5. David James
The former Liverpool goalkeeper, who only stopped representing England in 2010, after a staggering 53 caps for his country, decided a move abroad was for him earlier this year, and only took the decision to retire from the game a matter of weeks ago. Playing for Icelandic Urvalsdeild league side, bear with me, Ibrottabandalag Vestmannaeyja, thankfully known as IBV, the move went under the radar of most in England. Certainly the most bizarre move in this line up, not least of all because he no longer plays, but one that becomes clearer when you delve deeper into the transfer. Firstly, if anyone was going to spring a surprise move to Iceland to play football, it would be James, with his laid back attitude to life well known amongst his former teammates, and who prior to signing for IBV,
tweeted, "I am going to sign for #ibv in Iceland today. My role is as player/coach, alongside Herman. We are both very excited about the journey ahead." Calmness personified. The second fact that makes the move easier to understand is mentioned in the tweet, namely, Hermann Hreidarsson, whom James played with at Portsmouth. The former defender was at the time manager of his hometown club, and it was revealed that, 'Calamity James', would learn as a coach alongside his playing responsibilities. Despite these factors, it still took a lot of guts for the former England international to take on such a bold challenge, and one that he only ended when he became assistant coach at Luton Town in late October. David, we salute you!