Charles Sale- A good deed by Newcastle bad-boy Joey Barton
22 Oct 2009 - 14:23:37
Newcastle bad boy Joey Barton has shown the other side of his complex character by buying a minibus for the football charity that helped him during his troubles.
Barton wrote out a cheque for £20,000 to purchase the much-needed transport for Sporting Chance, the Hampshire clinic established by former Arsenal great Tony Adams who recovered from alcoholism to aid sports people beat destructive addictions.
The player, currently on the sidelines with a foot injury, acted immediately on discovering the cash-strapped clinic were worried about being able to afford the minibus.
They had just received early hints from the FA that an annual £50,000 grant due next April might have to be reduced, or scrapped, due to the ruling bodys own difficulties, although the FA deny this will happen.
Barton credits Sporting Chance with keeping him off the drink for nearly two years as well as dealing with his anger management issues.
Part of the terms of his release in July 2008, after serving 74 days of a six-month prison sentence for assault and affray, was that he spent time at the clinic run by Peter Kay, who has been a mentor of Bartons since 2005.
