David James

Written by Tom Wakefield

England Player Profiles

David Benjamin James, born 1st August 1970 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

David James signed for Watford as a trainee, and was part of the side that won the FA Youth Cup . He made his first team leauge debut on 25 August 1990 in a 2-1 defeat to Millwall. Off the back of his performance he was called up for the England under 21 squad to play the Republic Of Ireland.

Premier League big boys Liverpool soon snapped up the young goalkeeper and signed him in the summer of 1992. James made his debut in August 1992 in a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. James would go on to make over 200 appearances for Liverpool but a series of high profile errors saw him get the nickname 'Calamity James', and after seven years at Anfield, James moved on.

Aston Villa snapped up James in June 1999 for 1.8 million, but after just two seasons at Villa Park and 65 appearances James moved on again.

This time it was West Ham United that approached James, signing him for £3.5 million in July 2001, but a knee injury saw a slow start to his Upton Park career, and he didn't make his debut until November.

He went on to make over 90 appearances for the Hammers, but was part of the side that was relegated from the Premier League. After a brief spell in the Championship, James soon moved back to the top flight.

Manchester City signed David James for an undisclosed fee in January 2004. He made 93 appearances for City and even had a spell upfront in a game, But in 2006 James left to join Portsmouth for £1.2 million.

James has been a popular figure on the south coast ever since, and was part of the side that won the FA Cup in 2008. His performances saw him set the record for all time Premier League clean sheets, and he was also voted the 15th best player in Portsmouth's history. It is expected that James will leave Portsmouth this summer, following their relegation to the Championship.

James' England senior team career started in 1997 against Mexico when he kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 England victory. In the following years James struggled to displace David Seaman, and had a hard time when actually playing for England, again making some mistakes, and receiving criticism from the England fans. But after the retirement of Seaman, James would go on to be England's number one at Euro 2004.

Another error against Austria saw Paul Robinson take the number one spot away from James, and James would go on to be Robinson's deputy at the 2006 World Cup. Since then James has been in and out of the team, due to injury and form. But his reputation and consistency in recent years should see him earn a place in the World Cup squad for South Africa.

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