James Sinclair

As a schoolboy, Sinclair was both a promising track and field athlete – he came second in the English Schools' championships at 200 metres, won a Scottish decathlon title, and set an under-15 United Kingdom indoor record for the 50 metres – and a prolific goalscorer. He played for Alnwick Town Juniors, Northumberland Boys – for whom he set a schools record, scoring nine goals in a county under-16s match against South Yorkshire – and the youth academies of Sunderland and Newcastle United, prior to signing scholarship forms with Bolton Wanderers in summer 2004. Bolton Wanderers At 16 he scored on his first team debut in a pre-season friendly game against Sheffield Wednesday F.C, and was then an unused substitute the next day against Inter Milan. He broke his leg the same year, but quickly returned to fitness. During the 2006–07 season, he converted from the role of attacker to right wing back with success. Sinclair agreed his first professional contract shortly before making his first-team debut for Bolton, on 28 April 2007 in the 2–2 Premier League draw away to Chelsea, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute to replace Idan Tal. He drew praise from player-coach Gary Speed both for his play and for his character. Sinclair also played in the 2007 Peace Cup pre-season tournament, under Sammy Lee's management, He played in every pre-season match for the club that summer as both right back and in midfield. He made his first competitive appearance of the 2007–08 season as a very…