According to the Sun newspaper Tottenham’s Ledley King has been selected in Fabio Capello’s provisional England squad for the up and coming matches against Slovenia and Croatia.Capello was seen present in the crowd to possibly run the rule over Ledley in the West Ham v Spurs match last weekend.
This is bound to open old wounds with Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp in a fierce club v country debate due to King being an essential stalwart in the centre of his defence, and compounded by the fragility of the player himself.
King, if fit, is nailed on to play for Spurs in the Premiership game against Birmingham City at White Hart Lane on Saturday in a concerted effort by the Tottenham management to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
This will assuredly cast serious doubt on his availability to train with England the following week in preparation for the friendly against Slovenia at Wembley on the following Saturday due to his chronic knee problem.So would Capello be prepared to give him game time under those circumstances?
The crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia at Wembley is on the following Wednesday, September 9th.Should Ledley play in this important game, then he is unlikely to be available for selection for Spurs vital home fixture against Manchester United on the following Saturday, September 12th.
Harry and Fabio Capello both publicly show that they are keen for the player to continue his England career, but there has to be a definite professional conflict of interests.This raised it’s ugly head in March when the same scenario ensued for the matches with Slovakia and the Ukraine with Capello being forced against his will to allow King to leave the England training camp.
The player has publicly stated his desire to play for the national team with aspirations of making it to the World Cup finals, but his dodgy knees make him unable to train between games or play more than one game a week.So a solution to the problem looks a long way off with Spurs desperate for his services in their push for the top four reinforced by the fact that they have stuck by him throughout his injury crisis, and also the small matter of being the ones who pay his wages week in week out.
The club v country arguement is sure to rage on…..
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