Tag Archives: ledley king

Spurs Captain Supports Apprenticeship Drive

Posted by on February 10, 2011 2 comments

Tottenham Hotspur and England defender Ledley King has joined forces with notgoingtouni.co.uk, the online portal for apprenticeships and vocational opportunities, to help promote vocational opportunities for young people at the start of Apprenticeship Week 2011.

“Apprenticeships are a great way of entering the world of work for those who, like me, know what they want to do for a living,” King told notgoingtouni’s free online guide to apprenticeships. “Apprenticeship Week is the perfect time to start looking into the options. I came up through the Spurs training academy, so I know the value of on-the-job training. And I know it can lead to the best job I the world!”

The increase in tuition fees and problems facing graduates in finding suitable employment is driving more and more people to consider vocational qualifications. NotGoingToUni.co.uk generally has in excess of 1000 live apprenticeship opportunities on its site at any one time and more than 2000 live vocational opportunities in total.

“Young people looking to enter the professions are now beginning to discover, for example, that it is actually quicker to become a chartered accountant through an apprenticeship programme than via a degree, with a higher proportion finding employment at the end of it,” explains Spencer Mehlman, managing director of NotGoingToUni.co.uk.

A free digital magazine for Apprenticeship Week, which can be downloaded free of charge at www.notgoingtouni.co.uk, also charts the success of Rohan Duncan, 25, who joined Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s Future Job Fund programme in February 2010. He was offered an apprenticeship on completion of the programme and now leads coaching sessions and studies for an NVQ Level 2 in Sports and Allied Recreational Studies at Croydon College.

“I was a Spurs fan before I got the job. I went to the job centre because I’d been unemployed for a while and I saw there were jobs going coaching at Spurs. I didn’t think I’d get it – it seemed too good to be true. I’m a sporty guy but I’d never done any coaching before,” Rohan explained.

Now, Rohan coaches children from the local community and estates, leading PE lessons, table tennis sessions and the Kickz programme aimed at keeping young people off the streets.

“I’m on contract until June,” Rohan adds. “I’d like to stay on at Spurs, but even if I don’t I’m much more employable than I was before. I’d like to stay in coaching or mentoring.”

Companies that work with NotGoingToUni.co.uk to access candidates on its 40,000 strong database include IBM, British Gas, Rolls Royce, Unilever and Tesco. It also works with organisations like The AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians), CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) and the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) to deliver high quality candidates for accountancy apprenticeships, as well as with leading accountancy firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers. Indeed, NotGoingToUni.co.uk has also placed candidates seeking to become a solicitor on vocational courses with ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives).

Ledley going for a song?

Posted by on August 7, 2009 16 comments

It looks like all our defensive responsibilities are being pinned on Ledley King for the big kick off against Liverpool at the Lane in two Sundays time. Considering last week Harry was saying our hero was yet to kick a ball this pre season, I’m a little concerned.

What concerns me more is the fact Levy has authorised an £8m deal for a centre back. It must mean Woodgate and Ledley are in very bad shape. We know Woody requires another hernia op and the manager hasn’t exactly sounded positive about him but with all his previous injury problems, I’m just hoping our Jesus isn’t out for the season.

Michael Dawson’s Achilles problem is likely to only keep him out for a few weeks. He was superb at times last season but he performs a lot better with King or Woodgate alongside. He had a terrible time at the start of our last campaign when he was leading the line. I can’t see Dawson and Bassong together working but it might be our only option at times.

Since Harry took over, he’s managed Ledley brilliantly. Unlink Ramos, he understands that everyone is different and is old school enough to let King give his all when it comes to game time, not on the training pitch. The problem we are faced with is Ledley King’s condition is only likely to deteriorate and the number of games he will be involved in will decrease as time goes on.

Is Sebastien Bassong Ledley King’s long term successor at Tottenham? I don’t think he’s fit to lace his boots on the evidence I’ve seen so far but I’m willing to give the lad a chance and hope his performances in the coming weeks and months prove he can be.

What a stitch up

Posted by on May 13, 2009 6 comments

I’ve refrained from commenting on the Ledley King fiasco until now but another day of bullshit from The Sun and Daily Mail has compelled me to. All these magical quotes and new witnesses that are appearing day after day are quite astounding.

Most people I know would retaliate if a fat head bouncer grappled them into some kind of full nelson on a night out. I bet a 12 stone Ledley King did some real damage to a fat 18 stone doorman. Bouncers that throw their weight around are fair game imo and getting him nicked is obviously nothing more than a money making exercise.

Ledley is probably in a lot of pain with his ongoing injury, if he fancies getting smashed once in a while good luck to him. His performances on the pitch are second to none and that is what matters at the end of the day. It’s not as if he’s out with buxom babes trying to get his picture in the paper everyday.

He’s been done up like a kipper by the tabloids and a load of money grabbing tossers pretending to have been there at the time. Maybe he did dish out a few cringeworthy comments during the fiasco but haven’t we all after a few sherberts. Keep your head up Ledley, you don’t deserve this.

The King can’t train, long live the King

Posted by on March 23, 2009 5 comments

Fabio Capello must rate Ledley King very highly indeed to include him in today’s England squad. Our Captain is without doubt the best centre back in the Premiership on his day but his inability to train on a regular basis means makes his inclusion in the National squad all the more impressive.

By all accounts, Ledley spends his training time either swimming or in the gym on a bike. It’s taken a lot of time and effort but it looks like King and Tottenham backroom staff have found a way to efficiently manage his problem and find a way to get him out on the pitch fairly regularly.

Obviously, any time Ledley is with England will need to spent the same way it is when he’s with the club. You’d hope he isn’t pushed too hard but I get the impression Ledley isn’t the type of person that will risk more time out now he’s started playing regularly again. I’m happy for him to be a part of the England set up, he fully deserves his chance, but I just don’t want it to have an adverse effect on his performances in a Spurs shirt.

I can’t really see Capello taking Ledley King to a tournament when he can only play a limited number of games. There is no way his knee would stand up to 4 weeks of non stop football and as highly as I rate the player, surely the squad would be better served by taking one of the other top class centre backs the Premiership has to offer.

Here’s hoping Ledley can manage to balance an international career alongside his club career and gets further opportunities to show what he’s capable of on the world stage.