The outspoken England international gave full vent to his feelings in the aftermath of Saturday's Premiership draw with doomed Watford at Vicarage Road.

Although he only signed a new four-year contract last summer, Barton has become disillusioned with City's failure to get themselves into the top half of the table.

And he is concerned unless the quality of their signings improves, the club will continue to float along 'achieving nothing'.

"I can't help but say to the coaching staff and the manager, we need to buy quality players," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

"I can't get away from the fact we are buying stop-gaps; average players who have not really cut it at the highest level.

"We have tried to gamble by signing players who have almost been at the highest level but not quite been worldbeaters, so in my eyes they are average.

"So, we are bringing in average players on top money and they are not producing. There is no coincidence in the fact if you want top players you have to pay for them.

"We have to sign quality players, not ones who have scored six goals in six games in the Pontins League or in Belgium or somewhere like that."

Barton has insisted he remains committed to City and is pointing fingers at 'everyone' rather than anyone specific.

However, it is not difficult to work out misfiring forwards Georgios Samaras and Bernardo Corradi may be among the players he is thinking of.

The effectiveness of manager Stuart Pearce's transfer dealings has been the subject of intense debate among City fans throughout the season.

Pearce has claimed his club is suffering because of a lack of investment on the transfer front, a situation chairman John Wardle is acutely aware of, hence the desire to sell a 19.09% stake in the club he owns jointly with business partner David Makin.

Negotiations with an un-named American consortium have been ongoing for a while now and with the club currently in an Offer Period, other interested parties are being linked with a bid, the latest of which is former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who failed in an attempt to gain a 30% stake in Liverpool three years ago.

Shinawatra is reported to be considering a £92.2million buy-out, although his legal representative Noppadon Pattama has refused to either confirm or deny the speculation.

City are not commenting either, although it would be a surprise if such a deal went through.

It appears also that Barton will face no internal sanctions for his attack, which in truth, only airs the feelings of many supporters.

"I don't run this football club," he said. "I am just fortunate enough to play for it.

"But it is no coincidence we are constantly underachieving because not everything in the background is geared to us succeeding.

"I don't know what goes on at boardroom level but something is wrong if we are buying players who are not good enough for this club.

"Watford are a mediocre side. They don't even attempt to play football and we should beat them. But we have drawn against them again and it is frustrating.

"We need to restart the fires here and get this club achieving.

"I would love nothing more than to win something for this football club but at the minute, we just seem to be praying we get the right players in during the summer.

"I have to be brutally honest, I wouldn't pay to watch us at home this season.

"If I was a City fan I would be umming and ahhing about whether to buy a season ticket next season.

"It is a lot of money for a season ticket at our place and they are not getting value for money."