David James

David Benjamin James MBE (born 1 August 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

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.

James Rose to fame together with Liverpool teammates Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, and Robbie Fowler, who were nicknamed the "Spice Boys" – an epithet named after the Spice Girls that was used by those who alleged the Liverpool team of the 1990s were more focused on partying than winning games.

James' frequent blunders earned him the nickname Calamity James.

He put down his spate of errors to an overindulgence in playing computer games that in turn affected his concentration.

He was signed for £1.25m by Liverpool on 6 July 1992.

James made his Liverpool debut on 16 August 1992 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 gained a Football League Cup winner's medal with Liverpool in 1995, an FA Cup winner's medal with Portsmouth in 2008, as well as runners-up medals with Aston Villa in 2000, Liverpool in 1996 and Portsmouth in 2010.

Despite winning the 1995 Football League Cup, James' hold on the starting position was put in jeopardy with the acquisition of Brad Friedel.

He also received a runners-up medal in 1996 in the FA Cup while being on the losing side against Manchester United.

He was capped 53 times by England between 1997 and 2010, and was first choice goalkeeper during the team's Euro 2004 and the 2010 World Cup campaigns.

On 23 June 1999, after 277 games for Liverpool, he was sold to Aston Villa for £1.8 million.

James made his Villa debut on 7 August 1999, and kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win over Newcastle United in the opening Premier League game.

He was decisive in a penalty shoot-out against Bolton Wanderers in the 2000 FA Cup semi-final, but conceded Chelsea's winning goal in the ensuing final, the last to be staged at the old Wembley.

After just two years and 85 appearances, James moved to West Ham United for £3.5 million on 11 July 2001, signing a four-year contract.

However, a serious knee injury sustained while on international duty kept him out for several months.

James made his debut for West Ham on 24 November 2001 in a 1–0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2002–03, West Ham were relegated to the First Division.

James stayed with West Ham at the start of the 2003–04 season before returning to the Premier League, signing for Manchester City on 14 January 2004 for an undisclosed fee as a replacement for the retired David Seaman.

He played 102 total games in all competitions for West Ham.

James made his Manchester City debut on 17 January 2004 in a 1–1 home draw with Blackburn Rovers.

In 2008, James was inducted into the Watford Hall of Fame for his services to the club.

In 2010, at the age of 39, he became the oldest goalkeeper to appear in an FA Cup Final.

James dropped down a division in 2010 to play for Bristol City and later played for League One side AFC Bournemouth.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to football and charity.

Having started his career with Watford, James went on to feature in the Premier League for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth.

He joined Icelandic side ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar in 2013 in a joint playing and coaching capacity, before officially retiring.

In October 2013, James took up a coaching position at Luton Town, the club he has supported since his childhood.

The following year, he became the marquee player and manager of the newly formed Kerala Blasters.

His most recent position was manager at Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League in 2018.

He is also a pundit on Sky Sports football coverage.

James is fifth on the list of all-time Premier League appearances, having played in 572 top-level matches, and held the Premier League record for most clean sheets with 169 until Petr Čech surpassed this record.

He holds the record for most penalties saved in Premier League history (13).

He returned to the club in 2018, being dismissed in December following an 11-match winless run.

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, James grew up supporting Luton Town.