LEIGHTON JAMES DEAD: FORMER WALES LEGEND WHO DAZZLED ENGLAND PASSES AWAY AGED 71

Former Wales legend Leighton James has died at the age of 71.

James was capped 54 times by Wales, scoring 10 times, including in two memorable victories over England. He made over 600 appearances in the Football League including 399 times for Burnley - where he started his career - across three spells.

James also represented Swansea City, Sunderland, Bury and Newport County before going into management with spells at numerous clubs across England and Wales including Accrington Stanley.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace paid tribute to the club's former winger and said: “We are sorry to hear the news of Leighton’s passing. He left an indelible mark on this football club and stories of his playing skills still echo around Turf Moor. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Swansea also paid tribute and said James, who was born in the town of Loughor within the City, was “widely-regarded as one of the Swans’ finest players”. Their statement added that “gifted winger" James "was a key figure in the side that secured a first-ever promotion to the top-flight in 1981, scoring a stunning goal in the victory over Preston North End at Deepdale to complete the club’s rise.

“The thoughts of everyone at Swansea City are with Leighton’s friends and family at this sad time.”

James made his debut for Burnley as a 17-year-old against Nottingham Forest in November 1970 and quickly earned a cal-up to Wales' national side. He was a regular for Burnley over the next five seasons before Derby County forked out a club record fee of £300,000 to sign him.

Two seasons with Derby was followed by a year at Queens Park Rangers before he returned to Turf Moor for his second spell from 1978-80, but left when Burnley were relegated to the third division. It was from the third tier that James helped Swansea achieve two promotions in three years under the management of ex-Liverpool icon John Toshack.

But it was on the international scene where James became a household name, scoring a winning penalty against England at Wembley in the Home Championships in 1977 before stealing the show in a 4-1 win over the Three Lions in 1980 where he also got on the scoresheet.

In a statement issued on their website, the Welsh Football Association said: "The thoughts of everyone at the Football Association of Wales are with his family and friends at this sad time."

James left Swansea in 1983 and had year-long spells at Sunderland, Bury and Newport County before his third and final stint at Burnley, where he ended his playing career. Several years later he moved into management with Gainsborough Trinity and subsequently held post at Morecambe and Accrington Stanley, among others.

He later worked in the media, where he developed a reputation as a forthright columnist and pundit. Both Burnley and Swansea have confirmed they will wear black armbands in their respective matches against Sheffield United and Huddersfield on Saturday as a tribute to James.

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2024-04-19T20:16:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd