Joey Barton; all grown up
Football is a world like no other; what is said today is forgotten tomorrow, at least mostly. Bad things are remembered and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you will always be labelled a 'bad guy'.
On Saturday at Turf Moor , the villain of the piece, despite not stepping out of line this season is Joey Barton. Now Joey has had a mixed time at his current club, QPR, but it seems 'respect' is on both sides with himself and the fans.
We had an email from David Foster, a Liverpool fan, about Joey Barton;
'Joey Barton. A player that has so much talent that has been wasted with various on and off field incidents. Let's face it. Joey could have had numerous caps for his country and perhaps a few medals behind him had his on and off field antics been curbed in the past. Instead we were blessed with a player with so much talent that went to waste with the many unsavoury incidents that have taken place throughout his career. However, has Joey Barton finally put the ghosts of the past behind him and now found a level of maturity and professionalism that has eluded him in the past? Let's face it, Joey even last season, was still a bit of a maverick on and off the field. It looked like his career in England and indeed for QPR was over. Hinting that he'd be unlikely to pull on a QPR shirt ever again. I for one whilst not being a QPR fan, though a team I have a lot of respect for thought "good riddance". Who needs that type of player? His skill was not in question. His other antics were very much the substance for/of scrutiny. Since the start of the season and pulling on the QPR shirt after his ban expired you'd be forgiven for thinking his heart would not really be in it. Joey has proven many critics wrong. Justifiable critics I hasten to add. I personally have seen QPR matches sporadically albeit in the form of highlights. Burnley Vs Qpr yesterday, I saw a level of maturity that has eluded Joey Barton for most of his career. Firstly the clash with a Burnley player: The Burnley player goes down under a challenge. A foul is given against Joey. After a very brief spell of remonstration with the referee, he soon gives up the arguement and turns to the player he clashed with. The player is sitting up fixing his socks and unhurt. However Joey still shows the maturity and sportsmanship to speak with the player and check that he's ok. Something a Joey Barton of the past would not have done. He'd have given off to the referee for some time and simply walked away without interacting with the player he'd clashed with. Secondly, Joey was on the receiving end of a rather unsavoury incident. Now as we all know, soft drinks lids are forbidden from the stands. A lethal weapon. Throwing a lethal weapon such as a soft drinks lid is going to do a lot of damage. Not! It's the bottle with the contents inside that is going to be the weapon of choice of "fans". Note the quotation marks. Because anyone that throws anything at any player from ANY team is NOT a football fan nor a true supporter of their team. The question is, how was this "fan" permitted into the arena with a bottle with the lid still on given that security would confiscate the lid on entering the stands? It's something I've personally thought is stupid. A flying lid will not travel far. A flying bottle with or without the lid and with it's contents will, as proven. The said item struck Joey Barton. Joey upon being struck again showed a level of maturity and professionalism that has eluded him in years gone by. He could easily have gone to ground. I'm pretty sure 9 out of 10 players would have gone down clutching whatever part of their body - most commonly the face. Rivaldo gets struck near the genitals with a ball and goes down clutching his face! Joey stood as if nothing had happened. Would he have done the same last year? Or in years gone by? Personally I think he'd have given in to aggression and took to the stands to seek out the offending fan. Or alternatively and most likely, thrown it back at the offending fan. But no. He eventually lifts the bottle, throws it to the side and lets the police and stewards deal with it. That reaction alone gets my respect. Joey will often be remembered for his past and incidents such as the aforementioned will more often than not go unnoticed. We must however respect the fact that he has pulled on the shirt...a shirt he looked unlikely to pull on again, got his head down and committed himself to the cause of getting QPR back where they belong. Are we finally seeing a side to Joey Barton that has been elusive for far too long? Regardless of Joey's past, he did not deserve the treatment he received yesterday from that "fan". And I seriously hope the fan is identified and banned for life and brought before the courts.'
So where has this new side of Joey come from?
Did he grow up going to France? Maybe Fatherhood is having an effect? Maybe he's just growing older and realising that football is where he should be doing the talking!
Finally Joey Barton is letting his feet do the talking, in the first part of the season he has regurlarly been up for the man of the match awards; it's almost as if he's a changed man.
'Barton was struck on the head by a plastic bottle that appeared to have been thrown at the midfielder from the James Hargreaves Stand.
Until Ings’ opener, the only other major talking point was the bizarre 15th-minute dismissal of Burnley mascot Bertie Bee – ordered to off by the referee, Simon Hooper, after an exchange with the linesman.'
Literally a side line, and yet if he fouled a player badly, headline news! Why doesn't the press report the good side, the 'better side of football'?.
What he's done in the past is done; how about look at the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder and let his football do the talking. None of us know when we become 'mature', maybe Joey has, at least give him a chance to prove it. The good side of football should always win; sad thing is, football fans can't wait for him to fail. Sad to say but such is life.
This is written by Paul Moore, a football fan.