I did get myself into little scrapes when I was younger and a bit stupid, but there is only one manager I have worked under who ever spoke a bad word about me.
— Craig Bellamy
I've got belief that the Newcastle fans know how much I want to play for them.
My brother is gay - he's a couple of years older than me, and I could not be more proud of him. It was right for him. If a player was going through something similar at a younger age, I feel I would be understanding because I was there to watch it with my brother.
I've been playing at a professional level for 17, 18 years now, and there's more to life. I love the game, don't get me wrong - I've cherished every moment of it.
I'm aware of my value as a player, of course. But do I need to buy a holiday home that I'm only going to use two weeks every year? Course not. It's a waste. Why not give the money to people who could do with it.
My discipline in myself has got me where I am. I try to emphasise that to young players.
I have had my eyes opened to a different side to me. I'm a much happier person. There was always this Jekyll and Hyde thing with me.
I was enjoying life at West Ham; I really was. I wanted to do the whole five years there, become a favourite with the fans, and end my career there.
First and foremost, I am concentrating on staying fit. If I'm fit, I can challenge. If I ain't fit, I can't challenge.
Manchester City is the richest club in the world. They work to a budget that no one else works to, so they can write their own rules.
There is no one better than Jose Mourinho for how he cherishes his players, and their affection for him is unique.
Before, I would spend all my hours at training, come home, sleep, eat, watch football, sleep, and go back to training the next day. Now I do the school run, train, pick up my daughter. I am living in the real world. I am a father now. That has given me more satisfaction than football.
As a professional, you're taught from a young age to despise losing. But I began to accept that, in football, you will win some games, and you will lose some games, with draws here and there, too. That's just the nature of the game.
I was a troubled young kid, and I would try to break every rule.
I played on anger for the first 15 years of my career.
If you are going to say something, then be as honest as you can.
I started to realise I am not as strong as others, and I can't muscle someone off the ball who is twice the size of me. So I have altered my game, playing on the half-turn, for example, and it's made me a much better player.
All I want to do now is prove my temperament is not a problem and get people talking about my football again.
I've kept my nose clean when I've been asked to to play out of position, and I've done it.
I have so much to look forward to after football.
Life isn't just about football. The adventure starts when you finish, and I'm looking forward to that.
I've always had this crazy thought that I have to win something; otherwise, my career's a complete failure. It's ridiculous. Will a trophy change me as a person? No. Will it make me a better player? No. So what the hell am I worried about?
In the past, before games, I would near enough make myself ill. Nerves and stuff.
I've grown up with Kenny Dalglish; now, to be signed by him is a massive honour.
I don't think I'll ever get away from my reputation.
I want to make sure that I am always ready: that if I step off the bench, I will make a contribution, then be given my chance.
I had a very good upbringing, which I'm eternally grateful for.
I am reading the biography of Pep Guardiola. I find it really interesting.
I surround myself with family. I have got the most incredible wife in the world and unbelievable kids.
Of course I want to keep playing; that's the best thing for any footballer. But I'm looking forward to not having to put my body through the pain, I have to say.
I knew I needed to move away when I was 15, but when I got to Norwich, I spent nights crying myself to sleep with homesickness. For any young kid moving away from home, that is the biggest thing you have to deal with.
It's up to people to judge whether I'm a good fella.
I felt bad for Newcastle when they lost their 2005 FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United. They had loaned me out to Celtic, but I still had a lot of affection for them.
John Hartson, he speaks fluent Welsh and has the tattoos all over him to prove his Welshness. But in my own world, no one is more Welsh than myself.
If someone labels you, it is very hard to shake it off.
Glasgow was a tough city. You were adored, and you were hated.
It's difficult. I'm a single parent now, and I'm having such a battle to see my kids on a daily basis. It's so hard.
Basically, we are all chimps. The human side is at the front of our forehead, but the chimp is the part that lashes out. When I play, I am completely chimp-orientated.
The lads I played football with on the street when I was a kid in Cardiff were as good as me, and in many ways, my career is due to them.
I was just unhappy - and lonely at times. There was always that other side of me nagging away, bringing me down. The anger. Even after good games, I just went home and looked at the bad points. It was just nuts.
When I left Liverpool, my aim was to get into the top six, and I was looking for a team that could get involved at that level. West Ham were brilliant at the time. They'd signed a lot of players, had a lot of money. But they've had problems since then.
What you live for is to wake up in the morning looking forward to training.
I always say the best players I have ever worked with are the hardest players I have ever worked with.
I want to become one of the greatest managers that has ever lived. Why not? If it doesn't happen, then I've given everything, and I'd be proud of whatever I'm able to achieve.
That's what makes the Premier League the best in the world: the competitiveness and the ability each team possesses can hurt you on their day.
I do have to pinch myself at times when I look back at some of the things I have achieved. I really do.
So much of my career was affected by injuries. Not just the well documented surgery, but the hamstring pulls and other things. Injuries hit me hard, and they always seemed to come at key times.
I joined Norwich when I was 15 and moved away from a life living on an estate in Cardiff and everything I knew. I moved away from my girlfriend, who is my wife now, and my nan, who has now passed away. I missed a lot.
I let football drive me crazy. If we lost, I would shut myself away for two or three days, not sleeping, torturing myself about what I did.
My image is not the greatest, I imagine. You need to know me and understand me, see some of the things I do away from football. Maybe you have to be a fan of me to like me.
