N'Zogbia reveals Kinnear rift
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Your support makes all the difference.Wigan midfielder Charles N'Zogbia has denied he is a trouble-maker or sulker and is looking forward to a challenge with his new club.
The Frenchman made the move from St James' Park to the JJB Stadium after falling out with Joe Kinnear when the Newcastle boss mistakenly called the player "Insomnia" in a television interview.
Rumours had long circulated about N'Zogbia's attitude but that did not deter Wigan manager Steve Bruce from breaking the club's transfer record by spending £6m to bring the player in.
N'Zogbia claimed he did not like Kinnear's management style and was looking forward to a fresh start in the north-west.
"There was no conversation at all," said the 22-year-old.
"I was talking to Chris Hughton (assistant manager) all the time but I wasn't talking to the manager - maybe when there was something bad in training but he wouldn't tell you why you were on the bench. I think he did it with everyone.
"I can be moody sometimes, of course, but I enjoy my life."
When Wigan expressed an interest in signing him, with Ryan Taylor going the other way as part of the deal, N'Zogbia jumped at the chance.
"It is good to have a manager who can care about you, ask you many questions," he added.
"When you are young you need that, something like he will be your dad and can really help you.
"You need that belief to be able to play your best football.
"When you don't have that conversation you don't want to feel like that. You want to feel like the manager is on your side."
N'Zogbia felt part of the problem at Newcastle was the instability caused by a succession of managers in the last few years.
"Maybe they (the players) don't know what's going on. There has been a lot of changes. While I was at Newcastle I had six managers in four years," said the midfielder, who has donated some of his wages to the cancer hospice in the north-east which is assisting his first Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson.
"For a club that is so big, the players need a manager who can stay for three or four years.
"But you have to move on to be challenging [for trophies] - Newcastle can't do it."
Bruce was delighted to have N'Zogbia on board and was unconcerned by what had gone before at St James' Park.
"Whatever happened at Newcastle it looks like he's gone a bit stale and he's had his ups and downs, but one thing about him is he has quality," he said.
"He is young and I think people forget that. We all do daft things when we are young but we think for us it (the transfer) was a no-brainer.
"Maybe when he looks back he might think he handled the situation wrong but whatever has happened to him has gone and this is a new chapter for him."
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