Justification

... not for the mustache.  There's no reasonable justification for that.  Rather, I'm having a hard time justifying having Joey Barton in my team. Especially in a week when I've also fielding Scholes in the midfield. So I'm trying to remember Barton of a few years ago, taking kicks and generally being a fantasy stud for Manchester City circa 2005-07.

Also helping is Newcastle's upcoming run of fixtures:

• @Wolves - not an easy task, but not @Che either
• Blackpool - you're in on this one, right?
• @Everton - not an easy task, but Eve may not have sorted out their by now typical early season issues yet
• Stoke - not an easy game, but not the hardest either especially at home
• @Manchester City - A player scoring against his old team? Not unheard of.
• Wigan - you're in on this one, right?
• @West Ham - see Blackpool and Wigan above (just like West Ham see Blackpool and Wigan above them in the table! Thanks, I'll be here all week.)
• Sunderland - derby, but at least it's the home leg. And Sunderland remain a lousy road team.

That takes us through to November, and who knows what the Premier League landscape will look like by then. But I'm feeling a litte better about Barton on the Barn Door. How about you?