It can sometimes be a little tricky to follow Joey Barton's escapades.
The latest of his numerous rows has come at Rangers, where he has been suspended for three weeks following a training ground argument with boss Mark Warburton.
However, there was a time when his unseemly personality was the problem of Newcastle alone. Even overlooking the fact that he was sent to prison during his time at the club, there were quite a few other incidents that eventually led to him being given away on a free transfer in 2011.
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Barton has explained that one such incident occurred before a pre-season friendly against Leeds, admittedly not the most crucial of games.
Then-Newcastle manager Alan Pardew made Shola Ameobi captain for the day, a move which evidently didn't go down well with Barton, who was officially supposed to be vice-captain. The midfielder also thinks he has the credentials to be England manager, though, so Pardew may have been right to overlook him.
Barton had already seen the regular captaincy go to Fabricio Coloccini, and he has now revealed exactly what he said to Pardew to, er... win him over.
Barton's response
"I went mad, told (Alan) Pardew to **** off, and refused to shake his hand before the game," he writes in his book 'No Nonsense', brought to our attention by the Shields Gazette.
"He took offence and everyone else took to the trenches," he added.
It does beg the question why a player capable of such an inspirational message wasn't picked to lead Newcastle.
Rangers may have been his last chance at redemption, but one thing's for sure - Barton's always had plenty of interesting angles on football, so his view of the way Newcastle was run is still always worth a listen.
Should Joey Barton have been Newcastle captain? Have your say in the comments.
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