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Joey Barton has been sacked as manager of Bristol Rovers just two days after he called rival boss Steve Evans a ‘fat man’ and a ‘weeble’.
The club are winless in their last three matches and currently sit 16th in the League One table after collecting just 16 from a possible 39 points this season.
The former Newcastle United and Manchester City player made the comments towards Evans following his side’s 1-1 draw with Stevenage on Tuesday.
First-team coach Andy Mangan will now lead the side as interim manager. Fellow coaches Glenn Whelan, Danny Ventre and Anssi Jaakkola will also support him.
Bristol Rovers were winless in three and sit 16th in the League One table under Joey Barton
Stevenage manager Steve Evans pictured during his side’s 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers
A weeble is an egg-shaped children’s roly-poly toy that originated in 1971
Barton, who had one job as manager before at Fleetwood Town in 2018, was appointed as the first-team coach of Bristol Rovers in February 2021.
After his final game in charge against Stevenage on Tuesday, he was asked what he made of his side’s point.
He said: ‘Tonight, we were disappointed that we didn’t get the foul for their first goal, disappointed that we didn’t get a penalty when the lads handballs it.’
Barton then added: ‘Obviously, the fat man’s going bananas at the referee which is normal for the end of a game. Every referee at this level knows they’re going to get the weeble wobbling across the pitch and berating them.
‘But again, I’ll have to watch it back. He’s complaining it’s a handball in the build up to our goal so maybe it has evened the course there.’
Barton led the club back to the third tier in his first full season at the club.
Delighted with their promotion, the club offered him a three-year contract running until 2026 which he signed in July last year.
He then guided the team to a 17th place finish last season.
The former midfielder represented City, Newcastle, QPR and Burnley as well as picking up an England cap in 2007.
He also spent a period of his career at Rangers before a loan spell at Marseille in France.
His sacking also comes three weeks after Barton launched a bizarre attack on one of his own Bristol Rovers players after a 2-0 defeat on the road by Peterborough.
Barton was full of praise for all but one of his players, picking out Luke Thomas in particular for a blasting.
Joey Barton singled out one of his players in particular for criticism and was called a ‘young boy’
The ex-Manchester City and Newcastle star labelled Thomas an ‘idiotic boy’ and claimed that he lacked ‘the mindset’ to make the correct decisions under the pump.
‘Their first goal was a deflected hit that went through a crowd of bodies and our keeper had no chance.
‘Then to compound it one idiotic young boy – I can’t even call him a man – has compromised the team with his behavioural standards and we find ourselves 2-0 down with a mountain to climb.
‘Unless we man up – and I know you have to be careful saying that in the modern era – and absolutely eradicate these weak, feeble-minded individuals that are currently inside our unit, we won’t get promoted out of this division.’
Barton added that Thomas had complained of a hamstring issue before deciding to continue playing, while Barton readied a substitution.
‘But, in his infinite wisdom, he goes to press the ball and completely exposes Jack Hunt.
‘We should do better after that, but we find ourselves 2-0 down – all because someone hasn’t got the mindset required to make the correct call to keep the team strong.
‘We didn’t get that little bit of luck and we were sabotaged from within with an idiotic decision by Luke.’
