NOT far off two years ago, a group of journalists gathered inside one of the Rangers Training Centre’s meeting rooms. With the beating sun streaming in through the window, the stifled press pack waited patiently for a man with such a hit for himself he’d probably argue the big yellow ball in the sky was glowing out of his own posterior rather than the clear sky above.
Joey Barton, resplendent in a royal blue sweater, eventually entered the busy room before taking the last remaining seat at the table. Speaking for well over half an hour on, well, everything really, he covered topics from his childhood to his reformed character, along with proclamations about going on to prove himself as the best player in Scotland. We’ll come back to that shortly.
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However, his latest spewing of quotes on that measured medium that is TalkSPORT this week triggered a quick delve back into the insight he offered on that scorching afternoon in May, 2016. Earlier this week the disgraced former England cap professed on the back of just eight games in Scotland: “I had had a better career than anyone playing for Celtic at the time.
“I had proved myself in the English Premier League but how many of their players had come down and done the same? I have a lot of respect for the history and traditions of Rangers and Celtic but the standard is pathetic up there.
“I left Scottish football because I couldn’t deal with the poor standards all around me and I came back to the Premier League and scored on my debut for Burnley.”
Oh Joseph, why do you hurt us so?
Given that statement, it is more than a little bit ironic when you cast a quick glance at Mr Barton’s statements on that day two years ago. “There are enough people who are quick to put you down in life so for myself it’s important to be incredibly positive,” claimed Mr Cheery. “For me I’m looking around thinking this is a great challenge and I can’t wait to get stuck in. I know how hard it’s going to be.
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“It’s not a case of turning up and people will fall at my feet. It’s not been like that anywhere else in my life and I don’t expect it now. There will be challenges here that I haven’t had before, but what a great learning experience that will be for me. You will find out an awful lot about yourself as a person and as a player.”
A man who was hit with a ban for betting and a player who was sent packing with his tail between his legs following an Old Firm flop and a training ground bust up?
For the record, I was guilty of being taken in by him. Undoubtedly a talented footballer from his time in England, his skill with a ball at his feet is only eclipsed by his unfortunate gift of the gab. Indeed, within six months it was evident that room at Murray Park had been filled with a lot of hot air from more than just the ray of light coming in through the window.
The point is Barton knew only too well what he was coming to Scotland for. Did he expect the standard to be of the same class as the Premier League, or even the Championship? If he did his comments during that opening press conference certainly didn’t suggest so. Certainly if he listened to so-called experts like himself who spout about the Scottish game then he should have been well aware of the challenges ahead. Rangers deserved better for the buck they were spending.
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Scottish football isn’t the Premier League, and thank goodness for that. Attendances across the board are up, we have excitement at the top, middle and bottom of our leagues while there are great stories that trickle down and seep all the way to Brora Rangers and East Kilbride. It is far too easy for those who know nothing about our game to take pot shots at it, and Barton should be included within that number given the fleeting visit he paid to Glasgow. Perhaps us Scots are guilty of under-selling our national game, especially when on a Super Sunday you can watch Stoke City v Burnley live on the telly. Or perhaps not.
Having said that, Mr Barton could follow his own advice from his opening press conference and be more positive. If he can’t manage that, maybe stick to the mantra ‘if you can’t say something nice, best say nothing at all’. Words which will no doubt be lost on him as he carefully composes his next soundbite.
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