Roeder, who favoured Damien Duff over N'Zogbia. He also missed matches due to an injury sustained during the 1–0 defeat to Chelsea on 13 December 2006 and did not return until late February 2007. He was left out of the Newcastle squad on 13 May 2007 for the final game of the season against Watford, after he refused to be used as a substitute. Despite rumours that N'Zogbia would leave Newcastle during the summer, he stayed at the club and was named in the starting line-up in the opening game against Bolton Wanderers. He repaid new manager Sam Allardyce's trust in him by scoring the opening goal of the game, which Newcastle won 3–1. On 4 September 2007 he signed a new five-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2012. In December 2008, N'Zogbia announced his desire to leave Newcastle during the January 2009 transfer window, saying "After four years at Newcastle, I want to reach a higher level of ambition. I don't think that is possible here." On 29 January 2009, following a 2–1 away loss to Manchester City, Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear angered N'Zogbia by mispronouncing his name as "insomnia". N'Zogbia then issued a statement which, while apologising to the fans, announced he would not play for the club while Kinnear was manager. Wigan Athletic On 30 January 2009, just hours ahead of the transfer deadline, Newcastle agreed a £6 million fee with Wigan Athletic for N'Zogbia with the player signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. The deal involved Ryan Taylor moving the other way to St James' Park. N'Zogbia scored his first league goal for Wigan on 29 March in a 2–1 away victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, with a run beginning from behind the halfway-line. The following season, on 18 April 2010, N'Zogbia scored the winning goal to complete a late comeback against Arsenal to win the match 3–2. This result all but secured Wigan's Premier League survival. He was named Wigan's Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Season for 2009–10. In May 2010, Birmingham City had a reported £8m bid for the player rejected. On 27 August, Wigan confirmed their acceptance of a further bid, "believed to be in the region of £9 million", and the player was given permission to speak to Birmingham City. The move fell through however after N'Zogbia and Birmingham failed to agree personal terms.