As the dust settles on yet another tumultuous day on Tyneside there is only one topic that can be discussed.
The bubble has finally burst on Joey Barton’s supposed love affair with Newcastle United. much like his mate Kevin Nolan’s did just last month.
Yet again the club has become shrouded in controversy and discontent by the words of an unsettled player via Twitter. First Jose Enrique decided to have a pop at Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias for their reluctance to spend and now Barton has thrown his two cents into the mix for about the ten thousandth time and again criticised the two blokes above.
Since signing up to Twitter in May Barton simply turned into the anti-hero for Geordie fans and had them hanging off every tweet, every sentence and every word he typed. His comments sparked mass panic.
“If only we as players could tell the fans exactly how it is, without them above fining us lots of money,” Barton said.
“If it wouldn’t effect team morale and cause unrest within the dressing room, am certain Jose’s comments would be the tip of the iceberg….. “And again it would be left to those magnificent fans to pick up the remnants of their once great football club.”The midfielder added: “If I wanted to leave, I’d just come out and say “I want to leave.” Things need addressing as am not prepared to go through a relegation again.”The comments prompted Ashley and Llambias to do the unthinkable and place Barton on the transfer list with immediate effect. Rumours were that he had been sacked meaning Ashley would have to dig deep into his wallet for a massive payout. But what i’ve learned over the past four years is that Ashley doesn’t make bad business decisions he just makes really bad footballing ones.
Now to set the record straight I’ve never really taken sides when it comes to debates like this. I’ll never be Ashley’s biggest fan but people seem to forget we were in the monetary mire when he came in and, despite relegation and the whole Keegan fiasco, he has got us back on a sound financial footing.
Barton on the other hand has enjoyed one good season out of the four he’s spent as a Newcastle player. True, last season he was magnificent and was the man that made us tick but that doesn’t give him the right to disrespect his boss or the club. After all they pay him a handsome wage every week just to kick a ball around a grassy field. Like every human being he has opinions but in the media spotlight, have some sense and keep them to yourself.
While I’m at it lets not forget that the club stuck by him whilst he was grappling on the streets of Liverpool, which subsequently ended with him doing a stint at the behest of Her Majesties finest.
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I will admit that the way Ashley and co. have operated in the transfer window has been lacklustre and unambitious. Cabaye, Marveaux and Ba are sound additions but the squad is still threadbare and in need of quality. It’s my opinion that they’re scared to spend over £5 million incase they end up with another Xisco on the books.
Enriques comments which, saw him fined two weeks wages, and now Barton’s have set the cat amongst the pigeons in the St James’ Park boardroom. I will say that the Spaniard got off VERY lightly with his punishment with Barton bearing the brunt of Ashley’s fat filled knuckles (rules for one and not for the other?).
For me his agenda has always been to get a move away from Newcastle after Nolan left. His words play right into the hands and hearts of the fans. It’s what they want to hear from a player who is opposing the regime they detest so vehemently.
But, I’ll reiterate, it doesn’t give him the right to lambast his boss. Aside from being a footballer Barton is an employee. If he or any footballer hasn’t wised up to that now then it’s about time they did.
In the real world any normal employee would have been sacked on the spot and black marked for the rest of their life. Employers don’t look too kindly on people who display signs of insolence. You might say you can’t compare the two or rationalise football but the positions of employee and employer are exactly the same.
To cut a long story short Barton dug his own grave on Tyneside. Too outspoken for a club like this. Yes he’s available on a free, with added baggage,but who would take the chance on him now?
