| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nile Ranger[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [2] | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Crystal Palace | |||
| 2007–2008 | Southampton | ||
| 2008–2009 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2009– | Newcastle United | 49 | (2) |
| 2011– | → Barnsley (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | England U19 | 12 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:25, 17 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Nile Ranger (born 11 April 1991) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Newcastle United as a striker.
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Born in North London, Ranger attended Alexandra Park School. He began his football career at Crystal Palace Football Academy and was at their development centre from a young age. He was with the Protec Football Development School for a few weeks before being scouted by Southampton. His career was almost over before it began, whilst playing for the club he was sentenced to 11 weeks in a Young Offender's Institute for his part in an armed street robbery in Muswell Hill committed before signing for the club.[3] He returned to Southampton after completing his sentence, but was eventually released as a player with a bad reputation.[4] He was offered terms by Swindon Town after a successful trial before Newcastle snapped him up.
In July 2008, then Director of Football of Newcastle, Dennis Wise brought him to Newcastle United. Ranger made his academy debut against Leicester City on 23 August 2008 and made his debut for the reserve team against Sunderland at St James' Park on 1 September 2008. He impressed hugely in these levels, finishing with fifteen goals for the Under-18s and seven for the reserves in his first season on Tyneside. That resulted him in winning the "Wor Jackie Milburn Trophy" in 2009. He was subsequently rewarded by then-manager Alan Shearer with a new and improved three-and-a-half year contract.[5]
Ranger's Newcastle debut came as a second-half injury-time substitute for Shola Ameobi against West Bromwich Albion in the Championship on 8 August 2009.[6] He made his first senior league start against Leicester City on 31 August 2009, where he won the man of the match award. He played just over 84 minutes before been substituted and received a standing ovation from fans.[7] He scored his first senior goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Coventry City on 9 December 2009. Ranger scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 home win against Crystal Palace.
After appearing as an unused substitute in the first two Premier League games for Newcastle, Ranger was awarded with starts in the Football League Cup wins over Accrington Stanley and Chelsea. He scored the first equalising goal in the game at Stamford Bridge, appearing in a right-wing berth, as Newcastle went on to triumph 4-3.
Ranger made his Premier League debut on the 16th October 2010, coming off the bench in the 89th minute to help Newcastle to a 2-2 draw against Wigan. Ranger made a host of substitute appearances for Newcastle after that, notably in the 1-0 away win to Arsenal. Ranger turned Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny and was through on goal before the Arsenal player tugged him down and received a red card. Ranger signed a new five and a half year contract on 3 December 2010, keeping him at the club until 2016.[8] He also started several games after, for a while, being the club's only fit striker after the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool and injuries to Shola Ameobi and Leon Best.
On 21 November 2011, having failed to appear for Newcastle in the season up to that date, Ranger signed on loan for Barnsley until 14 January 2012.[9] In his fifth game for Barnsley, a 1-0 away defeat to West Ham United on 18 December 2011, Ranger injured his foot. His loan was cut short and he returned to Newcastle.[10]
Ranger made his debut for the England U19 on 25 March 2009 against the Czech Republic U19s and missed a wonderful opportunity in the dying minutes of the game with a weak shot that hit the post. He finally got his first goal for the Under-19s in his second match, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a headed effort. He helped his team to the final of the UEFA U-19 Championship but his team eventually lost the final to host nation Ukraine 2–0.
On 27 August 2011 he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man in Newcastle city centre leaving the victim unconscious in the street.[11] 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. [12]
| England | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Play-Offs | Total | Discipline | |||||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||||
| 2009–10 | Newcastle United | Championship | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Barnsley (loan) | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 54 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||||
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