BARTON THINK...
The midfielder in his own words
‘When I went to QPR it was a choice dictated by money. I didn’t like what I had done and I swore I’d never do that again. It was the first time in my life that I had taken a decision for money. I did it because my partner was due to give birth — but I did not feel good about it. The more money you have, the more problems you have.’
ON WHY MONEY WOULDN’T INFLUENCE HIS NEXT MOVE
‘I’d take it off Alan Hansen, but not from that bell, same fella that stamped on Neil Lennon, then threatened FA if they banned him. I really don’t like that p***k, in fact I honestly despise him.’
ON CRITICISM FROM ALAN SHEARER
‘I fell out with the hierarchy at Newcastle. With what has come after at that club, people have seen what the owner Mike Ashley was attempting to do. I didn’ t feel I could buy into that. Being at one with the fans has always been massive to me. At City I got on well with the fans, at Newcastle I did, too.’
ON WHY HE LEFT NEWCASTLE UNITED
‘England did nothing in that World Cup, so why were they bringing books out? We got beat in the quarter-finals. I played like s**t. Here’s my book. Who wants to read that?’
ON ENGLAND STARS BRINGING OUT AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
‘I will be impactful as a manager. I feel fortunate to have been given a number of chances. I was surprised I was. Would I be as forgiving with somebody who made as many mistakes as me? I’m not sure.’
ON WHEN IT’S TIME TO BECOME A BOSS
‘In one training game, I went in a little hard on him. He took exception to it. So training gets cut short, then I remember laughing at him and saying, dead sarcastically: “Yeah, you’re a good player”. He literally just flipped and sprinted towards me. I wasn’t just gonna let myself get hit, so I punched him and took the wind out of his sails. But, obviously, he wasn’t gonna just back down after that, so I hit him again and knocked him out.’
ON TRAINING-GROUND BUST-UP WITH QPR TEAM-MATE OUSMANE DABO
‘If there is a God. If you do exist. Prove yourself. Take out either Adrian Chiles or Andy Townsend with a stray bolt of lightning. The nation awaits.’
ON GOD’S EXISTENCE
‘Maybe I’m a little too intelligent to be a footballer’ ON HOW HE VIEWS HIMSELF