I’ll be giving away 1x pair of flights and 1x pair of tickets to the final game of the season clash between L’OM and Stade Reims.

As ever, entering is easy. Simply post your suggested caption below (thought, speech or general description) in relation to the image of the Élie Baup and myself.

I’ll pick the overall winner from the entries below and contact you with further details.

The winner will receive tickets and flights (if required) for themselves and one other person of their choice. The game takes place Sunday 26th May (20:00 BST) so be aware that overnight accommodation may be required.

The deadline for the competition is Tuesday 21st May. Good luck!

Lors du précédent concours, j’avais annoncé que le prochain serait le plus généreux à ce jour. Le voici:

Je vous offre la possibilité de remporter un vol pour deux personnes ainsi que deux billets pour l’ultime match de la saison entre l’OM et le Stade de Reims.

Comme toujours, participer est facile. Il suffit de poster votre légende (pensées, dialogues ou une description générale) par rapport à l’image d’Élie Baup et moi-même.

Je choisirai le gagnant parmi les inscriptions ci-dessous et nous vous contacterons avec plus de détails.

Le gagnant recevra des billets et des vols (si nécessaire) pour lui et une autre personne de son choix. Le match OM-Reims aura lieu dimanche 26 mai (20h00 BST), pensez à un éventuel hébergement si nécessaire.

La date limite du concours est le mardi 21 mai. Bonne chance.

The post Competition: Win flights and tickets to L’OM vs Stade Reims appeared first on Joey Barton.

Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly one of the greatest club managers to have ever graced a football pitch, a career in which he collected 38 trophies – an unimaginable success I don’t see any other manager achieving. And in times like now, it’s important to draw upon the impact he had, not only during his 26 years at the throne of Manchester United, but his impact on English football as whole.

The keystone

Despite his success, reports suggested it could’ve all ended after just four years in charge hadn’t Fergie won a particular FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest – an FA Cup campaign, in which he later went on to claim his first trophy for the club. However, this situation helps to highlight Fergie’s success; and that’s one of stability. Unlike most current managers – unless they’re already proven a success – Fergie was backed by the club and board, despite a trophy-less four years in charge.

Fergie was backed with a long-term vision, a vision that’s proven one of the most successful ever made in club football. This, along with a talented back-room team allowed Fergie to flourish, as he was the keystone, the leader of the pack. And that’s why becoming manager of Manchester United is so prestigious, the next manager is essentially walking into a perfectly working, impeccably oiled machine and with that comes pressure. A pressure to deliver.

Comparisons to Steve Jobs

A similar success story of Ferguson’s is to that of Steve Jobs; a heroic figure for Apple, propelling the company as one of the most recognisable brands of all time. I’d certainly argue a similar case for Fergie, supposedly, as Manchester United is the most recognisable club in the World, supported by an estimated 354m fans. And just like Jobs who built Apple up brick by brick, Fergie has done just that, helping develop the careers of: Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville to name a few.

There’s no denying the support of the board was key to both of their successes. But if the pattern between these two mammoth personalities is set to continue, then perhaps the abrupt decline in Apple’s market share since the loss of Jobs, is an indication into the future of Manchester United’s reign now Fergie’s decided to take a backseat. However, he’s always the first one to bellow out when things are going his way, so no doubt the next manager will hear him right from up in the directors box.

Who’s next?

There’s only two in for the running for me: David Moyes and José Mourinho. As much as I’d love to see Mourinho in charge, my money’s on Moyes. It’d be a huge gamble were Manchester United to hire Mourinho, he’s a flamboyant, unpredictable character, likely to draw unnecessary attention to the club. Moyes is a manager for life, Manchester United will look upon the success of Fergie in the hope of emulating this with Moyes, and it’s a livelong opportunity for the Scot.

Fergie’s best quotes

There was rarely a dull moment when Fergie was in charge; he infamously boycotted the BBC’s media for seven years, he constantly criticised referees and then there was Fergie Time. In addition to this, a number of quotes you couldn’t help but admire. Here’s my selection of his best.

On Real Madrid’s hopes of signing Cristiano Ronaldo: “Do you think I would get into a contract with that mob? Jesus Christ, no chance. I wouldn’t sell them a virus.”

On Ryan Giggs: “I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.

On Liverpool: “My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you can print that.”

On Wayne Rooney’s transfer request: “Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it’s a better cow than the one you’ve got in your own field. It’s a fact. Right? And it never really works out that way.”

On City: “Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder.”

On José Mourinho: “He was certainly full of it, calling me boss and big man when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper.”

On Gary Neville: “If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I’d check the milkman.”

On Filippo Inzaghi: “That lad must have been born offside.”

The post Alex Ferguson: a figure you cannot help admire appeared first on Joey Barton.

It now seems the German’s have further developed a footballing platform that works at a club level, something that the rest of the world can only admire – for the time being at least. Maybe it’s an equivalent of the old ‘Total football’ born by the Dutch.

Back to the drawing board

What you’ve witnessed in the Champions League over the past few months hasn’t occurred out of chance, the German FA have completely overhauled an already successful footballing system and gambled with something unique. Back at the 2002 World Cup, Germany was playing effective yet simple football, conceding just once en-route to the final. However, Brazil completely surpassed the German’s with a 2-0 victory.

Both finalists were complete polar opposites; as mentioned, Germany a well-organised unit, relying on formation and tactics. Compared to Brazil; boasting individual talent right through their squad with players capable of turning the game on its head in a second – a stereotypical Brazilian trait nonetheless.

During that time, Germany relied on poor performances by their opposition, lucky breaks and dominance from set pieces. All negative factors that contributed to their defeat against Brazil. Luckily for Germany though, the DFB (German FA) had already initiated the development of entirely new footballing blueprint and it was only a matter of time before it flourished. As a footballer you admire this because they acted against an already proven philosophy, a philosophy that required just a few minor tweaks to perfect. However, instead of those minor tweaks, the German’s reconstructed their entire footballing platform.

A zero tolerance for failure

It began back in 2000 when Germany embarrassingly exited the European Championships picking up just one point – one of the very few tournaments England can actually claim victory over Germany in recent years. The DFB acted instantaneously, creating the DFL (German Football League) to manage the 1 and 2 Bundesliga. The DFL were dogged and never wanted a repeat of Euro 2000. All teams in the top two tiers were required for their academies to have a certain number of indoor training facilities, a certain number of pitches, massage rooms and physiotherapists. Note the German’s zero tolerance for failure, and ultimately their keenness to change, to move forwards. As a fan, I’m envious. As an English player I’m embarrassed.

It was within these academies that saw the most significant change: at least 12 players within the academy must be eligible to play for Germany. A method guaranteed to help nurture the success of the national team too, a subject the English FA still appears stuck at.

A Guardian article from 2010 read: Christian Seifert, the Bundesliga’s chief executive said that the national team’s stark improvement was a direct result of the overhaul of Germany’s academy system, with all 36 clubs in the two Bundesliga divisions now obliged to operate centrally regulated academies before being given a licence to play in the league. Of the 23-man national squad now in South Africa, 19 came from Bundesliga academies, with the other four from Bundesliga 2 academies.

The 50+1 rule – a secret for scalable success?

Implemented to promote competition within the league, to create sustainable excellence, the 50+1 rule requires that members must own at least 51% of the club, removing the possibility of an Abramovich or Sheikh takeover. Thus helping nurture new talent, as the funds and mindset of those businessmen are eradicated, diminishing the chances of a multimillion-pound transfer deal.  In the years that followed this new ruling, the Bundesliga struggled, as academies were still developing and spending was out synced, in comparison to the rest of Europe. A necessary short-term medicine, it would appear.

Seifert went on to say, “This way you don’t have a foreign owner who doesn’t really care for the national teams,” said Seifert. “The clubs have a very strong relationship with the FA: we are all engaged in discussions [about youth development].”    

Domestic dominance

With Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich dominating the Champions League this time around, it’s little surprise that they captured first and second spot retrospectively in the Bundlesliga. The academy implementation was all too evident in their rise to victory this season – Dortmund containing the likes of: Reus, Gotze, Hummels and Schmelzer all players that surged through the academy ranks. I was intrigued into the performances of Dortmund and Bayern throughout their domestic and European campaign, so I spoke to some friends over at Prozone Sports analysis who provided me with the following data for the domestic performances:

In almost perfect tandem form, with the exception of Dortmund’s forward pass %, ball retention and final third entry success %, Bayern were the highest ranked team for all categories – coinciding with their top spot finish. Subsequently Dortmund ranked second for all those categories, excluding those mentioned, matching their second place finish.

European Dominance: A story of possession

Dortmund and Bayern are not only playing a catch-me-if-you-can game in their domestic league, but it seems their European dominance this season will become the envy of the rest of Europe too. I also obtained some data (I love Prozone!) from both semi-finals of the Champions League:

The rank in the table below indicates where the club lies among the 32 Champions League teams this season.

In the Champions League, the German clubs’ have been less dominant at retaining the ball. Instead, their overall usage of possession – turning it into meaningful attacks – has been above average; matching or bettering the Spanish clubs on the whole.

Prozone told me…

• Over the two legs, Bayern attempted 43.0% of their passes forward, compared to Barcelona’s 35.8% – a clear indication that Bayern changed from their possession-based game to a more direct, counter-attacking approach.
• Dortmund took a similar approach; 52% of their passes were forward over the two legs against Real Madrid, whereas their opponents attempted 48% of their passes forward.
• Both German teams adapted their games to beat their Spanish opponents but still outshot their opponents in the first legs 25-12 in total (17-9 for shots inside the box) to
take a combined 7-goal lead into the second legs.

Although a little premature, just like Bayern, only last season Barcelona was playing the same cat and mouse game with the rest of Europe. Now it seems the roles have reversed.

Copycats to follow

Barca’s European dominance over the past five years is one of the most entertaining styles of play ever witnessed. Now it seems the German’s have raised the bar and the rest of Europe find themselves rerouting their style of play yet again.

And just like those teams who chased Barca for so many years found – attempting to imitate a team who’ve instigated an innovative blueprint are unlikely to be out-maneuvered, simply because they’re already five steps ahead of everyone else.

Tip-tap football

Another key factor to the success of Dortmund and Bayern is their solidarity, playing as a team, fighting for one another. I watched Dortmund last weekend with a supposed weakened team and, despite that being the case, their solid core of a team was apparent – they ultimately won. But you compare this to likes of Real and Barcelona, and this begins to highlight the major differences. Once you begin to remove the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta the style of football their team’s built around begins to suffer. There’s an over-reliance on individuals as oppose to building a platform and selecting players accordingly. And this has been evident in Barca’s cup run this season – Messi continually kept their Champions League run alive.

Now what?

Many clubs like AC Milan and Manchester United have decreased spending for a fear of sanctions against Uefa’s Financial Fair Play introduction next season. Already, it seems the German teams have little to worry about from a business perspective; expenditure is low, and considering their starting XI costs just €40.6, it would appear they’ve created the perfect footballing platform to help cultivate fresh talent, all a while developing a national team and best of all, there’s no foreign majority owner.

Whilst many claim the Premier League is the best the league worldwide – from an entertainment perspective I’d agree – yet in comparison to the Bundesliga it remains unsustainable and that’s a worry – you only have to look at Portsmouth to see this.

It now seems the Premier League has reached a cross roads; it can continue to overspend, causing loses and run the risk of sanctioning from Uefa over the next few years, or it can cut back, develop a stringent academy system, building English football back to the dominant force it once was. It’ll take many years and just as the German’s experienced, a dip in national and domestic form is likely.

Speaking as an England fan, I’d welcome change to help develop the national side for a successful future. But as a devotee to the Premier League, I expect those years spent building a rigorous platform would possibly hamper the Premier League’s reputation as one of the World’s most exciting leagues, albeit for a few years.

Would you welcome a new football philosophy? As ever, let me know your thoughts below and I’ll do my best to reply.

The post Have the German’s created a footballing blueprint for the next generation? appeared first on Joey Barton.

Past convictions

Now, five days on, and Suarez has been dealt a catastrophic 10-match ban and will argue he’s been made an example of. I’m in a pretty good position to reflect on this, I’ve done some stupid things in the heat of the moment, I’ve felt the full force of the FA’s punishment in making an example of me, whilst having to cope with a chunk of my career on the sideline. So I know exactly how the fella feels – it’s great he’s got the immediate support of his club, I wish, but that par for the course.

FA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor has slammed Suarez’s behaviour, claiming “…players are role models for next generation”. There can’t be much argument here, the FA drill equality within the game right down to grass roots. But still it begs the question; is 10-matches maybe five too many?

Suarez isn’t exactly treading in unfamiliar territory either; he has a previous conviction for assaulting an opponent whilst at Ajax – again with his teeth- and how can we forget the infamous seven-match ban he earned for racially abusing Evra? He’s all too aware that actions lead to consequences from past experience, and yet that still doesn’t deter his burning desire to fight, to succeed. It’s this affixation with winning that’s helped earn himself a place on the PFA Player of the Year award this year. But the irony of what comes with it, hey?

Dealt a harsh blow

Arguably the price does seem high when the action seemed to shock Ivanovic, not harm him. Having read an article on the Guardian’s site a few days back, I was left pondering how disgusting acts such as spitting and biting are now deemed more punishable than actual acts of violence. A particular extract read;

This year the Irish prop Cian Healy was banned for three consecutive weeks for stamping on England’s Dan Cole in the Six Nations match at the Aviva Stadium in an apparently deliberate attempt to cause injury; when the Stade Français halfback Jerome Fillol spat at Bath’s Peter Stringer a few weeks later no injury was possible, but his ban will last for 14 weeks. We’d probably say that 14 weeks for such a non-violent assault seems a bit extreme. Though I guess that forces us to ask what’s worse – being spat at, bitten, verbally abused or physically attacked? The answer to that is probably in the eye of the recipient?

Is it the intent?

I’ve said this before – it’s the intent behind it that really matters. And, I’d suggest that Suarez’s bite paralleled with Ageruo’s two-footed lunge on David Luis two-weeks previous – an intentional lunge to harm – does make you question whether the FA has been a little heavy on the Uruguayan, in that case? That the biting thing has shocked the FA more, forcing them to send a message. Though, in all honesty I am not sure we’ll see biting being a common act in the football world!

Petr Cech summed Suarez up perfectly on Sunday “I was not happy because he is always pushing people around to make space for himself,” the goalkeeper said. “This is what I was complaining to the referee about because he does it all the time, little fouls and pushes.”

Gaining an advantage

Anyone who’s played as a forward will know pinching, poking, tugging and doing whatever it takes – even if you break the rules to gain an advantage over your opponent – becomes staple if you’re going to succeed. Maybe Suarez should take pride over these digs from Cech. He’s a complex character and, as I already mentioned on Twitter, he’s playing his game on the edge, which is where our similarities show. Just like Suarez, I’ve overstepped the mark on a few occasions, when the determination to succeed takes precedence over rules and boundaries, when it goes too far.

This fine line between success and failure can often return victorious results, but the consequence of playing every game like it’s a matter of life or death is bound to end sourly, eventually.

Exploiting Suarez

The child-like, offensively intimate connotations of a bite is the cause of the FA’s decision to stamp their authority on the matter – albeit whilst exploiting Suarez. Do I think he deserves his punishment? Well, it’s difficult not to really. He got two matches less than my deserved punishment, but it all stems down to assault and whichever way you look at it, you can’t condone an act like that.

I respect the guy as a player, I’m sure most teams would love to sign Luis Suarez, the footballing genius. Nonetheless, he’s becoming a hindrance for Liverpool FC. No doubt Brendan Rodgers’ patience is wearing thin.

There have been reports Suarez is considering a move away from England, as a result of becoming ‘victimised’ by the football authorities. What are your views on this? Liverpool have stood by him during times of trouble, doesn’t he owe them? Post your thoughts below.

It seems the only real good to come from this incident is the £200,000 in Suarez’s wages making its way to the Hillsborough Family Support Group. Love that.

The post Was the FA right to ban Suarez for 10 games? appeared first on Joey Barton.

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the signed shirt is James Sloothaak for the following caption; David Attenborough: And hear we see two rather ferocious football players believed to be part of the “Marseille” clan protesting what seems to be a decision made by the referee despite however knowing that it is futile, after a minute or two the players will most likely return to a normal state of mind.

Well done James, we’ll be in contact and send the shirt out to you ASAP.

If you enjoyed this competition, check back within the next dew weeks as I’ll be running my most generous competition to date.

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In my latest competition I’m giving one opportunity to win a personally signed Marseille shirt – entering couldn’t be easier…

Simply post your suggested caption below (thought, speech or general description) in relation to the image of the ref, Ayew and myself.

I’ll pick the overall winner from the entries below and contact you with further details. Sign in below to enter.

All entries must be submitted by 29th April.

Good luck!

Pour mon nouveau concours, je vous donne l’opportunité de gagner un maillot de l’OM dédicacé. Pour cela, rien de plus simple…

Postez simplement vos suggestions pour la photo ci-dessous (pensées, dialogues, descriptions…) pour illustrer la situation entre l’arbitre, Ayew et moi.

Je choisirai le gagnant parmi les inscriptions ci-dessous et nous vous contacterons avec plus de détails. Inscrivez-vous ci-dessous pour participer.

Vous avez jusqu’au 29 avril pour participer !

Bonne chance!

The post Competition: Win a signed Olympique de Marseille shirt appeared first on Joey Barton.

After a dramatic victory, Bubba Watson, the 2012 champion currently sits at 250-1 with some bookies, falling from an already generous 35-1 yesterday after his worst round in five Masters. However, I think feel Bubba has the character to bounce back, his courageous gameplay last year epitomised the diversity of the competition and pinpointed why naming a winner is so difficult.

With so many players looking to seize the crown from Bubba’s reign, I’ve outlined two lists, both concentrating on player form both approaching the tournament and form during the first round.

The first list highlights players who’ve gone under the radar. These won’t quite make the final cut, but are worth looking out for. And the second concentrates on potential winners.

Ones to watch

Marc Leishman

Leishman is currently joint leading at six-under. He’s set a good standard for the following three rounds having birdied five over the back nine. But I just can’t see him keeping this up this emphatic pace.

DUSTIN JOHNSON

The big hitting American is just behind Leishman and is looking in great shape. He’s many peoples favourite, but just like Leishman I can’t see him keeping form throughout the tournament.

Brandt Snedeker

I don’t see him winning, but after leading the Open at half way last year and finishing tied third in the Masters back in 2008 he’s one to look out for. He almost lost it yesterday but somehow salvaged a two-under from a first round he’d like to forget. Although he didn’t make the cut in previous year he has vouched he’s back to “100%”. Those optimists amongst you might fancy a punt.

Bo van Pelt

He’s the ultimate underdog and with that comes little pressure. He’s in form and shot a ridiculous 64 in the final round of the 2012 Masters. I don’t see him battling it out with the likes of Tiger, but well worth a watch.

Tianlang Guan

This 14-year old kid finished one-over on one of the World’s toughest golf courses, unbelievable. He’s a bright prospect for the future and his birdie on the 18th was a fitting tribute to his performance yesterday. One for the future.

Winner

Rory McIlroy

Had a bit of a rollercoaster game yesterday with a few nervy mistakes. However, he’s just come into form and although it might be a little late, he’s got the quality to climb the leaderboard. A massive day for him today, he needs to address those mistakes, and fast.

Tiger Woods

I read an interesting statistic yesterday that five of the last 10 winners have been left-handed. There’s three this year; Mike Weir, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson. Apart from McIlroy and Garcia I don’t really see another right-hander beating Woods. In a toss up between Woods, Watson, Mickelson, Garcia and McIlroy, I’d choose Woods. He has plenty to do still after a steady start yesterday.

Sergio Garcia

He’s always in with a shout and even more so this year. Hit a bogey-free round yesterday to finish joint leader with Leishman and looks to be hitting the ball better than ever. He’ll be up there come Sunday.

Lee Westwood

Lee’s still chasing his first major and will need to improve on last year’s putting performance, after it cost him dearly. He’s currently sitting at two-under even after bogeying the first. If Lee can fight the pressure he’s in with a chance.

Justin Rose

Justin came into the tournament in outstanding form, and for that reason I’m tipping him to finish near the top.

Ian Poulter

Had an awful first day finishing four over. But his heroics during the Ryder Cup are an indication of his determined character, let’s hope it’s big enough to pull him out of this pit. I expect him to pull things around in the second round.

Phil Mickelson

You can never rule Mickelson out and for that reason I tip him as a potential winner. He played probably the most entertaining round yesterday with a blistering back nine. He eventually finished one-under.

The post The Masters: My predictions after round one appeared first on Joey Barton.

Decisions of mass destruction

Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister saw her make a decision, a decision between the economy and the people. As the Government raked in taxes, privatised companies and closed mines, the economy grew whilst the people saw their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods stamped on by one woman’s self-obsessed greed. Thatcher personifies capitalist ruthlessness, and backbone or not, there is no silver lining to that fact.

Communities destroyed

It takes little effort to notice the way she single-handedly abolished the entire community of the working class. Today just to drive through an old mining town is all you need to see. Windows boarded up, streets empty, workingmen’s clubs abandoned. This wasn’t the doing of a women building Britain for a better future, she in fact paralysed a country socially reliant on these communities. She “tore the heart out of the mining communities of the North” said David Hopper, the general secretary of Durhan Miners’ Association, “although millionaires like those in David Cameron’s Cabinet certainly did alright”. Greed was the cornerstone of Thatcher’s leadership. Her lust for money, her desire for power, her stubbornness.

This was all too evident in her dealing of Governmental businesses; tossing responsibility of public paid investments to the highest bidder. So little regard for how it would affect the quality says so much of Thatcher’s carelessness. Carelessness that’s still prominent today; I often travel by train in the UK and don’t envy those commuters amongst you, enduring delayed, overpriced services, day in, day out. But you’ve Thatcher to thank for that.

The Funeral

When it comes to the burial, the proposal that an individual who destroyed a state would be buried by it’s own resources is ludicrous. If her actions were replicated in any other country, we would condemn them as a tyrant, demand that they step down, are extradited. Yet in the UK, the elite go on giving destructive people like Thatcher a completely unjustified respect, using money ordinary people have earned and neglecting the fact that the Thatcher’s sit on a comfortable sixty-six million. I say justice would be to bury out of her own pocket, and to allow those who lost their livelihoods to be given what they deserved two decades ago.

The cover up

And how can we forget the cover up. Another shining example of her ruthless neglect was her part to play – or indeed the part she didn’t play – in the Hillsborough disaster. The tragedy on that day, the loss of life and the corruption involved in its cover-up remains a disgrace to this day. It was carried out by an evil, twisted woman, willing to tarnish an entire city’s reputation and scar the lives of hundreds of families.  This is symbolic of Thatcher’s regard for the people of the north. Just yesterday, both Dave Whelan and John Madejski twisted the knife even further into the backs of those associated with Hillsborough; favouring a minute silence at all games this weekend (a weekend that coincides with the 24^th anniversary of Hillsborough). Again, a stark reminder of the insensitivity drilled into her minions.

I can stretch only so far as to accept she was determined, but what use does determination serve if it’s to follow-through with her warped vision?  Obama claimed she had “broken the glass ceiling for other women”, I can only hope that she is no role model for anyone else in the future.

The post Margaret Thatcher: a legacy fueled by greed appeared first on Joey Barton.

The post Joey Talks: André-Pierre Gignac appeared first on Joey Barton.

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So Joey Barton is a total scumbag, is he not? That would I suspect be the view of most football fans and perhaps also people he has played with, fought with, argued with, not to mention the managers he has driven to distraction. Oh, yes, and he went to jail for assault and affray, did he not?

Until recently, I had only ever ‘met’ him via twitter, a place where a lot of footballers these days seem to spend more time than they do on the training ground. But it was because of those virtual meetings on the social media that I got to meet him in person. I was in France finishing a book, about two hours north of Marseille, where Barton is currently enjoying a loan spell from QPR. He invited me to a match, at home to Valenciennes, and dinner afterwards, and said I could bring as many friends and family as I liked.

Let me first of all say, to those diehard Clarets who think that we should only ever go to Burnley matches, that on the day in question, we were supposed to play Huddersfield but it was postponed as they were still involved in the FA Cup. Also, I should say that as we have been going to the same part of France on holiday for 30 years, Marseille has been my French team for as long as I can remember. I saw Chris Waddle play for them several times, and the last time I had a post match dinner with a player, the match was against Toulouse, and the player was Trevor Steven. You see, I find Burnley connections everywhere. When I had dinner with Trevor, I took Peter Mandelson (not the biggest football fan in the world) and partly as a result, because he was so impressed by the use of loud music to build up the atmosphere, (they still use Van Halem’s Jump when the players come out) we had a rethink of our use of music at election campaign rallies.

This time I took my son Calum, a Blackburn-born émigré called Craig who runs cycling holidays near Mont Ventoux, and two friends from Puymeras, the village we have been visiting for many years – Zizi the local bar owner, and Julien, who makes wine and olive oil. Both are Marseille fanatics. France does not have the range of clubs that we do, so their fan base stretches for miles and miles, and these two have been making the journey to the Velodrome stadium all their lives. To say Zizi was excited when I asked if he wanted to come to the game as Barton’s guest, and then have dinner in the players’ lounge, is an understatement. I know a lot of people in football, especially managers, and sometimes it is possible to forget and also to underestimate just how much something like that can mean to someone who has followed a club all their lives.

‘I said to my wife this morning this is the best day since our marriage,’ said Julien on the drive down. We had a bouillabaisse lunch a few miles out of the town, got to the ground early, collected our tickets and passes for ‘le salon du President’, and headed in. The free food and drink, the memorabilia on the walls, all helped make the day for my French friends. The 94th minute winner didn’t half help too, just when it looked like it was going to be a fairly forgettable 0 0 draw.

But it was the after match experience that really made it special, and all that was down to one of football’s favourite bad boys. Zizi, who has grown up kids of his own, had the look of a child who realises that Santa has after all delivered what he asked for. As the players started to drift through from the dressing rooms along the corridor, he was initially too shy just to go up and start talking to them. But once I introduced him to Barton, who incidentally had been one of the two best players on the pitch (the other being Valbuena), the Englishman made sure my French friend met all the players he wanted to, not least to tell them how desperate he was for them to beat PSG in their next match.

We had dinner, during which we discussed football, politics, culture, social media, diet, language (yes he does still speak English with a French accent when he is talking to foreigners), and he had some wonderful and unprintable stories about Neil Warnock and Mark Hughes among others. Zizi, who speaks no English at all, ate and drank away, constantly telling me this was like living a dream as player after player, and the club president, came over to talk to us.

We were the last to leave, and then some, because as we got up to go, Barton asked Zizi and Julien if they wanted to see the dressing rooms. More kids on Christmas Day looks. Zizi took a pee. ‘Je n’aurais jamais cru possible que je pisserais un jour ou Drogba l’avait fait.’ (I never believed it possible I would one day piss where Drogba used to). This was football joy of an intense level. He then sat alongside Barton and Julien and posed for photos in the dressing room seats, (think Bob Lord stand directors’ box in the white seat days) before Barton took them out onto the pitch and gave them a little tour of the ground.

Ok, the guy has a bad image and he is very skilfully using social media to change it. And maybe he thought that as someone who uses social media a fair bit too, I would say a few nice things about him. But the point is he didn’t have to do any of it, and he certainly didn’t have to push the boat out as far as he did for two working class guys from the village of Puymeras who honestly could not believe what was happening to them. They walked around the pitch. They messed around in the goalmouths. They took little bits of turf and stuck them in their pockets. And Julian admitted he would have to tell his wife it was actually better than their wedding day.

By the time we finally left, there were only two cars left in the car park. Ours, and Barton’s Land Rover. The match had ended hours ago. There was just a gaggle of Marseille fans waiting at the gate. We drove through them and headed north. Behind us, Barton stopped and got out to talk to them and pose for pictures.

He seems to be loving it out there. But in so many ways, he was not what I expected. And if ever he calls in at Zizi’s bar, not only will he see pictures of their day out plastered all over the place, but he certainly won’t have to pay for a drink.

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