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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, best known for his time at Luton Town.

Playing career

Julian James was spotted by Luton Town 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, 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 is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

, home of Leeds United. 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

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Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

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

, 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 each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 to Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. 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 Terry Westley (born 18 September 1959) is an association football coach and manager. Until 2011 he was the Academy Director at Birmingham City and in July 2014 he was appointed to a similar role with West Ham United. He has had brief spells as ...

froze him out of the team James nearly left the club. However, Lennie Lawrence'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 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 at Bristol Rovers broke James's leg in two places. The closest James ever came to a return was a spell with non-League Aylesbury United.

References

External links

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