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I think the FA wished I was white. I had the credibility, performance-wise, to be captain. I was consistently in the heart of the defence and I was a club captain early on my career.
My first medal, the League Cup at Tottenham, that was a very proud moment for me. Being captain, and winning. But also winning the double in my first year at Arsenal, that was special.
People may think that I just want to manage in the Premier League but I'm prepared to go to a non-league club, and if they can't pay me a salary just pay me a win bonus. I'm up for that.
If I don't impress you in an interview then fine, but at least give me that chance. That's all I want; to talk to a chairman or owner about my philosophy and what I can do for their team.
If you win, you have to get your feet straight back on the ground and grind out another win. You can enjoy the moment, but remain level-headed and always think ahead to the next challenge.
Yes, I was a footballer, but there's more to me than meets the eye. I've got more levels. So many levels. I'm not going away - and I'm going to keep on talking until things start changing.
When I left Spurs I was one of the best defenders in the world and had done so much for such a long time with ultimately little reward. I practically kept the club up on my own for two years.
Sometimes I am the 'philosophical professor, or I can do the voice like thunder if necessary... or if I want to keep the lads on their toes I might sit back and give them a thousand-yard stare.
Fifa has lost the trust of the people. We cannot allow the architects and controllers of world football to get away with dragging the beautiful game through the grime of corruption and bribery.
At the time, when I was growing up,my habits were misconstrued as laziness, not caring. But when I got out onto the pitch I actually did care about football, I just showed it in a different way.
I think in the end football wins hopefully, and people start looking at all scenarios. In the end I just want to be a manager. Forget whatever colour you are - that's the way it should be really.
Sometimes you get a team that has almost forgotten how to win. That's maybe fallen away from the standards that should be set at this level. Some are big problems, some of them are small problems.
A hotel is so restrictive. You haven't got your own space. Yes you get the food, yes you get everything all clean and blah, blah - but sometimes it's nice to have your own space with the your family.
Coaching is definitely different. I've got the knowledge but it's about communicating that to others in a manner they can understand. There's an art to that and the more you practise, the better you get.
It's all right to have black captains and mixed-race in the under-18s and under-21s, but not for the full national side. There is a ceiling and although no one has ever said it, I believe it's made of glass.
I've got my own mind, and I'll talk about it, but I'm willing to listen. I'm very balanced like that. If you don't want a guy who's balanced, who wants to win, and can bring people together well... I don't know.
I am going to fight on the pitch for Newcastle and if it comes to the stage where someone says can you fight for England then I will fight for England. But I am not going to go on about it. It is just not worth it.
I've got a furniture range with my wife, and I want to get into designing hotels and restaurants as well. We've got a big studio in Victoria and a showroom in Belgravia. I've always been interested in architecture.
I want to do some coaching, maybe a couple of days a week, and start building up slowly - find out my philosophy, how I like to play and things like that. I want to be a coach now and eventually I want to be a manager.
Fifa urgently needs a fresh start and transparency is key. Moving its headquarters is the only way the association will attract new people, many of whom are likely to have long lost faith with Fifa's ability to govern.
Fifa would benefit hugely from the experience of former players from a variety of backgrounds including Africa and Asia. There aren't many senior staff who have played at the top level and the organisation needs balance.
Look, I'm an entrepreneur, I want to create things, I'm a builder. I don't want handouts. If I didn't play football I'd be doing something else. That's me. I don't want to be held back. I want to go forward. I want to better myself.
But sport is about character. It is about understanding how a team works, about pushing the team. I also wanted to do it because of where I am from as a human being. That's what London people want: thinking outside the box, new ideas.
I became insular because at home there was no space to grow or to evolve, everything was tight and there was no room to breathe. People don't realise how that affects you as a kid. I wasn't allowed to speak, so my expression was football.
Most footballers are quite tense, aren't they? So many footballers have been stitched up over the years. They've got to mind what they say, be careful about this, careful about that, because something might be misconstrued, twisted around.
I've done it the correct way with the coaching badges. I have done watching the games, I have done listening to managers, I have done travelling around Europe watching other managers train, I have done a bit of TV work to help with analysis.
I'm a street footballer. I'm hardcore. Growing up in east London, you've got to be a little bit self-confident. As a player, I would go into detail, watch who I was playing against. Who might come into my vicinity. That gives you self-confidence.
A lack of street footballers dulls the imagination, dulls that natural thinking outside the box. You need that on the street when you're 9 and have to beat a 14-year-old on the dribble. Or if you get knocked out and have to sit on the side and come on.
I love managing characters. Characters make teams and I believe I can deal with all sorts. The most important thing is being able to pass my knowledge on to others and allowing them to flourish as individuals and as part of a team with a specific strategy.
I have the tools to climb the mountain so I don't mind climbing mountains. I have climbed mountains since I was growing up in east London in Plaistow. I'm not scared of climbing mountains. When you get to the top, the view's great. That's what it's all about.
Look at France and Didier Deschamps; he was just a guy who just did his job but he was captain of one of France's most successful teams. Then you've got Iker Casillas; he's not into PR or things like that, but he's one of the most successful captains of Spain.
I'm a doer and I just want to do it. Whatever attitudes, prejudices, stereotypical ideas that are in front of me, I will break them. But the only way I can break them is by getting a job, and if I need to start in the gutter, I will start in the gutter and work my way up. Money isn't an issue.