Nile Ranger signs

[Bathtime]

The guy sounds like a complete nightmare - so I presume he must be regarded by the club as a brilliant prospect. Looking at his playing record I can`t see that is immediately apparent.
Don`t really see the logic behind the decision to sign him. You would have thought there were other suitable alternatives to the striker needed problem. Unless of course he is paying us to play.
 

[chalkies_shorts]

Still think we need another striker

Might as well go for Marlon King then.

[DRS]

Suspended sentence for rape?

[chalkies_shorts]

Suspended sentence for rape?

So what. Where do we draw the line. If we're going to take the moral high ground of second chances ( or 8th or 9th chances ) then nobody should be unacceptable if our motives are pure. 
Now I'm sober I'm quite happy to say that Ranger is a totally loathesome little cunt who I want nowhere near my team. If he's found innocent of the rape charge he's still a loathesome little cunt who I want nowhere near my team. If he is found guilty then a great shame will attach itself to STFC.

[Levi lapper]

Sorry to pick on your post, but I disagree.

1. Opportunity for club to get good PR trying to reform a bad lad.
2. If he goes down for rape then we lose nothing
3. If he gets suspended sentence we get press for rehab.
4. If he scores lots of goals we do well.
5. If he does 4 then his value increases and we get big sell on.
6. If he's a flop we drop him like a stone & he's out of football

Sorry, but which  part of my post were you disagreeing with?

[kerry red]

He's going to end up somewhere, and I don't mean specifically a football club.

If he is, indeed, a loathsome individual, why should being at a football club be any different to him getting a job in a Tesco warehouse or an office somewhere.

Why do some football fans think their club is above all of this.

If he does his job, fine. If he does not he will be out - whether that is STFC or Tesco

[wheretherealredsare]

I think that's a fair assessment Batch.

WRT the rape charge (there's an awful lot of people playing judge and jury and assuming  'guilty until proven innocent'), all the snippets I've read say it took place in a hotel apart from Wikipedia which says it took place in a hotel room.

If that's the case (i.e she went back to the room of her own free will - why would you do that??), there's an awful lot more to the case than what anyone here knows (and no, I'm not saying she was 'asking for it'). In any event, wherever it took place, there's more to it than any of us can possibly know. I don't agree that the Club should get a load of shit if he's found guilty, they're assuming innocence which is quite right. If he is found guilty then he's gone - end of story.

And yes, this does look like his 6th/7th/8th chance rather than just the 2nd. But maybe, just maybe, he finally realises that he's drinking in the Last Chance Saloon (maybe an unfortunate choice of words given his 'previous') and he's going to sort himself out - it can and does happen. If not, the minute he steps out of line by even a millimeter, the Club presumably can and will cancel his contract.

The winner. Best by far.

[wheretherealredsare]

So what. Where do we draw the line. If we're going to take the moral high ground of second chances ( or 8th or 9th chances ) then nobody should be unacceptable if our motives are pure. 
Now I'm sober I'm quite happy to say that Ranger is a totally loathesome little cunt who I want nowhere near my team. If he's found innocent of the rape charge he's still a loathesome little cunt who I want nowhere near my team. If he is found guilty then a great shame will attach itself to STFC.

Why to STFC? Because they didn't prejudge like so many others on here?

[Bob's Orange]

Why to STFC? Because they didn't prejudge like so many others on here?

PDC was hardly squeaky clean as well yet was welcomed here chalkies.

[DMR]

Putting all the criminal lark to one side, I asked this earlier and will do so again.

Those who are claiming he could be a cut above and it's a risk worth taking - how have you come to this conclusion? 4 (I think) professional goals in 5 seasons. Are you quite sure this screams 'potential top scorer?'

[Bob's Orange]

His 3 goals in 50 odd appearances for Newcastle is slightly misleading as 46 of those were substitute appearances, likely to be 4 or 5 minutes at the end of games so I think a little harsh to judge that record.

[RobertT]

I don't get people using the Rape charge as some sort of reason as to why the club will be dragged through the dirt?  If he had already been our player at the time of the alleged incident, then he would continue to be employed by and play for the club while on bail.  Just as anyone would remain in employment until such time as they are convicted of an offence.  

Also, I think people are getting a little over sensitive about just how this will play out in terms of impact to the club.  Are Sheff Utd currently vilified by footballing world?

Yes, if convicted, he'll be dropped like a stone.  We will condemn the actions, there will some reports on Sky for a day or so and we will all agree he deserves whatever is coming to him.  But, do not think for one minute it will place a lasting stain on the club.

I think any argument about whether we should sign him should be limited to:

Is he good enough - at some point in his career he was deemed a very exciting prospect.  In fact I remember some outrage that our board at the time did not pull their finger out and offer him a contract quickly enough, so we lost him to Newcastle.  He was certainly rated by them as a player likely to attract 7 figure bids in the future.  On the flip side, he's not got on the pitch stats to back any of that up as yet.

Does his previous behaviour make him a good fit - I'd say not.  I'd prefer not to sign him based on his known record, just like I wouldn't want us to sign Hughes or King.  I also realise this is a personal opinion and it won't effect my support of the club because just like out in the real world, people convicted of crimes do gain employment once released, eventually.  What would the world be like if they were not allowed?  I once argued against us looking to sign a convicted player, might have been McCormick because I felt that the big difference to other businesses was that players just seemed to walk in at the level they left and other ex-convicts would struggle to do that and I thought that was fair enough given they chose to break the law.  This is a little different I suppose in that he is feeling some effects by dropping several levels and loads of money.

Oh and finally, if abusing Turner means I'm supporting the demise of border football, great.  After visiting the places in question I am happy for Hereford and Shrewsbury to struggle for eternity.

[Ticker45]

Not treating all the off field antics at all lightly but my take on the whole signing is I am not convinced by anything that his record shows as pointing to him being that good.

Quite prepared to eat humble pie if he turns out to be a goal machine that leads the forward line well and turns out to be a brilliant catch, as usual only time will tell.

 

[ChinaWhitenRed]

Shouldn't have gone anywhere near him. He's has plenty of chances. Family club my arse.

On the other hand we have potentially got a better play than we should have.

Bot happy with it, but there you go.

Daddy, Daddy can I have a tattoo on my face for Christmas and be a rapist when I grow up! Family club my arse.

[Nomoreheroes]

Sorry, but which  part of my post were you disagreeing with?

Sorry, quoted wrong post.

Trying to multi-task - Not working well.

Bottom line: We've got him. He might be a horrible little shit, but he's our horrible little shit. Lets hope he bangs in some goals, increases his value significantly, improves our league position and then either:
a. Reforms completely
b. Fucks off with us rubbing our hands together! :-)