Barton strike finds favour with faithful
Ten days after he was jeered by his own supporters after handing in a transfer request, Barton ran away clutching his badge in jubilation after a superb goal which ultimately proved decisive. And he was rewarded with an improved contract offer from manager Stuart Pearce.
Richard Dunne gave City a half-time lead and the hosts were able to hold onto their advantage despite conceding twice in a four-goal spell at the start of the second period which saw both Darren and Marcus Bent convert for the visitors and £6 million (8.8m) new-boy Georgios Samaras nod home his first City goal.
But England contenders Alan Curbishley and Pearce have pleaded to be left alone to do their jobs amid fevered speculation over who will succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Both men were named along with Martin O'Neill on an unofficial three-man shortlist to replace Eriksson after this summer's World Cup, while Dave Richards, one of the men who will eventually choose the next England manager, has admitted the new man will be "British."
The three most plausible home-grown candidates were at Eastlands this afternoon; Pearce and Curbishley in charge of their respective Man City and Charlton sides and Sam Allardyce as a tv pundit.
And, with Allardyce re-stating his belief Eriksson's replacement should be English, both Curbishley and Pearce, in their own different ways, are demanding some space from the unrelenting spotlight.
Curbishley said: "In my opinion, the FA should turn round and say they will not make an announcement until after the final Premiership game on May 7, which will just allow everyone to get on with what they have to do.
"All we are getting at the moment is Curb Watch, Pearce Watch and Sam Watch, plus a fictional horse race with our heads on little horses seeing who is in front. It is not distracting but all three of us have important jobs to do.
"There is still three months of the season left and every day someone is saying something else. Who knows what people are thinking. I just think we should all be given a chance and the FA say they are not going to talk about it until after the season is over."
Pearce echoed the principle behind Curbishley's demand, if not the timescale: "I am happy not to talk about it and it would be fine if the FA just turned round and announced who it was going to be but I recognise it is a good story at a time when there is not a great deal else to write about."
Curbishley insists his mind is firmly on his work at Charlton and the aim of lifting the Addicks into the top 10, while Pearce is equally determined to push City towards a UEFA Cup spot.
However, less than 12 months into his managerial career, he admits being linked with the England job is no bad thing, even if he personally doubts he has the experience to do it just now.
The pair's comments came after Allardyce used his TV platform to confirm his belief that an Englishman should be handed the national job.
"If the FA are talking about him being British then that is good news for everyone in this country," said the Bolton chief.
"The public seem to want to demand that at the moment, so obviously from my point of view I'd want to go that way not just from the point of being in contention but also because I am an Englishman anyway.
"It is very important for this country and for the FA to go down that route because we are all taught through their system, we're all going through the curriculum for the badges and qualifications."
Charlton have conceded 28 right-footed goals this season more than any other premiership side Marcus Bent is the lowest scoring player to have scored for five different Premiership clubs he has only 32 top-flight strikes .
There have been 21 goals in the last five Premiership games at the City of Manchester stadium.
MAN CITY: James, Richards, Dunne, Distin, Sommeil, Sinclair (Samaras 45), Barton, Musampa, Riera, Cole (Ireland 81), Vassell (Sibierski 68).
CHARLTON: Myhre, Young, Hreidarsson, El Karkouri, Spector, Hughes (Bothroyd 74), Kishishev, Smertin (Euell 74), Thomas (Ambrose 74), Marcus Bent, Darren Bent.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
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