Joey a joke in English, Scouse and Bartonese

When Steve McClaren stooped from being the wally with a brolly to giving a press conference in a Dutch accent while managing FC Twente he became the butt of all soccer jokes.

Yesterday Joey Barton took over the accolade. The QPR midfielder ended his 12-game suspension at the weekend following his final day red card at Manchester City to make his Olympique Marseille debut in their 1-0 win over Lille.

However, at the press conference after the game he spoke English to the media in a distinctly French accent, even throwing a few Gallic shrugs of indifference during his monologue.