Fleetwood end Barton time as manager
FLEETWOOD Town have sacked controversial manager Joey Barton.
The League One club are 10th in League One, three points off the play-off places and have won only one of their last seven matches, but the move appears to have more to do with a breakdown in the relationship between Barton and club owner Andy Pilley.
Barton managed Fleetwood 128 times in a three-year period, with a win average of 39.8% and they were beaten in the play-off semi-finals by Wycombe Wanderers last season.
A club statement read: “Fleetwood Town can confirm manager Joey Barton has left the club with immediate effect.
“We would like to thank Joey for his work during his time at Highbury Stadium and wish him success in the future.”
In a tweet, Pilley said the decision had been tough but “I felt now was the right time for the club to go in a different direction.”
Before Christmas, Barton told striker Ched Evans his time at the club was over for “discipline and behaviour” reasons.
“There’s been multiple infractions and we always try to give a bit of leeway but it’s just run its course,” he said at the time.
Evans is in talks over a loan move to Preston North End.
As when he was a player, Barton’s career has been dogged by controversy and a court case is still to be heard after he pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after an incident with former Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel in April 2019.
The trial has been postponed until June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.