Barton rethink?

Our own sports columnist Sam Allardyce, the man who signed Joey Barton for Newcastle United from Manchester City, believes the misbehaving star deserves another chance to win over the St James' Park crowd. Barton, who is serving a six-month prison sentence for assaulting a teenager back in Dec 2007, was recently given a suspended four-month prison sentence for attacking former Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo, and his list of past crimes and violent tendencies does not end there either. Does this convicted thug deserve another chance to grace the English Premier League stage with the Magpies? Has he been punished enough with his prison term? Or should the club bomb him out for dragging their good name through the mud.