Joey Barton Doesn’t Shame Me

Despite what the media might be telling you about Newcastle United fans – I don’t care about Joey Barton.

The papers might be able to scare up enough gobby prats to parrot their general sense of outrage but, I repeat, I don’t care.

While I am absolutely sure he is a particularly horrible bloke his presence in my football team doesn’t shame me. I didn’t buy him. His bad behaviour reflects on himself, not the club and certainly not us fans. I would rather not have him in my team but all the various options put up by an apparently furious media make very little sense.

Sack him and we write off £6m while Barton profits from a hefty signing on fee elsewhere. If he shines for his new club and keeps his nose clean they get the kudos for rehabilitating him and his value will once more soar.

Fine him, beyond what is allowed by his Union, and we are on dodgy ground. It’s a legal minefield that could again see him walk away for nothing…  join a new club…hefty signing on fee …etc etc.

And that money we’re expected to write off..that’s mine that is. I, alongside thousands of other fans, came up with that cash. We are not Manchester United or Chelsea. Right now, it appears £6m is a great deal of cash for us.

But anyway, hasn’t Barton done his time? Don’t we have some kind of duty to rehabilitate him? Should all ex-cons not be employed? Or just not employed by football clubs?

Or is this part of a wider media agenda – Booze Britain, Broken Britain etc.  Let’s get everyone simultaneously outraged AND miserable. Bet they wish he’d had a knife, or was a migrant, or a Muslim. Bet they wish the booze he drank was cheap.  Bet they wish they could blame Gordon Brown.

Have they all forgotten Tony Adams already? A player who committed an arguably worse crime and did his time behind bars. He then went on to win silverware galore, captain England and recently won the FA Cup as assistant manager at Portsmouth.

Let’s not also forget that Newcastle’s manger Kevin Keegan wasn’t responsible for signing Barton. It’s yet another problem that he has inherited from the genius he replaced.

KK is keeping his cool and his dignity and is getting Barton back into training and, hopefully, away from whatever demons haunt him.

And no doubt, once Barton is fit and performing well, then real cash offers will once more come in.

Then, and only then, will be the right time to sell him.

* It appears I am not the only one thinking this way. Check out here and here.