Joey Barton broke an unwanted Premier League record last night

More bookings than a restaurant on Valentine's Day

Joey Barton is just as likely to pop up on Newsnight as he is on Match of the Day these days. The former bad boy has rehabbed his reputation into a talented midfielder who is known more for his brain than his brawn. But, there is still a bit of devilment in Barton, and last night against Sunderland, after picking up a booking for dragging back Adam Johnson, he earned a dubious new Premier League record. That yellow was Barton seventh game in a row where he picked up a booking, a new high, or low, depending on what you make of the art of fouling. The previous best of six was jointly held by our own Ciaran Clark and Newcastle’s Cheick Tiote. The full list, via Soccerbase, is below. Before this run, Barton had only racked up one solitary booking, so this could be just a weird quirk or Joey has decided to get stuck in to dig his team out of the mire. As QPR moved out of the relegation zone with that win over Sunderland last night, it might be working.