Ledley King - Holding us together or holding us back?

When I think of King Ledley, I see a quiet man with immense talent that has lead by example at Spurs for so many years. After breaking into the first team squad in 2000, King has risen in prominence and is regarded by many as one of the finest centre backs England has ever produced. Martin Jol describes him as the best central defender he has seen in his career. Ledley's arch nemesis Thierry Henry, has even stated Ledley to be the only defender that could regularly tackle him without committing a foul.

A tower of strength and composure for the Spurs back line, it is a thankless task to consider whether or not for the good of the club, King thinks about retirement at the end of the current campaign. In recent times the chronic knee problems that King suffers from have lead to the player not being able to train with his teammates. It is now at the stage whereby King's lack of training has lead to him picking up injuries not related to his knees but related to his muscles not being able to cope with the rigours of top flight football with so little training in them. From a mental perspective, the anguish and pressure that must be caused by playing a high impact sport on such fragile knees must make Ledley regularly question his position at the club. The depression associated with a man that can’t carry out his duties to the best of his abilities and the threat of premature retirement, is enough of a burden to see lesser players give up without a fight.

The knock on effect Ledley's situation has on the team is unquantifiable – constant upheaval of the centre back pairings, the dislodging of form players whenever King is ‘fit’ to play, the lack of training time King spends with the squad and the amount of tactical set piece work he must miss makes you realise that a decision must be reached one way or another on this matter. I cannot deny that if we had to play Arsenal tomorrow I would have Ledley as the first name on the team sheet but is this just a matter of the heart ruling the head? Continuity and a solid defensive platform to build on must surely be priorities for Spurs to concentrate on if they harbour any ambitions to crack the top 4 cartel.

Ledley's recent poor performance against Arsenal can be put down to a one off bad game or more sinisterly, signal Ledley's realisation that last orders have been called at the bar and its time for him to go. To see a great player slowly decay in front of your eyes is certainly not a vision I would wish on any football fan. As Ledley becomes slightly slower, slightly less confident and grows increasingly out of touch with the modern game, it may be time for the search to find a new Ledley to begin. With regards to a successor, it remains to be seen if Bassong is the long-term answer. Like Ledley, Bassong is a great physical specimen, strong, fast and in many ways reminiscent of a young Ledley who makes mistakes but has the physical attributes to make up for them. Whether Bassong holds the same level of mental attributes as Ledley, such as his composure, positional sense and ability to pass out from the back and build attacks remains to be seen.

Is the answer to the King conundrum to retain Ledley for another year and use him as an emergency centre back who Spurs can call upon in there hour of need? Or is it just better to cut off all ties and let the man retire with his dignity still in tact. I can think of no worse fate than watching Ledley continuing to try and play on for us, only to be told by doctors that his career is over. Surely it is better to remember Ledley in his pomp shutting out the likes of Drogba in the Carling Cup Final rather than see him break down at the feet of any old attacker?

One thing is for certain, if Tottenham are to concede defeat in there battle to keep Ledley at the club and begin searching for a replacement, they are going to have to cover the four corners of the globe to find a player of the ability of Ledley King.

Whatever happens, long live the King.


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The start of something glorious....or just another stop gap?

Harry Redknapp’s brief reign has included a relegation dogfight and a top four challenge all in the space of a year. The progress made by Spurs under Harry in this time cannot be questioned but under closer scrutiny it can be argued that Harry has just restored us to where we should be after the Ramos debacle.

The real question is whether Harry is the man to bring us the Champions League football we crave so much. New stadium plans afoot, healthy financial figures just released and sitting pretty in the top four as I type, surely there is nothing to worry about for Spurs fans? On the other hand, less than convincing recent performances against Portsmouth, Stoke and Sunderland combined with being outclassed against Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal leaves a sour after taste.

Granted we have lost the key that unlocks the opposition in Modric and the ever improving Lennon but for a team with ambitions to challenge and conquer the top four, surely we should have more resilience and depth in our ranks? Keane's recent comments about the strength of our bench made me analyse what we really have in reserves - I'm not sure a lost soul Russian, a flash harry becks wannabe, a rarely sober Scot fullback and a Welsh prodigy who can't win a game is exactly the kind of strength in depth I'm looking for. With respect we have the likes of Dawson, Bassong, Kranjcar and the highly rated Naughton to call upon there but when your asked the question of how many of our players would get into the top three teams starting eleven now that Liverpool have joined the rest of us – the answer is not enough.

Are we suffering on the field due to the lack of consistency of our centre back pairings due to the injury proneness of King and Woodgate? Is this something that needs to be addressed by Harry once and for all if we are to make real progress? Are our full backs good enough to not only contribute defensively but also be the catalyst of our attacking moves, constantly overlapping our wingers as the likes of Cole, Evra and Clichy do every week? Who should be the first choice partner to Wilson in the middle of the park? Is it time for Modric to operate more centrally to influence the game even more than he does now? And should not only Pavlvuchenko be allowed to leave but Robbie Keane as well? These are just some of the questions I will try to answer in the up and coming weeks with the help of the ever passionate Tottenham faithful and fans of football in general.

Harry has never managed a club with the size, ambitions and financial clout that Spurs possess and his only silverware to date has been the recent FA cup triumph with Portsmouth. His previous work has seen him take lower ranking clubs and make them punch above there weight, avoiding certain relegation and overseeing the development of some of England’s greatest talents in his West Ham days. Harry is also known well for his wheeling and dealing forays into the transfer market (for every Diarra and Glen Johnson there has been a Nugent or John Utaka it must be said) His dalliances into the transfer market thus far for Spurs though, have been exemplary with the likes of Palacios, Defoe and Crouch all strengthening our starting eleven with only the Keane deal being called into question. His respect within the game is undoubted but his tactical nous has been called into question with his recent stubbornness of trying to fit Crouch, Defoe and Keane together when it is clear for all to see that it does not work. Why persist in putting round pegs in square holes when you have a talented Kranjcar ready and waiting to solve the problem?

Will Tottenham be a job to big for Harry or will he step up to the plate and deliver the goods? Harry has gone on record as stating he believes this will be his last job in football and I know he has something to prove to himself. He wants to be able to leave a legacy and finally achieve something at the top of English football. Harry wants to make sure that he can leave Spurs in a position as one of the Superpowers of English football once again, challenging for honors and playing in the Champions League. One things for sure, whatever happens with Harry, he’ll get the team up for challenge and believing in his leadership as well as giving the fans a good old dose of honesty in his press conferences –it’s just worrying that it might not be enough in the end.

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