Joey's right. There, I've said it. It doesn't help: I'm a supporter and I have never booed my own team (although can't honestly recall whether I let slip a slight mutter when faced with the sweat-free zone that was Jose Bosingwa.
Rodney................................Rodney.......................RODNEY..................WAKE UP YOU DIPSTICK!
I'm not a Barton fan but he has a right to voice his opinion, just like those who paid 40 quid to watch an overpaid prick pass to the opposition
I also think Barton has a point. What's the use in complaining about Barton? We all know what he's like. I personally think he puts a lot of effort in on the pitch and I admit he's having a bit of a dip in form now. This dip hasn't even been for long. But let's look at it cleary... we're clear of the relegation zone, have a home game on Thursday and then a relatively easier away game coming up. We can climb up the table. But we're in the hardest league in the world and we're doing ok and have a decent amount of points. Crystal Palace aren't a bad team and we played not great but not terrible against them. We look a better team than several other sides in the league. And then we boo our team off the pitch after they've been running around for 90 minutes? How would you feel if you'd just done that and got booed? Would you simply say to yourself "oh, I get paid a lot so I should just listen to the fans boos and try to play like a champions league player next time?" In fact, I think the fans who booed were out of order and should be behind them instead.
Didn't Barton once say that the booing aimed at him in the Liverpool comeback was instrumental in an upturn of his own form? Probably mistaken...
Another well balanced view. I agree totally. No good will come of booing the players. I note that Joey Barton was one of two or three players to wait on and thank the crowd for their support. Perhaps those who were booing were lamenting the fact that they'd not slunk off on 89 minutes to miss the crush and avoid the heavy traffic. Mores the pity.
As noted ad nauseum I don't boo, but the point of it is to forcibly let the players and manager know that the football being served up is unacceptable crap. I hope it did upset them and make them think 'don't like that, we'll have to do better next time'. The fact that Barton is moaning about it indicates that it hit home and hurt their precious feelings. Barton's dip in form has been from birth mate, he is a terrible footballer and always has been. And while I'm at it, running around and shouting is not 'leadership'. Leadership changes the course of events - as Clint Hill did in the two most important games of last season. What Barton does is cheerleading. They didn't make it to the Loft though stayed in the School End half. Keep drinking the Cool Aid Sku.
Interesting to see how this has developed while I've been out. I disagree with booing of players and I'm surprised Stan that you should defend it on this occasion even though you didn't participate yourself. You've been fortunate to witness first hand some great moments at Loftus Road this season. I've only had a couple of moments in the last few years to repay me for the hours and miles I put in away from home. However that digresses from the point of my contribution. Barton is often ****e but he is 100% correct to have a pop at fans who boo during the first game at LR in quite a while where we have played poorly from start to finish. It happens. I'm happy to believe that nobody on here does see it as his/her god given right to boo a poor performance by the team as a whole or any individual player but I was merely surprised at the outrage expressed at the fact that Barton dare to say anything at all.
I have been a supporter of Barton, but I think he should have kept his twitter mouth shut on this occasion. I took the booing to be partly aimed at both sides for a dire game, but more towards Redknapp and his hopeless management. There has been no vent for the anger felt by many at our pathetic away form, and the first poor home performance was always likely to provide this outlet. Not helpful, I agree, but understandable.
Well, you wouldn't expect anything other than scorn from me regarding Barton. I fully understand that I take an unreasonable and probably illogical position regarding Barton (and Redknapp), but my position is now so entrenched they'd have to volunteer to care for ebola victims in Sierra Leone without any protective clothing for me to reconsider. On the booing, lets keep it in perspective. It wasn't during the game and it was a small minority after the final whistle, in what seemed an outburst of frustration at an opportunity lost and an afternoon of awful football. It surprised me at the time, but I've heard a lot, lot worse at LR, and recently. The fact that Barton picked up on this isolated incident rather than the vociferous support that the team has received all season (unlike last year, when LR was often very quiet and tense) just shows that this is a bloke with a Twitter account who likes a fight and controversy.
Had to look that one up sb_73. It made for interesting reading; albeit my source was Wikipedia.... "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is a figure of speech commonly used in the United States that refers to a person or group holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophy without critical examination. It could also refer to knowingly going along with a doomed or dangerous idea because of peer pressure. The phrase typically carries a negative connotation when applied to an individual or group. An interesting conclusion, that falls down though when it comes to the 'without critical examination' part - as you'll find a balanced opinion on all players - Joey Barton included - within the raft of opinions I've shared here over the past five months. Staying on the subject of drink; whilst I've given up as part of health drive over the past three months [and haven't missed it], I still pop into the Coningham Arms [albeit for a lime and soda] and I'll stand a drink of your choice on the bar on Thursday, if you've the time pre-kick off. Let's hope we're served up a match more like the West Brom one - than Palace - on Thursday. All the best sb_73.
I was there on Sunday, and I didn't boo because I don't thinking booing really helps anything, just seems slightly like grumpy teenage behaviour really. I can't get to many games these days, but having been there, I'm more convinced than ever that Barton has absolutely no right to make statements as if he's God's gift to football, and everyone else should be honoured to have the opportunity to watch him play. I won't say that every pass, but often his passes were totally off target. His set pieces, and I include corners in this, were just crap. I was in the upper loft, and there were a couple of corners in a row that were just cleared by the first man. It's the first thing you learn when taking corners...beat the first man. He didn't. Maybe he was having an off day...that's fine, I can forgive that...but if you are having an off day, be gracious enough to let someone else step in. At one point, I think it was Vargas who stepped up to take a free kick, and Barton told him to get lost. That free kick was wasted as well. Have a go at booing when you deserve to be cheered, and when you deserve to be booed, admit blame...don't try and shift it on the fans.
Nice one Sku. The expression originates from the poisoned Kool Aid that Jim Jones made his 'followers' drink in Guyuna to kill them all off. We use it a lot at work (American company) when some moronic idea comes down on high which we have to implement. Thanks for the offer. My arrival time in Shepherds Bush will depend very much on the state of my head after New Year's Eve. The signs are ominous as I am spending it with (amongst others) the Leicester fan I drank heavily with when we played them a few weeks ago and in Berlin a couple of weeks before that. I, you will note, have not given up drinking (except spirits, gave those up, reluctantly, a couple of years ago).If I make it in time I'll bellow out 'Sku!" at the top of my voice. I'm sure there will be other opportunities though.
I just want to add that I really didn't want Barton back in the team after the Man City situation of a few seasons ago. I was there and said I never wanted to see him in hoops again. It wasn't my choice that he came back so I had to accept it but now that he's here and he plays for QPR, I support him. I also think he's a knob, especially on twitter. Yet somehow he's a likeable knob. I also think he's a bloody good footballer. Ok, he's not in the world elite but he's good for our level and, on his day, is one of the best players in our squad. I've seen him in several games for us where I've had to turn to a friend and say "Joey Barton is quality." I think some people watch him and would never acknowledge he is good even if he played like Ronaldo for 90 minutes. But he is not always great and sometimes has poor games. I'm also not in the dark about his occasionally losing of the ball which leads to an opposition goal. It happens. But I think the work he has put it has been a lot more positive than negative. Since he's been at QPR there have been many games where he has easily been the best player in our squad or even on the pitch. And on that note, he works bloody hard. He often covers more ground per game than anyone else on the field. You cannot question his effort. You can question his focus. Yes, he is currently dipping in form but this dip in form hasn't been for long and I expect him to be back on form before long. He's not the best player that has ever played at QPR. Not by far. But he's a quality player and one of our best players currently. Each person is the way he/she is for a reason. I don't claim to like him much as a person (although he's somewhat likeable), but I'm calling what I see in him as a player (on pitch attitude, effort and ability). With his messed up personality, imagine if some of the other players had his on pitch attitude? Imagine Matt Philips and Leroy Fer going into 50/50s or challenges the way Barton does? People also need to give credit to Barton for turning his behaviour around. He's truly been a peacemaker at times and has rarely looked like snapping.
