Interview with David James

It was our pleasure to talk with the one and only David James, one of English football’s most coveted goalkeepers, with appearances for the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and England. 

Scroll down for the full transcript, and keep an eye out for the interview video. 

Thomas Tuchel has faced a lot of stick from England fans in recent weeks, and he himself decided to respond. How could this relationship between fans and manager impact players at the World Cup this summer, and do you think England fans deserve some of the stick? 

I think it's the England manager's job. You're as good as a trophy that you win, and leading up to that, if Thomas Tuchel was saying everything nicely, it wouldn't mean that we were going to win.

So if he's being honest, I think from a player's perspective, if you know your manager is being honest, then you're going to trust what he's doing. And if you win every game, like England have done, and haven't conceded a goal, then the road to success looks good, and you will trust that manager.

The irony of this is Capello in 2010. One defeat courtesy of Rob Green getting sent off against Ukraine, but we won all the other games. So, we went into that tournament theoretically full of confidence because we could win games of football, but we know what happened in 2010; there were other teams who didn't want us to win, and I think Thomas Tuchel fits that scenario at the moment.

He's not talking to everyone; he'll be talking to certain sections, as certain sections will be aiming comments towards Thomas Tuchel. So, as long as he stays honest with himself and can produce the performances, then I think we as a nation will tolerate whatever happens, provided he comes back from the US with the World Cup trophy.

Goalkeeper transfers have rocketed in recent years. In your prime, how much do you think you would have been worth in the Premier League's current market? 

A free transfer. The two seasons I was at Portsmouth, I believe I was in the top two ranking goalkeepers. So yeah, £40 million.

[More than Donnarumma then?] Wheey! Hahaha!

West Ham recently suffered another defeat and sit 19th in the Premier League table. Are you worried that your former club could be relegated? 

Yes, I am worried about West Ham. I hope they can turn things around, but it was pretty much one-way traffic. 

With a big influx of players and how they deal with them, there's an inevitable downturn at any point in the season. But at West Ham it seems to be going on now for a couple of seasons, at least. You can go back to winning the Europa Conference League. That was an anomaly in the season.  So there's something which is becoming more and more ingrained. 

You just hope that, first of all, the manager can get the performances out of the players.  At the moment, I think as a West Ham supporter, I'd be happy with 17th. That's where it is at the moment. The idea of finishing in the top half and in Europe, I think, is beyond any realistic point at the moment. 

I am worried, but I think they'll turn it around, and I just hope that the supporters get behind them to give them all the encouragement they need.

The Nottingham Forest owner has been heavily criticised for his relationship with the players and his role within the dressing room again at the weekend. 

Do you think it's right for an owner to be so involved with the first team, and as a former player, how would the constant presence affect you? 

He's an owner; he can do what he wants. That's his right. It's his money, and he can do what he wants, so I can't criticise someone for doing what they want. 

I have been in changing rooms in lower leagues where owners have come in and started talking to players about the performance, and the manager at the time wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. That manager was replaced, and the following manager did something about it. 

But as a manager, you go in and you set the rules out for essentially what the changing room means, to the point that you have it that the owner doesn't go in there. 

If you're strong enough to be able to get the owner not to go in there, then you don't have to blame yourself for what's happening on the field, so the owner can do what he wants. 

The players have to try and deal with it, but you would like to think that the manager, who is Sean Dyche now, is strong enough to make sure that the owner doesn't come in and disrupt anything that he's trying to lay out in that changing room.

If you were still playing as a goalkeeper, who do you think would be the least intimidating Premier League striker to face? 

I know that after eight games, the one striker who keeps popping up, and it's not that he can't score goals, but after eight games, he hasn't done, is Beto. He just seems to be in and around, but not quite there. I know Everton aren't having the worst start to a season, but I think at the moment, if I was going out, he would be the one. 

But if you asked me this question at Christmas after he's scored eight or nine goals, then it wouldn't be him. Hopefully for him, he starts scoring, but at the moment, he would be the one that I wouldn't be so intimidated by.

Is there a team you look at and think, as a keeper, my defence wouldn't be worried or intimidated by this season? 

Well, it pains me to say it, but probably West Ham. It's just not gelling, is it, at the moment.  I know it's cliché, but you look at the striking options they've got, and it should be better.

Ask me at Christmas, though, after West Ham win four in a row, five in a row, then it might be a different team.

Manchester United have been heavily criticised for their defensive problems. Do you think their defensive problems are solely down to goalkeeping mistakes, or is it down to the fact that it's the defence in front of them?

No, the Premier League's changed this season. One team will get the badge, if you like, and that will be the one that they run with. And Manchester United's defensive problems are possibly that badge that they're wearing at the moment.

But Arne Slot at Liverpool has mentioned the defensive problems. I mean, off the top of my head, I can't think. Is it one clean sheet, which was ironically against Arsenal.  

I think everyone's conceded a lot of goals, bar literally a couple of teams. So to blame Manchester United's defence, I think, would be wrong.

I just think that we, as observers in whatever capacity, are being given lots of goals. Which, as a goalkeeper, I hated, but as a pundit and a football fan, I enjoy. 

Manchester United, even when conceding, are capable of winning games of football. I'm not going to blame any defensive issues for that.

Is there a defender or centre-back pairing that you look at and think, I wouldn't have liked to have them in front of me? 

Currently, as I say, considering the number of goals going in, pretty much everyone! But we know it's more than that. The centre-half partnering is not necessarily the problem now, as Arne (Slot) mentioned, there's a lot more crosses coming in, a lot more skill, the talent is improving, and so is the finishing.

There's some wonderful quality in the Premier League at the moment, so I would happily play, and I think I would break a record at 55 as being the oldest goalkeeper in the Premier League. I'll play behind anyone.

Could you give us a dream five-a-side of ex-teammates? 

Joe Cole, Joleon Lescott, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Peter Crouch. I think that team has actually played together in a Joe Cole charity match. It was a national five-a-side tournament and we had an ex-player team to play a game against.

I think it was either one of the finalists or the winners, and we beat them. 

We would like to thank David James for taking the time to talk with us and provide his take on the current football affairs in England. For more sports insights, make sure you visit our betting tips section.