Joey Barton has today brought up a year in charge of Bristol Rovers - and it has been far from dull.
The former Manchester City player has always been followed by drama and controversy and his spell in charge of the Gas has so far been full of notable episodes, on and off the pitch.
Barton took over a side struggling near the bottom of League One and was looking to restore his reputation after a sour end to his long stay at Fleetwood.
He admitted he had fallen out with Cod Army owner Andy Pilley before his sacking.
A fresh challenge then came in the shape of Rovers and a year on, he is hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of relegation last season.
Will Barton one day manage in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments
Rovers are currently five points off the play-offs and after a patchy start, Barton will be hoping he can deliver in the final third of the season.
Reflecting on his first 12 months in the post, Barton has thanked Rovers' owner Wael Al-Qadi.
"I’m a difficult man to employ because a lot is written and said about me," Barton said. "But he had the foresight to realise just how good we are as a coaching group.
"We didn’t get off to a flyer. You come in with all the bravado and the belief because of the job you’d done previously, and it didn’t quite go to plan because, in reality, I’m inheriting somebody else’s players and somebody else’s standards.
"They were nowhere near the level, but now with hard work and a collective effort, we’ve got the football club in a position where it can do itself justice.
"This is just the start point for us."
Because we're talking about Joey Barton, he hasn't been without controversy in this past year. Back in October Barton apologised after comparing a Rovers defeat to the Holocaust.
Barton said: “Someone gets in and does well but then gets suspended or injured. Someone gets in for a game, does well but then has a Holocaust, a nightmare, an absolute disaster.”
After extensive backlash, he back-tracked and eventually apologised.
He said: "The FA wrote to me this week to remind us of our language and communications, and the last thing you want to do is cause offence or upset anybody.
"So if anybody was offended by that, I would like to apologise for that and I think the FA were right to write to me and remind me of that. You hope to use better analogies in future, but it was certainly with no malice or offence intended to anybody.”
Then in December a lengthy legal case ended with Barton being found not guilty of assaulting a fellow manager.
It related to an incident involing Barton, who was at Fleetwood, and then Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel back in April 2019.
More than two-and-a-half years after the incident, Barton was eventually acquitted by a jury.
Other flashpoints in recent months have included describing an opposition side as employing rugby-like tactics, questioning Jurgen Klopp's stance on only signing vaccinated players and criticising players who wear pink boots.
There have also been rocky moments on the pitch with the 39-year-old offering to walk away from his post earlier in the campaign, with Rovers struggling and another high-profile court case lingering in the background.
But for now, Barton seems content with life in Bristol and clearly has the aim of an immediate promotion in his sights - if only as reward for Al-Qadi's faith in him.
He added: "I’m forever thankful for that and I intend to deliver the man a football club that lasts the ages."
