Alan Pardew
I've never bet in a casino; it's just not something I do.
Success can be a legacy.
If you're in the middle of a field, surrounded by armies, left right and centre, you can't just say: 'I've had enough now, sorry.'
But what I'm not is someone who just comes in and becomes a lapdog to the board. Anyone who knows my personality knows that's not me.
I didn't listen to half of the criticism I received. I just didn't let it enter my brain.
I remember the chief executive at Southampton after Nicola Cortese thanking me for the platform I left them. That recognition is always nice. That's like winning a trophy for me.
But what's wrong with asking players to use their imagination, their game intelligence, as well as oomph and spirit? I don't just want them to do basic things. I'm asking them to do complicated things.
Americans are analytical in their sports, which are very stop-start, so the numbers tend to add up. That's why Moneyball works for baseball. It doesn't work so well for football because it's a fluid game.
The technical director's role is very important - not just on contracts, not just on signing players and seeing through the philosophy but also in taking a bit of weight off the manager.
For managers like me what is our dream? Is it what I did with Newcastle when we finished fifth? Or what Roy Hodgson did in taking Fulham to the Europa League final?
I did almost take a job in China because I thought it might be good for me to go abroad and experience what I think the best coaches in the Premier League have had. It helps you learn. You have to evolve.
At Newcastle, I had a team at the bottom of the table with a crowd that was very angry at what had gone on at the club for a period of time.
I look at Rafa Benitez in his time at Liverpool, he had difficult periods and the same goes for Brendan Rodgers in the same job now. These difficult periods come and you have to accept that. I did as well as I could at Newcastle.
I always ask two questions when we are closing in on a deal: What currency are we dealing in and how many people are expecting to get paid as part of this transfer?
The only gambling I do is on a Saturday afternoon when I might put on two wingers or two strikers.
At West Ham I had a fantastic relationship with the board but I was really upset with them when they sold the club without telling me. I then had new owners I didn't get on particularly well with.
For anything in your life, you have to be focused on what is the goal.
As a manager you're going to have some bad times, some really bad times. If you're going to walk away, then in my view you do not have the make-up to be a manager or a leader of men.
I consider this to be one of the biggest jobs in the country and to get the opportunity to be the manager of Newcastle is not something I'm going to give up lightly.
The pleasure of winning at this football club matches nothing I've ever experienced before. But if you're going to get those ultimate highs, you're going to get the ultimate lows.
In the search for a new challenge I'm glad that I came across ADO Den Haag.
Does it help Dutch teams in the Champions League because they don't have to be at it in the league? I think it does. I experienced the disparity.
I experienced great professionalism in Dutch football. I don't want to give a stereotypical view of them, but they are needy in terms of wanting to know exactly what the game plan is, what their role is, that information.
I've been a manager in the Premier League for many years and you do become conservative when you're in that bottom section. There's so much stress, because it is so important and there's so much scrutiny.
The AZ captain Teun Koopmeiners, a left-footed centre back who can sit in midfield, is probably the best player in Holland in defensive areas.
If I'm going to work in Holland I would like to have more of a chance to do something in the league, because a Europa League place might be slightly easier to target than in England.
I'm the football manager of Newcastle, which is owned by Mike Ashley.
I'm the football manager. I make all the football decisions that evolve around the game that's being played on a Saturday.
A player's mentality is very important. The five or 10 per cent where they're not focused because of wanting to go somewhere is enough for them to haul off their quality. It impacts on everything. So, as a board and manager, you have to make a decision.
Crystal Palace were my first club and one I hold dear to my heart.
The spokesman at Newcastle, unfortunately, was mainly me. I had to manage the football club.
In my world, I have to keep my counsel at times, accept players are going to criticise various things, accuse you of various things. Sometimes you react, sometimes you don't.
The England job is unique and brings a certain pressure. I've experienced some of that pressure at the clubs I've been at.
Emirates Stadium should be named after Arsene WengerCollection: Wenger
You feel vulnerable when you hear things that are not being saidCollection: Vulnerable
I tried to push him away with my head. I apologise to everyone. I should not have got involved in it.Collection: Football
I don't like people who drain my time and energy. If you've seen the Harry Potter films, we use the term 'dementors' - people who can draw the life out of you in terms of your energy. So we eradicate the 'dementors', encourage the positive people, and that spreads around to create the team spirit we have hereCollection: Team
Shut your noise, you old c***!Collection: Football
I didn't listen to half of the criticism I received. I just didn't let it enter my brain. It affects people around me, but it was my job to see through that. When you are in charge of a top club, where expectations are high you have to deal with that.Collection: Jobs
The one thing I hate about other managers is waffle that is nowhere near the truth. I would never conduct myself like that.Collection: Hate
I have to be involved in negotiations because players have to buy into me and what I want from them if they join my club, so all managers need to be fully involved in transfers, that's for sure.Collection: Player
You always have to have faith in your own abilities and that has to be evident to your players.Collection: Player
I did as well as I could at Newcastle.Collection: Newcastle
Amid all the negativity at Newcastle, we achieved some great things. Finishing fifth in the Premier League with a great team was a fine effort and we also got to the quarterfinals of the Europa League and nearly got past a Benfica side that went to the final. They were great days, great nights at St James' Park and I remember them with affection. Maybe they are forgotten too quickly.Collection: Team
If you've had a bad experience with an agent, you have to move past it. You are bound to want a player at some stage who is represented by this guy and you will have to try to work around the personality of the agent. You tend to work out what makes them tick, what they respond to. You have to have tactical plans to get a deal over the line.Collection: Moving
I have had situations in the past when you are close to signing a player and the money involved switches from euros to pounds to dollars. It is a difficult process, but one we have to work with.Collection: Player
It's important that top clubs don't lose sight of the fact that it's the English Premier League and English players should be involved.Collection: Player
I look at Rafa Benitez in his time at Liverpool, he had difficult periods and the same goes for Brendan Rodgers in the same job now. These difficult periods come and you have to accept that.Collection: Jobs
I would not want to be the Europa League in the current format, that's for sure. Thursday night games are difficult to contend with given the level of physicality we deal with in the Premier League. We struggled with it at Newcastle and we were not alone in that among the English clubs. Until that issue is addressed, no Premier League team wants to be in the Europa League. That's the reality, even if some don't want to admit it.Collection: Team