Joey Barton was released from prison earlier this week after serving less than half of a six-month prison sentence for an assault on a teenager in Liverpool last year. While he was in jail he was given a four-month suspended sentence for an assault on his then Manchester City team mate, Ousmane Dabo. His current employers, Newcastle United FC, have said they will give the player another chance although they declare that they will seek to reduce his wages by half. In all likelihood, they will take the first opportunity to sell him. Since his release the Football Association has announced that he is to be charged with violent conduct over the Dabo incident.

A Fine Example To Young Fans

Fellow sports betting fans will be split between those who think rehabilitation is the way forward and others who feel he sullies the reputation of his club and sets a poor example to the young fans, admiring of his footballing talent. It’s difficult to see how he will lift his fellow players rather than put a damper on proceedings.

I feel sorry for Joey Barton. He clearly carries an anger within which he finds impossible to control when he reaches his boiling point. Circumstances beyond his control, probably childhood based, have put him in this position and it’s not an easy task for him to bring about change within himself. He must, nevertheless, find a way of controlling his impulses if he is not to spend many years in jail and cause more suffering to his hapless victims.

What Does Joey Barton’s Future Really Hold?

There are some who will say he has paid his debt to society and he should now be allowed to continue with his life but I feel that many football betting fans will agree that his redemption cannot take place as a player. We can’t allow a man to commit such crimes and then pay him £65,000 a week. Such a thing sends the wrong message to the young and is an insult to his victims who continue to suffer. What’s more, he may continue to be a threat to his fellow players. A low-profile coaching role for a time, perhaps in the inner-city areas would be a more humbling and fruitful environment for him to sort himself out. Good luck and all strength to the man but keep him out of the limelight.