Former Manchester United star Paul Ince has labeled Joey Barton a “disgrace” for comments that he made about Everton interim boss David Unsworth.
Barton recently went on a rant against Unsworth claiming that he should not be given the Everton managerial position on a permanent basis and is just a “glorified PE teacher”.
Barton is known to be an Everton fan and the Merseyside club are struggling in the League and are languishing in 18th position after taking just eight points from their opening ten games.
Unsworth has been in charge of the club since Ronald Koeman was sacked and the club appears to have shown no improvement since.
Ince did not take lightly to the comments that were made by Barton and penned a personal letter to the TalkSport pundit in which he wrote,
“Dear Joey,
I’ve been looking at the comments you made about Dave Unsworth, and I think they’re a disgrace.
I don’t know if you have a personal issue with Unsworth, but what I do know is that there’s absolutely no reason to come out and castigate him on his physical appearance and weight.
To you, it’s as though football isn’t about what you know about the game – it’s about how many people you can get to follow you on Twitter.
I didn’t have social media in my playing days but I do understand the times. What I don’t understand, though, is why someone would say something nasty just to make headlines or get more followers, like you have done here.
To comment on someone’s weight – which is totally irrelevant to their ability to be a football manager – is just stupid. And anyone who’s sensible knows that.
You could’ve come out and said ‘I don’t think Unsworth is the right man for the job because of X, Y & Z’ and given a considered argument. But to actually personally attack his appearance, and insult him, is beyond a joke.
Those things have no bearings on his credentials as a manager. Some people might think it’s funny, but as someone who has been in the game a long time, it’s an assassination of his character – and it’s a complete disgrace.
What you said is an absolute liberty. It was unprofessional. It wasn’t funny. I was disgusted. I thought TalkSport wanted people to give proper football opinions.
Paul”
