PLAYER PROFILE

Ledley King

Position: Defence

Height: 6'2

Weight: 13st 8lbs

Date of Birth: 1980-10-12 Bow, England

Ledley King

King broke into the Tottenham first team during the 1998/99 season and was hailed as a future England defender, such was his outstanding ability. Tall and strong with a commanding presence, King has all the qualities needed to establish himself at the highest level.

Sadly for both him and his club however, a series of injuries hampered his progress and the young defender was only able to play three times in Tottenham's first team during the entire 1999/00 campaign. Thankfully none of the injuries were too serious and by the end of that season, King was roaring back to his form of old. Indeed, so impressive was he, England U-21 coach Howard Wilkinson had few qualms in calling him up to the U-21 European Championships in the summer of 2000.

Illness unfortunately ended his hopes of a first full cap after being named in the squad for a friendly against Holland but he only had to wait another month to make his senior bow against Italy. Since then he has been a regular part of the international squad and has gained one more cap.

The 2002/03 season was Ledley�s biggest to date. He can play in a number of defensive roles, with many people interested to see how he can play in midfield. Last season, despite missing the first 3 months with injury he has made the centre back role, following Sol Campbell's departure.

He is one of the most promising players Spurs have seen for years and is widely regarded as the future of both Spurs� and England�s defence.

King was better still during the 2003/04 campaign, although following the departure of Glenn Hoddle, David Pleat thought it best to use the defender as a midfielder - a role in which he was equally as impressive in. He's always been a defender and many Tottenham Hotspur fans will believe the defence is where he belongs.

King is said to be better than Campbell was at his age and and in the summer of 2004 he got to feature alongside the defender he grew up watching at Spurs - the man whose boots he filled when Campbell departed for Higbury. King was called upon in the opening game of Euro 2004. A series of injuries to key defenders meant King was included in the squad, and he certainly rose to the occasion, keeping his composure despite the defeat to France.

His tournament was cut short though when his girlfriend went into premature labour. He watched England's quarter-final penalty defeat at home on his own - but safe in the knowledge that he was a new father, and that mother and baby were fine, despite the complications.

He really made the step up into the senior England set up, making five appearances for his country, including two during the European Championships in Portugal. He even got his first international goal - scoring the equaliser in February's friendly with Portugal.

The 2004/05 season saw him continue his excellent form. He made 47 appearances and scored 3 times as he became a fixture in Martin Jol's defensive set-up. He also won the Player of the Month for September.

He continued to figure in Sven-Goran Erikkson's England set-up, playing 5 matches for his country as they qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

On the domestic front, the 2005/06 season was a successful one for King as he scored three times in twenty-seven games. However, an injury in April ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign and, more significantly, the World Cup.

He returned from this set-back in 2006/07 to make 27 appearances. Injury hit in 2007/08, but he always looked impressive when he played.