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.
In the summer of 2004, Barton was in high demand after a breakout season at Manchester City. He won the club's young player of the year award, and was linked with bigger and better things after Kevin Keegan's side finished in the lower reaches of the table.
Had Gerard Houllier remained in charge at Anfield, the move may still have materialised. However, the Reds instead moved for Rafa Benitez, and the former Valencia boss decided he wanted Xabi Alonso to come with him to the Premier League.
“From what I gathered, Steven Gerrard agitated to get Liverpool to sign me in 2004, because he felt we had the potential to forge a partnership," Barton wrote in his autobiography 'No Nonsense' (via The Sun ). The young midfielder had featured from the bench in February 2004 when Liverpool beat City with Gerrard scoring the winner.
“I met with Gerard Houllier at Melwood, and agreed everything verbally," Barton continued. "A deal was close to being concluded but then he was sacked that summer. It was never revived.”
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Benitez's first window as Liverpool manager was a busy one. Alonso was one of four Spaniards to join, along with Luis Garcia, Antonio Nunez and Josemi, while Djibril Cisse moved to Anfield in a deal agreed when Houllier was still in charge.
It wasn't until 2006 that Alonso and Barton met on the pitch, and on that occasion it didn't last too long. A clash of heads saw both leave the field for treatment, and Alonso's afternoon ended early as a consequence while Barton would also fail to finish the game after being sent off for two bookings in unrelated incidents.
“Xabi and I had history," Barton explained in his book. "He blamed me for knocking him out in what he thought was a deliberate clash of heads in one of our earliest contests, and I blamed him for stealing my move to Liverpool.
“All that remained to be agreed with City was the fee, when Rafa Benitez took over from Gerard Houllier. I was in Dubai when I was informed that he had instead decided to sign a kid from Real Sociedad who had just broken into the Spanish national team."
The move paid off almost instantly, with Alonso on target in the 2005 Champions League final. By 2009, though, Barton still hadn't forgotten the bad blood.
You'll struggle to find a more one-sided Premier League game than Liverpool's victory over Newcastle in 2009. Benitez's side were still in title contention, though they were relying on Manchester United dropping points, while Newcastle's freefall under Chris Hughton prompted them to bring in club legend Shearer in an effort to revive their survival hopes.
Both teams were without their attacking danger-men, with Fernando Torres injured for the hosts and Michael Owen left on the bench by Shearer. Only one team was impacted by their loss, though, and it was all Liverpool for the bulk of the game.
There might have been a touch of offside in Yossi Benayoun's opener, but it's hard to argue Liverpool weren't creating the better - or indeed the only - chances. Alonso hit the bar twice from distance, while Steve Harper needed to produce a big save from Benayoun, but a flying Dirk Kuyt header meant it was 2-0 by the time Barton took matters into his own hands.
“Xabi retained the ball near the corner flag fractionally longer than was prudent," Barton wrote. "That gave me the opportunity to fly in, and disguise my malicious intent as best as I could.
"Alonso milked the moment with a barrel roll. I expected a yellow and was shown a red.”
Perhaps it's a case of Barton's memory failing him, but it wasn't just a barrel roll from Alonso. The red card challenge was severe enough to require Alonso to be stretchered off, and to make matters worse his replacement Lucas Leiva would score Liverpool's third after being left all alone to nod home a Fabio Aurelio free-kick.
"I wasn't happy, I was bitterly disappointed at the way that happened," Shearer told BBC Sport after the defeat. "I asked him to stay calm in the heat of the battle but it was a stupid tackle and he deserved to be sent off."
The foul on Alonso would end up being Barton's last act in a Newcastle shirt that season. A three-match ban kept him out of commission for the following weekend's victory over Middlesbrough - enough to give the Magpies hope - and the subsequent defeats to Fulham and Aston Villa which relegated them by a single point.
Alonso left Liverpool at the end of that season, joining Real Madrid for £30m. He would never meet Barton in a competitive game again.
