What is the truth behind the whole ‘Will he, won’t he return to Anfield?’ saga before you moved to Newcastle?
David Owens, Telford
It was real. I spoke to the chief executive Rick Parry and I was in Liverpool with Rafa Benitez and we were pretty close to agreeing things. The main issue was Real Madrid and Liverpool settling on a deal and they couldn’t agree a fee – plus Newcastle were quite aggressive in their offer to Madrid. So Madrid felt that Liverpool weren’t matching their valuation of me and I thought it would be good to go to Newcastle. It was a World Cup year and I wanted to be playing, plus Madrid had bought two more strikers, so I went to St James’ Park and thought it was great. It’s a very similar place to Liverpool in a lot of ways – especially the people, who are football mad. I thought that, as much as it would have been great to go back to Liverpool, going to Newcastle would be just as enjoyable an experience.

You seem to be a quiet and reserved guy. What are you like in the dressing room?
Luis Tovar, via email
I’d say I’m quite shy around people I don’t know. To start with anyway. In my first year at Newcastle – and probably Madrid – people thought I was quite quiet to begin with. The same with Liverpool probably, but after a while I’m as cheerful and as jokey as everyone else really.

With your recent injury, what are you like when you’re watching football?
James Marker, Brighton
[Laughs] Fortunately it hasn’t happened too often. I prefer being out there. I don’t get too animated when I’m watching football. The worst thing is when you’re playing and you come off and sit on the bench. You’ve been playing so your emotions are as involved as everyone on the pitch, but you’re not involved any more. You sit there and everyone is nervous, the manager is shouting and soon enough you start getting nervous yourself. If I’m watching or playing I’m fine, but if I come off with 10 minutes to go and we’re hanging on to a lead then it’s not so good.

I’ve heard you’re the daddy of ping pong. Who in the England camp can hold a paddle to you?
Ping Pong Will, London
I do like to play and I remember when I first got into the squad, Gazza was brilliant at it. He would play double-handed, backhand and forehand. He would squeeze both hands around the bat and he was amazing. Ian Wright and Glenn Hoddle were good and Rio is quite good these days, too.

According to your team mates, you’re the best all round sportsman in the England team. Is there any sport you can’t play?
Lee Stamms, Guildford
[Laughs] I’m not great at ping pong! It’s funny, I only play sports that I know I can win at. If I play table tennis then I’ll watch to see who’s at my standard before challenging them to a game. If they are better than me, I won’t play them.



Is it true that you give your sister £50 a month to get the latest music because you can’t decide what to get yourself?
Shelly Newman, Cardiff
I wouldn’t say it’s a monthly arrangement but yes, sometimes I’ll do that. I’m rubbish with songs, so I’ll hear something I like and I’ll sing her the chorus and she’ll get it for me. In terms of knowing who sang what and the song titles, I’m garbage. What does she usually come back with? Whatever I’m going on about at the time. I actually flew to Dubai recently and I was listening to The Beatles’ number ones album on the in-flight system. I came back with a huge list for her and now I’m a big fan.

Has the burden of expectation on Wayne Rooney taken the pressure off you?
Tim Short, via email
In terms of burden I don’t really think of it like that. I certainly don’t go onto a pitch feeling a burden. There is some pressure in football – pressure to win or whatever – but it’s something I’ve always lived with and I certainly don’t go out thinking, ‘Oh if we lose, what will happen?’ You just play the game and what follows, follows.

It was weird seeing him go through the same experiences I had after France 98. It’s OK people saying that you should keep your feet on the ground and tread carefully, but it’s rare those people have experienced the same thing. I could empathise with him because I was shot to stardom over a couple of weeks in 1998. Going from nothing to a hero is an experience that not too many people can understand. For some people it happens in a gradual process, but for myself and Wayne we both came home to a massive hoo-ha. It’s exciting at the time but you know it won’t last forever. It’s important to stay mentally sound and stable after that, otherwise you get into the realms of madness.

But Wayne’s a brilliant player. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of very good strikers and Wayne is definitely up there with the best of them. He’s a fantastic talent and I hope he continues to develop and improve.