Yeh, Col I've heard all this a hundred times, and agree Barton is poison. But, for me he's played Ok until the Liverpool game when he was out of position and terrible. Booing him, as I and others have said, is likely to wreck his self confidence and make it harder for him to return to form. I think we will need him in form for the rest of this season - in one of the 2 key holding central midfield player positions protecting our fragile defense. We have only Derry and Diakite that can play there for me (possibly Buz but prefer him further forward), and I doubt Derry will manage to play all our remaining games. After this season I hope Barton goes. But whatever you think of Barton or any of our players, I think booing our own players is counter-productive.
He hasnt played ok, hes had a few mediocre ones and a lot of bad ones and not one MOTM performance. As I said, the worst passer in the league because hes misplaced more passes than anyone yet somehow he continues to take out set pieces and 50% of them hit the 1st man or go out of play.
Parallel universe time here. If the last 15 minutes of the Liverpool game is your idea of counter-productive then i vote for being counter-productive every game. The booing directly helped give MH an excuse to lance the boil and get the pus off the field. I'd be happy not to see that needed again this season, or ever, but it was vital to our win.
Maybe someone else whos seen them can post a link because I cant find it any more. I know at least a couple of others have read it.
MH doen't need an excuse like that!! He's not a teenager training as a coach FFS! He's been a PL Manager for some years and whatever faults he may or may not have, obviously he's got Balls enough to make his own decisions about who to take off and bring on!
Let me get this right, booing him would make him play worse, but the booing would have no effect on if he is subbed. Therefore Bartons level of performance had no relation to him being subbed or not according to you. Either it didnt affect him and it had no bearing on him being subbed or it did affect him and also affected Hughes decision.
Oslo...you have been arguing that black is white where Barton is concerned for quite some time now. Thousands and thousands of Rangers fans disagreed with you on Wed night!
I don't buy that - the crowd made JBs presence on the pitch untenable. We booed when he got the ball, jeered when he passed it correctly, and when a Liverpool player made a mistake, Q P and R block sang "Are you Barton in disguise?" Only one decision could remove the poisonous atmosphere and MH did exactly that. My surprise was the immediate and visible lifting of the players spirits which confirmed to me what damage his shouty and destructive comments had been doing to team spirit all season. Never booed before - but would never apologise for the once-off collective feeling two nights ago.
Exactly Col. Given that both Warnock and Hughes have been playing this waste of space week-in-week-out since the start of the season I was beginning to think my football radar had gone wrong and I could no longer see the key qualities that ensures a player gets picked. While I didn't boo myself (never do) I was genuinely relieved to hear the chorus of disapproval at HQ as it reassured me that senility had not yet set in. Toward the end of the first half a boy of around 8 or 9 in the row in front of me said: 'Dad, the girls in our football team pass better than Joey Barton'. He didn't boo either.
So, we have 1 fan who believes Barton is the worst passer in the entire league but can't back up that statistic. We have another fan who believes Barton has upset the dressing room and undermined our season but also believes that may only be perceived and not actualy true and who also admits that booing your own players is counter productive. Well, it is time to put up or shut up. Prove Barton is the worst passer in the league. Prove Barton has upset the dressing room. I have not heard one of our players suggesting this. The booing of one of our own players has undermined our season and is something a real supporter would never do no matter what.
No Col! I'm convinced Barton is a pink shade of white! And like everyone including the man himself, I am convinced he played sh*te brown on Wednesday night! I think he is poison, probably like most people. As for his performances on the pitch before the Liverpool this season, I think he's been Ok overall, which is a view that many on here have seemed to agree with.
Who stopped Kuyt scoring from close range by clearing of the line in the first half. Oh yeah, it was Barton. As Oslo says, if you want to boo, you'd be better off staying at home as you are not supporting the team and you are undermining the team and therefore the season.
Exactly I'm yet to see the stats. There were some which showed he had misplaced a high amount, however he had also made a high amount and the percentage wasn't too bad. Mackie has come out and shown support, amit has come out and shown support, MH has come out and shown support yet many with no knowledge assume their is a negative influence. If that assumption is wrong then booing and abusing someone who has the support of the team, manager and board can only be negative.
There have been plenty of comments coming out of the club that suggest Barton is an unsettling influence in the dressing room. I can't KNOW this for sure though, so in the interest of fairness I say as much. I've seen him moaning at his team-mates though, especially Taarabt, whose confidence dipped alarmingly, whilst most of the time Joey is playing very averagely. He has tried to re-invent himself after being such a thug and as a result we are left with a shadow of his former self as a player. No aggression and no passion. He also sets himself up by saying things like he is one of the best midfielders in England........My God!!???
I have heard plenty of comments from fans saying Barton is an unsettling influence but thats all. The same people who have been booing him for weeks now and have destroyed his confidence. Have any club officials or players said it? Don't think so. Glad you admit you don't know for sure. He moans at teammates, especially Taarabt whos confidence dipped alarmingly. Did you ever think that our fans booing at Barton might be having the same effect on him? He has tried to reinvent himself after being such a thug and says silly things. With all due respect Col, that is not a very convincing arguement to boo one of your own players and indeed there is at least one contradiction in there.
