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Joey Barton’s future remains as unclear as ever this morning after the Newcastle United midfield player mischievously threatened to see out his contract at St James’ Park despite interest from a host of top clubs.
Arsenal, Stoke City, West Ham United and Everton are among those keeping tabs on Barton, and while Newcastle remain confident the 28-year-old will have left the club by the weekend, he raised the possibility of staging a sit-in yesterday as the battle of wills between club and player continued. “Just because ur told to jump, it does not necessarily mean u have to,” he tweeted. “I may choose to stand perfectly still. It’s my right ... just a thought.”
Nigel Winterburn, the former Arsenal defender, believes Barton could be a useful addition to the squad. “In terms of talent and the fact he’s on a free transfer, I would have thought there would be a host of clubs after him,” he said. “If Arsène Wenger can control him off the pitch, he would be a great addition. You can’t have anyone disruptive around the training ground. It’s OK to have an opinion as a player as long as it’s constructive, but not if it’s malicious.”
Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked with Barton, but yesterday sources at the club insisted the player was not high on their list of priorities.
SYLVAIN DISTIN says he is excited about the potential for Everton’s young-guns to shake up the Blues established order this season.
The French defender has been impressed with the impact of the latest hopefuls to make the step-up from academy prospects to the fringe of the Goodison first-team, and admits it will keep the senior professionals on their toes.
Distin, 34, who is twice the age of one of those youngsters, Ross Barkley, said: "We’ve got Conor (McAleny), Magaye (Gueye) Ross Barkley, and Tollis (Vellios) is doing well when he comes on and that’s good news for the club.
"Ross is good in training and he’s doing well during the game and he’s exactly what we need, some fresh blood like that to just come in and make me feel a bit older and just give something a bit different to the squad.
"He can be a great player but we’ve got a few more players like that."
Distin has also been quick to help another youngster, Republic of Ireland U-21 international central defender Shane Duffy, with his progress, although the Derry-born star is keen to seek more first team football out on loan after a successful spell at Burnley last season.
The 19-year-old has revealed his interest in a possible loan move to Ipswich, and Town boss Paul Jewell is on the lookout for a centre-half to boost his options at the heart of defence, with only Damien Delaney, Tommy Smith and Ivar Ingimarsson currently his senior options.
Using his account on social networking site Twitter, Duffy said: "Hopefully a loan move will be sorted for some first-team experience."
Then when asked by an Ipswich supporter about a potential switch to Portman Road, he replied: "(I) haven‘t heard anything yet mate. Would be a great move if it happened."
The 6ft3in defender played 90 minutes against Ipswich when they defeated Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor in April.
With John Heitinga pushing for a central defensive spot and Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka established as David Moyes’ first-choice pairing, the Blues boss could allow Duffy to continue his footballing education in the lower leagues.
Meanwhile, Spurs goalkeeper Brad Fridel says he is eager for the season to start and insists the team will be ready for Everton on August 13.
"The lads are getting more and more match fitness in, that’s what we want, that’s what pre-season is about and we’ll be ready come Everton," he said.
CYNICS and glass half-full fans might say it’s the Everton Way.
Others might say it was just pure and simple bad luck.
But there will be plenty of Blues fans inside Goodison Park tomorrow night in reflective mood at the sight of Villarreal’s distinctive all yellow strip.
The Blues stunned seasoned Premier League watchers in 2005 when they turned a sloppy 17th place finish - then sold their best player - into a fourth place finish the following season.
Then they drew a little known Spanish side in the qualifier who proved good enough to reach that season’s Champions League semi-finals.
Villarreal put out Manchester United, Inter Milan and Benfica en route to a last four meeting with Arsenal, where a solitary goal ended their progress.
Yet Everton had come just as close to ending Villarreal’s glorious run before it even started.
Trailing 2-1 from the Goodison first leg, Everton went further behind at El Madrigal before Mikel Arteta equalised - then Duncan Ferguson’s fierce header sent thousands of travelling Blues fans wild with delight, anticipating an extra time period with their team very much in the ascendancy.
It is now part of Goodison folklore - or the Everton way - that the man considered the world’s best referee, Pierluigi Collina, decreed otherwise.
It bore echoes to a previous European campaign when Everton ended a four year absence from Europe in 1975 by drawing AC Milan in the first round - finalists in the previous two seasons’ Cup Winner’s Cups.
Again Billy Bingham’s team acquitted themselves magnificently, but were denied in the San Siro by an East German referee again reputed to be one of the world’s best.
Herr Rudi Glockner did not cover himself in glory at the San Siro.
Billy Bingham’s programme notes the following home match would see him charged with disrepute today.
Thirty years on Everton’s players bit their tongues after Signor Collina’s abberation, but nowadays goalkeeper that night, Nigel Martyn, is not so circumspect.
“It was so disappointing for us,” he reflected. “For a referee of that stature – he was the best in the world at the time – but he gave a decision that a Sunday league referee might give. It was poor.”
Martyn added: “It was bizarre. I think his (Collina’s) description was that Marcus Bent or somebody was supposed to have been fouling someone near the goal-line.
"When you look at it they do come together but it’s nowhere near the ball, it doesn’t affect the goal. It was nothing really.
“We were disappointed, frustrated and annoyed – everything that anyone would feel.
“The same as any supporter felt … a little bit, not cheated, because I don’t feel the referee cheated. You just feel really disappointed that he’s made such a bad decision.
“It wasn’t a free-kick and he’s given it. You feel horrible about that. But we’re not the first team to get knocked out because of a bad refereeing decision and we won’t be the last, it happens.
“It doesn’t help at the time because you’re annoyed and you’re frustrated and you’d have liked the opportunity to have seen what would have happened. The thing is though, we were denied that, so yes we were far from happy.
“Yes they did create a few chances and I had a few saves to make, but when Mikel scored they were definitely wobbly at that point.
“For probably 15 or 20 minutes, which is what we’d hung in there for at the start of the game, we were all over them. We had a real go at them. We pulled it round and I think their keeper made a couple of good saves and we created one or two chances and they were certainly rattled.
"I can remember gesturing something like that to Diego Forlan and he nodded back at me because he could see that they were actually starting to go to pieces.
“Then, very late on, after the controversy of Duncan’s 'goal' they just exploited the fact that we’d put too many players forward in trying to get a second and they caught us on the break.
“That was the end of it really. It was a far better performance than we had produced in the first game and we were unlucky. Had Duncan’s header stood we wouldn’t have been stuck in that situation with so many players caught forward, so the game would have probably finished 2-1.
“From there, who knows? It becomes a lottery. We could have gone on and done really well in the competition. As it was, I think the way it happened and everything, we were left so frustrated.”
There are several survivors in the Everton ranks from that night who will face the Yellow Submarines again tomorrow night - Phil Neville, who made his Blues debut against the Spaniards, Tony Hibbert and Arteta.
Entry tomorrow is £10 adults and £5 juniors.
