Footballers. If we aren’t reading about their exploits on the pitch, more often than not we can read about their exploits off it. Much is speculation and the rest can’t be mentioned before the watershed, but as I recently read, it’s not always bad.

West Ham United striker Craig Bellamy is more used to finding himself in hot water rather than hot weather, but following a recent trip to Sierra Leone, the Wales international has formed the Craig Bellamy Foundation there.

Bellamy’s 600,000 pound football academy is set to include 14 new leagues, 68 new boys’ teams and employ 141 managers and coaches.

So it’s not all fast cars, big houses and sordid parties after all then? In fact, if the media turned their focus away from the usual suspects, they would see a whole host of top players participating in worthwhile causes.

Portsmouth’s Nwankwo Kanu formed the Kanu Heart Foundation after having surgery on a hole in his heart during his early playing days. His charity arranged treatment for 250 African children with heart problems in 2007 and hopes to help 1,000 more this year.

Reading’s Bobby Convey regularly visits the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Lion Ward to spend time with sick children. He is not contracted or sponsored to do this and did the same thing earlier in his career while playing in the U.S. 

England international Frank Lampard is involved in a range of cancer charities, and has become an enthusiastic backer of Chelsea’s latest initiative with CLIC Sargent, Kick for Children with Cancer.

Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper about footballers ‘bad press’, Lampard said, “…People forget that we are young lads growing up. We all made mistakes. Life’s about learning from them. So many players I have come across are down-to-earth lads who want to help out.”

So should we give footballers a break? Or should more players be putting some of their efforts and mountains of cash into worthwhile causes?

Do you know of any players worthy of a mention? Let us know.

Neil Maidment, London

PHOTO: Wales’s Craig Bellamy in action against San Marino in a Euro 2008 qualifier Oct 17, 2007. REUTERS/Daniele la Monaca

This week saw Portsmouth goalkeeper David James sign a contract extension that could see him playing Premier League football at the age of 40.

The England international is about as physically fit as players come, so much so that he once accepted an invitation to train with NFL side the Miami Dolphins, in order for them to assess his physicality.

If you were to bet on someone to surpass the Premiership’s oldest player record, set by Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge (43 years, 4 months and 26 days), he’d be your man… well, him or Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs who was recently honoured with an OBE for services to football.

Generally these days we expect goalkeepers to have longer careers. Tim Flowers, David Seaman and Nigel Martyn all played for a long time and today the Premiership has no fewer than seven first-choice keepers aged 35 or over. It’s more novel for an outfield player to still be playing at the highest level at such an age.

Last month we saw ex-England, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United striker, Teddy Sheringham announce plans to retire at the ripe old age of 42; he defied the rigours of Premiership football right up until the end of the 2007 season and now plies his trade for Championship side Colchester United.

So what players are there out there of a similar mould to James and Sheringham?

A quick glance down the Premier League roll-call sees the likes of Tugay (37) at Blackburn Rovers, Everton’s Lee Carsley (34), Chelsea’s Claude Makelele (35) and Manchester City’s Dietmar Hamann (34).

Is there some carefully guarded magic formula which allows them to carry on at a time when most other professional players have retired to nurse tired legs? Or is it just hard work, and an unrelenting hunger for the sport? 

Who in today’s game could go on play to such ripe ages?

Chelsea’s John Terry perhaps? The blues captain certainly has the hunger. How about Terry’s team mate, Frank Lampard? He holds the Premiership record for most consecutive games played (164) so he looks to have the stamina. Who do you reckon will be playing on to their late thirties or beyond? Give us your picks in the comments…

PHOTO: David James in training with England at Wembley, ahead of the February friendly against Switzerland. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Apart from the odd die-hard Bayern Munich fan still smarting over Manchester United’s miraculous Champions League win in 1999, most people will be sad to hear of Teddy Sheringham’s decision to retire at the end of this season; sad, but not surprised.

With his 42nd birthday approaching, Sheringham has defied the rigours of professional football for far longer than most and currently plays for Championship club Colchester United, having left Premier League team West Ham United last summer.

The former England striker has played for seven clubs including his boyhood heroes Tottenham Hotspur, with his most successful period coming at Manchester United where he won three Premier League titles, the first coming in 1999, together with an FA Cup and a Champions League medal during a memorable treble-winning season. 

As well as an impressive domestic career, many fans will remember Sheringham for his formidable partnership with Alan Shearer in England’s Euro 96 campaign.

On reflection Layer Road is perhaps not the most fitting venue for a player that has tormented defenders for over two and a half decades, scoring 361 goals in the process, to end his playing days, but such is Sheringham’s passion for the sport that he has continued his career outside of the top flight.

A ‘typical English centre forward’, Sheringham will be remembered for a good technique on the floor and strong presence in the air; the absence of Premiership players of a similar mould sadly suggests that Sheringham is perhaps a dying breed.

Two things occur to me:

Firstly, I wonder what our description of a ‘typical English forward’ will be in another twenty years?

And shouldn’t someone step in to arrange a fitting send-off for such a long-serving player? Anyone have any ideas? How about a match between Manchester United and Tottenham … at the Nou Camp of course.

PHOTO: Sheringham and Bayern Munich’s Samuel Kuffour challenge for the ball during the European Cup final at the Nou Camp, May 26, 1999. REUTERS BOOKS The Art of Sport REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro 

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard just made life worse for manager Rafa Benitez. The club captain and England midfielder recently aired his frustrations at the team’s inability to challenge for the Premier League and in doing so may just have burst Benitez’s bubble.  

Up until now the Liverpool manager might not think it, but he has been a lucky man. It’s true the Spaniard lives with endless media debates over his future, his team are 17 points behind league leaders Arsenal and his club faces uncertainty over its ownership but he has been able to count on unwavering support of the fans.

This may seem a simple statement, but in football it is quite the novelty. Clubs with far lesser ambitions consistently lack patience, often crumbling to supporter pressure. Anybody remember Paul Sturrock? You would be forgiven for having missed his 13-game stint as manager of Southampton back in 2004. More recently Lawrie Sanchez arrived at Fulham in April 2007 only to be sacked in December the same year. Sam Allardyce was shown the door after eight months in charge of Newcastle United.

So why has the former Valencia man enjoyed such a state of grace? Benitez joined the Reds in 2004 and yet almost four years on his expensively assembled squad are no closer to making an impact on the competition the club and fans wants most: the Premier League.

The simple answer is the night in 2005 when Liverpool became European champions for the fifth time but Gerrard expects more and the captain’s comments may test the fans’ resolve for sticking by Benitez.

Benitez is clever man — just look at the political skill of his comments saying he shared Gerrard’s frustration – but the trophy cabinet gathers dust nonetheless.

What do you think? Could Gerrard’s comments signal the end for Benitez? Or do you expect him to back at Anfield preparing for another shot at the title next season? Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Gerrard stretches during training at Anfield. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

A blog I read recently attributed much of the success enjoyed by Manchester City this season to their big defender Richard Dunne.

The Ireland international’s performance in this month’s 2-1 derby victory at Manchester Utd was the latest in a string of top displays this season and City manager Sven Goran Eriksson was quick to praise him. 

Such tributes will not surprise most City fans; the former Everton player has won the club’s player of the year award for the past three years, despite the emergence of England defender Micah Richards. However, most other fans know little about his excellent form.

In fact he is best known for a difficult start to his career when he had problems with his weight, was suspended for turning up to training slightly worse for wear and sometimes made basic defensive errors.

His transformation into a slimmer self, along with consistent form and a role in nurturing youngsters such as Richards just isn’t big news in comparison, apparently.

So which other good Premier League players slip under the media radar? For me, Bolton’s industrious captain Kevin Nolan is worth a mention, as is Everton’s battling midfielder Lee Carsley. These aren’t players that necessarily add to the Premier League’s glamour. It’s much simpler than that; they just keep their heads down and play well week-in, week-out.     

Who else would you suggest is under-rated?

Neil Maidment, London

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Roy Keane is challenged by Manchester City’s Richard Dunne during their Premier League match at Old Trafford, November 7 2004. REUTERS/Simon Bellis

For Kevin Keegan, four games back in charge of English Premier League side Newcastle United probably feels like four months. Better known for his ‘you score four, we’ll score five’ approach, one goal in four league and cup matches means King Kev will certainly be feeling the chill; and I don’t mean the northeast weather.

With the closing of the January transfer window, so too came the end of Keegan’s honeymoon period. He brought in nobody of note and now faces the bewildering task of rejuvenating a side full of names, but perhaps not of character.

The ‘Geordie Messiah’ will undoubtedly look towards the likes of Nicky Butt, Joey Barton and Alan Smith to bring some much needed resilience to a side prone to errors this season, but these guys have already endured a disappointing time at St James’ Park, so will they be up for the challenge?

The glitz which surrounded Keegan’s reappointment no longer litters the press, although the affectionate banners still remain among the Newcastle faithful who, like Keegan, probably can’t wait for the season to end and the rebuilding to start.

One Geordie dream has already evaporated. The partnership of Keegan and Alan Shearer was over before it began when Shearer decided to turn down a coaching role.

While I don’t expect Keegan to be leaving any time soon, he showed at Newcastle in his first spell, as well with England and Manchester City, that when it’s too hot in the kitchen he gets out.

Will the romance of Keegan’s return be enough for him to stay longer this time? 

Neil Maidment, London  

PHOTO: Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan reacts during their defeat to Arsenal, Jan.29 REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

The latest transfer window was a record-breaker for the Premier League: not only did it obliterate the previous season’s spending but the reported £150 million outlay on new signings was more than the rest of Europe’s top leagues combined.

It’s a huge sum of money, so big that after seeing it written down I went back and rechecked the list of transfers to see where all the cash went. Just where are all the big names?

Admittedly you’ve got Nicolas Anelka, Jonathan Woodgate, Jermaine Defoe and, at a push, Alan Hutton, but those players between them cost around £42 million. Then there’s a player like Afonso Alves, signed by Middlesbrough for a club record fee of around £12 million. He’s a gamble, certainly, but with such a spectacular goalscoring record it was surely only a matter of time before someone came in for him.

What about the rest of the money?

You could look at this year’s spending spree as further evidence of Premier League superiority, but I suspect many of the new recruits may well have gone for a lot less had they been signed by clubs in Germany or France.

That’s a shame because high transfer fees for players who still have plenty to prove don’t do anything to help them settle.

Jean-Alain Boumsong, Stephane Guivarc’h, Ousmane Dabo, Tiago, Mario Stanic, Savo Milosevic, Bosko Balaban, Massimo Taibi — remember them?

Neil Maidment works on the Reuters sports desk in London