Former Newcastle star midfielder Rob Lee has warned jailed Joey Barton that he may have just one last chance to prove himself at St James’ Park.
Joey Barton – has one last chance – at most – at Newcastle United
The troubled Barton is currently serving a six-month jail term for assault and affray, following a violent attack on a teenager in the Liverpool City center at 5:30 am on 27th December last.
Barton joined Newcastle in 2007 for £5.8M from Manchester City, which at the time was a risky purchase, but manager Sam Allardyce convinced owner Mike Ashley all would be OK with the troubled star.
It should be noted that Man City were only too willing to get rid of him, and we choose are words advisedly.
But Joey let Big Sam, the Newcastle club and most of all, himself down by getting into trouble over the Christmas period.
Joey showed some decent form under Kevin Keegan last season but overall, last year was a disappointment for Barton, on the playing side of things.
Rob Lee, the former Newcastle star and model professional, we may add, insists Joey will need to stay out of trouble if he wants to establish himself in Kevin Keegan’s side of the future.
Lee told Setanta Sports News today:
“Well I think he is probably in last chance saloon now.”
“He has had a few chances given to him. It is up to him now, once he comes out, to put it all behind him and do his talking on the football pitch.”
“He is a talented player, but we haven’t seen that yet at Newcastle.â€
Good words from Rob, but it’s not even clear to us that Joey will get that chance.
He has to face trial again next Monday, June 30th, for his alleged assault on former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo in early May, 2007.
There is a chance he could be found guilty at that trial, and we wouldn’t be surprised if that is indeed the outcome, that the Newcastle United club could sack the player next week.
That’s certainly a definite possibility, if not a probability.
And Joey doesn’t even seem to realize the gravity of his situation – since it’s not every day that a Premier League footballer ends up in jail and disgraces himself and his team.
Comments welcome.
56 comments so far
Dan
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Comment #1bye bye joey
Ericles
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Comment #2Not just out of the club – out of Toon too. Don’t even breathe our air you thug!
Ben_BKK
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Comment #3One chance, if that…he should be begging to keep his job, not turning down opportunities to stay with us on a renegotiated contract.
CRAIGG
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Comment #4Model proffesional who nicked a limo 6 months ago!
God do i wish Rob Lee was 15 years younger.
Anyway he would stay for me, As ive said what would have happened to Man Utd if they had sacked Cantona after the kung fu kick, He is good enough and KK wants him to stay so his word should be final.
It would be a bit hypocritical if we took the moral high ground with a player despite the fact our “Executive Director” was arrested for beating up a taxi driver and sacked by leicester for breaking his teammates jaw over a card game.
51times
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Comment #5He turned down the clubs offer of a paycut, get rid of him. He’s lucky to be in a job at all.
Gunnar / Iceland
Jun 27, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Comment #6Kick him already!!!
The Entertainers
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Comment #7I dont envy the boards decision on Barton, as i seem to change my opinion with very new article about Barton. I’ve never felt 100% we should sack him or keep him. I kind of hoped he would stay but needed to be punished with his salary slashed.
What i do know is:
a) He was quality at Man City
b) Perfect type of midfielder in a 4-3-3
c) Showed moments of quality at Newcastle.
d) Passionate
e) Headcase!
The case with Dabo could very well extend his time at wor Liz’s convenience.
However if Dabo does not turn up at court (as far as i’m aware he is now playing abroad) no evidence will be heard and he could walk away scott free.
Interesting times for young Joey
Leo
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Comment #8meh im so sick of discussing joey jailbird barton, he is making a fool of us, he is a good footballer however so if he comes back and shows some COMMITMENT to our club and we will surely forget his foreys in macdonalds
The Entertainers
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Comment #9@ Craig
that thought crossed my mind.
But technically he wasnt a professional at the time!!!
Leo
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Comment #10the entertainers cant dabo send his evidence via proxy?
also if he wants to press charges if there are many witnesses he may not have to be there, video phone used maybe
law is such a boring subject and so complicated so who knows what will happen
i like yourself change my opinion on him as much as the wind changes
craig chisholm
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Comment #11i say keep him lads, simply cos he does have talent, and looking at what would happen if he went…………i dont see us buying any replacement. he would just go and there would be one less player. I know he’s a nut job but i would still give him another go. I want to see keegan get a full season with barton in the side. looking at our other holding midfielders, he is still IMO the best we have, if he goes we are weaker as a team.
simon P
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Comment #12The only thing Barton is good at is being a c@@t.
Sack him. End of discussion.
The Entertainers
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Comment #13@ Leo
I unfortunately work within our terrible criminal justice system and see cases fall apart when witnessess dont attend hearings.
However there may be some sort of dispensation for Dabo with him living abroad now.
We’ll just have to wait and see mate.
Kash2
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Comment #14I think he’s very ungrateful for rejecting the £30k a week dropping from £65k a week. He’s obviously got some sort of attitude problem or complex which needs attention. I really think he needs to visit the nut house!
Remember his cousin who killed a black lad by putting an axe through his head? Watch out Shola!
Neil
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Comment #15Dear Ed,
If convicted next week, he must be sacked. The Board did themselves no favours in asking him to take a wage cut. They’ve left themselves open to a legal challenge by his lawyers. I know he doesn’t have much of a case, but the wage cut muddies the waters somewhat.
Regards,
Neil
Chrisnz
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Comment #16C’mon man get a grip. Now here’s a player with oodles of talent(even if we are yet to see his true potential) thats got no choice but to take a drop in wages to play for the Toon. Whatever Newcastle ask him to do before his next appointment with the courts, he more or less has to agree to. How would it look to the judge, if he were to turn up dismissed from his last employment for a violent attack, when he is up in court for a violent attack ?
Unless the boy is severely impeded in the brain department, he has to keep his nose clean, improve his character and due to possible conditions of his parole play some of the best football of his career.
Now we all know what impact he had at Man City in his last two seasons there. You had better beleive for the sake of the Toon that he can replicate that form, bacause I dont know if anyone else has noticed, but we are not exactly the place to be at the minute. We are getting snubbed off players the likes of which we wouldn’t even have heard of in seasons gone by.
How long has Aston Villa, Spurs,Everton and even West Ham been a more attractive place for a player from home or the Continent than Newcastle?
Were on the mend, these things take time and we need all the help we can get(even if that means keeping Joey Barton fit while he is in prison). So lets not knock the fella while he is behind bars. Lets rally and get behind him and every other player we have at our disposal at the beggining of the season, and I tell you now, he will be one of the better players on the pitch for us next season.
Kevin Keegan has faith in his ability and when have we ever doubted him.(remember the sale of Andy Cole).
Keegan is the man. His after match interviews might not be as inspiring as they used to be, but we all know deep down he d man!
So lets give Barton a break and get on with next season.
P.S. I wonder how many of the people knocking Joey Barton have been in trouble with the law, or have done the same sort of thing and not been caught because they were’nt as famous?
A pretty high percentage I bet.
Yeah right!
broon ale
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Comment #17I agree with neil.
feels like we have went over this before though.
sack him, keep him, last chance saloons etc etc
gorskino10
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Comment #18Hang on he got his last chance when we signed him after that terrible brawl with Dabo, and he did this incedent while at Newcastle why should we give him a last chance, hes just a immature young man and not worth our time and effort just sell him or release him atleast that will cut his 60k wages.
beye the great
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Comment #19keegan thinks he is a changed man so he should stay and if you were real newcastle supporters you should back him not sack him though if there is any more incedents then he should go from the toon go to jail n go away
Ross
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Comment #20beye the great-not wanting a criminal in your team doesnt make you a fake fan.
he was backed originally when he turned up to our club with a shocking reputation.
as a player, i like him. and it really frustrates me that he behaves the way he does because he’s got alot of talent. i want to back him but its just beyond a joke. make an example of him.
steve
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Comment #21You can hardly slag him for not taking a drop in wages – he has a contract that states 60k a week not you get 60k a week unless we ask you to take half. No doubt we aren’t paying him whilst he’s in the nick, and this just smacks of tight fistedness
we either sack him or back him and move on – personally I’d sack him
Ric
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Comment #22Why would we sack him? We knew about the Dabo thing before we signed him so why would we of signed him if we where going to get rid if he went down for it?
Hes quality players and I think we NEED him specially with the lack of activity so far!
gorskino10
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Comment #23Nope a contract is a contract if it states he gets 60k then each week he wil recieve this even if hes in the nick, Newcastle could dock his wages for the time hes in jail but i havent heard if this has been done.
End of the day he is not worth the effort he has had his chances now he should pay for it, he had his chance the first day he signed for us and look he ballsed that up, what he did to Dabo should of get him banned from football but then again he still didnt relise how lucky he was playing for Newcastle while he gave so so proformances for us its just better to cut our losses.
John
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Comment #24at the end off the day we knew before we signed him that this trial was going to happen. We can only judge him on the mistake he made at xmas.
But if i was in he’s position at that time when someone spat on him im not sure i could keep my cool . I would have to lamp someone..
i say give him he’s very last chance. If anyhing happens thats it..Sacked…but one chance, thats all he has got to save hes football career
Ross
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Comment #25steve, fair enough..any players contract says 60K a week, they get 60K a week..that player probably woudnt be offered a wage cut.
however, a player who’s on 60K a week before he goes and assaults a team mate, assaults people in the street, and is coincidentally found guilty and jailed..and is then offered a wage cut..surely should know when he’s getting a decent offer for the way he’s behaved. he didnt take that, so we should sack him, and let him wait for the Q of clubs that will be looking for his services..
Davies
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Comment #26A big part of me thinks he should go, but there are some valid points made here. GraigG rightly points out that squinty eyes Wise has hardly been the model professional throughout his career, and yet here he is, representing our club to some of the most important people, potential signings.
They really shouldn’t have gone in with the paycut, because it really does muddy the waters a bit.
Mr Barton has caused more of a stir than I first realised. I honestly think he should reconsider the paycut and earn his right to play premier league football again. His behaviour has been apalling, but if he is prepared to take the punishment, keep his head down and make amends for his behaviour by putting in sterling performaces, he could well be worth one very last chance.
If not, bye bye Joey, you don’t know when you’ve got it made.
paul the pom
Jun 27, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Comment #27everyone reckons the board asked him to take a pay cut to stay.show the proof.open your eyes fellow toon fans your starting to beleive the bullsh***!your all getting wound up over all the speculation,whether it be transfer rumours or the latest in the barton trial.my advise is only read legitimate media i.e times,guardian,observer,nufc official site ,sky, bbc ,etc.. the rest are putting out headlines to gain hits and it looks to me like its working.
Nick Dryden
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Comment #28Craig you do me !!
Fergie never gets rid of good players. Smith may have done bits and pieces at Old trafford before he broke his leg. 0 goals all season, 0 assists all season – 60K a week – hello !!!!!!!!
Now at a time when the club needs to send out a clear message that things are changing for the better in terms of our universal image at St James, you advovate keeping this moronic, braindead thug. Give me strength.
Dan
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Comment #29As much as i like him as a player, how many more chances does he want?!
look at all of his offences
geordiegazza
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Comment #30What happens next week should have no bearing on Bartons future. The Dabo thing happened when he was a Citeh player.
The offence he is in jail for happened whilst he was an NUFC employee so he quite simply Barton should have been sacked for it.
If I got jailed for 6 months my job would “disappear”. End of!
Hadrian
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Comment #31😀 cracks me up those of you knocking him for not halfing his wages .
why the hell should he ? he’s on a contract with us , obviously wasnt any clauses in their that he’s broke yet or we wouldnt have ‘asked’ him to drop his wage , and just done it .
barton is the one with the advantage here not us , as soon as we let him go there will be another premiership team all over him willing to pay what he wants .
steve
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:48 PM
Comment #32Actually never mind Barton – we should sack Smith for fraud, passing himself off as a premiership footballer has gotta be one of the biggest cons of all time – wonder what he does in his spare time, writes 419 emails ?
craig chisholm
Jun 27, 2008 at 1:57 PM
Comment #33Nick Dreyden……you mean me? yes i say keep him. I am not getting involved in his bull shit prison stuff. i am trying to look at it from a purly footballing point of view. This is based my own thoughts that we would not replace him if he went. Thats why i say keep him. He is our best holding mid fielder and has a great engine on him. I would rather have him than no-one and thats what i think our options are. Even if we kept him, let him play his way back into the automatic 11 again, renew his contract and sell him. His value will go up if he can stay clean and play as we all know he can everyone will get over this current crap. look at cantona when he practised some karate on a spectator on live telly – i bet all of you were laughing at that!!
daiv
Jun 27, 2008 at 2:02 PM
Comment #34Steve
You can’t blame Smith if some fool is willing to buy him for £6M and give hin £65K a WEEK. Smith would be lucky to get in Hartlepool Reserves. Theer is no way NUFC will sell him on for £6M. We might be lucky to get £6K
Barton will get convicted next week and serve another six months or year on top of what he is doing now. he is history. We are selling/sacking all round and buying nobody. Thanks MA the biggest disappointment ever to come to NUFC. I’d rather have Shepherd. At least he stomped up the cash, he just chose the wrong managers.
steve
Jun 27, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Comment #35daiv – you’re right, we’re prob stuck with Smith till his contract runs out.
You gotta be having a laugh about ffs though – it’s more likely we’d be paying 90% of our revenue in wages and unable to service our debts – he was useless and spending millions on players he personally was involved in bringing to the club (Luque, Boumsong etc) was an absolute disgrace.
We bid more than Spurs and offerred higher wages to Modric – we can hardly blame MA because players just dont want to come
We were also meant to have bid for Turan before the euros and were told that the turks wanted to wait until after the tournament before selling ( and now he’s prefers Italy) again not MA’s fault
daiv
Jun 27, 2008 at 2:52 PM
Comment #36Steve,
You’re right about FS, he was awful and worse than what we have now. I’m just really disappointed with MA. he came here a year ago and we expected great things… loads if monet etc. he has not lived up to expectations. I really believe he is very tight and got the King here under false pretences ie loads of money to spend. It is now difficult for KK to walk away so quickly which is what i believe he really wants to do. He did not come here to get us mid table. The club has already lowered our expectations. Instead of buying the best, we are now settling for the “right” players at the “right” price. Pay for your suits as well! hardly the sort of stuff to attract the best players. We are now buying into this stuff as well. Just read this blog. We cannot afford him or attract him etc. We are the fifth richest club in Prem and about 15th In europe. Without Champions League football. We should be up there with Arsenal and Liverpool financially… maybe not Manure but we will not get there with this safety first attitude of MA. I do not want young guns who may come good in 2012. I do not want decent prem players to consolidate for the next few years and to build on that platform. After 80 years without a premiership win, don’t we deserve better? MA is trimming costs to make us a solid team in order to sell at a profit. I don’t want that. I want us to win something before I die (52) and if he cannot find the money then bring on some Russian or Arab.
craig chisholm
Jun 27, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Comment #37thats not true about turan steve……….if we had paid 13 million we could have signed him before the euros. his president said in no uncertain terms, something like, give us 13 million and he’s yours and turan said he wanted to come at the time too. We chose not too as we were not sure if it was going to be too high. We could have got him. The modric deal, we offered 40 k a week over spurs 35k. i think if our wages had been a bigger gap, lets say 50 k a week he would have came. 5k was not enough over london and europe etc. i aint worried though cos i think we should be looking much closer to home. SWP, bridge and crouch. i think we’d be better off with this mould of british player in our team.
daiv
Jun 27, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Comment #38Craig,
Dead right. You illustrate the cautious approach of tour club. If we wanted to get Modric and Turan we could have done so. Offer a few million more and another £20K a week in wages. We have to pay over the odds because we are not in Champions league and because of the geography of Newcastle. I do not like paying extra but we should do so for proven quality. Example… Why pay £29K more a week to Smith than we are offering Modric. Crazy. But it sums up the small mindedness of the club now. Its crazy to put a bid in for a top player you really want and hope that it is enough. We may get him after the Euros if none of the other top teams in Europe don’t want him. Oh really… how mad is that?
geordiegraham
Jun 27, 2008 at 3:12 PM
Comment #39SACK HIM!!!
steve
Jun 27, 2008 at 3:19 PM
Comment #40Yeah I can see your point, but it’s always a tough one – pay what you think is over the odds and get him or wait and hope they have a crap euros so no one else wants him so you can drive price down
personally I think that putting a wage structure in place is a good thing but we have to realise that we need to pay more than other clubs to get them to come to the toon (or tell them its just next to London and Heathrow airport has been renamed to Newcastle airport)