not sue you watch are games but Barton is our best player
Coloccini and Tiote are more important than Barton. Probably Cabaye eventually.
Barton's true intelligence and creative abilities are wasted while he's played on the wing. His primary role is to take it down his flank and get the crosses or passes in, and to be honest he doesn't do that any better than any good quality dedicated winger. However, the wing play is all he's done for a long time for us, so if we have a good quality winger to replace him, I don't think our play will miss him that much.
Cabaye and Tiote controlling midfield, then Jonas and another winger working the flanks and putting crosses/passes in near the box. That's all we really need for a solid midfield unit.