Sergio Aguero scored the priceless goal to win Manchester City the league at the Etihad.
Before the emotional winner was scored yesterday, the unsavoury behaviour of Joey Barton had cast a shadow over the proceedings.
He hardly helped himself after the game, failing to justify his two-pronged attack on Manchester City’s Argentine strikeforce, and only made it worse.
He tweeted: “I tried to take one of their players with me.”
When the dust settles the FA may take a second look at that, and charge him with trying to deliberately injure an opponent.
Fortunately for the blue half of Manchester, the pain sustained by Sergio Aguero from Barton’s ‘attack’ was one from which he was able to recover.
Barton’s dismissal was hardly the ‘game-changer’ it has been made out in some quarters to be.
QPR manager Mark Hughes quickly produced a tactical reshuffle, bringing on Armand Traore whose surging run and pinpoint cross set up Jamie Mackie for his goal.
By the end the R’s were pinned back in their own half, but that was how they would have envisaged playing out the final few minutes anyway, even with 11.
If there was a man to score City’s winner, Aguero was apt. This season he has been worth every penny of the £38 million the Blues paid for him, and has been a model professional that Mario Balotelli should aspire to.
As for Barton, throughout this season, via Twitter, broadsheet newspapers, and appearances on Newsnight, he has tried to convince the world he is a changed man.
Forget Newsnight, this was more Crimewatch.
It was a display to sum up his season. He has disappointed at QPR, and Mark Hughes is not believed to be a big fan of his. This could only hasten his axe, and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will be glad at his decision to sell him last August.
Barton’s season has been one of failure. Failure to keep his head, book-ended on week one for Newcastle when he clashed with Arsenal’s Gervinho to week 38 with his elbow on Carlos Tevez.
His form in between has been underwhelming, and QPR fans will surely not miss him if he is not at the club next season.
The biggest failure of Barton’s will be one felt by Manchester United fans.
The outspoken midfielder said last night that he wanted to ‘take out’ Aguero. If he had not failed, and had done that properly, then the Argentine would not have been on the pitch to score the winner.
If he were hoping to provoke another City player into attacking him and landing a red card, then he failed at that too.
What should the FA do with Barton?
image: © markhillary
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