Barton In Squad For Arsenal
By Tyne-Talk
January 28 2008
Midfielder Joey Barton will return to the Newcastle fold tomorrow after being announced in the squad. Bail conditions had restricted Barton to training only, but they were altered today to allow him to play. The 25 year old is yet to play for Newcastle this year after being held over Christmas on charges of assault and affray.
Former Manchester City star Barton has been training for several weeks but had a 7pm curfew which meant that he automatically missed evening matches.
Keegan said of his involvment at the club:
"We are very low on numbers at the minute and we might need Joey and I'd have no problems with bringing him on.
He is now based in Newcastle which is a real bonus.
There are still bail restrictions in place but he can now train and play.
He has worked really hard in training and I do believe that we will make a plus out of a minus.
It's not been a good time for him but if we can draw a line under this we can turn this into a positive."
Keegan said he had had to explain to Barton why he hadnt previously been involved:
"He is travelling a long way to train and I have explained to him why he won't be involved until the picture becomes a little bit clearer. He understands that and there's no problem."
.Replace and get rid. End of.
I can't believe Keegan's line "I think we're going to see a new Joey Barton on the other end of this."
Yeah, just like he convinced Allardyce he was going to clean up his act. I'm not at all surprised to hear that Barton has an alcohol problem. I don't think that (and whatever other mental health issues he might have) is going to get sorted out while he's playing first-team, top-level football.
He needs to get his life in order before he plays football. The Toon needs to face this fact and do what's in the best interest for both parties.