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Is this ex-Newcastle United starlet worth the gamble for Southend United?
After being turned down by Lee Novak in favour of Charlton, and then seeing Noel Hunt reject a new, restructured deal whilst Tyrone Barnett returned to parent club Shrewsbury and Jack Payne moved north to Huddersfield, Phil Brown was left with just two strikers on the books at Southend United. A further indication of their plight in the forward line is that one of these strikers has yet to start a Football League game in his career.
It is little wonder then, if Brown is beginning to get a little desperate in his search for a front-man, and that may be what has led to him opting to bring in a man who hasn’t played professional football in over 20 months.
Ex-Newcastle striker Nile Ranger was once tipped as one of the country’s brightest young talents, making 62 appearances for the Geordies in all, but he hit the headlines off the field more than he did on it. Having already , he was then by his club in 2011 when pictured with a replica gun. 2011 also saw him , although later found not guilty, and just days after returning to training with the Newcastle first team.
Other charges during his spell at Newcastle included being , and being . A in March 2013 was the final straw for then manager Alan Pardew, and his contract was mutually terminated after loan spells at Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday.
Ranger was granted an opportunity to rebuild his career at Swindon by Mark Cooper, and things got off to a good start, with six goals by Christmas in League One. Four more strikes came in his debut season, but that campaign was cut short after he was after attacking a taxi in Liverpool in March, and then after an incident at his flat in Swindon in April.
Not content with this series of personal faux-pas, he was then in May after being found asleep in a crashed vehicle on the M4, although he was found innocent. After an eventful season, and despite his good performances on the field, Ranger then agreed to have his contract cancelled by mutual consent for the second time in his career.
That didn’t put Championship side Blackpool off of the young striker though, and they signed him up on a one-year deal ready for the 2014/15 season. In a woeful year for the Tangerines, Ranger featured prominently towards the start of their campaign, scoring twice in fourteen games before being dropped in December.
Things quickly turned sour between Ranger and the club, as he went AWOL and could not be found until he returned in late July after the club bizarrely triggered an option to extend his contract for another year following relegation. The striker That wouldn’t be at Blackpool though, as he successfully fought through the PFA to have his contract cancelled.
With a clean record since then, and the 25-year-old and has not drunk in over two years, it is clear to see why Ranger could be an attractive option for the Essex club. Having spent most of his career at Premier League and Championship level, and having looked good at times in League 1 in his one season there, he has the profile of what Phil Brown has been looking for since the season finished in May, with the Shrimpers finishing in 14th position after a poor end to the term.
The front man is strong and pacey; much like former loanee Tyrone Barnett, and claims to have been working in the gym during his time out of the game, which could provide the Blues with the kind of striker they are looking for.
With Barnett taking over from Cambridge striker Barry Corr to lead the line for Phil Brown, a mobile target man is clearly the kind of player that Brown wants to build his attack around, and Ranger could well fit that mould. With an average of a goal every 232 minutes at League One level, his record is not exceptional but is better than some names to have been linked with the Estuary club.
With experience of the youth ranks of the England squad, and also the flexibility to provide cover for wide positions, Ranger undoubtedly has the potential to become a huge success at Roots Hall. However, it is clear that he is a gamble for Phil Brown, who has been remarkably unsuccessful at bringing strikers into the club since his arrival in 2013.
Having signed nine strikers in the last three years, Brown’s striker signings have accounted for only 28 goals, an average of just over three goals each, with only David Mooney still at the club.
With the deal only being for one month, and several break clauses inserted regarding poor behaviour, , it provides the club with the option not to take Ranger on if he cannot act accordingly and demonstrate that he has improved.
With the club keeping their options open, it could be a beneficial month for both parties, as Phil Brown told the Echo:
“If he focuses on his football then we have a player on our hands who can get goals. If he keeps his nose clean then he will come to Spain with us and hopefully earn himself a year or two year deal at the end of July.”
The worry for Shrimpers fans will be that Ranger has previously started well at clubs, before going off the rails later on in the season. At Swindon, he excelled until an injury in February and disciplinary issues plagued him until the end of the season. At Blackpool, he was playing regularly until December, when he then went missing.
Therefore, a two-year-deal that Phil Brown hints at being a possibility may present a greater risk. Any such disruption would be even more devastating given the role that team spirit played in this Southend side’s promotion in 2015. With many both inside and outside of the club believing that Brown’s fall-outs with players such as Luke Prosser and Cian Bolger attributed to the loss of form towards the tail end of last season, a disruptive player is most likely the last thing the team needs.
That being said, Nile Ranger has vowed to prove himself, and with finances and options becoming increasingly limited for the League One side, his trial could well prove to be a gamble worth taking. In 2011, . Five years later that is yet to be proven, but Southend could provide Ranger with the opportunity to prove himself and reach that undoubted potential.
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