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Former Newcastle prospect Nile Ranger has expressed regret over the "silly decisions" which have derailed his career.
Ranger, now 33 and playing in the seventh tier for Kettering Town, was rated as one of the most prodigious talents in the country when he was first named on the Newcastle bench as a 17-year-old by Kevin Keegan back in 2008.
He was subsequently handed a lucrative five-and-a-half year contract in 2009 with big things expected. But Ranger was released just two years into said deal due to his off-field behaviour.
"Team-mates, friends and managers would say, 'Nile, your chances are going to run out'. I wouldn't listen. I was wild, wild, wild," he revealed in an interview with BBC Sport.
He added: "I know I have baggage. If I had behaved I would have stayed at the top, but I was too unruly."
Ranger was sentenced to 11 weeks in a young offenders' institute for his part in an armed robbery at the age of 15. Just a couple of years later, he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Michael Owen after impressing as a teenager at Newcastle.
Ranger revealed he would invite his friends from London up to Newcastle for parties. Chris Hughton, who was the Magpies manager at the time, would urge the striker to get his act together off the pitch during his tenure, with Ranger admitting he had "no discipline."
"Chris Hughton would say to me, 'You need to focus, you need to tell all your friends to go back to London,' because we used to cause havoc in Newcastle.
Ranger was tipped to achieve big things at Newcastle
"He used to sit me down and say, 'You need to take this chance.' I respected him. He looked out for me. My mum actually saw him in Nando's the other day. She sent me a selfie of them together smiling. I told her to tell him to say hello."
Ranger made just 26 Premier League appearances during his time at St. James' park. He joined Swindon Town, then in League One, after his contract with the Magpies was cancelled.
He also spent time in the Championship with Blackpool before a spell with Southend United. He also turned out for Spalding Town and Boreham Wood in non-league.
It was during his spell at Southend that Ranger was jailed for online banking fraud in 2017. He served 10 weeks at Pentonville Prison in north London before being released on bail and even played with an ankle tag before leaving the club in January 2018.
Ranger dropped into non-league after leaving Southend United in 2018
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Instagram/nilepowerranger)
Ranger has since gone into schools to speak to students in a bid to avoid others making the same mistakes he did.
"Moving to Newcastle, in my head I thought, 'I've made it'," he explains. "Looking back I've realised the many silly decisions that led to the situations I found myself in. I messed up."
Despite his chequered past, Ranger has not given up hope of landing one last big move. And he's confident that he could still make an impact at a higher level - as long as he's fit and focused.
He adds: "I could play in any team at my age if I'm fit - any team. It has to be a fit me, not a rusty me. But the rust is coming off.
"I still feel there is one big move left in me. I'm going to roll the dice one more time."
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