Why Jaws is tipping Joey to flourish in the Glasgow goldfish bowl
IN a bid to escape his chequered past, Joey Barton has sought to reinvent himself as a footballing philosopher. Using his Twitter account, he thinks nothing of dropping in references to the likes of Immanuel Kant while offering up considered views on art, literature, politics and sport to his 3.2million followers.
The 33-year-old’s new and ‘improved’ persona led to a guest appearance on Question Time, where he infamously broke down the choice between Labour, Conservative, the Lib Dems and UKIP as being akin to picking between ‘four really ugly girls’.
That Barton will swap discussions with David Dimbleby for tete-a-tetes with Scott Brown next season in the heat of an Old Firm derby is a truly intriguing prospect for Scottish football.
Some have questioned whether it might reawaken the player’s dark side but, according to Joe Jordan, the suitability of the former street brawler and ex-Strangeways inmate for handling the intensity of life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl should not be up for debate.
Jordan was assistant to Harry Redknapp when Barton was at Queens Park Rangers, and according to the legendary Scotland striker, the Liverpudlian was a pleasure to work alongside as he helped the club go up through the play-offs in 2014.
Having also watched Barton emerge as the driving force for Burnley as they won the English Championship in the season just ended, Jordan is in no doubt he would prove a huge asset to Rangers as they set their sights on challenging Celtic in next season’s Scottish Premiership.
‘I worked with Joey at QPR when he had just come back from his loan spell in Marseille,’ said Jordan (below).
‘He played a lot of games and he was not a problem at all. QPR had just come down from the Premier League and there was a lot of pressure on the team to go back up.
‘Every game was a big game for us but we managed that expectation — and Joey was a big part of us handling that expectation.
‘The Championship is a hard division, with lots of big clubs in it, and you need to be very fit to play the number of games. You only need to look at the number of clubs who go down there and, rather than going back up, they go on to get relegated again. That just shows you how tough that is.
‘To succeed, you need people who can handle the pressure and Joey knew what he was confronting and he faced up to it very well.
‘He was one of the reasons we made the play-offs that year. We lost our top scorer, Charlie austin, to injury and we missed his goals and we could have struggled. But with Joey’s help, we got up through the play-offs in the end.
‘I’ve watched Joey a few times this season with Burnley and he’s been a very influential player for them. He made the Championship Team of the Year. His form has been good and I’m sure the people at Burnley will echo my sentiments about his professionalism.
‘He’s been a big figure in Burnley handling the pressure of trying to bounce back to the Premier League and, in my view, he is a player who I think would have no problem handling any pressure at Rangers. He could handle anything that comes his way, no problem.’
Barton was last week shown around Murray Park before Rangers assistant manager David Weir treated the midfielder to a round of golf at Loch Lomond alongside Ibrox striker Kenny Miller.
The former Manchester City player’s second visit in 10 days ended with him putting pen to paper on a two-year deal, describing the chance to play for Rangers as a challenge ‘the competitive animal in me just could not turn down’.
Barton may be the man who once disgustingly stubbed a cigar out on the eye of a youth player, but Jordan believes the presence of the reformed midfielder will prove a valuable education to the young kids at Ibrox.
‘There are a lot of younger players at Ibrox with the quality you need to play for Rangers,’ he said. ‘But when you go up a division, experience is key and having Joey in the dressing room can only help create a strong bond.
‘Mark Warburton has enjoyed a lot of success but I can understand why he wanted Joey. His experience and game knowledge will be invaluable for a club like Rangers, where there are no easy games. The younger players can learn from him.’
Jordan also believes a successful pursuit of Niko Kranjcar would be a huge coup for Rangers. The midfielder may have already played his last match for New York Cosmos, with just two games of their season left, after pulling up with a groin injury in the third minute of a win over Tampa Bay Rowdies last Sunday. Jordan, who worked with the Croat at Portsmouth, Tottenham and also QPR, believes Kranjcar would help Warburton’s quest to take on Celtic next season.
‘I’ve worked with Niko for 10 years across three clubs and he is a very good player,’ he said. ‘He is also a very good lad. The type that coaches love to work
with. ‘He’s got terrific qualities and, at 31, he is still at a good age. If Niko is fit then he would give Rangers quality. ‘If Rangers get Niko in addition to Joey, they will have made two very good signings.’