Everyone To Blame But Joey

Sensibly Barton has resisted the temptation to talk about his conviction for two assaults in the summer of 2008. He has kept his head down and he has got on with trying to rebuild a once promising career as a professional footballer.

The silence, though, has not lasted. I'm sure his advisors and staff at the Sporting Chance clinic - an ever lasting supply of chances in Barton's case - thought it was a good idea to get a few high profile national journalists down for the day to tell "his side of the story" in a sympathetic light. It wasn't.

A lot of what Barton said was evocative and he has put a few things into some sort of context. His description of prison life was moving and, yes, he has had to cope with a lot in his life, including an upbringing on a tough Liverpool council estate. He hasn't had a drink in nearly two years and thankfully he has attended anger management classes.

But ultimately he still comes across as a spoilt brat with a massive chip on his shoulder. At no point does he apologise for what he has done, whether it is repeatedly smashing someone in the face outside a McDonalds restaurant in the early hours of the morning, fracturing the eye socket of a former teammate or undermining the authority of two Newcastle managers in the space of four months by attacking their ability and record in the dugout.

Yes, he and Alan Shearer have since shaken hands at a race meeting, but that doesn't make everything alright. That peace reigns is news to Shearer anyway and I doubt Barton will be at SJP for very long if the former United skipper does ever become permanent manager.

Let's recap. Barton was sent off in the final minutes of a 3-0 defeat at Liverpool - his first game for months after injury - and responded to criticism - not for the first time in his life - by going on the offensive, verbally lashing out at the coaching staff and teammates.

Joey, though, just calls it sticking up for himself. Poor him. When he reads the papers, he likens his write ups to Hitler.

Erm, just accept the fact you're in the wrong Joey. You keep pressing the self destruct button, you've done some despicable things and you have been rightly criticised for them. That's all.

He is not the only high profile footballer from a background where fists were flung first and questions asked later.

Yet he is the only one who has been banged up in recent years and he is the only one who has been banned by his own football club from turning up at the training ground because of what he has said to the manager.

He followed his fall out with Shearer by doing something remarkably similar to Chris Hughton at the start of this season, yet we are still expected to say, oh yeah, sorry Joey, you're trying to change, all is forgiven.

Gosh hasn't your life been hard, of course that excuses everything, all those nasty people saying nasty things to you, and you'd had a drink, so yeah, you're right, that explains the violence. You just get on with things, we'll forget all about it now, don't say another word.

In fact, I wish he wouldn't say another word. He has been punished for the assaults and has served his time.

Every man has the right to get on with their lives after that, although if you or I had done what he had I doubt very much there would have been a job waiting for us when we got out.

Ultimately, he keeps making the same mistakes, over and over again, and still wants to blame everyone else for them. He has been given numerous chances and has struggled to take any of them.

From a purely football point of view, I hope he can get things right because he is an asset on the pitch if he does (or at least one Shearer can sell for a few bob) and Newcastle need players like that more than ever at the moment.

But will he - he's 27 now - ever get his head round the fact he is to blame for his problems, nobody else? Until he does that, I'm afraid it is difficult to have any time for him.