Ex-NUFC midfielder, Joey Barton has been praised after the midfielder visited a terminally ill Burnley fan in hospital yesterday, sharing some of his last moments before he sadly passed away from pancreatic cancer.
Harry Johnson, 72, was a lifelong Burnley fan and in his final moments, enjoyed an unexpected visit from Joey, who is said to have chatted with him for 20 minutes about the club he loved so dearly.
The family of the late Harry Johnson spoke highly of Barton, praising the former Mag who’s often in the headlines for all the wrong reasons:
“Joey’s words gave Harry and all of his close family a massive boost in his final hours.”
“My dad wanted to say a massive thank you to Joey Barton, who had a laugh and a chat with him. Joey is a top man.”
I thought this was quite a touching act from Joey, who behind all of his faults seems to be a decent bloke deep down.
As Newcastle fans, we are more than aware of his shortcomings, with his short fuse and ill-discipline costing us on several occasions during his time on Tyneside, yet he was a player that many fans grew to like.
His desire, commitment and character saw him earn the respect of the Geordie faithful, being a player instrumental in Newcastle’s promotion back to the Premier League in 2009/10.
Good on Joey for his display of kindness yesterday – it’s nice to see the much maligned Barton continue to rebuild his ‘bad boy’ reputation.
