EVEN Don King would have struggled to russle up more pre-event publicity than Joey Barton has received for the launch of his autobiography. But thankfully the finished product goes at least some way towards justifying the hype.

Ghostwritten by Michael Calvin, No Nonsense sees Barton lay bare his self-destructive tendencies, particularly his struggles to control the omnipresent violence which is a product of his tough upbringing on the St John’s council estate in Huyton, Merseyside.

Having said all that, as its mention of Scottish football is restricted to just three pages and doesn't touch on his current turmoil at Rangers, the second volume might be even more sensational.

Read more: Celtic and Rangers set for Betfred Cup semi-final showdown as Aberdeen draw MortonThe Herald:

No Nonsense would not be the worst choice of stocking filler for Christmas, but it should perhaps come with an inbuilt health warning. Amazingly, considering how much of the 33-year-old's life is already out there in the public domain, it transpires there is still more about Barton to learn - everything from the fact that he attended AA meetings in jail right down to the fact he was known only as Joe or Joseph until Manchester City coach Derek Fazackerley christened him Joey to the media on the eve of his first-team debut.

Read more: Celtic and Rangers set for Betfred Cup semi-final showdown as Aberdeen draw Morton

Incidentally, that debut itself is one humourous interlude in proceedings. It was delayed six months when his first team jersey, left in the technical area at half time, was stolen by a fan nearby with City having no replacement kit printed up in his name.

If episodes like that provide the light relief, no punches whatsoever are pulled when it comes to Barton's depiction of the numerous scrapes he has found himself in throughout his career. This is a product both of nature and nurture, particularly the influence of his father Joseph.

For all the warmth Barton exudes towards a man whom he calls his 'hero', one of the life lessons he passed on was telling the 12-year-old Barton how to beat the bullies by holding their neck with his left hand and punching them repeatedly on the face with his right. When an Alsatian bit him as a youngster, leaving a mark on his nose which remains to this day, Joseph Barton senior's remedy was to run over the dog, then reverse back over it to make sure that it was dead. The horrified owner was urged to depart the scene or else suffer a similar fate.

Violence and disagreement has never been far from home: his brother Michael was sentenced to 17 years in prison, his cousin Paul 23 years for a racially-motivated killing. One of his uncles would wait till mum and dad were out before persuading Joey to let him in the house, hiding a bag full of £20 and £10 notes and promising young Joey the change if he kept his mouth shut. After all, it was enough to buy several Subbuteo teams.

How all this family trauma manifested itself onto Barton the man reveals itself as you turn the pages of this book, with blanks filled in along the way on incidents such as the affair when he stubbed a cigar out in the eye of Man City youth team player Jamie Tandy during a Christmas party. If his reaction to it all wasn't so brutal, you almost sympathise with Barton's rationalisation (it had been one prank too many when Tandy had set fire to the back of his shirt). Another ferocious row followed on a pre-season trip to Thailand, Barton going hell for leather with Richard Dunne, before a final training ground set-to with Ousmane Dabo.

While the 34-year-old's insecurities are also on display here - he feared being stabbed to death during his six-month period in prison - the picture painted here is of a man genetically incapable of backing down from an argument. His stand-off with Mike Ashley at Newcastle is a case in point, as he led a dressing room rebellion after refusing to be bullied into signing an agreement waiving bonuses at the club.

Read more: Celtic and Rangers set for Betfred Cup semi-final showdown as Aberdeen draw Morton

While Barton generally leaves Ashley and his cohort Derek Llambias without a name, one diverting detail which emerges is the fact that he was using Ashley's helicopter to get to training due to his curfew conditions, a gesture he felt was free until being heartily invoiced for the privilege.

He is aware of the contradictions in his persona, some of which may still bubble on today. "I wanted people to like me," he says in the book. "I wanted to be light-hearted, to laugh and joke with those around me, but everything I did had the opposite effect. I wanted to be a good team-mate, and yet I ended up fighting with them. I wanted to be successful yet everything I did conspired against that."

All this hinterland, plus his refusal to be silenced on Twitter, is fascinating context when you look at Barton's current predicament at Rangers but there are plenty of other nuggets in there too. Blessed with only one England cap, a friendly against Spain, he says England's golden generation was in fact "the me generation", and also awards himself the rather generous score of eight of ten for his appearance on Question Time. If not exactly top marks, this autobiography is a more than decent effort too.