I remember when Dennis Wise coming over to me because I was taking too long to get the
ball and he's just abused me. Then later on in the game, they had turned the game round
and they (Chelsea) were seeing it out. I'd remembered what Dennis Wise had said to me so I was rushing over
and it was Gareth Hall. He came over and gave me a rollocking for being too quick!
I probably wasn't the best ball boy, but it was a great experience being close to the pitch and
obviously in those days, Stadium Bridge was big and there were cars behind the goals so
you actually did need a ballboy.
When you're playing with Prosinecki, he was a character
as well. What a player, he could see. He couldn't move much, but he didn't need to. I think I
got 19 goals for Portsmouth that season and he put every one on a plate. He was a class
player. It was always funny because you knew he understood more than he was letting on
because you'd speak to him one-on-one and he could speak perfect English. As soon as
you told him to track back, he was like, "I don't understand."
Yeah, at half-time, before the game in the changing room, half-time in the shower.
Obviously the shower wasn't on, but he would have one at half-time
and then straight after the game. Red Marlboros as well - the heavy stuff.
Yeah! I felt like it's my biggest regret. I know it was out of my control, but
it was probably my biggest regret in football really. I felt like I should have started
that game. Obviously it was myself and Bellamy on the bench and Rafa decided to play Kuyt
up front on his own. I just felt that Milan team was similar to the one in 2005, but just
older. I felt like if we had attacked them and we had played five in midfield and Kuyt
ahead. I felt like we didn't go for it and I think we played into their hands. Not even
me, but if we had played Bellamy or me with Kuyt, I just felt we would have had more of
a chance. I felt the game was there for the taking. Even in the run-up to that, I had
scored loads in the Champions League and I had played pretty much every game so to have
not played in that final was devastating.
I think it was before the Champions League final.
We went to, I think we went to Portugal. We had a week before the game and we went
away and we were training and went go-karting and we went out. I was obviously going around the track and
I've flew into the pit where we stop. I thought I'll brake now, but there were no brakes. I
had just come into the pits, I've seen Alonso and I've seen Kuyt and I've thought , 'Who's more valuable?'
I've swerved into Kuyt and fair play to him, he literally jumped with
his legs like that and I've gone straight through him. There was no way I could stop
and then I was back out on the track. It was, God's honest truth, quite dangerous. Obviously
you can laugh about it now because I didn't cause any injury. I remember as I went back
out, I just panicked and stood up on the thing and jumped out. As the kart went into the
wall, it started burning and as I was walking back I've seen Rafa's face. He was basically
thought I was an idiot. Obviously, I said, "Gaffer, I didn't mean to do it. There was
nothing I could do. There were no brakes - they didn't work." The man got back into the kart
to test it and there were no brakes. They had failed me.
Yeah, I taught him everything he knows so I knew he was going to be good.
Obviously he's different class. In all honesty,
when he was a kid, he used to train with us, he used to come over and train with us.
I don't think anyone would have said that you'd thought he'd be getting 30 Premier League
goals every season like he has done, or 25 goals or whatever. But he always scored goals. Whenever he
came over, he would always be banging them in, in training and his finishing was always good. I just
think he's worked so hard on it. I think he's improved year in, year out. For me now, he's one of
the best, if not the best, in the Premier League. He's incredible. He strikes with both feet, he manages to get
his shot off, he holds the ball up, he can head it. I love watching him. I'm really pleased
for him as well because he was always a good lad. He was always listening, he was always wanting
to learn. You could see he was working hard, he was always doing some finishing after training.
We did a lot of work together when I was there. He was always hungry and you could see that desire in him.
I would like to think I would have had options. You never know, maybe!
In all seriousness, I probably would have worked with my dad in advertising.
Yeah, answering that seriously.