Is Barton blast a cry for help?
He might have been in the wrong to have a pop at the loyal members of the Toon Army but is the latest verbal volley from Joey Barton a cry for help from a player we are waiting to see the best of?
Barton has already admitted he cannot keep his gob shut at the best of times and it doesn't seem so long ago that his comments about England were blown totally out of proportion.
But while this kind of behaviour cannot be condoned I just get the feeling that in time Toon fans will soon forget this and start getting behind Barton - that certainly looked the case at the end after Blackburn.
And after all if you unwrap the controversy and the history that comes with JB underneath it there is a quality player, who actually cares passionately about the game and a guy who has already stated he's here to win trophies.
People in Newcastle have done a lot worse and over the years we've had fans slated for a lot more than being "vicious".
We've been slagged off for buying kits and had the humiliation of Geordie women called "dogs."
Then you have the likes of Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer belting the c**p out of each other on the field as well as the whole Craig Bellamy story from start to finish!
So while the comments may have been badly timed, Barton has still got some distance to beat this.
In a recent radio interview Barton confessed that most people want to "keep hitting him with a stick" and branding him one of soccer's "bad boys".
His voice almost sounds like he is about to cry and if we are ever going to get the best out of this lad perhaps it's high time somebody put an arm round him and gave him a bit of much needed TLC.
Barton will attract enough bad publicity without actually opening his mouth and doesn't need to invite the critical national Press to tear him to pieces in print.
I'm not saying that Barton should shun the media all together but there is a time and place for the midfielder to get his points across and perhaps in a week when the Geordie nation quite rightly went nuts over the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool, the build up to the game wasn't the correct time to let rip.
It's true that Newcastle fans are demanding and they have every right to be after such a long wait for success that sometimes seems will never end.
Barton has only shown flashes of skills but whether he needs a minder, a mentor or just someone to give him a bit more guidance off the field is surely something that Toon chiefs must look at.
In his early career, Gazza was always in danger of going off the rails but had players that were there to look after him.
Indeed then skipper Glenn Roeder was often there to get Gazza out of trouble and Terry Venables at Spurs also made sure that his off the field antics were monitored.
It's obvious that you can't keep an eye on players 24/7 365 but football is about nurturing players through certain stages of their career and it's obvious Barton needs some of that right now.
He hasn't played too much football since breaking his foot and even at Blackburn it looked like he wasn't anywhere near looking the player we all watched do so well at Man City.
But as a crowd we've made total kings of some players down the years and if time is a great healer hopefully in the long run Barton can reward the crowd by putting in some decent performances to help drag United out of the doldrums.
Barton has always said he'll but his hands up when he has made a mistake or error in judgement so maybe now isn't a bad time Joey huh?
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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Nope, he may be right on some, but actually the fans have been responded very well.
why does big sam always refer to bolton in every interview or statement he makes?I's alway's when i was at bolton, or bolton did this, he is not at bolton anymore, he's at a different club, a far bigger club than bolton will ever be! get real sam before you lose your job, the fans deserve more than you are dishing up.
if you look at my posts upon signing jb i was in favour of his transfer when others criticised,but the comments this week just before a tough away fixure were mistimed and ill advised and after other comtemptable remarks made towards our fans were straw that broke the camels back..
Nice to see Sam backing joey though think he just trying to ensure having one friend on tyneside come 10pm wednesday
Im still a fan of barton and believe he will come good still think he looking a long way from match fitness to show what he can do but yesterday did look bit better
He claimed not to have seen the famous crowd he was expecting
"give us something to shout about then"and that is aimed at the other 10 players in black n white that we expect to be worn with pride and passion
the same passion showed by the 6000+ at ewood on saturday(you done yourselves proud)
After the gooners we have 4 games we should win and we have to go out and attack these teams and i dont think BS is capable of attacking football
at the moment we need something to happen to give the club and fans a lift and i cant see us handing out a man utd style 5-0 beating to arsenal(remember the football that day)Alladyce doesnt fit in he took his chance at 4th time of asking and blew it big time and has to go before the damage is any worse
I remember Allardyce claiming that Barton was 'one of the top players in the league' at the time of his signing. Hasn't his comeback after a long injury 'coincided' with our disastrous collapse?
Ryder's reply: His comeback was on October 22nd - the last time we won.
As much as this may make Joey Barton public enemy No. 1 on Wednesday night I feel it is something that needed saying. The atmosphere at the ground in recent weeks has been appalling, and the so called greatest set of fans in the world should be ashamed of the hostile environment that now greets the slightest mistake by each and every player on the field.
The home crowd are meant to make this a fortress, doing their part to make it a hostile and intimidating enviornment, only for the opposition not their own team.
Everything was rosy not so long ago after a 3 goal haul against the hammers, but a few bad results do not a bad season make - but what the home crowd is in danger of doing is causing a few bad results to become a noose around the players and manager's necks that will only succeed in dragging the club further through the mud and produce not only bad results due to the excess pressure on the players but also offer them a perfect excuse for any sub-par performances.
let's not beat abotu the bush, the last few games have been woeful to say the least, with slight improvement in the performance if not the result against Blackburn. But the truth of the matter is booing the players off at half-time isn't really going to encourage them to come out and fight in the second half. Nor is it going to do the club any favours in the transfer market tryign to convince new players to join the club if that's the treatment they will recieve.
So, no matter the result against Arsenal, lets all get behind the team. At least then the fans can hold their heads high in the knowledge that they did their part rather than constantly deride the players!
RE: MarkyMark
when a manger sets out his team for a draw at home in front of 52000 theres something not quite right, noboday would care about the results of late if we actualy went out and played football, we cant attack, we cant defend and were lost in midfield the fans have every right to get on the mangers back and the only way they can do that is by venting there frustration
RE Steve:
your exactly right, i have never ever seen a newcastle team set-up 4 a 0-0 at home, the fan's pay for season tickets to watch us win games not for a 0-0
if we get thumped on wednesday which is most likely, the fans will be even more viscious towards barton and his manager!
Ryder's reply: The last guy to set up for a 0-0 draw was Glenn Roeder in AZ Alkmaar and look what happened there!
Whilst this may seem controversial, I have to say that I am in total agreement with Joey Barton. Admittedly the timing of his comments wasn't perfect, but I doubt whether any real football person can disagree with his sentiments.
Without doubt, the last 2 home games have been dismal in scoreline and performance. Lacklustre, flairless, calamatous at the back....the list could go on and on.
However, I do not believe the reaction to Allardyce during the Liverpool game would have happened anywhere else in the country, certainly at none of the 'top six' clubs. I was at the game, and felt embarrased by the reaction of our crowd. Speaking to Liverpool fans after the game, and they were shocked by what they had witnessed....How can a reaction like that be helpful at all? Did Everton fans react like this when they faced a relegation battle in David Moyes 2nd season? No. Did Tottenham fans react like this during their awful start to this season? No, they wanted to stick with Martin Jol and let the board know of this support. Did Villa fans want rid of O'Neill when he went plenty of games without a win last season? No, no and no!
Newcastle home games are strange occasions at present, for a number of reasons...
We seem incapable of patience...
Secondly, a lot of season ticket holders jumped on the bandwaggon during the Keegan years. They had never witnessed some of the real dross that has performed at St James' prior to this... I'm talking about George Reilly, Billy Whitehurst Albert Craig, Tony Cunningham etc.. I do fear that a considerable number fo fans attending SJP are not real football people. Compare these fans to the 6000 who made their way down to Blackburn and there is a giant chasm in how fans should really support their team. I felt proud to be among these supporters on Saturday gone.
People need to realise that we are no longer a top team competing with the Top four. We are a team trying to compete with your Evertons, Villas, Portsmouths and Tottenhams... The glory days have gone, and will never return if we consistently deride and hound every manager who tries to come in and work in a different way to KK... The attitude of certain people is that only KK has the ability to manage NUFC, in which case we are doomed....
Allardyce's selections have at times proved baffling, but the guy has nearly 15 years experience in football management. We have to respect that and believe that he will turn things around, but he can only do that if we, as supporters, roll with it. Let him get his players back fit (8 different defensive combinations in the league already this season due to injuries...) Then if things don't improve we can at least say we gave him our total support.
Just a point of order, but the "vicious" description of the fans' halftime response was (in the original article) by Peter Crouch as he and Barton went in at the break.
However, I think the main point is that the fans try to be at vocal and positive as they can - or else expect visiting managers to set their stall out to get the booing going and pick us off when the players' heads drop. We go to support the team, whatever the result.
What gets said over a pint afterwards is another matter...
i think big sam is trying to destroy us because his heart is still with bolton! sack him!!!
Joey's comments are a distraction. We need to get behind the team, open our mouths, and keep them open in the right way at SJP, SUPPORT THE TEAM, and unnerve all visiting teams to our citadel. We need to get close to what Pinnochio said of our away support, "The best in the country."
HOWAY the TOON.
A case of ââ¬ÃÂTruth Hurtsâ≢ or misguided criticism.
Many fans (Including me are from the school of thought,- Donâ≢t bite the hand that feeds you, but also feel that some of our own fans (Like sections at other clubs) do tend to jump on peoples backs ultra quick these days.
However I feel Joey Bartonâ≢s verbal volley, much like his teams shots against Liverpool, is a bit of target, the direction it should have been aimed at was Allardyceâ≢s office door.
The tactics are more and more becoming a source of scrutiny, mainly because of the baffling nature of the decisions made by the management. Something by which Allardyce MUST take blame and heed warnings- Once again the Chronicle has those words of defiance of Sam will do it his way and that he has come out with- â∠ÂAt the moment, there are 52,000 who can pick a better team than me, so thatâ≢s a distraction you canâ≢t let happen.
Well how-about taking off the ââ¬ÃÂ. . .so thatâ≢s a distraction you canâ≢t let happenââˆpart of the statement, then it may be fully correct.
Heââ¬ÃÂs also said- â∠ÂYouâ≢ve got to get on with your job. You know what works, and you know what doesnâ≢t work. You know whatâ≢s right, and whatâ≢s not rightââ¬? Well it isnâ≢t working is it?
Also, and something I have suspected, is that a delegation of players went to see him on Tuesday about policies and tactics, well if only us fans could have a chat, weâ≢d do exactly the same.
Just the fact that players feel the need to do this is very worrying and something Allardyce will no doubt find out to his cost, if things continue to go into free-fall.
Iâ≢ve said before, judging him on the Arsenal game would be very harsh, unless itâ≢s a cricket score, but judge him against the lesser sides this season, he has come woefully short.
Hang On- STOP, Just a minute, Lee, youâ≢re a Journalist, you may even have been present at the interview or even have conducted it yourself, didnâ≢t Allardyce once say this season- ââ¬ÃÂJudge me against the top four sidesâ≢ or something along those lines.
Dig the tapes or papers out please and let us know, because so far it reads- Top Four- 2, Allardyce- 0 and after Wednesday it could be 3-0.
So were getting beaten by the top 4 and were getting beaten by the lesser sides?
Makes me even more determined in my opinion that the next five games will decide his fate.
Just to put a more worrying slat on it chaps, I make no apologies.
Paul.
The team were lousy against Liverpool.
No shots on target, no corners, no commitment.
They got what they deserved. It wasn't vicious it was justified.
It brought about a much better display against Blackburn.
It was directly because of the flack from the supporters that the team got stuck in and chased down every ball.
Clapping off a losing, non-trying team means we'll be served the same dish time after time.
It's because we won't accept mediocrity and gutless performances that we will eventually be rewarded by a team that delivers attacking stylish winning football again.
I'm not sure Allardyce is the man to inspire. If he was a top class manager we'd be seeing the results already.
Looks like another wasted season.
We need to be in Europe to attract quality players in the Summer transfer window.
I guess he deserves a full season but I'm far from convinced that he does know what he's doing.
I am pleased JB made those comments and back him fully. It would never have been the 'right time' but it needed saying. Had I been able to have the same platform I would have said the same thing. I was ashamed to be among the crowd after the Liverpool game.
I hope we hear no boos v Arsenal.
RE Lee
I'm on about at St James Park
that game was the pivotal moment of roeder's reign
Ryder's reply: I know you meant SJP. I was just using Alkmaar as an example. At the end of the day you never try to get a 0-0, it invites pressure and you never usually get what you want.
To be honest i think his comments are spot on! I'm sick and tired of ours fans winging - constantly saying that because we folk out are money we deserve better. In my opionion if you are fed up don't go! they don't force you to pay that amount of money for the ticket - you choose to go.
I would rather have a half empty stadium of true SUPPORTERS supoorting their team than a full stadium that is half full of "KEEGANITIES" who have no idea what it was like in the 80s.
For god's sake at this time they need are help! lets get behind them and support them through this tough period. And as for sacking Big Sam don't be so ridiculous, if we sack him who on earth in their right mind would wnt to be Newcastle manager - give him until next January at least or we will be right back to square one!
So thank you Joey Barton for speaking the truth, maybe we don't have "fantastic fans" but i do know that the fans that went to Blackburn are the true fans and look how much better they played! My only wish was that it was someone like Shay Given had came out and said that and maybe all lot more "fans" would take note!
So if you want to cheer the lads on, on Wednesday come along and letts get behind them. if all you want to do is turn up and boo the players, stay at home and watch it on the telly like every other armchair fan with a view!
Speaking as a long time fan i think NUFC
could be vastly improved by in the transfer window only signing players of British origin as i think the already parochial fans would get behind a more UK based mentality in the team, this is not to belittle the skills or attributes of the foreign players but blood is thicker than water and i think the team would still be strong enough to retain a place in the league and even become a favorite of opposing fans.
Then again i could be completely out of my tree.
Newcastle fans are very knowledgeable about football. They will support quality football and effort. If the same effort is shown against Arsenal, as against Blackburn, I don't see why the team can't do well. You'd have to be DAFT to be satisfied with the Liverpool effort. So come on lads - do your best against Arsenal - give it a real go!
It is often said that sometimes a player needs a cuddle and sometimes he needs a rollicking, well against Liverpool they got the rollicking.
They played better the next game so the fans 'psychology' worked. We still got beat though so maybe more of the same is in order. I am surprised that MILLIONAIRE Joey has time to talk to the press to ridicule his own supporters. He expects undying faith and yet dosen't give it himself.
If I was him, I would concentrate on training so that he can recapture his form. Passing and moving would be a good start.
Other clubs fans might let him get away with playing so badly game after game whilst he picks up his sizeable pay packet....we won't!!!
I have noticed the frequent comparisons between the 70's and 80-'s teams and the team now.
It was a completely different club then. We were structured to be a feeder selling club. We are not now!
With the money invested and the wages they earn we are set up for challenging for honours. Do you think Abromovich would settle for these performances?
At the end of the day, year after year we have been told that next year will be our year. Well, we have waited one year to much.
We see the likes of redknapp and svenn joining new clubs and playing for the most 'attractive' winning football. Even Ramos looks like he's turning spurs around and they were in a worse state than us.
We see Mourinho win the title in his first season and see Liverpool taking our place of couple of years ago as a serious threat.
We have a manager that constantly refers to Blackburn. Talk about living in the past.
His tactics beggar belief. We have a team that if giving the chance could play good football on the floor but just ;like canute, Allardyce wants to defend his line whilst wave after wave (of the other teams attack) comes at him. He will drown if he dosen't wise up.
Kenny Daglish was sacked by in large because of the way his team played. He won a lot more games than he lost and yet the fans still got on his back.
If a team plays attractive football and goes on a 'losing' streak then more often than not the fans won't comp[lain.
If however they have been subjected to lousy football even when winning then as soon as results go bad they turn on the manager.
Sam needs to understand that this is what happens at big clubs with big fan bases. We are fed up with excuses (as we have heard them all before) and fed up with him comparing us with a tiny miniscule club like Bolton.
But most of all, we are fed up with his negative tactics.
There is an old saying up here, "if you let a team have 20 shots at least one will go in, if you only have 1 shot (or a corner in liverpool's case)and it dosen't go in....then you are beat!!! This works as well at home or away.
You would think a man with so much experience (as he keeps telling us) could work out this one fact. I am sure he is getting paid enough.
How ridiculous - I've heard some of our supporters saying after the improved performance at Blackburn that we've "turned the corner." Umm let's employ the deep circumspection that is required by Newcastle United supporters. Bear in mind that our complete lack of defensive competence was again blatantly exposed with Blackburn creating a number of scorable chances apart from the goals.
Our support at Blackburn was amazing but Allardyce better not flatter himself. He , along with any others, is sadly mistaken if he thinks that was full-scale endorsement of his regime.
Allardyce really does continue to make a muppet of himself with some of his comments. â∠ÂYouâ≢ve got to get on with your job. You know what works, and you know what doesnâ≢t work. You know whatâ≢s right, and whatâ≢s not right." On the evidence so far, the "you" certainly does not apply to Allardyce and his coaching staff.
It's getting almost comical the way he continually downplays the seriousness of our current situation. One point from 15, along with the wider context of our season = just a "blip" aye. â∠ÂJust because you get one or two bad results, it doesnâ≢t change the way you work.ââ¬? Ummm....let me ponder....no, there's been rather more than one or two bad results.
The reality is that the Allardyce regime has so far, done virtually nothing to improve Newcastle United. As I say, the same problems continue to haunt and humiliate. We have already conceded 24 goals in 14 Prem matches, and for the overwhelming majority of football minutes, we have been as stale as Souness and Roeder's full season, with some appalling performances to boot.
I tentatively agree that he should have until Christmas. However, underestimate the importance of these next 12 points at your, and Newcastle United's, peril.
If we don't significantly improve and pick up a substantial return from those 12 (Brum, Fulham(a), Derby are 9 of them), I think Allardyce must go. However, a repeat of the Liverpool humiliation against Arsenal - let the final whistle be the end.
Top marks to whoever those players who confronted Allardyce are.
as a toon fan living in magalluf i am finding it very difficult to keep other team supporters beliving as i do in my team even though they admire me for my loyalty.i have been a toon fan since 1965 and will be till the day i die i just wish we could prove to others what a great team we are, bring back the entertaining football and forget formats
Ryder's reply: Look on the bright side Angie! You have actually been around when we won a trophy and you live in Magalluf! Can't be too bad!
yeah exactly right Lee, after 10 minutes of that game i think everyone knew we we're in for a very long game!
only the italian's know how to go for 0-0 and 1-0's
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the tactics have been right, the performances have been spot on and we should all just follow along with a whistle and a smile. Far from it. The tactics have been absolutely negative, (something which I think newcastle fans don't like because of still dreaming of the Keegan Era), the performances have lacked any real grit and determination (not to mention a leader who will stand up and marshal the team into a performance on the pitch) and the fans have every right to be dissappointed. However, my point was simply that the fans are meant to make it uncomfortable for the opposition to play at, not the home team. The atmosphere against liverpool was .... for lack of a better word, embarrassing. The so-called best fans in football need to stop and think that their constant derision of home players will not have any effect but giving them an excuse as to why they can't perform. Sure bad football might be easier to take if we were still winning games but while it may not be the brightest time in newcastles history, I just think the switch from all things rosy to howls of hatred at the manager is far too easy and only seems to take a few games. If we win 2 games on the trot then everything will no doubt be great once more, everything brushed under the carpet by the up and coming ficklest fans in the world. The players have a lot to take responsibility for as does the manager but the fans can complain as much as they want but we all need to support the team and not give them a get-out-clause in their drab performance.
As a big fish in a small pond at the Reebok, I am sure Big Sam now realises the enormity of the role of Manager of Newcastle United, and I cannot believe that he would be so naive to realise he would not be immune to criticism should his tenure falter.
The Newcastle supporters can be hostile when things are not going well but I am sure Alladyce was aware of the nature of the beast when he accepted the role.
Unfortunately, I believe an accumulation of the majority of fans not wanting Alladyce in the first place, ambiguous tactics (for players and supporters) and negative results have all conspired against Sam.
The reality is that Allardyce was a disastrous appointment - as was Roeder and Souness before him, therefore I think it is fair to assume the underlying current problems were attributable to Mike Ashley's predecessor - and I believe Shepherd has a lot to answer for the Toons current plight.
Supporters are now clamouring for Allardyce to go, and despite some supporters suggesting he should be given time, I do not subscribe to that view, but at the current time, who is available?
Big decisions have to be made sooner or later, but we are currently in freefall with no indication on or off the pitch that things will get any better. Hopefully, the combination of poor teams below us and an accumulation of points gained earlier in the season should enable us to weather the storm in the short term - hopefully!
Regarding the outrageous outburst by Joey Barton, I have my own views on why he criticised his own fans.
History shows that when a Newcastle player alienates his own fans, it is not long before departure occurs.
Barton's lucrative (for him) transfer and subsequent team performances have hardly set the world alight and I believe his comments was a pre-curser to his departure. It would appear he cannot stand the heat in the kitchen.
I am convinced Mike Ashley has as exit plan for Allardyce, but lets all hope that if a replacement is lined up - lets get the right man at any price!
The problem with newcastle "supporters" is that 40000of them have only been "supporters" since the keegan years and never even knew where the ground was until we got into the premiership. I've had to endure Jack Charlton, Wilie Mcfaul, Ossie Ardiles etc... but even during those terrible days with 12 or 13 thousand REAL fans there was no booing players or managers. These extra 40000 "jonny come latelys" arent supporters in any other way than financially. If you want to boo then find somewhere else to watch football, if you want to support then SUPPORT. Its a big job he's got to do which won't be done after 13 games so get behind Big Sam and stop behaving like mackems.
Normally I would say that he had a point but I don't think that he or any of his teamates are currently in a position to start throwing criticism around and blaming the fans for the current position. Okay, booing is not good. I don't do it myself but do not condem anyone who wishes to express their opinion in this way at the END of the game but not at half time or during the game. We pay a lot of hard earned cash to watch our team & whilst it is accepted that it's unlikely they will win every game, what we demand as a 'must have' is a level of commitment, fight and determination. I didn't see any of those qualities in much evidence against Liverpool and whilst there was some greater effort at Blackburn, it still wasn't enough to beat moderate opposition. I fear tomorrow night & Arsenal but hey, I said that last season against Man Ure and look what happened!! Play Edgar, please!!!
Joey Barton has the classic child response to criticism-"It wasn't me"Everyone else is wrong-he's totally misunderstood.
He only repents when he is caught out and there is always a reason for his behaviour and it is always someone else's fault.
I cannot express fully what I think of him as you won't print my letter so I will keep my observations to a minimum.
As a footballer there is no doubt he possesses above average ability but he is a throwback to the 60's and 70's- a thug.
As a person I only need one word for him-"Scum"
alladyce and barton have one thing in common their ego's. both believe they and only they are right. i was once asked by a friend of mine who was the cricket journalist on the telegraph why the fans kept faith with newcastle when they never won anything. it was difficult to explain to a somerset man,as he was,the hold football has on us all. however i told him we held in great affection all those who played for the club and give 100% ,were committed to the team and played in an honest and fair manner. .that did not mean the lads should not go in hard. we also like open attacking football. we had this discussion reading a newspaper at the time of jackie milburn's funeral. i honestly dont think alladyce and barton should be at newcastle.
Regarding Barton's comeback on the 22nd October - he came on when we were winning near the end! How many games have we won since his comeback??