James grows old gracefully

THE shock waves resonating from Fabio Capello’s first week in charge of the England national team are still being felt around the Premier League but at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, David James ably demonstrated that the Italian has made the right choice of goalkeeper.

The Portsmouth veteran was the key factor in an astonishing – and wholly undeserved — Portsmouth victory that came courtesy of Lassana Diarra’s first career Premiership goal 10 minutes from time.

To add to Bolton’s sense of grave injustice, television replays showed the goal was clearly offside but manager Gary Megson correctly pointed to the performance of James as the overriding explanation for the game’s outcome.