saunders_james
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| Name: James Edward Saunders |
Nationality: England |
| Position: goalkeeper |
Signing Information: Transferred from: Middlesbrough, 08/1901, £ |
| Birthdate: 00-00-0000 |
Years at Club: 1901-1905 |
| Age: () |
Debut: 26/12/1901 v Lincoln City (A) 0-2 (League Division Two) |
| Birthplace: Birmingham, England |
Previous clubs: Glossop, Middlesbrough |
| Height: 5' 9" (1.75m) |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to Nelson, 07/1905, £ |
| Weight: 11st 6lbs (72.57kg) |
Passed Away: PA |
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While keeping goal for Manchester St. Augustine's, James Saunders attracted the advances of Glossop North End who signed him in March 1900. With Herbert Birchenough ahead of him in the pecking order, the 5'9" teenager had to settle for a permanent run in the reserve team, with two exceptions: a friendly versus Lincoln City on April 5th, 1900, followed by his Football League debut two days later at Sheffield United. Despite losing 0-4, James was the star of the match!
In February 1901, Middlesbrough sought his services on a temporary basis, a deal which earned both them and Glossop a stern warning from the authorities, whose rules had been contravened. In the event, Saunders did not even make any appearances for Middlesbrough.
Instead, he was snapped up by Newton Heath in the 1901 close season and he spent the whole 1901-02 campaign competing with Jimmy Whitehouse for a place in the lineup. Despite only appearing in 11 league matches, Saunders had the honour of keeping goal in Heath's last ever league match in April 1902 before the name change to Manchester United, and he also earned a Manchester Senior Cup medal as Manchester City were defeated 2-1.
Unfortunately for Saunders, although he stayed at Bank Street for another three years, he only got to play one more time for the first team, as once again he found himself the understudy for Birchenough. Instead, he became a mainstay of the second eleven, where he still faced competition for places. So much so that, for a couple of matches in September 1903, United's reserves fielded three keepers simultaneously: Moger in goal, Valentine at full-back, and Saunders on the left wing!
James finally moved in 1905, spending a season with Nelson, before reaching the peak of his career at Lincoln City. He was their main custodian for three seasons, winning a Lincolnshire Cup medal in 1908 and a Midland League medal in 1909. Chelsea now brought him into Division One for the first time, but he only played twice during 1909-10: on Christmas Day and two days later.
Saunders stayed in London, joining Southern League side Watford, only to lose his place after just four matches in September 1910. It was not until November 1911 that he saw some action again, and that was when he transferred to Lincoln Liberal Club where he eventually ended his career. However, James enjoyed one more moment in the spotlight. In January 1918, while on a short leave from serving in Loos, France, he guested for Lincoln City in a war game against Rotherham County. Despite looking "as fit as ever", he could not prevent a 0-2 defeat. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
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| League |
League Cup |
FA Cup |
Charity Shield |
European Cup |
Europa League |
Super Cup |
Cup Winners Cup |
Inter-Continental Cup |
World Clubs Cup |
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| No |
Season |
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Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
| 1 |
1901-1902 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| 2 |
1902-1903 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| TOTALS |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
|
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