Is Keegan right to give Joey Barton one more chance?

We can all agree that Barton is a thug.. no one can speak for Barton mental state.. but I would think that Keegan is giving him a chance to hopefully wake Barton up and make him understand what he has to loose if he is going to continue down a path of self destruction.

I think as a manager, you have to be both a physical coach and a mental coach.

If he screws up again.. the only one to blame will be Barton

Hard to say for certain since I do not know the man personally. From a completely outside perspective I am of the opinion that professional athletes who commit a crime that requires them to serve jail time should only be allowed back under the strictest probationary guidelines possible, if at all. Taking someone back, no questions asked, can be very detrimental to the image of the manager and club/organization. Reading the report of Joey Barton's actions leave me feeling he forfeited a second chance at a Premier League career, but that might be a little harsh in the eyes of some.

Check on you tube for cctv footage of the disgusting and cowardly assault he perpetrated on the street. I'm not going to post a link, cos it's so sickening that I don't want to watch it again.

If I had been convicted of an assault like that (with video evidence), I'd be doing 5 years for GBH!

Then there is the training incident when he beat up a team mate, whilst still on bail for the original assault!

KK is hardly promoting team harmony at toon, by letting that disgusting lowlife back on the squad.

Mind you KK is a scouser as well, so bartons actions are probably normal for them both... :ph43r:

No. Barton needs to serve his full time in prison. After that, he might have learned how not to act.... Maybe....

Isn't playing for the Toon a kind of prison sentence anyway? :D

As the only Toon supporter on the board these days...let me say this.

Keegan is doing what all managers are supposed to do....tote the company line. They have a player under contract who has a lot of issues. If those issues come on to the pitch then they become Keegan's issues, and then he will be forced to deal with them. At the moment they have not yet entered Keegan's bailiwick, therefore all he can do is wait for Barton to slip up, which he inevitably will, and then Keegan will can him.

I don't think the Toon Army would be heartbroken if Barton were let go, but I do believe it would reflect badly on Keegan as a manager if he were to sack Barton now.

No! :angry: He has been given too many "second chances" during his playing career (at Man City & Newcastle) and still hasn't learned anything from his consequences. If any non-celeb person does any of the offenses that Barton did in the past, he/she wouldn't get any second chance in life at all.

Ask Dabo if he thinks that Barton deserves a second, third, fourth, fifth chance? :angry:

Yes, if it's a chance at being a paper target holder on a rifle range.

And what about the old cigar or cigarrette in a teammate's eye at a Xmas party.

The sad thing is that he does have talent, but he's just too gangsta for me. <_<

Derricks and Super Hoops replies just add weight to mine...
The thug should do time inside...NO question. :angry:

When his asshole is the size of a dinnerplate, he may have learned a lesson.

Thank you Twiggster, that was...graphic.

I believe that all of the offenses happened prior to his joining Newcastle... nope I was WRONG. his last offense was December '07 at which point he was a full on Magpie.

But remember, he was signed by Big Sam. Keegan could use that as an excuse to sack him, but everyone would know that he is just using that as an excuse. Keegan is basically resigned to the fact that he has to pay the man his salary, so he wants to get his money's worth.

Apologises if I am repeating points made up thread, but Keegan is absolutely right to give Barton a second chance.

The primary reason is that Barton is a talented midfielder and Newcastle needs a talented midfielder. Keegan knows that.

Second reason is that I like SOBs. I like Lee Bowyer, I like Craig Bellamy, I like Roy Keane... football is not a polite affair... go put on your poncy whites and go play cricket or croquet or some other nancy sport if that is what you want to see.

Pork Romeo - I disagree with you to a point. Yes it's a man's game - ON THE PITCH. Barton crossed the line. While I think Keegan is doing the only thing he can do, and we do agree that Barton is a talented player, I still whole-heartedly believe that Barton belongs in JAIL.

But to that point it wasn't Keegan who released him from prison. It wasn't Keegan who let him out early... So it's better to keep him on the pitch under a watchful eye and hope for the best.

Barton speaks

"The first day's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in, hand you your uniform and force you to pose for the photographer while loads of fat, tattooed, skinheads shout abuse at you. That's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. That's when it hits home. That's when you realise you've signed for Newcastle."

:ph43r:

DOH!!!!!
:lol:

And that was just at the first press conference when they signed him from Citeh.


:D

Well done Crude..pretty funny...

As for Barton, I dont recall him really having on pitch problems... no horrofic tackles that I can recall... not sure, but he seems to be carded about what is typical for a defensive midfielder...

Barton is an asshole, and while assholes don't deserve second, third, or even fourth chances they usually get them anyway, but then again this is Newcastle in question, I don't think Keegan has much of a choice.

Keegan needs to exert his Gaffer powers and let Barton swing... Show everyone that if you are a criminal and you haven't learned your lesson after being given chance after chance then you don't need to bring that onto the team. Barton is a leach on the energy of the team. When teammates are pestered time and time again about nothing that has to do with the team, it causes distractions and team-play falters because of it.

this Barton thing..It has been really getting on my nerves.

For Gods sake, give the man a chance. Who amongst has not needed a second chance? He paid his debt, let him get on with his football. Good lord, the English sent all those pinched ass Puritans off to the States some years ago! Why keep bangin on about it? I have no time for these self righteous whiners and pee wee hermans who echo the media.

And the FA? Who are they to pass judgment on Civil Court's decisions? Ugly precedent. Does the FA want the civil courts to come willy nilly passing judgment on their decisions? I think not.

To be honest, I think most of the complaints have come from toffeemen.. Bartron showed them the least hairy and best piece of ass they have ever seen.

Second????? Try Sixth! If Any non sports figure did the same, they'd still be in jail. And would continue to be so for many more years to come...

He needs to go.

Exactly this is the second time in recent memory that Barton has lead me to question his worth as a human being. I don't mind the fact he makes a dodgy challenge every now and then on the pitch, even Ronaldo does that on occasion and he is an outright nancy boy, but to brutalize a 16 year old, and a fellow teammate is just despicable. Barton is lucky he is playing for Newcastle who in all reality can't rightly replace his quality in short order.

I see Barton falling under the Shrinking return clause... When a player is more costly than he's worth, you cut your losses and let them go.

If Nike can (rightly) cancel his contract, so could the Barcodes if the will was there.

I think they will - as it seems likely now that he will be banned for at least the rest of the year by the FA.

I wonder if the FA will ban him or NUFC will go for a pre-emptive ban?

The problem is that the FA could have acted on Barton a long time ago. So it is a bit self-righteous to jump on the Kick Barton Wagon.

To be fair, some of Barton's antics have been mis-reported. The teenager he thumped in Bangkok was drunk and presistently winding up Barton. So he go what was coming to him.

Cigar to eye incident was mis-stated by the press. It was more like an accident from my understanding. But that is the media. If Barton knocked over a tea mug, the headline would read BARTON LAUNCHES MUG AND HOT TEA AT TEAM MATES.

Unfortunately the Dabo incident is very difficult to defend. And that other incident was pretty bad. So even though I like to defend Barton, I think he has some serious issues...

I wonder how other Newcastle players feel about going on to the pitch with Barton? If they don't care, guess I don't either.

The team should care most. What kind of example are they setting??? If you are good at football, you can be a criminal and it doesn't matter...

Send him back to prison...

As someone who deals with his type on a daily basis (Yeah I'm old, bitter and jaded because of it too) I am STILL willing to give anyone a SECOND chance ..... but not a third. Get rid of him Newcastle. He's dangerous, hot headed, unrepentant and will cause nothing but trouble for those around him for the rest of his life. He is not going to change. Put him back with the people who are just like him.

Eggsackerly! He deserves to be with his own kind - IN JAIL!

Barton being sued by the kid that he stubbed the cigar in his face....

Mr. Keegan, Send him back to Jail....


:angry: :angry: :angry:

After witnessing Joey Barton's return this past weekend it seemed awfully clear to me that he still could use some time behind bars. His first action was a malicious tackle after which he gave a horrible smile. He has clearly learned nothing and needs to be tossed back in jail. You would think he would show a little humility after being given this (fourth or fifth) 2nd chance, but that might be part of the problem. If Keegan is out after these meetings being held Barton has done nothing to help his case with any following manager.

its nice to see that fans across the board see what this thug has done.. :D :D
its almost like the clebe status being applied here.. if that was anyone else.. you think you would get the same breaks..