The big news from beneath the Premier League this last week was all about Bristol City, or namely all about David James. The current England no. 1 signed a one-year deal for the Championship side last Friday after the confirmation of his release from Portsmouth (where he had initially been offered a new contract after their relegation last season).
This was subsequently withdrawn after the appointment of Steve Cotterill as their new manager, a position James was rumoured to have been keen on whilst also wishing to prolong his playing career. Instead Steve Coppell has made the first seismic signing in his Ashton Gate surroundings and bolstered those fans hoping for a repeat of his Reading successes.
The PR for Bristol City as a club is obvious in that they have succeeded in signing England's World Cup goalkeeper of only a month ago. Even if this may only be the case until England's friendly with Hungary on Wednesday 11th, the Robins can happily claim that their new 'keeper will provide a very solid base for an assault on the promotion race.
The entire clamour about James also over-shadowed the fact that Coppell acquired two other new players on the same day. Defenders Nicky Hunt from Bolton and Damion Stewart from QPR were drafted in as Bristol City continue to look like a good outside bet for reaching the Premier League this season. Coppell may not pander to such speculation, but the club's fans can't help but speculate themselves about how he may push the club that little bit further than his predecessor Gary Johnson managed.
As for James, he had in the days leading up to his West Country move been heavily linked with a transfer to Celtic, and possibly Sunderland. He subsequently stressed that being close to his family was a significant factor in his decision-making, and with the family home being in Devon and Bristol City being the best club in the area- it appears to be a marriage made in convenience and ambition.
(Make your own conclusions about where that leaves the quality of the SPL).
The England 'keeper was also keen to speak up the chances of adding to his 53 caps thus far. Meanwhile Coppell surmised that with the pressure for a clean slate following England's World Cup meltdown, his new goalkeeper should think of an England re-call after the Hungary game has passed.
The question remains, after turning 40 on Sunday and with his future in the Championship for the next season at least, should James be gracefully overlooked for the future generations? Like Coppell has said, there is a large amount of pressure on Capello to shun some of the England regulars and to let them know that they are capable of being dropped.
Just look at Brazil. Their new coach following Dunga's exit, Mano Menezes, has scythed away the bulk of the 'failing' World Cup squad- Kaká included. If the Brazilians can be this ruthless over their star players, one can hardly build much of a case for Wayne Rooney avoiding a similar kick up the backside- especially after his rant to the cameraman following the Algeria game.
The English squad and players may not appreciate being booed by their followers, but Rooney would have done well to remember just how far these fans had followed. Add all the expenses involved and having to hear the tired excuses of previous campaigns following an even greater level of ineptitude, and a lack of patience doesn’t seem so out of place.
Back to the goalkeeping issue. Even though David James was one of the few England players to maintain their reputation in South Africa, it would be easy for Capello to use his Bristol City move as an excuse to cull him. However, James believes he can still deliver at that stage and he may do so if none of his rivals step up.
Robert Green has joined the long line of recent goalkeeping errors for England, which have marred many an aspiring hope, namely Paul Robinson and Scott Carson of yesteryears. These mistakes shouldn't serve to be death knells to their international careers though, otherwise how does anyone ever learn from them?
Joe Hart and Chris Kirkland still remain untainted by any such calamities. Hart is touted as the new future for England and he does look set to have a bright future, but so did Kirkland once and he is no longer that fresh-faced. He is on the threshold of turning 30 years old and yet he has only 1 solitary cap back in 2006 to his name!
On the other hand the longevity of David James shows that whilst all footballers can potentially have longer careers at the top, the goalkeepers can go further still in their impersonation of a Duracell bunny. So there is still plenty of hope for Kirkland if Capello sticks by one of his earlier principles of picking players on form rather than reputation (Rooney take note!).
Clamour has also grown in certain quarters for the return of Paul Robinson to the England fold. Upon hearing that he wouldn't be in the World Cup squad his manager at Blackburn Rovers Sam Allardyce said, "If you look at his form for Rovers, there has not been a better goalkeeper who has been so consistent". And it would appear that some of the statistics backed this up, especially Robinson's greater number of clean sheets for an English 'keeper than any other (13) regardless of being at a less glamorous club.
Beyond looking at this handful of usual suspects, it is difficult to see any other potential England goalkeepers coming through imminently. You could argue that things are not that bad, there are the several usual suspects as mentioned. What is most paramount is that one or two of them threaten to oust James over the next season, otherwise you will have to question where their reputation is let alone their form...