Tottenham legend supports Scott Parker’s ascent into coaching

As Mauricio Pochettino prepares Tottenham for its final friendly before the season begins, a familiar face is entering a new stage of his career in the Academy.

After retiring from football this past season, Parker returned to Tottenham in late June to take on a coaching role. Now Ledley King, who followed a similar path after his own retirement, is backing the former England international for great things.

Though both men are 36 and enjoyed storied careers, they could not contrast more sharply.

King came up through Spurs’ youth ranks in the late 1990s. At 17 he was promoted to the first team, and would quickly become a mainstay at centre-back for every Tottenham squad for the next decade.

Injury plagued his later years however, and by 2012 it was clear that his time had run up. He retired at only 32-years-old, though he was already regarded as one of the best players to ever don the lilywhites.

More from Tottenham News

• Storybook ending after difficult period for Tottenahm’s Richarlison
• Tottenham comeback showcased invaluable intangible Ange has cultivated
• Tottenham player ratings in 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United
• Tottenham projected starting 11 for Sheffield United
• Tottenham’s Richarlison says he’s going to seek psychological help

Parker can pride himself his own bit of Tottenham lore, but his career took him much farther afield than King’s. After coming up through Charlton’s youth ranks, he enjoyed stints at in the London club’s senior side as well as Norwich, Chelsea, West Ham, Spurs and Fulham.

Though his time with Spurs came late in his career — he was already 30 when he transferred in 2011 — he was in the midst of a tremendous resurgence that saw him return to action with the England national team and generally boss midfields up and down the Premier League table.

Only two years with Spurs was enough to convince both club and player that he still had a role to play in north London post-retirement. He was appointed club ambassador and given managerial duties with the Under 18 side in the Academy.

King’s kind words — as quoted by ESPN — convey warmth as well as a wealth of experience. He, too, was given the helm of the U18 side after retirement, though the rigors of coaching were not what he was expecting.

"“Coming from the professional mentality where every point matters, every mistake is magnified, to then work with young kids where you have to allow them to make mistakes to develop themselves is different.“As a defender, the last thing you want to do is make mistakes and cost goals. But you need to allow young players to try do things to evolve their game — you can’t restrict them. That was the switch of mentality needed.“Scott has been doing his badges for a while and I think he understands that more than I did. He’s further down the line with his badges — he’ll have no problem. It wasn’t stressful but it was different. I’ve been a young player before so I remember what it was like.“The game has changed and that’s another adjustment. The way the game is played now is different to how I was coached, and how kids in my era were coached. But people who are doing their badges — people like Scott — will have learnt these things along the way."

Parker’s pursuit of the proper badges and qualifications suggests a brighter future, one that might see him move on from quasi-ceremonial duties and into the real meat of a managerial career.

Which would only make sense given the leadership role Parker played on the pitch at Spurs and elsewhere. Despite playing the destroyer role to a T in both Harry Redknapp’s tactics-less system and Andre Villas-Boas’ more nuanced approach to the game, he was often the force that kept Spurs’ efforts in midfield coherent and effective.

Next: Tottenham right-back target is a huge gamble

That he now stands to utilize that same talent with a wider scope in management only feels like a natural progression.