Bookmakers have been quick to slash odds over night for Joey Barton to join West Ham as the news broke yesterday evening that Kevin Nolan has left the Hammers by mutual consent.
Bet Victor remains the only bookmaker prepared to take money on Barton’s next club after others suspended betting on the 32 year old.
The bookies have him pegged as a 7/4 chance to join West Ham before the Tuesday transfer deadline making the Hammers second favourites to bag the controversial player behind Burnley who remain odds on favorites at 4/9.
Claret and Hugh columnist EXWHUEmployee has added weight to the possibility suggesting Barton could still join the club.
Just one week ago Irons manager Bilic was asked by reporters whether fan power had scuppered the Barton deal.
Slaven replied: “No, no, it was altogether. It was not just one thing. We were thinking about Joey. I like him as a player. We discussed, we had some talks and ideas about him. But after that, we decided, and Joey also, not to do it. It was not the best timing.”
Speaking to the KUMB podcast recently David Sullivan said his piece on Joey Barton:
Has the club had a chance of heart? Were the couple of players Sullivan mentioned who didn’t fancy it, Nolan and Maiga?
Is the timing now right with Nolan and seemingly Maiga outbound?
Yep to that , IronsEssex ; but I still think there could a surprise signing before the window shut’s .. Anyway with Carroll getting up to speed and Valencia not far behind him things don’t look as glum as we think . Zarate & Sakho are both short term injuries don’t forget .
Noble needs support from somebody quicker and sharper , so why not use Oxford .
He proved he is capable against Arsenal and could very well prove himself capable against Liverpool … Yes , I know he is young and needs nurturing , but then again , so was Paul Allen . One thing is as clear as crystal : we can’t ( shouldn’t ) rely on Nolan anymore .
Don’t really want to see him a Claret & Blue shirt again to be honest ., except that Is for maybe Burnley . ; Are we panicking , well yes , a bit . BILIC needs to get his team playing with belief ASAP . We have the same scenario now as we did against Arsenal ,, expected to lose and ended up winning ,,, can lightning strike twice ????. 4411 .
We need to sign someone for f*ck sake. Lost Nolan and Maiga (eventually) and brought no one in, ok they didn’t contribute much to the games but it’s still squad numbers going down. The Daves need to put their money where their mouth has been all transfer season. On the Barton subject I don’t see why not, I can’t stand the bloke but he was fairly decent for QPR last season. Why are we pissing about with midfielders when we’ve got no forwards, typical West Ham holding onto thin ice and preying it don’t melt, which, is generally does for us. Fingers crossed although the panic is starting to set in slightly
9/4 on – Burnley. Someone’s got a lot of do$h on that.
Yeah Oxford will be awesome but he is still 16 and has a lot of developing still to do. No doubt one day he will be a England regular & maybe captain but we need to get through this season and we can’t have Oxford as the solution when he has just 1.5 premier league matches under his belt
And Reece Oxford can be better than both of them ,, if he gets a good run of games .
But , with Bilics style of the defence playing high up the field I think we can expect more reds before Christmas .
Hurry back Carroll & Valencia ,, we need you .
No land officially gone now so I think Barton will come in to replace him .. Barton’s a better player just hope he can keep his temper in check as we have already had to many red cards