Phew!! Well what can I say? If it hadn’t been for the antics of Nani and the reliable consistency of Charlie Adam, last week’s effort would have been disastrous. This could end up being a cryptic tips column where doing the exact opposite will prove the most rewarding! I have always been taught to hold your hands up and admit when you are wrong, well my arms are aching having been raised apologetically all week.

My quest for redemption begins at the back where there is a definite bargain to be had. Jose Bosingwa is fit again and available for 5.6 million. He may not have forced his way back into the Chelsea starting eleven yet, but he will, and if you have space to add to your squad I recommend you snap him up before his value increases.

There are more defensive bargains available. Liverpool’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos may play havoc with most spellcheckers but is a snip at 5.1 million. The Greek is proving to be a rock at the back for the Reds and a threat going forward at set pieces.

White Hart Lane’s current hot topic is marauding down the left wing, but if you cast your eye to the opposite flank you will see that Alan Hutton has slotted in very well at right back. He is a rampaging attack minded full back and is excellent value at 4.8 million.

Now that I’ve mentioned it I can’t ignore it. Gareth Bale has the World at his feet after having had Maicon on toast, and remarkably the Welsh wonder is currently available for 6.7 million. How the likes of Man Utd, Barcelona, Inter Milan et al must wish that Fantasy League transfer fees translated directly into the real world.

If you don’t feel like hopping on board the Bale bandwagon then for the same price you can pick up Fulham’s goal getting midfielder Clint Dempsey, or for an extra million you can opt for Arsenal’s Samir Nasri. Both are locked on 47 points and are both are bang in form.

Last week’s big tip Emile Heskey won’t be kicking any balls for a while, no, he hasn’t rediscovered his World Cup form, the big striker has picked up a knee injury. I’d look to Blackpool’s front line to fill the gap, Luke Varney and Gary Taylor-Fletcher, 4.6 and 4.5 million respectively, are performing well and confidence will be high after picking up their first home win of the Season.

I can’t leave without mentioning Newcastle, after a barnstorming derby win against Sunderland Messrs. Nolan, Barton, Carroll and Ameobi will be looking to capitalise on Arsenals disappointing showing in the Champions League. The exciting thing about Newcastle this season is their total unpredictability, Sunday’s lunchtime clash at the Emirates could be a high scoring classic.

If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/  the code you need to join is 13413-5300

As much as I do enjoy the off the field entertainment associated with football in England, early Saturday kickoffs are always a welcome relief to the insanity of contract negotiations, rumors and managerial master classes. While topics concerning the week that was have been written on at length, it’s now time to get back down to the exploits on the pitch in what ended a weekend of Premier League football with plenty of talking points.

It was a decent enough couple of days in the Premier League that saw Manchester United finally win their first away game of the season, witnessed Chelsea continue their dominance and experienced West Brom jump into fourth spot, if only for a day or so. Manchester City failed their big test against Arsenal, although the neutrals hated to see Dedryck Boyata sent off so early in the encounter that promised to delight had XI men stayed on for both sides.

Spurs and Everton drew in a match that screamed one side was coming off a European hangover and the other was still searching for their best form while Liverpool got back on track with a win at home against Blackburn but remain in the relegation zone, if only on goal differential. West Ham remains worst but set out to attack while Blackpool were blanked away to Birmingham City.

Honorable Mentions –

Joey Barton, Newcastle – Newcastle won an important away game on Saturday v West Ham and Joey Barton played the role of provider for both of Newcastle’s goals. While it was far from a dominating performance by the Toon, they’ll take the points away from home any day of the week. Barton started the game on the right side of midfield giving way to Kevin Nolan and Cheick Tiote and his usual central midfield role. It was Barton’s cross in the 23rd that found Andy Carroll who won the header to set up Kevin Nolan for the equalizer and again Barton’s service in the 69th which found Andy Carroll for the winner when the striker headed home decisively.

One thing we’re learning about Joey Barton being back in the Premier League this year is that when he’s removed his head from his nether regions, he’s a decent enough footballer. It’ll be Barton’s leadership, experience and the occasional goal that will help Newcastle stay up this season, consolidate and push on in the coming years. Newcastle proved a few years ago that no team is too big to go down. While they currently boast a good enough squad through Nolan, Carroll, Jonas Gutierrez, Fabricio Coloccini and Barton himself to stay up this season, here’s hoping football fans don’t have to experience another Geordie meltdown in the near future.

Nikola Zigic, Birmingham City – The Serbian has now enjoyed two goals in as many weeks as his most recent effort proved enough to seal a 2-0 win at home to Blackpool on Saturday. Upon his move from Spanish side Valencia, Zigic took some time to settle into life as a Premier League footballer. In fact, he seems to still be settling. Although his goal on Saturday was the epitome of being at the right place at the right time, it just may be the little bit of luck he needs to get his first season in the Premier League off to a flying start.

Samir Nasri, Arsenal – To exclude an Arsenal player from at least the honorable mentions would be unfair to a side who saw off a determined Manchester City 0-3 away from the Emirates. Although the final scoreline shows Arsenal to have won without much fuss from City, the match itself was closer than the 3-0 mark leads it on to be. Even with a man less, City maintained some form of cohesion throughout the remainder of the encounter while some credit is due to the oft-criticised Lukasz Fabiabski who had a fine game in goal for Arsenal.

While the Gunners were able to win an important early season match to secure second spot, it was their ability to play as a team without one standout performance in the side. Cesc Fabregas was good, but failed to convert his penalty while the three goals for Arsenal came from three different players. All this said, Samir Nasri continued his good form for Arsenal when he combined brilliantly with Andrei Arshavin to open the scoring in the 20th minute, the goal his fourth in the league this season. Late on, Nasri’s hustle kept the ball in play and the Frenchman was able to slid a neat ball into the path of the just on Nicklas Bendtner who finished past Hart to seal the game.

Premier League Footballer of the Week -

Javier Hernandez, Manchester United – Chicharito’s exploits saved United on and off the pitch on Sunday. His brace secured Manchester United’s first away win of the season and quieted fears surrounding the Wayne Rooney saga, in that United have options up front with the Little Pea and through Dimitar Berbatov who’s contributed goals for United this season. While United maintain the services of their talisman Rooney, Fergie’s early summer buy of Chicharito looks to have been a smart one.

If there’s one thing Premier League fans have learned about Hernandez thus far this season, it’s that he’s an accurate finisher with pace. His clever back-header opened up the scoring for United, a goal that was as brilliant as it was difficult to complete, and his winner late on was a precise reaction finish that only the best strikers can pull off with their keen instincts.

Hernandez is an out and out striker the likes of a young Michael Owen. He works and works and doesn’t need a myriad of chances to put the ball into the net. While United fans mull over whether or not they’ll accept Rooney upon his return, they’ll take calm in the play of Chicharito and welcome him into the family with open arms.

After the disastrous conclusion to the 2008-09 season saw Newcastle fall in to the Championship, the only conclusion they wanted to last season was promotion. No other result was acceptable and the club cantered over the finish line as April began. A complete reversal of fortune from the doldrums the club went through prior to its relegation, The Magpies breezed to the title in imperious form.

With a squad with the quality of players such as Kevin Nolan, Steve Harper and Jose Enrique, they were always going to be favourites to return. Avoiding the perils of stagnation or losing large chunks of their squad to Premiership clubs, Newcastle were able to use the pain of relegation as a driving force for redemption.

Placing the quiet and softly spoken Chris Hughton as manager paid dividends for the club. As a player he’d played in some major matches for both club and country but last season was surely the pinnacle of his professional career so far. 102 points amassed, a goal difference of +55, unbeaten at home and only 4 defeats in the league. It was an impressive campaign from start to finish and 4 players, Nolan, Enrique, Carroll and Coloccini were all chosen in the Championship Team of the season. To top it off, Hughton was voted the Championship manager of the season too.

A more reflective sense of perspective seems to have descended on St. James Park this summer, as the club reflect on the forthcoming Premiership season. Transfer wise only two fairly low key signings have arrived, James Perch, the utility player from Nottingham Forest and Dan Gosling who has walked on Everton through a transfer loophole. Gosling is likely to be unavailable until at least Christmas as he recovers from a cruciate ligament injury.

It’s certainly not the usual hubbub of transfer action that we expect from the North East, but it seems lessons have been learnt from previous recruitment drives. My only concern is the lack of strength up front, though Andy Carroll certainly cemented a consistency that added to the expectations that had been laid upon him. The Newcastle fans love nothing more than one of their own leading the line and Carroll continues a tradition that goes back all the way to Jackie Milburn and beyond. Niall Ranger could also be another rough diamond that needs a polish up.

The majority of the squad know all about the Premiership, so for a promoted side it is unusual for them to not look towards major surgery. Getting Joey Barton fully fit and concentrating solely on football would be like signing a new player, such were the issues that over took his career in the last couple of years. There is top level experience running throughout the squad and Hughton knows that will be vital to keeping Newcastle up. Adding a few more bargains to strengthen the squad should be the main transfer aim before the deadline comes down.

Forget crazy ideas of finishing in the top ten, this club needs to concentrate on re-establishing itself in the Premiership before anything else comes to mind. No doubt Sky Sports will be scouring the town to look for the over optimistic nutters they only ever use when discussing Newcastle United who will be banging on about European qualification, but most Geordies know that stability and consolidation are the key words to any success, anything above 18th is all they need to worry about.

Please leave me your comments and you can follow me on www.twitter.com/paulbestall

This is not the worst team in the Premier League.  It is the least valuable.  This team would incite the masses with talent, with name recognition and with expense.  They would then fail pathetically.  This team could be composed entirely of Newcastle players, but we thought we’d include a few others to keep things interesting.

Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal): Doubled his salary this season.  Halved his work rate and effectiveness.

Michael Owen (Newcastle): No longer an elite player, no leadership value, paid like someone with both.

Damien Duff (Newcastle): Expensive, complacent and ineffectual, Duff is a perfect emblem for Newcastle’s season.

Joey Barton (Newcastle): He makes £60,000 per week.  No description needed.

Deco (Chelsea): Barcelona – better when he left.  Chelsea – better when he stopped playing.

David Bentley (Tottenham): Once tipped to start for England, can’t even start for Tottenham.  Spurs won eight out of eleven league games he did not play.

Gareth Bale (Tottenham): Spurs still have not won a Premier League match he has appeared in.

Micah Richards (Manchester City): Has regressed rather than progressed, a testament to Capello’s insight.

Gary Neville (Manchester United): Waste of a squad position.

Andrea Dossena (Liverpool): One reason Rafa Benitez should have to work for his transfer funds.

Craig Gordon (Sunderland): Sunderland allowed 113 goals the past two seasons.  Not all Gordon’s fault, but you would expect more impact, given his transfer fee.

When I saw Newcastle United’s lineup today before their 3-0 loss to Liverpool, I said aloud: Joey Barton’s going to get a red card. I only meant it to elicit a laugh from friends, but with Newcastle’s fate in the balance and Barton’s famous temper in mind, I had a vision of Barton heading for the showers a bit earlier than his co-workers.

Some 87 min of play later and Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso was digging the ball out of the corner. Though Alonso had his back to the goal area and his teammates and posed no immediate threat, Barton went to ground, slid behind the ball and took Alonso down hard using both feet. Referee Phil Dowd immediately drew out the red card.

Barton will miss Newcastle’s remaining matches and the club is expected to fine him for his behavior.

This incident is simply the latest in Barton’s history of violent outbursts which includes (but is not limited to): causing a brawl in a pre-season friendly with Doncaster; stubbing a cigar in a teammate’s eye; breaking the leg of a pedestrian while driving; an altercation with a 15-year-old Everton fan in a hotel in Bangkok; two-footed lunge on Bolton’s Abdoulaye Faye; suspected assault and criminal damage in an incident with a taxi driver; suspension by Manchester City for assaulting teammate Ousmane Dabo who ended up in the hospital; kicking Sunderland’s Dickson Etuhu in the groin during the Wear-Tyne derby: assaulting a man and a teen in Liverpool city centre after a night of heavy drinking.

The incident with Dabo was the end to Barton’s career with City. I was surprised when Newcastle United picked him up seemingly quickly. No matter his abilities, after attacking a teammate, Barton should seem more of a liability than a boon to any sensible manager.

The tackle on Etuhu soon followed and then the incident in Liverpool when a drunk Barton punched a man some 20 times in the head and then punched a 16-year-old boy, breaking some of his teeth

The consistency and persistence of Barton’s transgressions show he will never learn to control himself. The unnecessary, violent challenge on Alonso is typical Barton, and if any club is willing to bid for his services this summer (flailing Newcastle are expected to unload him) must know this behavior is an intrinsic part of what they are buying.

It’s hard to imagine who could be excited to take on Barton.

Perhaps one of the promoted sides will allow the value of Barton’s top flight experience and ability to outweigh the risks he brings. (The risks should provide a substantial drop in Newcastle’s asking price.) But the likes of Wolves or Birmingham or whoever sign him will have to start drafting their statement to the press regarding Barton’s next, inevitable, violent outburst.

How many more clubs will allow Barton to repeat this tiresome dance? Newcastle seemed a club too many. The man should be in jail, not on the pitch.

Although, if Vinnie Jones’s trajectory is any indication, Joey Barton may have a future in films.

The sooner Rafa Benitez keeps his mouth shut about how teams are playing against Liverpool, even in off handed ways, and focuses on getting your team back on the winning path; the better off you will be. The comments made after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at the JJB against Wigan in my mind read like a manager who has lost grip with what is important…winning.

The comments, where he calls the game crazy, says his players were okay, and takes a back handed swipe at how his team played with this comment “We’ve been giving away too many points. This has happened in the last three games and it’s something I don’t like. “I know why but I cannot say anything…” tells me that Rafa doesn’t get it.

I notice a pattern here. Ever since Rafa’s swipe at Sir Alex Ferguson, nothing has been Rafa’s fault. Maybe it’s time for Rafa to look at himself in the mirror and realize maybe it’s what he’s doing with the squad that has Liverpool playing in this manner. With Chelsea coming up on Sunday, Rafa doesn’t have long to turn things around. It’s going to be very interesting to see how he deals with Scolari’s men, considering the chances they have created lately.

Other Stories
Gotta love the red tops. I don’t think Roque Santa Cruz is gonna want to leave one team struggling for relegation to head off to another (that would be to Tottenham).

These type of gentleman’s agreements better be dealt with quickly by FIFA. No wonder why Zenit St. Petersburg has been so smug about this whole Andrei Arshavin situation. It looks like if Arsenal want him, it’ll be fifteen million to secure him.

In a subject I talked about yesterday, West Brom are going to appeal Paul Robinson’s red card picked up against Manchester United. I hope the suspension is overturned.

The BBC wins the UK Premier League highlight rights.  The only added bonus is MOTD will be available for UK Users on iPlayer on delay.

I don’t think anyone associated with Manchester City will be getting a Christmas card from Steve Bruce.  Saying that Palacios was used as a pawn in the Craig Bellamy deal is a strong accusation.

Could Marco Storari be the next backup to Petr Cech at Chelsea?

As mentioned earlier on the site today, Michael Owen looks to be out for six weeks while Joey Barton looks to be out six weeks thanks to ankle injuries sustained against Manchester City. This on the say night where Joe Kinnear confirmed that Shay Given will more than likely leave the club in January.

Friday will be the day when FIFA will decide Nemanja Vidic’s fate from the red card he picked up at the World Club Cup.

Tony Adams wants three more players before the transfer window closes. It’ll be interesting to see if he can secure them. Meanwhile Sol Campbell is coming out and lamenting that talks haven’t started on a new contract for him.

Manchester City is pledging their full support behind Robinho.

Emile Heskey feels Aston Villa are top four worthy. We’ll find out soon enough.

Here is an interview I did for Football Corner.

And finally Vinnie Jones will be our next guest for the EPL Talk Podcast. Now I shouldn’t have to be doing this but I will. Please keep your questions reasonable or else don’t expect them to be asked on air.

You never commit too soon.

Mike Pollitt did just that towards the end of the first half of Wigan’s home tie with Liverpool and paid the price. While Mido equalize late in the match, this was a game where Wigan seriously had a chance at getting all three points.

Yes it’s harsh to blame one person with regards to points lost, but on a night where Liverpool were far from their best this was a golden opportunity to get all three points. The game wasn’t all that entertaining, Wigan had huge stretches where they were on the ball. However, they didn’t do a thing with it.

Let’s be honest about Liverpool as well, they weren’t all that convincing as well. The goal in the forty-first minute came completely out of the blue. Pollitt’s decision to commit so soon left Yossi Benayoun an empty net to shoot at. Benayoun to his credit though, had the tightest of angles  after nearly running the ball out for a goal kick and did well to turn the ball in at the far post.

Liverpool though ended up shooting themselves in the foot and gave up their lead thanks to a ridiculous penalty that should see Lucas benched for the next match. Just giving Jason Koumas a right old kick in the penalty area has to go down as one of the candidates of dumb move of the season. Mido’s equalizer was deserved but it makes me wonder what would have happened had Pollitt not jumped the gun on Benayoun’s opener? Would Wigan have won it? They nearly did on their own merit at the end when Hugo Rodallega hit the wood work. I am just convinced that Wigan would have won it had Pollitt been wiser and stayed on his line.

Other Thoughts From Today’s Action
* Salamon Kalou’s two goals today were a welcomed sight as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough. However when you have 24 shots on goal, you should be scoring more than 2 goals. With all the time Boro spent in their own half, they should feel fortunate they only lost 2-0 and not by more.

* Fair play to Manchester City for beating Newcastle United at home. However the story to this one are the injuries to Michael Owen and Joey Barton. This is the last thing Joe Kinnear needs as they are only 2 points above the danger zone.

* Everton were robbed by Robin Van Persie’s injury time equalizer. However Arsenal have bigger problems on their hands as three of the top four got three points and there is a gap starting to widen between the Champions League spots. What ace does Wenger have up his sleeve to get his side back in the top four? I’m curious to find out what it is.

* How soon is it before we are talking about Hull City as relegation fodder? They look a side that right now are out of ideas. Phil Brown has a bigger job on his hands keeping this side safe than I think he will want to admit.

* Lucky for Sam Allardyce that Benni McCarthy made up for missing from the spot with grabbing a late equalizer. However, there’s still plenty of work to be done by both sides if they want to get out of the relegation mire.

* Numbers just for my own benefit. 1-4 are separated by just 3 points. The number of teams within three points of relegation, that number is 8.

As we arrive at the quarter mark for the current Premier League season the standings are starting to take shape, although who would have ever thought we would see Tottenham rock bottom or Hull City in the Champions League places. As such it is another big weekend of fixtures coming up and about time players started to perform. Here we will have a quick look at those who might be expected to up their game.

• Robbie Keane – With Fernando Torres set to miss this weekend top of the table clash against Chelsea a lot will be riding on the former Spurs striker. Having scored in midweek against Atletico Madrid Keane finally looks to be settling down at Anfield and perhaps the game at Stamford Bridge may be the place where the Irish forward can stake a claim to the second strikers position alongside Torres. Keane has yet to score for Liverpool in the Premier League and Chelsea will be a difficult place to break his duck. However Keane has a decent recent record against the Blues, having scored in two of their last five meetings. The 28-year-olds goalscoring odds maybe be worth a look this weekend.

• Joey Barton – With Newcastle short of players jailbird Joey maybe in with a shout of getting his first start against Sunderland since completing his six match suspension. Barton failed to make friends (surprisingly) in last seasons Tyne-Wear derby when he was guilty of a horrific challenge on Dickson Etuhu but managed to escape any punishment. The former Man City midfielder has this week said he would like to become a role model and knows he has done wrong with this Saturday’s match giving him the perfect opportunity to show he has mended his ways.

• Jo – Since arriving for a then club record fee of £18m the Brazilian striker has failed to set Eastlands alight with some of the samba magic we might have been expecting. Having missed a number of games through injury at the start of the season Jo has begun to get a decent run in the City side but despite a goal against Portsmouth more has been expected of the 22-year-old. With the visit of Stoke this weekend Jo might be expected to shine against a mediocre defence and try to step out of the shadow cast by a certain other record breaking Brazilian. However Jo is low on confidence and I don’t expect him to boost Manchester City’s Premier League odds any time soon.

• Tottenham – Having said I would only single out players this whole page could have been filled with under performing Spurs players. Another week, another bout of misery for Tottenham fans as they were first humbled by Stoke before suffering defeat to Udinese.  Heurelho Gomes hasn’t been the goalkeeper many were expecting and his display in the Uefa Cup won’t have inspired any confidence. The likes of Johnathan Woodgate and Michael Dawson have hardly held things together at the back to be fair whilst Luka Modric and David Bentley are still finding their feet at White Hart Lane. Finally we come to major problem, the strikers, Darren Bent seems low on confidence whilst Roman Pavlyuchenko is still adjusting to the Premier League. With a shocking record of five Premier league goals scored in nine games it is hard to see how Tottenham are going to turn it around. This Sunday presents a glorious opportunity to boost confidence at the club before the north London derby with Arsenal when they face Bolton at home. The Trotters themselves are struggling for goals and were fairly poor last time out against Blackburn. Juande Ramos must get his tactics right this weekend because Spurs fans patience is wearing thin and they will expect a result on Sunday.

Contrary to popular belief, Newcastle United is not a poisoned club. Nor are they jinxed with injuries. At worst, they’re a poorly run club who has made one bad decision after another after another.

With news that a Nigerian consortium are interested in buying Newcastle, Toon fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that current owner Mike Ashley only has a limited time in charge. A new owner, whether they’re from Nigeria or another country, is inevitable, but simply changing owners won’t be enough to change Newcastle’s fortunes.

Instead what’s needed is a sound plan that is backed by financiers willing to spend money in the transfer window coupled with an understanding and desire to embrace the Geordie spirit.

It’s time for the passionate Geordies to feel like their club is theirs again instead of being run by a “cockney mafia” (Ashley and Wise). Dennis Wise needs to be sacked as soon as the takeover occurs as well as executive Derek Llamblas. But what’s crucial is that the new owners of Newcastle United bring in someone to the club who has a deep connection with the city.

I don’t feel there’s a Geordie out there who has the experience needed to manage the club at the highest level. Instead, the new owners need to convince someone like Alan Shearer to come in again as an assistant manager to work with a world-class manager.

Newcastle fans need a charismatic leader who knows his football and has a passion for attacking football as well as the ability to know when to play gritty football to pull out a result.

The list of managers available that fit those criteria are few and far between. One candidate that should be considered is Roberto Martinez, manager of Swansea, who has transformed the Welsh club into a side playing beautiful and effective football even in the “kick and run” Championship League.

Martinez has made shrewd transfer signings in the summer. Plus he has the experience of playing in England and managing in the country albeit at lower levels with the Swans.

No matter who the next manager will be, he needs the financial backing in the January transfer window to bring in star talent as well as to replace the dead wood (Alan Smith, Cacapa, Shola Ameobi and Nicky Butt) and trouble makers (Joey Barton).

Ultimately where it matters the most is on the pitch where the Magpies need a massive confidence boost as well as hunger to win. Earlier in the season, Newcastle showed glimmers of hope but there’s still so much work to be done before Newcastle United is anywhere near a decent side.

No matter who the new owner is, they need to improve communication with the fans and players. The club needs to have a plan with realistic goals that they can share with its fans so that they’ll be patient, to an extent, and that everyone will be working towards a common goal. With Newcastle, there is hope. The sooner they get an investor who is qualified to run the club, the better.

Joey Barton is never far from controversy and such was the case today when the Newcastle midfielder returned to professional football. In his game today for Newcastle, he only touched the ball once during the three minutes he played.

In those three minutes, he commited a controversial tackle, showed little respect, was purposefully tripped by an Arsenal midfielder resulting in a yellow card and banged into Arsenal’s top striker.

Here’s exactly what happened during his return to English football today:

• 88:41: Joey Barton comes on for Jonas Gutierrez.
• 88:51: Barton pressures Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. The Arsenal midfielder passes the ball across the pitch.
• 89:28: Barton touches the ball for the first time when he goes in for a 50/50 ball against Samri Nasri and knocks the ball into touch. Nasri is knocked to the turf from the challenge. Arsenal fans boo Barton.
• 89:31: Barton stares down Nasri and makes a sarcastic smile.
• 89:42: After watching a replay of the tackle in slow motion, TWI commentator Steve Banyard comments on Barton’s tackle by saying “That’s not the way to endear himself back.” “Not at all,” chimed co-commentator Gary O’Reilly. Banyard continued, “And a smile, a sarcastic smile like that, is frankly out of order.” O’Reilly replies, “Oh well.” Banyard adds, “The big campaign of the summer has been respect and Barton showed little of it there.”
• 90:01: Nasri trips Barton on purpose.
• 91:01: Gael Clichy nutmegs Barton.
• 91:14: Barton goes up for a cross in the Newcastle box, misses the ball completely but drives his back into Emmanuel Adebayor, causing the striker to grab his back in pain.
• 91:21: Nasri receives a yellow card from the earlier trip on Barton.
• 91:46: After a long kick upfield by Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, Barton goes up for a 50/50 ball against Gael Clichy but the Arsenal defender gets his head to the ball first and knocks it to William Gallas.
• 92:08: Full-time whistle blows.
• Barton walks down the tunnel, but afterwards Kevin Keegan gets into a heated argument with Gallas and Nasri as the Newcastle manager points his finger at Gallas. Newcastle’s assistant manager Terry McDermott steps in to break things up.

The challenge that Barton made to win the ball was within the law of the game, but what I object to is the manner in which he went in for the tackle. By watching the TV replay, it’s obvious that Barton intended to send a message to Nasri by the way that the Newcastle midfielder drove his right arm into Nasri’s thigh when the tackle took place. Barton could have easily won the ball in a cleaner manner by not using his arm.

Keegan’s response regarding to the controversy was this: “Joey came on, got a good tackle in on Nasri. Then the guy sliced him down. That’s what happened and that’s what I saw, which is what I was upset about.”

Yes the tackle was good, but was unnecessarily rough. Nasri didn’t slice Barton down. He tripped him on purpose.

“I know the referee didn’t see it but the linesman did and it should have been a red card,” said Keegan.

Red card? You’re having a laugh.

“It wasn’t a reckless tackle – it was a good tackle.” Except for the right arm that went charging into Nasri, yes.

For once, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s reaction to a controversial incident was spot on. “I was not surprised by the reaction of the fans – I have been involved in the game long enough not to be surprised by anything,” said Wenger. “Nasri clipped Barton and there was a little incident between them, but he was booked and rightly so.”

Barton’s return to football was full of controversy. Let’s hope that Barton gets his head together if he’s to play any more matches for Newcastle United.