The truth hurts

“If ur English, u play for England. If ur English and sh*t, u pretend ur Irish grand parentage matters to u and play for Ireland!”

“I'd rather have my 1 England cap and be forever yearning more than take somebody from that countries chance away because my nans from their.”

These are two of the tweets which appeared on my Twitter timeline last night in the name of QPR’s Joey Barton. It was like a red rag to a bull for a lot of Irish tweeters who felt it was necessary to show Barton their outrage. Why did they feel the need to let him know their thoughts? Because Barton was wrong in what he said? Certainly not. Because he insulted a true Irishman? Hardly. Because we never discuss the commitment of English players lining out for Ireland? Don’t think so. Access is the reason for the backlash; Twitter has opened the doors for all to have a go at professional athletes, movie stars, politicians, musicians, etc.

I don’t know Joey Barton personally or any of the celebrities that I follow on Twitter. I try not to make assumptions about people I don’t know. Some people believe that Twitter encourages them to say what they like to those they follow. I disagree. The outburst came after former Irish midfielder Matt Holland criticised Barton on Talksport radio. The Bury born player represented Ireland 49 times after declaring for the national side at 25.

If the death of Gary Speed thought us anything last year, surely we can see that success and wealth don’t automatically bring happiness. What gives any of us the right to send hateful messages to people who we know very little about? People argue that setting up a Twitter account means that from that moment you are ‘fair game’. Personally I think that it is a pathetic attitude.

Creating a Twitter account is optional so you have to accept that you are open to criticism when you post opinions. The criticism however should be balanced. Sometimes you don’t enjoy popularity from being honest and as the old cliché goes, the truth hurts. Let’s face it, if Matt Holland was good enough he would have worn an English jersey in the 2002 World Cup. He obviously wasn’t good enough so he chose to declare for Ireland. We took him with open arms as we do with any English player who shows an interest. Some people have a problem with that. Personally I don’t see it as a problem; we want to be successful so we pick the best players available regardless of birthplace. We get on with it and support them in the belief that they are doing their best.  

Are we as a nation really that upset about what Joey Barton said on Twitter? I doubt it because what he said is the truth. Does anyone out there actually believe that at 25 Matt Holland’s dream was to play for Ireland? The man sang God Save the Queen before a Championship playoff final. Why? Because he is English.

Don’t get me wrong I was cheering as loud as anyone when Holland equalised against Cameroon in 2002. I’m really looking forward to the European Championships this summer and a Jon Walters winner will mean as much to me as one from Kevin Doyle. At the end of the day the issue isn’t what Barton said, it’s the medium he used to say it.