David James is England's top
goalkeeper - and soon he will have the figures to prove it.
The Portsmouth star, 36, was again omitted from Steve McClaren's
England squad which flopped against Spain this week.
But if he stops his former club Manchester City scoring at Fratton
Park tomorrow evening he will equal David Seaman's record of 141
clean sheets in the Premiership.
McClaren dropped James from the national squad as soon as he took
over from Sven-Goran Eriksson after the World Cup.
And although he has recently promised the door is still open for
Pompey veterans like James and Sol Campbell, 32, the England boss
has yet to match his words with action.
James says he will never give up on hopes of being recalled - even
though a new keeper wore the England jersey on Wednesday when Ben
Foster made his debut.
But James knows the best way to find favour again is to keep
producing his outstanding form for Portsmouth.
The only problem is that his team appears to have lost the edge
that seemed to cement them in the top six in the first half of the
season.
They have not won a league match since Boxing Day - and not scored
in their last three Premiership outings.
James is only too glad that points picked up in the early part of
the campaign look certain to spare him the anxiety of another
relegation scare which almost engulfed City last term.
He said: 'To be honest we would probably have been relegated at
City if the season had lasted another month. It was not nice.
'But it wasn't why I left. I was happy enough there. It was just
that the Portsmouth offer, and coming back to the south, gave me a
lot more options in my life.
'It has been good but, in all honesty, we were due a bad run here.
I don't mean that in a defeatist way, but the opposition now have
given us a lot more respect.
'They expect us to be strong. Such is the evolution of the season.
We are on a bad run, but still well in a position to qualify for
Europe .
'It's not all doom and gloom. What we have achieved this season has
been down to performances and justifiable. There's nothing lucky
about where we are. We've had a chat with each other but it is not
some sort of crisis meeting.'
James knows his route back into the England squad will be a tough
road. He said: 'I saw the highlights (of the Spain game) on
television and I was happy for Ben Foster.
'He's a young man having a good season and being rewarded for good
performances.
'In some sort of abstract way it gave me a lot of confidence to
think that if you perform you will get a chance.
'International selection in my eyes will always be on merit. So if
I maintain a level of performance for long enough then I will get
an opportunity.
'I always look for the (England) squad. I'm curious, but I didn't
expect anything this time.
'As long I'm happy doing what I'm doing at Portsmouth, which I am,
I'm not going to give up on the England opportunity - even if I was
42. And I think I could keep going that long. Why not?'
Joining Seaman on the clean-sheet record books would certainly
help.
James said: 'On a personal level, there's a value to it.
'You want to achieve things in the game, but in reality it's not
always you who has kept the clean sheet, it is everybody (in the
team). There are games when you literally don't have to do
anything.'
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp admits he is mystified why James has not
been recalled to the England scene.
He said: 'Ben Foster is a terrific keeper. He has a great future,
but Jamo should be in the squad.
'He wants to play, he deserves to play and I would like to see him
play. He is still the best 'keeper. It's strange he's not in but
it's not my decision.'
Redknapp has other issues to resolve. With reports that Pompey
owner Sacha Gaydamak has mortgaged the club to the hilt with a
specialist bank, the manager is under even more pressure to fulfil
the European promise he has built.
Although Kanu has scored 11 goals, Pompey have been short of fire
power from other areas in the team and now their solid defence is
showing signs of crumbling.
Linvoy Primus and Djimi Traore are huge fitness doubts against
City, causing a major reshuffle.
he has been great this season no surprise but he could have gone
much closer to the clean-sheet record if not for Djimi Traore