Howay The Zog

[Shak]

Made a right mess of posting this on the main site, this will go smoother I hope.

 

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Howay The Zog

 

It’s been a crazy summer at Newcastle so far.

 

New manager, new owner, four summer signings already and more rumoured to be on the way. It’s been chaotic to say the least. Who’s coming in? How much do we have to spend? Will Owen stay? Will Martins stay? Who will be the new captain? There are a thousand new questions that have been thrown up by the events of the last month or so, all of which we are eager to find out the answer to. However, one of the most important questions that we entered the summer with, before all the changes, is still yet to have any light shed on it.

 

The question being, what does the future hold for Charles N’Zogbia at Newcastle United?

 

N’Zogbia officially became a Newcastle player in September of 2004 for a fee in the region of 250k, but only after an arduous legal battle with former club Le Harve. After making a few appearances in his first season, showing glimpses of quality without every really impressing to a huge extent, it would be the 2005-2006 season that would see why Bobby Robson had fought so hard to secure the services of the young Frenchman.

 

N’Zogbia was arguably our best player that season. He notched six goals, our 4th highest scorer that year, and led our assists rankings. His combination of pace, trickery, powerful left foot, great upper body strength for his age and composure beyond his years saw him quickly become a firm favourite amongst the fans, with his emergence being seen as a bright spot in an otherwise very gloomy season.

 

Last season proved to be significantly less fruitful for ‘The Zog’, as he found himself in competition with new arrival Damien Duff for the left wing position. Injury problems plagued him also, and his rare appearances last season produced some very languid performances. By the time the season ended, he had fallen completely out of favour with Roeder and those who took charge after Roeder’s departure, walking out on the team after being named as a substitute for the final game of the season at Watford.

 

All signs seemed to point to an inevitable exit during the summer.

 

So far, though, he has remained at St. James’ Park, and should he remain here throughout the summer then I believe retaining his services will ultimately prove just as crucial as any new signing we could possibly make.

 

The treatment the lad recieved from the previous regime was, quite frankly, a disgrace. At times he carried the team in the 2005-2006 season, and what was his reward? We go out and buy Damien Duff to take his place, while all the other players who had so badly underperformed the previous season got to keep their spots on the team. Some could argue that you need competition for places, but you don’t go about creating great competition for the left wing spot before you have at least one player capable of performing adequately in the other positions on the team, which we didn’t.

 

Roeder’s reasoning was that N’Zogbia was young and would need to be protected, a truly laughable and hypocritical arguement when you consider that James Milner, at a mere 5 months older than N’Zogbia, played more games for the team than anyone else last year.

 

Closer to the truth of the matter, I suspect, is that Shepherd and/or Roeder saw a chance to get a big name, Premiership winning player in Damien Duff for a relatively small fee, and pounced on it without giving any thought to whether he was actually what we needed or not. Once Duff was here, things were always looking bleak for N’Zogbia. Regardless of his form (which, it turned out, was completely wretched), Duff was always going to start when he was fit. He was one of Roeder’s two big signings and, as with any manager, was always going to get favourable treatment as a result.

 

Word is that N’Zogbia developed a poor attitude and distanced himself from his teammates last season, and it was plain for all to see that when he did get on the pitch his heart simply wasn’t in it.

 

While you could certainly argue that we should expect a better attitude from our players with the wages they are paid, I do think it is a tad unrealistic for us to expect N’Zogbia to have just put his head down and gotten on with it last year. He’s a youngster playing his trade in a foreign country, he’s been completely unfairly kicked out of the team for an underperforming “trophy signing”, his apparent father-figure in Boumsong had left the club, the team are going nowhere and are being horribly mis-managed at every level. Add to that the rumours that Arsenal, famed for developing young talent and with a number of French players and coaches there, are alleged to be looking at him. Can you really blame the lad for his attitude?

 

Personally, I’d be eager to leave as fast as possible as well.

 

Since Allardyce’s appointment, we’ve heard nothing that I can recall regarding N’Zogbia. This can only be good news in my opinion. My hope is that Allardyce has sat him down and told him he’ll get a completely clean slate and will have just as much opportunity of getting a first team spot as any.

 

It’s what a good manager would do, and this is why Glenn Roeder never did it. Good managers know when it’s worth accomodating a player despite some problem they might have off-field, due to what they bring during the game. Robson knew it with Bellamy. How easy would it have been for Ferguson to sell Cristiano Ronaldo last summer after the World Cup? Had it been a journeyman squad player you can bet Fergie would have shown him the door, but not Ronaldo. Special players should get special treatment, if you want to go anywhere that is. I believe that N’Zogbia can become a special player for us, if we can rekindle the spark he had two seasons ago.

 

If we get a fully focused, committed N’Zogbia back this season then I believe we have a player who can be one of the first names on our teamsheet for years to come, one who can shine at the very highest levels in football. He has everything you need to be a truly top modern winger. Bags of pace combined with a very powerful running style. He has a couple of tricks in his locker, can cross the ball with great bend and speed, and can crack a fair rocket of a shot with his left peg. He’s someone who I believe can also consistently produce goals from midfield, as his composure in front of goal is top class. His goal at Blackburn and goal at home to Portsmouth are prime examples of this , as he displayed composure far beyond his years on both.

 

For the first time in some years, I have complete faith in our manager once again, and I believe N’Zogbia will be here come the start of the season. So here’s to Sam, and here’s to The Zog.

 

Roll on August.

[Tooj]

For N'Zogbia's so called attitude problems, see one Jamie Milner.

 

*Expects barrage of abuse for that comment.*

 

Well done as well Shak lad, you never once had your usual pop at Damien Duff.

[Ronaldo]

decent read, but not wanting to play for the club isn't an excuse for not putting in maxmimum effort

 

in 05-06 he was our best player. But only because everyone else bar Solano was pretty shite. Personally i'd let him start the season on the LW if we play 4-4-2. If he doesn't perform, he's out and Duff comes straight back in when fit.

[Coco]

Nice piece. I agree with the sentiments, hopefully Zoggy will get his head down and do the business for us. All signs coming from the Austria thread seem to point to this being the case, which can only be good news. I have high hopes for the lad, and think he'll be integral to our revival in the coming seasons...

[Yorkie]

Agreed, Shak. N'Zogbia could, probably should, have handled the situation a little better - but the treatment he got from the management set-up was of a suicidal nature to the club. You just don't do that to your brightest, fecking ace, talents.

[Shak]

For N'Zogbia's so called attitude problems, see one Jamie Milner.

 

*Expects barrage of abuse for that comment.*

 

Well done as well Shak lad, you never once had your usual pop at Damien Duff.

 

Have to keep it clean for the main site, that fuckin Duff... 

 

(I actually see potential for a Duff revival under Allardyce as it happens, so I'll be slowly changing my tune from here on in)

[Baggio]

N'Zogbia is just as much to blame for his form last season as Roeder.

 

As for next season, I can see us playing 4-3-3 and if we do the lad won't be getting much playing time.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

I have seen no pictures of the zog from our man in Austria

 

 

unconfirmed reports suggest he has been sold to Grasshopper Zurich, on the first day of training

[Yorkie]

Duff's got a fucking lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as fuck with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

[Jimburst]

Good post, N'Zogbia was my fave player, it was a shame to see his season go down the shitter and as a result his development. It's good that we have a good manager who can get the best physically, mentally and tactically out of any player, and if N'Zoggy has any attitude problems, Sam is reputably very good coping with all sorts of players.

 

Clean slate and all that should help zoggy really come on in his development and make a name for himself.

[Baggio]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

Why?

[Tooj]

Duff's got a fucking lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as fuck with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

Despite being poor last season, Zoggy performed even poorer in my opinion.

[Tooj]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

Why?

 

Because he's now overtook Steven Carr/Scott Parker as the man we have to knock at every opportunity.

[Guest 22bnw]

N'Zogbia is clearly capable of more that he did last season, lets wait and see if Allardyce can get it out of him. Same goes for Duff.

[Yorkie]

N'Zogbia is just as much to blame for his form last season as Roeder.

 

N'Zogbia and Roeder were in proportion to a seven-year old kid and a single chav mother on the game. Aye, N'Zogbia had problems, but they all sparked from Roeder and there was no way Roeder would be able to sort him out.

[Tooj]

N'Zogbia is just as much to blame for his form last season as Roeder.

 

N'Zogbia and Roeder were in proportion to a seven-year old kid and a single chav mother on the game. Aye, N'Zogbia had problems, but they all sparked from Roeder and there was no way Roeder would be able to sort him out.

 

Well how come Milner's attitude was never questioned despite him having more of a reason than Zoggy to kick up a fuss?

[Ronaldo]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

[Yorkie]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

Why?

 

Because he's got a lot to prove!! If we had Roeder, as soon as he came back from injury, he'd be straight in the team. That probably contributed to the player's downfall last season, he got away with murder. I can only ever recall him being dropped once, at home to Villa. And that was it. Just needs to prove his worth, that's all.

 

Not saying N'Zogbia doesn't.

[Yorkie]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

 

No, i think we should flog him because we don't need him, we never did, and i reckon he's on the downfall - so if we could make our money back i'd be happy. Not that we would.

[Ronaldo]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

 

No, i think we should flog him because we don't need him, we never did, and i reckon he's on the downfall.

 

so you'd have total confidence in keeping N'zogbia as our main LW?

[Yorkie]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

 

No, i think we should flog him because we don't need him, we never did, and i reckon he's on the downfall.

 

so you'd have total confidence in keeping N'zogbia as our main LW?

 

I'd rather Allardyce tried to sort N'Zogbia out, than try to sort Duff out.

[Lotus]

They were both cr@p but at least i have seen Zoggy play well in a Newcastle shirt previously.

[ohmelads]

I see N'Zogbia as a rough diamond and a player we must hang onto.

 

Duff needs another season here before we write him off. It'd be ridiculous to sell him after one injury-ravaged season. What little we've seen of him has been in an awful side which finished 5 points above relegation, we know he's better than that. He's out until November, so presumably Milner, Martins and Luque will be in direct competition with Zog for the left wing-forward/left-wing spot depending on what formation you see us playing.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

 

No, i think we should flog him because we don't need him, we never did, and i reckon he's on the downfall.

 

so you'd have total confidence in keeping N'zogbia as our main LW?

 

I'd rather Allardyce tried to sort N'Zogbia out, than try to sort Duff out.

 

duff doesn't need sorting out FFS

[Tooj]

Duff's got a f****** lot to do when he gets fit again. Well he should do, and i can imagine Allardyce would be of the same opinion. Roeder played him at the drop of a hat, regardless of whatever circumstances, cos his name was Damien Duff and he came from Chelsea. Hopefully Big Sam will be rough as f*** with him. He ought to be.

 

Still, not overly confident either way with Duff. Wish we could just flog him in all honesty.

 

say what you want about Daminen Duff, he's a two time premiership winner who was more than happy to cover at LB on more than one occassion

 

20 year old Charles N'zogbia (who when started last season was abysmal) refused to sit on the bench

 

we should get rid of Duff because of his attitude problem???

 

No, i think we should flog him because we don't need him, we never did, and i reckon he's on the downfall.

 

so you'd have total confidence in keeping N'zogbia as our main LW?

 

I'd rather Allardyce tried to sort N'Zogbia out, than try to sort Duff out.

 

Well then let's hope our new manager doesn't appear to have some form of a grudge over players and use that against them, instead of perhaps actually being professional about things.