“I see what I do as an art form” Joey Barton dives back in for another jab at ‘archaic’ Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County
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The Owls went 35 points ahead of Barton’s 15th-placed Gas side with a 2-1 win at the Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, with both the Rovers manager and club the subject of praise by Owls boss Darren Moore both before and after the match.
Speaking after his defeat, Barton questioned the playing style of Moore’s team, claiming that if they and their previous opponents Derby County were ‘anything to go by’, Rovers would be able to bridge the gap and make the League One playoffs next season.
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Hide AdReturning to the theme ahead of the Gas’ dead rubber at Port Vale this weekend, Barton doubled-down on his view.
“I could go back to doing what they’re doing,” he said. “Not being disrespectful to those lads but it’s kind of about survival, they’ve got to get results to keep their jobs. I totally get it. For all manner of reasons, if something works you don’t go away from it.
“For me, I see what I do as an art form. I have to watch the team every day, and it’s what I want to watch on the sideline. I don’t want to watch a team that brings towels to away games and sets up for long throws, and is asking the referee, ‘are we alright to launch it?’
“If that’s Bristol Rovers going to Sheff Wed, I understand it - your resources are bigger than ours, you’ve got to come and play 5-4-1. I don’t understand when that’s Derby and Sheff Wed against Bristol Rovers. So I see that as a huge badge of honour. Look, we only got one point, so we’ve got work to do but we’ve got a really, really young group.”
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Hide AdBarton also reiterated his view that either side would struggle in the second tier next season if they were to achieve promotion this season.
“Football-wise, we’ve just seen Derby and Sheff Wed - it’s archaic what they’re doing but it’s effective for them,” Barton continued.
“As soon as they get to the Championship, they’re coming back down because it’s not good enough. Or they’re going to have to rip it up. You can’t bully people in the Champ. They’re only successful because they’ve stockpiled better players.”