West Ham’s owner had a very different view of new signing Joey Barton a few years ago

This may shock you, but some people aren't big fans of Joey Barton.

The 32 year old midfielder polarises fans, between those that don't like him at all, to those who like him a little more than those who don't like him at all. Barton signed for West Ham today and the club's co-owner David Gold was seemingly among the latter group a few years ago. When asked on Twitter back in January 2013 what he thought of Barton, Gold replied that, in his opinion, "Barton has a problem and should seek help." A day later, he was asked what would he do if then Hammers' manager Sam Allardyce wanted to sign Barton. Gold replied: 'Give Same some time off, get away for a few days." What would 2013 David Gold think of 2015 David Gold? The contract negotiations must have been interesting.