Former Bristol Rovers, Sunderland and Peterborough United defender named captain of Scottish top flight club
A former Bristol Rovers star has been named as the new club captain of a Scottish Premiership side ahead of the 2023/24 domestic season.
Jack Baldwin, who spent one full season with The Gas in 2020/21, will wear the armband for current club Ross County who he joined directly from Rovers two years ago. The 30-year old initially moved to the Memorial Stadium on a two year contract in July 2020 but saw his deal terminated after just one season before moving north of the border.
During his time with Rovers, who he joined from Sunderland following a loan spell with Salford City, Baldwin made 45 appearances across all competitions with the club ending the season bottom of League One and relegated to League Two. He made three appearances early in the 2021/22 season but had his contract torn up with a year still remaining so that he was free to move to the Dingwall based Staggies.
Baldwin was already a veteran of the English Football League by the time he arrived at Rovers having played 100 competitive matches for Peterborough United between 2014 and 2018 having previously been at Hartlepool United. He has been a regular for Ross County since his move to Scotland and helped them secure top flight survival last season via the play-offs where they beat Partick Thistle on penalties to avoid dropping into the Scottish Championship.
His first competitive match as captain of the Highlands based club will come this Saturday when they travel to League Two side Stranraer for the opening match of the Viaplay Cup (Scottish League Cup) group stage. County, who are managed by former Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic boss Malky MacKay, begin their 2023/24 Scottish Premiership season on August 5 with an incredibly difficult trip to Celtic Park where they will take on the reigning champions.
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Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has turned heads on Twitter once again as he unveils radical plans of launching his own subscription platform.
The former midfielder is known for his Twitter rants and controversial opinion but plans to make followers pay for the privilege going forwards after an onslaught of criticism over recent posts.
On Wednesday, Barton was questioned for labelling a recent interview with human trafficking and rape charged Andrew Tate as ‘food for thought’. In a separate post, The Gas boss praised Dele Alli for speaking out about addiction and believed that the sport was ‘riddled with prescription medication addiction’.
On Friday morning, the 40-year-old then shared a seething Tweet claiming that he had started to bock users for acting ‘like a sausage’ on the social media platform. He also shared plans to put his content behind a paywall, with profits going to charity, to defeat haters.
That idea had grown by Friday afternoon as the manager shared an extensive Tweet explaining his plans to charge for his headline-making opinions.
Barton promised that subscribers would ‘unlock the mind of a football maverick’ on the platform with ‘exclusive insights, engaging conversations, and an unparalleled experience of the beautiful game’.
The ex-Manchester City and QPR pro also promised to share his exclusive tactical breakdowns and mentor users to ‘unlock your full potential on and off the pitch’. Barton also teased ‘monthly prizes that money literally cannot buy’.
He added: “Join my premium Twitter community and let’s embark on a journey where we unravel the mysteries of football together. Engage with fellow fans, gain exclusive access to my expertise, and become a part of a community that celebrates the sport we love.”
The post is believed to be genuine, although no evidence of such a platform existing yet has been shared.
Replied to the idea from followers was largely critical with some struggling to believe the idea of the Bristol Rovers manager starting his career as an influence.
One user said: “In my experience, if Joey has an opinion that is worthwhile and some thoughtful insights to back it up he is never shy of sharing it for free so in that sense a paid-for subscription is probably superfluous.”
Another asked if Barton was ‘struggling for cash’, to which the star shared a photo of his expensive watch as a comeback. Others wrote ‘no thanks, Joeseph’ and ‘sounds terrible’.
One Bristol Rovers fan joked: “We’ve got to pay for Connor Taylor somehow…”
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