ITV invited him to be a panellist and, as the presenter, I soon realised that he could immediately be relied on to offer solid opinions and informed comments.
I remember him being quite frank about playing for England, which he described as being no pleasure because of the pressures. Mind you he was able to withstand those particular rigours no fewer than 85 times in his long and illustrious career.
Back then he had to be a little constrained in his opinions. He had several years left to play alongside those on whom he was asked to pass comment. It’s a different matter now.
His performances for Sky football shows this season have been outstanding, in particular the Monday night programme when he has an hour before kick-off to give us the benefit of his knowledge and experience of the game. He’s got the hang of this punditry business without doubt and in a relatively short space of time.
This week his analysis of Barcelona’s style of play and particularly how brave they are in sticking to their principle of short passing even when it had just resulted in giving away an early goal, as it did against Real Madrid, was hugely informative, a textbook piece of broadcasting.
He has already got Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas hot under the collar with his criticism of their Brazilian international centre-back David Luiz. His real test will be when he has to say something negative about Manchester United and his old mentor Sir Alex Ferguson, but I have a feeling he won’t duck it. He’s a terrific find for Sky and followers of the game.