Sheffield United James began his career as a
youth team player at
Championship club
Sheffield United; after joining at the age of ten, he went on to
captain the likes of
Kyle Naughton and
Kyle Walker in the
youth team.
Kevin Blackwell handed him his first-team début in the
League Cup first round 2–0 defeat by
Hartlepool United at
Victoria Park on 11 August 2010 – he was replaced by
Jamie Ward on 66 minutes. This would prove to be his only appearance for the club. He and teammate
Phil Roe followed former United
manager Micky Adams to
League Two side
Port Vale in July 2011. Adams pursued the youngster despite having refused to offer him a new
contract as United manager.
Port Vale He missed the start of the
2011–12 season due to a knee injury. He joined
Chasetown of the
Northern Premier League Premier Division on
loan on 20 October. He scored on his Chasetown début in the
FA Trophy, then followed this up with two goals on his league début at
Marine. He played a further five games without scoring, before returning to
Vale Park in December. James made his Port Vale deébut on 7 January 2012, replacing
Gareth Owen 63 minutes into a 3–0 defeat at
Southend United. He was given his first start against
Shrewsbury Town at the
New Meadow on 27 March. However, the match was abandoned after 64 minutes due to a fire caused by the failure of the
floodlights. He agreed to sign a new one-year deal with the club in June 2012. He hoped to establish himself in the centre of midfield in the
2012–13 season following the departure of
Anthony Griffith. James filled in at centre-back for 45 minutes against
Northampton Town at
Sixfields on 27 October, after a catalogue of injuries and suspensions left only James and
Joe Davis as the two players with any experience of the position. He provided an
assist for a
Tom Pope goal in a 4–1 win over
Wycombe Wanderers on 20 October, his second appearance of the season. He won his first start for the club on 20 November, in a 4–0 win over
Bristol Rovers.
Hereford United On 28 January 2013, he joined
Martin Foyle's
Hereford United on a one-month loan deal. He made eight
Conference National starts for the "Bulls", and his loan spell was extended until the end of the
2012–13 campaign. He became a key member of the first-team, and scored his first goal for the club on 1 April, in a 5–2 win over
Tamworth at
Edgar Street. He played 21 games for Hereford, before returning to Vale in time to see the club
promoted into
League One. He was not offered a new contract at the end of the season and was released as a
free agent. After leaving Port Vale, James began training with Hereford in July 2013, and signed a one-year contract the following month. He made 23 appearances in the
2013–14 campaign.
Chester James signed a one-year contract with
Steve Burr's
Chester in June 2014. He scored three goals in 46 appearances during the
2014–15 campaign and elected to leave the "Seals" following a strong first half and finish to the season which attracted interest from clubs in the
English Football League.
Halifax James turned down a two-year contract from Chester to move to a club closer to his
Barnsley home, and in July 2015 joined
National League side
FC Halifax Town. Halifax were forced to pay Chester £8,000 compensation with a 20% sell-on clause following a tribunal. He scored 11 goals in 57 appearances across the
2015–16 campaign as Halifax were
relegated in 21st-place, one point short of safety. He did, though play at
Wembley Stadium in the
FA Trophy final, coming on as a 74th-minute
substitute for
Scott McManus as Halifax beat
Grimsby Town 1–0.
Macclesfield Town James was sold to
Macclesfield Town for an undisclosed fee in July 2016 and signed a one-year contract. He made 48 appearances across the
2016–17 campaign, including in the
2017 FA Trophy final at
Wembley Stadium, where Macclesfield were beaten 3–2 by
York City.
Return to Chester In June 2017, James rejected Macclesfield's offer of a new deal and re-signed with Chester after agreeing to a two-year contract; he was the third Macclesfield player to move to the
Deva Stadium that summer. However, the "Seals" struggled to pay his wages due to financial difficulties, and on 16 February he was sent on loan to divisional relegation rivals
Barrow. He made a good impression at
Holker Street, and quickly earned praise from assistant manager
Jamie Day. He proved to be a key player for
Adrian Pennock's "Bluebirds", who managed to avoid relegation at the expensive of parent club Chester. Speaking before the match between Chester and Barrow towards the end of the campaign, James said that "My sole focus is on Barrow, that's where I'm playing at the minute. Whatever has happened with Chester, it's not personal, it's just business". His contract with Chester was cancelled by mutual consent on 4 July. Manager Anthony Johnson praised James for accepting the settlement on his contract, which had been taking up a significant portion of the club's wage budget.
Guiseley On 10 July 2018, James signed with
National League North side
Guiseley. On 22 September, he scored a first-half
hat-trick as the "Lions" recorded a 4–0 victory over
Staveley Miners Welfare in the second qualifying round of the
FA Cup. He went on to play for Guiseley in their FA Cup second-round defeat to League One side
Fleetwood Town, televised on
BT Sport. He scored six goals in 40 appearances across the
2018–19 campaign, as Guiseley went on to reach the final of the
West Riding County Cup, which they lost to
Ossett United.
Gainsborough Trinity On 22 May 2019, James joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side
Gainsborough Trinity; assistant manager Ross Hannah described the signing as a "big coup" for the "Holy Blues". As a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in England, the
2019–20 season was formally abandoned on 26 March, with all results from the season being expunged.
Hyde United On 10 June 2020, James signed with
Hyde United. "Tigers" manager
David McGurk said that "he works with me and John with our
coaching company so we know he's the exact type of character we want". On 6 November 2020, James arrived on loan at
Farsley Celtic in the National League North, who were able to continue to play whilst Hyde were shut down during the second national coronavirus lockdown. He never made an appearance at
The Citadel however, and the
2020–21 season was soon curtailed for both Hyde and Celtic. He retired on 1 September 2021. ==International career==