New Beginnings..David James, Another Chance

For those of you who dont know...David happens to be my older brother (I only met him once in my life though. He visited Jamaica in the 90's) and he is the main reason why I have grown a distaste for Manchester United..lol (FA Cup final when Scholes scored in the dying minutes to deny Liverpool the cup). With that being said I have watched his career evolve over the years and I have always supported him (Despite being a gunner..lol) even when he went through troubled times and had the media criticizing his every move. This year he is nominated for PFA Player of the year and I have decided to write an article to honour this achievement based on research on his career.

David now 37 has had a tremendous season at his new club (One of many) Portsmouth. He has managed to achieve 18 clean sheets and over 135 saves. His team has managed to outroute Manchester United's dreams of a treble and have found themselves in the FA Cup Finals against Cardiff. They most likely will participate in the UEFA Cup in the upcoming season, win or lose based on regulations that prevent their opponents from taking part in the European competition. A large part of this success has been David's focus and determination to sacrifice his body to keep the ball from entering into the back of the net. His broken nose is proof of this. Recent success on his part has not surprised me, because he has been doing this throughout his entire career. Standing at 6 ft 5 inchs and working strenously on his physique has given him the agility and flexibility to save some of the most precise shots taken by marksmen in the premiereship.His abilities have gained him opportunity to represent his country as the number one keeper during Sven Erikkson's reign and more recently Cappello's regime.

David throughout the years has evolved from a flambouyant loud personality (I used to keep tabs on his different hair colour, styles and patterns) to a man who has matured and has embraced his seniority on and off the pitch. Gone are the bright coloured hairstyles and fast cars and in its place is a large afro and beard that rival's our father's and an eco friendly vehicle. Instead of spending money on jewellry and extravagant items, he now focuses his time doing sketches, collecting toys, protecting the environment and do charitable work in Africa. His career has experienced as many changes as hair dye on his head. Come with me as we take a journey into the life of this distinguished gentleman.

David started his professional career at the tender age of 15 by signing to Watford in 1986. Shortly after signing he became a regular in the starter in the youth team. He received his first competitive trophy shortly after by winning the FA Cup Youth Cup. He then debuted in the senior team in 1990. His performances at his club earned him the opportunity to represent his country in the under 21 squad. He soon began gain the attention of other teams in the premiereship. One of these clubs was Liverpool. Liverpool agreed with Watford to sign him for 1 million pounds. This was the highest transfer fee recorded for a keeper in England at the time. David's time at Anfield saw him go through extreme highs and gut wrenching lows. He came into a major club barely an adult and had to get used to the many lifestyle changes that came with it. His arrival at Liverpool came with a period where he conceded many goals and soon found himself on the bench through two managerial transitions. It was not until 1994 when Liverpool appointed Roy Evans as manager, that David began to experience regular first team action. He then began to join up with his team mate Robbie Fowler, and the media kept a close eye to their off pitch activities. From then on he was known not only for his skills on the pitch but more so for leading a high paced life of fun and frolic. While maintaining a healthy social life he helped to bring his team the League cup and the FA Cup final in 1995. Liverpool won the former, but lost to rivals Manchester United in the latter. His career then went into a spiraling decline due to mistakes in the goal that cost his team their best chance to win the title in 1997. He openly admitted to a lack of focus due to video games which did not go well with the clubs supporters. It was now evident that his career at Anfield was coming to a close.

David then became somewhat of a nomad. He spent the rest of his career being transfered to a number of clubs. He had short stints in Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City until he finally came to settle at his present club Portsmouth. His time before Portsmouth mirrored his days at Anfield recieving highs and lows and a lot of criticism. Critics could not deny the fact that he was a extremely gifted goal keeper, but they felt that his lack of focus led to unecessary goals that could have been saved. He was well respected by his peers for saving difficult shots, but tended to let in more simple ones. During this period he made appearances for the senior National team as a second choice goal keeper. He was so impressive that he remained in goal even when West Ham was regulated to the championship due to poor defensive options. He continued to be Erikkson's first choice keeper until 2004 when his mishaps in goal forced Erikkson to promote Paul Robinson in goal. He would then have to wait 4 yrs before he was able to fight his way back into first choice position.

David's luck changed when he agreed to join Harry Redknapp in Portsmouth. David originally wanted to leave then club Manchester City so he could be closer to his family who lived in London. Redknapp was hired by Portsmouth and given the task to bring Portsmouth out of the bottom half of the premiereship table. Redknapp decided to focus on strenghtening his defense. His solution to Portsmouth problem was to create a tight defensive line that was bolstered by an experienced keeper. Redknapp's investment in David paid off lucratively. Upon arrival he gained 5 clean sheets in a row and became more consistent in goal resulting in Portsmouth climbing away from regulation and into European aspirations. In 2007 he broke the record of the most clean sheets in the Premiereship. He is now the holder of the record and has added more numbers this season to the original record of 145. This year he broke the record for most league appearances for a goal keeper. Presented with a new opportunity to succeed David began to look for ways he could improve goal keeping. He turned to psychology to help him achieve more focus in the goal. His form also attracted attention from the manager of national team. He was soon called up to represent his country as first choice keeper in a friendly against Switzerland.

England new manager Fabio Cappello upon arriving England was so impressed with David's performance's he made him first choice keeper ahead of Paul Robinson. In his first game of his return he kept goal during a 1-0 victory against Switzerland. Presenly he remains Cappello's first choice despite England's loss in a friendly against France due to him fouling a striker that slipped past the English defense. In the mean time Portsmouth has improved dramatically since his inception into the team. Portsmouth currently sits 7 th in the tables and has 57 pts with two more games left an improvement from last years total of 54 and are in the FA Cup finals to be played in May. David's out standing display this season has earned him a nomination for player of the year, a rare feat for goal keepers. His goals are now to win the FA Cup, play in Europe and be the starting keeper at World Cup 2010. David has stamped his place in English Football history and with a renewal of his Portsmouth contract for another 2 years signed the sky is the limit for this experienced gaurdian of the goal.

My two cents: Throughout his career David has been an outstanding keeper. His strengths are his height and physique that allow him to stretch his body across the goal to save the most difficult of shots. David also had weaknesses. David professional career started at a young age. In his early 20's he was already a member of a large club. This experience can lead to a lack of focus in young players, and he went through a period of life when his life off the pitch took first priority that lead him to blunders during his time at Liverpool. I however do not blame him for most of the mistakes he made after leaving Liverpool.

I have watched alot of the games he had during his nomadic period and noticed one thing. He remained a more than capable goal keeper when his defense provided him with satisfactory support. Many times his defenders made silly mistakes that often left him in a position that decreased the liklihood of him saving a shot. As a result David often recieved the bulk of the blame for mistakes created by his teamates on the club and international level. At Portsmouth Harry Redknapp has supported David with a proven defensive line up with experienced denfenders such as Sol Campbell, Lauren, Distin and Johnson who provide him with an effective safety barrier. He is then given more time to evaluate the best possible move to prevent the goal. My Dad always says a goal keeper is as good as the defense before him and I am in agreement.