Joey Barton recently told a french newspaper- "Perhaps I shouldn't say it, but I'm maybe a little too intelligent to be a footballer."

Then, yesterday, he gave a post match press conference and, like all great thinkers, displayed a willingness to challenge his own most sacred theories. During the press conference Barton spoke not in French but in a put-on version of slightly broken English, with a "French" accent. The similarities to Steve McLaren's interview with Dutch TV are quite remarkable.

McLaren's interview was a PR disaster for the former England manager, with the mocking name "Schteve" still hounding him to this day. Even a hugely impressive Eredivisie title win with the unfashionable FC Twente (the club's first ever) and the award for Dutch manager of the year was not enough to fully restore his credibility in the eyes of many in his homeland. It seems being the first British manager to win a league title with a foreign club since Bobby Robson's league win with Porto in 1996 isn't enough to repair the damage done by making a very public fool of yourself.

Barton made his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille yesterday, following the completion of his 12 game ban for his red card for QPR against Manchester City on the final day of last season. If McLaren's experience is anything to go by the midfielder may have some way to go before he can live down this interview.

Not that he hasn't already tried to explain his actions, via Twitter

Here is Barton's interview.

Barton : "La Ligue 1 est ennuyeuse" by evidenceprod

And here is McLaren's interview from 2008. Try to remember his pioneering success while watching.