Joey Barton AA member

Submitted by mfc66uk on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 01:24

I doubt if any in the USA have heard of this creature but he is a very highly paid uk footballer who has been to prison on several occasions for serious violence and claims AA has helped him. He showed great serenity by being sent of in the title deciding game which was watched by millions on Sunday for attacking 3 players. He does not exactly fit the AA celeb poster boy image but does reflect a certain percentage that do attend meetings and have not perfected a serene way of living. He is not a nobody but rather someone who is featured in the press and on TV most days and has played for his country.
He is always involved in controversy both on and off the pitch and has never for filled his potential. Would you like to sit next to a sportsman who Stubbs out cigars in people's faces at your meeting. Do you believe that AA atendance has helped Joey turn the corner- thought not.
Football is huge in the Uk my mfc66 name stands for a football club and the year England won the world cup. A couple of arsenal players wrote books on recovery and about 12 step which was read my many some years vack and influenced me to go to meetings but the reprints don't mention that one of them went back out.
I'm sure Barton's breach of annonimity will raise some eyebrows as this story will not go a way until the new season starts.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4078543/Joey-Barton-is-still-i...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/9263...

A bit of background for any interested in his criminal past etc
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/apr/14/joey-barton-interview

Comments

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 03:02

Congratulations Mfc66 I believe you are a City Fan. I'm Nottingham Forest, but it was great to see City win the Premiership on Sunday. I worked as a Steward at Forest in the away end for 10 years till the booze and cocaine once again put an end to the job. Maybe weve already met at a game if youve ever watched City at Nottingham and we don't realise it. I worked in the entrance directly behind the goal?

I rememeber one of my last AA meetings when I made one of my brief 5 or 6 yearly couple of meeting returns (after the intial 2 years 1980 to 1982 attendance, I couln't really stand any more than a couple of weeks in one go return, before I disapeared back into the real world again). Anyway I was arguing with one of the old timer stepper gurus. The old timers didn't really know how to deal with me at Mansfield England meetings. Although technically I only had 2 years continous attendance in one go and therefore did not qualify for 'all knowing gurus status' (the hallowed 20 or 30 years continuous AA attendance), on the other hand I was their cofounder and had been in AA and heard all the stepper talk long before any of them had.

At the end of the day you can learn all there is to AA in 3 months tops, so 30 years AA sobriety actually means 3 months repeated 120 times, 20 years official AA guru all knowing sobriety is actually 3 months repeated 80 times etc etc. Little Bill actually knows as much as Big Bill, he just hasn't repeated it over and over and over again enough to attain Bill Big status. AAWS ought to make a dvd meeting which the faithfull could just play over and over again, it would save them leaving home in the rain....or just leaving home period. The faithfull could enjoy unlimited cult indocrtination in the comfort of their own living room.

Any way getting back on the serenity theme, I was arguing with some old timer who claimed 20 years AA membership (I'd never actually seen her on my vists 10 years before, but thats another matter). I can't remeber what it was about, but she started saying "hes getting me angry, hes getting me angry" It was then I realsied the total nonsense of this serenity stepper BS thing. I just replied "why are you getting angry, just because I don't agree with what YOU say, you're allowed to get angry sometimes you daft old bat" I then went on to have a bit of a dig at the other Old Timer claiming 20 years AA time, who I'd also never seen 10 years let alone 20 years before. I asked him what else he did beside attend AA, he said he went to varios clubs but declined to name even one. I rest my case.

Anyway to really get back on track, I'm not that concerned about Barton doing his public 12 step work for the cult, as you say he's hardly a great example of sernity and spiritual oneness with creation, hes on the same sanity level with the daft old bat I just mentioned.

What does scare me is the totally deceptive stepper cult recruitment going on from time to time on Coronation Street. We've got David Barlow who 'HAS' to go to his AA meetings its IMPORTANTand now Carl (partner of her who runs the Rovers pub) needs help with his gambling. Correct me if I'm wrong but Coro' is still the UK's most viewed TV program and is exsesivley watch in Eire as well. This is deceptive AA/GA stepper recruitment on a grand scale. I've heard the 12 steps mentioned once, on Coro, somebody said at a meeting they were just 12 steps away from recovery. But what the 12 steps actually involve, total subjugation to God, Inventory, Confession etc theres so far been NO mention. As I said totally deceptive recruitment on a grand scale, no doubt by some scrip writer down at ITV Television trying to guarentee his/her own sobriety.

If this insiduous cult recruitment continues on Cornoation Street, I thinks its about time British and Irish viewers ought to start complaining

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

mfc66uk

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 05:24

Sadly I don't support the league champions but originally come from the Greenwich area of London so you I'll have to have another guess. I'm afraid my club is rather well known for the wrong reasons. We were in a relegation battle with forest at the end of this season and I look forward to seeing the two teams play in the next season. Hopefully it won't be so nerve wracking. I'm sure we have been in the same ground on more than one occasion, probably in 80's before you bought our best player!
I always enjoyed Forrest particularly when clough was in charge and it is sad to see the FA making the same mistakes at the moment.

I agree that coronation street does create rather a false impression similar to the Mitchell from East Enders although I only think he went to a couple of meetings.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 06:14

I don't watch East Enders, but I recal Phil Michells drink problem. I don't remember any meetings or sneaky AA recruitment during that script but I may be wrong.

Cornonation Street are definitley deceptivley recruiting for the cult with the usual lies and misinformation, minus the God and spiritual (not religious bit). I find it offensive that these people are in our nations livining rooms of an evening spreading this cancer with no alternaive point of view. Maybe we ought to suggest that ITV write the Orange Papers into a future scrip and David Barlow is cult deprogrammed for all to see in the UK and Eire in their living rooms.

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 06:03

I thought you were Man City............Millwall. I was at the cup game at the den in the 70's when the Cold Blow Lane End emptied to attack us. F Troop where already 'steamin' into us. That was the start of the history of violence between the two clubs...alas the English disease. Yes I must admit I was there in the old days...West Ham, Chelsea..... Leeds .dare I mentioin ICF.....Head Hunters, Special Service Crew? Maybe I need to do another step 5:-) Only joking, all the best to the Lions next season and to you

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

mfc66uk

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 07:16

I was there but not in the cold blow lane end. - the cannibus smoke was too overpowering in there. I used to go on the half way line. The ftroop thing was pretty bad but strangely the first AA chair I ever heard was by an ex member. The chaps certainly used to get a bit excited in those days, certainly not the prawn sandwich brigade at Man utd.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:24

I remeber 'Half way line' the gang of kids that day. Forest got relagated that year and when Millwall came to Nottingham for the leauge game the next season, every available thug and his mother in Nottingham were waiting for Millwall

I don't believe the violence was much to do with Alcohol, it just became and inter city game of excitment, wonder if someone will start a stepper group for football hooligans, that former F Troop member perhaps

Some of the retired hooligans talk of getting a buzz out of it, but that may have been the cocaine

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

mfc66uk

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 11:16

There was certainly a huge problem in those days and in the mid 70's that was partly fuelled by alcohol and drugs and many took it too far and became addicted. However ther were other social factors that caused problems as well but they often lead people drinking a lot anyway. I used to go to meetings in south london fairly often and I saw a lot of those old faces from F troop in the rooms. They had stopped drinking and some were good people but not all had changed their ways. I can remember a pretty nasty racist incident and the general behaviour put off a lot of people who were new and needed help. If you get a few thugs that go to meetings here is always that nasty vibe for all to see. People don't automatically become some serene decent member of society because they have joined AA.
The main reason I posted the Barton thing is because the constant problems he causes wherever he goes have been going on for years. He has been in the rooms for some time now but he does not seem to have grasped anything that would change him into a decent human being in that time. Many others are the same and he would fit right in to some of the rougher meetings in London. Pro AA people are always saying how the steps and AA changes them for the better but I often found glaring exceptions to this in my time in the rooms. I was travelling a lot so I took pot luck at meetings and am not easily intimidated but some of those hard meetings were tough and I did not feel safe. They certainly bore no resemblance to the correnation street version! Let's face it - a few prayers and a bit of sharing is not going to do much for a real hard case who is probably sponsored by another psyco.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 09:48

The only thing those 12 steps do, if they do anything, is induce guilt and self-loathing. Your article about Barton to me was interesting as it reminded me of Coronation Street issue. Thats real insidious deceptive stepper recruitment in the Nations living rooms That means more people draw into and having to go through what we went through, or even worse.
When steppers come on the OP and talk about serenity and what the program has done for them blah! blah! blah! I don't take much notice, we all know its just stepper talk. If they want to sit around those creepy meetings, spouting the same old shit over and over again, nodding their heads in agreement, who gives a dam. But its the coercion of others thats the problem. The lies, misinformation and scaremongering recruitment of the vulnerable and confused. That is the real problem, and these scum do it all for their OWN self seeking. Whether that be, they think recruiting others ensures their own sobriety, or its sexual predation, or the old timers need recruits to lord it over to be important in their sad cult lives.... whatever. This deceptive recruitment on the scale of Coronation Street needs challenging. Better still we need a program like Panorama or Dispatches to expose the whole stepism cancer.

Its not that long ago I had an argument with a bloke who was adamant AA was NOT 12 step, the treatment centres were!!!!!!!! And this was a problem drinker. Joe Public in the UK really does NOT know what AA is all about. I won't go into lengthy details but when I was trying to get MM and SMART going in Nottinghamshire to say the treatment centres where not interested would be an understatement. Yet Double Impact began running yet another stepper group funded by the NHS. How do you think the Heathen British Tax payer would react if they knew they were paying for cult religion which to say the least, has very dubious success rates in the solving of substance use problems. The truth needs to be out.

A lot of them F Troop boys may have been good lads really, just young foolish and craving excitement at the time. A lot of the Forest lads are ok now, I bet they'd laugh with their Millwall counterparts about the old days, over a drink, given the chance. Also the prey they were hunting, was also hunting them, how many deer/fox hunters would partake if the deer/fox could shoot back

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 09:49

The only thing those 12 steps do, if they do anything, is induce guilt and self-loathing. Your article about Barton to me was interesting as it reminded me of Coronation Street issue. Thats real insidious deceptive stepper recruitment in the Nations living rooms That means more people draw into and having to go through what we went through, or even worse.
When steppers come on the OP and talk about serenity and what the program has done for them blah! blah! blah! I don't take much notice, we all know its just stepper talk. If they want to sit around those creepy meetings, spouting the same old shit over and over again, nodding their heads in agreement, who gives a dam. But its the coercion of others thats the problem. The lies, misinformation and scaremongering recruitment of the vulnerable and confused. That is the real problem, and these scum do it all for their OWN self seeking. Whether that be, they think recruiting others ensures their own sobriety, or its sexual predation, or the old timers need recruits to lord it over to be important in their sad cult lives.... whatever. This deceptive recruitment on the scale of Coronation Street needs challenging. Better still we need a program like Panorama or Dispatches to expose the whole stepism cancer.

Its not that long ago I had an argument with a bloke who was adamant AA was NOT 12 step, the treatment centres were!!!!!!!! And this was a problem drinker. Joe Public in the UK really does NOT know what AA is all about. I won't go into lengthy details but when I was trying to get MM and SMART going in Nottinghamshire to say the treatment centres where not interested would be an understatement. Yet Double Impact began running yet another stepper group funded by the NHS. How do you think the Heathen British Tax payer would react if they knew they were paying for cult religion which to say the least, has very dubious success rates in the solving of substance use problems. The truth needs to be out.

A lot of them F Troop boys may have been good lads really, just young foolish and craving excitement at the time. A lot of the Forest lads are ok now, I bet they'd laugh with their Millwall counterparts about the old days, over a drink, given the chance. Also the prey they were hunting, was also hunting them, how many deer/fox hunters would partake if the deer/fox could shoot back

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

genejoe's picture

genejoe

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 06:17

I know Billy Connolly is Scottish, so I don't mean to offend anyone, but when I read stuff from anyone in Great Britain my brain starts reading with a Billy Connolly accent. It really does.

I do enjoy the love folks in Europe have for football (soccer here). We just don't have that level of enthusiasm for any sport like you guys do.

I think almost all, if not all, public figures who talk about any type of recovery work or treatment work are doing so to further their public image. Going public at the beginning of treatment is a con game and most folks see through that.

I think folks who have a problem and seek help just don't talk about it until after they have found help and then want to truly help others with their own example.

It's just like when a preacher or politician gets caught sniffing coke off a prostitutes tits - all of a sudden they have a 'drug problem' and they are so sorry and they really seek help immediately. The fact is that their only problem, in their head, is that they got caught. 2 weeks in a posh treatment center or claim that they are attending AA or NA or whatever, and all sins are forgiven and they have learned from their mistakes and they vow to never get caught again.

genejoe

The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 06:33

Billy Connoly, the Big Yin, no offense taken, there is all differing accents over here. Personally I can't tell the difference between Amercan or Canadian Accents, Ive noticed the Canadians don't like to be refered to as Americans:-)

Yes I agree with what you said, a lot, if not most celebraties, just try to clean up their public image and are sorry they got caught. But how many none famous steppers genuinley want to help others. The whole thing is false self interest. Moral Inventories, Confession, making amends its only done out of fear of drinking again, which AA instils in its victims. Its like the Evangalists who are just trying to avoid Hell fire.

My sister once remarked "If I didn't believe in Hell I would go out and rob the first Bank I saw." Stepism, Christianity, its all about avoiding consequences or punishment not about helping anyone...for a lot of people anyway....totally false

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

alkieanon's picture

alkieanon

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 06:53

"I might go to Alcoholics Anonymous but I think it would be difficult for me to be anonymous."

mfc66uk

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 07:17

George did go, he was one of the 95% failure rate and died.

alkieanon's picture

alkieanon

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 21:43

mfc66uk says: "... one of the 95% failure rate and died." Unless there is a cure (or a Fountain), death is an end state for everyone.

live_free_or_die's picture

live_free_or_die

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 21:47

So what you are saying alkie is that death comes to us all?

Thanks for that bit of wisdom. You are obviously an intellectual giant of an "alcoholic" eh?

Alcoholics Anonymous: MyNotGodHasItCovered®
http://www.expaa.org/
http://bereanresearch.com/
http://badrecovery.blogspot.com/
NOT AA:
Rational Recovery, SOS, HAMS
http://alcoholabusesolutions.com/

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 23:38

Wacky totally unnatural stepism, just hastens the natural process, inparticular with the suicides

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

btnben's picture

btnben

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 07:51

Since George Best died. The time flies. These posts reminded me of this. I like music that makes me cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWNQuSRu0ws

God damn it, get me a whiskey

Bill W, Deathbed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?source=patrick.net&v=Sdn3O6aaMNc

Unhinged

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 08:00

George would have needed a lot of paper to do step 4 of the programme.

Great football player. He graced the pitches of Scotland with Hibernian near the end of his career (1979-1981)

Managed to work his way through a liver.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 23:58

I used up about 11 exercise books on my step 4, ended up more or less writing my life story.

Didn't achieve Jack Shit though....no nearness to creator feelings or walking along broad highways or anything like that. I suppose one could say it kept me out of the pub for a time, but so could going to the karate club or the pictures or cycling and I could have enjoyed myself for those hours, instead of systmatically getting more and more guilt ridden, self obsessed and generally suicidal.

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

mfc66uk

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 09:11

I saw him play for fulham a couple of times and he was still good even though the lifestyle was taking its toll and I met him a couple of times when he was doing some media work and he was trying to change his ways. He had a great sense of humour even when things had gone so badly wrong.

I wonder who will be tempted to go to an AA meeting to have a go at Barton, he is the type of person that attracts trouble and the press at meetings. We had a few problems at my old lunchtime haunt due to undesirables turning up. It does not take much effort to work out where he goes in London.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:13

Has anyone read "This ones on me" by Jimmy Greaves.

He ended up in AA but I dont remember him talkin about his stepper cult involvement much.

I can't imagine such a great bloke as Greavesy at a stepper meeting saying "They told me" "I want what they've got" etc etc over and over again and constantly solemnly nodding his head in agreement.

Pity he missed the World Cup final in '66, England would have scored more

Its a funny old game

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

Clara's picture

Clara

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:47

I guess the takeaway from this blog for me is why people think that because someone is in recovery that they can't get mad? It seems to be a common refrain that people cannot have human emotions. I have certainly met my share of people that had been in AA that don't display good manners! LOL!

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

NoAAUK's picture

NoAAUK

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 00:03

AA Gurus are always telling you that you specifically CAN'T get mad and resentment is the cause of All our problems and other such profound spiritual (not religious)............things

......and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:11

Kate

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 23:43

With the level of pathology amongst its members, it's no wonder.