Joey Barton missed the 2-1 defeat against Arsenal on Wednesday night. He will also be miss the game against Spurs on Saturday and the crucial London derby away to Crystal Palace next weekend.

He misses all three matches because he was sent off against Hull and therefore received a three-match ban.

Barton was not sent off at Hull for a two-footed tackle or a headbutt, he was given his marching orders because he hit Tom Huddlestone with a low blow right under the referee’s nose.

It was the act of a petulant child and, with Rangers already a goal down against their relegation rivals, it diminished the chances of his team-mates getting something from the game.

Social media erupted and the general feeling was that he’d let the club down again. Nobody was surprised.

The major problem with Barton is that it’s always about him. Wherever he goes, a story follows, and if the club is to progress then the Barton trilogy needs to come to an end when his contract expires in the summer.

Barton talks a good game, he was invited on to Question Time to share his views on everything from UKIP to whether there should be another runway at Heathrow.

He has over two million followers on Twitter, where he is well known for quoting philosophers – all well and good if he was actually putting what those wise minds were talking about into action!

The fact is Barton joined QPR from Newcastle because they are paying him a lot of money. More money than he was going to get elsewhere.

When he was involved in an altercation with Carlos Tevez of Manchester City on the final day of the 2011/12 season, he departed for Marseille and vowed that he would not be playing for QPR in the Championship.

He was proved wrong on that but won over some sections of the fanbase last season when he helped guide the club back to the top flight via the play-offs.

Incredibly, he was handed the captain’s armband by Harry Redknapp, which says a lot about Redknapp really.

Barton should never have been given the role. If he behaved in the manner he has during his time at QPR at another club, he would not have been bestowed with such an honour.

Les Ferdinand is working hard to change the culture at the club in his role as director of football. He wants to clean up Rangers’ image in the press. Some of what Barton tweets could easily be viewed as bringing the club into disrepute but he has had no restrictions placed on him by the hierachy at Loftus Road.

He took a sabbatical from it earlier this season, which many praised him for. He should have remained off it and concentrated on football.

He didn’t, but hopefully come May his link to QPR will be a thing of the past. He can write the next chapter somewhere else.

Follow me @RobBrennan82