James Shea, the long-serving goalkeeper for Luton, was beaming with delight after making his Premier League debut in yesterday’s 4-2 loss to Fulham at home during the Hatters’ last day.
The 32-year-old originally signed as Marek Stech’s backup goalkeeper in League Two before relocating to Kenilworth Road on a free transfer back in the summer of 2017. His last game for the team was a 0-0 draw against Hull on May 20,23. Since then, he has made 107 appearances for the team, 40 in the Championship, eight in League Two and the League Cup, five in the Checkatrade Trophy and FA Cup, and 41 in League One, where he won the Golden Gloves award for most clean sheets in 2019.
Shea also had a terrible knee injury at Cardiff City back in April 2022, which sidelined him for an extended period of time. He only played in one more game following that, the draw with the Tigers. Shea’s story is similar to many players at the Hatters in that he had to struggle early in his career to even be able to play professional football.
Shea was a young player for Arsenal before joining Luton. While there, he won the FA Youth Cup and the Premier Academy League. He also saw action as a substitute in a September 2012 Champions League match. After leaving the Gunners, Shea was unable to find a club in the Football League, so he played for Needham Market in Division One North and Harrow Borough in the Premier Division.
His 108th appearance as a Hatter came with 15 minutes remaining in the top division against the Cottagers yesterday. He joined AFC Wimbledon in 2014 and then moved to Town under then manager Nathan Jones. He is now able to call himself a fully fledged Premier League player. Shea, who was obviously ecstatic at his moment in the spotlight, added, “It’s unbelievable.” Even if it’s only fifteen minutes, I know that no one can ever take that away from me. I would have happily snapped your hand off if you had told me when I was working at Needham Market, Harrow Borough, that I would one day make an appearance in the Prem.
I never could have imagined myself being here, at the club, where the club is, when I damaged my knee walking off at Cardiff that particular day. It only serves to highlight how unique the club is. Even though it hasn’t ended the way we had hoped, I have no doubt that the team will rise to the top once more the following year.
Shea, who has spent most of the second half of the season on the bench because of a crippling injury crisis, received a standing ovation from the Kenilworth Road crowd when he came on. He then caused another uproar in the home crowd by making a fantastic save against Tom Cairney’s long-range dipping attempt, flicking it over the bar to spark one of the afternoon’s biggest cheers.
In addition to clawing the loose ball away, he was well off his line to stop another cross from reaching its intended target. Speaking about his cameo, he said, “I loved it (the supporters’ response), it was brilliant, one of the best moments of my whole career.” I’m not sure how to put it, but I thought it was great. To be honest, I wanted to continue and pass some out, make things simple, but I had to work, which was a first.
Shea, who has been the team’s third-choice keeper this season behind Kaminski and Tim Krul, was asked to summarize his seven years with the team to date and his thoughts for the future. He replied, “I haven’t thought that far ahead, it was just get today out of the way, spend some time with the family, go on holiday and just have a nice time.” Since the day I walked in, I have adored it. It’s been an amazing journey, and maybe it can last a little while longer. I still recall my first day here, walking down the side of the cages with Kev Dearden (head of goalkeeping). I signed here as a number two in League Two.
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