Bolton interested in Nile Ranger for £1m?

Posted on June 18th, 2011 | 11 Comments |

Bolton are allegedly interested in Newcastle's Nile Ranger.
£1m: value for money?
Whilst the number 9 shirt remains unfilled at Newcastle United, it certainly won’t ever be Nile Ranger’s as was once speculated. The player is well and truly transfer-listed and beginning to attract suitors.

It’s all go at Newcastle isn’t it? Between the rumours and the actual transfers that have taken place it’s turning out to be an interesting summer. Let’s hope it all works out for the best.

To quote Donald Rumsfeld: there are known knowns, there are known unknowns and there are also unknown unknowns. One of Newcastle’s known unknowns is who will be filling the number 9 shirt given that Demba Ba hasn’t been awarded that privilege. Maybe the club is retiring it for a while or maybe they still plan to make what the press would call a ‘marquee signing’ who be awarded the number 9.

One thing that’s for certain (a known known, I’d say) is that Nile Ranger won’t be getting our number 9. In fact he won’t be getting a black and white shirt at all next season if the speculation is to be believed.

Allegedly Bolton have expressed an interest in young Ranger to – at least in part – compensate for Johan Elmander’s departure to Galatasaray. Apparently Millwall were keen on Ranger too but their finances don’t stretch to the £1m fee Newcastle are asking for him, but such a fee should not prove to be a problem for Bolton.

If Bolton manager Owen Coyle can screw Ranger’s head on properly I think he’d be getting his money’s worth in terms of potential for £1m, although whether that potential is finally realised depends a lot upon Ranger himself.

The lad has shown glimpses of the talent he possesses but has so far failed to turn that talent into the goals expected of a striker and many think that’s partly due to his head being in the wrong place. He’s certainly had discipline issues, running up thousands in fines for being late and making a bit of a mug of himself off the pitch, but maybe a move will set him on the right path.

Anyway, Bolton’s alleged interest in Ranger comes from The Star, so please treat it with the usual scorn caution. I’m not sure if the Ranger rumour qualifies as a known unknown or an unknown unknown. However, I think that Rumsfeld, for all his intellect, forgot about unknown knowns though: there are things you know but don’t know it as well as things you know you don’t know.

Although I don’t know either way.

Don’t worry, I’ll hit myself in the face with a house-brick for bringing all that Rumsfeld nonsense into a Newcastle United rumour.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

11 Responses

  1. Great commentary Hugh, though go lightly with the brick. I think it’s a case of a new broom at NUFC and it’s sweeping pretty clean at the moment with so many of the old faces being shown the door and new ones coming in. Lots of known unknowns etc. etc. etc.

  2. Send him down to Brighton with LuaLua, he’ll do ok down there with Poyet as long as he keeps his “so called friends” away from him, maybe even on loan for a season see how he goes and then get rid if need be, i still think it’s too early to get rid.

  3. Nile Ranger passed the the greatest test of all, ‘The First Three Touches Test’. If during his first three touches in his NUFC career he manages to keep possession, he is in fact a world beater. Anything else and he is destined for the reserves, lower league, local non league route.

    As Nile has demonstrated however, this theory is utter bollocks and he has been ‘Sholaesque’ in his development.

    Bye bye Nile, not really fussed!

    Incidentally, based on the three touches, Paul Kitson was all set up to be ‘The Murton Messi’

  4. I hope some manager can knock some sense into him as clearly us and Southampton couldn’t.

    Unlike Gazza who threw away his career, Ranger hasn’t really started his.

    What a waste.

  5. Confirmed: NUFC to sign midfielder Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes on a 5-year contract.

  7. Sylvain Marveaux (born 15 April 1986) is a French football player who currently plays for French club Rennes in Ligue 1. He can play a variety of positions in the midfield, but is mostly utilized as a left-sided midfielder or an attacking midfielder. Marveaux is a former French under-21 international having earned caps with the team from 2006–2008. He is the younger brother of Joris Marveaux, who currently stars for Montpellier. The younger Marveaux has been at Rennes since 2001 and, following the departure of Jimmy Briand in 2010, became the longest-serving player currently at the club.

    He’s aslo scored 20 goals in 118 appearances, but ominously perhaps seems to have a recurring injury problem.

  8. Furthermore, some reports suggest that he failed a medical at L’pool (who were aslo after his siggy.

    Apparently, he hasn’t *actually* signed a contract yet, it’ll happen on 1st July – why the time lag, I’m not sure.

  9. Nhs bye Nile, couldn’t be less bothered. The lad had his chances and did absolutely nothing with them.

    All the disciplinary issues also would indicate that its time to move on. He’s lucky enough to be in a profession than probably 99% of people would kill to be in, yet he can’t be bothered to turn up to training on time, I wonder how he’d do in the real world if he had to work proper hours for normal wages if he can’t even manage with the low work load of a professional footballer.

    Southampton wanted rid cos of his behaviour and attitude, and now the toon do as well. It would hardly be a surprise is whoever takes him on has the same problem. Some players get away with bad behaviour to some extent sue to them being great players, but sorry to say Nile, you’re not one of those players.

  10. from what i remember seeing him,he got into plenty of promising positions but always failed at the crucial moments.i thought he was one of those players who could’ve over time been moulded into a decent striker at the least.i hope he’s shipped out on loan instead to one of the promoted teams.i’m sure he’ll get sufficient first team opportunities there to really develop

  11. I would be sad to see Nile wash out at Newcastle. A striker can play well and not score. But sadly for Nile all strikers are ultimately judged on goals. He always looked dangerous coming off the bench with his height and pace. I’m not sure what the other young strikers will have to offer but I’m sure a loan for Ranger would be a better option. It would, perhaps, help him grow up some.