Ledley Brenton King (born October 12, 1980 in Bow, London) is an English football player of Antiguan descent and first choice central defender and club captain for Tottenham Hotspur. is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Bow is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... For more detailed information on Antigua as a political entity, see Antigua and Barbuda. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The team captain of a football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team: it is often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game. ... Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is an English professional football club which plays in the Premier League. ...

Club career

King joined Tottenham as a trainee in July, 1997, and became a professional the following year. His debut came in May 1999 at Anfield in a 3-2 defeat to Liverpool. His first goal for Tottenham, scored in December 2000 in a 3-3 draw away to Bradford City, was scored in 10 seconds, setting a new and as of yet, unbeaten, Premier League record. Anfield is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. ... Liverpool Football Club are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who play in the Premier League; they are historically the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. ... Tottenham Hotspur F.C. is a North London association football team, also known by the nickname Spurs. ... Bradford City Association Football Club is a football team based at the Bradford and Bingley Stadium (formerly known as Valley Parade) in Bradford, England. ... The original FA Premier League logo, used until 2007 The Premier League (officially known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons, colloquially known as The Premiership), is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the English football league system (above The Football League). ...

He enjoyed a fine season in 2003-04 despite also featuring for much of the campaign in midfield, an unfamiliar role he took to with considerable success and added some much needed bite and physical presence. ^{[citation needed]}

King is the longest-serving Spurs player in the current squad and is firmly established as club captain. He is regarded by many as being Spurs' best player along with Dimitar Berbatov. He signed a new four year contract with Tottenham in early May 2006. The team captain of a football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team: it is often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game. ...

King wears the number 26 shirt for Spurs, declining the chance to take one of the other numbers such as 5 or 6, which are traditionally associated with central defenders. Over the past couple of years he has been given many nicknames such as: Deadly Ledley or Ledley 'i cant tackle' King ^{[citation needed]}

International career

King's England debut came against Italy in 2002. He was called into the England squad for the friendly against Portugal on February 18, 2004, and netted his first goal on his third appearance. First international  Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win  Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat  Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... First international  Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win  Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat  Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

King received his England summer call-up for Euro 2004 and competently deputised for the injured John Terry in the opener against France in Portugal. Playing a starring role by man-marking Thierry Henry out of the game and not putting a foot wrong, he impressed everyone with his composure. ^{[citation needed]} He also made a substitute appearance in midfield in the final group game against Croatia. First international  Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win  Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat  Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between June 12 and July 4, 2004. ... John George Terry (born December 7, 1980 in Barking, London) is an English professional football player. ... Thierry Daniel Henry, born 17 August 1977 in Paris, France, is a French football player. ...

King has continued to make the England squad, where he fights for a starting place alongside either John Terry or Rio Ferdinand. He has also been used in a holding midfield role. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... John George Terry (born December 7, 1980 in Barking, London) is an English professional football player. ... Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born November 7, 1978 in Peckham, London) is an English footballer of mixed St Lucian and Anglo-Irish descent. ...

King looked a likely participant in the England 2006 World Cup squad before fracturing a bone in his foot on 15 April 2006. Although not as bad as a similar injury affecting David Beckham, Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard, King's injury prevented him from being named in Sven-Göran Eriksson's squad. First international  Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win  Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat  Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... “2006 World Cup” redirects here. ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English footballer born in Leytonstone, London. ... Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975 in Bury, Greater Manchester) an English footballer who is Englands most capped right full back, and Manchester Uniteds club captain. ... Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: []) (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. ...   (IPA: , born February 5, 1948) is a Swedish football manager. ...

His club manager Martin Jol was optimistic for his skipper's World Cup hopes. "This injury will take him three or four weeks so of course he will be fit," he claimed. Sven's feeling was that he was already taking injured players in the case of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Ashley Cole and Jermaine Jenas and with strong cover at the back it was one risk too many. ^{[citation needed]} Maarten Cornelius Martin Jol (born January 16, 1956) is a Dutch former professional football player, and the current head coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the English FA Premier League. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other persons named Michael Owen, see Michael Owen (disambiguation). ... Ashley Donovan Cole (born 20 December 1980, Whitechapel, London, England) is an English footballer of Barbadian descent. ... Jermaine Anthony Jenas (born 18 February 1983 in Nottingham) is an English football midfielder currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur, in the English Premiership. ...

Both Martin Jol and Thierry Henry have described King as the best defender in England. ^{[citation needed]}

Personal details

Of Antiguan descent via his parents, King and girlfriend Stephanie Carter have a son Coby who was born 9 weeks early on 21 June 2004. Ledley was away in Portugal on international duty playing in Euro 2004 when he got the call telling him she had gone into premature labour; he had to leave the England camp on the day of the quarter final against Portugal to dash home for his son's birth but unfortunately he missed the birth and England went out on penalties. Happily, his son Coby was perfectly healthy. King was a student at Olga Primary School in Bow and currently owns a Bentley Continental Flying Spur[1] There is more than one entry for the locale Antigua in Wikipedia: Antigua is an island in the Antigua and Barbuda Antigua Guatemala is also a city in the central mountains of Guatemala This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Club statistics

Correct up to 2006-05-21 Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. is a North London association football team, also known by the nickname Spurs. ...

External links

• TheFA.com profile
• Ledley King career stats at Soccerbase
• King's international data at England Football Online
• The Unofficial home of Ledley King: Forum, Facts, Stats and Videos