Ngwenya is different from the players we have on the roster. The only attackers we have that could possibly match him for speed would be Pontius and Najar. Najar’s future, to me at least, is on the flank, and Pontius said himself that he sees himself as a wide midfielder first and foremost. Ngwenya is a striker that has played midfield only when his team had no other options, so we’re getting speed higher up the field than we’re used to. Plus, Ngwenya is the kind of forward that runs at people with confidence. Having him and Najar both in at the same time would potentially cause opposing defenses to have to do a lot more 1v1 defending than they’d be comfortable with.

Ngwenya is not the final piece to making us respectable, but picking him up is a reasonable step in the right direction. If we make the proper offseason moves, he probably won’t be a starter for us. However, having him and Cristman to choose from off the bench (as opposed to just Cristman, who has his uses but is definitely a one-note kind of forward) gives us more options.

As for his lack of success this year in Houston, there are several mitigating factors. Ngwenya wasn’t signed until mid-season because his old club in Turkey would not issue the paperwork necessary for the Turkish federation to process his International Transfer Certificate. As we saw with Boskovic, coming into things in the middle of a bad season at a proud club is a tough gig.

I also don’t think Houston was built to make proper use of him. Kinnear seemed to believe he lacked the personnel to keep the ball on the ground and frequently chose to play forward pairings designed for defense-first play. Ngwenya takes risks, whereas guys like Brian Ching, Cam Weaver, and Dominic Oduro tend not to dribble or play risky passes. Ngwenya didn’t display the ability to make Kinnear drop his whole approach to fit him in, but that kind of talent is rare. In the right style of play, Ngwenya will fit in, and I think he’s more likely to do well here than playing the way the Dynamo did in 2010 (which was a departure for them after injuries and transfers robbed them of their ability to play their normal way).

So far, I think we’ve made 2 steps in the right direction. Since there is no one move that would instantly make us a contender, we have to realize that progress is progress. Getting McCarty, even at the high cost of losing Wallace, was a good move. Bringing in Ngwenya at no cost was a good move. The next big thing will be the trade rumors Kasper was quoted about by Goff. If that goes nowhere, the next big thing will probably be the Superdraft. That #3 pick should get us either a potential starter or (if he’s a younger player) a potential future star that needs time to develop.

Either way, we need to see continued forward progress rather than wild attempts at making the “one big signing.” I’m a boxing fan, and most fights are won by the guy who consistently lands punches, not the guy who runs around throwing haymakers.

He modeled one of their longsleeve away kits, which were surprisingly a bright red with white sleeves. Looked like they were ripping off Arsenal. Stan Kroenke and the Colorado Rapids can’t be happy about that.