AVB and the Spurs striker

AVB: Okay, this is what I want you to do. I want you to go out there and ghost into the channels and pressure their full-back, when you see our attacking player-maker shift towards the penalty area, swap with the left sided midfielder and attack the space directly in front of the attacking midfielder but look at the movement of the left sided midfielder if he attacks the same space as you, cut across the pen area and move at an angle towards the space just outside the six yard box. But not if the right-winger is occupying the same space. If he is, hold back on the edge of the box then move parallel to where the ball is travelling into the box from. Okay?

Spurs striker: <silence>

AVB: Okay?

Spurs striker: Whaaa?

AVB: F*****g run around a bit and kick the ball.

Spurs striker: Yes boss. Gotcha. The ball is the round thing that moves yeah?

Options

The BBC are saying it's barely credible that Harry has lost his job and yet still cite the fact that the relationship between him and Levy was broken beyond repair. They don't appear to be the only ones in the media struggling to come to terms with this announcement. There's a consensus, a controlled outrage that this decision is one they are refusing to accept. What with that other relationship, the one between Harry and the tabloid/broadsheets/Sky, being of far greater importance to their every day existence. It's akin to them losing one of their own. How dare Daniel Levy do this.

Yes, in terms of financial clout and stature you can argue that Spurs were in some ways punching above their weight. I don't believe that myself but some will point towards Man City and one or two others and suggest we have no right to finish above them because of the money they can and have spent. As I mentioned last night on the blog, nobody is going to argue (well some of you might) against the fact that Harry has achieved some measurable success at Spurs. But it seems the crux of it is being completely ignored. It should have been solely about the football. If it was just about the football Harry might have kept his job (although the media seem to be punching very lightly on our end of season form when referencing it) but there's no way a chairman can continue to work with his appointed manager if their relationship appears to have less spark than David Bentley's Spurs career.

The irony of 'Harry to England' and the impact it had on Spurs season completely and utterly lost on our bestest friends in the tabloids and beyond. The moment Harry got Paul Stretford involved you knew it was end of days and it was only a matter of days.

It will be interesting to see whether Harry remains as gracious as he has with words shared in the official club announcement.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spurs and am proud of my achievements. I have had a fantastic four years with the Club, at times the football has been breathtaking. I am sad to be leaving but wish to thank the players, staff and fans for their terrific support during my time there."

It's been good fun, let's not deny that.

So, what are the options? Names that I can think of that might have some ilk of feasibility to be linked with us (some perhaps in reality more tenuous than others):

Moyes

Capello

Benitez

Deschamps

AVB

Martinez

Blanc

Sherwood

Any more for any more? Would like to mention Klopp and Low. Bilic has already accepted a contract in Russia apparently. I added in Sherwood for laughs. I won't even mention Pep. Oops.

Harry Redknapp. Thank you and goodbye.

Two points. Eight games. We'll never forget the ride. Run out of gas in the end.

I thought it would be apt to go back in time to when Harry Redknapp was appointed Spurs boss and quote some choice paragraphs from a 2008 article (following on from a 2-0 home win against Bolton before we played Arsenal away). Times have changed in the space of four or so years. Our expectations have shifted. Interestingly, some of us forget (ignore) what that catalyst for the shift was. We didn't consider it at the time that a few seasons after his appointment we'd be gutted about missing out on 3rd spot in the league. Gutted and ironically disappointed at the very same catalyst that led to said progress.

And in comes the media whore that is Harry Redknapp. A manager with little integrity. Sorry 'arry, but it's true. His Pompey/Soton merry-go round will tell you all you need to know. Levy claims that he's had conversations with Harry in the past, suggesting that 'he almost got here' before. Shudder.

Yeah, he saved Pompey from almost certain relegation. But couldn't save Soton and also relegated West Ham. What exactly is so great about his CV? Have we now lowered our ambitions? Have we accepted a place alongside the likes of Blackburn and co?

Well firstly, scrap ambitions and comparisons, because that's what has got us into this mess in the first place - believing the hype.

We are now behind the likes of Villa and City. As they develop and progress, our work has to begin again. Maybe not quite from ground zero, but we are limping at the minute. Although in modern day football 5th - 8th spot tends to shift about every season so all we need to do is regain a bit of pride and form. And no matter the progression you make (that goes for Villa and City at the minute) - you still need to depend on one of the Top 4 having an off season if you. Which is rare. And even if it does happen, you might find hotel food conspire against you. So we are not that far behind if you go on recent Prem records.

The simple fact of the matter is - at present - we are bottom. The players were not playing for Ramos. Levy had to do something drastic. Sacking Ramos and co was the first part. Appointing Redknapp was the second. Because for the moment, the only thing that's important is remaining in the Prem.

Survival. That's it. That should be the mission statement for this season. And having tried every type of manager, we've now gone for the 'not really done anything, loves his money a bit, Sky and the tabloids love him a lot' type of appointment.

We've stopped acting like the 'big club' and just taken stock of our current predicament.

So, am I happy? Nope, unsurprisingly, I'm not.

Levy, for all his little boy lost innocence, is knee-deep in damage limitation and blame deflection. The players, having performed today well enough to claim 3 points are questionable commitment wise if you look at some of our prior performances (although, I'm happy to agree that Ramos wasn't helping himself with selection and tactics). New manager usually gets a reaction from the players, but I still can't get rid of this feeling that Spurs will never push on until they get rid of the vanity at the club. £15M+ for Bentleys hair is proving to be a hard pill to swallow.

Harry himself paid money for Kaboul and does select players out of position. Sometimes has three DM's in his team and still gets bullied by the opposition and generally isn't the most astute tactically. So, I would guess, it's down to his man-management to get things going again.

It's worked one game in. And come Jan, we might see the return of Defoe and one or two other players - including some very un-Tottenham like signings that might have some of us question wtf is going on (BRING BACK THE DOF!!!!!1111) but that's what we want isn't it? Players we NEED - and not superfluous signings. So, there is a positive, one hopes in his appointment. Although getting rid of the DoF and letting Jol sign his own players would have worked fine too.

So, is Harry an interim manager for the club? I hope so. Am I know being a hypocrite for suggesting we are too big for Harry? Call me that if you want. What I'm saying is, Harry isn't a great manager and has limits which will become apparent in a couple of seasons. But this all serves a purpose. A recovery period, washing off any remaining residue of the DoF era. It's the consequence, not of Comolli but of Levy. The buck does stop with him, and this I feel is the final sorry chapter of mismanagement. He's admitted it hasn't worked, so he has gained a final encore. And this is it. Harry will take us so far, and then Levy (if he's still around) will no doubt appoint someone new. We'll see how it all pans out. No point dwelling on this at the minute. If Levy suggests that Harry is the one to reclaim GLORY - then Daniel will be leaving us in the very close future.

If (there's that magic word again) Harry performs a miracle and is still knocking around with us in 4 years time then Levy will be deemed a genius and I'll have to eat a hat (preferably made of bagel).

In the mean time, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (that's Harry). And do what any fan would do: Support the team with all my heart......and cry uncontrollably when it goes tits up. Again.

Well, I guess I got certain aspects of it correct. The main point that should be made and will probably be drowned out by a fair few is that regardless of Redknapp's inability to control his mouth and his lack of articulation and timing (and his contradictory statements that are based around reacting to the moment in hand rather than fitting into a more robust consistent bigger picture) - with all his faults he's achieved measurable success at Spurs. It's just that from that success we - he - could have achieved so much more.

When you look at the competition at the top of the table and the managers there, was there anyone else that could have done what Harry did? At that time, no. In the end, he's only guilty of being Harry Redknapp. That's Harry with all the good things and the bad. Much like I predicted he would be, even if he did prove me wrong along the way. The bad for me was not his media persona and love for car windows but his lack of cutting edge on the pitch when the chips were down. His man-mangagemnt skills don't always work when they're required the most. Harry is reactive to making sure he looks good at all times and walking slowly away from any blame. You've got to be accountable. So do we. We (the fans) have hardly covered ourselves in consistency either. Much like Harry, we've struggled to get to grips with the expectations that have continued to evolve over the past two seasons.

He was actually likeable when we were having success on the pitch. But then people tend to smile more when their team is winning and only point, complain and accuse when things go wrong. There was even a connection during his court case battle and during the immediate aftermath. But in the end, Harry looks after Harry and for the most part - we as a collective remain fickle but equally so ambitious and in love with our club. Something Redknapp was never likely to ever have.

Positives from all this? We've lost a manager but we're not 'in trouble'. Not unless in trouble is finishing 4th spot and akin to our past mid-table mediocrity (regardless of the fact we could have finished higher). We're not dizzy or confused or punched in the gut in tears on the ground. We've just sat down for a moments rest and a re-think. We have stability. There will be no mass change transitional season to follow. Not if Levy appoints quickly and appoints the right man and we go marching on.

(I'm sure that 'right man' comment will come back to haunt all of us, as most are already arguing the merits of certain potential appointments and disagreeing about them already).

Harry came in, fixed us up, got us playing like a team and got all the assembled quality playing to their potential (well, not all of them, the ones he didn't like he disowned to the detriment of the squad). The stats don't lie. And in that is the crux of the issue. We grew stronger and with others lagging around us, the opportunity was there to take advantage. We messed it up. Perhaps if Harry was younger or more willing to adapt. Perhaps if he saw eye to eye with Levy on the long term rather than short-term season-to-season moneyball strategies...perhaps if he was a little more shy in front of the camera. Who knows? He'd have got another crack at it next season. But alas, no. His lack of focus has seen to a not so surprising ending.

I should also cite the lack of investment into 'long term' signings in recent seasons. We'll soon find out if this was largely down to manager and chairman disagreeing on targets based on whatever the new man achieves in the transfer market.

In the end, that rather fragmented disassociated relationship he appeared to have with Levy dissolved into nothingness. Levy pricing out Redknapp from getting his dream job, a different catalyst to the one that started this journey. Redknapp then seeking a contract extenstion, with some irony. From the outside looking in. Harry voicing his position from tv interviews, the club remaining silent. The England debacle, the slump in league form...it's the right time for change. We would have moved on had the FA given him the job so this doesn't change much. I'm not going to knee-jerk and concern myself about whether this will impact transfers. Levy will have a contingency. So, all that's left to say is...thank you Harry Redknapp. When we were good, we were very good. We made it to the promised land people! We had our adventure. We wanted more. We might still get more but it will be with another leader. So thanks for the memories. It's a shame that you couldn't quite find the balance of team selection and contain the pressure to guide us just that little bit further forwards (and upwards). It's a shame you couldn't be completely committed to the Cockerel or at the very least disguise your true intentions.

Football, is a funny game, because had that margin of a point been two in our favour, had Chelsea not beaten Bayern...this blog article would never have been written.

Onwards.

I'm in the mood for the Euros. There, I said it.

From this to now giddy giggles and skipping. I'm going to have to avoid actually looking at the team sheet before kick off and if I can do that then I might have some success in watching the whole game through and actually giving a ****. I prefer the days of delusion when we believed we might win it. The build up to this England game (even with all the controversy) lacks the chest pumping pride and excitement of previous tournaments (I lied about the giddy giggles and skipping - I'm saving them for Apple's WWDC 2012 which kicks off around 6pm GMT and might end up being a worthy escape).

So yes, nobody is expecting us to do much. We're pedestrian at best. Dour and unsexy. Workman like but with the occasional piece of trickery and guile. France unbeaten in twenty-one with plenty to prove. We could still surprise everyone and actually get a result and then that belief might return. Or they could brush us aside which would mean the tabloids unleash headline hell. What's been institutionalised over the decades is that it's all or nothing supporting England, the expectation was that we would always be in with a shout to win it (get knocked out at the QF stage). Maybe beating France will ignite that chest pumping. I'm waffling. I'm trying really hard to find some genuine passion from somewhere. If John Terry scores I might actually throw myself at the tv in protest, with grenade in mouth.

Maybe I should just admit my opinion hasn't really changed, I just want it to change and the fact that I can't even get hyped up about my country sums up how the delusion has transcended to disillusionment. Once upon a time, I'd not have questioned any of it. When your club team is struggling you don't disown or turn your back or lose that love for them (if you're not a glory hunter - although not sure glory hunting comes into it with a national side. You can't pick your nation, you are your nation, at least you're meant to be). Once upon a time I had as much love for the Three Lions that I have for the Cockerel. It's all gone very wrong somewhere and the fact I can't answer it leaves me conflicted still.

This is hardly a rousing pre-match battle cry is it? Sorry. So good luck England, good luck Roy.

Here's to dicking the French. It's got to be worth tuning in just for the off chance that might happen.

Luka and ITK mathematics

Luka Modric to Manchester United for £25M. That makes sense. It makes sense we were rejecting £40M bids from Chelsea last summer and would now take a hefty price cut on the valuation of the player so that we could make a divisional competitor even stronger on the cheap.

Does the player still want out? Probably. There's no denying it's about the wages more than anything, far more than Champions League itself (much like Redknapp alluded too the other day). Even if we finished 4th and got into Europe's elite competition, the player (and agent) would still look to orchestrate another attempted move. Why?

125k per week
Several million pounds for the agent via fee

That's two reasons.

Levy made his stand and his point last summer with the player and Chelsea/Dail Mail's attempts to sign him, retaining his services for the 2012 season. It's not rocket science to think he will appear to do the exact same thing this summer, but with one small detail of difference. If we do receive a bid that meets the players valuation, then we'll let him go. That's OUR valuation and not the Manchester United supporting tabloid journalist's valuation when attempting to broker the deal via back page hype, without source or quotes.

I'm not even sure what my point is now. Shouldn't really be expecting anything different from the 'news feeds', especially this time of year. What's wonderful about this particular Luka story is the matter of fact title 'Luka Modric to join Man Utd' and this gem of knowledge planted in the middle of the 'article':

The Croatian said he had no intention of quitting Spurs having signed a six-year deal in May 2010.

Had no intention? Back in 2010? What about last summer dickhead? Surely if you're going to make stuff up there's a time and place for it and stating the truth would actually fit in better with the agenda, on this particular occasion.

I can't see our chairman bending over for them, not with their past form (Carrick, Berbatov) and with the no-way stance of last summer. Okay, so we always bend over for them, but there's been so much control with our 'we won't be selling our best players' mantra over the past two seasons that...who am I kidding? Words are just words. Levy knows how to drag it out. Whatever happens will be because he wants it to happen and its conclusion will satisfy everyone.

So if they want our prize commodity (which will mean we have to change the way we play-make and shape up in midfield) then they need to compensate us for the detrimental impact it will have on us and the bitter reality that they will become stronger off the back of it.

I guess my point, the crux of it, is that these tabloid stories are always about appeasing the club attempting/chasing the signing rather than perhaps seeing a headline that states:

"Spurs tell Utd: £40M or forget about it"

Elsewhere?

I've layed off from ITK bashing for a while now as there is hardly any difference between them and the tabloids. I don't for a second think there are no people with connections (some strong, some tenuous) that might be privy to information. That never means said information can be trusted as there is only one certainty in football and that is the lies and game-playing agents/football clubs/players swim around in to get what they want. If you have info, share it if you wish to share it. Do so with transparency if you can (or not to protect yourself or the source). Sadly with Spurs we appear to have around 40 or so people that claim to have inside knowledge of what is going on and they all seem to hang around online, cryptically teasing us with non-events of tittle tattle in closed off membership forums.

Possibly the best thing I've seen that sums it all up is an ITK answering questions relating to whether we are interested in signing anyone to replace Luka if/when Luka is sold. His response:

Replacement(s)

Yes. We might have a replacement or more than one replacement lined up. But can't tell you anything more than that because I'd be giving it all away so I'll add an 's' in brackets to the back end of the word 'replacement' to leave it all ambiguous and mysterious, like I know something that you don't but I'll remain non-committal about it.

Do one.

Nobody is interested in whether you know something you can't share. If you can't share it don't go telling us you can't share it. It has no relevance in the public domain. You're better off making something up, which is what most people do 99% of the time.

I'm on my period, deal with it.

I miss the days of Teletext and Monday mornings at school where everyone would discuss the weekends football. I remember following Gascoigne's transfer to Spurs via the very same maligned tabloid back pages. You knew the player signed when the player actually signed. I miss those innocent days of the late 80s. That and skipping past white dog poo in the street.

#AskArry

via BetfairSports

Made me smile. Even with the scripting. Beats talking about Luka and contracts.

"I don't know what Mario is" - No chance of a cheeky bid then?

Levy Mathematics

Sign a player for £2.5M. Sell him for £7M.

Goodbye Niko, we didn't see enough of you in a Spurs shirt. That wasn't always your own doing. Graceful with flair and wonderful hair. Wasn't to shabby to look at either.

Good luck at Dynamo Kiev.

We'll have to wait and see if Levy has more maddening skills this summer with pulling in more than the £4M he wants for dos Santos and forcing Everton to buy back Pienaar for more than they sold him for.

All more likely than signing a centre-back.

 

This is England

I really do try to care about the National team but the whole Terry debacle and the weakness of the FA and (sadly) Hodgson leaves me further detached from it all with each passing day. I'm sure once the competition starts I'll watch and want them to succeed, but seeing the likes of Terry pull on the shirt, knowing footballers believe and behave themselves to be bigger than the badge on the shirt (even the badge of their country), the fact there are so many fractures within the squad, the politics...where the hell did it all go wrong?

Hodgson was treated with cowardice contempt by the tabloid press when he was given the job and I hope he achieves something tangible to ram it back down their throats. But his squad selection along with the influence of a variety of story arcs - have I mentioned Terry's inclusion yet and the impact on Ferdinand and the Gerrard captaincy? Then there's Carrick, the excess of Liverpool players and not forgetting players who should probably have been included - means all the job actually amounts to is damage limitation until this 'golden generation' are done and dusted and gone for good.

The belly of English football needs gutting. It's feasted for far too long, bloated and tired, sat on a throne nobody bows to any more. We are far too institutionalised to attempt it. 

Where's the revolution?

This is Redknapp

I see a number of you have misunderstood (misinterpreted) Redknapp's CL quote. Either that or simply taken it out of context and stretched it as far as you can for further ammunition aimed at the target on his back. Any excuse, right? Not sure why considering the amount of gold you can so easily find in his back catalogue.

It's Redknapp, he's hardly the most articulate. He has all the elegance of a brick through the window. If you've not seen it, I'm referring to the interview on SNN earlier today. He cited Champions League football, which included the utterance 'it's over-rated'. He was talking about money/contracts and how players use the 'ambition' of CL football as an excuse to earn ridiculous wages elsewhere (reality is players will move to where the money is). Don't even think this is the first time I've heard him say this. And yes, CL does equate to money...but say we had CL, would that see us compete against City and Chelsea for players? No, probably not based on what's already happened this summer with the Hazard whoring.

And yes, Redknapp is always going to deflect in some way, he's done it all season long. In this instance, his vocabulary sets him up to look dismissive more so than the actual point he was attempting to make. Although haters will hate and say that he's only hooking himself onto excuses rather than perhaps attempting to highlight positives. This is Redknapp, it's the way he's built. People need to stop berating him over a trait he will never lose. He's never going to change. Stick a microphone in front of him, if he needs 10 words to make a point, he'll use 100 and the point he makes will protect his own agenda. He'll always protect himself, whether he does it consciously or subconsciously. Get this...all managers do it. Harry just isn't very good at it. What he is good at is contradicting.

Save your energy for the excuses during the season, not outside of it, and not the soundbites used to entertain presenters of Sky Sports News.

Just my opinion.

The bigger questioning (re: the interview) should be over his contract and ye golden contradiction (told you he was good at it) regarding his one remaining year left and the impact it would have on our players (and our transfer targets). That and the fact he can't contain such matters for private consumption between himself and Levy. That was by far the more 'damaging' of his soundbites. But this is also of no surprise. Harry continues to bask in detachment and disassociation.

Watch the video here.

Nothing has changed from the opinions I outlined in my Regression series (click here, scroll down a little). He remains about the short term and about self-serving. Like most people involved in modern football. If he retains focus and if he and Levy work together during the course of the summer then we'll easily compete next season. Again.

The Book of Daniel

by Ryan the Perplexed

And the Lord spoke to Daniel the Levite saying:

'Daniel, oh Daniel, why when I delivered you into the League of Champions in 2010 did thou refuse to seriously invest in my Beloved? Last harvest was another paltry sacrifice of shekels, offloading the Goliath, Wilson and sacrificing little on Scott of Tarsus and loaning the Togan. I have even sent you my prophet, Ari the Blameless, as your helpmeet. Oh, Daniel it is true that I work in mysterious ways, and none is more mysterious than Ari, who speaks in tongues behind car windows, alongside his driver Kevin the Bondsman.

Yea, and Harry delivered you from the depths to Champions League in under 2 years, but every harvest time you refused to take the next step, keeping the funds to build a Temple for me, fortified against the Philistines of Gillespie Road, and the heathen Moabites of Spam. Yes it may have a Sainsburys with 613 checkouts, but I am greatly angered by your actions. Instead of a striker, we have a planning consultant, instead of a winger, we have Saha the Crocked.'

And Daniel trembled before the Lord and said he was much vexed by Ari the Blameless, who was tempted by England, Rosie:47 and Sandra of the Banks of Sand. Then the Lord became angry, and winds around the goalmouths of Stoke howled, Webb failed to see Mario's evil, Ari was tempted, and the pathetic Goonites had their luck returned.

And Daniel trembled further as he thought CL was safe. The Lord then said 'Daniel, my Daniel , never stand still, thou need to invest in thy squad and cut the deadwood.' But Daniel was stiff-necked and his transfer policy could do no wrong in his eyes and this enraged the Lord. And the Lord put confusion into the hearts of the Tottenhamites who forgot how to score and Ari’s tactics were lost in the whirlwind.

And the Lord took blood, dung and avarice and brought forth the evil Despicables from the bowels of the Earth, led by a great and faithless Sinner garbed in shin pads. The Lord then blinded the pious Catalunians as they were pillaged by the Despicables. He again blinded Atkinson the Weak as the Despicables overran the Tottenhamites on the plains of Wembley. And lo, Levy was still holding out for tribute for Gio and hoping to offer a new contract to Jenas.

The Lord appeared to Daniel in a dream, represented by the angel Ledley.

And Ledley said 'He upstairs thinks that you needed to invest more to get into CL heaven when you have the chance. This is your final warning guv. Ouch, my knee...'. But Daniel told him to go forth and multiply.

In his wrath, the Lord created Fulop, a spineless wretch, to see a fortunate Wenger the Blind and his smug Goonites through to the promised land. Still Daniel would not budge and in a final act, the Lord came down and with great might (Drogba) and an outstretched arm (Cech), and intervened in the fabric of creation itself to the stop the Germans winning a penalty shootout, and finally prevent Daniel from entering the promised land.

Amidst much gnashing of teeth and wailing, Levy and the Tottenhamites became as one and cried 'How can it be that the Great Sinner and his Despicables celebrate yet we are left in the wilderness? Why do Sinners enter Heaven when the Righteous go to Hell?' And Levy was broken and wailed to Heaven in the form of another Open Letter but no answer came. And the Tottenhamites were banished to the plains of Europa where they encountered wild beasts, pestilence and away trips to the Ukraine.

Daniel then donned sackcloth, ashes and called the lawyers. And so Graham begat Hoddle who begat Pleat, and Pleat begat Santini who then begat Jol. Jol begat Ramos who begat Ari the Blameless. And Ari begat...

Time for the King to abdicate his throne

We won't know Ledley King's decision until pre-season when he decides whether to finally hang up his boots and take one of the options Spurs have offered him, hopefully a coaching role. You don't have to do much reading between the lines here. It's obvious the club and the player believe it's time to hang up the boots. However, the last sentence from the official club update is the one that manages to help retain a smile on my face.

"Tottenham has been the only Club for me and if I can’t play here then I shall look to be involved in another capacity."

Ledley might not reappear in a Lilywhite shirt on the pitch (aside from a testimonial please) but his heart will always be Tottenham off it. Keeping him on at Spurs is imperative. The man lives for the club and we love him for it so it's a pretty obvious way to continue the affair. Quite simply the best defender of his (England) generation. The most obvious thing to echo here would be the what ifs. You know, what if he had two working knees. I was looking back at the archives of this blog and found an article from 2009. An article that could have been written for any one of the past five years.

Ledley will always be our King

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 12:03PM

I'm a bit bored at the moment. There's a slight lull in stories worthy of commentary. Other than maybe the news that Ledley King could play in the remaining 10 fixtures for Spurs. According to our oracle of football, Harry Redknapp. This following on from the recent lack of contract talks that won't be taking place just yet between club and player.

King (with Spurs no longer having midweek games to concern themselves with) can now look forward to Ledders being available once per week with plenty of recovery time in-between. As long as the old knee doesn't give way. Is he prolonging the inevitable? Is he sustaining long term permanent damage to his knees every time he plays for us? How long will he persist with this? Equally important to ask whether Spurs will have to make a decision on King's future based on his availability. You can't build a defence around a part-time player. But when the player is this good, do you allow for a concession? Heart says yes. So does the head, but more so the heart.

As for the potential of a new contract, that really depends on whether this is it for the rest of his career. This being 'play when injected with magic' but only half the time and never twice in a week. It's sad. A fully fit Ledley King would be a fully fledged England international. And probably a Man Utd player. But there's no doubt he'd be a defender at the top of his game with countless clubs courting him - in a world with no knee trouble. He's still capable of exceptional performances for us - but still in a part-time capacity. Which is why we are probably not reading a Daniel Levy club announcement justifying a £25M transfer of King to Old Trafford.

What we have instead is a loyal committed servant who gets wrapped up in cotton wool more often than running out in Lilywhite. As long as he is not aggravating his knee problems with the injections and continuing to play professional football then I'm happy to have him at the club and the club should make sure he remains there till he hangs his boots up. I hope there is not a single ounce of truth that doctors advised him to quit or risk serious damage.

Also, I'm not suggesting Ledley is still with us only because of his injury plight. The bloke is no Sol Campbell. Ledley is honest and loves the club. He wants to be at White Hart Lane and in the past possibly could have flirted with a Champions League club if he wanted to. But if he was 110%, he'd be tested, along with the chairman. That's a sure thing. But he'd never walk the way Judas did. Personally hope he does start the big big away games we have at Villa, Everton, Man Utd and Liverpool. Dawson is a fine understudy to have on current form. I'm still staggered by the fact that King never trains.

Machine, right?

It dawned on me that it almost feels like his entire career has been dominated by his plight. I can't remember when he didn't have a dodgy knee. Every season it's the same struggles and yet aside from the difficulties experienced this past year, he has been majestic and graceful with the sublime ability to read the game seconds faster than those around him. He went beyond the usual blood-and-thunder-feet-in grunting of the more obvious centre-halves. Didn't need to tackle as much as others either, he just got to the ball before the attacker did. His back pocket rarely empty. His pace was like lightning dancing on a sea of electricity. You know what I'm referring to. Stuff like the Robben tackle. A piece of defending as great as any goal scored. That was King all over. The impossible made easy. You'd run, he'd jog right past you.

When he didn't play well, you couldn't quite believe it, such was the rarity of such a performance. Listen to me, talking about him like he's no longer with us. Still, we knew this moment was coming. He's got to do the right thing for himself. He's a club legend. So it's good to see the club actively seeking to retain his services. They failed to do the same with Stevie Perryman (get well soon).

I don't think it really matters, the what ifs. Fact is, he could have so easily given up years ago, lost focus or allowed his fitness to fade away due to lack of game time. There he was though, never having to train and yet playing like he hasn't stopped training. Every single season he's pulled on the shirt and he's been a colossus at the back. Such an influence, a true club captain. For the good of his own well being and Spurs going forward, it's time for new blood. Kaboul, Caluker, perhaps even Vertonghen could probably do with having someone of King's stature at the club as a nod towards what you can achieve as a player in the most purist form. That's unequivocal commitment to the Cockerel. If they get within 50% of what Ledley has given through sheer guts and heart then both will be very successful at Spurs.

Onwards.