10 Newcastle Players Who Really Weren't Worth The Hassle

1. Nile Ranger

It takes a certain type of trouble-maker to deprive Joey Barton of top spot in a list documenting the headache-inducing and hassle-mongering footballers. Can one really describe Nile Ranger as a footballer? The sport seems to be something as an afterthought for this wannabe gangster, as he racks up more court convictions than goals. It's no surprise that the 23 year old striker is currently without a club following his recent actions. If he was in any other profession, he wouldn't get a sniff of a job the length and breadth of the country. Watching his career trajectory since his breakthrough into the Toon first-team in 2009 has been like watching a car crash in slow motion, but the former Southampton trainee has nobody to blame but himself. So where do we start? In May 2011, he was questioned by the club for posing on social networking sites with a replica gun, which was later handed into police. In August 2011, he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man in the city centre, and knocking him unconscious, but was found not guilty in October 2012. In October 2011, however, he was charged for drunk and disorderly behaviour, mere days after a re-instatement into the Newcastle first-team squad. Twitter was the medium used for homophobic comments in March 2012, leading to the FA stepping in with a fine, shortly before he was arrested yet again for breaching terms of his bail. In January 2013, Ranger was arrested on suspicion of rape in the room of a Newcastle hotel, before being charged with the same offence in July. He has continued his hell-bent mission on messing up his life since being sacked by the club in March 2013, with the rape scandal having proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. For a player who had been offered a three and a half year contract by Alan Shearer in 2009 and had flourished for the reserve side, big things were expected for Ranger. Having just been sacked by his third club before the age of 24, don't be surprised if he ends up spending more time behind bars than he does on the pitch.