Joey Barton has been sacked as manager of League One club Bristol Rovers amid the club’s poor run of form.
Barton, notorious for his behaviour as both a player and manager, launched a scathing attack on his own player in astonishing rant earlier this month.
The former Manchester City, Newcastle and England midfielder had been in charge of the side for almost three years but after just one win in their last five matches, Bristol Rovers – 16th in the league – have decided to make a change.
Andy Mangan has stepped up from his first-team coach role to replace Barton in the interim and will be supported by fellow coaches Glenn Whelan, Danny Ventre and Anssi Jaakkola.
Controversy has followed Barton through both his playing and managerial career in football.
One the final day of the 2011-12 Premier League season – when Manchester City famously beat Queen’s Park Rangers 3-2 to land their first top-flight title since 1968 and dramatically denied Manchester United – Barton was sent off for the London-based side in the 55th minute for elbowing Carlos Tevez in the face.
After being shown the red card, he kicked Sergio Aguero in the back of the knee, attempted to headbutt Vincent Kompany and tried to square-off with Mario Balotelli – with his actions seeing him slapped with a whopping 12-game ban.
In 2017, the Football Association handed Barton an 18-month ban for breaching betting rules and he subsequently called time on his playing career.
He entered the world of management in 2018 by taking charge of Fleetwood Town, where he allegedly assaulted an opposition manager in the tunnel and was charged with causing actual bodily harm.
However, Barton pleaded not guilty and was later cleared of the charge in 2021.
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