Barton Off The Drink!

Last updated : 29 September 2010 By Footy Mad - Editor

NU

The former Toon skipper says Barton's decision to "stay off the drink" is helping his performances on the field.

Bob Moncur (talking to The Chronicle): One of the positives for me (against Stoke) is certainly the form of Barton.

"Barton, for me, had an excellent game against Stoke and it was perhaps lost somewhat because of the nature of the defeat.

"Hopefully, that will continue in his next game which is a big one for him at Manchester City.

"We know all about Joey’s time at Man City for good or bad, but one thing I think that everybody also remembers is he was such a fine player who was fantastic at getting from box to box, which resulted in his one and only England call-up.

"Dare I say it, if Barton can maintain his sturdy form this season, could we see a better player than the one who left Eastlands?

"He’s got over his injury problems and he’s match fit again.

"Some of that may be down to the fact he’s not on the drink anymore which is always going to improve your fitness.

"I’ve also been impressed with his range of passing too, while he’s weighing in with a few chances as well and making those cutting runs like he did half-a-dozen times against Stoke."

NU

JOEY BARTON'S DEBUT ....

2007/8 NEWCASTLE 3 SPURS 1

NEWCASTLE: Given, Beye, Faye, Cacapa, Jose Enrique, Geremi,Butt, Emre (Barton 71), N'Zogbia (Milner 46), Martins,Owen (Rozehnal 79).

TOTTENHAM: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, Kaboul, Lee,Malbranque (Berbatov 58), Jenas, Zokora, Bale (Tainio 19),Keane, Bent (Lennon 78).

Att: 51,411

Newcastle plunged Tottenham boss Martin Jol into ever deeper trouble as they secured a fourth successive Premier League victory at St James' Park.

The Magpies took full advantage of some poor defending by the Londoners, who remain rooted inside the relegation zone, to claim all three points despite having to survive a concerted fightback.

Obafemi Martins fired the home side in front on the stroke of half-time after embarrassing Michael Dawson, and the unmarked Claudio Cacapa made it 2-0 six minutes after the break with a powerful header.

Robbie Keane's seventh goal in as many games briefly gave the visitors hope with a 57th-minute strike, but substitute James Milner made sure with a 73rd-minute volley to cement his side's top-half position in the Premier League.

Jol's pre-match comments about his side's relative recent success compared to that of the Magpies was left to sound hollow as the Tyneside club completed a fourth successive league victory over the men from White Hart Lane.

Newcastle chairman Chris Mort took the opportunity in his programme notes to dismiss speculation that owner Mike Ashley is ready to buy into Spurs and the billionaire took his seat in the directors' box once again wearing his black and white shirt.

Ashley headed for the hospitality lounges at the break wearing a broad smile after seeing the Magpies eventually grind down a Spurs outfit low on confidence to take a deserved lead.

Newcastle had not lost at home this season before kick-off, while Spurs had not won outside of London, and after a reasonably even opening, a pattern started to emerge.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce had little choice but to pair England international Michael Owen and the similarly diminutive Martins in attack with Mark Viduka still nursing a calf injury and Shola Ameobi only fit enough for a seat on the bench.

However, despite some less than intelligent service at times, their pace and movement was simply too much for Younes Kaboul and Dawson.

That said, it was defender Abdoulaye Faye who came within inches of opening the scoring on 13 minutes when he thumped a header against the post from Charles N'Zogbia's corner.

The visitors, who started with Darren Bent up front and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, might have gone ahead seconds after Faye had rattled the woodwork.

Jermaine Jenas' free-kick found Keane, but the Republic of Ireland skipper's shot was hacked off the line by Cacapa to the relief of Allardyce's defence.

Owen was left unmarked on 27 minutes to run on to Geremi's pass and curl a shot towards the bottom corner, which is exactly where it would have ended up had Paul Robinson's replacement Radek Cerny not managed to get his fingertips to it.

The goalkeeper distinguished himself once again two minutes before the break when, after Martins had brushed off the towering Kaboul to reach Jose Enrique's long ball, he blocked the striker's shot with his legs.

But Spurs did not learn the lesson and when the Spaniard launched the ball upfield two minutes later, Martins ran away from Dawson to control and fire through the goalkeeper for his fifth goal of the season.

Milner arrived as a half-time replacement for N'Zogbia and took up his place on the left wing.

Tottenham emerged in determined fashion with Keane, as ever, at the forefront, but their hopes were severely dented within six minutes when the Magpies increased their lead.

Dawson blocked a flicked header from Owen out for a corner, but when Emre delivered the ball to the near post, Cacapa ran in unopposed to power a header into the back of the net.

But as the home side sensed blood, the visitors grabbed a lifeline when Bent headed a Pascal Chimbonda cross against the post and saw the rebound sit up nicely for Keane to reduce the deficit.

Jol responded by sending on Berbatov in place of Steed Malbranque as St James' descended into a nervous hush, and the anxiety increased by the minute both on and off the pitch as the visitors took control.

The mood did not improve on 70 minutes when referee Steve Bennett waved away Nicky Butt's claims for a foul by Didier Zokora deep in the Spurs half, and the visitors raced away for Bent to blast over.

Allardyce decided the time was right for Joey Barton to make his competitive bow, and within two minutes of his arrival, his side restored their two-goal lead.

Kaboul was unable to clear his lines and although Milner miskicked his first effort, the ball fell nicely for him to blast a left-foot volley into the bottom corner and end Spurs' hopes of another comeback.