Hashtag United turned down ex-Premier League man twice after he offered to play for them

Hashtag United chairman Spencer Owen has revealed that the club rejected two chances to sign a former Premier League player.

Founded in March 2016, Hashtag United is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England.

They are currently in the Isthmian League Premier Division and play their home matches at Parkside, Aveley.

Hashtag United was founded by Owen, who made a name for himself on YouTube and is also known as Spencer FC.

Speaking recently to True Geordie, Owen revealed that Hashtag United had the chance to sign a former Premier League player.

However, the club decided against the signing not once, but twice.

Owen said: "This is an exclusive just for you. I'll probably get some daggers in the comments for this from Hashtag fans.

"We have had two opportunities to sign Nile Ranger, so we could have been making this video about Nile Ranger playing against the Tags, it could've been look, Nile Ranger plays for the Tags."

He continued: "I'm not going to go into the details, but the fact is on two occasions, Nile Ranger has reached out to us to sign for the Tags. On two occasions, we have decided against signing him.

"Look, I'm not here to mug him off, I have no issue with Nile Ranger; I don't think he's necessarily the right fit for our football club. There will be fans saying Spen, your job is to put together a team to win us football matches.

"But every club needs a why. My job is deeper than just winning games on a weekend; it's about the content we make and running the club in a certain way. It's about what is right for us so hopefully the fans get it and understand."

During his career, Ranger played for Newcastle United between 2009 and 2013.

Having spent loan spells at Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday, Ranger left St. James' Park in 2013 for Swindon Town.

Spells at Blackpool, Southend United, Spalding United, Boreham Wood, Kettering Town and Wellingborough Town followed.

In 2026, Ranger, 34, signed for Chatham Town, who are competing in the same Isthmian League Premier Division as Hashtag United.