Does David James Need to Leave Portsmouth?

I think the answer might be yes. Or maybe no. I’m not sure.

After losing so many quality players and – for the most part – failing to replace them, Portsmouth look set to take a series of beatings this season. Many many pundits have them pegged for relegation already.

And that means a rough rough year for David James. Not the sort of year you want your #1 keeper having before heading to the World Cup.

In many many ways it underlines the problem that England has in the goalkeeping department right now. We don’t have any keepers who are the established first choice keeper at a big big team.

There’s maybe an argument that keepers are a special case. Unlike a striker in a struggling team (think Michael Owen at Newcastle last season) a keeper in a struggling team actually gets to see more action. So maybe David James will benefit from having a busy year. Practice makes perfect and all that.

But it’s equally likely that a rough season for James could see Fabio Capello favour Robert Green, both in the remaining qualifiers and in South Africa for the real deal. So in terms of David James holding on to the England #1 jersey, it seems he needs to either:

a) Be outstanding every single week as he gets peppered with shots, or
b) Get himself a move to a more successful team.

I suggest he gets to work on a Michael Owen style Wasserman brochure.