King: My Autobiography

by Ledley King, Mat Snow

Rarely in the modern English game has a player been as loved by his supporters, admired by his teammates, and respected by his peers as Ledley King. And even more rarely has such a shining talent seen their career cut so tragically short. Named "the best defender in Europe" by Thierry Henry, and described by Martin Jol as "the best central defender I've ever seen," King was undoubtedly one of the greatest talents of his generation. Yet injury forced his retirement, aged only 31. But even at the height of his chronic knee trouble—when he could only train once a week, and was advised not to even play soccer with his son—King still managed to captain Tottenham Hotspur and be called up to the England squad. King documents the successes and struggles—both personal and professional—behind this unique and unprecedented soccer from King's childhood in East London, to his future out of the white shirt of his beloved Tottenham Hotspur.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

Reviews

[Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Ben Twoonezero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book but a bit unbalanced, all football and very little about his home life. Also a bit sad.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Daniel Dovgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hardly any insight into his personal life. Love the player but wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

[Iain Motherwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the most exciting of books but it’s Ledley King, so he’s having 5 stars.

[Daniel Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is fine but it was nostalgic to go through his career again
It's ledley king so an easy 5 stars COYS

[Peter J Ruddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

Such a good book. Ledley is open about his struggles with injury, this shows both sides of the game. Excellent.

[Bob Rudge · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

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).

[Alexander BM · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 .

[Will Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although every other line is about an injury and feels like it's written by a 5 year old, still a very interesting read...

[Martin Thatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every spurs fan should read this book , good read about a true spurs legend

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great book from a great captain.. shame to realise just how bad spurs have been

[Jack Bawden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Covers his upbringing and the situation with his dad very well without going into too much detail. Covers his injury problems well too

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read and fun for a Spurs fan, but it would probably be less interesting for anyone else.