The attraction of Plough Lane drew the midfielder back down south, and he’s not regretting his decision after helping the Dons mount a play-off bid.
James has had to wait patiently for his chance in yellow and blue this season, but his quest for game time is just the latest major challenge he’s faced in a career that threatened to unravel after being permitted to leave hometown club Bolton.
During a long interview for your matchday programme, James discusses how he was identified by his first club Liverpool, his football heroes, and why he could pursue a second career in property.
I had a rough season at Rochdale due to relegation, and you worry that clubs will look at you and say, “He was relegated, so we won’t sign him,” but happil
Individuals alone were not always responsible. It went bad for us as a team, and when I heard Wimbledon was interested in me, I knew I wanted to come here. I had a number of other offers, but nothing piqued my interest – I was simply waiting for this opportunity to arise. It took longer than I expected, but I kept asking my agent, “What’s going on with Wimbledon?”
With the size of Wimbledon and the history of the Club (everyone remembers the FA Cup win in 1988),
Wimbledon’s stature and history (everyone remembers the FA Cup success in 1988) drew attention. The tale of how the club recovered was very appealing, and when I visited the stadium with Rochdale last season, I thought it was incredible.
Every now and again, I run into some fans. I’ve enjoyed visiting The Rushmere on Wimbledon Common. Wimbledon is a great nice place with a lot of friendly people, so I can’t really complain!
Nothing quite equaled this. When I signed with Rochdale, I told myself, “That’s me now; I’m not moving back down south!” I was back home, pleased, and had moved into a new house, but I told my agent that Wimbledon was extremely appealing to me. It provided the opportunity to play for a respectable club in a nice setting, and the prospect of being a Wimbledon player piqued my interest greatly. There was no stopping it, unless the Club said no, which they happily did not!
