Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse. Newcastle striker Nile Ranger appeared in court on Tuesday to admit to breaching bail conditions which stated that he was banned from the city centre. These events transpired following Ranger’s arrest outside a Tyneside casino on Monday night and seriously undermine the young striker’s reputation for being ‘one for the future’. In fact, the more mishaps and misdeeds Ranger gets himself involved in the less likely he is to make any kind of career for himself.
The only question remains now: has he finally burnt his bridges with Newcastle United?
In fact, Ranger made his return from injury on Tuesday night against Chelsea’s reserves. Newcastle ended up losing 4-2, but Ranger did manage to provide an assist for captain Jeff Henderson. It may have been his first appearance for Newcastle since his loan move to Barnsley, but he remains a million miles away from the first-team.
My personal feeling is that enough is enough. Newcastle haven’t expected Ranger to be a Saint. They didn’t even expect Ranger to be a role model. All they have asked from him is to be professional.
But time in a Young Offender’s Institute, allegations of assault on a man in Newcastle city centre and picking up a fine for being drunk and disorderly had people questioning his worth. When you add to this pictures of Ranger posing with a replica gun, homophopic comments on Twitter (for which he was rightfully fined) and suggestions that he turns up late for training, I’d argue that his Newcastle career should have been brought to a halt some time ago.
With a laundry list of misdeeds this long, it’s a wonder he’s still picking up a professional footballer’s salary. Even if you forget that he’s clearly a morally reprehensible human being, the fact that he’s not putting in the effort on the training pitch should have provided the club with evidence that he’s not good enough.
Talent is worth nothing if you’re not willing to expend a little energy and effort. Truth is, we’ll never know exactly how talented Ranger is, because I doubt he’s going to get too many chances at the top level of football again. I fully expect Newcastle to part ways with the striker in the summer and hopefully that’ll be the last the Premier League sees of him.
I’ve backed Ranger up before, but he has shown a consistent unwillingness to change his ways. If Newcastle cutting ties with him doesn’t provide the motivation for him getting his career back on track, I don’t know what will.
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