Source: Daily_Mail
Alan Pardew speaks to Sir Alex Ferguson over Joet Barton Twitter fiasco
Alan Pardew has turned to Sir Alex Ferguson in an attempt to restore order at Newcastle United following Joey Barton's criticism of the club on Twitter.[LNB]The Newcastle manager revealed yesterday his squad had been banned from discussing the club on the social networking website and that legal letters had been given to all players to remind them of their responsibilities.[LNB]Prior to the squad meeting, Pardew sought the advice of Manchester United's manager, who famously said earlier this year that 'people should just go to the library and read a book' when he was asked for his opinions on Twitter.[LNB] Twitter ye not: Barton could yet remain at Newcastle[LNB]Barton is not the only Newcastle player to have courted controversy on Twitter. Left-back Jose Enrique was critical of the club's ambitions and, as Sportsmail revealed earlierthis week, it has forced Newcastle to take dramatic action. Pardew believes it was absolutely necessary. [LNB]'The problem I have with Twitter is that people are Twittering on there in an emotional state,' Pardew said.'Not just footballers. Sportsmen are an emotive people. They get in an emotional state and then put something out instantly on Twitter. It's very, very damaging. [LNB]'I spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson about this subject and (Manchester United's) policy is that nobody at their club can comment about the football club. I think that's probably where we should be because it is in breach of contract if you are criticising the owner, the player or anyone at the club. [LNB]'Giving out injury news causes us a problem, so we've notified the players. [LNB]'They have probably seen it as another sort of dictatorial moment from us. But we've had to issue them legally with a letter to say this is not right - it's a breach of contract and you have to understand you're going to be fined and disciplined for that. [LNB]'Sir Alex knows that in our world, this happens. There was no sympathy whatsoever. He laughed, actually. He's quite enjoying it. But he shared with me quite ferociously, this Twitter issue for football clubs, particularly managers.' [LNB] Lean on me: Pardew has turned to veteran manager Ferguson for advice [LNB]Pardew faced the media yesterday at the end of what has been the most turbulent week of nine-month reign at St James' Park and for the first time since Sunday' s 3-2 defeat at Leeds, which was the catalyst for this saga.[LNB]Barton was noticeably less active on Twitter yesterday, though he still managed to alert his 246,000 followers to the Benjamin Disraeli quote that 'silence is the mother of the truth' and there was also mischievous request for a number for the famed bridge builder Ismabard Kingdom Brunel.[LNB]That came not long after Pardew raised the unlikely prospect of Barton - who will not figure in tomorrow's friendly against Fiorentina - seeing out the remaining 12 months of his contract at St James' Park. But he made it clear that barton would have to start pulling in the same direction as the club.[LNB]'I don't think the situation with Joey is entrenched,' said Pardew. 'He won't be involved this weekend. Just for the whole thing to calm down, to take him out of the firing line so to speak, that's the right thing to do.[LNB]'Everybody was very angry this week and there were decisions on both sides that were made with that anger inmind and still at the surface. I've spoken to Joey on three occasions and perhaps this could all have been avoided if me and Joey had had thatnormal manager-player chat.' [LNB]Newcastle had earlier issued a statement saying they would not be commenting on the decision to give Barton a free transfer but Pardew was more forthcoming on the situation that arose in the aftermath of the defeat at Elland Road.[LNB] Exit talk: Enrique has also been linked with a move away from St James' Park[LNB]'What happened on Sunday will stay inthe dressing room, that's how football clubs should work,' he said. 'I felt Joey wasn't pulling with the team and that's unusual for him. He's been a great player, a super player for us. It was compounded with what happened with Twitter. [LNB]'I wanted to make it clear to him that he's got to pull with us if he's going to stay here in his final year. At the moment we are in a period of reflection. He trained with the development group (Thursday) and he trained well. I still think there's more time for it all to be played out.' [LNB]Sportsmailunderstands Barton's frustrations boiled over after discussions with team-mates about some of the incidents that have happened during pre-season and, significantly, Pardew admitted that preparations for thenew campaign have not gone as he would have planned.[LNB]The tour to North America, for instance, was especially gruelling in terms of travel and the situation has been exacerbated by Newcastle's failure to bring in a top level striker.[LNB]'I think we've been disrupted heavilyby two or three things this pre-season,' said Pardew. 'Perhaps they could have been avoided, I wouldn't disagree with that.[LNB]We've had a tour of America which I thought was very, very intense in terms of the games. They were tough. Some of those internal flights weren't ideal, something we should have done better. No, it hasn't been the most perfect pre-season.[LNB]'The problem I've got with the group at the moment is that they want to see one or two players come through the door. They do. The fans do. I want that to happen. I'm making it very, very clear to Derek (Llambias) and Mike (Ashley) that we need one or two boys in this door - now.' [LNB] CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAMEToon u-turn on Barton as boss Pardew hints controversial star could stayBring the noise! Rooney relishing Wembley clash with neighbours Manchester CityAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinionAll the latest Newcastle news, features and opinion[LNB]
