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Joey Barton "Most footballers are knobs"


MrJibbles

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Joey Barton has been blamed for many things but the Newcastle United midfielder cannot be accused of a lack of candour."Most footballers are knobs," said Barton today in a radio interview which is unlikely to prove popular with his fellow professionals. "I meet a lot of them and they are so detached from real life it's untrue. But there was a stage when I was like that."The 27-year-old, who says he is a changed man since giving up drinking two years ago, expressed dismay at footballers' isolation from the wider world and the rampant materialism of many of his peers."Driving around in flash cars and changing them like you change your socks, wearing stupid diamond watches and spending money like it's going out of fashion in the middle of a recession when some people are struggling to put food on the table for the kids – it's not the way to do it," he said.Interviewed on an edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme which was guest-edited by his mentor, Tony Adams, Barton said that he was only jolted out of the game's "Peter Pan" world – in which agents organise players' lives, taking care of such mundane basics as bank accounts, bills, mortgages and car insurance – by his addiction to alcohol and inability to control his anger.A series of unsavoury incidents led him to the Sporting Chance Clinic, which was founded by Adams, the former Arsenal captain. Barton, who served time in prison for his part in an assault in Liverpool city centre two years ago, said the clinic "gave me the tools to understand myself, basically. It helped me grow into a man".The gulf between Barton's upbringing in Huyton, Merseyside and life as a young player at Manchester City was obvious."I was earning £20,000 a week and yet I didn't even know how to behave, I was just a child," he said. "You grow up in an environment where, as long as you're a good player, you're told that you're the best all the time. But whether you're the best footballer in the world or the best golfer or the best cricketer, you're a human being. You might be good at that [sport] but you might be crap at life."Barton's misdemeanours included stubbing a lit cigarette into the eye of a City team-mate; slapping a fan; assaulting a former City colleague, Ousmane Dabo; and the aforementioned attack on a 16-year-old outside a branch of McDonald's in Liverpool."My last night out probably cost me £500,000 plus my reputation," he said. "I must have been as close as you can get to self-destruct. I had two choices, basically. Either you carry on what you're doing and your career's gone, or you address it."Barton, who is close to full recovery from a serious foot injury, says the British media helped to change his character."I am very thankful to the media of this country," he said, suggesting that regular vilification in print and broadcast media forced him to confront several issues.He also said: "There's stuff I got away with. But I'm very fortunate, because of my profile and the job I do and the fact that I'm in the public eye, it got addressed. And it's only the fact that I'm grounded by the trouble I've been in that's forced me away from being in the football world."After counselling and introspection, Barton has decided that he is, essentially, "a simple bloke"."I don't want to be famous," he said. "It was never for me about the cars, the women, the money – whatever people perceive to come with it. I love football, I want to play football."http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/30/joey-barton-today-tony-adams
Barton's number 1 fan your time...
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  • 7 years later...

‘In England, there are boxes and it is impossible to get out of them,’ he told Le Journal du Dimanche.

‘At the moment, for example, everyone swears by N’Golo Kante. It’s fashionable.


‘For pundits, he’s the best midfielder in the world. That’s not the case – he’s very good, but I played against him three weeks ago.


‘He’s a phenomenal destroyer who played in a phenomenal team, but he’s not a creator. And it’s impossible to be so definitive with a player who has not played in the Champions League.


 


‘Two years ago, no-one knew who he was and I was surprised that the scouts missed him. I’m sceptical, like Dimitri Payet.

‘He was incredible last season with West Ham, which surprised everyone, including me. When I was with Marseille and he played with Lille, he was only seen against Sochaux and Brest – never in the big games. It was the same with OM afterwards.


‘But in England, it was different after his first game. Except, no big club made a move for him: it was China or Marseille? Why?


‘We focus too much on a player when he works well, we don’t focus on how he behaves in difficulty. If you look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG, he was very consistent – that’s the mark of a great.’.

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2 hours ago, Monday Bandele said:

fuck this guy. always wants to go against the grain. 

 

Cant disagree with what he's saying tho. He's spot on.

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  • 1 month later...

18 Month Ban from football .... UNLK

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Joey Barton has been suspended from football and all football activity for 18 months with immediate effect after he admitted an FA misconduct charge in relation to betting.

It was alleged that between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016, he placed 1,260 bets on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, football matches or competitions in breach of FA Rule E8.

Following the Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, the Burnley midfielder was also fined £30,000 and warned as to his future conduct.

Written Reasons will follow in due course.

http://www.thefa.com/home/news/2017/apr/26/joey-barton-banned-260417

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 REVEALED 30 BETS HE PLACED

The former Manchester City, Newcastle United and QPR player revealed 30 of his “most pertinent bets”.

That included three single bets on City’s home game against Fulham in 2006.

Barton backed his team to win (£600 stake) and for himself to be the first goalscorer (£3 stake). Neither of those came in, so the midfielder lost £603.

Barclays Premiership: Aston Villa v Manchester City

BARTON LAYED SAMARAS TO SCORE FIRST

The third single, however, was successful. Barton layed teammate Georgios Samaras to score first - meaning he backed the Greek NOT to score the opening goal.

It came in. Richard Dunne scored to give City a 1-0 lead and Barton made a £5 profit on his £5 stake.

Barton was involved in Dunne’s goal. He floated in the free-kick that Micah Richards knocked into the centre-back’s path.

p1bela3lu11gnm1dqj134f15acj39.jpg

BARTON PLAYED A PART IN CITY'S FIRST GOAL

This is where the situation gets murky.

Samaras was on the pitch at the time Barton took the set-piece. Was his bet playing on his mind when he directed the free-kick away from the striker?

We’ll probably never find out. Watch the goal below, and note Samaras’ position in relation to where Barton aims his kick.

 

 

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This is where the situation gets murky.

Samaras was on the pitch at the time Barton took the set-piece. Was his bet playing on his mind when he directed the free-kick away from the striker?

We’ll probably never find out. Watch the goal below, and note Samaras’ position in relation to where Barton aims his kick.

To make a £5 profit :lol:

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