We Need to Talk About Joey

There are three things that are guaranteed in life - Death, Taxes and a Joey Barton-fallout.

He is a man who has had more column inches and airtime dedicated to him than almost any other footballer over the last few years. It's not hard to see why, as various on and off the field incidents have created stories and headlines that attract huge interest. His ‘indiscretions’ have been well documented and there's no need to go through them again. If you add up the sum total of his suspensions (not to mention jail time), ranging from bearing his backside to Everton fans to a red card for a horror tackle against Liverpool when Newcastle United were battling relegation, you'll see that he has been banned for almost a whole season.

He's someone who has been on his final warning for a long time. He had his last chance at Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR, yet by signing for Marseille he has wiped the slate clean. It's a strange quirk of football clubs that previous indiscretions by footballers are quickly forgotten in the hope that they will be able to contribute something on the field. Lee Hughes, Marlon King and Luke McCormack are all perfect examples of this.

Barton is a man who has created somewhat of a unique personality about him. Promoting a thoughtful, provocative, intelligent character is somewhat offset by what radiates from his Twitter account. He will only be courteous, understanding and diplomatic when things are on his terms. It was all rosy when the on-off deal to Marseille was on, yet once things seemingly turned sour it was "I don't want to be disrespectful but..." He then proclaimed he was off to train with the "youths and other Taliban members."

Barton seems all too often to be talking as if acting on the advice of a counsellor, told to curb his rage, face his addictions and change his personality. We get the impression that he's an angry man trying to prevent himself from exploding. Using his Twitter account as a conduit for his thoughts, frustrations and views has been no doubt cathartic for him, and entertaining for his one and a half million followers, but what it doesn't do is show us the real Joey Barton in full. We get only glimpses of it, with the occasional #helmet #bellend comments directed to other Twitter users (who perhaps unfairly have targeted him hoping for a reaction), which show the real thoughts of the man.

If he cannot completely control this compartmentalised area of his life, he will surely be heading for a fall in France too, if his behaviour is anything like we have seen in the past. He's an unpredictable man, and we're never quite sure what we'll be getting from him. He appears on occasion charming and articulate - someone who is trying to promote a positive image of himself. The predictable truth is however, that things always have and always will go wrong.

Perhaps the public thought that Barton had finally turned the corner before QPR's final match of last season. How he managed to challenge this misinterpretation with a swift elbow, head-butt and slap, was breathtaking.  He will be remembered for these incidents far more than any footballing achievement, of which there are few. This Centre Circle will not be sorry to see the back of him.

~Ian Bendelow