Demonisation of Joey Barton

St Joeys halo slips

First let me say that I’m not Joey Bartons biggest fan but he is good value for money both on the pitch and on twitter!

Recently however a veritable shit storm has kicked up over a comment Joey made following the tragic death of Gary Speed, “Suicide is a mix of the most tragic, most selfish, most terrible (and I want to believe preventable) acts out there.” was the offending tweet.

Many took offence to this, claiming Joey was insensitive, uncaring and simply looking to court controversy. I however think he was simply making a statement on the futility of suicide. How its seen by the person as their last resort and something which would solve everything. In reality it is simply the start of other peoples pain.

That however is just my personal view and (as I believe) like Joey is not meant as a slur on Gary or anyone else that takes their own life, simply pointing out a fact. Anyone who doesnt agree that suicide is a selfish act has clearly never seen the fallout.

My experiences are, thankfully, limited to the “bystander” category but still they haunt me. 20 years ago I was on the top deck of a bus heading to work along the West Road in Newcastle, glancing across the road I see a man stood under a tree however he wasnt stood he was hanging. That image to this day is etched on my brain. As is the bloated image of a man who jumped off the Tyne Bridge one Saturday only to be fished out 10 hours later while Im taking a Sunday morning stroll.

Now imagine being a wife, kid or friend and seeing these things in your own home and tell me its not a selfish act. Again, thats not me calling anyone selfish for committing it, what Im saying is that in doing it you are starting other peoples pain.

Joey Bartons problem (or one of them) appears to be his inability to see when he may have been wrong and counter it, once people started to kick off he simply had to drop a quick tweet in saying “apologies if Ive offended anyone that was never the intention…blahdeblah etc etc”

Bartons week then got worse when our own beloved Derek Llambias decided to wade in with his size 3 built up Pradas and threaten legal action due to comparisons Joey made between NUFC players and Sports Direct staff. Looking to defend the good name of our club by denying the rumours? Strangely, no it appears not.

“In a week when one of Newcastle United’s most beloved footballers passed away, it is disappointing that once again Joey Barton makes the headlines.

It is also unfortunate that Joey chose to draw such a disparaging comparison between himself and the employees of Sports Direct, who through hard work and dedication are the recipients of one of the most generous bonus schemes in UK retailing.

‘It may not be a lot of money to Joey, but over 2,000 Sports Direct employees earning £20,000 will receive shares worth over £44,000 over the next two years.” Derek Llambias November 2011

Well thanks Derek, that more of our cash disappearing for a fight we couldnt really care about. Chances are this legal action will be as successful as the Ashley v The Sun one was. Remember that? thought not because it didnt appear to happen even though Mikey was “furious at the allegation he partied while we were relegated” and said he’d prove it was a lie in court. Unless Ive missed it that day still hasnt come.

In summary though, there have been times during his career that Ive thought “wow, what a talent” and others when Ive simply shaken my head in disbelief but I dont feel that ripping the man apart for a mistimed comment on social media is called for. Over his time at NUFC I heard many a tale about JB, the bad ones you’d read in the papers, the good ones were word of mouth. How true they are we may never know but there was many a statement made about how he would turn up for games when he wasnt playing to support the lads, went to reserve games both home and away and worked with the junior teams supporting the young ‘uns. Sometimes its only the juicy stuff that gets reported.

Final word has to go to a Mr Sammy Ameobi who seems to be the twitter Ying to Joey’s Yang

@Sammy_Ameobi : Thinking about Gary Speeds family…just puts things into perspective. Money & success isn’t everything and doesn’t alone bring happiness x

Wise words for such a young talent.