Has Barton expressed a genuine reality?
So we have heard comments in the last few days from Joey Barton criticising the England midfield and that he thinks he is in fact the best English midfielder. One suspects that his tongue was at least partially in cheek, when he made the latter comment. However, it is worth exploring anyway.
Barton spoke to the French magazine So Foot and suggested that Frank Lampard is on the way down and Steven Gerrard is injured a lot. However, Barton did at least admit that Jack Wilshere was a decent player. Barton was also critical of Gareth Barry and suggested that he was successful due to having a good agent and agreeing with the manager rather than his abilities as a footballer.
Barton has only won one England cap and it doesn’t look likely that he will be back involved any time soon. But the player believes this is due to his bad boy reputation. There is certainly some truth to the fact that Barton in many ways is just too much of a risk. Having Barton involved would be too much of a disruptive influence and it’s difficult to imagine a successful England team with him in it. Team spirit is very important and it tends to be one of those things that nearly all successful teams have in common.
Now, if Joey Barton was such a good player then it might be worth taking a gamble on him. However, simply he is not – so why bother? In the recent Premier League game against Aston Villa, Barton had a very forgettable game and had little to no influence. In fact he spent most of the game chasing after the referee to complain about every little decision and even though he is Newcastle’s captain, I felt he took it way too far!
I don’t think Barton is the answer, but I can understand to some extent what he is saying about the England midfield and I have never been overly convinced with Lampard and Gerrard playing together and Lampard in particular has never really excelled as an England player. There is also continued debate on Gareth Barry and some people think that Scott Parker should be in the team ahead of him. In many ways Jack Wilshere emphasises the problem by the fact that England seem to be relying on a 19 year old midfielder who has made less than 50 Premier League appearances.
Barton was also critical of England’s approach and said “we are too focused on tradition in England, like having to play 4-4-2. Sometimes you need to experiment, drop a bit deeper so you have space that you can move into”
To be fair he is probably right about that to an extent. However, as outlined in a previous article, Capello looks prepared to switch to a 4-3-3 system. England do need to consider the midfield and think about the way forward, especially when Lampard and Gerrard retire. But in some ways this may not be a bad thing and we will wait and see what the next breed of midfielders bring to the table. Joey Barton though is simply not the answer.
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im not a newcastle fan and even i think hes been quaility this yer
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I think he overrates himself just a bit. He wouldn’t get near the squad as a winger, and as a central midfielder, Gerrard Lampard Parker Wilshire Milner Barry….Huddlestone Carrick Cattermole Reo-Coker Henderson Cattermole Jenas are all probably ahead of him. Oh and Nolan. Lets not forget he’s not even the best English midfielder in the Newcastle team.
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not so sure about this player but probably we can look closer at his talents and see what he can bring to the team before casting any unfair judgement
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My fellow Man City fans forget that Sir Joseph of Barton more or less saved us from relegation one season.
Whenever a manager rewards his comittment, and tries to encourage responsible behaviour by making him captain, it never seems to bring out the best in him.
He stubbed a cigar out in a youth team player’s eye at a team party once, but what isn’t widely known is that he was dressed as Sir Jimmy Saville OBE at the time. I know it’s not funny, but when I picture the scene I can’t help myself.
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no england manager will pick him. ever.
he is disliked by other players (like the ones he constantly slags off) to the extent that the last time he was called up several people refused to sit at the same table with him while eating.
& of course he might go schizo in training & start beating the **** out of his team-mates…which would make for some great copy in a world cup year.
& he isn’t even one of the best players in his position in the country (despite what he say) & he isn’t gonna scare any decent teams at international level; so what would be the point in risking picking the prat?
there is none.
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As a Newcastle fan I agree about him being awful against Aston Villa but this season he has been quality. I think that he was a bit stupid coming out with those comments because it put him under unnecessary pressure. I hope he regains his form because when he is on his game he can be a real creative threat for the toon.
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Barton is a decent player who has a problem personality. At the root of his comments is Capello. To this day I cannot understand how he kept his job after the last World Cup. Clearly there was a malaise that was over the whole team, they were all lousy, and so you have to look for the common factor which is in the management of the side. From what we hear the FA had decided to extend his contract no matter what happened, so I guess it is all down to that moribund bunch. The next Euro competition will be no better.
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Team spirit is very important when you want to play the same bunch of losers year in, year out. We can’t afford to upset the golden generation of won-nothings by dropping any of them.
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Barton got a point there, England never win anything since 1966 and the manager should choose player based on form than reputation.
Gerrard-Lampard partnership for the last 10 yrs? poor 2010 world cup and cant even qualify for Euro 2008??
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Good Footballer ,But Once a thug always a thug,hence 1 cap and 1 cap only.
The boy is a Fruitloop.
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