As Joey Barton picked up the red card against Liverpool which brought his Newcastle United team one step closer to relegation from the Premier League, he might have been tempted to think back to the moment he almost joined the Reds.
Barton was one of the Newcastle players unable to drag themselves towards safety after Alan Shearer took the reins in April 2009. The relegation was the Magpies' first in 16 years, and a defeat at Anfield - a 10th game without victory - played its part.
The England international endured a frustrating afternoon on Merseyside, with Liverpool dominating to the extent that a three-goal defeat may have flattered Shearer's side. When Barton's day ended early, though, it was for an unforgivable challenge on the man who ended up taking what might have been his place in the Reds side back in 2004.
