What Might Have Been: Ledley King

Sunday marked the first time our blogs namesake had played for Tottenham Hotspur since October of 2010. That's been the career of Ledley King. Injuries have limited his prodigious talent since the off. Over the last few years, King has done his best to make an impact on the side despite not being able to train.

Since the beginning of the 2006-2007 season King has made 94 appearances in Tottenham's team. For a frame of reference, over that same period of time Michael Dawson made 180 appearances. Kings numbers are massively boosted by the 2008-2009 season in which he somehow made 31 appearances. This year, he has featured only 9 times for Spurs, and as mentioned, not at all since October.

And while Ledley has his share of off-the-pitch issues, mainly being incapable of drinking in moderation, there is little doubt about his talent on the pitch. It's often been said that King would have many more than his 21 caps if he could only have avoided injury. Spurs fans can attest to the difference his presence makes in the side. Tottenham always seem much more likely to get a clean sheet with King in the team.

King began his career with Tottenham Hotspur in 1998 and has gone on to make nearly 300 total appearance for Spurs, he's also scored 14 goals for the club. His first ever goal, back in 2001, still holds the record for fastest goal ever in the Premiership, coming 10 seconds into Tottenham's match with Bradford City.

Ledley is under contract until 2012 and his inclusion in the squad in any given week is always up in the air. He is, without a doubt, one of the best central defenders of his era, but he has had such little time to showcase that ability. Who knows how much longer King can remain a competent defender at this level. One thing is for certain though, King is Tottenham's best defender and inspirational leader. What might have become of him had he avoided the injury bug?