Barton is not on about the state (good or bad) of the woman's game. He has said positive things about the woman's game, and of course that's a good thing. However, Barton is on about who should be qualified to be a commentator, co-commentator and pundit in the men's game, and apparently woman can't be qualified to do this.
His original tweet said: "Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious. It’s a completely different game. If you don’t accept that. We will always see things differently. The women’s game is thriving. Fantastic to see. I cannot take a thing they say serious in the men’s arena."
https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1732535415033184443?s=20
Here's another: "Stand by everything I’ve said on Women commenting and co-comms on the Men’s football. Like me talking about Knitting or Netball. Way out of my comfort zone."
https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1732692973052154130?s=20
And this one: "The Women’s game is absolutely thriving. Great to see. It’s got its own Premier League. It’s got its own Champions League. Please for the love of God, go and commentate on that! You can say what you want. You will be qualified to. You have actual experience of what is taking place."
https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1732695130824446178?s=20
He is saying men should only be allowed to commentate or be a pundit in the men's game. And woman should only be allowed to do it in the woman's game. Personally, I think he is wrong. I think there are some really good male and females doing commentary or punditry in the men's game right now. There are also some crap ones too both, male and female. Your sex shouldn't determine if you are qualified or not. Your knowledge of the game should along with other things too of course. Bianca Westwood is in the men's game. She made the point that she wouldn't be able to do the woman's game because of her lack of knowledge there. She has only ever known the men's game. Watched it live every game as a little girl in the stadiums. She knows everything about the game, She's got all her qualifications to work on the men's game. She has worked her entire career in the men's game before getting her big break reporting on it. She deserves to be there and has every right to be there as someone certainly qualified like what Barton wants. But because she is a woman, she shouldn't have this opportunity? Barton saying on Piers Morgan show that women make mistakes in commentary or punditry that a men wouldn't make. What a load of crap. I watched the Spurs vs West Ham game Thursday evening. After a back pass from a Spurs player to the keeper was short and a West Ham player looked to get there first, the keeper slid along the floor head first and punched the ball away - clearly a back pass as the keeper shouldn't have used is hands. The ball eventually still ended in the net as the ref played on but the male commentator said it was a mistake by the Spurs keeper who should have collected the ball with his hand instead of punching, which would have saved his side from conceding. What a stupid error to make as a commentator. If he gathered the ball with his hands, he would have got sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity as used his hands in a back pass. Because he didn't collect the ball and the ref played on, the keeper got away with it. That was a big error by the commentator who kept repeating it too. Basically, people make mistakes. It seems to Barton men don't or men are allowed but if woman do it, it ruins the game and shouldn't be allowed.
If he had said 'some woman' or even 'some woman and men' shouldn't be commentating or be a pundit because they are crap, I would be on board. But saying all 'woman' shouldn't do it and are not qualified is just wrong and maybe because I can't stand the prick too, I'm getting him wholeheartedly with this. He's probably made himself unemployable for the foreseeable too. Maybe he applied for a media role but got denied and got upset about it.
