Anthony Craig James (born 27 June 1967) is an English former professional

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 le ...

. He played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

, Lincoln City,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

and

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

Career

He is best remembered at Leicester as being the player who scored the goal that kept Leicester from dropping into the 3rd tier of English football for the first time, after his 24th minute close range conversion from a corner saw Leicester beat

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

1–0 to climb out of the relegation on the final day of the 1990-91 season, which ultimately saw the start of the club's upturn in form in the 1990s. He was also awarded the club's Player of the Year award in the same season. However a broken leg in a game against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in October 1991 and several injuries afterwards halted his progression and he never really claimed an extended run in the Leicester side after that.

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Tony English men's footballers English Football League players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players 1967 births Living people Men's association football defenders Footballers from Sheffield