Youth at Newcastle: good and bad
Posted on August 28th, 2011 | 21 Comments |
If the stories in the press are true, it seems that Nile Ranger is once again in hot water and this time it’s a bit more serious than an ill-informed pose with an allegedly replica handgun.
Ranger has been arrested on suspicion of assault after a 33 year-old victim was found with a broken jaw in the Groat Market in Newcastle. Ranger is currently “helping police with their enquiries”, which is police talk for “being interrogated to see if he’ll ‘fess up” and if he’s charged and subsequently found guilty he could face prison.
There were rumours that Ranger had been transfer-listed earlier in this transfer window and I get the impression that both the manager and the boardroom hierarchy were running out of patience with his indiscipline and allegedly casual approach to training anyway, but this latest escapade could, I believe, see the end of his prospects as a professional footballer.
He’s not the first Newcastle player to get into trouble of course. Notably both Joey Barton and Andy Carroll have had their off-pitch controversy, but their on-pitch contributions seem to have persuaded various managers back them through their troubles, although I suspect that Alan Pardew will be reluctant to provide too much backing for Ranger.
Ranger might be lucky and find a club with a manager who can knock some sense into him and it’s possible that the glimmers of talent we’ve seen from the boy could be developed and exploited, but I doubt that will be at Newcastle United.
Contrast Ranger with Haris Vuckic and Sammy Ameobi whose introduction to the pitch on Thursday’s game at Scunthorpe was – I think it’s fair to say – at least partly responsible for revitalising our performance. Vuckic and Ameobi seem to have the level heads absent in Nile Ranger too.
Alan Pardew had this to say about Haris Vuckic:
“When I first arrived I remember the staff saying to me: ‘We’ve got a really good young player but he’s injured at the moment’.
“This tall, nice, Slovenian guy kept passing me in the corridor and smiling. Haris is such a nice guy.
“He’s a lovely boy who we’ve got big hopes for; he’s got tremendous technique. Haris needs to learn to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League but he’s only 19 and his potential is excellent. He’s got a really clever pass on him. It’s a pass about 85% of Premier League footballers couldn’t even see.”
And when it comes to Sammy Ameobi, Pardew said:
“We’re very excited about Sammy.
“He’s going to be a big player and it helps that his big brother and his parents look after him very well.”
After their performances last week I would be very surprised if they’re not both on the subs bench for today’s game against Fulham.
Then there’s also the likes of Abeid, Ferguson and Kadar who are all highly-rated youngsters. Amidst all the gripes about Ashley, transfer windows, spending and whatnot, I think one area where we have bags of potential is with the youth players at the club. There is much promise there for the future.
Although I doubt Nile Ranger forms part of that.
LAST SIXTEEN GAMES : FULHAM / NUFC ….
02/02/11 Fulham 1-0 Newcastle United
13/11/10 Newcastle United 0-0 Fulham
16/05/09 Newcastle United 0-1 Fulham
09/11/08 Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United
22/03/08 Newcastle United 2-0 Fulham
15/12/07 Fulham 0-1 Newcastle United
03/02/07 Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United
09/09/06 Newcastle United 1-2 Fulham
14/01/06 Fulham 1-0 Newcastle United
10/09/05 Newcastle United 1-1 Fulham
04/05/05 Fulham 1-3 Newcastle United
07/11/04 Newcastle United 1-4 Fulham
19/01/04 Newcastle United 3-1 Fulham
21/10/03 Fulham 2-3 Newcastle United
19/04/03 Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United
21/12/02 Newcastle United 2-0 Fulham
Eight Wins 24 points Fulham
two draws 1 point each..
Six Wins 18 points NUFC….
Sounds like we need to stuff fulham this afternoon …