Barton For Blackburn?

Last updated : 15 June 2008 By Footy Mad - Editor
Big Sam has maintained his silence over holding talks with the club, but MK Dons are bracing themselves for the news that their manager Paul Ince is set to take over at Ewood Park.

Rumours from Blackburn suggest Allardyce was hoping to sign Joey Barton, should he get the manager's job.

That in itself must have been off-putting for the Rovers chairman, as I'm sure the club could do without the hassle.

Barton is in jail following a number of incidents, and has the "big one" (court case) still to come, his alleged attack on a team-mate when he was a Man City player.

That case could see him jailed for a further five years, should it go against him.

Newcastle are on the verge of sacking the midfielder. They allegedly want him to take a £30,000 a-week pay cut while his is locked up ... but he has refused.

Allardyce as another problem ... overcoming long-standing hostility among Ewood Park fans to his tactics.

Rovers supporters regard their club as adopting a more cultured approach than they feel was on offer during Allardyce's time at Bolton, and the junk he produced at Newcastle.

Allardyce: "It's very nice to be linked with the job, of course.

"But at the moment, it's just speculation."

I'm sure Allardyce had many a football fan laughing last night when (as a TV pundit on ITV) he said "the defending in this competition is very poor, and I know because I am a former defender".

Defender? He made Davey Barton (Toon player in the late 1970s who scored a boat-load of own goals) look world class!