He's awesome!

Me too! Where did you decide to sit? Saw him this year at Blenheim Palace...amazing.

Oh my god, that's hilarious! Imagine if he was gay! How funny would that be...unless it's 2016 of course. I was hoping to get tickets for this but won't bother if there are going to be interruptions. Something like him wearing a Venky's out t shirt though...I'd be all for that!!

It is a poor view. From that clip (the only one I have seen), it looks like everyone has over-reacted to the tackle.

Well as far as I am aware he hasn't shown remorse for what he has done. I may have just missed it though. He made a rash tackle, which I think most of us agree wasn't as bad as it was made out to be, but he can't afford to be making rash tackles like that (in that area of the pitch etc). If the reports are true, and who knows apart from the people in the dressing room, then he 'blew up' at his manager. Granted the above arguments are pretty weak, but I'm not just looking at what he has done since he came out of prison. He had anger management help in the past and said he wanted to change before he went to prison, but it didn't help. I just personally think that he needs to learn a lesson, and he will only learn that lesson when he stops getting chances handed to him on a plate. What motivation has he got to change if clubs keep employing him and he keeps getting paid huge sums of money?

I must admit, I heard about it before I saw it, and I expected to see a really terrible tackle. When I saw it though, I thought 'is that it?'. Massive over-reaction from the media.

Would the games take place in a Gladiators type setting? I'm all for rehabilitation of people who have committed crimes, but people don't change until they are ready to change. You can give them all the help, tools to change and chances but until they are really ready themselves, then they will continue to behave how they behave. In my opinion, like Fife said re remorse etc, Joey Barton, hasn't shown that he is ready to change, and while people carry on giving him chance after chance, then he'll have no motivation to sort himself out.

Most of the players being named in comparison with Barton weren't thugs though. Hated players yes, thugs no.

Ok, you summed up my post in one line

Why do you presume things about people expressing an opinion different to yours? I've seen rough, 'dirty' players playing football, but this isn't about how Barton plays football. He didn't just give some people a slap. If some teenager had just given him a bit of lip and he slapped him round the head, it'd be different. I think the thing I am struggling with most is the cigar in the eye incident. I cannot, for the life of me, see a rational human being doing something so horrendous. How would I feel if someone did that to me or my family? If I then link that to how he behaves at a football club, ie not professional, assaults on team mates, having a bust up/showing no respect for the manager then I don't want this individual at the club. I don't care if we are liked by the media. It's not about that and it's not about being morally superior. If you think that is why people don't want him at the club, then I feel that you just can't see things from other points of view. I can see that Barton would be cheap, better than most of our current midfielders and people may think that Sam could control him. I also want to win, and I want Rovers to do as well as possible in our position, however I think Barton has run out of chances, I think it'd be a massive risk that we can't afford to take (for all the things T4E mentioned) and I'd be embarrassed if we had to turn to someone like Barton. There must be other, viable alternatives (again T4E mentioned one).

I'm not holier than thou, and I am not perfect. However, there comes a point were people run out of chances, especially when it is disgraceful, violent behaviour which has even led to time in prison. He hasn't shown anything to suggest he has come out of prison learning from those mistakes.

Well they didn't cover it up for Gerrard. Are you serious with that comment? Also, do you genuinely believe that Rooney and Barton are equal in terms of behaviour? In my eyes if an England player had done the exact same things as Barton, they'd be critisized more than Barton, not less, like you are suggesting.

Oh I hope we don't sign Barton. How many chances do you give someone? I'd hate us to be the club that gave him yet another chance. It'd be embarrassing.

Well that's just ruined it . Unless it was...otherwise you would have yelled at them for being so stupid as to suggest golf on a Saturday, for such a dedicated Rovers supporter?

I don't believe Benni made these comments. I think it is the media trying to cause trouble!! Oh, hang on a minute...