Julian Colin James (born 22 March 1970) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, best known for his time at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

Playing career

Julian James was spotted by

coach John Moore during the summer of 1987, playing local football with his home town team Tring Tornadoes. Moore organised a professional contract for the 17-year-old defender, and James signed for Luton soon after. He made his Luton Town debut on 7 May 1988, coming off the bench in a 1–1 draw with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, and made two more substitute appearances during the 1987–88 season. He made his first start on 2 November 1988, in a League Cup match at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

, home of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. James's debut was a personal disaster, as he was sent off midway through the second half – however, Luton went on to win the game 2–0. He only made one more appearance during the 1988–89 season. 1989–90 proved to be a breakthrough for James, as he started 22 games for the club. His fine performances did not go unnoticed – he earned two caps for the England under-21s. Still only 20, he was loaned out to Fourth Division

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

at the start of 1990–91, and made six appearances. He returned to

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

and became Luton's regular centre back alongside

John Dreyer John Dreyer may refer to: *John Louis Emil Dreyer, Danish-Irish astronomer *John Dreyer (footballer) John Brian Dreyer (born 11 June 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who played in defence and midfield. Playing care ...

, playing 25 times for Luton that season. 1991–92, Luton's last as a top flight club, saw James make 30 appearances, scoring twice. During 1992–93 he only missed three games all season, playing 44 times, and once again scoring two goals. James remained a rock in the centre of defence, and during 1993–94 also he played all but three games. James was ever-present as Luton made it to the

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, where they lost 2–0 to Chelsea at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. By 1994–95, James was not only a regular in the team, but was considered, at the age of 24, one of the club's senior players. Three goals in 46 games saw James miss only four league games all year. 1995–96 saw another relegation, and when

Terry Westley Terence Westley (born 18 September 1959) is an association football coach and manager (association football), manager. Until 2011 he was the Academy Director at Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy, Birmingham City and in July 2014 he was ...

froze him out of the team James nearly left the club. However,

Lennie Lawrence Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, (born 12 December 1947) is an English football manager. He is assistant manager and non-executive director at National League side Hartlepool United. Lawrence was a semi-professional a ...

's arrival as manager brought James in from the cold, and James made 31 appearances that year. James played 56 games during 1996–97, and was sent off twice – crucially, he was dismissed at

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in the first leg of the play-off semi-final. Luton went on to lose, and promotion was not achieved. 1997–98 proved to be the defender's last season with the club. After making 26 appearances, a reckless challenge from

Barry Hayles Barrington Edward Hayles (born 17 May 1972) is a association football, footballer and coach who played as a striker (association football), striker. He began his career in non-League football with Willesden Hawkeye, before playing for Stevenage ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

broke James's leg in two places. The closest James ever came to a return was a spell with

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

Aylesbury United.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Julian 1970 births Living people English Football League players English men's footballers Luton Town F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Aylesbury United F.C. players Sportspeople from Tring Men's association football defenders Footballers from Hertfordshire