As if Newcastle's 6-0 thumping of Villa wasn't enough to fill the back page, it's the 'angle' the reports all look for to stick on the front page.
Slagging off Barton is easy territory. They know the nation hates him, and as they say in Wapping: "you cannot go wrong slagging off a tyrant" ... and Barton certainly has that somewhere on his CV.
Barton opened the scoring for the Magpies then raised his right hand to his lip and his left arm straight up in the air ... in other words to say the face-hair was going to go.
But no ... the reporters thought they could get a story out of it.
Barton says he was merely highlighting the fact that with Newcastle on the way to their first Premier League victory of the season, he was expecting to shave off his moustache.
Andy Carroll, another to have grown a moustache in pre-season, made a similar gesture on his way to a first hat-trick as Newcastle’s number nine ... but did you find a mention of that in the newspapers this morning?
Barton: "I was merely pointing out that the moustache was going to go after the game.
"I'll be shaving the moustache off now that we have won.
"There are a few of the lads desperate to get it off. It is either the end of my moustache or the end of my relationship, so I'm glad it is going."
Chris Hughton: "I can't clear anything up because it is the first I have heard about this.
"This is about Newcastle United scoring six goals at home and all our concentrations are on that and enjoying a good game.
"Right at this particular moment I only see one thing and that is a performance he has shown us on the pitch and he was excellent. I am not in a position to say anything because this is the first I know of it.
"He is a very good footballer but unfortunately for us over the last few seasons with injuries he has not been able to be on the pitch as much as we would like. A fit Joey Barton is always an asset to us."