, Tristan Bowen, Alen Gordon, and Bryan Jordan.

Notes: Donovan will be back but after the World Cup will he go again for good may be a big question on everyone’s mind. I think the big thing will be if Buddle can step up when he is gone with the national team leading up to the World Cup and during the it. Buddle is the X-factor here for Arena and the Galaxy, if he produced while Donovan is gone they’ll easily be a factor for the Supporter’s Shield this year, if not it could be a long summer.

They do have plenty of strikers right now on the books but one has to wonder if guys like Jordan, Gordon, Eskandarian and Kirvoski will really all be here at the end of this season. One has to figure at least one of them won’t be. Still all will factor in some way off the bench this year.

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Overall:

I like the moves LA made this winter. In a way I want to say that they’re right on track to where they need to go but something in me thinks they may need to do a another move or two to be safe. This club should contend even without having Beckham for half the year and even without Donovan for some of the year as well. It will be interesting to see if Donovan scores a transfer this summer after the World Cup, if he does it could a big turning point in this club because it would open up a lot of cap space that I know Arena could work wonders with.

Still with Donovan on the roster you have to figure this club will do well this year. I like where this club is going here and they should contend again this year.

Order of video: Todd Dunivant, Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua, Yura Movsisyan, Clint Mathis, Dwayne De Rosario, and Omar Cummings (no audio on his goal).

Anyways, two moves to talk about today.

The San Jose Earthquakes have signed American striker Cam Weaver, who joins the Earthquakes on a transfer from Norwegian club FK Haugesund.

Weaver enjoyed a strong season in Norway this past year, notching nine goals in 25 league matches.

Some Seattle fans will recall just how good Weaver was for them. He first made a huge splash in the USL after scoring 18 goals as a rookie with the Seattle Sounders in 2006. The strong season earned him USL rookie of the year honors and led to Weaver being sold to Haugesund.

Weaver should be the striker San Jose has been looking for too. Best of all the Quakes didn’t have to sign him through the allocation system (currently the Quakes are number one in that order). Weaver never played in MLS and has never been called into the US National team, therefore he would not qualify as a player to be allocated.

I remember bits and pieces of Weaver’s rookie year in Seattle. He’s a big kid (6-foot-4) and definitely a hand full. In other news, Toronto FC has traded defender Todd Dunivant to the Los Angeles Galaxy for allocation money. A move I like for LA but question for TFC at the momment.

Apparently the move on TFC’s part is more about gaining some allocation and clearing some roster space to sign a better free agent defender (or striker). If they sign someone before the season to fill the gaps that they have in defense then this move will be justified. If they don’t I just see this as a bit of a waste.

For LA I love it, it gives them another defender that knows how to actually play in MLS. Bruce Arena continues to shape this roster in a way that will make the Galaxy competitive this season and more importantly give the club a chance at reaching the playoffs for the first time in a couple seasons.

This time of the year is also a big time for clubs to start trading parts away to rework their lineups in hopes of getting back on track this season.

We’ve seen it in recent years and last year was a great example of it. On this day a year ago, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo were a part of a four-player swap. The key parts were Joseph Ngwenya being dealt from Columbus in exchange for Alejandro Moreno. The trade proved to be a big one for the Dynamo, and now the Crew are seeing the benefits of that trade.

I bring this all up because of a post Ives wrote today. He is calling for Chivas USA (who made a trade over the weekend) to trade for Chicago defender Wilman Conde and in the process send former Fire striker Ante Razov back to the Windy City.

A young defender who wants out of one place in exchange for a striker who will probably want out of LA since the going has gotten tough in recent weeks.

Honestly, its a trade that works for both sides and I’m glad someone brought it up today.

But what about some other clubs that are looking to deal.

Obviously DC United is close to shaking things up here.

I think we are about a month or so away (if things remain the same) from this club getting another makeover. Of course money has to make sense in these deals but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this club unload some talent that they brought in this year.

One move that I wouldn’t be shocked over is to see DC trade for another keeper here. Both Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo were the answer in goal this season. Wells continues to show he is nothing more than a backup here and we really haven’t seen enough out of Carvallo.

As far as trades go with DC, don’t look for any eastern conference club to link up with United in a deal. As tight as things are in the east it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to help DC out here. So look for a western side to play part as a deal maker with DC. Don’t be shocked to see DC try to swing deals with Chivas, Colorado or Real Salt Lake here.

Another eastern side that will more than likely be looking to deal, based on who is running their program, is Toronto FC.

The Reds are reportedly looking to land a top-flight scorer this summer for their designated player and in the process they will more than likely have to dump some contracts to make things work out in terms of meeting the salary cap.

One guy that is more than likely on his way out is Jeff Cunningham. Look for him to get moved around and who knows maybe even Toronto would deal with DC when it comes to Cunningham. However, I still see Cunningham back in the west before the season’s end. My bet is either Chivas, Colorado, or Houston will make a play for Cunningham. Sure he has aged some but he still has some goals left in him if the playing time and situation is right for him.

I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Toronto trade a defender away like Todd Dunivant this summer. The pieces they have put together on defense, along with some of the young rookies that they brought in this year spell trouble for a guy like Dunivant. I think the Reds would have no problem trading him away to about any club in the league right now. He’s a quality defender that many teams could use.

Out west there are a couple clubs already mentioned. Chivas, Colorado, Houston.

Though it could be fair game for any western side to made a deal right now with the way things are going in comparison to how they are stacking up against the east right now. But I see teams like San Jose going out and signing players this summer rather than trading for them. Same may be said for Dallas or LA.

The wheels are in motion here for plenty of deals to be worked out this season. But don’t be shocked if we see a big name player or two move in the next month or so.

Any deals out there that you want to see? Its a busy time for GMs and coaches in MLS, not only with games on the field but the action in the office is really heating up.