Oliver James (born 1 January 1987) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a central midfielder.

Career

James attended

Wirral Grammar School for Boys (Wisdom is the Gateway to Life) , established = 1931 , closed = , type = Grammar school;Academy , local_authority = Wirral MBC , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

, and was a product of the youth system at Tranmere Rovers. He was part of the Tranmere youth team squad that reached the quarter finals of the F.A. Youth Cup in 2004. He holds the record for the shortest ever professional

Tranmere Rovers F. C. Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

career having played for just 10 minutes on 6 May 2006.

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

gave him his one and only appearance when he replaced

Paul Linwood Paul Anthony Linwood (born 24 October 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He has previously played professionally in the Football League for Tranmere Rovers, Wrexham, Chester City and Grimsby To ...

in the 80th minute of the final League One game of the 2005–2006 season against Doncaster Rovers. Already 2-0 down, and wearing the number 23 shirt, he was unable to inspire Tranmere to what would have been a frankly ridiculous comeback! In July 2007, James left Tranmere and signed for

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side Forest Green Rovers under the guidance of manager

Jim Harvey James Harvey (born 2 May 1958) is a Northern Irish football manager and former player. Playing career As a player, Harvey began his career at Glenavon in his hometown of Lurgan, before joining Arsenal in 1977. He made only three Football L ...

. James spell at Forest Green was a short one however and he signed for Southport where he scored once in 8 appearances. Eventually moving on to

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

. In late November 2008, James moved again for his first spell at

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

. James went on to make 29 appearances for Witton in his first spell before leaving at the end of the 2009–10 season to spend time playing local amateur football. In August 2011, James returned to Witton Albion for his second spell at the club. James is now currently undertaking a Sports Development and Physical Education Degree at

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

. In August 2013, James was confirmed as a registered player for Hinckley United, playing in either central defence or midfield. Post football, Oliver is now a top performer in a sales role while his image resembles x-factor star Shane Ward.

External links

* 1987 births Living people Association football midfielders Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players People associated with Liverpool John Moores University Northern Premier League players Witton Albion F.C. players People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Boys Cammell Laird 1907 F.C. players Southport F.C. players English footballers {{england-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub