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http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...said-john-terry-was-racist-me-i-didnt-hear-it
Ledley King, One-on-One: People said John Terry was racist to me, but I didn't hear it
As far as bad ideas go, arranging to meet a former Premier League superstar for a chat inside one of London’s busiest tourist attractions on a scorching summer’s afternoon seemed like it would be right up there.
Yet, surrounded by a group of Dutch pensioners (orange baseball caps), Scottish school children (purple baseball caps) and a disconcerting number of Australian cricket fans (yellow baseball caps), Ledley King slipped on to the London Eye almost unnoticed.
“I have been on it before”, King tells FFT, arching his neck back to examine the imposing structure above him, “but I forgot exactly how high it was.”
King scaled the summits on the football pitch too, of course, just not as often as he would’ve liked. His name has sadly become synonymous with the knee injuries that blighted a career which would otherwise quite possibly have seen him follow in the footsteps of former team-mates Sol Campbell, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric in making a move to a European super-power.
Still, captaining a cup-winning team at Wembley, playing in the Champions League, travelling to two major tournaments with England and scoring the fastest ever Premier League goal isn’t bad for 16 years work, right?
You played in the same fabled Senrab side as John Terry, Paul Konchesky, Jlloyd Samuel and Bobby Zamora, but who was the best of the group?
Chris O’Neil, London
John Terry was probably the stand out player at that stage. Even then he had that passion and drive that very few players have. Some of the others were perhaps a bit more talented, but he certainly had the winning mentality.
We fancied ourselves as the best around; we didn't lose very often, so when we did it really hurt. The one defeat that stands out was actually against Scott Parker's team [Valley Valiants]. Our manager made a couple of odd tactical decisions and we ended up losing 2-0 - I'm still blaming him for that now [laughs].
LEDLEY KING
Jamie Cutman - via email
Crouchie has always been a fun guy to be around and we were very close. He's always looking to make people laugh. I don't think he had mastered the robot back then, but he had other dances and other moves to keep the boys entertained. I was sad to see him leave Tottenham [for QPR in 2000] and I always used to find it difficult to play against him because we had been such good mates. Fortunately we got to play together later in our careers.
I saw you play at leftback in Justin Edinburgh's testimonial at Fratton Park in 2000, was that your original position?
Gary Davis, Croydon
No. I got put there a few times when I was first breaking in to the team, but it was never my position. As a youngster you're just happy to play anywhere, and it's a bit of a compliment to be asked to play at leftback when you're not even left footed.
In my younger days I played in a few different positions, including in midfield quite a lot. I had to bide my time and wait for the opportunity to play in my favoured position, particularly with Sol Campbell around. Centreback was always where I always wanted to play.
You were given your Spurs debut by George Graham, who knows a thing or two about solid defending. How influential was he on your career? Did you see the Arsenal crest in his patio?
Toby - via email
He came with the reputation of being an Arsenal player and manager, and even though he'd been very successful there that was never going to make it any easier to win over the fans. But he really helped me because he was a defensive-minded coach and as a young player you need somebody to help you learn the basics. He wasn't worried what the fans thought of him. He was a tough man and all he wanted to do was win - he wanted trophies. He had great passion and tried to get that into the players but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
I don't know about the patio - he never invited me round his house [laughs].
Campbell and Graham may not be popular with Spurs fans, but they helped shape King's career.
Do you think Sol Campbell leaving Spurs helped your development by allowing you more chance to play? What do you make of the abuse he gets from the fans?
Graham P - via Twitter
In hindsight, Sol leaving Spurs helped me because it meant I got to play in my favoured position, but it would've been interesting to see what would've happened if he'd stayed and we had the chance to build a partnership. I always had the belief that I would make my way into the team, so it would have been interesting to see what we could've done had we played together at the back for Spurs.
At the age I was going in there I couldn't really replace Sol. He had been playing at the top level for many years and had great experience and leadership. I didn't really feel the pressure [of replacing him], I always had confidence in my ability so it was just a case of getting out there and proving I could do it.
Obviously, some of the stuff aimed at him by some of the fans was uncalled for, but the stuff that was within the 'banter guidelines' was fine. The fans tried to get on his back and there were times when he struggled with that a little bit, but that’s what the fans are there for.
Edgar Davids is a famously forthright chap - what was it like when he rocked up to the Tottenham training ground? Did he put himself about a bit? Is it true he had a ruck with Robbie Keane?
Matt Welsh, Leicestershire
It was great to have a superstar like him arrive at Spurs. I remember walking into the canteen and seeing him in person for the first time. I'd admired him for years, so it was a bit surreal to suddenly see him at our training ground.
One of the first conversations we had was about what the team needed, what we could do in the coming season, could we win anything? That was the mentality he brought to the club, which was maybe something we didn't have before.
He used to love a battle – the harder you gave back to him, the more he loved it. Even in training, me and him used to have little battles [laughs]. He used to go one-on-one at me, and we used to enjoy it. They were good battles because he was a very very skilful player. Although he was good in the tackle, he had tricks. He rarely brought that mentality that you needed hard work to get to the top.
I honestly wasn't surprised to see him take over as manager of Barnet. Obviously he continued to play in the lower leagues, but with Edgar nothing surprises me! Although he’s a superstar, he’s really down to Earth. A lot of people have told me that they’ve seen him in areas of London you wouldn’t expect to see a superstar like Edgar. He’s very humble, he likes to give back, so no I wasn’t really surprised.
As for the Robbie Keane thing, at every training ground up and down the country you have those situations, because of the competitiveness. It was nothing personal, they were both passionate and always got on well, but these things happen.
How nerve-wracking was it to face the great Zinedine Zidane at Euro 2004? You must’ve been chuffed to have kept him in your back pocket…
Carl Bridges - via Twitter
For me it was a huge deal to play in that game. It was my first competitive game for England and I was up against Zidane, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, David Trezeguet – a great France team. We all performed really well that day despite eventually losing, although I was maybe highlighted because I had hardly played for England before.
I'm not sure I had Zidane in my pocket, he was playing a bit deeper - Henry and Trezeguet were more in my territory.
Ledley King, One-on-One: People said John Terry was racist to me, but I didn't hear it
As far as bad ideas go, arranging to meet a former Premier League superstar for a chat inside one of London’s busiest tourist attractions on a scorching summer’s afternoon seemed like it would be right up there.
Yet, surrounded by a group of Dutch pensioners (orange baseball caps), Scottish school children (purple baseball caps) and a disconcerting number of Australian cricket fans (yellow baseball caps), Ledley King slipped on to the London Eye almost unnoticed.
“I have been on it before”, King tells FFT, arching his neck back to examine the imposing structure above him, “but I forgot exactly how high it was.”
King scaled the summits on the football pitch too, of course, just not as often as he would’ve liked. His name has sadly become synonymous with the knee injuries that blighted a career which would otherwise quite possibly have seen him follow in the footsteps of former team-mates Sol Campbell, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric in making a move to a European super-power.
Still, captaining a cup-winning team at Wembley, playing in the Champions League, travelling to two major tournaments with England and scoring the fastest ever Premier League goal isn’t bad for 16 years work, right?
You played in the same fabled Senrab side as John Terry, Paul Konchesky, Jlloyd Samuel and Bobby Zamora, but who was the best of the group?
Chris O’Neil, London
John Terry was probably the stand out player at that stage. Even then he had that passion and drive that very few players have. Some of the others were perhaps a bit more talented, but he certainly had the winning mentality.
We fancied ourselves as the best around; we didn't lose very often, so when we did it really hurt. The one defeat that stands out was actually against Scott Parker's team [Valley Valiants]. Our manager made a couple of odd tactical decisions and we ended up losing 2-0 - I'm still blaming him for that now [laughs].
LEDLEY KING
- Date of birth - 12/10/80
- Place of birth - Bow, London
- Height - 1.88
- Position - Centre back
- Spurs apps - 321
- Spurs goals - 15
- England apps - 21
- England goals - 2
Jamie Cutman - via email
Crouchie has always been a fun guy to be around and we were very close. He's always looking to make people laugh. I don't think he had mastered the robot back then, but he had other dances and other moves to keep the boys entertained. I was sad to see him leave Tottenham [for QPR in 2000] and I always used to find it difficult to play against him because we had been such good mates. Fortunately we got to play together later in our careers.
I saw you play at leftback in Justin Edinburgh's testimonial at Fratton Park in 2000, was that your original position?
Gary Davis, Croydon
No. I got put there a few times when I was first breaking in to the team, but it was never my position. As a youngster you're just happy to play anywhere, and it's a bit of a compliment to be asked to play at leftback when you're not even left footed.
In my younger days I played in a few different positions, including in midfield quite a lot. I had to bide my time and wait for the opportunity to play in my favoured position, particularly with Sol Campbell around. Centreback was always where I always wanted to play.
You were given your Spurs debut by George Graham, who knows a thing or two about solid defending. How influential was he on your career? Did you see the Arsenal crest in his patio?
Toby - via email
He came with the reputation of being an Arsenal player and manager, and even though he'd been very successful there that was never going to make it any easier to win over the fans. But he really helped me because he was a defensive-minded coach and as a young player you need somebody to help you learn the basics. He wasn't worried what the fans thought of him. He was a tough man and all he wanted to do was win - he wanted trophies. He had great passion and tried to get that into the players but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
I don't know about the patio - he never invited me round his house [laughs].
Campbell and Graham may not be popular with Spurs fans, but they helped shape King's career.
Do you think Sol Campbell leaving Spurs helped your development by allowing you more chance to play? What do you make of the abuse he gets from the fans?
Graham P - via Twitter
In hindsight, Sol leaving Spurs helped me because it meant I got to play in my favoured position, but it would've been interesting to see what would've happened if he'd stayed and we had the chance to build a partnership. I always had the belief that I would make my way into the team, so it would have been interesting to see what we could've done had we played together at the back for Spurs.
At the age I was going in there I couldn't really replace Sol. He had been playing at the top level for many years and had great experience and leadership. I didn't really feel the pressure [of replacing him], I always had confidence in my ability so it was just a case of getting out there and proving I could do it.
Obviously, some of the stuff aimed at him by some of the fans was uncalled for, but the stuff that was within the 'banter guidelines' was fine. The fans tried to get on his back and there were times when he struggled with that a little bit, but that’s what the fans are there for.
Edgar Davids is a famously forthright chap - what was it like when he rocked up to the Tottenham training ground? Did he put himself about a bit? Is it true he had a ruck with Robbie Keane?
Matt Welsh, Leicestershire
It was great to have a superstar like him arrive at Spurs. I remember walking into the canteen and seeing him in person for the first time. I'd admired him for years, so it was a bit surreal to suddenly see him at our training ground.
One of the first conversations we had was about what the team needed, what we could do in the coming season, could we win anything? That was the mentality he brought to the club, which was maybe something we didn't have before.
He used to love a battle – the harder you gave back to him, the more he loved it. Even in training, me and him used to have little battles [laughs]. He used to go one-on-one at me, and we used to enjoy it. They were good battles because he was a very very skilful player. Although he was good in the tackle, he had tricks. He rarely brought that mentality that you needed hard work to get to the top.
I honestly wasn't surprised to see him take over as manager of Barnet. Obviously he continued to play in the lower leagues, but with Edgar nothing surprises me! Although he’s a superstar, he’s really down to Earth. A lot of people have told me that they’ve seen him in areas of London you wouldn’t expect to see a superstar like Edgar. He’s very humble, he likes to give back, so no I wasn’t really surprised.
As for the Robbie Keane thing, at every training ground up and down the country you have those situations, because of the competitiveness. It was nothing personal, they were both passionate and always got on well, but these things happen.
How nerve-wracking was it to face the great Zinedine Zidane at Euro 2004? You must’ve been chuffed to have kept him in your back pocket…
Carl Bridges - via Twitter
For me it was a huge deal to play in that game. It was my first competitive game for England and I was up against Zidane, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, David Trezeguet – a great France team. We all performed really well that day despite eventually losing, although I was maybe highlighted because I had hardly played for England before.
I'm not sure I had Zidane in my pocket, he was playing a bit deeper - Henry and Trezeguet were more in my territory.
