Ledley King worried me today. I know he wasn't the only player to under-perform in the defence, but I saw signs today that maybe he is on his last legs. He was woefully naive on stepping up on one of Walcott's goals and he looked unsteady and very un-Ledleylike throughout. The back line of our defence was disappointing, with both full-backs underperforming for the first time in ages and Kaboul also going AWOL on several occasions. So, am I being harsh in singling out Ledley for criticism, or am I correct and that he did look vulnerable this afternoon, and do you also see signs he is on his last legs ??
Everyone decided to have an off day today but King was definitely under-par. I don't rate Dawson as highly as I used to either. Let's hope today was just a blip!
Dawson hasn't been at his best for some while. I am sure you're right and that normal service can be resumed next weekend, but I do remain concerned with Ledley
Today was the first time I have seen Ledley have a bad day for as long as I can remember. I've seen Dawson, Kaboul, Gallas and any of our centre backs have a bad ones. I just wish it hadn't been today against Arsenal that our entire side decided to play like a sack of tripe. Especially after being two goals to the good. Lets just hope we can beat Man Ure and put this game behind us. Probably not though.
He doesn't like players running at him because he can't turn and chase anymore, but I think to write him off after this would be just a reaction to a bad team performance. The problem was Benny didn't turn up and they took everything down his side leaving King very exposed.
I remember King getting ripped to shreds against Arsenal when we won 3-0 at the Emirates 2 years ago. He's really not performed that well against us in many NLD's.
Not concerned one bit. Awful performance not just from him but the whole team. Actually found it horrible watching Kaboul today and I'm a massive fan of his. Not only was his defending atrocious but his distribution of the ball was that of a p*ssed donkey! Parker was dreadful and deserved his second yellow, Modric was great for the first half hour then collapsed, Walker and Ekotto may have well of stayed at home, Rafa and Sandro must have sent holograms of themselves on at half time because they were anonymous... None of our players done our club justice today. Of all the days to choose a real stinker, it was today. But football's like that and we all know it. Best we can do is forget about today and just focus game-by-game on our remaining fixtures and ensure we stay well clear of Arsenal and Chelsea.
I agree with everything you''ve said, except the suggestion(or rather question) that Ledley might be past it. It sounds stupid to say about him, considering all his knee problems, but he looked like an injured player today so I can see why you're posing the question. Whether he was more of a doubt than normal, like some suggested, only 'Arry, the medical staff and Ledley himself will know. Given the rest of his performances this season, though, I don't consider him a spent force for us. It's arguable whether Ledley going in and out of the side is a good idea and whilst King has been crucial for us this season, perhaps that's more because of longterm injuries to Gallas and Dawson. My personal opinion is that we owe Ledley not to dump him. He hasn't been able to have a kick around in his back garden with his son in order to play for us. Yes he's not doing it just for us and gets damn well paid for his sacrifices but for me there's not enough evidence to back up dicking over one of our best ever captains by leaving him without a club in the summer. Levy's a cold hard business man, though, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Yeah, that's right, blame it on one guy!! Sure he made one, possibly two mistakes but to blame Benny for the defeat is blinkered. Too many of that team didn't perform today - I would suggest that blame should be spread. Mods was anonymous after 30 mins - Bales contribution was equally unconvincing - several players didn't look 100% fit. And that's just for starters!!
He didn't look right running today at all. Perhaps he was played not 100% hoping for the 'Ledley factor' to kick in? That was the least of our problems today though
Maybe the lack of training and part time playing has caught up with him at last. Against City he looked poor and today he looked poor as well. I blame Harry more than Ledley though, his decisions and changes were awful.
A couple of seasons ago I remember a few comments on Old606 about his lack of training catching up with him. However, frankly it's trying to create a scapegoat on the pitch - also demonstrated by Niko being singled out quite often on here - when in fact no single player can really be blamed for the result, with most of the blame squarely at the door of 'Arry and the odd choices of tactics and substitutes for the second half.
I'm not blaming Benny for the whole disaster,but most of what they did came down that side of the field Benny couldn't deal with it because he didn't have many mates to help out. Lots of finger pointing not much else. One thing though, I think Harry needs to have a word with Bale about his decision making- for not the first time he was free of the defence and all he had to do is centre in to the 6 yard box and there was a tap in 3-0 its game over. He gets a bit of white line fever and goes for goal even if it is impossible.
I think it might be better to play Kaboul and Dawson v Utd, as perhaps Ledley is showing wear and tear now. Maybe Ledley should play v Stevenage, who won't have the pace to expose him.
Bale needs to stay on the left and get back and help Benny when he is under pressure. Bale on the right unbalances the team. Lennon should be on the right.
The thing here is not to allow sentimentality to cloud judgement, how he played earlier in the season, last season or whenever is totally irrelevelant to how he will continue to play from this point on. Time is not on LK's side and he will soon drop away, how soon we won't know yet, or as Spurcat is suggesting (and someone has to) has it started already, it will need to be closely watched from here. Rio is still used by United who is not the player he was a few yrs ago, and he gets exposed when they have a bad game, its just something you have to put up with from your senior players once they lose some pace and stamina. Which brings me to exposure. Why the hell was Harry so surprised at getting over-run in MF in the post match interview.....he did exactly the same thing when we played them at home only a few months ago, sticks 442 against 451....WHY??????... Are Arsenal going to play RVP up top? .....Yes they are!...They over-ran us at the Lane and he had to change things, saying exactly the same thing in the interview after that game....so well done Harry learning from that one....must have something else on his mind!
Totally agree. It infuriates me when bale switches to the right; he adds nothing and goes missing. Whether teams "double up" or have "Sussed" bale on the left, it doesn't matter - any cross of his from the left is dangerous and if they are doubling up, it's freeing space up elsewhere, which works in our favour. Bale is also leaving Benny exposed. Time and time again I find myself holding my breath as Benny is closed down by 2 players. Today we saw him having to hoof the ball down the line over and over again to clear, each time losing possession. For me, today, we missed Lennon. We were short of options left and right and with arsenal closing down as well as they did, we struggled. As hard to take as it may be, the scum played very well today. We've just gotta pick ourselves up and carry on. - major blow not having Parker next week though.
I reckon the thing about Ledley King is the fact that against the top teams away he just doesnt have it in him to compete for the whole 90 minutes. Unfortunately in the past seasons he hasnt played enough against the top teams away for us to know if this season is a one off, or if his legs look like going.
Ledley hasnt been fit the whole last few months. You can see he can hardly move. If you resign the lad it will be comical. He will spend the next 3 years out injuried before coming back in the last year of his deal to get another deal. Ledley wants the money...... I really think as a striker it would be ok to be in and out of the side. But as a centre back you want a settled defence. You should ditch ledley and just get a settled back 4 with dawson and kaboul
