Former Portsmouth and West Ham keeper David James booed and labelled 'villain' during visit to Anfield
Ex-Pompey keeper David James was booed on his latest return to former club Liverpool on Sunday.
The 54-year-old found himself in the unusual position of being labelled an Anfield ‘villain’ after he, erm, saved two spot-kicks in a penalty shootout event stage during half-time in the Reds’ Premier League victory against Chelsea.
Traditionally, pulling off such saves would have made the former England international, who spent seven years at Liverpool, an instant Kop hero.
Not on this occasion, though, with the now 54-year-old on the receiving end of some flak after he twice denied a young fan the chance to score in front of a packed house!
James was present as part of Standard Chartered’s community engagement programme ‘Futuremakers’. But he wasn’t feeling charitable when it game to donning his gloves again and lining up against his opponent - no matter their age.
Indeed, after rolling back the clock to keep the ball out of the net, he turned round to supporters sat in the Kop to joking brag about his latest clean sheet.
Yet he failed to read to mood inside, with many Reds subsequently heckling his most recent performance in a Liverpool shirt.
Footage of the controviersial moment has since appeared on X, formerly Twitter. However, it appears social media might have taken a different stance to those present inside Anfield.
One user wrote: ‘That’s the right thing to do. Don’t give kids free passes. Let them learn the value of working hard for everything’. Another commented: ‘It’s a good lesson for young fans they will surely practice more next time’. Meanwhile, a third said: ‘We stand with David James’.
To counteract the defence of the former Pompey FA cup-winning keeper, one X user wrote: ‘Shameless… that was a kid and he should have allowed to score some goals’.
As well as Pompey and Liverpool, the 53-times capped James played for Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham, Bristol City and Bournemouth. Winning the 2008 FA Cup thanks to a 1-0 win against Cardiff was his biggest achievement, though - a feat he nearly repeated two years later, only for the Blues to be beaten by the same scoreline by Chelsea.
James, who made 158 appearances for Pompey following his £1.2m move from City in 2006, captained the Blues that day at Wmbley in 2010. It also proved to be his last game for the club, with Pompey relegated from the Premier League the same season.