Newcastle star curbs his temper with the help of Ol’ Blue Eyes

After serving six months at Her Majesty’s pleasure, abhorrent criminal Joey Barton vowed to change his sickeningly violent ways. Amazingly, the moronic midfielder has fought the temptation to give into his demons lately, and it’s all down to the calming influence of a man who may or may not have been linked to the mafia. The Sun says:

SOCCER brute JOEY BARTON says he’s learning to curb his wild temper - by listening to FRANK SINATRA.

The Newcastle midfielder, 26 - who has served time for assault and been banned for hitting a team-mate - says: “It helps me relax. His music is so calming.”

Barton, on £63,000 a week, says classics like My Way “get me in a good rhythm before stepping on to the pitch”.

Blasting some Sinatra may help to quell the boiling anger within the injured star, but it clearly isn’t doing to much good in the Newcastle changing room. To find out if Barton will be swinging his way into the Championship next year, have a go at our Newcastle Relegation Predictor.