Barton behind bars - again

Here's one for you...

You're an overpaid, underperforming and short-fused midfielder with a big ego and even bigger gob who has recently labelled your own team's fans "vicious" and whose side has (in your absence through injury) just suffered a fourth consecutive humiliation at Wigan.

Do you:

(a) remember what you said upon signing for the club about second chances and being a changed man, keep your head down and your nose clean and knuckle down to some serious hard work

(b) get yourself arrested outside a McDonalds in Liverpool city centre at 5.30am and subsequently charged with common assault and affray

Hope spending New Year in the slammer gives you plenty of opportunity for reflection, Joey. Like on who might be bothered to take a punt on you in the January sales if Sam Allardyce does the decent thing and puts you on the transfer list.

In the last few matches we've once again visibly lacked the stomach for the fight - but somehow I doubt this is what Allardyce had in mind...