If Souness couldn’t handle the Old Firm, how will Joey Barton?

PETER GRANT says life at Rangers or Celtic must be a little bit like being pregnant.

You can tell people what it’s like all you want. But they won’t really know what it’s like until they’ve experienced it.

It’s an analogy that’s in his mind because of Joey Barton – or, more specifically, because of what he has been saying.

Barton has proclaimed that Celtic skipper Scott Brown is not in his league, and pointed out that Brendan Rodgers, the Hoops’ high-profile new manager, has won nothing yet.

Fighting talk that has raised eyebrows far beyond the Glasgow city boundaries, and far beyond Grant’s Norfolk home.

Yet as much as the Celtic legend has been entertained by the evidence that Barton has exported his larger-than-life persona north of the Border, Grant insists for anyone who remembers the seismic impact Graeme Souness had on the Scottish game 30 years ago, it is still all a storm in a teacup.

Graeme Souness (left) clashes with Peter Grant closely watched by referee David Syme

“Joey is a character – always has been – and clearly he doesn’t intend to let his move to Scotland cramp his style,” says Peter.

“He seems to be going for it in a big way, given his comments about Celtic. Looking at it from the outside, it is definitely going to add a bit of colour to the season to come.

“I have been based in England a long while now, so I use the chat I get down here as a bit of a barometer for how the game is regarded up north.

“Without question, the Old Firm’s recruitments of Brendan and Joey have got people talking about Scotland again.

“It has raised the game’s profile down here, and I am sure that will go far beyond the UK, too.

“What I would say, though, is that we have seen only a tiniest fraction of the impact Souness had on the country.

“That was phenomenal, it really was.

“Back in 1986, Graeme got sent off for a tackle on George McCluskey on his debut against Hibs at Easter Road, and that kind of set the tone.

“He fought with the Scottish League, he fought with the SFA, he rowed with some of his own players – he even rowed with the St Johnstone tea-lady!

“And, of course, in terms of Celtic, he pulled off what was, arguably, the most-stunning transfer of all time in Scotland, when he pinched Mo Johnston away from us.

“Football fans are certainly talking about Joey Barton now, but it is nowhere near at the level it was with Graeme back then.

“People were almost obsessed with him.”

Souness, later to plant a Galatasaray flag in the centre circle of Fenerbahce’s pitch after his team had beaten their rivals in the Turkish Cup Final, was later to admit he had handled things badly in Scotland.

Speaking seven years ago he said: “When I look back on my actions and antics at Ibrox, I bordered on being out of order. I was obnoxious and difficult to deal with.”

However, Grant, who played against Souness when he was sent off in a league game at Celtic Park, defends him.

“Graeme has been honest in admitting he could have done things differently, and fair play to him for that,” he said.

“I think he was just another person coming into the environment who didn’t know quite what they were letting themselves in for.

“He had been at Spurs and Liverpool, both big clubs, and in Serie A with Sampdoria.

“But they do not operate at anything like the level of scrutiny you get when you are involved with Celtic or Rangers.

“I have been at most of the big matches in England, and they don’t come close to the intensity that surrounds life in Glasgow.

“You get people who can cope because they grow up with it. I fell into that category myself.

“I knew that if we lost an Old Firm game, I would have to face an inquest at home from my family and friends, as well as the one at the club.

“I knew it is not like London, where players have a bit of anonymity, and can get lost in the crowd.

“If we lost an Old Firm derby, I would be hearing about it in the streets for weeks to come.

“When you have that background, you learn to be careful what you say because you are aware of the possible consequences.

“Graeme was different. He was a young man who came north having achieved a lot. He had a big reputation and an ego to match.

“So he had his battles, and faced them head on, But the key thing to point out is he achieved his objectives.

“With the financial backing he asked for and got, he was able to take Rangers to a level they had never been at before, and regularly recruit top, top players from England and beyond.

“The signing of Mo Johnston was, in my belief, both a masterstroke on his part and a huge mistake on ours.

“Either way, it allowed them to dominate the game and because of that you have to say Graeme was a big success.

“With Joey Barton, we don’t know if that is going to be the case.

“He is a good player, certainly, but we all have memories of a few of them who have failed to show up at both Celtic and Rangers.

“Time will tell.”

Joey Barton, in other words, has talked the talk.

What we need to know now is, can he also walk the walk?

Rangers star Joey Barton on the moment he turned his life around