Former Liverpool and England goalkeeper David James has shockingly revealed that Liverpool did not have a fitness regime during his time at the club, which resulted in the shot-stopper becoming "fat."
Having arrived at Anfield in 1992 from Watford, James would go on to make 277 appearances for the Reds across all competitions and was part of the side that lifted the League Cup in 1995. Alongside the likes of, Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, and Robbie Fowler, James became one of Liverpool's 'Spice Boys.'
The arrival of Brad Friedel, however, would soon see James sold to Aston Villa in the summer of 1999, before going on to represent West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth during an 18-year-long Premier League career. He also won an impressive 53 international caps, forming part of the Three Lions squad at World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
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James' time on Merseyside was, at times, blighted with errors to the extent that he would develop the nickname 'calamity James,' but on William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, the 52-year-old provided an interesting insight into why his form was so patchy.
“I reached 17-stone, we didn’t have a fitness regime, and I was fat,” said James. “The frustration was that I wasn’t playing to a level I felt I should be playing at. I’m not going to say that I should have been the best goalkeeper in the world, but I can’t think of anything that another goalkeeper has done that I couldn’t do.
“I was then out of the team for eight months in my second season – I was actually sent off at the end of the first season against Norwich, so I missed the first game of the next season and never made it back into the side under Graeme Souness.”
Those of a certain age may also recall headlines surrounding James' enjoyment of video games. Newspapers would begin to point to a PlayStation addiction as his form began to regress, though this is something James vehemently denies.
“I sat in the car and I said to a reporter that I played the PlayStation for maybe three or four hours a day,” explained James. “The Newcastle game occurred where it was 4-3 and I did an interview with a reporter who I thought was my friend.
"We were sat in the car outside the training ground and my friend Colin Jackson, the hurdler, talked about how his coach wouldn’t let him play on the PlayStation on a competition day because it takes away the nervous energy.
“This reporter was writing for one of the broadsheets which were being printed at 11pm on Friday and I went home and told my then-wife, and she said to phone him up and get it taken out because she knew that wouldn’t go down well in the media. I made the phone call and he said that it was too late and the story had gone to print.
"Then it was picked up by the ‘red tops’ so that by Saturday when I woke up for the Nottingham Forest game, I saw stories saying, ‘David James is addicted to the PlayStation’. I wasn’t addicted, I just talked about it, and then all these things culminated in bad performances and I couldn’t understand what was going on.”
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