Josh Barrett, the secret snus society, Luke Thomas, Zain Westbrooke, Trevor Clarke, Alex Rodman, Sylvester Jasper, Bobby Thomas, James Belshaw, Aaron Collins - the list is long and becoming increasingly more distinguished as it’s extended, seemingly on a weekly basis, by Joey Barton.
What unites these Bristol Rovers players, past, present and temporary, of course, is they’ve all at some stage been called out to varying degrees by Barton for various indiscretions, major and minor. But while each case is different and unique, what unites them beyond being thrust into the public domain is, with possibly one or two exceptions, the reasons are essentially the same - a betrayal of the culture he is trying to instil at the club.
In the boss’ eyes, each one has done something, either on the field at the training ground or displayed an attitude that has run contrary to the environment he has created at the club; whether that being Jasper not happy with his lack of minutes, Barrett’s lax approach to professionalism, Thomas’ apparent inability to be vocal on the pitch or, most recently and profoundly, Collins decision not to properly compete for a header.
