Source: FOOTYMAD
Toon Make A 'Statement'
After the "expected" defeat at Old Trafford (and let's not fool ourselves - it was expected), Joey Barton said it was important Newcastle made a statement at St James' Park against Villa. Joey Barton: “We were not too bothered about the Man U defeat. “A lot of teams will go there and get beaten by more than that. “We want to belong in the Premier League and the lads have shown how much they want it. We had a masterclass from (Paul) Scholes the other night but we bounced back. “It was important for us to make a statement today. “We were unbeaten at St James’ last season and we wanted to keep that ball rolling. “There is no better start we could have had. “Now we know we have to turn up for our next game at Wolves (away from home on Saturday) and put in another shift.” “The Villa players did not close me down enough and I hit it as hard as I could. “The ball moved a little bit and bent at the last minute.”
