Boss happy with in-form Barton
CHRIS Hughton might have winced at some of the challenges on Joey Barton at Molineux.
But the sight of the midfielder picking himself up and dusting himself off each time was as welcome as the close attention he was getting was unwelcome.
Barton has spent a large part of his three years at St James's Park in the treatment room.
And Hughton, having seen him come through Saturday's bruising encounter at Wolverhampton Wanderers, couldn't help be heartened by Barton's contribution.
The 27-year-old – who had scored against Aston Villa the previous weekend – set up Andy Carroll's equaliser in the 1-1 draw with a floated free kick.
After the game, Hughton, a former Republic of Ireland team-mate of Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, was diplomatic when asked about the home side's tactics.
And McCarthy himself, confronted by Barton as he headed for the tunnel at the final whistle, also played down the rougher edges of the previous 90 minutes, though later that night Match of the Day highlighted seven punishing challenges on Barton.
Clearly, McCarthy had seemingly been keen to stop Barton by any means necessary, and after a bright start from Newcastle, Wolverhampton gradually got themselves back into the game, and took the lead through Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, while referee Stuart Attwell going on to show a dozen yellow cards.
Away from Molineux, Hughton was a little more candid about the home side's "physicality".
"There's no doubt it was a physical game, and there's no doubt Joey took the brunt of their physicality – there's no doubt about that."
Hughton told SportMail. But the most important thing is that Joey got himself up each time and looked to receive the ball the next time.
"What's also important to me is Joey's form in the past three games. He's played well in all of them, and we want to keep him on the football pitch."
However, Hughton knows Barton – who started only 14 league games in the last two seasons – needs a season of playing week in, week out to re-establish himself as the Premier League performer who Sam Allardyce worked so hard to bring to St James's Park in the summer of 2007.
Allardyce had made Barton, then at Manchester City, his No1 target after succeeding Glenn Roeder, and he paid 5.8m to land the once-capped England international.
A succession of injuries, and off-the-field issues, have since restricted Barton's contribution on the pitch.
Having seen him play a significant part in Newcastle's promising start to the season, Hughton is convinced there's more to come from the Liverpudlian.
"The problem is that he's missed a lot of games," added Hughton. "The key is having him fit and available for us for as much of the season as we can. He's playing well, and a real asset to the team."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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