David James's career will be remembered unfairly

I'm not sure we could call James the first choice at World Cup 2010, given Rob Green's opening game howler against the US.

At the same time, I'm not convinced the "Calamity James" carried through to England in the same way. I can't think of too many high-profile mistakes for England. Certainly not a Seaman-vs-Ronaldinho, Green-vs-Dempsey, Robinson-vs-divot, Carson-vs-Krancjar kind of way.

At a time where a single goalkeeper error at international is enough to all but end your career (Robinson kept 4 out of 5 clean sheets at WC'06; Green & Carson have barely been back) and others who choose not to turn up (Foster), it's a credit to James that even at 40, and never really anyone's first choice, he was always there when called upon.

Part of being a good keeper is bouncing back time and again. At age 40 he started 3 World Cup games. Not bad for a Calamity.

My biggest problem with David James was something that he used to do when facing freekicks just outside of the penalty area, he would line up the wall, stand in the correct place and then just as the freekick was taken he would take two or three steps to the side, so that he was behind the wall, and, invariably, the ball would sail into the side of the goal that he should've been covering...every bleedin' time.

"...In two FA Cup finals – 1996 for Liverpool and 2000 for Aston Villa..." it could have been three, if there hadn't been some "rum" / odd goings-on at Watford in 1987. So the first and second choice goalies aren't match fit - do you:

a) Allow your star/highly talented-apprentice keeper step up to the plate and possible glory - a real example of the romance of the FA cup.

b) Listen to boardroom member who's got a nephew who does a bit of keeping in his spare time, when not running a wine bar.

It's a funny old game

I think you'll find that watford's keeper in 1987 was the chief executive's son: www.guardian.co.uk/football/2003/apr/10/newsstory.sport2

Either way it was a great decision by 'Turnip' Taylor to play him ahead of Sherwood!

@madmickyf

Well the guardian's nearly telling all: Bob Wilson was also "tapped up".

Bob Wilson?? Surely you mean Pat Jennings? Having watched the highlights of that game on Youtube I have to say that either of them would've been a better option than Gary Plumley. Probably the worst keeper ever to have played in an FA Semi.