I always say it’s easy to get a bad reputation but nearly impossible to get rid of one. I got mine as a kid and was known as a bad boy throughout my career. It followed me everywhere.
So, I know how Ivan Toney must be feeling. Brentford face Liverpool on Sunday and, again, he’s unlikely to play as Thomas Frank thinks it best he’s not involved. Toney wants to leave and people are starting to question his attitude.
The thing is, I deserved it. At the start of my career, I had a chip on my shoulder. I didn’t know how to handle criticism. If a manager had a go at me, I'd go back at him. I'd react in the same way I would have done if someone bad-mouthed me on the street growing up in Islington. I didn’t want to be told what to do.
I caused a lot of problems for myself. I had the wrong people around me and went about things the wrong way. And it cost me.
I was at Arsenal, the best club in the country, and was one of the most talented players in the country but ultimately my attitude ruined it.
Ivan Toney is accused of being arrogant, but strikers need swagger when they cross the line
I played against Paolo Maldini when I was about 21 and thought I'd get the better of him
I was sold after I threw my shirt in anger after being substituted in the Youth Cup final.
It was not until I was in my mid-20s at Cardiff that I knuckled down and tried to be the best I could be every day.
I don’t think it’s the same with Toney. I know people who know him, and everyone says he’s a really nice, honest guy.
People call him arrogant. People called me arrogant. That’s good. You need arrogance to be a top player, especially when you’re a striker. There are so many ups and downs in a footballer’s career, the one thing that must remain is that complete and utter unshakeable belief in yourself.
When you cross the white line, you need to think you’re the best player. No one is better than me and I am going to prove it. That is what Ivan Toney does.
That’s what I did. I played against Paolo Maldini when I was only about 21 at Perugia. He is the best defender of all time and I went on to the pitch thinking I’ll get the better of him.
My son even asked me today if, when I was playing, I thought I was better than Lionel Messi. I said yes! It has to be that way. You’re like a boxer, if you start doubting yourself, you lose that edge.
Top players never put themselves down. They all have that arrogance because they need it. The problem is when that arrogance spills out beyond football.
The problem for Toney, I believe, is that he is perceived to be arrogant in his daily life
Thomas Frank excluded Toney from their first matchday squad as he seeks a new club
It never hurt me when people called me arrogant on the pitch because I was, what upset me was when people thought I was an arrogant person in my daily life when everyone around me knew I wasn’t.
I’ve been around footballers when they argue with a bouncer who doesn’t let them into a nightclub and they scoff and say ‘do you know who I am?’ That’s arrogant. I would never have dreamed of doing something like that.
I feel this is what’s happened with Toney. His arrogance – or, crucially, the perception of it – has spilled into his daily life.
He had his betting ban but Brentford stuck by him. He came back and struggled for goals but as soon as the Euros finished he was saying he wanted a move. He wanted bigger and better things. He talked about Real Madrid. I’m sure that’s really his agent speaking but, ultimately, it sounds like it’s coming from him.
It all plays into that perception and perceptions can be dangerous.
I don’t think Gareth Southgate’s comments at the Euros did him any favours when he said Toney was ‘disgusted’ at being brought on in the 94th minute of England’s game against Slovakia.
It almost sounded like ‘if you’re not going to start me, I don’t want to play’.
I don’t think it was anything like that. He will have been thinking he could do a better job than Harry Kane or Ollie Watkins. That’s great. You should think that way.
Toney played his part for England over the summer and had every right to back himself
However, Gareth Southgate's comments about his attitude could ring alarm bells for managers
Toney played a huge part for England. He made the key play in that game, causing chaos and setting up Jude Bellingham’s equaliser.
But I think managers will have listened to what Southgate said and think maybe he’s not good for my squad if we can’t rely on him to get behind the boys if he’s not playing.
One top English club had a close look at Toney this summer but decided they were unsure whether his personality was the right fit.
Word travels fast in football. It’s a big game in a small world.
For me, I think Toney is being misunderstood. He’s a top player, a top striker who, by all accounts, is a really nice guy. But this perception of his arrogance, for whatever reason, alongside Brentford’s valuation of him is why we’ve not seen him secure a move to a bigger club.
Brentford want up to £65million for him. I can’t see many teams outside the big boys paying that for a 29-year-old with only a year left on his contract even if he is a proven goal scorer.
It’s tough when you think you’re destined for something bigger. I’ve been there. I scored 20 goals for Cardiff in the 2010-11 season and got called up for England. I had conversations with Everton and Newcastle and there was talk in the newspapers about Chelsea being interested in me. I thought I was going to a bigger club and, for whatever reason, it didn’t go that way.
It was hard and it’ll be hard for Toney. Brentford outpriced him, his ban didn’t help, and then his attitude got called into question not helped by Southgate’s comments.
I think Toney is misunderstood. His confidence does not make him conceited off the pitch
So, where does Toney go from here? Where’s his landing spot? That’s the key.
Manchester City don’t need him. Kai Havertz is Mikel Arteta’s love child at Arsenal. He’s not going to go there and play. Newcastle have Alexander Isak. Chelsea could sign a striker but it looks like they are after Victor Osimhen. Liverpool have Diego Jota and Darwin Nunez.
Things can change quickly, of course. What happens if Niclas Fullkrug gets injured at West Ham? What if Isak leaves Newcastle? Suddenly, they need a striker and there’s a landing spot.
If he’s only going to be a squad player, though, this narrative growing around him will make managers ask if he’ll be good for the dressing room. That’s how dangerous perceptions can be. Believe me, I know.