The converse applies in that if he has indeed learned his lesson, clubs NOT giving him the chance could set him back. I'd hope that the lesson learned would be one that would last that kind of set-back and he would prove his detractors wrong. Giving him the chance at a club like Rovers, where the emphasis is on family, would surely help to consolidate the changes he may have made (big question mark over may of course). The truth is that a person who has done what he has done is always going to have that hanging over him (or hanging over him for a very long time at the least) and the press will be waiting for any kind of indication of a return to prior behaviour, like the weekend. Having said all that, I'm still of two minds whether he should be given the chance. I guess that sounds a bit contradictory but I'd like my club to have a decent image in the press and it annoys me when it doesn't happen but I'm used to it. Having a player like Barton play for Rovers isn't likely to do the club image any good.

The tackle didn't need to happen. Joey Barton didn't need to tackle the player the way he did but, having said that, it wasn't a red card offence but a yellow. The referee sent Joey Barton off partly because of reputation and partly because the tackle looked a lot worse than it actually was from a distance. The fact the media has jumped all over him just sums up how his reputation precedes him. There was a bust-up with Shearer, fair enough that can be sorted out and should have been kept in house. It's been splashed across the newspapers ever since. Do players have arguments with managers? Is the Pope catholic? Should it result in a player being canned by the team he plays for? Only if something more happens than just an argument and there is no evidence of that here. Is Joey Barton being victimised, because of his prior behaviour, by the press? Absolutely. Does that tackle have anything to do with Joey Barton's record of violence? Not at all and it shouldn't come in to it. It seems like Joey Barton has assaulted someone when all he has done is a rash challenge in a game where Newcastle were losing badly. If the person making that challenge was, for example, Michael Owen would the reaction be anywhere near as vitriolic and extreme? I don't think so. Reputation and history is not an indication of how a person will behave in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSBBjINSWyc Here

You have to wonder where they get their ideas from. 'The fans haven't taken to Big Sam...'? Seems to me most have!

That busted flush is a very young squad full of talent. Give them a couple of years. Something tells me Wenger knows what he wants to achieve and is planning for the long term.

I can't make my mind up about signing Barton. Yes, he is a liability and has proven to be so at Newcastle but I wonder how much of it is frustration and annoyance at finding himself at a club where no-one wants to take responsibility for the situation they are in and actually work hard to get out of it. He strikes me as a dangerous character who could snap at a moments notice. We had a defender here like that recently, one Andy Todd. And yes I am comparing him to Barton. Todd got thrown out of a few clubs because of his behaviour and got red-carded here pretty often. Kicking Dugarry up the backside might be comical now but consider why he did it then, watching the video it was because of a poor challenge on him seconds earlier and Dugarry just happened to be the closest target. Todd snapped. He was a liability but one that Souness got the best out of. Can Big Sam do the same with Barton? Who knows? Is he worth the chance? That remains to be seen. If he signed, would any of you be prepared to give him a reasonable chance? Would I? Finally, would I want to meet him on the street? Probably. Would I go to a pub where he was having a few? Not on your nelly.

Agreed.

Spot on and well said.

I won't forget!

I'll remember this post. '3 years of scraping the barrel football in the bottom 1/3rd of the league' We shall see!

I wish we had signed him too.

Absolutely, condolences to Benni and his family.

I'd have thought you'd have known that for certain Gordon. You seem to know everything else...

Have you actually read the article??? Bill wouldn't have retired (and neither would Martin) if it weren't for the impact drumming has on the joints and tendons. I wish him all the best and will shake his hand again when I next see him.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport...for_your_place/ Best thing Ince could possibly say

RIP Jack, that Crewe away day was the saddest day of this Rovers supporter.

I'll be honest so do I... Massive little club...

You have to feel slightly sorry for Newcastle but surely they knew what they were getting when they signed him. He was under investigation for the assault he was convicted of when they signed him and the FA were bound to take action at some point as they've done exactly that before with other players. Don't sign a player with a court case pending against him which involved a former teammate at the training ground I would say...

I don't care where he plays or where he was going to when he left. I'm not het up about him either but I do think he should have kept his mouth firmly shut. None of this Lucas hating would have happened otherwise.

Lucas Neill would have been a lot wiser keeping his mouth shut rather than spouting rubbish about childhood supported clubs and going to a bigger team. I think the one thing that has annoyed more fans is the utter lack of respect he has shown for Blackburn Rovers in his comments. Why does he get booed? Because he's a greedy git? That possibly has something to do with it but did Bellamy get booed when he came back? Bellamy didn't spout in the press whereas Lucas did. Incidentally, I haven't booed him as I don't see the point and it's a waste of energy. He was an excellent player for one season and a decent player before that but not a world beater. What really makes me laugh is Lucas saying that Rovers fan are ungrateful, I don't think he quite understands football somehow. Why should we be grateful to Lucas Neill for playing for us for a few years and then leaving on a free for a bigger pay packet? I pay to watch Rovers, I don't get to see them for free. Quite simply, Lucas should have kept his mouth firmly shut. What he has shown is that he has an over-inflated sense of his own importance.