Charles N'Zogbia

[bickster]

And here's a general topic to discuss all things Charles N'Zogbia

(or I like to see myself starting topics if you are Nigel ;-) )

[Nigel]

Thats more like it...Honesty!

[steaknchips]

Would like to see him on the left wing, where I think he possed more of a threat when at Wigan. He also needs more support when he goes forward from one of the midfielders. He looked isolated at times v Fulham, as our midfield was pretty static, hopefully we can get a bit more movement into the team in our home games.

[barry'sboots]

Would like to see him on the left wing, where I think he possed more of a threat when at Wigan. He also needs more support when he goes forward from one of the midfielders. He looked isolated at times v Fulham, as our midfield was pretty static, hopefully we can get a bit more movement into the team in our home games.

I would make three observations:

1. He looked tired second half. I think he will be a great asset when he gets match fit.

2. I would like to see him constantly switching with the other wide player and, possibly, the ACM.

3. I think if Hutton does come in as rumoured then you will see our FBs overlapping much more. This would have provided support for the Zog.

[R.Bear]

I think he will be much more influential in the next two games. The crowd will see to that.

[Zatman]

Didnt he play on right or Wigan a lot. i think cutting in from there could be his best position for us

[Nigel]

You could see he was horribly off the pace but there were a few glimpses that he will be a very good player for us from here on in.

He put in 2 or 3 lovely crosses which kind of fly's in the face of accusations that he is merely a dribbler, the 2nd of these Collins should have at least hit the target.

Its also heartening to see that we have someone that can deliver a set piece considering we have lost our 2 main dead ball takers. He took a great free kick about 5 minutes into the game that would have been more dangerous had the attackers been a bit more up to speed.

[bickster]

2. I would like to see him constantly switching with the other wide player and, possibly, the ACM.

You can't be doing that, playing wingers that switch sides is what long ball teams like MON's sides do.

(you may detect a hint of sarcasm in this post)

[smetrov]

He isn't as good as the guys he replaced. Thats why he only cost half as much. you reap what you sow.

[theunderstudy]

Oh give over.

When he's fully match-fit, settled in and going, we'll see how good he really is.

[barry'sboots]

2. I would like to see him constantly switching with the other wide player and, possibly, the ACM.

You can't be doing that, playing wingers that switch sides is what long ball teams like MON's sides do.

(you may detect a hint of sarcasm in this post)

Did you see the movement between Young and Nani yesterday?? Why couldn't the bugger have done that for us?!

[AVFCDAN]

He did have good movement for us, the problem is that our nani is petrov....

[DiegoD]

Didnt he play on right or Wigan a lot. i think cutting in from there could be his best position for us

He mainly played on right or centrally in a floating role.

[billy_loes]

He isn't as good as the guys he replaced. Thats why he only cost half as much. you reap what you sow.

If you're talking about Downing the stats say different. Stats don't tell the whole story though but even then I'm much happier with Zog than Stewart 'Sherry Drinker' Downing.

Dalglish valuing Henderson at 20m, Carrol at 35m and Downing at 20m (or whatever they were) means he's lost his marbles.

[briny_ear]

Not sure this has been posted anywhere

Charles N'Zogbia: 'Football has saved me from a life in jail'

The Aston Villa winger will step out for his new club at Fulham knowing life could have been so different for him

Stuart James

guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 August 2011 22.30 BST

It is a question that often crops up with footballers, although it rarely elicits the response that Charles N'Zogbia gives so candidly. "People have asked me what I would have done if it had not been for football," the Aston Villa winger says. "The answer is: 'I don't know'. To be honest, I might have gone to jail, because all my best friends I grew up with ended up there, and I might have been the same. Football has saved me."

Behind N'Zogbia's frank admission is the untold story of a young child brought up by a single parent on a tough estate on the outskirts of Le Havre, where street football took place in between skirmishes with the police that were part of everyday life. It was a deprived area that served as a breeding ground for criminals, which helps to explain why N'Zogbia finds it impossible to track down any of his old friends whenever he returns to France to retrace his roots.

"Outside Le Havre, where I was from, in Caucriauville, it's a big estate. And when you are not from the city centre [in Le Havre] it's really hard. You were fighting against bullies and having trouble with the police," he says. "It's not good because when I go back to Le Havre, I don't see any of my friends because they all ended up in jail. They were involved mainly either in robbery or drug dealing to make money. It's crazy."

The bleak picture that N'Zogbia paints of the "ghetto" where he spent the first 12 years of his life strikes a chord at a time when debate is burning in England about the underlying social problems that some have blamed for the riots in London and other major cities.

N'Zogbia knows how disillusioned youngsters can feel when they grow up in a town where unemployment is high and there are few opportunities, yet he shakes his head when asked about the events of the past week. "For me, it's difficult. If you don't go to school, you don't find a job. But I don't think it's right to do what they did," he says.

"I know it's hard, but if you believe what you can achieve, you can work on it, because there is always people who can help you in the ghetto. There is a bad part but also a good part. Where I used to live, there were a lot of people who did try to help me and told me to get involved in activities such as sport and stay away from the trouble with the police. You have to believe they are trying to help you and stick to it."

N'Zogbia's salvation was his natural football talent, yet that could easily have gone to waste without Le Havre's intervention. The Ligue 2 club spotted him at the age of nine and invited him to join their academy, where he trained after school, honing the left foot that would later torment Premier League defences. His ability was never in doubt but the same could not be said for his behaviour, which Le Havre became increasingly concerned about due to the company he was keeping in Caucriauville.

Although his home was not far from the academy, Le Havre offered him the chance to board with the youngsters who came from further afield to prevent him from continuing to mix with the wrong crowd. His mother, who was born in Congo and had been left to raise four children on her own after splitting up with N'Zogbia's father six years earlier, knew that she had to accept the invitation. "My mum said [to Le Havre]: 'I know that my son is good, but I want him to stay with you because he could end up doing crazy stuff and I don't want him to end up that way'."

It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to N'Zogbia, who admits that he had started to get involved in "trouble" just before he left home.

"In the centre they taught me discipline because I was a bit wayward," he says. "We were told that there should be no fighting. It was about respect and working together and that's what Le Havre gave me. Sometimes, when you are from the ghetto, you don't trust anybody. But at Le Havre you have to trust everybody and everybody is your friend. I was there eight years and everyone was happy."

At least they were until N'Zogbia departed for Newcastle United at the age of 18, leading to a bitter dispute with Le Havre in which Fifa and the court of arbitration for sport became involved. It is easy to see why Le Havre felt so frustrated given the lengths they had gone to to help N'Zogbia, yet the 25-year-old bridles at the suggestion that it must have been difficult to leave. "It wasn't hard to walk away because at that age I was a man and I knew what I wanted to do," he says.

"If anybody tried to stop me from playing football they couldn't do it because that's the way I am. I can be a good guy and I can be a bad guy, because I know where I came from and the street will be inside me.

"I was with Le Havre for eight years and they were asking me to sign a two-year contract, which was like an apprenticeship. I just said to them: 'If you believe in me, you give me a professional contract, or if you don't I will be happy to be out of the club and move away'."

He remains indebted to Sir Bobby Robson for bringing him to Newcastle, although he looks back on his time at St James' Park with mixed emotions. N'Zogbia played under six managers in five seasons, including Joe Kinnear, who left him out of the team and upset him further by mispronouncing his name as "insomnia". Asked whether he confronted Kinnear about the remark, N'Zogbia replies: "No. I wasn't speaking to him for three months. The club just told me: 'Charles, you can go', so I took my car and went. Simple."

He flourished in his two and a half seasons at Wigan, where his exciting performances on the wing attracted interest from a number of Premier League managers, including Alex McLeish, who had hoped to sign N'Zogbia last year, when he was the manager of Birmingham City, only for the move to collapse at the 11th hour. He had more success as Villa manager, sealing a £9.5m deal for N'Zogbia last month in what has the potential to be one of the best pieces of transfer business this summer.

N'Zogbia, who will make his debut at Fulham on Saturday, views his move to Villa as a "big opportunity to show myself" but he also hopes that his burgeoning reputation can serve as an inspiration to the young children who are growing up in the same community where he was raised.

"When I go back to the ghetto, they look at me as a star," N'Zogbia says. "I tell them: 'I'm just like you, you can do it.' I see a lot of kids playing football and I say: 'I came from here and if I ended up being a professional, you can do it as well'."

He has certainly lived a life.

[barry'sboots]

Not sure this has been posted anywhere

"When I go back to the ghetto, they look at me as a star," N'Zogbia says. "I tell them: 'I'm just like you, you can do it.' I see a lot of kids playing football and I say: 'I came from here and if I ended up being a professional, you can do it as well'."

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Not sure this has been posted anywhere

"When I go back to the ghetto, they look at me as a star," N'Zogbia says. "I tell them: 'I'm just like you, you can do it.' I see a lot of kids playing football and I say: 'I came from here and if I ended up being a professional, you can do it as well'."

I hate it when stupid footballers say this. Its almost as if to say, "yes, 0.005% of you have a chance of making it as a professional footballer but the rest of you will probably end up in jail!!"

It would be a much better message to say that there are all sorts of opportunities out there, you just have to get up off your backsides and make a start. Some might be professional footballers but that will be a small minority, but that doesn't mean you should give up on life as there are a whole host of worthwhile careers.

When will these thick idiots learn to either shut up or deliver something a little more positive when talking to troubled youth.

[AdamLL]

Wasn't amazed by his debut. Sure he will get better though, so not worried.

Looking forward to seeing him at home.

[Witheorwithoutyou]

He isn't as good as the guys he replaced. Thats why he only cost half as much. you reap what you sow.

I am still of that opinion but the season has started so its time to get behind the team, whatever you think.

Lets give him ten games before we praise or slate him

[barry'sboots]

I get your point, but I don't think he's deserving of this criticism because it was obviously said with the right intent. For all we know he probably didn't only necessarily mean it in terms of football only.

I'm sure he didn't mean to say something bad but it his comments just fuel this celebrity culture that we have where kids think its easy to be a high earning celebrity and they should have the most expensive jeans etc..

I saw a lot complaining last week about immigrants taking their jobs BUT they don't want them and they don't want to start at the bottom. A lot of the kids want to be footballers, pop stars or reality TV stars and, if they can't achieve this, they will loot etc.. We need to start shifting the heroes to include people who work hard and make a decent living for their family and do not rely on the state. Only when we can adjust young people's views to see this as the normal, and attainable, route will we see the "underclass" re-join society. And footballers, IMO, have a big part to play in this BUT need a lot of support to deliver the right message.