with the EPL closed for the break and while waiting for real madrid to wrap up the la liga title, we continue the Spurs Legends Series (SLS). before we honour the next player, i wish to talk about what makes a club legend, or rather what makes a player a legend to a club?
is michael owen considered a liverpool legend?
is david beckham considered a man utd legend?
they left their respective clubs while they are still young but not before they contributed with world class performances. how many clubs have star players like giggs or j.zanetti (inter) who are going to see out their contracts with the same club after what? >10 years of 1st team performances.
sol campbell was spurs captain before he left for arsenal. he was england's first choice, rock solid, his tackles and goals from headers brought plenty of relief to spurs. in fact those corner kick headers even alerted barcelona! a very young ledley king was coming up as a reliable central defender that time but unfortunately the perfect partnership with campbell was short lived.
1992-2001
POSITION
Central Defender
DATE OF BIRTH
Wednesday, 18th September 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH
Newham, London
LEAGUE DEBUT
Saturday, 5th December 1992 as a sub in a 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea (scored) (Aged: 18)
CLUB CAREER
246 League apps (+9 as sub), 10 goals
Sol Campbell was a prodigious schoolboy talent and was part-educated at the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall, before joining Tottenham Hotspur. Strangely he began his career as a striker. He made his first team debut for Spurs in December 1992, scoring a goal after coming on as a substitute for Nick Barmby, though he did not appear again that season.
He played up front and in every defensive position over the course of the next two seasons before settling as a central defender. As club captain Gary Mabbutt's appearances became more limited because of injury and age, Campbell became Spurs' linchpin defender.
In the summer of 2001 Campbell's contract expired. Mindful of the Bosman ruling, Tottenham offered him a contract which would have made him the club's highest paid player ever, but after months of negotiations and several public assurances that he would stay at Spurs, Campbell stated his wish to leave the club in order to play Champions League football.
With several top European clubs courting him, he joined Arsenal. Campbell had previously stated in an interview with Spurs Monthly that he would never play for Arsenal. Ever since, he has been labelled "Judas" by Spurs supporters, who regard him as a "mercenary" and accused him of prioritising personal gain over club loyalty; Campbell has always maintained that he loved Tottenham, and that his decision was entirely professional. The fact that he left on a Bosman transfer (thus meaning Spurs did not receive a transfer fee) further angered Tottenham fans.