Barton Demands His 30 Pieces Of Silver

As if Joey Barton hasn't already alienated himself enough from City fans, it appears that he, or should I say his agent, is holding out for a £300,000 "loyalty" payment as part of the overall deal that will see Barton move to Newcastle.

In a gesture akin to kicking more sand in the face of the club that stood by Barton throughout his many public misdemeanors, this final outrage has all the cynical hallmarks of agent Willy McKay.

In view of the circumstances leading up to Barton's exit from Eastlands, let's not forget, a brutal attack on fellow teammate Ousmane Dabo who ironically is also managed by McKay, Barton if he had any humility should have just slid quietly out the back door and up the A1 to the North East.

The word "loyalty" sit extremely badly with Barton and McKay. In fact, loyalty has been a one-way street during Joey's time at City; he has been on the receiving end of it!

I'm glad that the club seem to be standing firm and resisting the player's outrageous demands and hope they don't give in. Joey has reportedly signed a 5 year deal worth in excess of £60k per week with Newcastle. Why then does he and his agent want to make an issue over an amount that roughly equates to 1 month's salary under his new contract? Who said crime doesn't pay ??

I feel a bit sorry for the Geordies; they don't really know what they're getting with Barton, whereas City fans understand all too well - we're far better off without him.

The club need to learn lessons from this whole episode, and particularly dealing with the likes of Mr McKay - enough said !

Good News For Sibierski ?

Not the fact that French Tony has just signed for Wigan on a free and will be playing alongside Titus Bramble, but the fact he is now spared the nightmare prospect of teaming up with Joey Barton once again.

It was Joey who famously said that City's French player legion were over-rated and not worthy of a blue shirt.... now hang on a minute, that reminds me of another soon to be ex-City player; now if only I could remember ???

Derby Tomorrow, But Does Anyone Care?

The Manchester derby is one of the premiere events in the football calendar, or at least it should be. It has served up many memorable encounters over the years with some memorable highs and lows for both clubs.

I should be looking forward to tomorrow's game with great anticipation, but instead I find myself having very little enthusiasm for what should be the high-point of our season.

The 2006-7 season has without doubt been one of the most miserable and un-enjoyable seasons for quite a while. The initial promise as a visionary manager shown by Pearce has long since evaporated and we have had to endure tedious home football watching a set of players who looked totally demotivated and clueless whose overall standard of play is worse than my lads U-11s team.

Unless we manage a goal tomorrow, we're likely to set an unenviable Premiership record of the lowest home goal total. It's been so long since we've scored, I've almost forgotten how to celebrate.

Other low points have included the Thatcher and Barton episodes where we have too many times this season featured on the back pages of the national press for all the wrong reasons.

Added to that the ongoing take-over soap opera and the almost complete disdain and contempt the current board seem to show to the fans, our Club is becoming the laughing stock of the Premiership, but it really isn't funny and it cannot go on.

I've renewed my season tickets for next season, but Christ knows why? I'm at the point now where unless there is a complete change at the club from top to bottom, I'm really going to struggle about getting excited about next year.

Obviously, I hope we beat United tomorrow and finish the season with a bit of a flourish, but am I alone in feeling as flat as this about the club I support?

To coin a phrase, "Am I really bovvered?", well at the moment probably not.

Barton: A Bridge To Far .... or Not ?

To be honest, it comes as no real surprise that Joey Barton has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons yet again. The timing of this event could not be worse, coming just a few days before the Manchester derby.

Joey is being crucified in the media, with calls for him to be given the boot. However, and I don't often agree with Barton's agent, Willie McKay, I think that we all need to understand the facts of the situation before one can point the finger of blame.

At the moment, there is a lot of speculation about who did what and in what order. Quite simply, none of us, except the players and those at the training ground really know. Hopefully, we'll get some clarity on that over the next day or two.

If Barton is found to be the instigator, then City should throw the book and a few other assorted heavy objects at him and he should be moved out of the club as quickly as possible... hopefully to 'Boro as that would be a harsh, but suitable punishment in itself.

However, if it is found that Barton was the innocent party (difficult for many to believe I know), then a lot of us will need to eat a big slice of humble pie.

Barton has recently voiced what many of the fans have felt all season, namely the poor quality signings made by Pearce. However, if you're going to do that, you need to put in a huge performance yourself in your next game, and quite frankly Joey was shocking against Villa. He didn't get punished for expressing his views publically, but I'm sure City will take this into consideration when they decide his fate.

It's true to say though that trouble does seem to follow Joey around, much in the same way as it did with Bellamy, Hartson, Roy Keene etc..etc. Actually, thinking about it, perhaps a move to the Black Cats might be best all round.

Barton's Week That Was ........

Well there's never a dull moment being a Blue; that's for sure !

I don't really enjoy being negative towards City - honest I don't, but I have to say that Saturday's performance at Pompey wasn't just bad because we lost, it was more disappointing because once again, it's not the football that's particularly grabbed the headlines, but a certain Mr Barton is once again at the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons.

What is it about Pompey that seems to bring out the worst in some of our players? The infamous Thatcher incident doesn't need any more comment here, but how ironic that it was the hapless Mendes on the receiving end of what looked to me to be a horrendous and indefensible challenge.

I know Mendes keeps scoring irritating and outrageously spectacular goals against us, but let's hope the poor lad hasn't sustained long-term damage to his achilles. Was it accidental or was it deliberate? Only Joey knows the answer to that one, but the ex-player pundits on Sky TV, (i.e the old pros who know better) seemed to be unanimous in their view that it was no accident.

Whatever way you look at it, it was bad .... unacceptably bad, and I for one don't want to see the players in my team putting in potentially career-ending challenges. Rightly or wrongly, City are beginning to get a reputation for on-field thuggery if the comments I've had recently are anything to go by. I do however, expect our lads to play hard, but fair.

I'd like to see Pearce nip this one in the bud and leave our players in no doubt that future, similar transgressions will not be tolerated. In fact, all team managers should do the same, it's not just a City thing, but once again it's us in the spotlight at the moment.

The other matter that Barton seems to be embroiled in, namely being the subject of potential Police action for alleged gesturing, in my opinion is a total waste of everyone's time and should be halted immediately. What a waste of Police resources, and in this instance, I have a certain amount of sympathy for Joey as he, admittedly mainly of his own making, has become an easy target.

Whereas I'm glad City have come quickly to Joey's defence over the gesturing incident, I'm disappointed they haven't given out the right messages over the Mendes tackle. Whatever moral high-ground can be taken from the aftermath of Saturday needs to be grabbed with both hands, and quickly!

It's been a roller-coaster of a week for Joey. One minute, he's newly capped and the answer to England's misfiring midfield and then all of a sudden he's a football's public enemy number one again. It will be a very short England career if he can't sort this part of his game out.

In conclusion, I just wish I had something positive to write about the football :-(

What Was The Point ?

Great seeing a couple of City players in the full England squad and with all the media hype about the Barton/Gerrard/Lampard thing, it was all a bit of an anti-climax in the end.

However, having said that, what was the point of Joey really being there in the end, as he was only on the pitch for 11 minutes; what sort of opportunity was that?

As soon as I saw the teamsheet I was tempted to run down the bookies and stick a few quid on an away win. The Neville brothers at full back - what was all that about? What could McClaren possibly learn from that has-been brotherly pairing? What made it even worse was that Micah and Gareth Barry (a naturally left sided player) were left on the bench - what's going on?

Lamps and Stevie G failed as a midfield unit yet again, leaving the onlooking Barton to freeze on the bench in complete bewilderment as to what he was doing there. SWP flattered to deceive again and just always looks like he's trying too hard all the time to prove he was right to join Chelsea, which we all know he wasn't.

At best, the England performance was lacklustre and at worst pathetic. At least when Micah came on we looked more threatening with his pace and power. Joey was given all of eleven minutes in a hopeless cause and looked comfortable without really getting into the game. We did however see one of his trademark through-the-back tackles and was a bit lucky to get away with it.

On a positive note, nice to see Stevie Ireland grab a late winner. He's played well since the start of the year and deserves a decent run in the City team and a new contract.

What then about England? Last night confirmed yet again it was a case of wrong team, wrong formation, wrong manager.

Israel must be shaking in their boots !

Gerrard And Lampard's Pal Joey

Love him or hate him, you've just got to hand it to Joey Barton, that his inclusion in the full England squad England has confirmed his re-rehabilitation and transformation from villain to hero.

Many non-City fans may not realise just how close Joey was to having been shown the door following his notorious Christmas party incident and fracas with an Everton fan on a pre-season tour. It's one of the few high points from the KK era that the club kept faith with Joey in those dark times and Pearce also needs a bit of credit for how he has nurtured and developed Barton from potential outcast into the heartbeat of the City team. I guess Joey also needs a bit of credit too.

It's been well documented that Joey ruffled a few feathers amongst the "Galacticos" in the England squad when he criticised their performances and questioned their priorities when it seemed selling books was more important than performances on the pitch. They didn't like it, but Barton was really only saying what most ordinary fans felt; Joey was spot on.

Narturally the press are making a lot of the Gerrard-Lampard thing; it makes great copy, but in reality it is overstated. I'm not a big McClaren fan, but he needs a bit of credit for not giving into player and press power and including Joey in the squad. Joey deserves it; it's as simple as that and he will, if given a chance show a lot of people that he can mix it at the top level.

It's no real surprise that Lampard and Gerrard allegedly don't like it. This England midfield combination, despite many opportunities, has just not worked. Lampard has taken much of the flak, and his World Cup performances didn't do himself or the team any favours. Similarly Stevie G is carving out a JohnBarnes-like England career where despite awesome club performances, the majority of his international games are frustratingly below par - remember Euro 2004?

Barton's inclusion should introduce much needed creative and positive tension into what has become a stale and stagnant midfield. If nothing else and even if he doesn't get on the pitch, his presence should give the midfield incumbents, who have become far too comfortable and complacent, a much needed kick up the backside. The same would apply to Kevin Nolan, who is desperately unlucky to miss out again, but having said that, three Scousers in the midfield may be a step too far :-)

I didn't think I'd ever say this, but good on you Steve McClaren !

Barton's Clause For Concern

As this year's January transfer window draws to a nervous conclusion, it has once again proved to be an underwhelming month of rumour and general inactivity. Nothing much ever seems to happen in this mid-season transfer window apart from unhelpful speculation and general unsettling of players, managers and fans. Personally, I think it's time to rethink the whole transfer window thing.

Without tempting fate, it now looks like our "crown jewels" of Barton and Richards will stay for a while longer, having learned from SWP's badly advised move to the greener grass of Stamford Bridge, where he now commands a regular place on the bench. It looks like both have realised their chances of international honours are greatly improved by staying at Eastlands as bigger fish in an albeit smaller pond, but nevertheless will be playing week in, week out and catching the eye of the England selectors.

The down side from all this, is that it's now public knowledge that Joey has a clause in his contract whereby an offer of £5.5m for his services allows another club to talk to him. Although it would now appear that he'll stay this time around, he'll be viewed as fair game in the summer when clubs are more serious about new signings.

It seems that such clauses are now common practice, but why did City allow such a low trigger value? What were City's commercial people thinking about when with Joey's potential, they agreed to such a derisory valuation? If City are now considering waving a new contract in front of Joey, they need to ensure that any future financial thresholds are set much higher; we just can't afford to give our best players away on the cheap.

But with every dark cloud comes a silver lining..... if reports are to be believed, it now looks like Joey has parted company with agent, Willie McKay.... allegedly !