Tottenham legend Ledley King has surprisingly named former Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies as one of the toughest opponents he came up against in his career.
Ledley King has been speaking about his Tottenham career
King was a complete defender and almost no forward got any joy when coming up against him during the peak of his career.
The former Spurs captain had the pace, athleticism and strength to match most players while he also had an exceptional ability to sense danger and read the game, stopping attackers in their tracks before they could pose any threat.
The 43-year-old pocketed many strikers over the course of his career, with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry describing him as the one defender who could dispossess him ‘easily’ without fouling him or pulling his shirt (Independent).
Ledley King hated playing against Bolton forward Kevin Davies
It turns out that admiration is mutual between the pair, with the former Spurs man also admitting that Henry was one of his most difficult opponents.
Interestingly though, King also named Davies as someone who was a nightmare to come up against, admitting that he knew he was in for a major physical battle whenever he came up against the former Bolton man.
When asked to name his toughest opponent, King told talkSPORT: “In terms of the best as a striker, I’d say Thierry Henry. But when it comes to tough, when I had battles against someone, it was Kevin Davies at Bolton.
“Bolton were a physical team. Everything was long ball, long throw-ins, you had to fight for everything. Kevin Davies was someone who put themselves around.
“You knew exactly what you were going to get every single game from him, he really tested you. That’s someone who I remember throughout my career, every game you played against, you were in for a real physical battle.”
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Anyone who watched the Bolton team under Sam Allardyce would not be surprised by King’s answer.
In fact, many defenders in that era would probably name Davies as one of their toughest opponents as the Englishman was a master at using his body and making life difficult for centre-backs.
Davies, although he was something of a target man was also very good with the ball at his feet to act as a link for the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff.