Yes. Unfortunately, Mr. Barton does a little too much talking with his feet, and his fists. Leopards and spots, and all that...
As long as he's performing well for Spurs it really doesn't bother me. To me he seems to have improved his temper and Harry is exactly the kind of manager who will bring out the best in a Joey Barton. Free transfer - No complaints here
If we want back-up for central-mid why not give a thorough medical to Hargreaves and see what condition he is in. Available on a free, better than Barton (when fit..... which isn't much lately admittedly) and would be cheaper and saner. Pay-as-you-Play deal seems a no-brainer to me....... but only if he can prove his fitness.
We're supposed to be a side challenging for Champions League football - not a home for every waif & stray that comes on the market.
I disagree, we have a full enough squad as it is and giving one of our 25 squad places to a player with a history of long term injuries, that we don't trust enough to give a full contract seems a bit daft to me.
i think Harry will snap him up without thinking twice. Why not? Dont like the fellow but im damn sure he will put more effort in than the likes of Bentley & Jenas currently festering in the squad.
That's why he would have to prove his fitness first..... Play a few friendlies (although too late for that now). If the balance of the squad was right then I think there could be a place for him. But as Harry has no interest in being a proper manager anymore (see my rant on the 'Silly Wages' thread for that - I'm in a bad mood today!) we have no room for flexibility or changes. We should be utilising youth more in certain positions, e.g. one of our striking positions should be taken up by a player of 21 or under (face it, they couldn't be any worse than Keane). The same goes for a centre back spot and a central midfield role. Can we really jusitfy having both Jenas and Palacios on big wages yet playing very little in that position? But in central midfield we have little option in youth. Livermore has hardly set the lower leagues alight while on loan. Bostock has an attitude problem and seems to have blown his chance and is more attacking anyway. The same goes for Townsend who is a more attacking central player (possibly..... from the little I've seen anyway). So what options are there? If, and it's only if, we sell both Palacios and Jenas then we are suddenly light in central midfield. Sandro is out for the start and we will need to change and rotate during the season. Barton won't be happy playing 2nd fiddle so who else is there? Michael Johnson from Man $ity? Just as injury plagued but might be worth a shout. You've seen the problems we have with getting a striker. A good competitive midfielder is going to just as difficult to get, especially with not being guarenteed a start.
Hardly a waif and stray if he's an England international. Let's face it, without his problems he would without a doubt be in the England squad on a fairly regular basis, if not always. He's got a bit of bite but also creativity, something we may miss for the first few months with Sandro out. As s short term solution he'd be fantastic, and if you want to scoff based on personal lives, then thank goodness we were never able to sign Ryan Giggs. After all we wouldn't want a 'waif and stray'. As a squad member he would be more than good enough for assisting in reaching the Champions League. As Original said, we don;t have any other decent options past Modric, Sandro and Hudd, with Sandro out for two months. Our academy is improving drastically but the central midfielders are not. The sales of Jenas and Palacios would raise necessary funds for purchasing in positions elsewhere and give us a free player. Let's face it Harry wants to sign a central midfielder if reports are to be believed, and with the current quality we have there with Modric, Sandro and Huddlestone, i'd rather he didn't waste huge amounts of money on a transfer fee for a backup.
He's not worth the hassle - if he has to start a few games on the bench, doubtless he'll start mouthing off on Twitter or trying to maim various members of our youth team, which will do nothing but negate any saving we made bringing him in instead of anyone other former Newcastle midfielders we don't need.
The fact that Barton has managed to get anywhere near an England shirt says quite a bit about the standard of the current England squad. Secondly, without his "problems", would Newcastle be letting him go? They're not exactly overburdened with England intl's, are they?
Suspensions, fines, and the general feeling of shame at the knowledge that Spurs fans would have to be apologising for his actions on and off the pitch.
We will of course need a stand-bye Doctor at training who must be used to facial wounds best a military Dr just back from Afganistan
Only just read this, to those involved in the Song song! Good stuff! Luke, yeah I do have a problem with Keane...he's nowhere near as bad as Eric Kung Fu Cantona! On the player, Can't fault his commitment can you, he instigated that comeback against the Goons. I think he's a better player than people give him credit, better than some we have imo. As someone said though, he likes to be the centre of attention, being captain may have gone to his head, dunno, but don't think our dressing room wants or needs that kind of character atm.
The Song song wasn't really so much a song, but a little ding dong about Song and Frimpong rotating a la ping pong. Some see it as wrong, that both Song and Frimpong could bang the gong. De Jong would be the one to play the role of Song and Frimpong, but that's a shot far too long. You'd be wrong to think Arsenal would sign De Jong - and some might call you a Mong.
And if you thought Arsenal had any chance of a trophy this season you would have been enjoying a bong
