Pardew hails man in control Barton

ALAN PARDEW may not be the most popular man on Tyneside but there is little wrong with his eyesight after he hailed Joey Barton’s showing in a match that started brightly and then consistently got worse.

With no Andy Carroll, Pardew needed other members of his squad to stand up and be counted and Barton most definitely did that as he ran the game from start to finish — despite a late tackle on James McArthur that left Barton lucky to be on the pitch.

Pardew was keener to point out his qualities on an afternoon where he controlled the show before the St James’ Park manager also mentioned he has a fleeting interest in bringing in another midfielder : a certain David Beckham.