Bad-boy Barton reinvents himself in France

MARSEILLE, France (AFP) –

Marseille’s English midfielder Joey Barton leaves the pitch at the end of the French L1 match against Lille on November 25, 2012. Barton may be the enfant terrible of English football, but he is winning plaudits in France — and not just for his gallant but widely ridiculed attempts at the language.

Joey Barton may be the enfant terrible of English football, but the bad-boy midfielder is winning plaudits in France — and not just for his gallant but widely ridiculed attempts at the language.

The 30-year-old, who has been farmed out for the year by QPR to Marseille, displayed the full extent of his rarely seen talents with a goal direct from a corner in the Europa League as well as two assists during Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brest in Ligue 1.

Named in Elie Baup’s starting lineup days after lasting just 45 minutes of Marseille’s heavy 4-1 home defeat against league leaders Lyon, Barton, along with his teammates, demonstrated great character at Brest to tighten their grip on second place in the table.

Playing in the rain and fog in Brittany, the feisty Barton, who has spent time in prison, explained: “The conditions were very English, I felt almost at home.”

“The important thing is to have won,” said the one-time England international, swatting away rave reviews of his performance.

“(For the second goal), Andre (Ayew) was better positioned than me, I didn’t think for a second to try my luck. If I had scored a goal and we had lost, I would have been very disappointed,” said Barton.

Joey Barton (2nd L) clashes with Vincent Kompany (L) during the English Premier League match between Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers in May. Barton was sent off and given a 12-match ban. He is now on loan at Marseille.

Seemingly a complete gamble, the year-long loan signing of one of English football’s most controversial figures appears set to be paying dividends — so far.

Barton was restricted to intermittent appearances in the Europa League matches as he was forced to serve a domestic 12-match ban meted out by the English Football Association following his dismissal at the end of last season for striking Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez before subsequent clashes with Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.

Still short of match-fitness, he showed glimpses of his promise by scoring straight from a corner against Borussia Moenchengladbach in a 2-2 draw with the German side in early November.

Against Lyon, he was withdrawn at half-time after being outclassed, like the rest of his side, by the opposition’s midfielders, but the tale against Brest was markedly different as Barton played the full 90 minutes and was instrumental in Marseille’s success.

Marseille midfielder Joey Barton in action during the French L1 match against Lille on November 25. Seemingly a complete gamble, the year-long loan signing of one of English football’s most controversial figures appears set to be paying dividends — so far.

With just two yellow cards in eight matches, Barton, who has a history of falling victim to provocation, has so far shown an ability to keep his emotions in check.

“Joey can bring all his potential into the vision of the game and his passes. If he has restraint in his game, it’s also because only one thing awaits, his first red card,” said Baup.

Voted man of the match on Sunday by Marseille supporters, Barton displayed a dynamic style that Baup had lauded at the start of the season, labelling him a tireless player who is just as adept defensively as he is going forward.

Even if his grasp of the local language remains limited, as seen during a recent press conference when he spoke English with a French accent, Barton could also shoulder the role of on-field “barker” or motivator that Marseille sometimes lack.

“Barker I don’t know, perhaps,” said captain Steve Mandanda.

“But above all, it’s the quality he can have on the pitch that he can give us.”