Football FanCast columnist Dan Mitchell wonders if it is time for this particular ‘King' to abdicate his throne.

These are troubling times for Spurs fans. The club finds itself rooted to the bottom of the table after its worst start in 96 years, with a manager at the helm who the supporters are rapidly losing faith in, and a strike force that is simply not up to the task of replacing the goals lost through the sales of the clubs two star players. There is another big issue at Spurs that needs addressing though; that of what to do with the clubs remaining talisman, Ledley King.

Ledley has been at the club for 11 years now and has provided an unfaltering service. He has proven himself to be an international standard defender over the years and has shown unwavering loyalty to the club which made him, something which sadly isn't guaranteed in football today. In return for his loyalty and high standard of performance Ledley has been rewarded with captaincy of the club, and a reverence amongst Spurs fans that few players have experienced.

However King has consistently struggled with a variety of injuries, from a hip injury in 2002, to a broken metatarsal and his infamous knee troubles. It is this knee injury, initially sustained in the 06/07 preseason, which has left King unable to play regularly for Spurs. Despite multiple surgeries and Spurs allowing him a long layoff period throughout the uneventful end to the 07/08 season, King is simply not fit enough to play the two games a week that fixture lists demand of players nowadays. Whether he will ever be fit enough to do so remains a point of contention, however I feel Spurs need to be making a decision on this issue in the near future.

If King and the physios declare that he simply cannot play two games a week for Spurs ever again, what do Spurs do? The Spurs defence has continued the clubs tradition of conceding far too many goals, and having King drifting in and out of the back 4 is widely accepted as having contributed towards this. A team's defence should surely be its most stable part, yet at Spurs King has drifted in and out of the team, making only two league appearances, and his performances have not been up to the standard we have come to expect.

So do Spurs repay Kings ;oyalty with some of their own, keeping him on the payroll until the end of his contract? Or should they be looking to offload him and bring in a replacement? In my opinion Spurs have already shown admirable loyalty towards King throughout his injury woes, and should continue to do so. However some things need to change.

King should not remain as captain of the club if he cannot be leading the side in every game. It is a sad situation, but the team's leader should be playing week in week out and if King is unable to do that, then his captaincy needs to be permanently handed over to someone new. Jenas was a controversial choice, but in the last few games he has really been getting more vocal and running his legs off to try and drag the team forwards. Perhaps once the teams performances pick up he can truly begin to shine in the role. In my opinion though Jonathon Woodgate would be the ideal choice for such a role, and would be a replacement for King in every way. Indeed it is Woody's performances at the back which have kept Spurs in many games over the last year.

On top of the captaincy issue, I think Spurs need to be leaving King out of the starting line-up until he is able to play in a run of games. Dawson is inconsistent at best and centre back is not Corlukas preferred position, however one or the other needs to be partnered with Woodgate and left to establish the partnership properly. We won't know how well either player can perform until they are given a chance to really develop an understanding with Woodgate. I think this consistency might just help alleviate Spurs defensive woes (though not entirely, the defensive midfield position needs addressing).

I love Ledley as much as the next Spurs fan and I truly hope that he will come back from his injury problems and go on to have a long successful career at Spurs. However I think his injury problems are paralysing Spurs effectiveness in defence and that the issue needs deciding one way or another by Ramos.

What do you think? Do we continue to play Ledley sporadically or should we be leaving him out until he is fully fit/deemed unable to play? If he is unable what do you think Spurs should do?

Feel free to comment below and I will do my best to reply to any interesting/relevant points.