David James

Watford

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, James grew up supporting Luton Town. He signed as a trainee with Luton's local rivals Watford upon leaving school, and was first selected for the club's senior team in 1989. In his days as a youth player, he helped Watford win the FA Youth Cup. Following the departure of Tony Coton, James made his league debut on 25 August 1990 in a 1–2 defeat against Millwall, and his performance resulted in an England U21 call-up for a match against the Republic of Ireland. He earned a total of ten caps for the U21s. At club level, James made 89 first-team appearances for Watford, and was named the club's Player of the Season for the 1990–91 season, when he kept goal in all 46 Second Division games as Watford escaped relegation. In 2008, James was inducted into the Watford Hall of Fame for his services to the club.

Liverpool

James was signed for £1.25 million by Liverpool on 6 July 1992. He made his Liverpool debut on 16 August in a 0–1 league defeat to Nottingham Forest. After conceding twenty goals in eleven matches in the first half of the 1993–94, he was dropped in favour of veteran Bruce Grobbelaar, but was recalled to the starting line-up and kept his first clean sheet of the season in a 1–0 away win over Arsenal on 31 January 1993, which included a penalty save from Paul Merson. He also received a runners-up medal in 1996 in the FA Cup while being on the losing side against Manchester United. James rose to fame…

Youth career and early senior career

After making one England under-21 appearance whilst at Watford, James made his full debut for Glenn Hoddle's England in a friendly against Mexico on 29 March 1997 when he was a Liverpool player. He kept his first international clean sheet as England beat Mexico 2–0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and James' Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler. He was in the provisional 28-man squad for Euro 2000 before missing the final cut. James is the only black goalkeeper to represent England as a full international.

Years of rotation and Euro 2004

James was selected by Sven-Göran Eriksson for his 23-man squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was third choice behind David Seaman and Nigel Martyn, as the veteran Arsenal goalkeeper played in all five of England's games. For several years he had to play understudy to England's regular keeper, David Seaman. When Seaman was dropped after making a mistake against Macedonia in 2002, James became the new England number one. He retained his place in the England team even after West Ham's relegation to the First Division in 2003, and was the only player from outside the top flight to win an England cap between 1999 (Michael Gray) and 2007 (David Nugent). He went on to play in all of England's matches at Euro 2004. James was dropped from the starting XI, his place being taken by Tottenham's Paul Robinson. James came on as a half-time substitute and conceded all four goals in the 4–1 drubbing…

Considered to be one of England's best goalkeepers in his prime, James was an aggressive and imposing goalkeeper, who was known for his excellent shot-stopping ability and ability to produce long throws, as well as his professionalism, leadership, and ability to organise his defence; however, he also came under criticism in the media for his perceived poor decision–making and distribution with his feet, although he was able to improve upon this aspect of his game as his career progressed. His ability to claim crosses was also cited as a weakness in his gameplay. His inconsistency and error–prone performances led to him being nicknamed "Calamity James" in the media. In his youth, his role model was Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff. James was also known for his penalty-stopping abilities.

Commenting on the comparatively low numbers of black players who become managers in English football, James said in 2012 that "I struggle with the racist issue in football because I don't see it, and that's not because I've got my head in the sand. In the earlier days, yes, but the game's changed...If you don't want to go, an [sic] moan about not getting jobs, well, probably because you haven't been on the course is the reason why you haven't got a job."

ÍBV

James served as a player-coach for manager Hermann Hreiðarsson at ÍBV in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla during the 2013 season.

Luton Town

Following his stint at ÍBV, James joined Luton Town in October 2013 in a coaching capacity in order to gain experience towards a UEFA A-licence qualification.

Kerala Blasters

James was the player-manager of Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League 2014 season. Utilising a distinctly British identity, signing players such as Stephen Pearson and Michael Chopra, he took them to the ISL playoffs at the first attempt, after a 4th-place finish in the league phase. In the playoffs, extra time was needed to see off Chennaiyin 4–3 on aggregate, taking James and Kerala Blasters to the 2014 Indian Super League final, only to lose 1–0 to Atlético de Kolkata. James left the club at the end of his contract. James returned to the helm of the club as their head coach a day after the sacking of Rene Meulensteen on 3 January 2018, following a string of poor…