Good old Joey.
Just when you thought it was safe to start preparing for another
quiet season at
St James' Park, the man with the loudest mouth and strongest
opinions at Newcastle (well among the players, that is) lets the
world know he is heading back into the Premier League.
First Carlisle, then the world: Newcastle's Joey
Barton is ready to answer England's call
And so, with just 45 minutes at Carlisle under his belt, Joey
Barton informs us that he is the solution to all Fabio Capello's
woes and would have performed far better at the World Cup than any
England midfielder. (Not that that would be difficult).
Yes, Barton is back. He is certain to ruffle the feathers of the
teams and supporters in the top flight after a year away, which was
mostly spent on the treatment table.
There are few players who will be booed as much as him this
year. But you just know he loves it.
The jeers at Brunton Park were rather subdued by Barton's
standards but the controversial former Manchester City midfielder
knows he will face much more hostility when he returns to Old
Trafford on the opening weekend of the season.
And it is not just his chequered past which singles Barton out
when he is on opposition territory. Don't forget this is a player
who divided opinion at his own club after his jail sentence and who
was fortunate to keep his place in the Newcastle squad at all.
It's Barton's mouth not his fists which wind people up now but
rather like the cantankerous old Yorkshireman in the Harry Enfield
sketches, Barton has a tendency to 'say what he likes and like what
he bloody well says.'
This week the 27-year-old turned his attention on England and
their World Cup debacle and Barton, with one England cap to his
name, is convinced he would have done far better than the likes of
Gerrard and Lampard in South Africa.
He said: 'First and foremost, I want to do well for Newcastle
United. 'But watching some of the performances in the World Cup
over the summer, I think that on form, I'm as good as anybody in
this country.
'I don't say that lightly and I have to go out and prove that,
but surely every midfielder in this country should be thinking like
that?
'They should be looking at it and saying, "That's where I want
to be and that's where I can go".
'That's my goal, and if I break into the England squad, it
proves that I am doing fantastic for this football club. At the end
of the day, I was an England international as a box-to-box midfield
player.
'I don't say this lightly, but I'm a much more rounded
footballer now than I was when I first signed for this club.
Injuries have restricted my chances to show that.
'If I can sustain fitness for a long period of time, I'm very
confident of finding the form that got me in the England
squad.'
Barton is at least right that he has to nail down a place in the
Newcastle side first and as manager Chris Hughton tinkers with his
selections in the increasingly testing friendlies over the coming
weeks, he can be certain that motor mouth Joey will be doing his
utmost to convince him he should start when the season kicks off at
Old Trafford.
Not so much a quiet word in his shell-like, more a megaphone
from the top of the Gallowgate. He would not expect anything
else.
Opinion divider: Joey Barton's career has been one
of injuries, controversy and unfulfilled potential
It is only one game into pre-season and Newcastle's players will
start to find their feet, stamina and limits over the coming weeks
- but even at Carlisle Hughton could surely see that Barton and
Danny Guthrie offer much more energy and creativity in midfield
than Alan Smith and Kevin Nolan.
Nolan at least can play off the lone striker, which will
presumably be Andy Carroll, on the frequent occasions Hughton is
likely to use that system.
He has conceded he needs extra bodies in to see him through
difficult months ahead and even if he uses him predominantly from
the bench, a striker to help Carroll carry that burden has to be a
priority.
It is very early days for Hughton and Newcastle. There were some
encouraging signs at Carlisle, particularly seeing the bright young
talent performing, and there will be some concerns, particularly
about the older fraternity.
And then there was Joey Barton, strutting his stuff and looking
very comfortable at the heart of the Newcastle team. Letting his
football do the talking on the pitch, then letting his mouth run
away with him afterwards.
Yup, he's back.
