Steve McClaren rang David James before he signed for Portsmouth and told him he wanted to look at other goalkeepers. James knew exactly what that meant 😳

Eighteen months later he was back in the England squad. At 39, he finally played his first World Cup match 🙌

Jeff Stelling sits down with one of the most recognisable goalkeepers of the Premier League era for a conversation that covers the England years, the 'Calamity James' label, and the phone call he still hasn't forgiven 📞

James explains why Robbie Fowler's missed penalty against Middlesbrough in 2005 may have created Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. He talks about being sent up front as an emergency striker with seven minutes left and no warning. He describes falling out with the press, blocking journalists entirely, and the conversation in his kitchen with a stranger that changed how he understood his own game 🧠

He's also candid about being told the club didn't want sports psychology mentioned in the dressing room, about conceding a goal ruining his weekend even in a 5-1 win, and about why he thinks this England squad is technically better than the golden generation he played in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Plus: Fabio Capello's flip chart, the save he rates above Gordon Banks against Pelé, why Gianluigi Buffon is his greatest of all time, and what's stopping former England players from getting coaching jobs ⚽️

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⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introducing David James
01:30 - Sent up front as an emergency striker for Man City
03:06 - Why Robbie Fowler's miss created Guardiola's Man City
04:40 - "I wasn't a Spice Boy"
05:31 - Modelling for Armani in Milan
07:56 - Why he kept his private life private
10:22 - Watford to Liverpool: the culture shock
11:00 - Living with the 'Calamity James' nickname
12:49 - Blocking the journalists who turned on him
14:00 - The stranger in his kitchen
15:14 - "The club don't like it" - sports psychology in the 90s
16:30 - Win a FREE signed David James England shirt 👉 https://www.olbg.com/james
17:45 - More than 50 caps and the queue of English keepers
20:07 - A broken nose: England or modelling?
22:12 - That Steve McClaren phone call
24:39 - Croatia, Scott Carson and the night England went out
25:30 - Fabio Capello brings him back
27:30 - Deal or no deal: how Capello named his team
29:30 - Playing a World Cup at 39
31:50 - Why a 5-1 win felt like a bad game
34:18 - The Guardian headline
35:30 - Is this England squad better than the Golden Generation?
36:41 - Portugal 2004, Germany 2010 and Greece's Euro win
38:59 - How the back pass rule changed goalkeeping forever
41:06 - Playing out from the back: worth the risk?
42:26 - Buffon: the greatest goalkeeper he's ever seen
44:36 - The save he rates above Gordon Banks
45:30 - Subscribe for more from The Jeff Stelling Show
46:00 - Harry Redknapp and the managers he played under
46:38 - Winning the FA Cup with Portsmouth
48:45 - 200,000 in Southsea, administration two years later
51:09 - Bristol City, Bournemouth and moving to India
53:08 - Knowing it was over
55:29 - Applying for jobs and getting no reply
57:46 - Taking his goalkeeping badges

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