Barton Arrested Again

One has to wonder why Joey Barton keeps getting jobs. Mixed in with his footballing — which, from time to time, can be very good — he seems to get in trouble with the law practically annually, whether he’s stubbing out a cigar in a youth player’s eye, fighting with taxi drivers, or (allegedly) beating the crap out of a teammate. And now, it’s happened again.

After being part of the group of Newcastle players to successfully persuade Sam Allardyce to give the squad some time off over the holidays rather than bringing them back into training immediately, Barton repaid the gaffer by enjoying a night out in Liverpool (after missing his club’s dire Boxing Day loss to Bolton because of a slight injury), getting caught on CCTV “acting aggressively,” and ending up in jail, arrested at 530am and charged with common assault and affray. Oh, and Barton is still out on bail for two other offenses, including his alleged assault on Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo, a case that will be in court this summer. Not surprisingly, he’s been denied bail this time, and will be cooling his heels in jail until the new year.

As if Allardyce didn’t have enough problems on the pitch, now he’s been let down by a player for whom he went way out on a limb over the summer, putting himself on the line to convince Newcastle ownership that the “troubled” (that’s the word the papers use instead of “loose cannon who’s desperately in need of professional help”) Barton was worth the $12 million the club eventually paid for him.

Barton is still only 25, which is plenty young to turn things around. That said, given his unshakable belief that he’s a victim virtually every time he gets into trouble, it’s wildly unlikely he’s going to make a change on his own. At this point, it’s less about football than it just sorting him out — one hopes that after Big Sam rips his midfielder a new one whenever he next turns up at training, the club will tell him he can’t play until he gets help, and that they’ll pay for anything he needs. It won’t happen, probably, because The Toon need any help they can get on the pitch, and short-term goals (like Allardyce trying not to get fired) surely take precedent over silly little things like mental health.

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Category: English Premier League, World Football