Joey Barton (now retired)

[Memphis]

He's been stupid, but the response is all you can ask. Apology, acceptance, moving on.  It's unfortunate for everyone.  Oh well. 

[Keefaz]

He's been stupid, but the response is all you can ask. Apology, acceptance, moving on.  It's unfortunate for everyone.  Oh well. 

 

Fine him? Dock his wages? Kick him in the balls?

[Guest Heneage]

I'd imagine he will be docked wages for this.

[BONTEMPI]

Dickhead for doing it, but the witch hunt by the media makes you sick at times.

[Flip]

He should just accept the charge and get back to playing. At the end its been blown over proportion but still it was a stupid thing to do and to take the risk of getting 4, 5 or 6 matches is pointless.

 

Now it'll be up to other to prove their worth.

 

I'm supporting Joey because at the end of the day, he's not the only one who would have lashed out.

 

By whom?

 

Other clubs supporters wanting him to get banned for the rest of the season.

[jdckelly]

He should just accept the charge and get back to playing. At the end its been blown over proportion but still it was a stupid thing to do and to take the risk of getting 4, 5 or 6 matches is pointless.

 

Now it'll be up to other to prove their worth.

 

I'm supporting Joey because at the end of the day, he's not the only one who would have lashed out.

 

By whom?

 

Other clubs supporters wanting him to get banned for the rest of the season.

not forgetting mr hansen who labelled it 10 times worse than essiens challenge.

[Memphis]

He's been stupid, but the response is all you can ask. Apology, acceptance, moving on.  It's unfortunate for everyone.  Oh well. 

 

Fine him? Dock his wages? Kick him in the balls?

 

Yes.  No.  Nah.

[Mr. Snrub]

Very frustrating as he's been excellent for us.  That pass to Carroll last night was unreal.

 

And as for that twat Hanson saying it was 10 times worse than what Essien did, he can fuck right off with his bias shit.  You can easily break someones leg going in with 2 feet, all Barton did was a little jab ffs.

[Ameritoon]

Champion, accepted and three match ban. Time to move on. There have been plenty of opportunities for him to lash out already this season and he hasn't. He's only human and he's apologised for his actions.

 

Media didn't really run with it either, or perhaps they have and I've just avoided all forms of it since the game?

[Liam Liam Liam O]

I think Hughton raises a fantastic point in regards to Barton. It's all well and good to punish him for instances of stupidity but where was the protection during the game against Wolves, I see little difference between that and him being targeted not for rough treatment but for dangerous tackles.

 

Can't really see how tackling someone can be compared to punching them.

 

Would you rather HBA had been punched in the chest instead of tackled?

Tackling is clearly more reckless and dangerous.

 

 

What the fuck has Ben Arfa got to do with it?

 

If you punch someone you get banned, if you tackle someone you may or may not.  Tackling is part of the game (which is sometimes carried out badly/recklessly), throwing fists definitely isn't.

 

Seems fairly straight forward.

 

Surely you must have seen the ?

 

Apologies, I was confusing you for one of the people who actually believe what you were saying in jest.

[Fenham Mag]

from .co.uk:

 

Barton said:

 

"I fully accept that I was in the wrong on this occasion and accept the charge that the FA have brought against me. I would like to apologise to Chris Hughton, my team-mates, our supporters and of course to Morten Gamst Pedersen and Blackburn Rovers.

 

"This season I have really been enjoying my football and although I have been on the receiving end of a few robust challenges, I have, up until now, remained calm in the face of provocation and just carried on with the game. But I hold my hands up, I reacted badly to the situation on Wednesday night and I deeply regret it.

 

"I have been working very hard to keep that side of my game under control and I think it has showed in the way I have been able to get on and enjoy my football this season. I look forward to trying to get back into the team once my suspension is over and helping the club maintain its good start to the season."

 

Manager Chris Hughton added:

 

"We accept the action taken by the FA, and it is of course disappointing to lose Joey for three games. He has worked so hard on his game this season, but he knows that he can't react the way he did on Wednesday."

 

http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20101111/united-and-barton-accept-fa-charge_2281670_2216675

 

Well handled NUFC.

[Guest Chubby Jason]

A deserved ban for sure, but the FA do themselves no favors when they let players like Huddlestone get away with two red card worthy offenses without punishment. They seem to have no system of precedent and just conduct themselves in an ad hoc way with no consistency at all.

[clintdempsey]

I think Hughton raises a fantastic point in regards to Barton. It's all well and good to punish him for instances of stupidity but where was the protection during the game against Wolves, I see little difference between that and him being targeted not for rough treatment but for dangerous tackles.

 

Can't really see how tackling someone can be compared to punching them.

 

Would you rather HBA had been punched in the chest instead of tackled?

Tackling is clearly more reckless and dangerous.

 

 

What the fuck has Ben Arfa got to do with it?

 

If you punch someone you get banned, if you tackle someone you may or may not.  Tackling is part of the game (which is sometimes carried out badly/recklessly), throwing fists definitely isn't.

 

Seems fairly straight forward.

 

Surely you must have seen the ?

 

Apologies, I was confusing you for one of the people who actually believe what you were saying in jest.

 

 

No worries mate.

[jdckelly]

A deserved ban for sure, but the FA do themselves no favors when they let players like Huddlestone get away with two red card worthy offenses without punishment. They seem to have no system of precedent and just conduct themselves in an ad hoc way with no consistency at all.

thats my problem too things like the huddlestone incident does open the fa to easy criticism

[Guest Geordiesned]

Glad this has been dealt with swiftly and he held his hands up to it and apologised.

 

I am annoyed that Jason Roberts has escaped any censure though after his attempted upper cut on Coloccini just after Colo fouled him in front of the East Stand.

[Guest DarkStormCrow]

Barton deserved the ban, maybe next time someone runs into him with a shoulder he can go down like a sack of potatos. What bBarton did was wrong and he has been banned and apologized, lets hope the media lets it go , like that will happen.

[Incognito]

LJA2010 says that the Roberts punch was also highlighted by MOTD.

no i didnt i said it wasnt  highlighted someone sed if a punch is thrown MOTD wont just say "oh its player X we wont show it" but thats exactly what happened

 

Sorry mate,misinterpreted your post,when you were actually agreeing with me.

[abcdefg]

It was clearly more serious than cynically inflicting a multiple fracture.

[Guest Kenton Magpie]

Poor action by Barton, shouldnt really be here based on previous events but I cant deny he has been a sensation for us this season. The question remains, how many more chances can the lad get?

[madras]

Poor action by Barton, shouldnt really be here based on previous events but I cant deny he has been a sensation for us this season. The question remains, how many more chances can the lad get?

OTT

[Andy]

He hasn't been sensational but he's shown enough quality (and worked hard enough) recently to earn himself a "free" one, for me anyway. Needs to keep working on removing it from his game completely though.

[Kanj]

stupid by barton, i still love what he's done on the pitch for us. its going to hurt us the next 3 matches - looking forward to getting him back on the pitch.

 

end of story.

[Guest Kenton Magpie]

Okay maybe sensation is strong.......

 

Be good to have Routeledge back on the wing I take it?

 

[Dave]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1328914/Joey-Barton-It-moment-stupidity-I-anger-issues-turn-rage-Im-role-model-.html

Joey Barton: It was a moment of stupidity. I have anger issues but it should not turn to rage. I'm not even a role model to myself...

 

By Matt Lawton

Chief Football Correspondent

Last updated at 11:24 PM on 11th November 2010

 

Within seconds of punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the chest, rage stepped aside for regret inside the troubled mind of Joey Barton.

 

He was still angry, but he was angry with himself. Angry that he had once again let himself down. He knew there was no justification for what he had done, even if he felt that Pedersen had tried to provoke him with a needless shoulder barge during Wednesday night’s encounter between Newcastle and Blackburn.

 

‘As soon as it happened I was thinking, “Oh for f**k’s sake. I can’t believe I’ve done that”,’ the 28-year-old said yesterday.

 

Like any player, he hoped that he might get away with it. ‘When I realised the referee hadn’t seen it, I tried to convince him I’d just shoved Pedersen,’ he said. ‘Anyone would because you know you could be in trouble, and for the sake of your team you don’t want to get sent off.

 

‘But at the training ground this morning I watched it with all the lads on television. I just turned to them and said, “That’s me out for three games”. I was obviously sorry.’

 

Yesterday the FA wasted little time in charging Barton and, once he had admitted violent conduct, the Newcastle player received a three-match ban.

 

But for Barton it means more than that. It means a return to his many crimes and misdemeanours.

 

Another avalanche of criticism for the thug of a footballer who will never learn.

 

From the midfielder, however, there will be no complaints. Because for all his faults — faults he is the first to admit to — he is bright enough to recognise that it will be no less than he deserves.

 

Yesterday he went a stage further and said something really quite extraordinary. He thanked the newspaper industry for playing a part in saving him from himself, even if a spell in prison probably had rather more to do with it.

 

‘With the charge sheet I already have, these things are always intensified,’ he said.

 

‘But if the papers hadn’t reported the many things I had done, I’d still have issues with alcohol and anger and I would have probably p****d my career up the wall. I wouldn’t be playing for Newcastle United.’

 

He’s been playing extremely well, providing much of the ammunition from midfield that has enabled Andy Carroll to force his way into contention for the England squad Fabio Capello will name tomorrow.

 

But Barton still has ‘issues’, still has what he describes as a daily battle to control the demons. ‘Everyone knows I have anger issues and on the pitch people are going to test my temperament,’ he said. ‘I realise that. But then people ask me, “Have you not changed?” And I say “No, this is me, I have this aggression in me, and I’m trying to handle it”.

 

‘My reaction was wrong and I have to take responsibility. But I’m not a changed man because it’s who I am. It’s something inside me, a natural instinct, that makes me stand and fight. I just continue to work at it. I’ll always be fighting to curb it and it’s a battle for me. I have these anger issues but I know that when it turns to rage, like it did against Blackburn, it is not acceptable.’

 

In the interview Barton gave to this newspaper last year, he spoke of the work he has done with the Sporting Chance Clinic. Of the guidance and support he receives, on an almost daily basis, from Peter Kay, the man who runs the unique charity that was created by Tony Adams to help sports stars with destructive behaviour problems.

 

It was Stuart Pearce, then the manager of Manchester City, who sent Barton to see Kay after his player had stubbed out a smouldering cigar in the eye of a team-mate at the club Christmas party and then got into a fight with a 15-year-old Everton fan during a tour of Thailand.

 

And it was Kay whom Barton then turned to when he ended up in a Liverpool police cell on December 27, 2007, for the vicious, violent assault that led to 74 days inside.

 

Kay whom he called when a fight with Ousmane Dabo at Manchester City’s training ground eight months earlier had left him facing yet more criminal charges.

 

He even called him in the wake of that now infamous Newcastle dressing-room bust-up with Alan Shearer and Iain Dowie after his red card at Liverpool.

 

‘I’ve tried calling him today but he’s a bit busy with Gazza,’ said Barton.

 

He does appear to be trying. He has not touched alcohol since the assault in Liverpool and, after one night in a cell with a monster of a man with no teeth called Chopper, he made a promise to himself that he would never be in such trouble again.

 

He did not want to give people further reasons to rank him, in his words, alongside ‘the anti-Christ, Chairman Mao and Hitler’.

 

Last year, he reflected on the moment when ‘a light came on’ in his head. ‘I remember sitting in the holding cell waiting to go into court, and there is all this graffiti on the walls,’ he said.

 

‘I’m just reading it when I see this message left by someone: “I don’t know why you are here, what you are here for but someone wants you to learn a lesson. Don’t be a fool and don’t put yourself in a position where you have to read this again to learn.”

 

‘It was like someone had put something in my way. Like a light had come on.’

 

He insists the light is still on, and he could point to the fact that punching an opponent in the chest during a match is not going to land him in jail. But Barton is in no mood to hide behind such excuses because he knows he remains ‘a work in progress’, a guy who still has anger-management issues.

 

‘Footballers are role models and I have always recognised that,’ he said yesterday.

 

‘But I’m not even a role model to myself. Drink was a big problem for me. That was one of the reasons I ended up in prison, and I can see more clearly now that I have abstained from it.

 

‘But I have to take responsibility for what has happened. I saw Sam (Allardyce) after the game and I said I’d been stupid. I’ll ring one of the boys on the coaching staff at Blackburn — I know them all from when they were at Newcastle with Sam — and I’ll get Pedersen’s number so I can apologise to him. I’ll have to issue an apology to the club as well.’

 

And he’ll keep trying to stay out of trouble.

[GM]

Good to see he's had his PR team working overtime to conjure up some sort of defence for his actions.