Nurtured through the youth ranks at St James, Charles NZogbia was exciting but frustrating; he could excite with mazy runs and beautifully-whipped crosses, but he could also be non-existent for large periods of matches. And, during the 2008-09 season, it was obvious NZogbia was looking for a get-out clause - something which then-interim boss Joe Kinnear duly handed to him on a plate. Following a defeat to Manchester City, Kinnear accidentally referred to NZogbia as Insomnia in a post-match interview - and the player then responded by stating he would never play for the club again. Kinnear claimed NZogbias antics just proved the winger was attempting to engineer a move away because all he had done was mis-pronounce a players name. NZogbia had already released a statement in December 2008 in which he said: After four years at Newcastle, I want to reach a higher level of ambition. I dont think that is possible here. And, in the final hours of the January 2009 transfer window, NZogbia moved to Wigan Athletic in a £6million part-exchange deal, with Ryan Taylor going the other way. The winger's claim that he wanted to move on to a "higher level" before instead transferring to Wigan ensured he is now booed every time he returns to St James' Park (now with Aston Villa). That statement proved to be the ultimate form of disrespect to Newcastle supporters.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
