I've seen Charles N'Zogbia smile

Charles wrote...

No disrespect for Wigan but the only way Zog will leave for that club is that they held his mother for ransom.

I mean, Wigan is not so much of a good club but to leave Newcastle for Wigan only for 3.5M is an insult. You've got to admit, if you're trying to eat a worm, you'd make sure it is big and fat not a skinny little pathetic excuse of a worm.

KK can shape Zog into a legend but that is with KK's magic and Zoggie's passion. If that little man showed a little more respect, loyalty and passion, I cannot see why he shouldn't be in the starting line up.

Compare him with Milner and see both has great potential but the thing saperating them both is simple: Milner wants to play and Zog want to enjoy London's lights.

I'm not insulting his affairs, nor am I saying his loyalty to his family isnt important, but when you're in the club--you play for it, and seriously play for it.

The truth is I actually drew a list of players who should leave Newcastle this season and sadly Zog's in it. I really do not want to see a talent wasted but as I said, you must play it with passion. Even if we acquired a C.Ronaldo but he sulks, didnt play with passion, and always in the transfer spotlight by request, I'd sooner dump him even if he appeared top scorer of the team. Heck, I'll even let A.Smith stay than him.

We're all sad about Emre's departure but at least the money's good (Heard it was 8M) and that could easily keep the wages whine a bit more farther away. Now if only we can con a buyer to take A.Smith away...

Posted by: Charles  | June 2, 2008 2:09 PM

Nick wrote...

I have seen Charlie N'Zogbia smile a few times but both of those were when i met him in Sea night club.

When i had a brief chat with him in March 08' i said "why do you want to leave Newcastle for spurs?" Zogs replied "I am sick off telling people I am not going to spurs".

He seems like a shy lad, perhaps that’s why he doesn’t smile like a Cheshire cat. But he is definitely the sort of player we MUST keep here.

Posted by: Nick  | June 2, 2008 2:36 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

If it were down to Newcastle United or Wigan, only the insane would choose the Latics.

N’Zogbia is a great prospect, but only if his attitude improves. Kevin Keegan has always been a great motivator, but it seems that Newcastle United will always be stung by French players in particular, having a childish moan. Let’s not forget Charles,- you signed a lucrative new contract last season, so you must have been happy then?

It can’t be simply down to a parent being at the other end of the country, has he or his mam never heard of a plane or a train or won’t his wage cover trips to and from London?

Charles N’Zogbia is 21 and it’s about time he grew up, if you gave me the option of moving from London to Newcastle for thousands of pounds a week, to get away from my mother, I’d sign like a shot.

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | June 2, 2008 3:50 PM

free bet wrote...

well, he is quite serious but you have to be focused....

Posted by: free bet  | June 2, 2008 5:12 PM

Anonymous wrote...

Trouble is that neither N,Zogbia or Smith are in demand, both are decent squad players at best.Plumb Duff, might be our best chance of a further cash intake ???.As for "Dick Barton"; just get rid asap, this lad is trouble. Our midfield was the main problem last season and we need at least 4 in this department, to stand a chance of improvement.

Posted by: Anonymous  | June 2, 2008 6:05 PM

pedi wrote...

Theres no point in keeping an unhappy player. Its a waste of wages and if they run their contract down they leave for nowt anyway. If Zogs wanting out, let him go whether it is to wigan or elsewhere. I think alot of it maybe to do with playing him at left back. He wasnt comfortable playing there and when he did mess up he got critisism.

The excuse of wanting to be with family in london riles me. Footballers live a very privilidged life, 3 hours of 'work' everyday, one maybe 2 games a week and 30-40k average wage a WEEK! Yeah my heart bleeds for them.

Im sure they can afford a few flights to and from the capital. Its a shame we cant be debating the same situation only with alan smith. I reckon most would even chip in to pay for his air fare for him to stay in london!

Posted by: pedi  | June 2, 2008 7:34 PM

Treb Freebling wrote...

"Its a shame we cant be debating the same situation only with alan smith. I reckon most would even chip in to pay for his air fare for him to stay in london!"

Count me in!

Back to Charlie - he's still got a lot to learn (about marking, for a start), but he has tremendous potential and can run at defences in a way that, in our team, only Oba can. I think he suffered badly under Roeder when he was dropped in favour of the much-heralded but desperately overrated Duff.

Posted by: Treb Freebling  | June 2, 2008 11:20 PM

Dave B wrote...

Lee - We need to keep the talent we have. I'm not bothered that Charlie has the demeanor of a 14 year old who's PS3 has just broken. This is preferable to being the daft as a brush joker in the pack - a timely parallel to draw.

What I am concerned about is the well publicised need to raise some revenue by letting players go - see the Emre transfer for confirmation of this policy. In short if we let 7 go and bring 4 in then we've a real problem in a division that demands a squad not a team.

Charlie must stay.

Posted by: Dave B  | June 3, 2008 8:05 AM

Andrew from Perth wrote...

Wages, wages, wages! So what if he earns a bit! If he actually got a game he'd show us what he's got. In fact, whenever he's played he's been a breath of fresh air.
Didn't we make a profit last year? Ashley wants more value for money, hey? Well, hasn't he found a jolly rich mine of 52,000 geordies to plunder every week. Do ManU's Amreicans know something he doesn't...you've got to spend money to make money. But that aside, if FatMan was stil in charge we'd be in the championship, but still Ashley, we're waiting to 'stun the football world!'.

Posted by: Andrew from Perth  | June 3, 2008 8:10 AM

Sy wrote...

I'd like to see him stay, but I agree with those who've said there's no point in keeping an unhappy player - especially when his value isn't likely to get any higher here while he's unhappy.

Business-wise, sell him now, but certainly don't settle for that pathetic £3.5m. We'd have to spend more than that replacing him as a squad player let alone a first teamer. If we sell, our club must be the winner in the situation. Not the buying club, not the player, not the family.

Anything less than £7m would be insulting in my opinion. I base this on recent transfer activity around the league as well as his age. Just look at:
Smith £6m.
Elano £6m (good player but quite a bit older than Zog).

If we can get him happy though, stick him on the left wing and give him a good crack at the start of next season, that'd be the best scenario.

If the club are seriously looking at this change of attack to focus on young, developing players rather than overrated has-beens, then what kind of message would it send if we sell one of our best and most promising youngsters who can't get in the team because of Duff being ahead of him in the pecking order?

Posted by: Sy  | June 3, 2008 11:58 AM

Ben K wrote...

Zog may have trouble marking, which makes you wonder why his talents are usually wasted at left back. He played in the center of midfield for one of KK's first games and did well before apparently picking up a nock in training. By the time he returned against Everton, he was the only player in a black and white shirt to remotely threaten the Everton defense. Keegan is too wise to let him go for 3.5 million.
And even if Spurs were to offer us more, I'm so sick of hearing about them 'stealing' our transfer targets. Dunne is a donkey, Modric might well not be strong enough for the premiership, and Woodgate will form an effective partnership with Ledley King for years to come - on the training table. 50 million quid well spent. Screw the spurs, just like the toon did this season.

Posted by: Ben K  | June 3, 2008 3:36 PM

halfmanhalfkeebab wrote...

The sad fact of the matter is that in the last 3 seasons, N'Zogbia has failed to make the progress that we anticipated he would. He started the season on fire but soon faded. Then again, so did the whole team! When he's playing wide, he has a tendency to run into too many cul-de-sacs’s (well, he is French) and fails to produce killer passes on a consistent basis. I've said for ages that his best position is in the centre of midfield but he rarely gets a start there. There is no doubt that he has talent but I doubt that he has either the correct attitude or aptitude to succeed at SJP. His whole body language suggests to me that he is not content here yet he wasn't slow off the mark to take the King's shilling last summer in terms of a new contract and no doubt a massive re-signing fee. I suspect that he may be suffering from 'Jenas Syndrome' and will soon be packing his bags and heading off to the smoke. Personally, I'd swap him for Aaron Lennon.

Posted by: halfmanhalfkeebab  | June 3, 2008 5:09 PM

alec stuart wrote...

the reason little Charlie doesn't smile is because he needs to be made to feel special(which as a player he undoubtedly is).He also deoesn't know fully if he is going to be a regular in the side.That affects his confidence.

He is a confidence player, a player who needs to be loved and looked after by his manager.

He should be in the team every week, and we should build a team around him and Martins,with sheer pace and ability. Get that right and he will soon be flashing the pearly whites.

Posted by: alec stuart  | June 3, 2008 10:31 PM

Mrs. Patterson wrote...

Paul ...Give me a call son...

Posted by: Mrs. Patterson  | June 4, 2008 12:27 AM

Siomi wrote...

Charles is a gifted creative attacking player. Allardyce insisted on playing him left back instead of Enrique (who by the way seems to have turned out to be a great left back, making his non-selection one of the great mysteries of last season!). Charles’s often poor defensive positioning, marking and tackling were frequently exposed and I believe his confidence and Gallic pride took a weekly bashing.

I do hope he stays and shows us what he can really do in creating goals on a weekly basis for us. Ginola often disappeared for large parts of a game, but he always made up for it flashes of brilliance and creativity that often won us matches. I think Charles is a much better player than Ginola, and I believe under Kevin’s encouragement he will do brilliantly for us.

I don’t agree with the view that if he is unhappy let him bu**er off. I think the attitude should be ‘what can we do to make you happy Charlie?’ He really doesn’t need more cash. I think what he needs is to be selected in a position that allows him to play to his strengths, not his weaknesses. I also think regular first team football is important, and if that means flogging Duff Man, so be it. Maybe also a new French signing will give him a chum and help to settle him down?

Fingers crossed he stays and he plays.

Posted by: Siomi  | June 4, 2008 9:56 AM

Snapper wrote...

Let him go to West Ham, I would swop him for (a fit again) Bellemy, anytime.

Posted by: Snapper  | June 4, 2008 1:40 PM