JOEY Barton has claimed if he was a fan he would not have paid to watch Manchester City in action at home this season.

Without a Premiership goal at Eastlands since New Year's Day, the Blues have nevertheless carved out a run of just one defeat in six games to ease themselves clear of relegation trouble.

Yet today's draw at Watford was the second time this term City have been held by the top flight's basement boys and with cash tight, unless current talks aimed at getting some investment into the club succeed, it appears manager Stuart Pearce will be scrambling around for new signings in the summer.

For a club of City's size, Barton does not feel it is good enough.

And, despite signing a new four-year contract last summer, the England international is clearly not a happy man.

"This club and its fans deserve to be at the highest level," he told a local radio station.

"But I have to be brutally honest, if I was a fan I wouldn't have paid to watch us at home this season.

"I know a lot of the supporters are umming and ahhing about whether to buy their season tickets. They go out and work hard. It is a lot of money to buy a season ticket at our place and they are not getting value for money."

Criticism

Although Barton does not single Pearce out for criticism, he is less than complimentary about some of his manager's purchases.

And with City seemingly destined for a place in lower mid-table, the Merseysider cannot understand why some supposedly lesser rivals are doing so much better.

"There is no way Reading have spent more than us and no way Everton have either, but they seem to have overachieved," he said.

"Bolton have not spent big either. I know they paid a lot of money for Nicolas Anelka but we paid a lot for Georgios Samaras.

"You have to face facts. We have not brought quality in. One or two have done all right but not enough to take the team onto the next level.

"There has to be a plan. Everyone seems to have one in place but at the moment it just feels like this club is praying to get the right players in the summer.

"We can't gamble on players who have scored six goals in six games in the Pontins League or in Belgium."

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