"...I decree today is simply taking and not giving,England is mine.It owes me a living..."
Joey Barton loves to quote The Smiths on his Twitter account.As yet i don't think he's posted this particular missive on his page.However it seems appropriate to his philosophy...Talking of which he also likes to quote Nietzsche and Sartre too.He also professes a love of art aswell.I have no idea how much of this is genuine or just affectation to fool the World he's one of the game's thinkers...
As it is he's been courted by the quality newspapers and even copped a gig on on BBC's Newsnight being grilled by the cerebral Jeremy Paxman.There does seem to be a certain amount of patronising going on here,the age old Middle Class conceit of latching on to a supposedly Working Class phenomenon till they grow bored of their pet monkey and discard it like yesterdays Guardian...
I remember when Pat Nevin was given the same treatment and was even a guest editor of the (Then) Hipsters Bible, The NME.But Nevin was a well liked and well respected Footballer who has since become a well liked and respected broadcaster.He also had the self awareness and humility when he played to realise this courtship by the Middle Class media was a passing fad,one to be taken in his stride and not taken too seriously.Barton is a very different animal indeed...
For one thing Barton can't escape his violent and thuggish past,not that he appears to be making much of an attempt too though.No matter how much he protests that he's changed, his actions contradict his words.Witness his assault on three(Three!) players in the recent game V Man City which earned him a twelve match ban.This barely a week after a gushing article appeared in The Observer proclaiming him to be a new man...
Barton's nefarious past includes stubbing a cigar out in the eye of a teamate,attacking a young rival fan in the far East and a vicious attack on a man in the street for which he spent a time in jail.This final assault showed a level of violence that borders on the psychopathic.Barton kept on reigning down kicks and punches on his victim despite him clearly being unconscious.This is not the behaviour of a man in control,nor of one who can be trusted if riled...I can well imagine anyone who knows him well is constantly on guard in his company lest they say the wrong thing which would provoke an attack.Walking on eggshells whenever he's around...
Everything bad that's happened to him both on and off the pitch has been met with a refusal to admit any wrongdoing on his part,he's the master of self justification despite all the evidence pointing otherwise.He also does'nt take criticism well---be it constructive or otherwise---Which is where his Twitter account comes into play...
It's a fact of life that any celebrity will become the victim of abuse from certain members of the public---it's the price of fame i'm afraid---Much of it unwarranted of course.Many rightly laugh it off and take the plaudits they receive from their fans as proof of their worth.They have to grow a very thick skin,footballers usually even more so in many respects.However when someone as clearly unhinged as Barton gets abuse it festers to boiling point.Is it coincidence that in the week before his explosion in the City game he came back on Twitter after a few months sabbatical and received his usual amount of abuse? I don't think so...
So what does the future hold for Barton? There's talk of his club,QPR, wanting to offload him and that would'nt surprise me.However before we congratulate them on taking a moral stand i believe this action would have more to do with practicalities than any moral outrage at his increasingly unstable behaviour.
Barton had a terrible season on the field.The stats say he made the most mis-placed passes in the Premiership.Reason enough to offload him.The ban allows the club to appear to take a stand but the truth is that were he an effective player he'd be retained no matter what he'd done.If you dis-agree and think football does take a moral stand then ask yourself why Terry,Suarez,Pennent,Hughes & King are still employed by their clubs? It's because they still do a good job for their respective clubs.If they did'nt they'd be binned...
I don't imagine Barton is much good for the spirit of a dressing room either.Another reason to get rid, as Pardew recognised when he took over at Newcastle...
When he does become available for transfer i hope my club don't buy him and i imagine many fans of many other clubs feel the same.The Future for Barton does'nt look very bright.Or to quote Nietzsche;
"When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you"
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