A game which was anything but friendly...
Back in July 2004, during a glorious summer of sunshine and surprises, local boy Kevin Keegan returned to his hometown club, Doncaster Rovers, for a pre-season friendly involving his Manchester City team.
It was meant to be a day of celebration for everyone; Keegan, the town's greatest sporting son, returning home and providing a chance for Dave Penney's back-to-back promotion-winners to test themselves against high calibre Premier League opponents.
City, though not quite the force they are now, had assembled a strong squad including some household names such as David James, Sylvain Distin, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Meanwhile, football had 100% captured the fascination and imagination of the Doncaster public over the previous two years - the club had been transformed given as a result of so much success, attendances had doubled, excitement, optimism and passion for this team was sky high whilst a move to a new stadium remained on the horizon at some point in the future.
The weather on matchday was bright, sunny and sweltering so many folk sported their short-sleeved replica red and white shirts which had sold in the thousands on the terraces around Belle Vue for a game which was the highlight of the pre-season schedule.
After Keegan received rapturous applause from all four sides of Belle Vue, it wasn't long until the 5,000-strong crowd were treated to a goal with Leo Fortune-West capitalising on a defensive error and slotting past City 'keeper Geert De Vlieger in the first few minutes.
That was as normal as things were, however. because unusually for a friendly fixture, there was a real zest, energy and combativeness in the air which would quickly turn to full-blooded anger, thunder, and players seeking retribution on one another.
A certain Joey Barton was doing his utmost to agitate others and, having already been involved in an early flash-point following a tackle on John Doolan who was no shrinking violet and could hold his own, the youngster made more rash tackles before yet another incident sparked the notorious free-for-all which everyone remembers so well.
Ricky Ravenhill was shielding the ball and went to ground under pressure from Barton, who then kicked out at him - once, twice, three times and then yet again whilst also swinging a punch at Dave Mulligan before Mark Albrighton went steaming in to protect his team-mate and throttled Barton with his bare hands. Others piled in and chaos soon followed but 'Sarge' was the only one with a grip because the referee, a local bloke named Alan Greaves (poor fella!), didn't have a clue how to handle the situation. Even at this early point inside the opening 20 minutes, the official looked well out of his depth - proved by the fact he let the incident pass without brandishing any yellow cards when he could (and probably should) have shown several.
The tone was set, nevertheless, and what Barton clearly didn't realise was that Rovers' line-up contained some imposing characters - older, tougher, more experienced and with 'know how' in how to put someone in their place. One such figure was 'big' Leo Fortune-West who, just a few minutes later, went in with a scything knee-high lunge which took out Barton and sparked yet more confrontation, threats and fisticuffs. It could be said that Leo never was the best at tackling...
Again the referee didn't have a clue what to do. The big man should have got a straight red card along with about half a dozen more in the subsequent second brawl, but instead, he and Barton, who was left limping with a gashed knee, were booked and instructions were relayed to Dave Penney to substitute the big forward. Keegan, meanwhile, had a word with Barton, who stayed on the pitch - amidst ferocious abuse from those who were boiling over in anger on the terraces.
Five minutes later, Barton got smashed again when Jermaine McSporran went in with a vicious tackle (not that anyone could blame him). He got booked for it, though by now several players were having spats with one another - Danny Mills and John Doolan was one battle whilst Steve McManaman, Ricky Ravenhill and Mark Albrighton were caught up in others.
The atmosphere was red hot, toxic and tensions were simmering. It seemed only a matter of time before someone would smack somebody and if it wasn't for the fact that the home and away team had separate tunnels at Belle Vue, there's every likelihood a bloodbath, carnage and some WWE royal rumble moves would have followed at half-time.
Keegan substituted Barton at this point (something which was 'allegedly' pre-planned) and then chastised him in his post-match interviews - stating he needed to grow up and that he got exactly what he deserved. Danny Mills, on the other hand, attacked the referee with his post-match comments - claiming that he showed no protection to Man City's players and allowed them to be targeted.
The fall-out, spats and bitterness continued for a few days afterwards but, again, it provided some fantastic memories!
Along with Barton's withdrawal, the half-time break saw a plethora of other changes - just enough to dilute the toxic ill-feeling and atmosphere. Shaun Wright-Phillips made it 1-1 soon after the re-start, the visitors had a bit more possession in the second half and there weren't any more flash-points but it didn't matter one bit because all the headlines had already been created by Barton's antics.
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| Mark Albrighton throttles Joey Barton (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
Back in July 2004, during a glorious summer of sunshine and surprises, local boy Kevin Keegan returned to his hometown club, Doncaster Rovers, for a pre-season friendly involving his Manchester City team.
It was meant to be a day of celebration for everyone; Keegan, the town's greatest sporting son, returning home and providing a chance for Dave Penney's back-to-back promotion-winners to test themselves against high calibre Premier League opponents.
City, though not quite the force they are now, had assembled a strong squad including some household names such as David James, Sylvain Distin, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Meanwhile, football had 100% captured the fascination and imagination of the Doncaster public over the previous two years - the club had been transformed given as a result of so much success, attendances had doubled, excitement, optimism and passion for this team was sky high whilst a move to a new stadium remained on the horizon at some point in the future.
The weather on matchday was bright, sunny and sweltering so many folk sported their short-sleeved replica red and white shirts which had sold in the thousands on the terraces around Belle Vue for a game which was the highlight of the pre-season schedule.
 |
| A ticket stub from the memorable game. |
After Keegan received rapturous applause from all four sides of Belle Vue, it wasn't long until the 5,000-strong crowd were treated to a goal with Leo Fortune-West capitalising on a defensive error and slotting past City 'keeper Geert De Vlieger in the first few minutes.
That was as normal as things were, however. because unusually for a friendly fixture, there was a real zest, energy and combativeness in the air which would quickly turn to full-blooded anger, thunder, and players seeking retribution on one another.
A certain Joey Barton was doing his utmost to agitate others and, having already been involved in an early flash-point following a tackle on John Doolan who was no shrinking violet and could hold his own, the youngster made more rash tackles before yet another incident sparked the notorious free-for-all which everyone remembers so well.
Ricky Ravenhill was shielding the ball and went to ground under pressure from Barton, who then kicked out at him - once, twice, three times and then yet again whilst also swinging a punch at Dave Mulligan before Mark Albrighton went steaming in to protect his team-mate and throttled Barton with his bare hands. Others piled in and chaos soon followed but 'Sarge' was the only one with a grip because the referee, a local bloke named Alan Greaves (poor fella!), didn't have a clue how to handle the situation. Even at this early point inside the opening 20 minutes, the official looked well out of his depth - proved by the fact he let the incident pass without brandishing any yellow cards when he could (and probably should) have shown several.
The tone was set, nevertheless, and what Barton clearly didn't realise was that Rovers' line-up contained some imposing characters - older, tougher, more experienced and with 'know how' in how to put someone in their place. One such figure was 'big' Leo Fortune-West who, just a few minutes later, went in with a scything knee-high lunge which took out Barton and sparked yet more confrontation, threats and fisticuffs. It could be said that Leo never was the best at tackling...
Again the referee didn't have a clue what to do. The big man should have got a straight red card along with about half a dozen more in the subsequent second brawl, but instead, he and Barton, who was left limping with a gashed knee, were booked and instructions were relayed to Dave Penney to substitute the big forward. Keegan, meanwhile, had a word with Barton, who stayed on the pitch - amidst ferocious abuse from those who were boiling over in anger on the terraces.
 |
| Keegan and Barton have words (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
Five minutes later, Barton got smashed again when Jermaine McSporran went in with a vicious tackle (not that anyone could blame him). He got booked for it, though by now several players were having spats with one another - Danny Mills and John Doolan was one battle whilst Steve McManaman, Ricky Ravenhill and Mark Albrighton were caught up in others.
The atmosphere was red hot, toxic and tensions were simmering. It seemed only a matter of time before someone would smack somebody and if it wasn't for the fact that the home and away team had separate tunnels at Belle Vue, there's every likelihood a bloodbath, carnage and some WWE royal rumble moves would have followed at half-time.
Keegan substituted Barton at this point (something which was 'allegedly' pre-planned) and then chastised him in his post-match interviews - stating he needed to grow up and that he got exactly what he deserved. Danny Mills, on the other hand, attacked the referee with his post-match comments - claiming that he showed no protection to Man City's players and allowed them to be targeted.
The fall-out, spats and bitterness continued for a few days afterwards but, again, it provided some fantastic memories!
Along with Barton's withdrawal, the half-time break saw a plethora of other changes - just enough to dilute the toxic ill-feeling and atmosphere. Shaun Wright-Phillips made it 1-1 soon after the re-start, the visitors had a bit more possession in the second half and there weren't any more flash-points but it didn't matter one bit because all the headlines had already been created by Barton's antics.
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| Kevin Keegan returned to Doncaster, but Joey Barton stole the headlines. |
Despite all the shenanigans and ferocity with what happened on the pitch, bizarrely, I've actually got more fond memories of Barton from this particular day.
Being aged 14, this was my first exposure to a 'big' club with star players, etc, and, as to be expected, there was a queue/mini-stampede (call it whatever you want) to get autographs both when the away team bus arrived and then inside the ground, not long afterwards, as their squad went out onto the pitch to do their warm-ups.
I had a Man City shirt (which was size XXL and would probably fit me much better now than it ever did back then) and though you could tell a lot of their players couldn't be bothered with the 'meet the fans and sign autographs' type b******s, some disguised it better than others. Ironically, given everything which unfolded an hour or so later, the player who seemed most obliging and down to earth; happy to pose for photographs, etc, was... Joey Barton!
I don't know if it was his tough upbringing on a council estate which made him act in a more respectful/appreciative manner than some of his team-mates (in this scenario anyway), but he seemed at ease and was happy to make small-talk with everyone and genuinely came across well. I can only draw the conclusion that what happened later on the pitch was because he'd got so pumped up with adrenaline and 'in the zone' he simply didn't know how to channel it properly - something which does happen with players, though many don't become a total liability as a result. His demeanour on the pitch to that off the pitch couldn't have been more different if he'd tried.
Contrast Barton's attitude towards supporters to that of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Willo Flood - whom all just pig-ignorantly blanked kids asking for autographs/photos and then proceeded to plonk their backsides on the subs bench just a few yards away, and it made me dislike them much more than Barton for a long time to come.
It was a memorable occasion - so much so that it even got mentioned in Barton and Keegan's autobiographies. I wonder if Joey will ever read this?
Contrast Barton's attitude towards supporters to that of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Willo Flood - whom all just pig-ignorantly blanked kids asking for autographs/photos and then proceeded to plonk their backsides on the subs bench just a few yards away, and it made me dislike them much more than Barton for a long time to come.
It was a memorable occasion - so much so that it even got mentioned in Barton and Keegan's autobiographies. I wonder if Joey will ever read this?
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| A Man City defender intercepts the ball (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| It must be a good claim to fame to have been 'started on' by a two-time Champions League winner? (Photo: Dan Westwell) |
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| Tim Ryan keeps a watchful eye on a future England player (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Paul Green puts his body on the line to deny Shaun Wright-Phillips (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Barton sparks a riot! (Photo: Dan Westwell) |
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| Sylvain Distin keeps Ricky Ravenhill calm whilst Paolo Wanchope attends to LFW (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Dave Mulligan chests the ball down ahead of Paolo Wanchope (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Footballer, manager, pop star... Keegan has always been a ladies man (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Leo eyes up a challenge on former Real Madrid man Steve McManaman (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Swing low... and miss. Paul Green looks shocked too! (Photo: Dan Westwell) |
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| One international footballer has the ball whilst another looks on (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Barton the aggressor (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Kevin Keegan meets Donny Dog - aka Andy Liney (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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| Barton goes on the attack... but not in the football sense (Photo: Dan Westwell) |
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| Sylvain Distin acts as peacemaker (Photo: Dan Westwell). |
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