Joey Barton's move to Marseille is like Eric Cantona's move to England in reverse Tell me, who will stick up for the pantomime villain of our age? Will there be a Joey Barton Society in 2512 fighting the myths handed down by the British tabloids, those William Shakespeares of our time? Will there be truth-seekers prepared to stand up and declare, "no, Joey didn't have the perpetual hump and no, Joey didn't send Ousmane Dabo to the Tower - he went to Lazio "? Will they make the masses realise that behind all those headlines there was a brilliant leader who wouldn't be prepared to give up one yard of midfield for some damned horse never mind so much as kingdom? Will they fund an archaeological expedition to find Joey's remains and so prove his body wasn't dismissively chucked into the Thames by the QPR executive? Somehow, I doubt it. But then, perhaps Barton's memory will have no such requirement. Perhaps he is on the brink of putting his career back on track and indeed, his own legacy. Perhaps his exile in France will be the making of the man and the rewriting of the fable. We are but five days from his debut for Marseille and if the anticipation is not already coursing through the veins you must either be dead or Mark Hughes. This will be Eric Cantona in reverse, a subtitled remake of the greatest footballing redemption ever told. Joey will find love on the Côte d'Azur just as King Eric discovered it in Lancashire. The course will not run smooth, however. Cantona's image inevitably preceded him when he crossed The Channel and so too, has Barton's. The French press called Cantona "L'Enfant Terrible" and their British brethren predictably followed suit, damning him with italics at every mention. Am I alone in worrying that French newspapers will soon italicise "Total Scumbag" and constantly apply it to Barton? Yet he shall win them over. If they aren't initially infatuated by his football, then his philosophical outpourings on Le Twitter will instantly summon l'amour. Granted, Joey does rely on Nietzsche's Wikipedia entry a tad too heavily, but then Eric nicked his most famous quote - something about sardines - from the Manchester United bus driver. Just remember, you're only as bright as the genius you plagiarise. So what is the betting that come the end of the season, Marseille will win Ligue 1 with Barton hailed as Le Rosbif who led them to the gravy? They will forgive him anything then. Flying drop-kicks into the crowd, terrible performances in Europe, rank-bad acting. Already the Marseille faithful have clasped Joey to their heart, unveiling that banner which read "Welcome, sweet and tender hooligan." They understand him like we never could.