”Warren Barton, centre parting!”

Best SWSL wishes to former Newcastle right back Warren Barton, who announced his retirement last week. For a brief period in the summer of 1995, until Les Ferdinand joined the club, the player nicknamed Brazilian Barton was our record signing, and at a price of £4 million he held the record for the most expensive British defender for some time. Much maligned and mocked by those outside the club, as he was by a minority within, Barton withstood all the criticism and his commitment to the cause was never in doubt. Perhaps his finest performance in a black and white shirt was in a 1999 Boxing Day clash with Liverpool, which I was fortunate enough to witness – he had a blinder and set up Duncan Ferguson with a brilliant curling left-foot cross which the Big Man converted with a diving header. Barton’s a genuinely good-hearted bloke, and it’s great to hear he’s going to stay involved in football.