Tottenham Hotspur Official Topic

[Duzza]

gilberto is a liability, f*ckin hell.. would rather we played ricardo rocha than gilberto lol

[Black.]

Source: TelegraphTottenham defender Ledley King has had a tough time of late. But he is the best defender in England according to former manager Martin Jol.Continuing injury concerns have meant that his time on the pitch is severely restricted, while it is also becoming increasingly probable that the 28-year-old will not feature again for England.It will come as a timely fillip, therefore, to hear his former manager at White Hart Lane, Jol, described the central defender as the best in the country and the linchpin of the Tottenham set-up.Jol, who now presides over Hamburg, twice took Tottenham to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, and he now believes that if his former club are to be in a position to challenge for a Champions League finish again, they will need King fully fit."He is the key," the Dutchman said. "Every time Ledley King plays they seem to win and it was the samewith us. We had good spells and when he played we were in the top four."He is the best central defender I have seen in my career. He is left-footed, right-footed and is unbelievably quick. He is always quicker than his opponent."I feel he is more talented than all the other central defenders in England. But because he is injured he doesn't get mentioned with England that much."King is unable to play for extended periods because, after numerous knee injuries, the joint swells up after exertion.Luckily for Spurs, Jol believes that King is able to play without having to train.He explained: "I feel Ledley is one of the few who is such a natural athlete that even when he is not training he seems to play well. I haven't seen that before in my life."Normally, if you are out for a month or two you have to play a couple of times to get fit but he always comes in and does his best."Despite the acrimonious circumstances in which he left in October 2007, Jol insists that he still has fond memories of the club, and expressed support for the present manager, Harry Redknapp, who he believes has already won the hearts and minds of the Tottenham supporters."Harry is a good choice. He is a man-manager," Jol said. "The fans love Harry as well so it is new spell. They are back on their feet again."In a parting shot at the Tottenham board, however, Jol said that the club would be lucky to find themselves back in the top five any time soon."I think they will be happy to be in the top five for the next couple of years," he said.

Nothin we don't know, King is that guy

[Rsonist]

If it werent for injuries i am almost certain King would be starting for England and be hailed as one of the best defenders the country has ever produced.That said though, it could be argued he isnt our best defender anymore, Corluka has been a f*ckin mammoth signing for us, probably, crucially one of our best signings in the last 20 years.

[Kaiser]

If it werent for injuries i am almost certain King would be starting for England and be hailed as one of the best defenders the country has ever produced.That said though, it could be argued he isnt our best defender anymore, Corluka has been a f*ckin mammoth signing for us, probably, crucially one of our best signings in the last 20 years.

BoyWill have to watch Corluka closer then boy

[Reuben]

wish he was fit so wouldnt have to see john terry in the england team

[LS]

Ledders >>>Charlie >

[Flojo]

wish he was fit so wouldnt have to see john terry in the england team

f*ckery is I am pretty sure Terry would still start even though King is the better player.

[Kaiser]

I remember his tackle on Robbe at WHLran like 100yards and got there with some sublime challenge

[Reuben]

^^ i was thinking about what happened to the sweepers in the modern game and how its almost completely disappeared as a systemi think DM specialists killed em dunno

[n/a]

i guess its cos not many teams play with 2 out nd out strikers so sweeper werent neededshame cos it was a art when done wellnow more or less any talented player will play full back midfield or attackin the past ud get the players with moist ability playin sweeper

[Guest Sorter.]

king is that guy.... so f*cked about his knee....

[dimensionnw]

King would be best dEFENDER IN THE COUNTRY had his injuries not happenedhis injuries are the reason we went from almost 4th to no where near as good the next years, even with Berbathe only problm now is CB isnt where u should be rotating but we always are but King is that good we have to do itI reckon sweepers make it too easy to be onside for strikers no?

[Guest Wu-Tang]

agree completely, well maybe not best, but top 2.

I reckon sweepers make it too easy to be onside for strikers no?

Hows that?

[dimensionnw]

agree completely, well maybe not best, but top 2.

I reckon sweepers make it too easy to be onside for strikers no?

Hows that?

as far as I know sweepers play behind the rest of the back four, therefore (if thsts correct) he would be keeping lots of players onside no?(this is just what I presumed was the reason it declined as a position, never really seen it used)

[Guest Wu-Tang]

agree completely, well maybe not best, but top 2.

I reckon sweepers make it too easy to be onside for strikers no?

Hows that?

as far as I know sweepers play behind the rest of the back four, therefore (if thsts correct) he would be keeping lots of players onside no?(this is just what I presumed was the reason it declined as a position, never really seen it used)

Well, not technicallywhen a ball is coming in they will hold a line with the rest of the defense and just sweep, meaning they pick up the loose ball should it get flicked on or break throughOther CB'S will have a man or zone mark job, but the sweeper moves where he must to clear sh*t up, means whoever is sweeping has to have a GOOD ability to read the playthey will normally always be the first to come forward from the defenseive line in a back 5 aswell, connecting with the CMFsBut, they just have a free role along the (central) back line, similar to a player that plays in the hole behind the striker, but a defensive version of that. They still step up with the rest of the back line to play people offside and such.If your playing in a match you might not be a sweeper, but for a specific corner or set peice you might be asked to sweep, so you you just pick up the spare man/ball/knockdown when it comes

[Superstition]

Well, not technicallywhen a ball is coming in they will hold a line with the rest of the defense and just sweep, meaning they pick up the loose ball should it get flicked on or break throughOther CB'S will have a man or zone mark job, but the sweeper moves where he must to clear sh*t up, means whoever is sweeping has to have a GOOD ability to read the playBut, they just have a free role along the (central) back line, similar to a player that plays in the hole behind the striker, but a defensive version of that. They still step up with the rest of the back line to play people offside and such.

This negates any advantage that sweepers provide over the fastest attackers though. If they hold the line with the CBs, then they're equally-susceptible to a well-placed pass and a pacy forward. From what I understand, sweepers have basically fallen out of favour since the offside rule was changed. When you could leave one defender back and not play anybody onside, it wasn't so much of a problem. But the prevalence of faster play and the 1990 rules make it difficult to deploy a sweeper effectively, which is why they've vanished so dramatically. Plus, the trend's been for goalkeepers to perform more sweeping functions, coming off the line quicker, and clearing the flick-on or through-ball. So they're pretty much superfluous in modern football

[Guest Wu-Tang]

Well, not technicallywhen a ball is coming in they will hold a line with the rest of the defense and just sweep, meaning they pick up the loose ball should it get flicked on or break throughOther CB'S will have a man or zone mark job, but the sweeper moves where he must to clear sh*t up, means whoever is sweeping has to have a GOOD ability to read the playBut, they just have a free role along the (central) back line, similar to a player that plays in the hole behind the striker, but a defensive version of that. They still step up with the rest of the back line to play people offside and such.

This negates any advantage that sweepers provide over the fastest attackers though. If they hold the line with the CBs, then they're equally-susceptible to a well-placed pass and a pacy forward. From what I understand, sweepers have basically fallen out of favour since the offside rule was changed. When you could leave one defender back and not play anybody onside, it wasn't so much of a problem. But the prevalence of faster play and the 1990 rules make it difficult to deploy a sweeper effectively, which is why they've vanished so dramatically. Plus, the trend's been for goalkeepers to perform more sweeping functions, coming off the line quicker, and clearing the flick-on or through-ball. So they're pretty much superfluous in modern football

Nah I meant for set peices and the like, when a ball would be over the top and there would be a set line.But yea, now the 'sweeper-keeper' is much more prevalenti woudlnt totally agree that they are superfluous though, I still think teams could make use of them i.e. tottenham, but just don't because it isnt really the norm or just PERHAPS the managers football sense >>MineJust maybe

[TF S4DK]

If it werent for injuries i am almost certain King would be starting for England and be hailed as one of the best defenders the country has ever produced.That said though, its safe to say he wouldn't be our best defender anymore, cos he'd be at one of the top four clubs.

[Guest Tomáš Rosicklý]

LOL @ the lack of knowledge

[Rsonist]

Is f*ckin sh*t.

[Kaiser]

c/ssack of sh*t

[Aquaman]

your middle name should be kneejerku call every player sh*t. then when they do something good its "(insert name here)>>>>>_______"

[Guest LucaPiano]

Good job you got Pav then

[LS]

Levy is a disgrace, send him back next month.