I last saw him at comedian John Bishop's birthday party and I was still in awe to be honest. Many years later, he tried to sign me for Newcastle but at first I didn't believe it was him on the phone. Kenny Dalglish was my first idol, my Mum even stitched a red '7' onto my first Liverpool shirt. Pranks were frowned upon by managers over the years in case it led to fall-outs. For days and weeks, I didn't know what the smell was, I'd be checking the air con, my armpits. I bought a green Mazda and Razor wrapped up a big fish deep in the footwell. Neil Ruddock did me up a treat at Liverpool. The only player who refused to take one was Pascal Chimbonda at Spurs. At Charlton, they'd fill wheelie bins and you'd have to climb in chest-high. I hated them but grew to recognise the benefits for recovery. I wanted to see how much you wanted it and you do.'įormer Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier knew how to test players and shape their careers I went, played all the games and we staved off relegation. I wanted to join Ipswich on loan early in my Liverpool career but Gerard told me firmly: Go to Crewe or stay here. Tim Cahill was the best header of my time. One that always stuck with me was Keith Houchen's diving header in the 1987 FA Cup final. I've always had a thing for great headers, maybe because I didn't score too many myself. Some people love 30-yard screamers, others beautiful team goals. From there we went on to a European final. Scoring at Portsmouth to keep us up was the most important goal of my career. Once Roy Hodgson arrived at Craven Cottage, I matured as a player and felt influential. I wasn't playing at Spurs and chose Fulham ahead of Birmingham on deadline day in 2007. The best part of my debut against Sweden was having Mum, Dad and my brothers there. Even training was amazing, watching Rio Ferdinand - a defender - in keep-ball made me appreciate the levels needed. I was standing outside a fish and chip shop when the FA rang to say I'd made my first squad. Jermain Defoe was brilliant at Tottenham and is still scoring goals at the age of 37
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