Joey Barton hasn’t had the greatest time in the Scottish Premier League since leaving Burnley, finding himself out of contract after only appearing in eight games for Rangers. Could he return to his old club?
Barton was a catalyst behind Burnley’s promotion campaign, stabilising their midfield, but he was allowed to leave for free when his contract expired.
Rangers
Calling Joey Barton’s time with Rangers a disappointment would be an understatement. After joining the team during the summer, the notoriously hot-headed midfielder had his share of issues in Scotland. They began with a training ground row with Andy Halliday and other teammates after a 5-1 loss to Celtic.
The altercation led to a six-week suspension from the club. Barton did apologize for “overstepping the mark” but altercations like this aren’t new for him. Barton is the type of player who can only succeed in certain situations and the Scottish Premier League perhaps wasn’t the place for him.
Things went from bad to worse when the Scottish Football Association announced that they were investigating Barton for breaching their gambling rules. That was the final straw as Rangers terminated Barton’s contract. This ended his tumultuous time with the club but the issues weren’t over for Barton.
He admitted to the charge of placing 44 bets between 1 July and 15 September, all of which came while he was under contract with Rangers. This led to a one-match ban by the Scottish FA that will follow Barton to any club he signs for within the United Kingdom.
Return to Burnley
Joey Barton’s time with Burnley was a good fit for both the player and the club. Manager Sean Dyche was able to keep Barton’s fiery nature in check and Barton rewarded him with good performances for the club. In the Clarets‘ promotion campaign from the Championship Barton made 36 starts for the club scoring three goals. He helped stabilize their midfield and was one of the driving forces behind Burnley’s return to the Premier League.
It was a surprise when Barton didn’t return to Burnley but at the time, it looked like Rangers would be challenging for the Scottish Premiership title. When it was clear that it wouldn’t be the case, things went south quickly. And so may Barton.
Sean Dyche hasn’t ruled out a return to the club for Barton but he also hasn’t made any strong statements that he’ll be back. Dyche has allowed Barton to return and train with the club whilst he’s out of contract. On Barton’s situation in Scotland, Dyche said, “He’d had an indifferent time with being away from the club and different things going on in Scotland, so it’s about getting him fit and sharp.”
This sounds like a manager who still believes in Barton even with his shortcomings. Dyche was able to get the best out of Joey Barton in the past so it wouldn’t be surprising if he could do it again.
Is it a good idea for the Clarets?
Barton would be an upgrade over current third choice midfielder, Dean Marney. Even though Burnley has added to their midfield depth with the additions of Steven Defourr and Jeff Hendrick, they could still use more reinforcements.
His return would bring much-needed steel to the Burnley midfield. While hot headed players can usually cause more harm than good, Joey Barton adds a different dynamic to the Clarets. While they have added gifted technical players, Barton’s fire is clearly missed at Turf Moor.
Since there wouldn’t be a huge financial commitment for the Clarets, the move could make sense. They have time to evaluate him while he reaches full fitness and if it looks like he could help the club, they could easily ink him to a contract. Sometimes a return to familar surroundings can bring the best out of someone and for Barton, that may be the case here.
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