On This Day – 23rd November
Joey Barton would have made senior debut for Manchester City on this day in 2002 had it not been for the most bizarre of circumstances.
City were away to Middlesbrough and after Geremi scored to give the hosts a 3-1 lead on 84 minutes, manager Kevin Keegan told Barton to get ready to go on as a substitute. But there was a problem! Barton had left his shirt in the dugout at half time and it had vanished when the players and management had returned for the second half! The City midfielder still maintains that the shirt was stolen by a Middlesbrough fan during the interval!
The laws of the Premier League state that substitutes must come on wearing a shirt with their squad number on the back. However, the City kitman hadn’t packed a spare and Joey Barton wasn’t allowed onto the pitch!
It was Barton’s team mate Ali Bernarbia who came on in place of Lucien Mettomo on 87 minutes, leaving Barton feeling rather foolish in the dugout!
Joey Barton had to wait another almost five months before making his first-team debut, in a 2-0 defeat away to Bolton Wanderers. He played the full 90 minutes and remembered to keep his shirt safe after his ‘nearly debut’ at Middlesbrough!
About Author
1 thought on “On This Day – 23rd November”
Comments are closed.