I dunno mate. Probably not. However then again, as the old saying goes, if he was any better he wouldn't be with us. Without prejudice, I thought that he was the best midfielder on the pitch today. ( Not saying much granted. ) He gave his all, he's always looking for the ball and he does try to play the odd hollywood pass that rarely comes off but at least he still retains the confidence to try it and change a game. I'm not sure what we all expect from him? He does what he does and is fairly efficient about it. He's not my favourite player or indeed character, but I try not to let my personal opinion of the man cloud what I see on the pitch. What epitomises this despicable person though is that in the 88th min, he tracked back after Dunne was sold out on the half way line and put in a challenge on Boyd that stopped him getting a decent game changing cross in. I don't like him as much as you or many others on here do, but I can appreciate his effort to the cause. He's a bit like a midfield Jamie Mackie, he's not blessed with a huge talent but he never gives up and always gives 100%. After what we've seen after the last few seasons I'll settle for that at the moment. Having said that, he still loses possession too easily. But don't they all?
JB always works hard and was a lot better... The core fact IMO is that he believes he is better than he actually is. Credit to him a lot as he has humbled a great deal and covered a lot today including helping dunne late on out who was brilliant imo
Haven't seen the game yet but for me Niko should be about first on the team sheet. Without a fit Adel he is the only player we have who is decent enough for the PL on the ball, can pass well enough, and can create something. Plus he's great at free kicks. Home to teams like Burnley he should play instead of a more defensive midfielder Barton, Henry or Fer, away instead of OBZ or Vargas, against Everton I hope he replaces Charlie.
Thank god you don't take corners then! You don't just float it over the first mans head, keepers ball every time doing that! Best leave it to the pros heh?!
With Henry still playing consistently I would definitely sacrifice Barton for Krancjar. Our distribution is truly awful and Barton is the worst offender.
The midfield give away possession far too much. Usually through passes that do not reach their target. In general we seem much more likely to give away possession than other teams we have played. I recall something Redknapp said about Zamora a few years ago 'he is a proper footballer, he passes the ball to his own team'.
Don't know where you've got the impression that I like Barton as either a player or a human being! Think I've been pretty consistent on this particular subject. And I love letting my personal opinion cloud my judgement when it comes to football because its not an important subject and adds to the entertainment, we all need pantomime villans. In Barton's case, of course we yell "He's behind you....and he's getting further and further behind you!" He's probably worth his £72k a week (I agree that we will never get the star players, but its beyond me why we pay the mediocre ones as if they were stars) for all that running around, shouting (which apparently passes for 'leadership' in football) and comedy passing and tackling. Brilliant moment yesterday when he was in the centre and there was a good longish pass on to Isla in acres of space - Barton spotted it, obviously thought about it, but the ball was on his left foot (it would only have required a strongish side foot, not a glorious curling pass off the outside of the boot) so he did the five yarder to Henry instead. After moving the ball to his right foot. Compare to Nico's pass to Isla at the beginning of the move for the second goal.
Joey is clearly our 'Marmite Man', and opinion is as varied as you'll get on any comparison. He gives his all in his limited way and he's always geeing up and involved. He'll never be a World-beater but his energy, drive and vitality is a plus especially compared to certain players who are blessed with magical skills but can't be arsed to make the minimum effort...
Being a little hung over, That graphic made me go completely discombobulated!! Couldn't make head nor tail of it!
I have no idea what it showed and as for understanding the word "discombobulated" im completely f***ed! As for Joey, im not a fan and really do not like him but i do accept and appreciate the work he does do. i cant fault him for effort but just think he isnt as good as he believes. In fact our whole midfield is pretty poor. Not sure if thats down to HR or the players. I just wish JB would do the simple things properly and keep his energy level up. For the record: id prefer to have him no-where near our club, but. I'll accept that he is gonna be there, so get him playing simply and effectively in the middle. As for Mutch..Im with Col..I really have no idea who or what he is about. nor do i know where he plays and Im yet to be impressed by anything he does. I look forward to him doing it !
Now Barton is not taking so many set pieces .....I am liking him more and more. He is a leader on the pitch, and he works his socks off, and has curbed his temper too. No he is not a creative player, but he is more creative than Henry....but Henry is so far my player of the season (yes I do know we have a player called Austin.) It is difficult situation...we have two players (Henry and Barton) who we cannot do with out....and neither are creative. So that puts an awful lot of pressure on Fer, Vargas, Hoillet, Kranky to do...and when 2 or 3 of those click together we will be fine, but so far it has been stuttering.....though I believe Fer is getting into this, beginning to score goals, beginning to get into the right place to poach I think I would like to see BACKFOUR: which is probably set till January Isla/Caulker/Dunne/Yun Then;_ Barton/Henry Vargas/Kranky/Fer Austin
Barton certainly has changed in the last year, he has only received 1 yellow card all season for starters, that I find quiet impressive. What has struck me is how he's maturing as a leader. Last weekend after going a goal down to Leicester, before the ball had even crossed the line, Barton was swinging around to clap and gee the players up and didn't let heads drop. Unfortunately he does seem to drift in and out in terms of his concentration, one minute he goes from a sublime pass to couldn't hit a barn door. If he can keep his concentration he may become the player he believes he is, instead of the part time pretender. It is also frustrating that he seems so damn accurate with direct free kicks and yet can't beat the first man for corners and indirect free kicks. But like quiet a few on our team, he seems to be growing in confidence as the season continues, I just wish he'd become a more complete player so he was automatically first choice, instead of someone who is 50/50 in almost all departments.
First off - I'll accept it's the same for all players - so I'm not excusing Joey Barton, as Niko Kranjcar seems to get it right more often from corners. That said, I'm sure I heard a pundit recently bemoaning the lack of quality from corners and opining that this might be due to the surfaces as many clubs now have a perimeter of AstroTurf. The theory being that players have a run up that starts on AstroTurf with the last pace on grass, that can disrupt balance. I'm not so sure myself, but it sounds like it might have some influence. This probably segues into another studs vs blades debate....
HOLD ON..so we are saying that clapping your hands and shouting the usual boring cliche's at others makes you a leader then? rubbish. A leader..ala Roy Keane, Vierra etc leads by example. If our squad copied Barton we'd be playing Hayes next week Now i was polite before, but lets get this sdtraight, Barton (as others) is not good enough and is living on an old fabricated reputation. Why has no-one come in for him, Adel or SP in recent times..its because they aint good enough..FULL STOP No i appreciate that he is trying and thank him for that, but dont tell me he is a leader, competitor or even a decent footballer. All the facts are against you on that
I think he does lead both on and off the pitch. On the pitch, he's the most vocal player, setting the tone and tempo at kick offs, after goals [for and against] and at breaks in play. It's not usually picked up by the tv cameras, hence it's fair to say that there's a lot of stuff that goes on unnoticed. There are also numerous examples off the pitch over the past 18 months where he's visited supporters in the same way that Clint Hill and others over the years have done so. Acting as the spokesperson and representative of the club. A colleague of mine has a great phrase, "a great leader creates willing followers". I'm not so sure that Joey Barton is quite there yet, nor that he'll get to that point, but he's doing a reasonably good job of it thus far in my opinion.
It's a hell of a lot more than any other player on the pitch is doing. Even when Barton is having a bad game, he has the presence of mind to at least do what's needed to grind out the win, something that has been lacking in the past. I'm not claiming in a million years that he's in the same ilk as Viera and Keane, but he's our best copy! I think this thread goes a long way to showing you are the one in the wrong here Queens.
He's only 32, plenty of time to 'mature' and 'lead' yet. Perhaps he can also improve his technique and speed in the years ahead. Spot on Queens. "Leaders" make the people around them better at what they do. As for his off the pitch stuff, he's paid more than we are allegedly offering Charlie Austin (in my view an exemplary professional and much more value to us), it's hardly a big ask.
