Notts County goalkeeper James Belshaw on his storied life in football

Tell us a bit about your early life in Nottingham…

I was born and brought up in Clifton. I went to Blessed Robert Primary School and then to The Becket School, where my brother teaches English now. So we've both kind of gone full circle, me coming back to Notts and him going back to our old school to teach. Notts County played a huge part in my upbringing. My dad has been a season ticket holder for sixty-odd years now – he brought me and my brother to the games as kids. 

What are your early memories of supporting Notts?

My first memories are from around 1996. I was a mascot on my sixth birthday. We played Bristol Rovers and drew 1-1, Tony Agana scored. I remember Darren Ward was my first footballing idol. I was also a big fan of Gary Strodder and I've got a vivid memory of meeting him and being awestruck. I have fond memories from the Sam Allardyce promotion season in 1997–98; seeing Gary Jones scoring thirty odd goals in that team, alongside players like Ian Hendon and Mark Robson. Another team that stands out was the Munto team with Lee Hughes, Kasper Schmeichel, Neal Bishop and Ricky Ravenhill all managed by Steve Cotterill in 2009-2010. 

It’s important to remember the successful times, because there's been a lot of dark times over the last thirty years of following Notts too. If our current team were to do something special this season, I know that will resonate with the younger Notts fans coming up, and that’s really important.

Which other players were around when you were in the youth set-up at Notts that went on to make careers in football?

The age group that everyone pinned their hopes on was a bit older than me and included players like David McGoldrick and Leon Best. Jermaine Pennant was around too, but I think he was a little bit before my time. Some of those players went on to have exceptional careers and you only have to look at what McGoldrick is doing now for Barnsley – it’s incredible at his age.  

You were released by Notts and had a chance to sign for Walsall, but you decided to go and take a scholarship in the US instead. Tell us about that…

Firstly, when I left Notts I went over to Forest briefly, but I was up against Karl Darlow. I didn't really grow until I was seventeen or eighteen, so I was on the smaller side, and he was just a better keeper. Then I went into local non-league football with Dunkirk Reserves and Heanor Town, which is when I got scouted for Walsall. I was still at sixth form at the time, and getting good grades, but Walsall came to an arrangement about my schooling and I ended up on their bench in League One a few times, but never made an appearance. 

In the meantime I was speaking to Duke University in North Carolina, USA, about pursuing an academic education alongside playing football. I got offered a contract by Walsall, but felt I'd just be a third-choice keeper for them. So I took a big leap of faith and decided to go to the States and spent four years out there getting my education, including degrees in history and business management.

Out there the collegiate system is different. You're like a professional, you train every day, play matches, and then you go into lectures in the afternoon. I'd never been to the States before, but I ended up being really successful on the pitch and got a great education as well. 

You graduated in 2013, but after some soul-searching decided to return to England to give it another go here. What happened next?

I went back into Walsall for a bit, then to Cambridge who were in the conference at the time, but for various reasons nothing came of either. Then I represented Great Britain at the World University Games at Kazan in Russia and we ended up losing in the final to France in extra time. That was an unreal experience. Then I went to Nuneaton, played a couple of pre-season games and they signed me. They had Dimitar Evtimov on loan from Forest at the time and for a couple of months we rotated games. Then he got injured and I took over. 

I played for England C against the Czech Republic Under-21 team in Woking one Tuesday, but when I got back the Nuneaton Chairman told me they’d bought in a new Dutch Keeper called Kelle Roos, who Notts fans will be familiar with as he is who I replaced here. He ended up playing a few games for Nuneaton, while I was stuck on the bench. Then they sold him to Derby that January and I got back in and played the rest of the season.

I assume during this time you were only part-time and working another job as well? 

Yes, I was working as office manager for a software company that wrote specialist systems for cars. I did that for a few years, but football was always my passion. After Nuneaton, I signed for Tamworth in the National League North and did another three seasons there whilst working at the same place. In my last season at Tamworth I'd started up my coaching business, East Midlands Elite Soccer, which I still run today in Nottingham. I was working full time, playing for Tamworth and doing that, so something had to give.

Towards the end of that season Harrogate offered me a deal and they were going full-time the year after. It was a big pay cut overall, but I wanted to give full-time football a go. I was 26 and it started to feel like it was now or never. There was a group of us that signed at that time; players like Josh Falkingham, George Thomson, Warren Burrell and Jack Muldoon. I played nearly 300 games for Harrogate and they were all in most of them. They’re still among my closest friends in football and we got two play-off promotions together. 

Yes, one of them being against Notts County in August 2020 at an empty (covid-era) Wembley. There must have been some mixed emotions from you that day?

It’s weird to look back on it and quite surreal in a sense. I actually managed to sneak my dad into that game on one of the fifteen tickets Harrogate got for their directors. I think, looking back on it, the weirdness of the occasion helped us win that day. Had fans been allowed in the stadium, there would have been 5000 from Harrogate and 20,000 plus from Notts. It would have made a difference.

Personally I wanted to see Notts get promoted, but obviously I had a job to do for Harrogate and I also realised this could be my last chance at playing in the Football League. It also helped that Notts weren’t wearing black and white that day; I was playing against a team in green and that definitely made it a bit easier for me. 

What do you remember about your football league debut?

It was on 3 October 2020 for Harrogate against Bolton Wanderers, just over a week before I turned thirty. I missed a few games before it, as I was out with an injury having broken my thumb. Also it was a home game, but we played it at Doncaster’s Keepmoat stadium because our pitch was being relaid. We lost 2-1, but it was still a day I'll cherish forever. 

After that first season back, you ended up signing for Bristol Rovers. What made you want to move?

Harrogate had signed a new keeper from Southend, Mark Oxley. He’s a great guy and a friend who is still there now. They’d given me squad number 21 and made it clear he was their new first choice. I felt a bit let down and I wanted to play, so I started looking around for moves. I went to Bristol Rovers on trial and they signed me as back up to Anssi Jaakkola, a Finland international. I threw absolutely everything into it and Anssi got injured. I ended up getting a chance and from that point I played pretty much every game and got voted as the club’s Player of the Season.

At the end of that season we ended up getting promoted in the most dramatic fashion, we were 18th on New Years Day and got into a great run of form. We signed a nineteen-year-old Elliot Anderson in January, which definitely helped. On the final day of the season we were fourth and Northampton were third. We were level on points, but we had a five goal deficit in goal difference. Northampton were playing Barrow away and we had Scunthorpe at home, who were already relegated. They won 3-1, but we ended up winning 7-0. We were relentless and it was the only time that season we’d been in the top three. I’ve had three promotions in my career so far, but that is definitely the most special. 

After that you played a fairly full season in League One didn’t you?

Yes, I was number one for most of that season. They brought in Ellery Balcombe from Brentford, in the January window and part of his loan contract was that he had to start a few games. So the gaffer chopped and changed a bit, but I got plenty of games.  From where I’d been, playing at places like Hillsborough, the Valley, Fratton Park and Portman Road was amazing. However, I only had a year left on my contract and had an inkling they were looking to either replace me. I had interest from Notts and it was the summer they got promoted back to the football league, after I’d watched them at Wembley. I’d heard they were interested and I definitely was too. But at the time they were talking to me they were putting all their efforts into bringing David McGoldrick back. Then they signed Aidan Stone and my move was over. So I was still under contract to Bristol Rovers and went back there. They signed a goalkeeper on loan and I was told I was free to go. But it turns out I wasn't and after that it all got quite messy with the gaffer there.

The gaffer being the rather notorious Joey Barton…

Yeah, he basically said I could leave, but then blocked various moves for me in the summer. Then he came out in the press saying I'd asked to leave the football club, which I hadn't. Then I was just frozen out. I went to Forest Green on an emergency loan for two or three months. Then Harrogate got back in touch and signed me on an emergency loan in December 2023, with my first game back being against Notts County. Although, not knowing this had happened, Notts County also got back in touch with me on the Friday before also trying to sign me on an emergency loan to play for them against Harrogate. Strange to think that happened. 

So you finally became a Notts player, at the fourth attempt, in January 2026. How did it feel to finally get the deal over the line? 

It felt amazing! We’d agreed all the details a week or so before it was announced and Harrogate knew I really wanted the move and were great about letting me go. Although, after previous attempts, I was praying their other keeper didn’t get injured or nothing else came up to scupper the move this time.

On a practical level it’s great for me. We bought a family home here in 2020 and all the time I was in Bristol and Harrogate I was living in digs or commuting from Nottingham. My daughter goes to nursery in West Bridgford and I can go and pick her up after training. Everything is easier and I can concentrate on my football, rather than traffic. Everything kind of clicks into place.

It's still surreal to see my name on a Notts team sheet, to put a Notts kit on and to wear the badge. Hearing The Kop sing He's One of Our Own will never get old. I've said before and I'll say it again, I'd do anything this football club wants me to do. To be playing for Notts and contributing on the pitch, during a pretty decent spell in terms of results; it just means the world. I'm just enjoying and soaking up every single minute of being here and hopefully it can last for a few more years yet.

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