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Birthdate:
01.08.1972
Birthplace: Welwyn Garden City, England
Other clubs: Watford, Aston Villa, West Ham, Man City, Portsmouth
Bought from: Watford
Signed for LFC: £1000000 06.07.1992
International debut: 29.03.1997 vs. Mexico
International caps: 53/0 (1 at LFC) - 27.06.2010
Liverpool debut:
16.08.1992
Last appearance: 21.04.1999
Contract expiry: 17.06.1999
LFC league games/goals: 214 / 0
Total LFC games/goals: 277 / 0
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Player Notes:
James was considered one of England's best and brightest keepers when he was establishing himself at Watford. Arriving at Liverpool he vowed to become the club's first-choice keeper and England's as well inside two years. James didn't start his LFC career very promisingly and critics were happy to write him off after failing at the first hurdle. But he was able to pick himself up and managed to remove Grobbelaar as first-choice. He was making the odd mistake but that was a fact that LFC's fans had grown quite accostumed to after watching Grobbelaar's wild antics. But unlike the past Liverpool were not winning each game despite the goalkeeper's errors and when James made a mistake it was the reason behind Liverpool's defeat that particular evening.
Contrary to people's expectations James seemed to become less confident as the years passed by at Liverpool and one high pass into the penalty area was basically what was needed because the opposition knew he would have trouble controlling it. James has since had a successful career with a number of clubs and has a healthy number of international caps to his name.
David, who moved to Portsmouth from Manchester City in August 2006, showed loyalty to the south coast club by twice negotiating an extension to his contract. Pompey won the F.A. cup in 2008 and that must have helped to justify the goalkeeper's decision to stay there. Surprisingly, because it was in total contrast to their dreadful Premier League form, Portsmouth again reached the cup final in 2010 but Chelsea denied James a second winners' medal. Pompey were relegated after finishing well clear at the bottom of the table with David playing in 25 of the 38 League fixtures. On the whole he showed good form and with his next birthday being his 40th was still considered good enough to make England's provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. |
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