David Benjamin James (born 1 August 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player. A former goalkeeper, he is one of a select number of players who have amassed over 1,000 career appearances.

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 was capped 53 times by England between 1997 and 2010, and was first choice goalkeeper during the team's UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns. 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 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. 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 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. He returned to the club in 2018, being dismissed in December following an 11-match winless run.

Club career

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 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. Despite winning the 1995 Football League Cup, James' hold on the starting position was put in jeopardy with the acquisition of Brad Friedel. He made 277 appearances for Liverpool in total.

Aston Villa On 23 June 1999, James was sold to Aston Villa for £1.8 million. He made his Villa debut on 7 August, 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. Over two years, he made 85 appearances for Villa.

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

Manchester City

James returned to the Premier League by signing for Manchester City on 14 January 2004 for £2 million fee as a replacement for the retired David Seaman, on Seaman's recommendation. He reunited with his former Liverpool "Spice Boys" teammates Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman.

James made his debut on 17 January 2004 in a 1–1 home draw with Blackburn Rovers. City won only four of the seventeen matches that James started, two of which came after James saved penalties against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. James said that exploring the field of sport psychology improved his skills as a goalkeeper, particularly saving penalty kicks.

On the last day of the 2004–05 season, James was playing for City who needed to beat Middlesbrough to qualify for the UEFA Cup at the opposition's expense. With five minutes remaining the score was 1–1, when City's manager Stuart Pearce replaced midfielder Claudio Reyna with the substitute goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, and James was moved to play in attack for the remainder of the game. The unusual tactic almost worked when, in injury time, Middlesbrough defender Franck Queudrue conceded a penalty by handling a cross that was aimed at James. However, Fowler's penalty was saved by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, meaning they qualified for the UEFA Cup at City's expense.

Portsmouth

On 10 August 2006, James, who had separated from his wife, stated that he needed to leave Manchester City to be closer to his children, who lived in London. Manchester City confirmed they had accepted a bid from Portsmouth. Two days later, he joined Portsmouth for £1.2 million, signing a two-year deal.

James kept clean sheets in his first five appearances for Portsmouth. On 22 April 2007, James kept his 142nd Premier League clean sheet in a goalless draw with Aston Villa, breaking the record of 141 previously held by David Seaman.Aston Villa 0–0 Portsmouth At the end of 2006–07, James was named Portsmouth's player of the season.

James has made the most league appearancesPremier League official appearance stats of any goalkeeper since the formation of the Premier League over fifteen seasons, in addition to conceding the most goals."Premier League official goalkeeper conceded stats" On 30 January 2008, in a league match against Manchester United, he became the third player (after Gary Speed and Ryan Giggs) to cross the 500-match threshold.

James signed a one-year contract extension in May 2007, which kept him at Fratton Park until the end of the 2008–09 season. James won the second major trophy of his career during that season, as Portsmouth claimed a 1–0 victory over Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium in the 2008 FA Cup Final. James was named as the goalkeeper in the PFA Team of the Year for 2007–08; only he and Aston Villa's Ashley Young were from teams outside the top four. On 8 November 2008, he made his 100th appearance for Portsmouth.

He holds the distinction of twice having been the record holder for consecutive Premier League appearances, with 159 during his Liverpool days from February 1994 to February 1998, and 166 between Manchester City and Portsmouth from 2006 to 2008; both streaks were eventually topped by Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Tottenham Hotspur's Brad Friedel, respectively.I play for Aston Villa not for myself says Brad Friedel – Birmingham Mail, 29 November 2008, Retrieved on 29 November 2008

On 14 February 2009 against Manchester City, James made his 536th Premier League appearance, breaking Speed's all-time record.

On 22 April 2009, Times Online named James as the 15th greatest player in Portsmouth's history.

James captained Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur where Portsmouth won 2–0 in extra time, describing the experience as "superb". He also captained the team in the final as Portsmouth were beaten 1–0 by double winners Chelsea.

His contract expired at the end of the 2009–10 season, and he expressed interest in succeeding Avram Grant as Portsmouth manager, though this came to nothing. The club offered him a new playing contract, but withdrew the offer after he failed to commit to the club; therefore, James left Portsmouth and became a free agent.

Bristol City

James signed a one-year contract with Championship side Bristol City on 30 July 2010, with the option of a second year. He stated that he hoped that his performances at the club would keep him on the radar for the England team and that his decision to join them was motivated by a desire to be closer to his family home in Devon.

James' league debut for Bristol City came on 7 August 2010 in a 3–0 defeat to Millwall. On 11 February 2011, the eve of his 850th club appearance, James announced he had signed a contract extension with the club until June 2012. On 10 March 2012, James reached 900 club appearances in a game against Cardiff City in the Severnside derby, in which he was made captain as a mark of respect.

He was released by Bristol City on 1 May 2012, and in July 2012 began training with Exeter City.

AFC Bournemouth On 27 September 2012, he arrived at Dean Court to train with AFC Bournemouth, signing a one-year deal to play for them the following day. However, he did not see out the contract, leaving the club by mutual consent in March 2013 after making 19 appearances.

ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar On 2 April 2013, James signed a contract with Icelandic club ÍBV until the end of the 2013 season in a joint player/coach capacity. He linked up with former Portsmouth teammate Hermann Hreiðarsson, the manager of ÍBV. The ÍBV chairman stated that James was not being paid high wages, and that he was primarily playing out of kindness and to gain coaching experience. His arrival at ÍBV saw much higher attendances than in previous years. ÍBV ended the season in sixth position, and James announced his retirement from playing.

Kerala Blasters and retirement He was signed by Kerala Blasters FC, owned by Sachin Tendulkar, for the 2014 Indian Super League as a player-manager. He said "I hope my involvement with ISL will be the start of something great." The team's first fixture on 13 October, in which James played, resulted in a 1–0 defeat at NorthEast United. His team eventually became the runners up in the inaugural ISL tournament by losing to Atletico de Kolkata 1–0 in the finals. James retired at the end of the season.

International career 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