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King
Born in Bow in 1980, Ledley King joined Tottenham Hotspur as a trainee at the age of sixteen, and was a White Hart Lane talisman from his 1999 debut through to his retirement in 2012.
Telling it how it was behind the scenes at Spurs during his years progressing from schoolboy trainee to club captain, King dramatically chronicles the turbulent times and personalities of the modern White Hart Lane.
Yet above all, King is the story of one of the most widely admired and respected English footballers of modern times – one of passion and roots, friendship, courage, grit; and of a role model of great strength yet rare humility.
Telling it how it was behind the scenes at Spurs during his years progressing from schoolboy trainee to club captain, King dramatically chronicles the turbulent times and personalities of the modern White Hart Lane.
Yet above all, King is the story of one of the most widely admired and respected English footballers of modern times – one of passion and roots, friendship, courage, grit; and of a role model of great strength yet rare humility.
- GenresFootballNonfiction
400 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 5, 2026
As a huge life long spurs fan, this was an enjoyable read. Ledley managed to keep it interesting throughout without giving too strong opinions on his fellow players and managers. A very respectable man who has had to overcome so much to play football. As someone with chronic health conditions, I can relate. And it was really refreshing to read this amazing football icon for my club talking about his health battles. Reading about his time at the club was fascinating for me, as he’s a similar age. I preferred this book to both Hugo Lloris and David Ginola’s. As must for any spurs fan.
August 29, 2026
As a long suffering Spurs fan (thanks Dad, and his Dad before him) I know a bit about bad luck, misery and embracing things being less than ideal. One of the biggest "what could've been" stories in football, Ledley King had it all to be one of the best of all time, alas his was a story of misfortune rather than untapped potential.
Would I recommend this book to someone who was neither a Spurs fan, nor a particularly avid follower of football? Probably not. I wasn't expecting Tolstoy going into it, however the book, as a footballer's autobiography may often be, is a series of "I did this, and then I did that". In my reviews there'd normally be a quote from the book of something that really stood out, it says a lot that nothing really stood out so it felt forced to pick out an excerpt. If anything, what raised an eyebrow from me was a quote from Boris Johnson on the back of the book endorsing King's account of his too short time as a footballer. That would often be enough to make me not want to read a book to be honest!
The details of King's time training at different academies was interesting, senrab in particular which rightly has an amazing reputation helping a lot of English talent at the early stages of their development. And you can feel his frustration in recounting times on the treatment table, and brief acknowledgement of a few off the pitch issues as well. It was excellent to get an inside view of times at Spurs that I didn't know too much about, but it never felt too in depth as King tried to fit his whole career in, it's his autobiography not a biography of Spurs through those times I suppose.
I was hoping for a bit more about Harry Rednapp's time at the club as that was when my passion for the team really came to fruition but there weren't many surprises.
Worth reading for me but by no means a life changer. King seems like a decent guy who gave his best and did the right things, but even still it didn't work out the way he wanted. That's probably where the lesson is with this book, as opposed to hands on tips to improve my centre back play in Sunday league football.
Would I recommend this book to someone who was neither a Spurs fan, nor a particularly avid follower of football? Probably not. I wasn't expecting Tolstoy going into it, however the book, as a footballer's autobiography may often be, is a series of "I did this, and then I did that". In my reviews there'd normally be a quote from the book of something that really stood out, it says a lot that nothing really stood out so it felt forced to pick out an excerpt. If anything, what raised an eyebrow from me was a quote from Boris Johnson on the back of the book endorsing King's account of his too short time as a footballer. That would often be enough to make me not want to read a book to be honest!
The details of King's time training at different academies was interesting, senrab in particular which rightly has an amazing reputation helping a lot of English talent at the early stages of their development. And you can feel his frustration in recounting times on the treatment table, and brief acknowledgement of a few off the pitch issues as well. It was excellent to get an inside view of times at Spurs that I didn't know too much about, but it never felt too in depth as King tried to fit his whole career in, it's his autobiography not a biography of Spurs through those times I suppose.
I was hoping for a bit more about Harry Rednapp's time at the club as that was when my passion for the team really came to fruition but there weren't many surprises.
Worth reading for me but by no means a life changer. King seems like a decent guy who gave his best and did the right things, but even still it didn't work out the way he wanted. That's probably where the lesson is with this book, as opposed to hands on tips to improve my centre back play in Sunday league football.
December 23, 2024
Ledley King tells the story of his life as a football player for Tottenham Hotspur. He talks about growing up, how he became a professional player, and the tough times he faced with injuries. The book highlights his best moments on the field and his strong connection to the club. It's an inspiring read for football fans and anyone who loves stories about overcoming challenges and achieving dreams.
February 22, 2018
A good book but a bit unbalanced, all football and very little about his home life. Also a bit sad.
December 18, 2019
Fantastic
December 2, 2020
Hardly any insight into his personal life. Love the player but wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.
June 16, 2021
A spurs legend
A good read for all Spurs fans that remember King Ledley. You can feel his love of the game and the club
A good read for all Spurs fans that remember King Ledley. You can feel his love of the game and the club
June 9, 2023
Not the most exciting of books but it’s Ledley King, so he’s having 5 stars.
May 22, 2024
The book is fine but it was nostalgic to go through his career again
It's ledley king so an easy 5 stars COYS
It's ledley king so an easy 5 stars COYS
December 4, 2024
A great read
Such a good book. Ledley is open about his struggles with injury, this shows both sides of the game. Excellent.
Such a good book. Ledley is open about his struggles with injury, this shows both sides of the game. Excellent.
September 13, 2013
Even by the low standards of footballers' autobiographies, this is woeful. Utterly lacking in any insight and written in the style of a trainee journalist.
Take, for example, this nugget of inside information direct from the dressing room after England were humiliated and knocked out of the World Cup by Germany in 2010:
"After the defeat, Capello spoke in the dressing room. What he said I can't remember."
That's a verbatim quote, indicative of the whole book. Interesting events are completely glossed over or ignored.
As others have stated, there is little in this book that cannot be gleaned from match reports. Rather than give us any sort of glimpse inside the dressing room or behind the scenes at the club (King's years at the club included its fair amount of drama) we're simply told "we scored first but then Liverpool equalised and so we had to settle for a draw" or other such banalities.
Ledley's my favourite ever player; this may be the worst book I've read.
Take, for example, this nugget of inside information direct from the dressing room after England were humiliated and knocked out of the World Cup by Germany in 2010:
"After the defeat, Capello spoke in the dressing room. What he said I can't remember."
That's a verbatim quote, indicative of the whole book. Interesting events are completely glossed over or ignored.
As others have stated, there is little in this book that cannot be gleaned from match reports. Rather than give us any sort of glimpse inside the dressing room or behind the scenes at the club (King's years at the club included its fair amount of drama) we're simply told "we scored first but then Liverpool equalised and so we had to settle for a draw" or other such banalities.
Ledley's my favourite ever player; this may be the worst book I've read.
November 11, 2013
Similar to other reviewers, I was a little disappointed with the content, and found quite a few typos which I hadn't expected.
I don't know whether purposely Ledley chose to avoid telling too much stuff from the dressing room, but this may well have made it more of an interesting read.
The overriding feeling after reading the book, is one of disappointment that such a good footballer, and a one club man, became such a bit-player as a result of injuries throughout his career. Liked the fact he didn't appear driven by money, and it was the football he loved.
I don't know whether purposely Ledley chose to avoid telling too much stuff from the dressing room, but this may well have made it more of an interesting read.
The overriding feeling after reading the book, is one of disappointment that such a good footballer, and a one club man, became such a bit-player as a result of injuries throughout his career. Liked the fact he didn't appear driven by money, and it was the football he loved.
September 29, 2013
Love Ledley for the legend he is but this book lacked any insight. I'd imagine he is constrained by his new role at the club. Die hard fans my like it but don't expect much (unfortunately).
September 30, 2013
Wasn't as personal as I wanted it to be but delivered some invaluable insight for a die-hard Tottenham fan. Loved reading about the managers' of my life as a supporter and the teams they lead.
January 3, 2014
Good book about a modern day footballers life from youngster to retirement including the ups and downs of injury and more didn't want to put it down . A must read for any football fan .
March 3, 2014
Although every other line is about an injury and feels like it's written by a 5 year old, still a very interesting read...
August 29, 2014
Every spurs fan should read this book , good read about a true spurs legend
September 7, 2014
This is a great book by a true Spurs legend, and well worth a read if you're a football fan and enjoy players' and managers' autobiographies.
January 14, 2022
A great book from a great captain.. shame to realise just how bad spurs have been
August 7, 2024
Amazing. Covers his upbringing and the situation with his dad very well without going into too much detail. Covers his injury problems well too
September 12, 2016
Easy to read and fun for a Spurs fan, but it would probably be less interesting for anyone else.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews