Former Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton urged Nile Ranger to follow the example of fellow academy striker Wesley Ngo Baheng, according to the French forward himself. Ranger made his black-and-white debut at the age of 18, but his career was dogged by problems off the pitch and was released after five years with the club.
The 30-year-old now plays for National League outfit Boreham Wood following similar spells at Blackpool, Southend United and Swindon Town. Ranger also spent time in prison after confessing to online banking fraud, and spent more than two years without a professional contract.
The striker signed for the Magpies in 2008 following an approach from director of football Dennis Wise, and was included in the matchday squad for a clash at Arsenal under Kevin Keegan. However, it was Chris Hughton who would give Ranger his first-team debut the following season in the Championship.
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Ngo Baheng's suffered a cruciate ligament injury during his time at Newcastle and left without making a senior competitive appearance. However, reflecting upon his time with the club, the striker was asked about Ranger and discussed how many chances he was given to salvage his career on Tyneside.
He told Newcastle Fans TV : "You know what is crazy? I think I'm three years older than Nile, and Chris kept saying to Nile 'look, be as good as Wes in terms of attitude'.
"Like me, when you're coming from rough areas, the problem is you want to keep that attitude so people from your hometown can say he hasn't changed, he's still one of us. I think that Nile took this too seriously.
"I used to get on very well with him because we came from the same kind of areas, but we're professionals now. Football is our job. He was supposed to be a great player, but look at him now.
"The fact he came from rough areas, he took it too seriously and he wanted people to say he's a player but still a gangster. It doesn't match, you have to make a choice.
"I used to think like Nile a little bit, that's why I'm saying it. He won't be mad at me, he's a great guy and a great friend of mine, but I'm sure that London thing was a bit too much for him."
Ranger went on to make more than 50 appearances for Newcastle despite these repeated disciplinary concerns. Ngo Baheng added: "The club gave him many chances, I wish I had as many chances as Nile! I'm sure I would still be playing in the Premier League now!
"He had so many chances, I was like Nile...come on! I'm not playing, you're playing, and at the same time you are doing crazy stuff.
"So many players told him look, you're playing for a massive club and this chance doesn't come 20 times. If you don't take it, one day you are going to regret it."
Ngo Baheng spent three years with the Magpies after joining from Le Havre's academy, and would often train with the first-team despite not making an appearance. The former striker was asked which one of Newcastle's impressive attacking talents at the time impressed him the most in training.
He said: "Mark Viduka. It might sound funny, but there was something about him.
"I'm not going to say bad things, but Michael Owen at Newcastle United wasn't at his prime, let's be honest. Everybody knows.
"But Viduka was close to the young players and kept giving me advice, and for a striker you need to be a good finisher. In training, what Viduka was showing...him and Shola [Ameobi]. Shola at training was something else.
"That's crazy because sometimes during the games, he was good but not as good as what I used to see in training. Shola was just unreal in training."
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