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Tweet some, lose some

Comment: 0 August 15th, 2011 by: admin
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USING one player’s Twitter account in a combative way could be detrimental to football club affairs.

This, Newcastle United found out after midfielder Joey Barton was admonished for using the medium to comment negatively against the Premier League side.

As a result, Barton was warned by a team lawyer that he will be facing breach of contract if he commits the same offence again.
Barton’s recent misdemeanour cascaded down his teammates as they were also issued strict guidelines over the use of their Twitter accounts, foremost of which prohibits them from revealing any “privileged’’ information that could give rivals leeway to compromise fellow players.

The directive cautioned that going against the rule would mean fines, suspensions and eventually getting fired.

What triggered the mess was Barton’s criticism of the club’s spending scheme, infuriating manager Allan Pardew who said twittering in an emotional state can be very damaging to a football outfit or any organisation.

TAKING THE BURDEN

It was not only Barton who disparaged the team using the same social networking site. Left-back Jose Enrique aired similar grievances but it was Barton who bore the brunt of Pardew’s ire. In fact, it hastily led to the 28-year-old playmaker being made available on a free transfer as a sign of discontent.

As an indication of remorse, Barton stressed his commitment to Newcastle, signifying he would stay as long as his services are still needed. Barton linked up with the Magpies from Manchester City in July 2007 for 8.5 million pounds. He made 82 appearances and was able to score eight (8) goals.

In his tweeting rage, Barton said his club wants better but cheaper players, a statement seen as tantamount to mocking Newcastle’s transfer policy.

He also took a potshot at owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias for not wanting to “spend any money or pay any wages.’

NOT AT UNITED

Pardew’s irritation led him to seek advice from his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson who replied that their side’s policy is no player can issue comment about the club, and that criticising the owner, player, or even the masseur and anybody else from the staff would mean violation of contract.

At United, Twitter use poses no major problem for Ferguson because his players will not defy his orders. Sir Alex rules there with iron hand but commands respect just the same. At Newcastle, that situation has been missing for years and bugging the club for years.

St. James Park lawyers are already finalising inputs to a letter to be distributed to all club members, informing them of the sanctions they would face if they commit similar blunders.

Banning players from using Twitter may stir repercussions since it is a great means for them to communicate with fans. They use this medium apparently to enable fans to know more about their ‘real personality.’ The issue on the right to free speech might also be raised. But these kinks should be ironed out if stipulated clearly on their contracts.

United are among the clubs which have thumbed down acquiring Barton. Since he can still leave before the transfer deadline, the dearth of interested teams would mean he will remain a Magpie. But Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg are reportedly luring Barton for a lucrative offer of 68,000 pounds a week to join them.

Barton said he loves to stay with Newcastle but how come he ranted against them when the latter has been good to him? Newcastle has religiously given him his 60,000 pounds salary a week. Alas, he had repaid them by way of lambasting them on Twitter.

SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT

But Pardew rebuked Barton that if he wants to stay, he must cooperate and move along with the club in the right direction. Being an employee of the club, Barton should better shape up and “be careful’’ as he himself admitted.

Emotions apparently still run high in the Newcastle camp as Barton was sent to train alone recently before he joined a group of reserves in their scrimmage on another workout. He was also left out of a friendly against Fiorentina, incidents that really added more insult to injury as he had accused the club of “kicking a man when he is down’’ referring to himself.

Pardew has sent the message across, stressing that he cannot manage a football team if a player is not going with the right flow.

Looking from all angles, Barton had been unprofessional and he must not dwell that way if he wants to prolong his tenure with the Magpies.

Never mind if his notoriety has also prompted England manager Fabio Capello to say that because of his volatile behaviour, he would not be considered for the national team, having earned one cap there in 2007 under Steve McCLaren.

FOR CLUB’S SAKE

The call to reform is now upon Barton’s discretion. What Pardew did was to remind him that his tweeting tirades were intolerable. For Barton, he should learn a neat lesson from his mistake. This is also the fitting moment to shun immaturity. It would be of best interest if he ponders on what he can contribute to the club cause especially now that the curtains are ready to be raised for the new Premier League season.

Still, there is a silver lining on the horizon. With Pardew’s blessing, Barton got a reprieve and returned to first-team training recently. And there is likelihood that he would be tapped as a starter when Newcastle open their season at home against Arsenal.

That may lessen their pain for now but looking back, are the Magpies already in a state of confusion? Their coming games would probably show the state they are in at the moment but Pardew still believes they can overcome that recent predicament and look ahead for improvement.

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