I think there were others who put in less than a shift than he did. There was always commitment when he played. Personally I'll just ignore him.
Ignore for me. He should not get a positive reception though. Let the club down far too many times for that and publicly disrespected the club saying he wanted to be let go as “enough is enough”. His red cards in key games like Hull, Norwich and of course City were unforgivable. And for the money he was on the return we got in terms of the lack of quality in his perforamnces leaves the club short changed.
No reaction at all would be the biggest insult. Booing would only inflate his ego. So we should give him no reaction at all.
A great observation. I will warmly welcome him back. Like most, I did much the same when Raheem Sterling returned with Liverpool - then he soured it with unsportsmanlike behaviour - and I wished like all others that I hadn't bothered. Let's hope Joey gets a good reception, plays average, takes all of their corners, and we win 1-0 and he stays on the pitch to thank all four stands for their support.
Through all the faults, it was never for the want of not trying That's more than can be said for a laundry list of players we've had in the last 4 years I'd clap him
Think he deserves a standing ovation and song before the game. He gave about 10 times as much for us as anyone else on the pitch, and it has showed most of this season.
He was on MOTD last night saying 'trying hard should be a given, doesn't deserve praise'. If you take running around a lot and getting booked out of his game, there's not a lot left. Who cares, I'm sure he doesn't.
This all day long. Anybody who thinks differently doesn't know what a decent footballer is. He may not have been the most talented footballer and his discipline wasn't always the best but by god did he try for us. The same can not be said for a list as long as your arm and yes, we definitely miss him this season. I think our crowd overall will give him a good reception although I accept and understand that some people just don't like him.
All too often he was the only player appearing to give a sh*t. Whether this deserves a standing ovation I doubt , however he certainly doesn't deserve to be booed.
JB knows Loftus Road and I expect that he will be expecting a slightly warm applause before the game and then hell when the game starts. He would understand that.
Joey's performances were a stark and welcome contrast to many of the players who joined us around the same time as he did. He was always prepared to give 100% and, unlike so many others, he really seemed to care. Ironically, this was reflected in the number of times he was sent off, which badly let us down on occasion. Nevertheless, I will clap him.... until the game starts.
Forgive my ignorance but is he a regular starter for Burnley this season? I don't think he is as I've heard nothing in the media about him.
Eh?! Barton caring being reflected in him getting sent off in crucial games?! What a load of rubbish and summarises the relentlessly rose tinted view and positive spin on every negative. Have a proper look back at the red cards. The actual theme running through this was his own ego coming before the club. City red- individual spat with Tevez. Can't stand him getting one over on him so lashes out at him. Not giving a **** that a loss could mean relegation. Norwich red- again his ego comes first. Yes it was harsh but responded to bait from Johnson because of that ego. Hull- again can't have Huddlestone getting one over on him and lashes out. Again at no point was he worrying about the club. He was worrying about his individual battle with no thought for the consequences. If he knew his limits and tackled and did an easy pass like a Derry he would have been a decent player but instead because of that ego he sprayed **** passes all over the places and insisted on taking every set piece despite the consistent lack of quality. But even if you forgive that lack of quality it can't be argued the reds were because he cared because in those moments he was only worrying about himself. The Hull red could have meant 3 points. Then think game against Leicester with a chance of survival could very easily have been a win. That would have meant we only needed 2 more points for survival against what we got in games like Spurs, Everton, West Ham Chelsea or Arsenal at home. With those 3 points season really coud changed but because of Barton's ego we never got to find out
