Football’s bad boy Joey Barton has completed a shock loan move to Fleetwood Town after the FA have said they would not prevent it.
Barton has to serve a 12 match ban from kicking any footballs in a competitive game during the coming season after he was sent off in the final match of the season against Manchester City.
That was his last appearance in a QPR football kit and the notoriously violent reputation he has hanging over his head led to speculation that he would never play football again, at least in the Premier League.
Barton genuinely has links to the club from his younger days and still remains friends with Fleetwood Town striker Andy Mangan, and it will be expected of him to be a key member of the squad for the time he is there.
The loan spell is set to last for six months and would mean that Barton would spend his 12 match ban whilst at the League Two club, who play more pre-season matches than Premier League QPR would.
This means that by spending his ban in a Fleetwood Town Nike tracksuits in the stands at Highbury Stadium instead of Loftus Road he will serve his ban faster, meaning he would be able to return to playing for QPR sooner.
This has caused a lot of speculation, specifically because it seems that the loan is a way to get Barton back into the QPR squad as soon as possible.
He is a fundamental part of the team even though he is arguably a liability to QPR’s status as a top flight team.
Due to the League Two fixture list and the fact that their season starts earlier than the Premier League one, Barton would be able to make his debut for Fleetwood Town on October 6th as opposed to November 17th if he had to serve his ban at Rangers.
He could even return earlier if Town have a good run in the competition for football trophies – something which is not beyond the realms of possibility given that Fleetwood Town had their most successful season ever after finishing in the third round of the FA cup.
Fleetwood Town will not object to the idea of having Barton in their ranks, even if it means he is recalled as soon as his ban is over, as his expertise and experience of the game means he will be invaluable whilst amongst the football training equipment, and he may well be a role model in a football bib on the training park to inspire Fleetwood Town’s younger players.
It is unlikely that QPR will be able to recall him so soon though, as even though they will not move the block the loan they have stipulated that Barton’s ban will extend to 12 QPR games – so although he could be recalled he will have to wait for QPR to play their first 12 Premier League games.
It will be much better to leave him at Fleetwood and maintain his match fitness, and keep QPR’s disciplinary level down.
