I'm going to play devil's advocate a bit here.
While I don't condone his excessively OTT behaviour on Sunday, he is still a reformed character to a degree.
He doesn't drink and does control his behaviour off the field. He has become a philanthropist.
His main problems are anger management and probably an inferiority complex that result in him reacting very badly when he feels threatened by either someone directly or by injustice.
Most of his negative tweets also come about by seeking acceptance for his intellectualism and any threats against that.
Off the field he has served his time and is relatively ordinary by most footballers standards but, when on-field incidents occur, his past gets dragged up again. Slightly unfairly in my opinion.
That said, on field he did nearly cost us our place in the Prem (by overreacting to injustice) and what does annoy me most is his apparent lack of remorse about the whole thing. He almost seems resigned to being exiled from the club.
As a player, his red mist has undermined his recent performances and we cannot allow him to carry on as a ticking time bomb while we helplessly wait for it to happen again. He needs psychiatric help, on a continual basis, leading up to games (this may also address his need to dominate the dressing room).
My answer to the question is therefore this:-
1) If he has already left in his head then get rid by whatever means - we want players that are committed to us.
2) if he genuinely wants to stay, wants to make amends and agrees to strict conditions about seeking help and his future conduct then I'd give him one last chance. He can give his 10-15 weeks' worth of cash to charity and spend a significant amount of time repairing the damage he's done to the club's reputation (perhaps in conjuction with our community project). ONLY if he does that can he stay though.
Alternatively, this is irrelevant if Hughes has another Diakite like midfield dynamo in his sights then, as an apparent disruption in the dressing room, he may be surplus to requirements in a more natural way.
I know Roller and a few moralists have stuck to their ground and I can respect them for it but I possibly am a bit more liberal and forgiving and am not going to lurch from condemnation to thinking him redeemed and then back again (not easily anyway). This is not blinded by my passion for the Hoops either (see conditions for him staying).
Matt you don't half talk a load of rot.
If anyone could do with a bit of character reforming its you.
The high profile nature of the outrage at City should result in a disrepute charge levelled against Joey by the club. This, together with conduct charges relating to any incidents involving players or staff in the dressing room / training ground etc., should if proven negatively impact against certain clauses in his contract including duration, rewards etc. depending on how it's written.
Having said that, I'm a bit concerned that some of us may be over-reacting in judging Joey based on popularity and past reputation - in the same way as he initially over-reacted to Tevez causing the subsequent melodrama.
Reason I say this is because we had another Rangers player completely lose it years ago in a pre-season friendly(!) against Glasgow Rangers, to the extent of flooring an opponent via a full contact headbutt whilst being restricted by team mates following a brawl. Whilst the player was rightly sent off for the offence, he was not suspended or otherwise prevented from appearing in the starting line-up for the competitive games commencing the following week - and much to the relief of us fans!
The difference between these two cases is imo not so much in the moral outrage more easily reflected in today's accessible social-media; it is almost entirely contained in the names and reputations of the players concerned: Joey Barton now, Rodney Marsh then!
Bring it on!!

The high profile nature of the outrage at City should result in a disrepute charge levelled against Joey by the club. This, together with conduct charges relating to any incidents involving players or staff in the dressing room / training ground etc., should if proven negatively impact against certain clauses in his contract including duration, rewards etc. depending on how it's written.
Having said that, I'm a bit concerned that some of us may be over-reacting in judging Joey based on popularity and past reputation - in the same way as he initially over-reacted to Tevez causing the subsequent melodrama.
Reason I say this is because we had another Rangers player completely lose it years ago in a pre-season friendly(!) against Glasgow Rangers, to the extent of flooring an opponent via a full contact headbutt whilst being restricted by team mates following a brawl. Whilst the player was rightly sent off for the offence, he was not suspended or otherwise prevented from appearing in the starting line-up for the competitive games commencing the following week - and much to the relief of us fans!
The difference between these two cases is imo not so much in the moral outrage more easily reflected in today's accessible social-media; it is almost entirely contained in the names and reputations of the players concerned: Joey Barton now, Rodney Marsh then!
Bring it on!!
I try to reason everything and not overreact - is that so bad?
If you don't stop baiting me then I'll have to change my name to Swords Hoofster and dedicate my life to winding you up.![]()
why is everyone ignoring Tevez's role in the Barton saga?
Ahhh, another one of QPR's 'England internationals' fallen out of favour.