Tony James
James in action for Hereford United in 2006
Personal information
Full name Anthony James[1]
Date of birth (1978-10-09) 9 October 1978
Place of birth Abergavenny, Wales[2]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1996–1998 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2006 Hereford United 273 (16)
2006–2007 Weymouth 32 (3)
2007–2012 Burton Albion 159 (1)
2010 → Hereford United (loan) 6 (0)
2012–2014 Newport County 47 (2)
2015 Hereford 4 (0)
Total 521 (22)
International career
Wales Semi-Pro
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anthony James (born 9 October 1978) is a Welsh former footballer who last played as a centre-back for English club Hereford.

Career

Born in Cwmbran, James started his professional career at West Bromwich Albion where he played in the reserves. He then moved to Hereford United.

He soon established himself as a first choice centre back, partnering Hereford captain Ian Wright. He was voted Player of the Year for the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, in the latter he was an ever-present. When Wright left the club in 2003, James took over the captaincy and led the club to runner-up spot in the Conference in three successive seasons. He was also the regular penalty taker for Hereford, his most notable penalty being the opening goal in the televised 9–0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge in 2004.[3]

In the first half of the 2000s he was widely regarded as one of the highest performing central defenders in the Conference, with Peter Shreeves stating that he was the best defender in the Conference.[4][5] James also represented his country at semi-pro international level.[6]

By 2006 injuries had cost him his first team place to Dean Beckwith and James did not play a part in the last nine games of the season, including the play-off final which saw Hereford win promotion to the Football League. His significant contribution to the club was recognised when he was invited onto the rostrum to lift the trophy with team captain Tamika Mkandawire. He holds the record for the most Conference appearances by a Hereford United player and is ranked 18th on Hereford's all-time list of most appearances with 322 (20 goals).

James moved to Weymouth[7] where he was to spend just one season at the promotion-chasing outfit, captaining the club and scoring three penalties.[8] When financial troubles hit the Terras, James moved to Burton Albion for the current season.[9] A knee injury sustained at the start of the season limited his appearances but he returned to first team action against Altrincham.[10] He was part of the 2008–09 Conference National winning side and signed a new contract with Burton in May 2009. James rejoined Hereford United on a month's loan in October 2010.[11]

James was released by Burton at the end of the 2011–12 season and in June 2012 he signed for Conference National team Newport County.[12] In the 2012–13 season he was part of the Newport team that finished 3rd in the league, reaching the Conference National playoffs. Newport County won the playoff final versus Wrexham at Wembley Stadium 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to Football League Two.[13] James was selected as Newport County's Player of the Year for the 2012–13 season.

James retired from playing in May 2014 and was appointed strength and conditioning coach at Newport County.

On 2 June 2015, it was confirmed that James had agreed terms with Hereford United's phoenix club, Hereford.[14]

Personal

Tony James is the father of the Welsh International footballer Jordan James.

Career statistics

As of match played 31 August 2015
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[15]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hereford United 1998–99[16] Football Conference 1000—0010
1999–2000[17] Football Conference 36240—1[lower-alpha 1]0412
2000–01[18] Football Conference 33 0 0 0 — 4[lower-alpha 2] 0 37 0
2001–02[19] Football Conference 41 1 2 0 — 0 0 43 1
2002–03[20] Football Conference 39 1 1 0 — 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 41 1
2003–04[21] Football Conference 42 9 1 0 — 4[lower-alpha 4] 0 47 9
2004–05[22] Conference National 30 1 1 0 — 3[lower-alpha 5] 0 34 1
2005–06[23] Conference National 23 1 2 0 — 2[lower-alpha 6] 0 27 1
Total 2451511015027115
Weymouth 2006–07[24] Conference National 32310—00333
Burton Albion 2007–08[25] Conference Premier 30030—3[lower-alpha 7]0360
2008–09[26] Conference Premier 28000—1[lower-alpha 6]0290
2009–10[27] League Two 42120001[lower-alpha 3]0451
2010–11[28] League Two 27 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 30 0
2011–12[29] League Two 30 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 32 0
Total 157 1 8 0 2 0 5 0 172 1
Hereford United (loan) 2010–11[28] League Two 6 0 — — 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 7 0
Newport County 2012–13[30] Conference Premier 41 2 0 0 — 3[lower-alpha 8] 0 44 2
2013–14[31] League Two 6 0 0 0 1 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 8 0
Total 47 2 0 0 1 0 4 0 52 2
Hereford 2015–16 Midland League Premier Division 6 0 — — — 6 0
Career total 493212003025054121
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in Conference League Cup
  2. ↑ One appearance in Conference League Cup; three appearances in FA Trophy
  3. 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  4. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy; one appearance in FA Trophy; two appearances in Football Conference play-offs
  5. ↑ Two appearances in Football League Trophy; one appearance in Conference National play-offs
  6. 1 2 Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  7. ↑ One appearance in FA Trophy; two appearances in Conference Premier play-offs
  8. ↑ Appearance(s) in Conference Premier play-offs

Honours

Hereford United
Burton Albion
Newport County

References

  1. ↑ "English National Football Archive". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 442. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. ↑ Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Hereford United 9 Archived 3 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ledbury Reporter, 27 February 2004. Retrieved on 3 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Tony James Archived 4 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Hereford Times, 14 July 2005. Retrieved on 3 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Hereford dominate as James tops list Archived 3 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Worcester News, 18 May 2004. Retrieved on 3 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Wales lose semi-pro crown BBC Sport, 22 May 2003. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
  7. ↑ Former Bulls captain James joins Terras Dorset Echo, 24 May 2006. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
  8. ↑ Meet the Terras BBC Dorset, 26 January 2007. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
  9. ↑ Burton snap up Weymouth's James BBC Sport, 10 May 2007. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
  10. ↑ Birthday cheer as Tony returns Burton Mail, 12 October 2007. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
  11. ↑ Bulls snap up James on loan Sky Sports, 1 October 2010. Retrieved on 1 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Newport seal defender James move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Hughes, Dewi (5 May 2013). "Wrexham 0–2 Newport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Hereford FC sign Bulls old boy James". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Tony James at Soccerbase
  16. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  19. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  24. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Games played by Tony James in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  31. ↑ "Games played by Tony James in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
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