Joey Barton wants people to write about him, so I have. This is how I would surmise his career in Scotland, no matter how much he tries to dress it up.
Played well against Hamilton at Ibrox. That’s it.
Sorry, I don’t have more than that for a player of his calibre. *cough cough* Excuse me, I have a frog in my throat.
Now I do not wish to go over his past discrepancies – they have been gone over a thousand times before and will be again – let’s instead focus what he brought or rather didn’t to Rangers on the field.
Signed as the club’s marquee player in the summer of 2016, I will focus on what he did as a player at Ibrox; don’t worry it won’t be long read despite what The Great One wants us to think.
I fell into the trap thinking this was the start of something special, his capture was a massive coup for us at the time and the first time in a long while I had got excited at a transfer. After all this is a guy who had represented his country and should have had more caps than his solitary one – according to the man himself.
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In the all fairness the cracks were already there for the squad of players he joined, I seen it leaving St. Mirren Park and Hampden the season before, serving only precursors of what was to behold this group. It was weakness and a lack of responsibility, something our friend Joey knows all about.
Now us mere mortals, the ones who pay the money and watched Joey don the light blue will no doubt say he gave his all; that he did, I have no question at all. It was a poor Rangers side that did not help Barton by the manner in which we were set up to play expansive football, leaving him exposed time after time and without any player capable of covering for his lack of pace… or skill.
I, like many others, lapped up his spat with Scott Brown, but unfortunately for us and Joey, only one player did his talking on the park. That is painful for me to write. Trust me.
This squad should have been able to look up to a player of Barton’s stature and standing in the game, real leaders lead and carry lesser men and teams to more than the sum of their parts. Instead you showed what you really are: a mouthpiece who only fractured the squad, pointing fingers at everyone but yourself in a desperate and pathetic attempt to hold on to your reputation.
Where is the mention of YOU failing to pick up your man at set plays at Dens Park ? Or that you couldn’t dictate the tempo from the centre of the park as promised.
Now I understand you have a radio show and podcast to promote, I get that. That’s why I view you in the same light as a heel from the WWF. It makes good copy to talk down the Scottish game. In all truth, you just couldn’t hack it. Simple.
You are not the first nor the last player who believed our game would be a walk in the park; you are just the loudest.
Do you agree with me?