Following on from my piece on the contributions of our defenders and utilty players this season, let’s carry on with our assessment of Newcastle’s players with a view to deciding who is our Player of the season. I’ll be moving on the engine room now, and later the forwards. There are undoubtedly a few worthy recipients here!
The somewhat unexpected inclusion of Nile Ranger for Newcastle United’s ill fated League Cup encounter with Blackburn signals something a second chance for the young striker.
Although he is still way back in the pecking order, with Alan Pardew suggesting in a phone in on BBC Radio Newcastle’s “Total Sport” that even 19 year Sammy Ameobi has overtaken Ranger in the manager’s thoughts, he’s now back training with the first team and that’s a start. It’s cerrtainly something of an improvement on the previous situation, where he found himself completely out in the wilderness with the club simply itching to offload the recently troublesome young gangster striker permannently at the earliest available opportunity.
Whilst there could be several reasons for the club’s change of heart on Ranger, reasons such as the forthcoming loss of Demba Ba, and possibly Shola Ameobi to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, a rumoured improvement in his attitude in training, a recent impressive performace for the Reserves against Liverpool where he scored two goals, or possbly a lack of interest in a permanent £1 million move from other clubs due to his reputation preceding him, he still has some way to go to make up for lost ground. The question I will be asking in this piece, or specifically, the poll below, is can he make it? (more…)
Davide Santon looks to be fairly fit after playing the full 90 minutes of a reserve game against Swansea and does Jonas’s interview indicate that Colo is angling for a longer contract?
Davide Santon completed the full 90 minutes of our reserve game against Swansea last night, which we won 5-3. Santon only had his knee drained earlier this week and it looks like he’s already reaching a level of fitness that could soon put him in line for a first-team start.
Nile Ranger – who, like Santon, had part of his body drained at some point in the past, although in Ranger’s case the part drained seems to be somewhat north of the neck – also played the full 90 minutes and scored from the penalty spot (the other goals were scored by Michael Richardson, Shane Ferguson, Dan Gosling and Greg McDermot). I’m not sure how much Nile Ranger figures in Alan Pardew’s plans after his recent spate of alleged misdemeanours but I suppose he’s another attacking option, albeit one that’s a fair way down the list. (more…)
Newcastle United’s youth squad has much promise, although recent events might indicate that Nile Ranger isn’t destined to be part of it.
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. (more…)
Alan Pardew thinks Newcastle United’s upcoming tour of America is the ideal preparation for the new season.
Alan Pardew has been talking again, which will come as no surprise to anyone, but this time he’s been extolling the virtues of the pre-season stint to the US of A.
It’s mid-season for Americas football (‘soccer’) leagues, so we’ll be facing players who are well into their competitive stride. This will be a hard test of our fitness as we look to complete a yankee triple over Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew and Orlando City.
Pardew feels the tour will set us up nicely for the new season though, saying:
“It is not a money-making exercise by any stretch of imagination.
“It is purely a break-even tour, which we feel is beneficial for the team.
“We go there because the facilities will be first class. It is going to be hot, so it will test us.” (more…)