Spurs have unveiled a mural of club legend Ledley King on Tottenham High Road, with the aim that it will be the first of many honoring the club’s previous players and supporters.
In the heart of Tottenham, a spectacular fan-led homage to the famous Ledley King was completed today.
The 25-foot square mural, produced with paint supplied by our official partners Dulux, can be seen outside the Tottenham Community Sports Centre off the High Road opposite the stadium by fans attending this week’s matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) collaborated with MurWalls, one of the UK’s premier street art makers, to create the mural, which honors Ledley’s incredible commitment to the club and the community.
Ledley, one of the best ever defenders to wear the legendary white jersey, joined us as a schoolboy and went on to make 323 First Team appearances from 1999 to 2012, captaining the Club to League Cup glory in 2008.
Following his retirement due to injury, Ledley has continued to serve the Club as an Ambassador, encouraging young people in our community to achieve their goals and engaging with fans both at home and abroad.
On seeing the completed mural for the first time unveiled by Spurs, Ledley said: “It is a true honour for me to have a tribute like this in the heart of a community that means so much to me. I have always shared an incredible relationship with the Club and its fans, who have supported me through thick and thin, and would like to thank the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust and MurWalls for their fantastic work on the mural. Knowing that our fans think of me in this way makes me extremely proud and demonstrates why this Club – my one and only Club – is so special.”
Rob White, Board Member of THST who has led on the mural project, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that, with so much positive input from many sources, this part of the project has now been delivered. My long-term goal is for this to be just the beginning, and we can now look to build a series of murals in the region that will assist to highlight Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s strong history and tradition.”
Marc Silver, Founder and CEO of MurWalls, said: “I am very proud for MurWalls to be producing this artistic tribute to a contemporary football legend. What a player Ledley was, and now that I’ve met him, I’m even more excited to pay tribute to a true gentleman. He is deserving of all the accolades. We worked diligently for a long time, together with Rob White, to bring this to life- but it was well worth the effort.”
All individuals with whom he shared a dressing room, including three unique contributors to the painting, hold Ledley in high regard…
Over the previous week, Michael Dawson, Ledley’s most regular centre-back partner during his time at the Club, as well as Peter Crouch and Alton Thelwell, who both came through our Academy with him, helped paint sections of the mural.
“I will always remember watching my first game after joining the Club from Nottingham Forest in 2005 – we were at home to Portsmouth and I sat there watching Ledley play, thinking ‘how am I going to look playing beside this guy!?'” remarked ‘Daws’, who is now a Club Ambassador.
He was the definition of a Rolls Royce defense. I’ve mentioned before that without Ledley, I don’t think I would have had the Spurs career I did. Both on and off the pitch, he was such a calming influence who gave reassurance to everyone around him, leading by example as a captain.
The mural is fantastic; since Ledley’s retirement, we’ve all realized how important he was to this town and how much he’s valued. This is a well-deserved honor.”
‘Crouchy’, who having left the Club 19 later returned to be captained by Ledley following spells at QPR, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Southampton and Liverpool, said: “In our Academy group, Ledley was by far the best player – his level of skill and technique as a centre-half was very rare in those days.
He’s one of my closest friends in the game, and it means a lot to me to having grown up together in the young squad and then shared some memorable moments with the First Team with our families watching.
Everyone respected him – not just at Spurs but around England squads as well – and it makes me so proud to see how Ledley has become a Club legend who now has a mural across the road from the stadium in his honour.”
Alton, who broke into the First Team under George Graham around the same time as Ledley, said: “We all know Ledley as a laid-back guy – but there is so much depth to him. We’d talk for hours about a variety of issues, and his intelligence always showed in the way he played on the field. My debut versus Liverpool will stay with me forever.
The team weren’t doing so well at the time and Ledley and I were sniffing around the First Team. In the Friday training session, we realised we may have a chance of playing and then both ended up starting the match, which we went on to win in front of the live TV cameras. It was a dream come true and being able to do that alongside a true friend in Ledley is a moment that will never leave me.”
