Ledley King

Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980 in Bow, London, London) is an England football (soccer) player of Jamaican descent and first choice central defender (football) for Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. Ledley King is the longest serving player at the club and captained Spurs for 4 years. Ledley King is currently contracted to Tottenham until 2010. Known for Ledley King pace, strength, composure on the ball with both feet and ability in timing Ledley King tackles, King is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the country. King has been described as "the best central defender I have seen in my career" by Martin Jol and was named by Thierry Henry as the only defender in the Premiership that could regularly tackle Ledley King without committing fouls. On March, an article in The Times named King as Tottenham's 25th best player of all time

In recent seasons King has been plagued by chronic knee problems, for which there is no cure. King's problems are now so bad that it prevents Ledley King from playing more than one game a week and prevents Ledley King from training with the rest of the squad, instead Ledley King undertakes fitness exercises on Ledley King own. Ledley King manager Harry Redknapp has called King "an absolute freak" for being able to perform at a high level despite not training.

Club career

1997-2001

King joined Tottenham as a trainee in July, 1997, and became a professional the following year. Ledley King debut came in May 1999 at Anfield ending in a 3-2 defeat to Liverpool F.C.. When breaking into the first team under former manager George Graham (footballer) Ledley King was often used as a midfielder, and it was with a fine performance in central midfield during Tottenham's 2-1 win over Liverpool in November 2000 that Ledley King established himself as a regular in the Spurs side. Ledley King first goal for Tottenham Hotspur, scored in December 2000 in a 3-3 draw away to Bradford City A.F.C., was scored in 10 seconds, setting a new and as of yet, unbeaten, Premier League record for the quickest goal.

2001-2006

After Graham was sacked, King was moved back into defence under new manager Glenn Hoddle, and with the departure of Sol Campbell to rivals Arsenal F.C., there was a chance for King to establish himself as the club's top centre-back. Ledley King rose to the challenge brilliantly, kicking off the season with a clean sheet against Aston Villa and an excellent performance man-marking Duncan Ferguson (footballer) as Spurs held on for a point against Everton F.C. at Goodison Park despite playing the final 25 minutes with 9 men. By the end of the season he'd been capped for England and was regarded as one of the best young defenders in the country as Tottenham finished 9th, their highest league finish in 6 years.

A hip injury sustained in the summer meant Ledley King didn't start the campaign until November, but Ledley King continued to impress with some excellent displays at the back. However, King was criticised due to the large amount of goals Tottenham were conceding. The season ended with Tottenham letting in 9 goals in their final two games against Middlesbrough F.C. and Blackburn Rovers. However, people defended King, saying the reason Spurs were conceding so often was because of Glenn Hoddle poor choice of tactics in using a 3-5-2 formation and Tottenham's lack of a proper defensive midfielder that left the defence unprotected.

It was for this reason that when Hoddle was sacked in September 2003, caretaker manager David Pleat moved King into midfield to offer a better defensive presence in the middle of the park. Despite Tottenham battling relegation, one of the few bright spots for the season was King's performances in midfield. In February 2004, having not scored in over 3 years, King scored an excellent goal from the edge of the box in the FA Cup against Manchester City F.C., and followed that up by scoring against Charlton Athletic F.C. a week later, before scoring on Ledley King first start for England the following week. Despite playing out of position for most of the season, Ledley King had done enough to convince Sven-Göran Eriksson to call Ledley King up to England's Euro 2004 squad.

In the summer of 2004, the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. management team and squad was changed dramatically. Jacques Santini was appointed as manager and with defensive midfielders such as Michael Carrick, Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis (footballer) joining the club, King was able to move back into Ledley King preferred centre-back slot. Noureddine Naybet was signed to bring experience to the Tottenham defence and King formed a fine partnership with him. This new partnership, as well as the form of newly signed England goalkeeper Paul Robinson (goalkeeper) meant that compared with 57 and 62 in the previous two seasons, Tottenham conceded just 41 goals in the Premier League, the fewest amount of league goals Tottenham had conceded in a season since the season (albeit some of the seasons played in that time were 42 game seasons instead of 38). King played the full 90 minutes in all 38 of Tottenham's league games and 9 of Tottenham's 10 cup games, the only game Ledley King missed all season was a 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest F.C.. Spurs kept 13 clean sheets in the Premiership, including a fantastic man-of-the-match performance from King as Spurs drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge (stadium) against eventual champions Chelsea F.C., and against Manchester United F.C. at Old Trafford (football ground). King scored 3 goals that season, one in the North London derby against Arsenal F.C., one in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa F.C., and another against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. in the FA Cup. Ledley King was voted Premier League Player of the Month for September 2004, the first defensive based player to win the award in almost 3 years. In January 2005, after the sale of Jamie Redknapp to Southampton F.C., new manager Martin Jol appointed King as club Captain (football).

In the summer of 2005, King captained Tottenham to win the Peace Cup, beating French champions Olympique Lyonnais in the final. Expectations were high for the season and King did not disappoint, forming a new excellent partnership with Michael Dawson (footballer). King's excellent displays at the back meant that Spurs were even stronger in defence than the previous season, conceding only 38 league goals. King was helping at the other end of the pitch too, with goals against Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth F.C., and once again in the derby against Arsenal F.C.. For much of the season, Spurs occupied fourth place but they eventually succumbed to Arsenal, who finished in that position instead.

2006-Present

The season was a hard time for King as Ledley King struggled with injuries. After injuring Ledley King knee in training before the start of the season, King didn't start Ledley King season until mid-September. Then after breaking Ledley King metatarsal again, King didn't feature for Spurs from Boxing Day until the UEFA Cup quarter-final clash with Sevilla FC in mid-April. Spurs played 59 games in all competitions that season, but King featured in less than half of them. Without him, Tottenham's defence struggled and only managed 3 clean sheets against top flight opposition without King in the side. However, when King was fit Ledley King performances were of a consistently high level. King's finest moment of the season came in a Premier League clash with reigning champions Chelsea F.C. at White Hart Lane, when Chelsea's pacy forward Arjen Robben was played through on goal. Despite Robben having several yards head start, King was able to catch up and make what was arguably the best tackle of the season just as Robben was about to shoot. Spurs went on to win the game 2-1, meaning King had captained Tottenham to their first league win over Chelsea since 1990, and the first at White Hart Lane since 1987.

King underwent surgery in the summer, meaning Ledley King would miss the start of the season. However, 4 months after the season had begun, there was still no sign of him. Manager Martin Jol had been sacked and replaced by Juande Ramos. But on Boxing Day 2007, King made a surprise return to the starting lineup against Fulham FC, playing 73 minutes before being replaced by Adel Taarabt. Ledley King appeared sporadically for the rest of the season, but captained Tottenham to a 2-1 victory over Chelsea FC in the 2008 Football League Cup Final, the first major honour of Ledley King career.

On 3 April 2008 it was announced that Ledley King would be rested for the remainder of the season, Spurs having been knocked out of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and unable to qualify for the Champions League through the League. King had featured in just 10 games all season, with just 4 Premiership games under Ledley King belt.

On 12 August 2008, Ledley picked up the trophy for the cleanest team in the Premier league for the season (Tottenham). Ledley King received the award at the 'Get on With the Game' programme which was shown on Sky Sports News.

It became clear at the start of the 2008/2009 season that King's injury problems meant that Ledley King could not play in every game. Ramos picked Ledley King in all 5 of the cup games Ledley King managed the club for that season, but only two of the eight league games. With Spurs rooted to the bottom of the league, having picked up just 2 points from those 8 games, Ramos was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp, who has chosen to prioritise the league and only play King in those games. On 26 October 2008, King made Ledley King 200th league appearance for Tottenham Hotspur as they defeated Bolton Wanderers F.C. 2-0. Ledley King captained the club in the 2009 Football League Cup Final yet again, this time against Manchester United, keeping a clean sheet after 120 minutes of play, but Tottenham lost on penalties.

Harry Redknapp said of King's knee injury:

"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. Ledley King rarely trains, Ledley King mostly just goes to the gym to keep himself ticking over. But not running or anything like that. But even if Ledley King only plays 20 games a season, he's worth having because he's so good we have a much better chance of winning."

Although King still holds the official title of Captain_(association_football) Club_captain, Robbie Keane has worn the captain's armband in games which they have both played in since Ledley King return to the club from Liverpool FC.

International career

King's England national football team debut came in a 1-2 loss to Italy in March 2002. Ledley King was called into the England national football team squad for the friendly against Portugal national football team on 18 February 2004, and netted Ledley King first goal on Ledley King third appearance.

King received Ledley King England national football team summer call-up for 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and competently deputised for the injured John Terry in the opener against France national football team in Portugal. Playing a starring role by man-marking Thierry Henry out of the game and not putting a foot wrong, Ledley King impressed everyone with Ledley King composure. Ledley King also made a substitute appearance in midfield in the final group game against Croatia national football team.

King has continued to make the England squad, where Ledley King fights for a starting place alongside either John Terry or Rio Ferdinand. Ledley King has also been used in a holding midfield role.

After featuring regularly in the qualifiers, King looked a likely participant in the England national football team 2006 FIFA World Cup squad before fracturing a bone in Ledley King foot on 15 April 2006. Although not as bad as a similar injury affecting David Beckham, Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard, King's injury prevented Ledley King from being named in Sven-Göran Eriksson's squad.

Ledley King club manager Martin Jol was optimistic for Ledley King skipper's World Cup hopes. "This injury will take Ledley King three or four weeks so of course Ledley King will be fit," Ledley King claimed. Sven's feeling was that Ledley King was already taking injured players in the case of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Ashley Cole, and with strong cover at the back, it was one risk too many.

King's injury problems have meant that Ledley King most recent England game was a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia national football team on June 6 2007. King played 90 minutes and England won 3-0. Ledley King was featured in Fabio Capello's first squad, Ledley King later had to pull out through injury.

On Sunday 22 March 2009, King was given a shock recall by head coach Fabio Capello to the England national football team team to play Slovakia national football team and Ukraine national football team . However, two days later Ledley King was removed from the squad after being assessed by England's medical staff, who thought it was in Ledley King best interests to continue Ledley King personal training regime at Ledley King club, due to the chronic knee condition that Ledley King has.
Fabio Capello later said, in response to Harry Redknapp's objection to King's call-up, "Without doubt, King is one of the best central defenders in England. If Ledley King was fit, Redknapp would not need to make the journey. King could come with us." Ledley King later promoted King's cause again, saying that "We hope (he has an international future), because he's a very interesting player - one of the best centre-backs. But I don't know the future."

Club Playing Honours

Tottenham Hotspur F.C
- Football League Cup: 2008 Football League Cup Final, runner-up 2002 Football League Cup Final, 2009 Football League Cup Final
- Peace Cup: 2005
- Vodacom Challenge: 2007

Club statistics

Correct up to 26 April 2009

217 on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm outside a London nightclub. Ledley King was subsequently bailed until mid-July while the police investigate the incident. King later issued an apology to Ledley King club, saying:


"I sincerely regret that a night out with friends went too far. I have apologised to Harry and I fully appreciate that, as a professional footballer, I have a duty to behave in a responsible manner," King said in a statement on the club's website. "I am assisting the police with their enquiries. Anyone who knows me, knows that much of what has been suggested is totally out of character. I am keen to resolve this as soon as possible and concentrate on my football."


This prompted Ledley King manager at Tottenham, Harry Redknapp, to promise a ban on alcohol for Tottenham players:


"I'll implement a strong rule next season that drinking is a no-no here. Footballers should not drink. You shouldn't put diesel in a Ferrari. I know it's hard but they are earning big money, they are role models to kids. We wouldn't get these problems if the players weren't drinking. There's still too much of a drinking culture in English football but it's not as bad as it used to be. At Tottenham we do a lot with kids, a lot of them underprivileged. We have to set an example. Too much drinking goes on in this country. Too many people are not happy unless they have had a drink."


Despite Ledley King arrest, Harry Redknapp later stated how King would start Tottenham's next league game.

Accolades