Joey Barton

[Anderson]

I don't think Barton's been quite the same player since the Carroll sale. There's not been any dramatic loss of form, he's just not quite at his best. If a player's commitment becomes a bit uncertain, unless they're quite a strong character, it can affect their focus.

 

The same goes for Enrique.

 

Does it f***, man. It doesn't even apply to Barton!

 

Of course it does.

 

Barton's played what, 4 games since Carroll's departure?

 

Fulham - was poor

Arsenal - was terrific

Blackburn - played well

Birmingham - was terrific

 

Conclusion = you're both daft.

 

You obviously missed the forum memo that all players are now judged on supposed 'body language' now and not the standard of their performance.

[Cajun]

I don't think Barton's been quite the same player since the Carroll sale. There's not been any dramatic loss of form, he's just not quite at his best. If a player's commitment becomes a bit uncertain, unless they're quite a strong character, it can affect their focus.

 

The same goes for Enrique.

 

Does it f***, man. It doesn't even apply to Barton!

 

Of course it does.

 

Barton's played what, 4 games since Carroll's departure?

 

Fulham - was poor

Arsenal - was terrific

Blackburn - played well

Birmingham - was terrific

 

Conclusion = you're both daft.

 

You obviously missed the forum memo that all players are now judged on supposed 'body language' now and not the standard of their performance.

 

it's becoming a parody now

 

 

[Ishmael]

"but he needs to be in a good place to play well.”

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2104/2234960801_5437f055fc.jpg

 

BUT NO!

 

 

http://blog.timesunion.com/highschool/files/2010/10/shooter38vv.jpg

 

[Ronaldo]

"but he needs to be in a good place to play well.”

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2104/2234960801_5437f055fc.jpg

 

BUT NO!

 

 

http://blog.timesunion.com/highschool/files/2010/10/shooter38vv.jpg

 

 

Brilliant.

[David28]

BACK! (with new boots btw)

 

http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/110263714.jpg?v=1&c=NewsMaker&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF87892140FEB0FF7845C57DE25BD970643498B497ED5082E9EAFDC83EA07C3A29D9ECF0

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Sprightly.

 

The worst boots ever mind.

 

 

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Aww, Barton not wearing no-nonsense black boots

 

New Poll: Do you like Barton's New Boots? 

 

 

[Fenham Mag]

St.Patricks day boots?

 

Still got his class haircut i see, which i have shamelessly copied.

[Anderson]

Clearly wants out; he has the Champions League stars on his boots so must want away to a big European club.

[Colocho]

Our most important player ..?

[geordiemonster]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

Nothing earth shattering, but it was nice to hear him put his side of things to us - he comes across as a really genuine bloke.  Any footballer can say he loves the club, but I'd like to think in Barton's case he actually means it.

[ChrisMcQuillan]

NWOAT.  Merge with Barton topic.

[geordiemonster]

I don't know what NWOAT means, but ok....

[Yorkie]

They want to slash his contract by 66% yet the likes of Smith and Taylor sit there on God knows fucking what. Nightmare.

[Zero]

So it's like....20k ppw? Serious?

[Yorkie]

Mind you, i do remember us having to cough up an extra (what was essentially an even greater sign-on fee) £300k to pay for City's loyalty bonus to him. Greedy little pig. Greedy, greedy footballers.

[80]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

As feared/suspected/expected.

[Cronky]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

As feared/suspected/expected.

 

I suspect that Barton's new contract means a big cut in his guaranteed salary, but there would be a lot of performance-related top-ups. I think that's what happened when Owen's contract came up for renewal.

 

There's been talk from the club that this is the style of contract that they now want to offer. If so, we've seen players like Tiote and Ben Arfa quite willing to sign up in the last few months, and this is the first we've heard of any major rift between Barton and the club in terms of the actual amount being offered. The previous talk has been about whether it should be 2 or 3 years, or whether Barton wants to wait and see how the Carroll money is going to be spent.

 

We do have a number of players on inflated basic salaries, and it was always going to be a problem when, as with Owen, their renewal came up. An offer based on the performance of the player and/or the team seems a reasonable way forward. Continuing to pay huge amounts when the players who are coming in are being paid far less doesn't seem a viable option to me.

[Crumpy Gunt]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

As feared/suspected/expected.

 

I suspect that Barton's new contract means a big cut in his guaranteed salary, but there would be a lot of performance-related top-ups. I think that's what happened when Owen's contract came up for renewal.

 

There's been talk from the club that this is the style of contract that they now want to offer. If so, we've seen players like Tiote and Ben Arfa quite willing to sign up in the last few months, and this is the first we've heard of any major rift between Barton and the club in terms of the actual amount being offered. The previous talk has been about whether it should be 2 or 3 years, or whether Barton wants to wait and see how the Carroll money is going to be spent.

 

We do have a number of players on inflated basic salaries, and it was always going to be a problem when, as with Owen, their renewal came up. An offer based on the performance of the player and/or the team seems a reasonable way forward. Continuing to pay huge amounts when the players who are coming in are being paid far less doesn't seem a viable option to me.

 

The problem with offering performance related pay is that other Clubs will happily pay him a wage that guarantees his income. Then its 'bye bye' time.

[Zero]

The performance-based contract can't go to THAT far.  It only works when the player is quite confident that his performance do help the club to achieve better results.  If the player does not have confidence on the manager/club (which is obviously our case) and the club is going to be mediocore (probably due to not enough investment by the owner), he will simply walk away to find another clubs.

 

I would say 40k ppw + 500k performance bonus for European qualification is a lot fair for Barton.

[Punk77]

That's a problem, but it's a risk I think we should take. Barton in not getting younger and putting him on a £50- 60 000 a week salary it's not wise considering he's entering a period of his career where he will be even more susceptible to injuries than he's now.  My point is that when he's playing, Barton is worth every penny, but as long as he doesn't play, he's a economical liability for the club. If Barton stalls, it's better to sell him, and reinvest that money+salary saved on two younger players  who in sum will make us a stronger team than we were with Barton. And they also have a development potential. Pouring money into one player is only going to make our club more dependent on him. And we're already too much Barton-dependent as it is. It's the same mistake Lpool made with J. Cole. : Instead giving him  £80 000 a week and a heavy sign on fee, they could have invested those money in 2 or 3 younger players that together  elevate the team to a higher level than what Cole singlehandedly could do. That would also have made them less sensitive to injuries too..

 

 

[Cronky]

The performance-based contract can't go to THAT far.  It only works when the player is quite confident that his performance do help the club to achieve better results.  If the player does not have confidence on the manager/club (which is obviously our case) and the club is going to be mediocore (probably due to not enough investment by the owner), he will simply walk away to find another clubs.

 

I would say 40k ppw + 500k performance bonus for European qualification is a lot fair for Barton.

 

We don't know what the figures are, but as I say the likes of Tiote, Ben Arfa and others have been happy to sign up. Barton likes the attention, and I don't think the terms of his contract offer are as restricted as the idea of a two-thirds cut would suggest.

 

At the end of the day, we do have to have a salary policy, and if that means the likes of Barton or Enrique moving elsewhere then so be it. In the long run, we'd be better off than joining in the madness of paying over the odds, like we were doing before.

[Punk77]

 

 

At the end of the day, we do have to have a salary policy, and if that means the likes of Barton or Enrique moving elsewhere then so be it. In the long run, we'd be better off than joining in the madness of paying over the odds, like we were doing before.

 

Couldn't agree more. Abiding this salary policy could hurt us in the short run, but will benefit us in the long run. Soon Everton and Villa will be forced to cut costs, and then we have the possibility to outperform them.

[Dave]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

As feared/suspected/expected.

 

Aye. I do wonder if he'll be here next season, if he won't sign then the club will surely look to sell whilst his remaining value is at its highest.

[Unbelievable]

Anyone go?  Some interesting bits and bobs, spoilt by his agent/mate/protector:

 

Most interesting thing was that he's apparently been offered a derisory contract by the club - 1/3 of his current salary.  He does say he wants to stay and has no intentions of leaving, so fingers crossed on that one.  He also seems to have a good opinion of Mr Ashley, but reading between the lines he doesn't think much of Llambias.

 

As feared/suspected/expected.

 

Aye. I do wonder if he'll be here next season, if he won't sign then the club will surely look to sell whilst his remaining value is at its highest.

 

No worries man, it won't be long before selling your best players who want to be paid their market worth without replacing them will be all the rage and when that time comes we will be in an excellent state to compete..