If things had turned out differently Ledley could've been the new Woodgate. Or the old Woodgate, not sure
Full agree with that, WY. I think we have to bear in mind that when Ledders was 25 (2005), we were actually (finally) starting to show some real quality under Jol. His injury problems didn't become fatal until the following season (the year Arsenal poisoned our lasagne to clinch 4th place), so I'm not sure how quickly a player as loyal as Ledders would've abandoned his childhood club, who were clearly making really good progress. In all likelihood, an injury-free Led would've been pinched by the likes of Real or Barca during Ramos' *ahem* "reign"...
I don't think Spurs' progress would have been enough to keep an injury free Ledley at the club though, if anything it would just highlight how good he was and make him more desirable to the top clubs. It would be nice to think that Ledley would have some loyalty to Spurs, but unrealistic I think, really how often do we see one club players these days unless they are playing for the likes of Man Utd, where success and money are already guaranteed practically.
I was actually distraught when Harry brought Kaboul back to the Lane. I truly believed Kaboul was on par with Boumsong, Djimi Traore and Ramon Vega when it came to defending. He was so bad for us that I couldn't believe we got him back. But recently, I've seen his performances and he has been absolutely immense. Whilst our defence was barely troubled on Monday, he was still the best defender that night. His heading, positional play and (I don't get it either) speed was brilliant. Agbonlahor couldn't even get past him. I think he's improved for us significantly more than Benny. As someone mentioned above, if he can keep improving at a similar rate and with the guidance of Ledders, he could be one of the best CBs in the Premiership. Definitely better than Chelsea's and Liverpool's CBs and somewhere near the level of a Vermalen or Vidic, who I think is the best CB around. That being said, the quality of a CB does depend a lot on the partnership he has with the other CB. With Ledders, they have a great understanding and play well together. On the topic of, would Ledders have stayed with us had he not got injured and progressed at the rate we expected him to progress, doesn't really matter to be honest. We could be pessimistic and say "of course he'd have gone. Loyalty in football means less than a John Terry wedding vow". Alternatively we could be optimistic and say "Of course he would have stayed. Ledders is Spurs through and through" Doesn't really make a difference other than what kind of person we think Ledley is. To sum up: First I was afraid, I was terrified Kept thinking Youness Kaboul would always fall on his backside And I spent so many nights thinking "Where does he keep going wrong?" But he grew strong And he learned how to play along *gives up*
Apparently the Orc with the torch was Kab... [video=youtube;gPbM1qBbBks]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPbM1qBbBks[/video]
Kaboul's been doing a fantastic job for us - great bit of business bringing him back to the club. He is worthy of the greatest praise: He is possibly the sixth best player in the current Spurs team! Now THAT is very, very high praise indeed.
(In no particular order) VDV Bale Ledders Luka Scotty Hmm...so hard to choose number 6. I think if Ade kicks on from his brace against Villa, he certainly has all the talent and ability (and truckloads more) to be named above Kab. Lennon on his day is unstoppable, Kyle & Benny have been really impressive so far. But I think you're right Lenny- Kab tends to be having 'his day' with increasing consistency atm. What a wonderful dilemma to be confronted with...struggling to name a SIXTH top-drawer player in the Spurs team! Remember the days when it would be: 1.Ginola 2.Sol 3. erm... 4. erm... 5. 6.
Oh man - I remember when Stephen Carr was by far our outstanding attacking player. If he didn't play well we were gonna be a bit stuck... It's just...I'm lost for words - Spurs players are all so good nowadays...
I couldn't decide who my 5 above him were It's harsh to exclude anyone from the best XI from the elite group, such is the quality of their performances so far
My top five sort of picked itself and was the same as LATOHP's above. After that the level drops down to a mere "very, very good and would fit into almost any top EPL team". And that basically accounts for the rest of them.
(At first I read your post and was like: "Who the f is 'LATOHP'?! I thought you were trying to say 'laptop' or something- maybe you have a close relationship with yours... then I realised you were talking about me! That's the price I pay for having a bizarre user name, i suppose.)
Oh thanks a lot Post. It's late and I've had a skinful and now you are putting nightmare images in my head
please log in to view this image If it wasn't for the gap in the teeth, it could have just as easily been a scale drawing of Lennon.
