The nineties were an era when players in any position could become superstars - not just the strikers who usually made all of the headline news themselves. That first decade of the Premier League was also the era where goalkeepers could become celebrities, with Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United, David Seaman at Arsenal and (to a lesser extent), David James at Liverpool. As time went on James didn't have the best run at Anfield - although he retains he Premier League record for most clean sheets at 173 - and he was a strong player for many years. Signed from Watford in 1992, he went on to be the first choice goalie during the era of team mates Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, and Robbie Fowler, who were nicknamed the "Spice Boys", for a while earning his own nom de plume of Calamity James for the amount of on-pitch blunders he made - something he later put down to over-indulgence on video games wrecking his concentration. He did manage to recover his earlier form, however, and became a cornerstone of the team's back line. After 277 games for Liverpool, he was sold to Aston Villa for £1.8 million, and never looked back.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
