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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