There's no doubting Barton is a nasty little ****er.and i for one am not overjoyed he's joined.In the cold light of day it's obvious he's a gifted footballer,but when someone stubs out a cigar in a team mates eye that goes beyond thuggery and enters into the realms of pure evil.People make mistakes,and many learn from them and move on,but some don't and continue to make more.I'm all for giving people second chances,but third and fourth ones,where do you draw the line and say enough is enough.Personally i think Neil wanted Parker,couldn't match the Hammers valuation and had to snap up someone he felt could do the job before the transter window shut.I haven't got a buzz from his arrival but as a hoopton i hope he has a positive effect on the team and for the supporters a modicom of respect,but i'm not holding my breath.
I think the off pitch stuff is pretty much sorted. Barton has pretty much rehabilitated there. It's the on-pitch stuff thats a slight worry. He reminds me of Denis Wise in many ways. But as I have said before, Hill will get red carded more than Barton.
There's no doubt that he'll be the red tops favourite target, especially now he's in London. So this will really test whether he is a reformed character or not. One thing is for sure, press coverage of the hoops will probably increase tenfold...
With all the new signings coming in now the landscape will be quite crowded, hopefully that will reduce the spotlight on Joey and allow him to settle in relatively quietly. Having said that the Newcastle game won't help being his first start. It'll be interesting to see how he handles it (a goal would be nice though, although his ratio of 1:10 means it probably won't happen - but this football "is a funny old game").
I didn't want him at LR and I sincerely worry about the ethics of NW who seems to have no qualms about the influence ex cons like Barton and King may have on younger supporters. But he's here now and not only that he is on a 4 year contract so we need to hope for the best. I will be really disappointed if LR gives him a standing ovation when he is announced against Newcastle. He needs to know that the jury is out and its up to him to deliver the goods both on and off the pitch. If he stays clear of trouble and turns in good performances I will be out of my seat by Christmas no doubt. Mixing football and morals was always difficult.
Great thread Roller, i also was against our club going after Mr Barton and was hoping that we would go after Scott Parker,but as the day wore on and it looked like he was using us to get a better deal else where my hatred for him increased but sad to say when he was announced as a Rangers player i lept about like a salmon punching the air,i hope he turns out to be the player we want him to be and not the arseole he appears to be,only time will tell.
Roller, looks like a good few of us share your concerns, but most of us are slightly less principled. I for one am glad you started this thread which has some of the most intelligent and thoughtful posts I have seen - great level of discussion. Thanks
Couldn't agree more. I want success as much as anybody but not at the price of having to watch the antics of this scumbag! Can't see him doing much for team spirit as every little issue in the dressing room will be tweeted. My only hope is that NW is strong enough to put him in his place when required! Let's see!
Read this Roller, if you haven't already http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...ompletes_transfer_window’s_most_unlikely_move
Cheers Northy. It’s a very well written piece by someone who is clearly desperate for Barton to be a success. As much as I am looking at him in a negative light, Whittingham is doing the opposite, trying to excuse his behaviour. I am not putting up a footballing argument against him, he is a quality player. However, his behaviour is unacceptable and, in my opinion, it is only a matter of time until he sinks to those depths again. I pray that he can prove me wrong.
Interesting moral dilemma this. One that sets our instincts against our Rs addiction. Wow! As with them Goons (remember them?) we have little control over this matter and it will be a case of win games and there's no issue, lose them and the doom and gloom will centre around the likes of the overpaid liability that would be Joey Barton. As the Doc Holiday character says in the film 'Tombstone', 'my hypocrisy knows no bounds...'. That's us that is. At the end of the day, principles are vitually impossible to maintain where addictions are involved. Curiously, moral dilemmas have been an issue for me this week. Joey B is one (I know he wasn't personally involved but I can never get the axe murder of that innocent young black child by two of his cousins out of my head); and the realisation (via the 'moderator' board) that not606 apparently condones racist and perverse threads on General Chat, has been another. The latter has left me in an odd space. 'Tongue in cheek' the apologists say... 'only joking' referring to OPs that want to discuss such things as under aged sex; whether you'd kill a Jew boy if you could get away with it; and similar. I'm not normally given to associating myself with organisations / sites etc. that encourage / exploit our primitive excesses in order to increase the number of 'hits' and advertisers... I'm not comfortable with that at all. What's the point of 'moderating' the QPR board when just a click or two away there's General Chat, the not606 equivalent of Waziristan, the uncontrollable wild west of Pakistan? It's a Hamlet moment. 'To be, or not to be, that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them?' Whilst I'm still in a bit of a tizz about staying on not606, I find the Joey Barton thing easier to deal with. I'm a lifelong Rangers addict and will continue to mindlessly look to my next results fix ever after. Barton is incidental in the process, nothing more or less. My addiction to this site is, on the other hand, nothing like as strong. I can separate myself much more easily but after some deliberation, have chosen to give it time to see whether owner and Administrator, MalteseMick, finally decides to effectively moderate the primitives out of General Chat using GC posting Mods as suggested or to shut the 'facility' down altogether... Whilst it's easy to imagine Barton's excesses on and/or off the pitch causing us a great deal of anxt, it's just as easy to imagine the opposite: doing a 'Taarabt', making him skipper and building a side around his superior skills, focus and presence. Poacher turned gamekeeper if you like. Yob turned steward. Responsibility inevitably requires the setting of examples if you want younger players onside with your plans. Listen to Barton speak. He's clearly articulate and above average intelligence. Needs to express, hence the frustration when he can't and constant tweeting when he can. We need a midfield general and Barton is clearly capable. It could be a nightmare for Taarabt (or poetic justice) but he's intent upon going anyway. Blow ups with Barton could just as easily be the catalyst we need to get Taarabt onside... As for Warnock, it's outrageous to even think of blaming him for going for Barton, a player younger, more competitive and complete than Parker - and with NO transfer fee making the £80k per week wage so much more affordable. All in all, a sea of troubles that could well be ended by adopting the right approach. As Eamon says above, good luck Barton and good luck QPR.
Beautifully put Brixton. Regarding General Chat the few times I have visited it I have been appalled by the amount of puerile drivel written there, so have ignored it. But we should all be aware that anything we have posted on the site will now be there forever (just like on Facebook , Twitter etc) and like you have grave reservations about being associated with crap like this. Please keep us up to date with the site owners actions. If they don't control it I am out of here. Shame as I have enjoyed the QPR board - we have a lot of very intelligent, articulate and funny fans ( as well as a couple of knee jerk plonkers who think that views that differ from their own is some kind of heresy). This thread in particular is an example of how good it can get. But not worth it if it gives even indirect support to cretins elsewhere.
Whilst he is a twat that doesn't detract from the fact that he's a good player & as today showed without decent players we'd be heading back in one direction so given the choice I'd prefer a few twats (within reason) & us maintaining Prem status & moving forward.
Brixton, I thought that you must be on holiday you'd been so quiet of late, and as you know I look out for your posts more than most others. Don’t let the animals on the General Chat board get you down. As you know I have had a bash at getting some sense there with some positive results, especially around the time of the riots, but I must admit I walked away this week when it got to the “would you commit rape if you could get away with it thread”. I can understand that thread upsetting you. If this is really getting to you, then resign as a mod. I know that you are a principled man and walking away is not your style, but as we have previously discussed, we are dealing with football supporters. However, I would like to say that there is a very good bunch of posters on the QPR board, with very few exceptions. From the QPR point of view, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a better spread of well thought out opinions. In my opinion you would have to really dig hard to find a better set of posters than here, such as Eamon, Goldhawk, Hoops Eternal, Ninj, Swords, etc. On the other hand, should you leave, let me know where you are going, and I will follow. As you know I’ve been close to leaving myself, but certainly the Rangers Boys doesn’t seem to offer the same mix of well constructed opinion as here.
Brix I have only visited the Qpr board and have no interest in this place outside of my Qpr affliction. I hadn't appreciated the level of debate elsewhere and I guess this is where the old 606 scored highly on moderation. For me it's the people who post here and not the place. I find vital dull ( that'll go down well) and watrb is just a zoo. We cannot change or control everything outside our control but would be disappointed if you and the likes of roller buggered off. As to the Barton 'issue' I find that football is twilight zone in itself and my desire for my team to prosper would see me accommodate him but preclude bowyer for instance. Hippocritical ? Maybe. It come down to an individuals ability to adjudge whether someone can learn from themselves and me being the product of a couple of hippies tends to look for the good in everything. My Buddhist studies conflict with my subscription to the daily telegraph but I do ascribe to the 'a man can change' view. I hope Barton can be the person his footballing self already is. Mind you, maybe I should drink less
Don't go Brix, we need you on here brother. As for the General Chat thing, I've been fortunate enough not to come across it very often. I must've just missed the threads luckily.
Venturing off topic here so I hope that Roller as OP doesn't mind but in response to Bowlsie73, Wubba, Swords and Roller himself, a bit of perspective. They say that prior to January / March this year General Chat WAS not606 - so there is some sentimental loyalty in the mix and a daily culture for some. They speculate that GC attracts new members... My concern is in getting myself caught up in the hypocrisies of a double standard in which the site encourages us to moderate club boards and yet the worst excesses have gone largely unchecked. I came on here to talk to other fans, people who've have shared with me my QPR-related ups and down for years and in many cases decades, but never verbally. What a treat it's been to chew the fat with you lot! It's true, I am a bit morally principled (up me own arse) but I'm no prude and certainly not easily offended. I eff, blind and gob with the best of them, believe me! But in order to avoid the kind of mindless, anarchic mayhem that ripped our cities apart recently, there HAVE to be basic standards, especially in the public domain... and like it or not, not606 IS the public domain. We all knew the score on right and wrong way before it became law - and those who press the boundaries know they're either taking the piss or intentionally setting a perverse agenda. Whichever it is, these people expect to be challenged and the underlying offence arises when they're not. Maybe they're right these apologists for abject cynicism... maybe General Chat ain't as bad as it used to be or as some of the more grotesquely perverse sites out there... but as a sports forum replacing 606, why are we even competing for business in those type of markets ffs? Anyway, as I said, I'll see how it goes... there are many on here who have become part of my life of late and whose thoughts and opinions I learn from and admire. I'd love to celebrate them by naming names (and there'd be some surprises, believe!) but prefer to avoid worrying Twins that I'm forging some sort of gentlemen's club - even though he'd be on my list any day! That's about where I'm up to atm. Disappearing without notice certainly ain't an option though... far too rude! Now what was I saying about basic standards?!!
