Everyone loves a pantomime villain, and in Joey Barton Fleetwood Town have the biggest one on the scene.

After enjoying a successful playing career at the highest level of the game, the midfielder hung up his boots once and for all as he looked to try his hand at management.

Barton took over as manager of Fleetwood Town in the summer of 2018 and made an immediate impression as he consolidated their place in the division with an 11th place finish.

This time around, the Fisherman are among a number of teams who are challenging for a place in the play-offs - something that would be a huge achievement for Joey Barton and Fleetwood Town.

We know an awful lot about Barton after a high profile playing career, but what about the stuff we don't know?

Let's take a look at two facts that you might not have known about the former midfielder.

Life before City

It was with the Manchester side that Joey Barton made his breakthrough, but his journey to success started long before that.

Barton was a member of Everton's youth academy and also underwent trials with Nottingham Forest ahead of a potential move, however he was rejected for being too small.

That's when the opportunity to join City arose, and the rest as they say was history.

A music man

Joey Barton is a self-professed big fan of indie music and counts the likes of Noel Gallagher amongst his closest friends.

That said, his favourite band is actually The Smiths after citing Morrissey as an idol of his.

Barton is such a fan that he actually appeared on Morrissey's music video for the song 'Spent The Day In Bed'.