SOCCER:JOEY BARTON was coldshouldered by Alan Pardew, ordered to train alone and fined two weeks' wages by Newcastle United yesterday, but, undeterred, the transfer-listed midfielder drew solace from George Orwell.
As Barton used his Twitter account to declare that “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act”, assorted clubs weighed up the possibility of signing him after Newcastle’s decision to offload their troublesome talent on a free transfer.
West Ham United and Everton are reportedly among the clubs keeping tabs on the midfielder, and Pardew was said to be privately hoping the 28-year-old will be gone by the weekend.
“There won’t be a problem finding Joey a home,” said Barton’s agent, Willie McKay.
Newcastle’s manager has stepped up his long-standing pursuit of Tranquillo Barnetta, the €7m-rated Bayer Leverkusen and Switzerland right wing.
With Jose Enrique – who, like Barton, has used Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with the Newcastle board’s summer spending plans – believed to be close to leaving St James’ Park following an offer from an unnamed club, possibly Liverpool, Pardew is also in the market for a left back.
Ideally he would like to sign Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge but the former England defender’s €100,000-a-week wages are a stumbling block.
Meanwhile Barton’s suggestions that there is widespread dressing-room dissent at Newcastle have been countered by well-sourced revelations that his behaviour was part of the problem.
Barton, who is reported to have ranted at team-mates following defeat at Leeds United in a friendly last Sunday, is said to be deeply upset that he was overlooked as captain, with Pardew preferring to give Shola Ameobi the armband at Elland Road.
His mood darkened further when Yohan Cabaye, Newcastle’s new French playmaker, was instructed to take all set-pieces.Retorting via Twitter, Barton claimed club officials were feeding “false statements” to the media.
He then tweeted: “I also have too much respect for my team-mates and fans to get in a tit-for-tat with them. I have too much self worth and dignity.”
Responding to the fine, he reflected: “Ha, ha the inevitable two weeks wages fine has just arrived. Needless to say, it will be appealed forthwith.”
Newcastle officials will waive a fee for a player with one year outstanding on his contract. It seems a formidable on-field motivator has become an increasingly divisive off-field figure, with Barton’s often erratic behaviour deteriorating on an almost daily basis in the wake of the club withdrawing a long-standing offer of a contract extension this summer.
Barton will argue that he wanted assurances that the €40m raised from the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool in January would be reinvested in new players but events took, from his viewpoint, a further unpalatable turn when his close friend Kevin Nolan was sold to West Ham.
As the Newcastle captain, Nolan had excelled at “man-managing” his sometimes unpredictable fellow scouser.
Although Sam Allardyce, the manager who signed Barton from Manchester City in 2007, would be keen to reunite him with Nolan at Upton Park, the Championship is unlikely to appeal.
Instead Barton believes he is good enough to play Champions League football.
GuardianService
