A King For A(ny) Day

21.08.2009

I’m a yid and have been for 40 years.  I love us, through thick and thin, and with the exception of a few players who disappoint me, I’m a supporter of those the gaffer has bought, whether they play, sit on the bench or remain in the backroom waiting for their chance.

I’m also a massive fan of Ledley.

BUT, and this is the but, I wonder if we are at the point of no return for our charismatic defender who has continual problems with injuries?

Ledley joined us in July 1997 as a trainee and slowly moved into the senior squad over the next few years in a number of positions before claiming his rightful place in the centre of defence.  He played under numerous managers and gave his all, and rose to the challenge when Sol Scumball departed and replaced him with a true white and blue passion that we had come to expect, and demand, from our committed players.

In pre-season for the 2006 campaign, King injured his knee. He subsequently broke his metatarsal, but it was the knee injury that was to be the millstone around his neck.  In the 06/07 season, we managed only three clean sheets against the top opposition in matches where King did not feature.

The next summer, Ledley had surgery, and we hoped the problem would be resolved. But four months into the season, there was still no sign of him.  I remember thinking at the time that this is good news – he’s going to be excellent when he comes back, we’re not rushing his recuperation and he has every chance of being back to 100% with the extended lay-off.

He came back Boxing Day – a nice Xmas present, I again recall fondly.    And he played well.  Ledley is back.  Wicked.

He played a few more games, then took us to the winner’s podium in the Carling Cup Final.  Then, in April 2008, he was rested again for the remainder of the season.  He had played just ten matches, only four of these in the Premiership.  We all waited to see what the future would bring.

Harry was asked about Ledley.  This is what he said…

“There’s no cure. There’s no cartilage, nothing to operate on. It’s just bone on bone. So it’s just a question of managing it. It swells up after games and it normally takes seven days to recover but having played on Monday night he’s had less time than usual. He rarely trains, he mostly just goes to the gym to keep himself ticking over. But not running or anything like that. But even if he only plays 20 games a season, he

‘s worth having because he’s so good we have a much better chance of winning.”

And this is my point.  Where do we draw the line on Ledley ?  His contract lasts until 2010 and I love him for the loyalty he has shown us, his tremendous talent, his ability as a captain to draw the best out of people.  But he played (well) in the Liverpool match and his knee flared up, to the extent he could not have played against Hull.  West Ham this coming weekend, and as I write, he is unlikely to feature.

Thus I have to question, given we’ve had a poor defensive record in the past although I feel far more comfortable with our current crop, is where does Ledley fit into the squad and does he even fit in?  I’m a believer in maintaining consistency in the team, particularly in the defensive area.  We need to have a good relationship, and while I was not always sure of Dawson and Woody together, King and Woody did well, as did King and Dawson – Ledley seeming to bring the best out of the Dawson.  Benny seems strong in left back, we have Corluka and Hutton at right back and we know the boy Huddlestone can drop back and play in defence if required.

But for me, the central defensive partnership is vital, and if Ledley can only play half, or less Premiership games of the season, why are we willing to mix and match all the time?  Am I being unfair, and believing we should use him because of his talent and because, according to Harry, we have a better chance of winning?  Then again, his match fitness is never going to be great, he cannot train and he surely can only get worse, as he can never get better.

Ledley seems to be epitome of your favourite pooch.  He gets older but there comes a time when the love for the animal being alive has to be replaced by the love for the animal not being in pain.  And I’m not suggesting we put Ledley down !  But are we at the stage where Ledley needs to be put out of his misery since he must be as frustrated as anyone at his situation.

I’m thus inclined to think that we should look at and thank Ledley for his services to date, honour him for them, but look at building a new defensive partnership that does not involve him on the pitch.  We have to build from the back and that should be, where possible, the same players week in and week out, to develop that understanding.   Bassong has settled in already.  Huddlestone likes his midfield role and should be allowed to develop there is he is to become the next Hoddle, or Waddle, for us.

We have the makings of a good team.  A great team needs to have consistency to become great and make this step and I’m not sure if Ledley can be part of that in his current, worsening situation?

Andy Philpott.

Many thanks,  a well deserved tribute to the King of WHL.  A Rolls Royce of a player. It’s only the great ones that make it look so easy.

I have the vaguest of memories of standing behind the goal in the Park Lane on a midweek night when he first came on. I’m sure he played up front and hit the bar and I’m pretty sure the announcer called him “Beverly” King – that’s certainly what a few of us heard as we looked at each other wondering who the hell called this strapping lad Beverly!

I remember hearing whispers in Oct 08 that he was finished, the knee was crumbling, etc., but he continues to defy science and logic by consistently turning in performances of the highest quality with such apparent ease.

Injuries aside, I believe he is the best English CB,  the best in the league and probably Europe. It didn’t take Fabio Capello, a man who knows a decent defender, long to work it out. I reckon Fabio would play him every time if he thought the knee could be managed.

As you say Dawson looked half the player without Leds at his side. I think his absence contributed to Robinson’s loss of form/confidence as well.

Without injury, I think he and Ferdinand (forget the lumbering Micky Droy they call JT) would have made England pretty much watertight these past 10 years. It was criminal how he was treated after his fantastic performance when he stepped in against France (in the Euros?) then dropped for the next game – but at least making his decision to return home for the birth of his child a straightforward one.

You make a valid point about drawing a line and allowing another defensive partnership to develop. I guess what I’m saying, in a round about way, is that if he only plays 10-20 games a season, he’s worth it.

I’d probably even accept him just playing against the likes of the Woolwich Wanders, Chavski and the red lot up north. And when he really can’t do it anymore, we need to keep him in the club so he can help develop the likes of Dawson and Bassong (and Dervite?).

Personally, I’d like to hear a chorus of the Hoddle song dedicated to Ledders each and every game. Its about time we stopped name checking the Judas and gave Leds a fitting song. He’ll probably end up walking with a stick and or a limp for the rest of his life once he finishes playing and he’s prepared to do that for the Spurs – a true legend.

Ledley, Ledley,
Ledley’s the King of WHL.

And you have got to love it when he goes on a bender as well- clearly can’t handle a drink !

Thanks.

Alex.

KING OF THE CASTLE

Ledley King’s position in the team has changed almost as often as Tottenham have changed managers over the last few years.  So what is the future for our young defender-cum-midfielder ??  Jacques Hattie looks at how Ledders might be best employed as Spurs try to press onward and upward.

When Ledley King entered the team at right back, he looked as though he was a natural defender.  Deceptive in terms of his pace, but certainly one who was quick enough to get back to recover any position that was lost.  His performance against Liverpool in that first outing at Anfield in 1998 was an impressive one that had the fans raving about a find that could, in time, erase the memory of a player who was to decamp to our local rivals.  His initial appearances were in that right back slot, but moving him into the centre of defence, Ledley could use his height and his reading of the game to their best effect.

Ledley always looks casual on the ball, as good players do to make it look so easy and this has not ceaselessly worked in his favour.  The error in not clearing the ball in the Worthington Cup Final against Blackburn Rovers that lead to their winning goal was one example of the languid player falling to a mistake that proved very costly.  He took a lot of flak for that, but most Spurs supporters realised that he is still learning his trade.  Perhaps more was expected of him because of an early call-up to the England squad and an appearance against Italy at Elland Road.  This promotion was at the behest of Sven Goran Eriksson and a further cap was awarded after that.  However, the appearances at international level were due to others being out injured and while Ledley didn’t let himself down in the white shirt of England, the recall of old favourites and new youngsters coming through have left Ledley out in the cold a bit.

Indeed, it was a bout of flu that prevented him earning his first cap earlier and illness and injury have hampered him over the last couple of years.  Injuries restricted him to only three appearances in all of the 1999/2000 season, but he was picked to go to Slovakia, where he picked up a broken foot in the last game of competition playing for the England Under-21s in the European Championships and this left him out of action for a long period.  A series of pre-season knocks and set-backs ruled him out of the starts of 2002-03 (for three months) and 2003-04 seasons (two months), which meant he has been brought back into the side after he had done a lot of catching up to get match fit.

His commanding and assured performances are sure to endear him to Tottenham’s crowd, but will it be at the back or in midfield ?  At the moment with cash and options limited, Ledley’s short-term future is in midfield, I would have thought.  He has shown that he has the ability to excel in the hurly-burly in the middle of the pitch and also he can manufacture a yard or two of space by neat footwork to make the ball work for him, picking out a pass to a team-mate.  He has earned the respect of the others in the team and has become a player who they know they can rely on.  King has been able to get forward to score and although he has only three goals in his career so far, one of them at Bradford City, which was his first for the club, still holds the record of the fastest in Premiership history.  He has the presence at set-pieces and the power of shot to let fly when he gets within shooting distance, so that while not a natural goal-scorer, he has the technical ability and instinct.

In midfield, Ledley has shown that his skilful footwork can make him a player to watch.  We have seen his delicate lobbing of the ball over opponents heads and the accuracy of his passes that open up space for his colleagues and it is this talent that sets him apart from some of the other midfielders we have.  The only thing that he lacks is the facility to crunch into tackles to frighten the other side’s midfielders into thinking twice about going in to a 50-50 tackle with the Spurs man.  If he adds this to his armoury of skills, he will be up there in the same league as Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.  But then like all areas of the team, it is about getting the blend right and there can be no doubt that Ledley will be a part of that blend.  Alongside the industrious and ball-dribbling addition of Rohan Ricketts, they can contrast and complement each other to provide a useful partnership.  With Simon Davies in the mix too and another from a number of squad midfielders (not Toda, obviously), the battleground of the pitch could look slanted in our favour.

Long term, he may well revert to his defensive berth.  Dean Richards is not going to go on forever.  With David Pleat hinting that when older players contracts are at an end, they will be allowed to go and younger more athletic Spurs will be drafted in.  Richards lacks pace and his pairing with Anthony Gardner is fine at the moment, with the younger partner providing the legs to the older man’s experience.  However, when Richards finally leaves the scene, it is the logical move to put Ledley back in central defence alongside Gardner and they complement each other very well.  The move back will depend on the ability of the club to recruit a tough tackling, ball-winning midfielder to take Ledders’ place in that part of the team.

King had looked ill-at-ease in the 3-5-2 formation that Glenn Hoddle favoured and although he was nominally one of the back three, he was more or less used as a right or left back, a position where he can get isolated one-on-one and with a winger running directly at him, he hasn’t got the security of someone alongside him.  Therefore, if the 4-4-2 system is employed, Ledley should cope with most things that are thrown at him with Gardner at his side.  They also have the benefit of both being young and knowing that they could partner each other at Spurs (and hopefully for England) for a long time to come.

Ledley is now an established Spurs player and can only go on to make a big career for himself, but you might ask in which position and at which club ??  If Tottenham can get European football, then the question of at which club might become of less significance, but as for where within that team, that might rely on the amount of money and the persuasive skills of the new manager come the summer of 2004.

20.07.2012

THE KING ABDICATES

With the news coming out of White Hart Lane that Spurs skipper Ledley King had retired from playing, it was perhaps not a complete surprise, but it was an announcement that marks the end of an era.

Like Gary Mabbutt before him, Ledley had been a loyal servant to Spurs and while Mabbutt was bought in from Bristol Rovers, King came up through the ranks, knowing Tottenham Hotspur as his only club.

Both players were versatile in where they could play, gave 100% for the cause and could easily have moved on, but chose to ply their trade with Spurs, both lifting trophies during their time with the armband at the club.  But even though he perhaps knew that he might not win as much with Tottenham as he would if he moved elsewhere, Ledley stayed loyal to Spurs and for that reason, he will remain much more highly regarded than other more mercenary and more trophy hungry players how have left the club in the past.

Coming into the first team as a teenager, Ledley looked like he would be at home in the top flight and no loan spells for him to bed him in.  Calm, assured, able to play out from the back and time a tackle to perfection, King lived up to his name, as he quickly established a reputation for his solid performances.

So, when the time was right, it was no surprise that he became Spurs captain.  Not a histrionic shouter and screamer, but a true captain who lead by example.  A player that others looked up to and wanted to emulate.

Throughout his career, he has been a fantastic reader of the game and that perhaps helped him in the later stages, when his knees would not allow him to move as freely as he had done back in the day.  It was before his chronic knee problems, when he looked world class and it would not have been inconceivable that he would have become an England regular if not for a series of injuries that prevented him having a run in either the Spurs team or the England side.

How many times did the long leg extend to rob a player of a shooting opportunity ?  How often would he be positioned in exactly the right place to block a shot or intercept a pass in a dangerous looking situation ?  How often did he head the ball away when faced with taller and more physical opponents ?

But that was not all his game, because he had been brought up to start attacks from the back and he often dribbled the ball out of the back and liked to join in with the attack.  And let us not forget that he holds the record for the quickest goal score din the Premier League at Bradford City in 2000 in just 10 seconds.

So, with Ledley replacing the Unmentionable One in defence, meaning we did not miss him, will we miss Ledley ?

Undoubtedly.  But he has made the right decision, as his future mobility has to be considered as well as his reputation.  Some games this season saw the pain etched on his face before he even kicked a ball.

The fact that he will be staying with the club as an ambassador is a good move for the club and for him, but I hope that Ledders might be able to be merged into the coaching side of things, as a defensive coach, alongside Pat Jennings, Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood.  He would have so much to pass onto the future generations of Spurs defenders and with his natural successor looking to be Steven Caulker, it is eerie that he already has a look of Ledley about him.  The crouched stance in front of an opponent, allowing him the benefit of being able to move either way.  His calm use of the ball when in possession.  His old head on young shoulders.  And an appreciation of what is going on around him.

The King is gone.  Long live the King.

We understand his decision and appreciate the pleasure he has given us – not in the normal way for football fans, with goals normally being the currency that values a player’s worth, but of some outstanding tackles, some brilliant bits of interception and some excellent overall performances.  But most of all for being there in a Spurs shirt as a constant through the 90s and 00s, despite his injury problems that robbed us of even more of Ledley’s talents.

A true legend, who will be all the more respected for sticking with the club, thus elevating him head and shoulders above others who departed and that was how he was in most games … head and shoulders above the opposition.

Marco van Hip

28.06.2026

A LEADER OF MEN … A KING AMONGST MEN

It seems odd to think that it is now more than 10 years ago that Ledley King called time on his playing days.  It seems like only yesterday that he was perfectly timing tackles and shackling the top forwards of the day with his measured defending.  No desperate lunges, no ‘tactical’ fouls, no snide shirt-pulling.  Just perfect, old school defensive master classes that rarely brought a booking.  Ledders was a defender who unusually gained the respect of opposition forwards through the way he matched them, regularly coming out on top.

Having risen through the Spurs youth system, being taught the ‘Tottenham Way’, his progression through the ranks impressed the coaching staff at the club as his poise in breaking up attacks, reading the game and his use of the ball, often bringing it out of defence, showed great maturity.  His debut, thrown in the deep end at Anfield amongst an injury crisis (so, what’s new ?), earned good reviews despite the 2-3 defeat playing in place of the red-carded Mauricio Taricco in the left-back slot.  But he was utilised in midfield too, a move that he slipped into seemingly effortlessly as his ability in possession allowed him to progress the ball between defence to attack and he even found time to score that fastest Premier League goal at the time in 2000 against Bradford City.

On the ball, he moved with a graceful ease, but there was a pain behind that.  It is hard to imagine (unless you suffer the same issue) the pain and discomfort of his knees lacking cartilage causing the bone-on-bone friction that led to swelling after every game he played.  But outwardly to the Spurs supporting fans he never complained, just quietly getting on with his job.  One that led the team in much the same way.  An understated determination that led by example.  A calm presence that brought a confidence to those around him.

While suffering with the agonising knee condition, the club captain also sustained other injuries (a broken foot playing in a summer U21 tournament for England) that prevented him getting the much needed pre-season training in for quite a few years.  His training regime had to be tailored to his issue and for much of the time, he would not train with the rest of the squad, but undertake his won preparations for matches – a light training session and then play the game.  It is amazing that he could perform at such a high level with such a limited training.  A testament to his natural ability and perhaps not that he was an “absolute freak”, as manager Harry Redknapp was wont to claim.

So, when the day arrived that he announced his retirement from playing, it was a relative shock, but one that we knew would happen one day and unfortunately for Ledley, sooner rather than later.  Players leaving the game are often remembered for wonderful saves if they are goalkeepers or wonderful goals if they are forwards, but the outstanding memory of Ledley’s Spurs career for many people would be the tackle on Arjen Robben.  Having had little success over Chelsea since the Premier League started, the Bonfire Night game at White Hart Lane looked set to explode, with the Chelsea winger set free through the defence and King being fifteen yards behind him.  Known for his pace, it looked odds on that Spurs would go behind in the fixture as Robben was in on goal, but Ledley showed great speed to not only get to him, but cleanly win the ball in the box, conceding a corner.  The Spurs supporting areas stood up to acknowledge the determination and skill in the tackle … not something you often see.  As it was Chelsea scored from the corner, but Spurs battled back to win 2-1, much of which was owed to THAT tackle.  The photo doesn’t tell the whole story, but the video does.

As the seasons rolled on, Ledley had to be managed ever more carefully, with Michael Dawson adopting his mantle.  His England career had come to an end in the 2010 World Cup when he played the first half against USA, but didn’t appear after the break having picked up a groin strain.  His injuries prevented him accumulating more than 21 caps for his country, while other less classy defenders went on to collect many more, but his legacy to his local area back in Tower Hamlets was ensured when a sculpture of him was erected in Mile End Park.

Brought onto the coaching staff by Jose Mourinho, as Ledley was going to be used for his knowledge of the game and his authority as a respected figure at the club to assist out on the training pitch, but like most things Mourinho, that move only lasted a few days.  His more familiar role as a Club ambassador means that his instantly recognisable face is welcomed at Supporters Clubs all over the world and he conducts himself in that role as he did on the pitch, representing the club as a role model for others (save for one boozy night out in Ilford).

Having only ever met Ledley briefly at a book signing, I must say that he seems to be a thoroughly decent person, which, you probably can’t say for some footballers.  He deserves the adulation he receives wherever he goes and he is richly deserving of his place in the clubs history.  A leader who did things the right way and a person who puts so much into the club and the community that he is right up there in among the Tottenham Hotspur legends.

Wyart Lane