Joey Barton - Style of Play

Style of Play

Early in his career, Barton mainly played a defensive role, with a game based on tackling and tracking back to shield the defence. As his career has progressed, he has begun to incorporate a more attacking approach to his play, which has resulted in a greater number of goals and assists. His six goals from midfield made him Manchester City's leading scorer in the 2006–07 season, ahead of strikers Georgios Samaras, Bernardo Corradi, Émile Mpenza and Darius Vassell.

Barton has been described as having a good work ethic and the ability to carry the ball and retain possession for the team. He has been praised for having a good passing range. This aspect of his game has shown improvement since the 2005–06 season, when he began to favour simpler passes over more ambitious ones, and his relatively high pass completion rate can be attributed to this change. Barton's passes have often proved to be crucial; in the past he has led the way in his team's assists.

Barton has been described as the dirtiest player in the premiership, a style reflected in the high number of fouls he has committed during his career. He received 39 bookings and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. This physical approach was occasionally criticised by Kevin Keegan as excessive. Opta statistics rated Barton as the tenth best tackler in the Premier League for the 2004–05 season.