Jamie Carragher

“I've never blown my own trumpet over my ability but it took an awful lot to stop me getting on the pitch.”

“Players like people saying good things about them and, of course, no one is ever wrong when they do that, but they always are when they say bad stuff.”

“In knockout football, it's one bad game and you're out.”

“Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso was always bemused by our enthusiasm for tackling, because he saw it as the last resort.”

“I only missed nine Premier League games from a possible 228 between August 2004 and May 2010.”

“Coaching for tackles? That's something you do with seven-year-olds, when you show them how to stand and when to make a block. It is one of the basics of the game. No Premier League manager needs to coach it.”

“As one of the lucky ones who could provide for my family, I also wanted to help those from my area.”

“My family regarded the end of my career as a sign they could really enjoy life a bit rather than cancelling plans on the back of a poor result - it happened many times!”

“We are constantly told to enjoy Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo before they retire but what about Arjen Robben?”

“People go on about how much players earn in the Premier League but once you've bought a nice house and car, what else is there to spend it on?”

“I don't mind a bit of cricket, but it has to be something massive like the Ashes.”

“Managers can make themselves look strong by selling or dropping players, but if the move doesn't work, the choice looks flawed.”

“I'm no different to other working class players.”

“It's been a privilege for me, really, to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, an iconic club, an institution.”

“The two managers I worked under longest are Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez. I have so much respect for the two of them.”

“In the past, you would have been classed as a sweeper if you were put in the middle of a three-man defence.”

“In the modern era, with the rewards the top players have during their career and the risks involved moving into management, more will look at it and say they don't need it.”

“Don't get me wrong, the fans are great for us. But the fans, and the players, all of us together have to realise we have to be patient.”

“People make relegation out to be a fate worse than death but that's nonsense. If the infrastructure is right, clubs can bounce back.”

“We talk about the Arsenal 'Invincibles' of 2004 and the team who won the Double two years earlier and drool over their attacking play. It is easy to forget, though, that virtually the same squad had won nothing for three years.”