Former Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore has raved about Spurs legend Ledley King’s ability and admitted that he was astonished by how good the centre-back was despite the fact he was unable to train on a regular basis.
King, who came through the club’s academy, is often described as one of the best defenders they’ve played with by his former teammates (Daily Mail).
The central defender who went on to captain Tottenham suffered a series of knee issues which meant that he could hardly train towards the latter end of his career (Eurosport).
However, the England international would still be one of Tottenham’s best players on a matchday.
He brought composure to the backline and Spurs were a completely different team when he was playing.
King was forced into early retirement due to his knee issues and Livermore, who watched him in close proximity while coming through the ranks at Spurs, was particularly impressed with his tackling ability.
Speaking to the Athletic, the West Brom captain said: “Ledley King was the king of tackling.
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“Considering he had dodgy knees and didn’t train from week to week, he was amazing.
“I broke my leg early in my career at Tottenham, so we were training together.
“He wouldn’t train properly from Monday to Friday because of his knees and he would play on a Saturday and be a rock at the back.
“His timing of tackling was always great, but if he didn’t need to tackle, he would just intercept.
“He was the governor. He was like a Rolls-Royce at the back.”
Spurs Web Opinion
King to this day remains the best defender I have ever seen in a Spurs shirt. It is scary to think how good he would have become if not for his injury problems. I would breathe a huge sigh of relief every single time I saw his name on the team sheet back in the day, partly because of how poor we were defensively without him in the side.
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