Ledley King

Ledley King
Ledley King in the Spurs jersey
Personnel
Surname	Ledley Brenton King
birthday	October 12, 1980
place of birth	Bow , London ,  England
size	188 cm
position	Central defender , def. midfield
Juniors
Years	station
	Senrab FC
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1998-2012	Tottenham Hotspur	267 (10)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1999-2002	England U-21	12 0(1)
2007	England B	1 0(0)
2002-2010	England	21 0(2)
1 Only league games are given.

Ledley Brenton King (born October 12, 1980 in Bow , London ) is a former English football player . As a central defender , he is considered one of the most talented English defenders due to his speed and robustness. He has played well over 250 competitive games for Tottenham Hotspur , but severe knee problems meant that he was often only able to play at full load once a week and had to do a private training program in preparation.

Athletic career

The first years between defense and midfield (1998-2004)

In July 1998, at the age of 17, King became a “trainee” at the north London club Tottenham Hotspur . On May 1, 1999, he made his debut in the "first team" in the 3-2 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool FC . At the beginning of his career, King worked under the then coach George Graham mostly in the central midfield and with a good performance in this position in the 2-1 win against (again) Liverpool on November 19, 2000, he earned a regular place in the " Spurs ”. Less than three weeks later he scored his first goal against Bradford City (3: 3) and at the same time improved the record for the fastest Premier League goal to 10.2 seconds.

After Graham's dismissal he ordered his successor Glenn Hoddle on the central defensive, where King had to replace Sol Campbell , who had migrated to city rivals Arsenal FC . In the first two games of the 2001/02 season, he showed in the new environment against Aston Villa (0-0) and Everton FC (1-1) good performances and received good reviews especially against the "Toffees" from Everton. Although his team only played with nine men for 25 minutes after being sent off twice, King convinced in the "defensive battle" and neutralized the opposing center forward Duncan Ferguson . At the end of the season, the "Spurs" achieved the best position in six years with rank 9 and King was considered a key player and one of the most promising young English defenders. After a hip injury in the summer of 2002, King returned in November of that year and initially preserved the quality previously shown. Nevertheless, the overall defensive performance decreased significantly towards the end of the season and King was also the subject of intermittent criticism due to the nine goals conceded in the last two league games, which then directed more to the "tactical deficits" of Glenn Hoddle, who scored a 3-5 2 system - that is, with only three real defense games. Hoddle received his release papers in September 2003 and interim coach David Pleat placed King back in the defensive midfield. In February 2004, after three years in the FA Cup against Manchester City, he scored another goal and was followed by a goal against Charlton Athletic (4-2) a week later . At the end of the 2003/04 season he was nominated by the English national coach Sven-Göran Eriksson for the upcoming Euro 2004 in Portugal , although King had mostly not played in the traditional center-back position.

The chief of defense (2004-06)

In the summer of 2004, after the new signing of coach Jacques Santini, the squad changed in large parts and with the new additions of Michael Carrick , Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis in defensive midfield, King went back to his favorite position in central defense. There he formed an effective duo with Moroccan Noureddine Naybet and before goalkeeper Paul Robinson , who had recently been promoted to the national team, the 41 Premier League goals conceded in the 2004/05 season compared to the 57 and 62 goals conceded in previous years meant a significant one Increase. In addition, King had been promoted to team captain by new coach Martin Jol in January 2005 after the sale of Jamie Redknapp to Southampton FC .

At the side of his new partner in the central defense Michael Dawson, King built on the good defensive performances in the 2005/06 season and with 38 goals conceded in the league, the team improved the previous year's balance by three hits. Intermediate hopes for a Champions League qualification were not fulfilled, however, as his team only scored four points in the last four games without him and slipped to fifth place on the last matchday. King suffered a metatarsal fracture in April 2006, which also prevented a possible participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany .

Injury Problems (since 2006)

In an injury-ridden 2006/07 season, King only played his first matches in mid-September 2006 after injuring his knee in training at the beginning. The metatarsal fracture broke out again on “ Boxing Day ” and it was not until April 12, 2007 that he was back in the game for the UEFA Cup quarter -final against Sevilla FC . In the summer of 2007, King underwent an operation and stayed out for almost the rest of the year before he made a surprising comeback against Fulham in the starting lineup on December 26, 2007 under new coach Juande Ramos . He continued to play irregular games for his club until the end of the 2007/08 season and was team captain in the 2-1 final win against Chelsea in the League Cup . A short time later, the club announced that King would be spared for the rest of the season - the club had low ambitions after being eliminated from the UEFA Cup and placing in the Premier League.

That King's knee problems were of a serious nature became apparent by the 2008/09 season at the latest. Coach Ramos set the priorities for King in the cup games, while his successor Harry Redknapp used him almost exclusively in the Premier League after the fall at the bottom of the table. The only exception was the league cup final against Manchester United on March 1, 2009, which was lost on penalties. Official statements confirm that the knee injury concerns were permanent, with Guardian trainer Harry Redknapp quoting in December 2008 as saying: “There is no cure. There is no cartilage, nothing to operate on. It's just bone to bone. So it's just a matter of management. It swells up after playing and it usually takes seven days for relief (...). He rarely trains (...). ”King was officially still the team captain of the“ Spurs ”, but Robbie Keane took over this role several times after his return from Liverpool in January 2009 when both were on the field.

He officially retired on July 19, 2012 as a result of his chronic knee problems.

English national team

As a substitute King came on March 27, 2002 to his international debut for England against Italy ; it ended in a 2-1 defeat. Almost two years later he made his first appearance in the friendly against Portugal and scored his first goal for the "Three Lions" in a 1-1 draw. Supported by his good club performance, he was part of the squad for the Euro 2004 in Portugal , represented the injured John Terry in the opening game against France and neutralized Thierry Henry despite the 1: 2 defeat. He played his second European championship game against Croatia and was appointed to midfield after being substituted on.

Even after the tournament, King remained in the squad, fought for a central defensive position at the side of John Terry or Rio Ferdinand and also played a sporadic midfield role. Participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany seemed assured, but King's metatarsal fracture in April 2006 thwarted these plans, especially since coach Sven-Göran Eriksson , Wayne Rooney , Michael Owen and Ashley Cole had further injuries and classified the overall risk as too high. After the World Cup, King only played three games due to his knee problems, most recently a European Championship qualifier against Estonia , which ended with a 3-0 win on June 6, 2007.

The new coach Fabio Capello called him back to the English national team in March 2009, but after a medical examination the association sent him back due to chronic knee problems - also in the interests of the club.

successes

• English League Cup : 2008

literature

• Goodwin, Bob: Tottenham Hotspur - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, 2007, ISBN 978-1-85983-567-8 , pp. 169-170 .
• Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who . Mainstream Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0 , pp. 235-236 .

Web links

• Profile at Tottenham Hotspur
• Ledley King in the soccerbase.com database
• Mission dates in the English national team

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Bone tired of talking about the joint" (The Guardian)
2. ↑ "Bradford deny Spurs happy awayday" (BBC Sport)
3. ↑ "King to miss rest of Spurs season" (BBC Sport)
4. ↑ "Spurs hope King can swing balance against United" (The Guardian)
5. ^ "Walcott & Lennon in England squad" (BBC Sport)
6. ^ "Injured duo miss England training" (BBC Sport)