The dramatic transformation in mood and direction at QPR moved up another gear on Friday when Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton signed a deal that will make him the club’s highest paid player in history.

Facts

Joey Barton, a 28-year old from Huyton in Merseyside, is one of the most controversial figures in English football today. This summary can neatly be split into the long list of disciplinary incidents that the press will focus on when reporting this signing, and the footballing ability that Neil Warnock wants him to provide for QPR.

On the pitch Barton has been in outstanding form over the past year for Newcastle United where he made 84 appearances and scored eight goals in four years after signing from his first club Man City for £5.8m in 2007. Barton was turned down by Everton, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest as a junior before flourishing at Man City where he won England Under 21 caps and became a mainstay of the side.

The other half of Barton is not so savoury, and almost entirely self inflicted. At Man City he missed a chance for a full debut when he was summoned from the bench during a game with Middlesbrough only to find he’d lost his shirt. Later he was sent off in the tunnel at half time of a game at Spurs for abusing old QPR favourite referee Rob Styles – City were 3-0 down at the time but won 4-3.

In April 2004 he stormed out of City’s Eastlands ground after being left out of the team for a game with Southampton, then in the summer he sparked a mass brawl with an ugly challenge in a friendly game at Doncaster and by the end of the year he was facing club disciplinary action for stubbing out a cigar in youth teamer Jamie Tandy’s eye at the club Christmas party after Tandy had tried to set fire to his shirt. In 2005, again under provocation, he attacked a 15-year-old Everton supporter while on a tour of Thailand and was sent home and enrolled in anger management classes. Then in 2006 he responded to taunting from Everton fans at the end of a game at Goodison by walking off the field with his shorts pulled down, baring his arse in their direction – he was fined £2,000 by the FA.

After England’s poor 2006 World Cup campaign he was openly critical of squad members who returned home and immediately released books on the experience. When he was subsequently called up for a match with Spain at Old Trafford Frank Lampard, author of one of the monotonous tomes which had attracted Barton’s ire, openly stated his disapproval at Barton’s comments. When Barton arrived for a team breakfast Lampard moved away from him to sit at another table to which Barton apparently responded: “Don’t worry, I wans’t going to steal your breakfast you fat prick.”

In May 2008 he was cleared of assault and criminal damage after a row with a Liverpool taxi driver dating back to March 2007. In summer 2007 he described some of his fellow City players as ‘substandard’ and subsequently headbutted Ousmane Dabo during a training session. Dabo pressed charges and Barton was given a four month suspended sentence and fine after pleading guilty. He was also banned for six matches and fined £25,000 by the FA.

In December 2007, after moving to Newcastle, he was arrested again for an assault in a McDonalds in Liverpool at 5.30am one morning. CCTV images showed him punching one man 20 times and breaking the teeth of another. He was sentenced to six months in prison and served 77 days. On his return he said he wanted to be a role model but after a sending off in a game at Liverpool and subsequent dressing room row with then manager Alan Shearer he was suspended by Newcastle for the rest of the season.

At the start of last season he was seen to punch Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pederson in the chest resulting in another three game ban and this summer he was told he could leave Newcastle for nothing and made to train with the stiffs after criticising the running of the club on his prolific Twitter account.

He has signed a four year deal at Loftus Road, reportedly worth up to £80,000 a week, and takes on Lee Cook’s old 17 shirt. Whether he is available for tomorrow’ trip to Wigan is a matter of some conjecture – both Barton and Warnock stated he would be available in QPR Player interviews filmed on Thursday, but a delay in the deal today may have seen the paperwork filed after the noon deadline. Chances are we won’t know for sure until 12.30pm tomorrow.

Reaction

“It's been quite a whirlwind, so to get things finally sorted and draw a line under it all is a great relief. The ambition of the club really impressed me. There's obviously a great set of lads here already and that's why they had such a great season in the Championship. The gaffer is talking about adding two or three more bodies and that, combined with the potential of the Club and the new owners' ambitions, bodes really well for the future." -Joey Barton

"He's coming here to show people what he can do. He wants to get back into the England team. He's very enthusiastic. People will say one or two things about him, but they've said stuff about me in the past too, so I won't worry about that. He's a winner. Even without the armband on, he's a captain every week. He's a lot better play than people give him credit for. Hopefully we can harness all his positive characteristics and get the best out of him. I think with Tony's backing and Amit coming back on board this is a really positive step for the Football club." -Neil Warnock

“This should be a great day for QPR. Think the right support has been given to our manager Neil Warnock.” @tonyfernandes

Opinion

The transformation at QPR since Tony Fernandes completed his buyout of the club ten days ago has been absolutely remarkable – and it’s only likely to become more so as we tick towards the transfer deadline on Wednesday night. Three weeks ago QPR’s official spin machine was using Kieron Dyer’s long since finished England career and Jay Bothroyd’s single 15 minute appearance for his country almost a year ago to make their free transfer arrivals sound more impressive. Now, with Shaun Wright Phillips tipped to follow Barton into Loftus Road next week, we’re signing players who could actually play for their country this season while at Rangers.

In Barton’s case that ‘could’ can be changed to ‘should’ because Fabio Capello is so desperate for a player in his position that he is continuing to select Scott Parker despite him playing his football in the Championship – although that too is about to change. Barton was one of the stand-out performers in the Premiership last season as Newcastle consolidated their place back in the top flight after winning promotion. By rights he should be named in the England squad whenever he’s fit and pushing to be selected for the starting 11 more often than not. He should also, at 28, be signing for a club a good deal more established than us for a sizeable transfer fee.

The reason he’s not is because Joey Barton the footballer is only half the story. Rarely has there been a character like Barton in the history of the game, with an almost unprecedented ability to self destruct. He will know himself, because we’re reminded often enough that he’s actually quite intelligent contrary to what his behaviour may have you believe, that his actions over the years have restricted him from becoming that multi-million pound international midfielder. He’s created a situation where, aged 28 and in the form of his career, most clubs won’t touch him with a barge pole. It’s a waste, but he could do for QPR this year what Adel Taarabt did for us last. Both players are only here at QPR because they’re flawed individuals and one of the most intriguing parts of Barton’s move to Loftus Road is how they will fit into the same team and get on with each other. To put it in slightly starker terms and open up a sweeptstake opportunity – how long will it be before Barton sticks one on Adel?

You see with Barton the problem isn’t stupidity, or alcohol, or anything else other than temper. His list of previous offences is impressive but in almost every case he was provoked and it’s a simple case of not being able to control his temper. The cigar in the eye incident is the one levelled against him most often, a disgraceful and unforgiveable act that could have permanently disabled a young team mate. However a less reported fact in that story is that Barton only did it because said young team mate, Jamie Tandy, was actually trying to set Barton’s shirt on fire at the time. Similarly the attack on a 15-year-old Everton fan in a hotel in Thailand started after the youngster had abused Barton and kicked him in the shins. The incident with the taxi driver in Liverpool, the infamous fight in McDonalds that eventually saw him jailed and banned from the game – they all have this theme running through them of a disproportionate response to what initially started as an offence against him.

Barton doesn’t drink these days, and in fact spends most of his time quoting philosophers on Twitter. One more story about how intelligent and well read Joey Barton is and I’m going to blow my bloody brains out. He’s not a reformed character, because the problem wasn’t something he can reform – it was and remains his temper. On the opening day of the season against Arsenal the reformed Joey Barton responded to an obvious dive in the penalty area by Gervinho by picking the Arsenal man up by the throat and wrestling with him before then, ironically, cheating himself and hurling his body to the ground after a small slap on the side of the face. Had he responded in a normal way then he would have been the hero – stamped on by Alex Song behind the referee’s back and then almost conned out of a penalty by a play acting striker. Instead he again made himself the villain through his actions. He can Tweet about Isambard Kingdom Brunel until he’s blue in the face – the short temper and disproportionate response to perceived wrongs remains.

And so it comes down to whether you can overlook these obvious failings and focus on the football ability alone – as Neil Warnock is doing. Undoubtedly Barton is better than any player we currently have on our books and we stand a much better chance of staying in the Premiership with him than we would do without him. He’s also got plenty to prove, which is a quality Warnock likes in his signings. But is this enough?

This time last year I was writing articles to the effect that I’d rather finish tenth in the Championship without Marlon King than win the division with him. Ultimately we got the best of both worlds but on that occasion I couldn’t overlook that particular scumbag’s history, even if Neil Warnock believed he would bring something to our team. I’d have found it hard to go to QPR any more had he signed to be honest. Barton does have redeeming features while King is a thick, loathsome, piece of shit and that’s how I’m justifying this clear hypocrisy to myself. But to be honest the simple fact is Barton is a bloody good player so I’m more willing to ignore his previous misdemeanours. Fickle, hypocritical – I’m both of those things and more besides.

Tweet @loftforwords

Photo: Action Images

DesertBoot added 21:48 - Aug 26 "but we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore". Fernandes had made our dreams a reality. I can't wait to see Barton play in a QPR shirt. Looking at his Tweets, alot of the Press wish him well too. A very good midfielder who loves playing football. A good wage yes but still a big decision to make. Hopefully this will trigger more similar signings. Welcome on board Joey.

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Northernr added 21:49 - Aug 26 I bet they do wish him well, he's good for copy!
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BlackCrowe added 21:52 - Aug 26 Superb piece of writing.
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DylanP added 21:57 - Aug 26 Having succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams with Adel last season, clearly Warnock thinks he can tame the wild beast that is Barton. We are all hoping he will succeed again because having someone of Barton's talent at the heart of our midfield would "kick it up a notch" so to speak. It aint hypocricy, Clive -- it might turn out to be overly hopeful or even naive, but not hypocricy. there is a difference between JB and King. Maybe its only a matter of degrees, but things aren't always black and white; this is a world of greys. and in the real world, Barton's talent makes being overly-optimistic, the only realistic course to take. Thanks for another great article.

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jamois added 22:02 - Aug 26 The Rs are staying up! Great stuff Clive. But where's he going to play? Midfield hard-man he may be, but protecting the back four is not his usual position. He's box-2-box at best or attacking midfielder. Right wing for the Geordies last year. Would love to see him next to Faurlin mind......
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Northernr added 22:04 - Aug 26 The beauty of Barton jamois, and something I meant to mention in the article, is that he can easily play in any of the five midfield positions we have in our system.
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Marshman added 22:12 - Aug 26 Hopefully 433 with Faurlin, Derry and Barton across the middle and Adel + SWP behind Bothroyd/DJ
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Spaghetti_Hoops added 22:14 - Aug 26 It is much easier to live with smug hypocrisy if you don't give a tinkers what footballers do after they leave the pitch, and you don't read the tabloids. As for Marlon King (loathsome as he is) I don't remember him losing it on the pitch and his reaction to the idiots repeatedly singing "She said no.." was entirely positive. As a warrior for your team, legally entitled to be playing, he does the job. Barton is a different kettle of fish. When the red mist descends we will either have to adopt the "everybody hates us but we don't care" approach; do a Wenger "Sorry I didn't see that..."; or get all embarassed and rue the day he signed. As you seem to follow all the gossip and keep a file of every players misdemeanours you are in for a tricky time. Can you sneer at the rest of the bad boys and give Barton an easy time? It's the first time I remember you setting out mitigating factors. I think we've recruited a cracking midfielder.

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QPRski added 22:21 - Aug 26 It is amazing how paridigms change! We have signed a real class player with a real character (both on and odd the field!) It is a real signal of both the the new ownership (wages) as well as the team management (how to control this beast) of a new direction. As previously stated ,not my ideal player, but this is a a real "Warnock player", and I for one "in NW I trust"! I am just waiting to see the sparks fly with the character of Barton and Abel T! I have the impression that this is not the end. We the have the basis of a very interesting team but we need very strong man management of these characters. ....what a change from the the "boutique era"!!!

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NorwayRanger16 added 22:32 - Aug 26 Good and well balanced article Clive, something for both the doubters and the believers to connect with. I'm in the latter category and therefor over the moon ATM. As a Newcastle supporter cleverly observed when he asked his fellow supporters "how many games do you think we will come back from being 0-1 down without Joey?" This is exactly the type of player we, and every team of course, need. We won't know until the Newcastle game how NW want us to play. It's only after he has his targets in place(IF he gets who he want) that we will know the true lineup. I seem to remember not long ago he hailed Blackpool's approach and tactics last season, something like Marshman above proposed might not be so wide of the mark. Only downside is my expectations for the rest of the transfer window just went through the roof! COYR's!

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Northernr added 22:46 - Aug 26 The point I haven't addressed, saved for an article next week when presumably one or two more high profile players will have arrived, is that this is basically QPR giving up on any semblance of idea of ever doing anything other than making a huge loss each year.
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davman added 23:19 - Aug 26 Only a loss if Fernandes does not remain true to his word. He said that he is an 'old fashioned businessman' and that 'cash is king'. If true, he won't be doing things on HP, he'll be paying for them outright. In short, if he is willing to pay for these losses outright and not 'loan' the money to the club, then who cares. If, as is likely as everyone else seems to do it, this is not the case, then our debt will double year on year until we reach the Champions League and play in front of 50,000 each week at New Loftus Road. But don't fall into that trap, Clive. Blinkers on, we're happy and anyone putting such reality checks up deserves a damn good ignoring...

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QPRski added 23:43 - Aug 26 Clive you are correct. These are exciting times but it is not clear how Fernandes wishes to balance the books. Clearly the strategy is premier league survival and development. A new stadium, larger fan base. But for sure the team on board are no mugs. I await the future develpoments. These are potentially exciting times.
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ade_qpr added 01:34 - Aug 27 on the field could be a great signing off the field the jury is still out. If you look into the future short term other players may give Rangers a closer look who wouldn't of earlier. Long term if Barton works out then it helps the ambitions of staying in the premier league with better overall quality of players infront of a bigger crowds and new stadium? ( sad if LR goes )

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lualua17 added 02:31 - Aug 27 Hi guys Newcastle fan here just wanted to say well done with the signing of Joey Barton he really is a gem of a player and I hope you guys do well this year. "As a Newcastle supporter cleverly observed when he asked his fellow supporters "how many games do you think we will come back from being 0-1 down without Joey?" This is exactly the type of player we, and every team of course, need. " NorwayRanger16 that could have possibly been me who said that lol. You are exactly right in what you say and that is why I am really gutted he has good. Anyway good luck for the season guys and sorry to invade ya blog lol.

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lualua17 added 02:32 - Aug 27 That should have been "gone" instead of good typo lol.
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isawqpratwcity added 04:03 - Aug 27 Great article, Clive! I really don't know how you find the time. Yep, we definitely ain't in Kansas anymore! This is the calibre of signing that I thought we should have been looking at many times over having achieved promotion but instead our bloated and belittled benefactors suddenly got the nervous nellies that their imminent profits could be diminished by actually paying fees and salaries (though Taarabt was an oppotunistic attempt at an asset-stripping windfall). Thank you, [insert deity here], for sending TF to clean out the Temple before NW was forced to tell them to stick their job firmly up their collective clackers. Like you, Clive, I see JB as a person with a temper that is likely to be a serious problem still. But even for our new owners, this is one of the more likely ways we could afford this level of skill. I, too, am not entirely comfortable with this, but I'm prepared to give it a go. If JB can keep from losing his rag on a regular basis he'll be a natural successor to Derry as captain, something I have thought we have needed for a while. He'll stretch NW's man-management skills but the Yorkshireman has done bloody well so far. IWWT. If he were eligible to play today, I reckon we'd already know it. Meanwhile, let's look forward to more signings with renewed optimism. U RRRRR'ssss!

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swisscottage added 04:53 - Aug 27 CLive .. huge loses? Maybe, maybe not. Take a look at Man City, they don't have losses, they manufactured a massive sponsorship deal. Given that he's int he process of vonverting all the debts into shares, I expect this is the way it will go. Seeing as its Tune group that are the majority shareholders rather than just Fernandes, and Mittal/Bhatia, appear to be buying into this, this now has all the impressions of the symbiotic cross branding that T&C never brought to the blub.

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SheffieldSteve added 06:51 - Aug 27 I see why you took your time commenting on Barton, Clive, it's a very interesting signing, and, before I forget, lualua17, many thanks for your wishes, welcome to QPR :-) However, this morning on 5-Live they said too late for Barton to play today, so, ironically, it looks like he'll be making his debut, certainly home debut, against Newcastle, that's be an evening to attend Loftus Road, indeed! Bring on more signings, how many months ago did I say Crouch would be back with QPR this season? That dream is getting closer, and I would welcome him back with open arms, probably not, but, on loan? Possibility... Whatever, lets get at least a point at Wigan (best bet), but 3 points would be a boon, before we play the Toon! U Rs!!

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MelakaRanger added 07:16 - Aug 27 Time to cash in on Adel. I just dont think he will shine in the Premiership and he is not the Captain we need. The Premiership is no place for stroppy leaders. If in the next few days we could get £10 million+ then it should be grabbed immediately. We still make 6 mill even after Spurs cut.
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JB007007 added 07:50 - Aug 27 This is a real good positive signing. No doubt one of the best midfielders in the country right now. I would be interested to know if he was NW's second choice behind Scott Parker though. If he is, I think we have the better player as Joey Barton is more versatile. He's also free and a couple of years younger. His temper is a worry however, but then we have have the likes of Dezza and Hilly to keep him calm not to mention his new manager!

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colinQPR added 21:47 - Aug 27 Great article. If Neil tames Barton we could sell him in a couple of years and make a profit if needs be. I've been a supporter since I was 10, that's 50 years so I'm really excited about the next few seasons. It's so positive that the ownership has changed.
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lualua17 added 04:14 - Aug 30 Cheers Sheffield Steve :-) .
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