JOEY BARTON’S Bristol Rovers side face Portsmouth this weekend – a team he once refused to join as a player.
The 40-year-old wrote in his 2016 autobiography ‘No Nonsense’ that he declared he “was going nowhere” after claiming Newcastle had agreed to sell him to Pompey.
Joey Barton is now manager of Bristol RoversRex
Action Images – ReutersThe former midfielder claimed in his 2016 autobiography that Newcastle had agreed to sell him to Portsmouth in 2008 before he rejected the move[/caption]
Barton claimed former Toon owner Mike Ashley had agreed to sell him to the now League One club “without consultation” in 2008.
The Bristol Rovers boss said he was sent to meet Portsmouth assistant manager Tony Adams in London, having signed for Newcastle in 2007 from Manchester City.
A move to Portsmouth failed to materialise and he stayed on Tyneside until he joined QPR in 2011, with Barton admitting the West Londoners were his “least favourite” of the clubs he played for.
He went on to play for Marseille, Rangers and Burnley before hanging up his boots.
But he admitted he was “surprised” Newcastle had agreed to sell him to Pompey, who at the time were managed by Harry Redknapp.
He wrote in his autobiography, via Portsmouth News: “I was surprised to receive a call towards the end of the summer transfer window, informing me that the club had agreed to sell me to Portsmouth without consultation.
“I was ordered to travel to London to meet Tony Adams, Harry Redknapp’s assistant, who was overseeing their end of the deal.”
Barton wasn’t convinced and told Newcastle that he would not be leaving the club.
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He continued: “I liked Tony, having known him through Sporting Chance, and paid him professional respect by listening to what he had to say.
“Something was not right, since I was unconvinced by his response to basic questions about the short and medium-term goals of the club.
“He seemed to lack insight. His team-building strategy was as vague as his assessment of the extent of the owners’ ambitions.
“Kevin Keegan didn’t have a clue. I had nearly three years left on my contract, and he urged me to stay.
“I told the Newcastle hierarchy in no uncertain terms that I was going nowhere.”
Barton’s Bristol Rovers side are currently 14th in League One, nine points behind Saturday’s opponents Portsmouth.