Quotes from Robbie Savage

I believe sports minister Nigel Huddleston, Secretary of State Oliver Dowden and Health Minister Matt Hancock all recognise the importance of kids playing recreational sport.

And a bit of discipline never did 14-year-olds any harm.

The pitch is a footballers workplace. Fans have no more right to be on it during a game than a burglar has being in your house.

Whatever he has achieved in football, Phil Neville has always bounced back from adversity - from giving away a crucial penalty at Euro 2000 to being thrown in the deep end as a pundit at the World Cup in Brazil.

Kids who dream of reaching the top must grow up looking forward to the big games which define them at every level they play - from Sunday morning in the park to non-League, the top four divisions, Europe and the World Cup.

With games being called off, and clubs having to field under-strength teams because of Covid outbreaks, it looks terrible when pictures emerge of Premier League players enjoying social gatherings in blatant breach of the regulations.

But one thing I do is I know my football. I watch leagues from all over the world, I do my homework and I love football and could talk to you all day about it.

Never - and I repeat, never - let anyone tell you your worth, tell you that you cannot do something or determine what is good for you.

If have done well for Leeds then Id have loved to have played for Manchester United, that would have been great.

The more expensive your house, the more your insurance will cost.

What you don't realise when you get injured for a long period of time is that it's so hard to get back. You see the lads out on the training ground and you're in every day - 8 to 5 - and it's horrendous. So when you actually come back it's a proud moment.

This is madness - when a single footballer is more expensive than building a hospital or school, the transfer market has lost its marbles.

I'm not a Gary Neville or a Jamie Carragher, or somebody who doesn't need to do their apprenticeship in the media and can go straight into it because they've played for massive clubs. I've had to work at it but I believe I am better than them.

One of my most treasured possessions is the letter my father wrote to me when I left home to join the Manchester United Class of 92.

Look at all of United's successful teams under Sir Alex Ferguson and their captains were all big personalities: Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic. You would follow them all into the trenches.

If we are going to ban players for alleged dives, its time there was a panel of ex-managers and players who put blundering referees on trial - and absolute howlers should be punished with a ban, the same as retrospective action against players.

At highly-charged games, clubs need to employ experts who understand the tribal emotions of football and the potential for incidents. We need highly-trained security personnel, stationed two or three metres apart, with earpieces for communication, around the perimeter.

I even do things sometimes just to get the crowd booing me, whether it's smashing someone or doing something deliberately silly. It's been part of my game for a long time now.

I remember my dad taking me to stand on the Kop at Wrexham to watch Dixie McNeil and Joey Jones, and jumping into his arms when they scored.

Some of the things I've done, like getting Justin Edinburgh sent off in the cup final by going down, I'm embarrassed - I cringe when I see all that.

You know the madness of the English football season has kicked in when a fan rings up 606 and says Arsenal will win the title.

At the top end, the pathway from academy to first team has never been more difficult for home-grown youngsters.

I dont regret for one minute that I only won one trophy because again, to play at Wembley and lift the trophy, how many players can say that? Of course, Id like to have been in contention to win trophies every single year, but I wasnt, but I can sleep easy at night knowing I got the best out of what I had.

Remember success never comes easy and on the journey you will make mistakes, win some and lose some, get some things right and wrong. But always keep in mind that it is not about how many times you fall down - its about how many times you get up after falling.