Tottenham’s All-Time Starting XI
By Ryan Wrenn
Centre-back: Ledley King
What more can be said about King? He is a true one-club man, coming up through Tottenham’s youth system in the late ’90s and going onto become one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League for much of the opening decade of the 21st century. One thinks that if injuries hadn’t ultimately ended his career, he’d still be playing for Tottenham at every opportunity.
More than simply being one of the best Spurs players in the last twenty years, King also serves as something of an archetype for the youth-oriented project currently underway at the club. Even as the madness of the transfer market picked up steam in the ’00s, King stood out as a testament to the value of player development. And even as other clubs came calling, he resisted the urge to leave White Hart Lane, going on to be a crucial foundation on which this current era of quality was built.
Everyone from Daniel Levy to Pochettino to Harry Kane owes a debt to King’s career at Tottenham.
Next: Centre-back