Sam Allardyce is hopeful Joey Barton’s move to Newcastle will go through in the next couple of days. Joey chose to sign for Newcastle earlier this week without even talking to West Ham United – who were also interested. Sam talked about Barton’s transfer and his past boorish behavior yesterday.
A Smiling Confident Big Sam
Sam talked yesterday to SkySports about Barton’s move:
“I think it’s nearly there. We were hoping it was going to be completed – it’s not quite there yet,”
“So maybe in the next couple of days we’ll clinch that to add to what would be a very, very good week.”
We agree there – it’s been a really good week and fans have been impressed with the speed and persuasive powers BSA has shown. He obviously has the respect of the players and that will be a big draw as Newcastle attempt to attract top class players to the club.
Joey Barton also impressed Newcastle fans when it was revealed he had agreed terms with Newcastle at least ₤10,000/week less than what West Ham were offering. That augers well for Joey’s future at Newcastle.
Joey Barton
Of course Barton coming to Newcastle has caused some dismay with some fans – because of his past behavior – both on and off the field. Sam addressed this yesterday to SkySports as follows:
“He’s got a little bit of baggage off the field, yes. I think he admits that himself.”
“In my time at Bolton, we had lots of people come with that sort of reputation but have found that, with a little bit of gentle care and handling, hopefully he’ll mature and we’ll see the last of those disturbances.”
Wonder what Sam means by gentle care and handling?
We’ll see how Barton does – time will tell – but it’s starting to look like Joey is very keen to make his Newcastle career a huge success – both for him and for Newcastle.
Comments on our articles are always welcome.
2 comments so far
crazydave
Jun 9, 2007 at 7:41 AM
Comment #1Its definately been a contraversial signing with fans split on views. But Im a beleiver in giving people a fresh start, whats happenned is in the past. If he curbs his ways he could turn out to be one of the Toons best signings. So give the lad a chamce to change his ways and give him the support. If he knows the Toon Army has given him the vote of confidence it will work wonders for his morale and his fight to change his image.
Ed Harrison
Jun 9, 2007 at 9:04 AM
Comment #2crazydave – well said !