Would you have Joey Barton back?

Would you have me back ?Over the course of the last few seasons one thing has stood out to me when looking at our squad - a lack of leaders. We have not had a genuine leader since, well…Joey Barton. Back then we had Kevin Nolan too.

Teams need individuals in the dressing room that are not afraid to say it as it is. Ruffle feathers and all out the mercenaries. It’s been a common theme for a while now, our fans have pretty much been united in demanding one simple thing from our players; effort.

When your team is made up largely of foreign nationals, they will have no particular loyalty to your club. They are after 2 things; more money or trophies. Where is the incentive to work their balls off for the club badge? This is where strong leadership comes in. Your Roy Keane’s, Joey Barton’s and Steven Gerrard’s will not stand idly by and allow their teammates to take the mickey out of the fans and team.

Joey is 32 now, but can still do a job in the Premier League and he has often spoken bout his admiration for our fans - even if he rightly does not like the board. Colloccini is a good player, but lets not kid ourselves. He does not love Newcastle United and does not take his teammates by the scruff on the neck when they are not performing on the pitch. Cabaye was a previous Captain of our club. Good player, but not a Captain. There is nobody in our squad that fits the leadership profile and in my opinion that is one of the biggest reasons for the club constantly underperforming.

Joey is available on a free this summer and considering what he will bring to the dressing room, even at this stage of his career - he has to be a safe investment. Granted QPR have not shown too much passion this year - but the club is infested with mercenaries and players well past their sell-by-date. Even Joey can’t be expected to work his magic with that lot..

Even if Joey was simply a squad player, he would still be letting rip in the dressing room and creating a strong work ethic and the team bond that always results from everybody pulling in the same direction and working their socks off for eachother. I reckon he’d jump at the chance to sign on with again at this stage of his career and I think the dressing room would benefit massively from it, even if he is a controversial figure with a chequered history. At least he has passion - something our fans are crying out for. What do you reckon?

By Shamrock.