Joey Barton eyes England recall.
Posted on July 19th, 2010 | 58 Comments |
Perhaps ‘madcap’ was a bit harsh, although taking into account his previous misdemeanors it will no doubt take him some time to shake off that tag for good, and the only way he can go about doing that is by keeping his nose clean.
Barton does appear to have calmed down of late, although injuries have hindered him being able to show it on the pitch. Whilst his eyes may be on an international call-up for England, that statement doesn’t quite seem so outlandish when you hear his reckoning behind it, and it is that reckoning that should help Newcastle out next season.
“For me, first and foremost I want to do well for Newcastle United. But watching some of the performances in the World Cup over the summer I think, that on form, I’m as good as anybody in this country,” Barton told The Chronicle.
“I don’t say that lightly, and I have to go out and prove that, but surely every midfielder in this country should be thinking like that. They should be looking at it and saying ‘that’s where I want to be and that’s where I can go’. That’s my goal, and if I break into the England squad, it proves that I am doing fantastic for this football club.”
You see, when you look at it like that, it doesn’t seem so ridiculous does it? Shouldn’t every player be going out there to bust a gut for their club in the hope of getting recognised by their country? It’s a tough ask, but Barton has been there before and won an international call-up, so why can’t he do it again? He has the ability to, it’s just the showing it on a regular basis whilst dodging unlucky injuries that has been his downfall on the pitch.
Hopefully his injury worries are behind him now and he can become the player we thought we had signed from Manchester City. An injury free pre-season is something Barton hasn’t had the luxury of having since he has been with us, and if he can get through this one then he can hit the ground running and prove his point to the critics.
Barton is at least committed to the Newcastle cause, which hasn’t always been a good thing in fairness, but as long as his troubles remain in the past then he can become a valuable asset to the Newcastle squad. In fact he wouldn’t even be at the club if Mike Ashley hadn’t have been stopped from sacking the player by Kevin Keegan, and Keegan knew what to look for in a player didn’t he?
Barton will play anywhere for Newcastle as he just wants to play football, and there is nothing wrong with that. He was forced to play out wide for parts of last season but showed what he can be capable of with a couple of superb assists and a goal in the final few weeks of the title-winning campaign.
“Whatever role I’m asked to play, I’ll be up for it. I’ve played out wide on a couple of occasions last year.
“Wherever I’m asked, I’ll play, I just want to be part of this squad. Hopefully I can bring something positive and push on from last season.At the end of the day I was an England international as a box-to- box midfield player.
“I don’t say this lightly, but I’m a much more rounded footballer now than I was when I first signed for this club. Injuries have restricted my chances to show that.”
Could Joey Barton be the unlikely hero for us this season? Much of that hinges on him remaining injury free throughout the season. He wants to do a job, and with a full pre-season behind him he could be almost like a new signing for us.
Here is to hoping!
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
Talk is cheap, he needs to knuckle down and get a string of injury and red card free games into him first before spouting crap like this.