Career So Far

James started his playing career at Ipswich Town in 1994, signing his apprentice forms at the same time as Richard Wright. James spent three years with the club competing for places with the two internationals at the club, Richard Wright and Canadian, Craig Forrest. James made many reserve appearances and sat on the bench for the first team on numerous occasions. 

He left Ipswich in 1997 and played at semi-professional level, it was at this time that his coaching career started with the Ipswich Town community coaching program, running 3 courses in Suffolk which led to him being asked by then Academy manager Brian Klug to coach the Academy Goalkeepers.

James spent almost 4 years with the academy during which time James identified the talents of Lewis Price, Price had been released by Southampton and James played a big part in his permanent move to Ipswich. Lewis went on to play 77 first team games at Ipswich prior to his move to Derby County and premiership football.  

At about the same time James started his own community based coaching school in Ipswich for young keepers in the area. It was aimed at the grass roots level, was very popular and had a great deal of success in improving the standard of goalkeeping. Several goalkeepers from his coaching school represented their county and a few went on to sign agreements with academies and school of excellence at professional club. 

In 2000 Sammy Morgan Norwich's then Academy Director approached James for help in coaching their academy goalkeepers, which led to him working with the first team. The senior goalkeepers at the time where Andy Marshall and a young Robert Green, it was at this point that James realised that his future in the game lay in coaching. The following season Nigel Worthington offered the senior goalkeeper coaches position to him full-time, a position he held for 7 seasons.