Joey Barton

Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982 in Liverpool, Merseyside) () is an England football (soccer). He plays for English Premier League club Newcastle United F.C., as a midfielder.

Barton was raised in a rough area and as a child saw football as a form of escapism. He began his football career in 2002 with Manchester City F.C. after working his way through their youth system. He became a first team player for City and his time in the senior side gradually increased in regularity over a period of five years, which saw him make over 150 appearances for the club in total. Impressive form at club level earned him his first cap (sport) for the England national football team in February 2007.

His career has hitherto been marred by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems, one of which being a fight with teammate Ousmane Dabo, that spelled the end of his City career. He joined current club Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007.

Biography

Early life

Barton grew up in Huyton, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside. During his childhood, he developed an interest in football (soccer) and attended matches, supporting Everton F.C.. The player he idolised most was Peter Reid, a tenacious midfielder who played for Everton during the 1980s.
{{Quote_box, which he signed in April 2003. He began to feature in the first team more regularly during the 2003-04 in English football season and following his second Premiership goal, he was rewarded with a call-up to the England national under-21 football team squad for their 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifiers against Republic of Macedonia national under-21 football team and Portugal national under-21 football team. An FA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. saw Barton receive the first red card (sports) of his career amid bizarre circumstances. At half-time, with his club 3–0 down, Barton argued with the referee, and was sent off even though the match was not in progress. In the second half, despite playing with 10 men, Barton's team-mates achieved an unlikely 4–3 victory. Barton left the City of Manchester Stadium in anger on April 17, after not being named in the team to play Southampton F.C.. He completed the season with 39 appearances and one goal. His displays impressed City's supporters; at the end of the 2003–04 season he was awarded with the club's Young Player of the Year award. On 22 September 2004 he signed a new contract that would keep him at City until 2007. However, the club considered sacking Barton in December 2004 after an incident at their Christmas party. He stubbed out a lit cigar in youth player Jamie Tandy's eye, after he had caught Tandy attempting to set fire to his shirt. Barton subsequently apologised for his actions and was fined a record six weeks' wages (£60,000).

The following summer Barton was sent home from a pre-season tournament in Thailand after assaulting a 15-year-old Everton F.C. supporter, who had provoked Barton by verbally abusing him and kicking him in his shin. Barton had to be restrained from attacking the boy further by teammate Richard Dunne. In the autumn of 2005, Barton began a seven-day programme of behavioural management at the Sporting Chance clinic, a charity set up to help troubled sportsmen.

Barton handed in a written transfer request in January 2006, which was rejected by City. The following day, the club rejected a verbal offer for Barton from Middlesbrough F.C., with Stuart Pearce asserting that a deal could still be done to keep him at the club. During the following week, Barton admitted that he was "a little bit impetuous" in making such a request and agreed to begin negotiations on a new contract at City. He was rewarded with a new four-year deal, which he signed on 25 July, ending speculation about his future.

His behaviour appeared to be improving for some while after participating in the course at the Sporting Chance clinic. Barton had received abuse from Everton supporters throughout the match and the gesture has since been described as "light-hearted" and "inoffensive" by people involved in football. Merseyside Police looked into the incident but in October they announced that no further action would be taken, although Barton was fined £2,000 for bringing the game into disrepute and also warned about his future conduct by the The Football Association.

Barton's agent Willie McKay revealed in January 2007 that if any team offered at least £5.5 million for Barton, it would trigger a release clause in his contract that would mean City would have to allow Barton to talk to the interested club. This reportedly prompted Everton F.C. manager David Moyes to make an enquiry to City about Barton's availability.

Following impressive form at club level, Barton received his first call-up to the full England national football team squad on 2 February 2007 for a friendly match against Spain national football team. This came despite his recent criticism of certain members of the England squad for releasing autobiographies after an unimpressive 2006 FIFA World Cup. He summarised it as "England did nothing in that World Cup, so why were they bringing books out? 'We got beat in the quarter-finals. I played like shit. Here's my book.' Who wants to read that?", suggesting such players had "cashed in" on the national team's lack of success. Barton later received some support over his comments and even Steven Gerrard, one of the players whom Barton had criticised, praised him for his honesty. However Frank Lampard, another player who had released an autobiography following the tournament, showed his disapproval of Barton's comments. Barton made his international debut on 7 February 2007, replacing Lampard in the 78th minute of the 0–1 defeat to Spain at Old Trafford (football ground). Following his comments, City's manager Stuart Pearce banned him from speaking to the media.

Barton was fined £100,000 and suspended by City until the end of the 2006-07 in English football on 1 May 2007, following a training ground incident during which he allegedly assaulted his team mate Ousmane Dabo. Dabo stated that he had been hit several times, and had to go to hospital after suffering injuries to his head during the incident, including a suspected detached retina. Dabo requested that the police press charges against Barton, and as a result, Barton was arrested and questioned by Greater Manchester Police. This altercation effectively ended Barton's time at City, although he later cited a "relationship breakdown" with Stuart Pearce as the main reason he left the club. Barton was bailed until August and was later charged with assault, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Following offers from Newcastle United and West Ham United F.C., Barton joined Newcastle on 14 June 2007 for a fee of £5.8 million. as well as his admiration for manager Sam Allardyce. During his Manchester City career, Barton's scoring tally increased with each successive season; Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce stated that one of the reasons he signed Barton was his goalscoring ability. Barton made his Newcastle debut in a friendly against Hartlepool United F.C. on 17 July 2007. Four days later he was ruled out for six to seven weeks, after fracturing the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot during a friendly match with Carlisle United F.C..

Style of play

Early in his career Barton mainly played a defensive role as a holding midfielder, with a game based upon tackling and tracking back to shield the defence. As his career has progressed, he has acquired more attacking instincts, which has helped him gain a reputation as a 'box-to-box' player, being frequently involved in both defence and attack during a game. In the 2006-07 in English football, Barton finished as Manchester City's top goalscorer, despite not being a striker.

Barton has been described as someone who has a good work ethic and has the ability to carry the ball, thus retaining possession for the team. He has been praised for having a good range of passing. This perhaps contributes to his relatively high pass completion rate.

Barton has been described as a "tough tackler", a style reflected in the high amount of fouls he has committed during his career. Barton received 39 Misconduct (football) and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. This physical approach was occasionally criticised by Kevin Keegan as excessive. Opta statistics rated Barton as the tenth best tackler in the Premier League for the 2006–07 season.
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Outside of football

Barton is known for his hotheadedness and occasionally gets into on-field confrontations. Off pitch, he has been known to be very outspoken with his opinions,

Barton is a patron of the Tamsin Gulvin Fund, He is a part of the 'Get Hooked on Fishing' campaign, designed to keep children out of trouble by getting them interested in fishing. He has also taken part in a celebrity cricket match for charity, to help fund a new children's rehabilitation unit at a hospital in Manchester.

He is good friends with Boxing Ricky Hatton and in the past has travelled to the United States to support him in a fight. He is also friends with Oasis (band) band member Noel Gallagher. He has dated glamour model Amanda Harrington.

Barton has also found himself at the centre of controversy outside of football. In May 2005 he broke the leg of a 35-year-old pedestrian whilst driving his car at 2 a.m. through Liverpool city centre.{{Quote_box|
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Notes and references