Newcastle: 10 Craziest Players Ever To Wear Black & White

5. Nile Ranger

In the wider context of this article - with its mostly light-hearted look at player eccentricities, current Swindon Town player (when he decides he wants to play) Nile Ranger probably sticks out like a sore thumb. He has a morbidly impressive criminal record for someone so young and "famous" (though notorious may be the better term,) which started when he took part in an armed robbery at age 15, which cost him his first contract at Southampton. Having signed for Newcastle during Dennis Wise's un-appreciated tenure as Director Of Football, Ranger was deemed a good prospect, and proved as much in the lower levels of the club, scoring a hatful of goals for the youth team and seeing his good work rewarded with a professional contract and a boost up to the first team. Sadly, Ranger clearly has a problem with authority, and with rules, and over the course of the few years he was at Newcastle, he attracted more police attention and charges than he did first team goals - or so it felt- though he left his most ridiculous decision until he had left the club, getting his own surname tattooed on his forehead.