ChRiStOpHe
It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake
- Dec 14, 2004
- 12,813
- 331
Crazy thought, eh?
He's, to my mind, our best defender - even better than Woodgate. He should arguably have been starting for England for the last 4 years, and I'd had my way, he would have. He's our loyal captain. And now I suggest we dump him? Bare with me.
Ledley, along with Berbatov, are my favourite players. If Ledley King was to retire tomorrow, he'd go down as a Tottenham legend. A true great. But is he really what we need right now?
Ledley has a problem, and that problem is stopping him from playing much. He cannot seem to string more than a game or two together, and no more than one a week. Sure, when he can play, a quite brilliant partnership of Woodgate and King are is made possible, but when it's not, we're forced to select a less than fantastic partner for Woody. This is a problem on a number of levels. For starters, the best partnerships are the ones that are allowed to grow. You only have to look a little further up the pitch to see proof of this in Robbie Keane and Dimi Berbatov. Keeping Ledley is stopping our defence from doing this, as it's ever changing to accommodate Ledley when he's fit. When Ledley's not fit, we're forced to play alternatives such as Dawson (who isn't good enough, in my opinion) and Kaboul (who isn't ready, in my opinion). We need to be able to go out and get a centre back who will be able to partner Woodgate week in, week out. It's the only way our defence will ever improve. I'm not Dawson's biggest fan, but our best defensive record in living memory for me was when our defence consisted, almost weekly, of Dawson and King (and Salty and Lee either side for that matter). If we're to attract a genuine, World class defender, he isn't going to be sold on the line, 'you'll play whenever King isn't fit, but he'll always be chosen over you when he's ready'. Another reason is the matter of captaincy. He's the club captain, but there are times when we need a leader on the pitch, and I'm not sure it's ideal that we're normally being lead by our 2nd or even 3rd in command on the pitch. A forth and final reason is the wages. Ledley is one of the top earners at Spurs. He takes what is reported as between £48k and £60k a week home. I love Ledley as much as everyone else, but surely you have to look beyond sentiment and realise that it just doesn't make sense paying someone who'll play only sparingly that kind of money. It could be spent on a replacement - one who'll play every week.
I'm not sure how this will go down, as it's quite controversial, and I'm expecting a few people (Flatters) who'll disagree completely, which I'm open to. I'm just putting forward the suggestion that maybe it'd be best if we went our separate ways.
He's, to my mind, our best defender - even better than Woodgate. He should arguably have been starting for England for the last 4 years, and I'd had my way, he would have. He's our loyal captain. And now I suggest we dump him? Bare with me.
Ledley, along with Berbatov, are my favourite players. If Ledley King was to retire tomorrow, he'd go down as a Tottenham legend. A true great. But is he really what we need right now?
Ledley has a problem, and that problem is stopping him from playing much. He cannot seem to string more than a game or two together, and no more than one a week. Sure, when he can play, a quite brilliant partnership of Woodgate and King are is made possible, but when it's not, we're forced to select a less than fantastic partner for Woody. This is a problem on a number of levels. For starters, the best partnerships are the ones that are allowed to grow. You only have to look a little further up the pitch to see proof of this in Robbie Keane and Dimi Berbatov. Keeping Ledley is stopping our defence from doing this, as it's ever changing to accommodate Ledley when he's fit. When Ledley's not fit, we're forced to play alternatives such as Dawson (who isn't good enough, in my opinion) and Kaboul (who isn't ready, in my opinion). We need to be able to go out and get a centre back who will be able to partner Woodgate week in, week out. It's the only way our defence will ever improve. I'm not Dawson's biggest fan, but our best defensive record in living memory for me was when our defence consisted, almost weekly, of Dawson and King (and Salty and Lee either side for that matter). If we're to attract a genuine, World class defender, he isn't going to be sold on the line, 'you'll play whenever King isn't fit, but he'll always be chosen over you when he's ready'. Another reason is the matter of captaincy. He's the club captain, but there are times when we need a leader on the pitch, and I'm not sure it's ideal that we're normally being lead by our 2nd or even 3rd in command on the pitch. A forth and final reason is the wages. Ledley is one of the top earners at Spurs. He takes what is reported as between £48k and £60k a week home. I love Ledley as much as everyone else, but surely you have to look beyond sentiment and realise that it just doesn't make sense paying someone who'll play only sparingly that kind of money. It could be spent on a replacement - one who'll play every week.
I'm not sure how this will go down, as it's quite controversial, and I'm expecting a few people (Flatters) who'll disagree completely, which I'm open to. I'm just putting forward the suggestion that maybe it'd be best if we went our separate ways.
and look at making him a future spurs coach/manager.
