Joey Barton has responded to Stevenage manager Steve Evans’ claims that Northampton Town deserved to go up last season, in place of Bristol Rovers, with the blunt message: “tough s*** on that one”.
In the build-up to Stevenage’s 3-2 League Two defeat against Northampton on Saturday, in which he was sent off after arguing with officials, Evans - a pantomime villain to Rovers fans down the years - revisited a debate from the conclusion to the 2021/22 campaign where he stated that Scunthorpe United’s line-up on the final day had, “no place in football”.
Rovers beat a Scunthorpe side, with an average age of 20, 7-0 to earn promotion via goals scored, with the Cobblers missing out and then knocked out of the play-offs. And while no EFL rules were contravened, Northampton were furious in the aftermath at a perceived injustice that the integrity of the league had been compromised.
