Caulkin and ourselves answered viewers questions from football fans for half an hour from 12.30 to 1pm.
An enjoyable debate, and we were a little surprised at the number of fans (not all Newcastle United) who felt Barton had "served his time" and should continue where he left off before landing in nick.
We did, however, come in for a grilling from the The Times reporter for suggesting the London media "love a dig at Newcastle". He replied that it is the London-based media that give Toon fans the majority of the news.
Caulkin's article in The Times this morning: "Given that he has not touched alcohol for the past seven months, Joey Barton cannot quite be described as drinking in the last-chance saloon, but the midfield player has been given a final opportunity to rebuild his career at Newcastle United. With tempers and patience stretched to their limits, the club and their troubled employee agreed a fragile truce yesterday.
"Keegan's strong desire to rehabilitate the 25-year-old was decisive, but Barton is aware that Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, explored every avenue of disciplinary action, including dismissal. Ashley is furious that the club have been brought into disrepute by a man he pays £3.4million a year and his gut feeling was to impose the harshest punishment. Yet the club's approach to the issue left them little room for manoeuvre. Newcastle's threat to sack the player for a breach of contract was undermined when they offered him a deal on reduced terms. The club requested that Barton take a pay cut from £65,000 to £30,000 a week, which the player resisted. At the same time, terminating his contract would not allow them to withhold his registration.
"Newcastle then said that they would be ready to sell Barton for £3million, with the proviso that he agreed a weekly deal worth £30,000. When that was rejected, Ashley effectively had the choice of allowing him to join a rival club for nothing or granting a reprieve. At one stage it is understood that the Professional Footballers' Association was involved in the dispute.
"Keegan's public commitment to work with Barton was significant, as is Newcastle's failure to make notable inroads in the transfer market this summer. However, Barton, who was recently handed a four-month suspended sentence, ordered to pay £3,000 in compensation and given 200 hours of community service for an assault on Ousmane Dabo, a former team-mate at Manchester City, cannot err again.
"The Times can reveal that in the intervening months Barton has made a £25,000 donation to the Tamsin Gulvin Fund - a charity established to support people who have addiction problems and no financial backing - of which he is patron."
And there you have it ... news direct from the London media. Our thanks to George Caulkin.