Joey Barton Is a Disgrace

I've never been a fan of 88th minute substitutions. They are done with some purpose when done by a team leading in a match or when a team is losing by a small margin. But, last night, Newcastle United were trailing 3-0 against Arsenal and Kevin Keegan elected to bring on a certain Joey Barton.

I've never had an opinion of Barton before because, quite frankly, I never cared about what happened to him. He always seemed to get the rub of the green when the time came and yesterday's match was not much different.

Kevin Keegan launched a counter-attacking defense of Barton, while criticizing Samir Nasri for "slicing" the former down. With all due respect to Kevin Keegan, this falls under his hilarious quotes section.

Nasri tripped Barton, with minimal contact. How he deserved a red card for that (something Kevin Keegan said that he did), only God and Kevin Keegan know.

A few seconds earlier, Barton showed exactly what kind of a person he is. Were he motivated to make an impact on the match, he would have made a tackle and then, started going about his man-marking duties for the throw-in. But no, he waited for Nasri to turn around and gave him the dirtiest smile ever, as if to suggest, "I have it in for you.."

Disgraceful.

That's the one word that can describe Joey Barton. Looking at his record, he shouldn't even be playing football in a local playground. He is violent and gets out of control. He might be a decent player, but why he has been given so many chances is something which again, only God and Kevin Keegan know.

The tackle which Joey Barton made yesterday also had a certain intent. He wanted to let Nasri know that he was around. It was more of a lunge than a "very good tackle" as KK described it.

It was no coincidence that Keegan brought Barton on in an away game because his support for the player is still something which has polarized Newcastle United fans. The way I see it, he is a liability for any club.

While at Manchester City, he had a bust up with somebody in a hotel in Thailand. He then duly took that to another level by punching team-mate Ousmane Dabo in the face "several times" before having charges pressed against him a couple of years later.

He even had to serve some jail time, and yet again assaulted somebody in a club in December 2007.

How can Kevin Keegan keep such a footballer at the club? He doesn't seem to have one bit of remorse for his actions. He doesn't seem to have any problems in repeating the actions again. I saw his all through the match yesterday, laughing and making jokes at the side with some of his team-mates.

The fact is that he's making Kevin Keegan look like a joker.

His manager has put so much trust in him. He still has a contract at a football club and for that, he has to be thankful, and to a certain extent, humble. There is no thankfulness, and certainly no humility from Joey Barton.

He's quite honestly, as pathetic as a footballer can get.