King of Spurs. Should of been King of England?

Last night the long awaited retirement of Ledley King finally came to pass. However King’s retirement has not only been expected this summer, in fact he was told 4 years ago to retire from football after being plagued with knee problems throughout his career.  With minimal amount of cartilage making up the anatomy of his knee Ledley was often playing through inconceivable pain barriers with bone rubbing against bone in his joint.

The fact he trained alone was a testament to the innate ability King had with in him for football. A master at reading the game he was once defined as a ‘ball magnet’ by former team-mate Jamie Redknapp. Always seemingly aware of where to be at the right time and also confident with the ball at his feet there is no doubt in my mind Ledley King is the most naturally gifted English centre back of the last 10 years, more so then John Terry or Rio Ferdinand and his frankly upsetting 21 England caps should read closer to 121was it not for his physical misfortunes.

It appears as reward for the man’s loyal service to Tottenham Hotspur he has been bestowed an ambassadorial role at the club; a perfect transition for a genuine role model despite an uncharacteristic 2009 arrest. King has always conducted himself in the most positive and professional of manners and in this modern age of professional footballers that is a rarity.

Also it gives King a chance to stay involved in football after his injury. It is easy to be cynical about professional footballers who have to retire at a young age. I mean they have made all the money they will ever need; sometimes people forget that these men are just that, men. In the quest for entertainment some fans often forget the superheroes they watch week in week out are just as fragile and human as every one of the 30 or so thousand people watching.

Several footballers have struggled to come to terms with being away from football post injury. Matt Jansen tried several failed comebacks at the highest level after a serious head injury damaged his confidence; Dean Ashton has stayed a safe distance from the game and even Emmanuel Petit who at 33 may be considered fair game to football retirement admitted life without the game can be a struggle.

The fact is to be a professional footballer you have to become a footballer. Your entire identity has to revolve around football. Essentially you as a person become defined as ‘a footballer’ once that is unceremoniously stripped from you it acts as a death; a death to your identity and at 25, 30 or even 40 creating a new identity can be a huge psychological strain.

It is therefore testament to the high regard Spurs hold Ledley King that he has been handed this role at the club.  However I'm sure when Saturday comes, despite all the pain, injections and agony he has gone through, Ledley will struggle to fill the void of pulling on that Tottenham Hotspur shirt but can take solace in the fact he will go down as a Tottenham Hotspur legend.

What are your memories of Ledley Kings career? Is he the best English centre back of his generation?