Newcastle are short of at one good striker, but we have two strikers on the books who have no future at the club, but are being paid good wages, but will never play for the first team.
Nile Ranger – outside Newcastle crown Court
The first one is 21 year Nile Ranger, who seems to have dropped back into trouble with the police, which he had in London when he was younger.
And today Ranger was given a 12 month conditional discharge after being convicted of assaulting two police officers in August of last year.
That was his first brush with police since he joined Newcastle in the summer of 2008, after being let go by Southampton.
The England U19 striker also ordered to pay £750 to each police officer, but was cleared of two counts of actual bodily harm.
The hearing was held in Newcastle Crown Court today.
Nile Ranger has no future at Newcastle, but since he signed a five-year deal back in October of 2010, he has every legal right to hang around and get paid by Newcastle, and there’s no way Newcastle can end his contract,
If Newcastle couldn’t end Joey Barton’s contract when he was given a six month jail sentence then we have no chance of doing that with Nile Ranger.
Xisco shown in training this season
The other striker who is getting good money at the club but has not future on Tyneside is 26 year-old Spanish U21 striker Xisco, who joined Newcastle just after Nile Ranger arrived, on the last day of the summer transfer window in the summer of 2008.
But Xisco just wasn’t good enough to play in the Premier League, and has been sent out on loan a few times, but is now at Newcastle and training every day with the squad and actually played a game for the Newcastle U21 side last Monday night at Aston Villa.
Xisco cost Newcastle £5.7M from Deportivo, and he’s appeared 11 times for the first team with one goal, but the Spaniard will not make any more first team appearances on Tyneside.
Xisco is reportedly getting £50K/week in wages, and Newcastle will have to pay that through the end of next June, when his five year deal expires, and then Xisco will leave Newcastle.
Whether he can get hitched up with another club after that time we don’t know, but he’s one of the worst signings ever made by Newcastle, through no fault of his own.
So we have two strikers at the club, being paid very good money, but neither one of them will ever be used by Alan Pardew in the Newcastle first team – ever again.
Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and +1 us on Google+:
You can also reach Ed at admin@nufcblog.com
=============================================
88 comments so far
toonarmydownsouth
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:06 PM
Comment #41MFH
Completly agree about the wishing injuries on our players purely for the comments he doesnt get half the abuse he should
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:08 PM
Comment #42It’s not worth giving him abuse tho. He talks nonsense most the time but I think he’s on a wind up
toonarmydownsouth
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:10 PM
Comment #43FMJ
Agreed players like ba can and do change a game with one moment of brilliance very special kind of player to special to see go for £7 mil!
APBWA
No jose’s just dropped down the pecking order for whatever reason personally would love to see the lad back great player
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:13 PM
Comment #44Enrique on one side, santon on the other.
Would be ruddy marvellous.
APBWA
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:17 PM
Comment #45How much do you reckon he would cost to get back? The £6m we got him for?
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:20 PM
Comment #46They wouldn’t sell him for less probably. They’d be reluctant to sell him to us at all I’m sure. Like admitting failure.
We can hope for it but I’m sure it wont happen.
MagpiesFlyHigh
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:24 PM
Comment #47FMJ
Ba might also be a club changer…
– now that is a wind up ..
‘Ignore the ignorant’ is a good motto Joe
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:25 PM
Comment #48I’d like to know how Xisco feels about the situation he finds himself in, particularly when he’s here on Tyneside going through the motions in training etc.. He could feel angry he hasn’t been given a real chance, or guilty, embarrassed, lucky, indifferent. It’s an odd situation to experience for the most part of 5 years of your life. He may not have been good enough for the Premiership, but his time at Newcastle has probably stopped him from fulfilling anywhere near whatever potential he had, which was a fair bit as a Spanish U21 international. Still he’s many millions richer than he would ordinarily have been. Strange.
With Ranger, I’m starting to think it might end tragically.
Munster Mag
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:25 PM
Comment #49Tut tut chaps, you should know that negativity towards our geeat leaders is not allowed!! Tsk, you just dont see the master plan do you ? Sign a player for X , sell him for more than X ( good so far ) , but probably dont reinforce the team with similar quality players when this player is still here !! Thus NUFC remain in the prem, remain well run financially, advertising Ashleys company, but unlikely to threaten the CL. Last year must have come as a shock – well ahead of their 5 year plan. So what do we do now Mike ? Invest surely, whilst we have the playing stock we have. Er, nope. We had our chance in the summer to buy two players but decided not to – acid test failed. We may buy in Jan ( we will be forced to by the look of things ) but we will have wasted half a season. Then, probably, we will sell someone like Tiote ( not the end of the world ) for say, 18mill ( at a push ) , but we’ll probably buy two Amalfitano’s and bank the rest. Result ? Development of NUFC as a real “fret” ( threat ) to the CL wont move forward a jot. I sincerely hope I’m wrong…..
MagpiesFlyHigh
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:25 PM
Comment #50Brendan hasn’t go a bottomless pit for a budget, so he may have to take a hit on some transfers
MagpiesFlyHigh
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:27 PM
Comment #51Munster
You should have been a paperback writer
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:28 PM
Comment #52I think so mfh. It worked!
Did our interest die in erik pieters? Wouldn’t have minded him at the time like. I think it’s obvious to all that our defence needs looking at now.
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:31 PM
Comment #53I second that, Santon one side, the Rampant Bull the other. Outstanding. He’s on big money though, isnt he. High wages can be a double edged sword for players who find themselves on the outer. Seems a recent development in the game, the player to expensive to shift.
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:33 PM
Comment #54I think if he did start listening to offers for Enrique then we would be the last club he’d sell to. Fingers crossed I’m wrong though.
Rem
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:34 PM
Comment #55If you read the article, Ranger was racially abused then acted in self defense.
He pushed two police officers, but knowing police I can imagine there was nothing in it.
What he has done is stupid and he is no role model, but this shows there is more to the story
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:38 PM
Comment #56Racial abuse is terrible and happens far too frequently but there are other ways of dealing with it, if it’s true it happened.
Thump
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:41 PM
Comment #57re: Ketsbaia9
Am I seriously the only person who sees him as a wind up merchant? I’m not sure he could be any more obvious. Victim complex, inflammatory opinions that specifically go against the grain and border on the stupid (although are eloquently worded) and yet far too many people bite.
Honestly lads, stop feeding the troll.
toonarmydownsouth
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:42 PM
Comment #58Rem
Yeah he was but hes not been charged for the fight with the 2 blokes he bieng charged with assualting 2 police officers a couple of hours later after fleeing the scene, now i agree there more to this instance but what about stuff like the armed robbery? In fact he was nicked last month ffs!
In 2006, at the age of 15, he was sentenced to 11 weeks in a young offenders institute after being convicted of participating in a series of armed mugging incidents in Muswell Hill, London.
On 27 August 2011 he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man in Newcastle city centre leaving the victim unconscious in the street.[13]
In October 2011 he was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Newcastle’s Cathedral Square. The charge came only days after Ranger had been reinstated to Newcastle United’s first-team training after a three-month exile in the club’s reserves.[14] In March 2012 he was convicted of being drunk and disorderly and was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £135 costs. [15] Prior to this, in May 2011 Ranger was questioned by Newcastle after posing with a replica gun in a photograph.[16] The gun was later handed in.[17]
In March 2012, he was fined by The FA for making homophobic comments on social networking website Twitter.[18] Later in the month he was arrested once more, this time for breaching terms of his bail whilst awaiting trial on four assault charges.[15]
In the early hours of 23 September 2012, police were called to a house in Enfield, north London after reports of a disturbance. The front door of the property was badly damaged and Ranger was arrested at the scene and later charged with criminal damage.[19]
FatmanJoe
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Comment #59Thump – of course he is. I think we all know it.
Munster Mag
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Comment #60I think the other transfer policy to note is that our budget genearlly stops at 5 mill. Unless we see a significant discount. I have always maintained that this is MA’s approach – hence the Cisse buy. Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but we run into issues when a player is valued at a price north of 5mill, and no discount is involved. Many aspects of how the club is run are praiseworthy though, and I am as pleased as any re the lack of Michaek Owen types at NUFC and I would praise the owner all day long for this. But our transfer approach this summer was a slap in the face to Pardew and clearly showed a club that is unwilling to back themselves financially ( within reason ) , and push the big boys.
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Comment #61Yeah well, there’s always more to the story but Ranger is clearly deeply troubled and has been for years apart from a period either side of the big contract he got. Very difficult for him to overcome all that. He’s probably f@#ked.
Thump
Oct 15, 2012 at 9:58 PM
Comment #62@FatmanJoe: I know, it just bothers me that people keep on giving him a reason to come back is all. It’s a shame because this blog usually brings up some good debates… and then that.
breno95
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Comment #63Jaws
Ranger is not troubled at all. He is a very young, immature lad paid a large amount of money by a very high profile premier league football club where attention (some welcome and some not) comes his way.
Rightly stated he has a terrible history but as I have said he is too immature or stupid to seize the fantastic opportunity he has been given.
In short a waster.
Graeme
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Comment #64You seem to be missing the point with Barton.
No matter what he did, he still had a huge “sell-on” value when he was jailed. There was NO WAY were NUFC going to miss out on that pay-back at the time.
If they terminate his contract, which they can under UK Employment law, they would only get a fraction of what he was worth, by holding on to his registration.
Barton’s undoing was his twatter account causing major problems for the “Bigwigs” to the point they would give him away, just to be shot of him!! He basically shamed them into getting rid of him.
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Comment #65I haven’t said much about Llambias’ “purple” strategy, but this squad is short of 3 top 1st team players, more likely 4. You can’t succeed at this level with the bare 11 elite players and it is insulting nonsense to sell it the way he did.
Graeme
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Comment #66PS, I would have thrown Barton off the Tyne Bridge, given what he did to the club, but at the time, most on here thought he was the new Messiah!!
breno95
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:17 PM
Comment #67Barton – huge sell on fee – are you talking of the same Barton who’s reputation for trouble was well known by many.
Mediorce player who thinks very highly of himself and let’s everyone who gives him a chance down big time.
Not be long before he implodes again at marseille.
Oh aye that fee NUFC got was massive. A big fat zero!
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:17 PM
Comment #68Breno, you must be very well informed to feel confident enough to dismiss a human being as just a waster. If so fair enough, if not I’d certainly agree it is a sadly wasted life opportunity.
Big Pappa Cissé
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:19 PM
Comment #69Barton & Ranger are a pair of scumbags and I would love to give them both a slap. They think because they are footballers they are untouchable. I would love it if they both went bankrupt and had to mingle with us common folk
breno95
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:23 PM
Comment #70Jaws
Why do I have to be ITK to label him a waster. Look at his history, the opportunity he has been given and the end result.
It is a sure sign of his own Immaturity and lack of intelligence needed to realise the chance given to him.
toonarmydownsouth
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Comment #71Jaws
Im afraid breno has ranger nailed on there mate
The lad makes out he had a tough gangsta upbringing but the lad was bought up in thorton heath which is a pretty decent area he was also part of the palace youth acadamy which up until the age of 13 is held at east grinstead hockey club i know because i play there in a 5 a side league friday nights, sine people are forced to live there lives a certain way poverty etc ranger is not one of thoses people he’s playing gangsta because he thinks it makes him the big man.
Graeme
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:30 PM
Comment #72Breno, NUFC could have sacked him as soon as he was given a Custodial Sentence. It was NUFC who chose not to do so – WHY??
Simple economics – no matter what he did, he still had a sell on value which was worth more to MA than anything he had done.
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:33 PM
Comment #73Yeah, I do take your point but to f@#k up that badly does suggest there’s been all sorts of shit going on with him over a long time. Anyway, I’m not really defending Ranger, he’s not a special case, far from it, heaps of people can’t, won’t, don’t seize opportunities, never get them and have rotten lives for loads of complex reasons. That’s life, but waster is a bit dismissive, it seems to me.
MagpiesFlyHigh
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Comment #74For all those guys who say “I’ll have some of what your smoking”. This is a seriously delusional drug. You have been warned. This is the wiki entry.
“Ketamine9 is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine. Ketamine9 is primarily used for the induction and maintenance of general anaesthesia, usually in combination with a sedative. Other uses include sedation in intensive ACL care, analgesia (particularly in half time substitutions), and treatment of bronchospasm. (that’s when you die laughing) Ketamine9 has a wide range of effects in humans, including analgesia, anesthesia, hallucinations, elevated blood pressure, and random Panini swapsies.
It has been shown to be effective in treating depression in patients with bipolar disorder who have not responded to anti-depressants. In persons with major Willo/Simmo complex disorders it produces a rapid depressant effect, acting within 90 minutes as opposed to the several weeks taken by typical antidepressants to work.
Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Stefan9, Ketsbaia9 and Kets9 . Pharmacologically, ketamine9 is classified as an NUFC back four receptor antagonist.
Like other drugs of this class, it induces a state referred to as “dissociative anaesthesia” and is used as a recreational drug by Panini collectors.”
NUFC_LEAZES END
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Comment #75@TADS #10
Ahh didn’t know that, wouldn’t pay an extra penny for his services in that case then haa
jawballsaswallwell
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Comment #76Fair enough, I could be barking up the wrong tree.
breno95
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:47 PM
Comment #77Graeme
Now I am no employment law lawyer and i can assume that you are with your very adamant statement that NUFC could have terminated Bartons employment just like that.
All I will say is I don’t think so as it would have proved to probably have become a very expensive and drawn out legal issue.
Graeme
Oct 15, 2012 at 10:56 PM
Comment #78Breno, until he was given a Custodial Sentence, you are right, it would have been messy, but the Club would eventually win.
Once he was sentenced to jail, The club could terminate his contract – “Gross Misconduct” at the very least. The club chose not to do so – so why is that, apart from a possible financial gain??
Tsunki
Oct 15, 2012 at 11:15 PM
Comment #79MFH – I believe there was a paper on contra-indications in the treatment of Scharners Syndrome using K9, resulting in serious perception problems with elevated & entirely misplaced self-worth.
Mister Tuff
Oct 15, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Comment #80Rem @#55.
I notice that you suggest something untoward by the cops in Rangers latest court case, without any evidence at all -just fanciful thought it appears to me.
I see toonarmy has listed Rangers convictions spanning several years at the time of writing this you appear not to have responded. Following the logic of your previous post could I suggest you may try to give an explanation of Rangers convictions from the list below:-
1. Your honour it was a case of mistaken identity.
2. M’lud the bizzies fitted me up.
3. I have an alibi I was at home watching TV with my homies from the hood.
Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good tale!