It's not like I'm against alcohol. It's just a decision I made, and if you've never had it, you don't miss it. I've been drenched in champagne a few times over my career. I might have a drink if England win the World Cup. That's one moment where I might.
I've started the coaching badges. I did some at Aston Villa, but things got in the way.'
I set higher standards than anyone and don't need anyone to tell me when I've played badly or not had a good game.
Newcastle was tough - the manager who'd signed me, Bobby Robson, got sacked three games into the season, so a new manager arrived, and I ended up going on loan again, to Aston Villa.
Eating the right things and doing the right things off the field are important. You see players like Ryan Giggs and Gareth Barry. If you look after yourself, you have a chance of playing a long time.
It's all been a bit of a rush, but I think that happens when you make your debut so soon after leaving school. You've had this dream, and suddenly you're doing it, and everything happens very fast and hardly slows down.
What Liverpool do really well is they try to get you inside but then close you down.
At a club like City, there are things in the papers and talk all the time. Ever since I've been a footballer, I have coped with that.
You can look at every game, some where I've been a defensive player and others where I've had an impact.
I contribute in many different ways to the team. I've played a hell of a lot of games in my career, and you can stake any argument on the stats.
I speak to my mum and dad about the club, and my uncle and all my mates are big Leeds fans as well. They're on the up, if you like. It's a better situation than it was when they were in League One not so long ago.
I remember my dad ringing me up and giving me my GCSE results when I was at Thorp Arch for pre-season training. A month later, I was playing in the first team. It was pretty amazing, really. I think if you stopped and thought about it at the time, it would have hit you.
I had the chance to play with Alan Shearer to join the list of class players I'd played with at a young age at Leeds - the Vidukas, Smiths, Kewells, and Woodgates.
I was going to a good club in Newcastle and working with an unbelievable manager in Bobby Robson. It was the best for Leeds, and in the end, it worked out well for me as well.
It's tough. That's the side people don't see. You have to balance it, get it right, and be a dad as well as a footballer. That is part of the job. Around this time of year, it's so important.
I remember my first Christmas with Leeds, training Christmas Day. I wasn't old enough to drive yet - so I had to get picked up and taken in!
I think you always want to see your former clubs doing well.
When a new manager comes in, you have to prove yourself all over again. That's what you have to do every day and keep your standards high.
I never really got that chance at Manchester City and developed into a utility player. Playing in all the positions has made me a better player because it's not easy to do that. Understanding the game has made me a more rounded player as well.
The pace of the game has changed even while I've been a player. It always seems to be getting quicker. You need to be fast, quick to get around the park, need to be able to press and defend and get in peoples' faces, and you need quality on the ball.
