Smooth Criminal.
Posted on June 5th, 2009 | 10 Comments |
OK enough of the song titles….
Joey Barton, where to start? Forget his misdemeanours. Forget his unreliable temperament. Forget how little he’s actually played for us. OK, so that’s pretty difficult. Point being, can we afford to ignore these pressing issues and yet conversely can we afford not to? Is a man we paid dearly for in transfer fees and wages and arguably even more so in damaging publicity, really worth it? Let me begin by saying that once upon time I was a supporter of Mr Barton. I was lured by his obvious intelligence and articulation when speaking. I was accepting of his apparent remorse for past and present misdemeanours. I have since however, in addition to taking a continued disliking to him, decided that this is something we’ll forever make a loss on, one way or another.
The facts as they are –
- Joey Barton has not proved his worth on the pitch other than in glimpses.
- Joey Barton has not been convincing that he will behave such that he’s sufficiently available on the pitch.
- Joey Barton is a poor advert for our club when we need some shining positive beacons.
- Joey Barton is being paid a hefty wage despite all of the above.
Barton has been quoted as saying –
“I’m looking forward to going back to the club in July,” . “I just hope I’m welcome. My intention is to stay with the club so I’m concentrating on getting back to peak fitness. My intention is to help Newcastle get back into the Premier League.” . “If Alan Shearer takes the job and he doesn’t want me, then my hands are tied,” .
Personally, I like to put faith in people and have that faith rewarded. In the short term, I don’t believe Barton has the capacity to fulfill that. Too many false promises and hollow words. There is potential there and undoubtedly he could be a hero in The Championship and perhaps the club, at some point, could have played a part in his ultimate rehabilitation. As current circumstances stand, however, I believe the club in it’s entierity is in enough trouble without having to nursemaid someone with obvious off-field as well as on-field issues. Rightly or wrongly, I’d prefer he was someone else’s player and someone else’s problem.
Worky-u think we will come up next year?
Team 4 next year:
-Harper-
Beye-bassong-taylor-naughton
Lovenkrands-barton-butt-duff
Beckford-carroll