Bye-bye Barton?

For more than a week, the this is my england round-up of the QPR 2011-12 campaign has sat unfinished in the draft posts folder of this blog. Real work has got in the way. Lots of it. The kind of work that actually pays the mortgage, that is. Ahead of that review finally being completed, it's possible to reveal that it will end on an optimistic note, expressing great hopes for the future of our wonderful little club. Sure, it will cover all the frustrations, injustices and upsets that were a feature of our first season back in the top-flight after a long, long absence. But in essence it will be a pretty happy offering - and that's a nice way to round off a series of blog posts about the wild ride we have enjoyed/endured since being promoted back up to the Premier League.

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to complete that upbeat post ahead of today's news about the outcome of Joey Barton's FA disciplinary hearing. This means that the first QPR-related piece here in the wake of the amazing season finale has to be something rather less cheery.

Just deserts? Depends who you ask...

Right now, QPR fans are expressing their views about the news of Barton's punishment. Twitter is abuzz with opinion and no doubt the messageboards are going bonkers too. One line of discussion concerns comparisons between Barton's twelve-game ban and the shorter period of suspension imposed on Liverpool's Luis "the rat" Suarez for repeatedly racially abusing an opponent. So we are asked to consider the idea that the FA believes a violent reaction to provocation is a more serious matter than sustained racial abuse. There is definitely some merit to this question. 

Some other QPR fans seem to have been reaching for comparison with the John Terry situation. This seems premature. If Terry is found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence as a result of his alleged abuse of our man Anton Ferdinand, then of course it is to be hoped that the FA will come down very hard on the Chelsea captain. A ban longer than that imposed on Suarez would be in order - perhaps a ban longer than the one now faced by Barton. But for the time being, Terry's case is not a matter for the FA. He is to be tried in a court of law and until the court's proceedings are concluded the FA must stay out of the whole business. To do otherwise would prejudice the case.

So whether a twelve-game ban (plus £75K fine) is excessive is a matter that will, no doubt, be debated for some time to come. Along the way, some of those debating the question will seek to make comparisons with other cases. Others will consider Barton's long history of conflict and controversy. It is unlikely, though, that this blog will return to the question of today's punishment and its fairness or otherwise. This seems a lot less interesting than the matter of what QPR does next.

Love him or loathe him?

When QPR signed Joey Barton just before the close of the transfer window last August, we all knew we were getting a player with baggage. Our then-manager was very clear about that - and very keen to admit that if it weren't for the player's chequered past then our little club would not have stood a chance of signing him. So we took on a player with a criminal record, someone who had done time for violence. We took on a self-pitying, paranoid person who uses online social media to make provocative remarks then abuses anyone who reacts - all of this while posturing as someone who doesn't care what others think of him.

Barton can be articulate and he is clearly capable of intelligent behaviour - holding his own in an interview with Jeremy Paxman; speaking quite eloquently and sensibly in a TV documentary about gay footballers; taking an interest in the arts, ideas and writing. All of this is commendable. All of this attracts the scorn of those snobs who seek to deride a working-class man for what they insist must be pseudo-intellectualism. They sneer hatefully at the idea of a Scouse footballer understanding a decent book or appreciating a painting that only university educated people are supposed to enjoy. Fuck the snidey snobs. The idea of a talented sportsman from the streets of one of our deprived northern cities making a very good living while emerging as something of a renaissance man is very attractive. We could use an avowedly working-class hero at this time when the country is run by Old Etonians who hate ordinary folk and seem determined to drag us all back to the era of the workhouse and the deferentially tugged forelock. But Barton's obvious flaws mean that he cannot be that working-class hero.

As well as his criminal past and his history of unwise use of Twitter, our new skipper also came with a known tendency to find trouble on the pitch, his career having already been marked by clashes with Dickson Etuhu, Xabi Alonso, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Gervinho. So can we really say that his two red cards have come as a surprise?

The first dismissal was unjustified. Norwich's Bradley Johnson proved himself to be a fucking cheat by clutching at his face and pretending to have been head butted by the QPR captain. The referee and linesman on the day proved themselves to be woefully inept. Neither of them saw the incident. So they clearly had our player's reputation in mind when choosing to be duped by Johnson's dirty trick. Also failing to cover himself in glory was the Canaries boss Paul Lambert. The Norwich manager told a bare-faced lie when saying that his player was "certainly not a cheat".

But as much as that first red card was unfair, Barton's lack of wisdom and composure led to it happening. Yes, the cheating Johnson goaded him. Yes, Johnson then simulated physical contact. But why did our captain have to square up to the Norwich man? He knows his own reputation. He must know that unprincipled opponents will look to leverage that reputation when seeking to con the officials. But he could not resist getting up in the face of the Canaries midfielder, thereby giving Johnson the opportunity to pull his stunt.

The second dismissal? More complicated. You could get into a long discussion about whether Man City's Carlos Tevez should also have been sent off. Barton's reaction? Well, this is more clear cut. Yes, football is a contact sport, and let's hope it continues to be. But it's not a contact sport once the whistle has been blown and a red card has been raised. However great the sense of injustice, the dismissed player needs to get off the pitch and allow his ten remaining team mates to get on with trying to dig out a result. Reflecting on this point, QPR fans will be reminded of the dignity with which Shaun Derry left the Old Trafford pitch when unfairly sent off for a phantom challenge against one of the game's serial cheats, Ashley Young. Barton, on the other hand, famously went bananas, kicking one player and aiming an attempted head butt at another. These acts of violent conduct mean that he misses almost one third of next season.

Perhaps all of this would be forgiveable if Barton were a consistently brilliant performer. After all, that man Tevez appears to have played his way back into the affections of some Manchester City fans despite acts of treachery to his club which are far worse than any stupid stunt pulled by the QPR captain. But Barton is not in Tevez's league when it comes to the contribution made while actually on the pitch. Yes, he performed well in the final stages of the season. Yes, in those last few weeks he certainly contributed to the Rangers' successful battle against relegation. But he also turned in a good number of below-average performances, causing many fans to criticise him along the way. Further, it's worth asking whether he would have warranted a place in the side had the excellent Alejandro Faurlin not been injured back in January. If you had to choose two central midfielders from Barton, Faurlin and the impressive Samba Diakité, would the troublesome Liverpudlian be in the mix every week? No? So, judged on talent, is Barton worth the trouble and the cost? Not everyone would say yes.

Back him or sack him?

In light of the embarrassment he causes, in light of the very poor example he sets to kids who support our club, and in light of the fact that his inability to control himself means that our team will be a man down for a dozen matches, QPR must surely look into the possibility of getting rid of the turbulent Barton.

How would that work? Selling him for a fee is surely out of the question. He was damaged goods when he first turned up at Loftus Road under a year ago and his stock has surely only fallen since then. Perhaps there is a club somewhere abroad that might take a punt if the price were low enough. But there can't be any clubs in this country willing to take on all the aggravation that Barton brings.

So how about just tearing up his contract and showing him the door? Not really an option, is it? In the football world, a manager fired for failing to deliver must have the remaining portion of his contract paid off. The likes of Sven-Göran Eriksson have made millions this way, and the same rules would seem to apply to players. So if Barton is on anything like the £80,000 per week that he has allegedly boasted about, and given that his contract is set to run for two more years, simply ejecting him from the club would be a very expensive move.

Another option that must surely be considered is dismissal for gross misconduct.

Is this feasible? Do the peculiar contractual arrangements between football clubs and players somehow take precedence over the usual provisions of UK employment law? Perhaps some well-informed reader can offer clarity on this point. But if this is a realistic option for the club, does Barton's behaviour on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium constitute an act of gross misconduct? Many would argue that it does. Others will contend that these things happen - that football is an emotional and stressful game and that the occasional transgression of this nature is forgiveable. 

But Barton did more than just get sent off and lash out angrily once shown the red card and once wrapped in the red mist that descended upon him. In addition to this, away from the heat of battle, he went on to lash out in a different way:

This sort of thing really is witless in the extreme. Some people reading this will have young children who already know better than to carry on in this manner. Put simply, when you've done something wrong and when you have to deal with entirely justified criticism, it's time to apologise properly and sincerely, get your head down and stay out of further trouble for as long as possible. However much you might want to criticise others for their faults, and even if your critical remarks have merit, the time to do it is not just after you've royally fucked up yourself. Be the bigger man. Confess. Repent. Pipe down. Walk away.

But Joey Barton does not seem to be capable of this. Consider the World Health Organisation's definition of dissocial personality disorder (to which being a psychopath or a sociopath are related disorders):

1. Callous unconcern for the feelings of others.
2. Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules, and obligations.
3. Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them.
4. Very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence.
5. Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment.
6. Markedly prone to blame others or to offer plausible rationalizations for the behavior that has brought the person into conflict with society.

With the possible exception of number three, do these descriptions not remind you of Barton? Perhaps he will always be this way. If so, he will always be trouble and QPR fans can look forward to more incidents that will embarrass the club and lead to the player's suspension.

Verdict: enough already

So notwithstanding Barton's ability to contribute on the pitch and taking into account the fact that he can be an interesting fellow when opining about music, books and the beautiful game, the considered opinion of this is my england is that it's time to get rid.

Weighing it all up, he seems a lot more trouble than he's worth. So it would be good to press on towards the new adventures facing our club without the constant distraction our serial controversialist will always bring.

Arriving at this view brings no pleasure. It's all a great shame. But it is what it is.

U RRRRRRRRRRRsssssssssssssss