It all began at Watford where James came up through the junior ranks to become one of the country's most talented young goalkeepers.

After making his league debut in 1988, James's impressive performances between the sticks earned him England Under-21 caps and he was crowned Watford's Player of the Year in 1991.

Liverpool manager Graeme Souness shelled out £1m to bring James to Anfield in June 1992, shortly before the inaugural Premier League season after James made 98 appearances for the Hornets.

He was in and out of the side under Souness but new Reds manager Roy Evans handed him a recall and James was selected for the England B team that won 2-0 against the Republic of Ireland at the end of 1994.

James claimed his first piece of silverware, when he helped Liverpool win the League Cup in April 1995 after a 2-1 success over Bolton Wanderers.

And the goalie played his part in Liverpool reaching the FA Cup Final in 1996, but the Reds lost out to Manchester United. Liverpool ended the Premier League campaign in third place.

James was handed his full international debut for England in the 2-0 win over Mexico at Wembley in March 1997. It was the first of 46 caps the Welwyn Garden City born player would earn for his country.

In the summer of 1999, Aston Villa swooped to sign James for £1.7m after he featured more than 200 times for Liverpool.

James made a number of saves as Villa despatched Bolton in the 2000 FA Cup semi-final 4-1 on penalties, but they were defeated in the final by Chelsea.

Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson called James up to their respective England squads and James sealed a £3.5m move to West Ham United in July 2001.

A starring display for England in a 2-0 victory over Turkey cemented his place as England's No.1, but there was disappointment for James as club side West Ham were relegated from the Premier League in 2003.

In January 2004, James returned to the Premier League to sign for Manchester City. He travelled to the 2006 World Cup on Germany but did not get a match.

August 2006 saw James end his tenure in Manchester for Portsmouth in a £1.2m transfer which would see the stopper re-ignite his career.

James kept his 142nd Premier League clean sheet to smash David Seaman's record in April 2007 and cap a brilliant first season at the south coast club.

Season 2007/08 was another fine one for James as he helped Portsmouth to an eighth-place Premier League finish and he picked up an FA Cup winners' medal after Pompey beat Cardiff City 1-0.

His heroics in goal meant he was shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award that was eventually won by Cristiano Ronaldo.

This season has been a challenging one for James as Portsmouth find themselves scrapping to avoid a relegation battle.

The 38-year-old surpassed midfielder Gary Speed's 535 Premier League appearance record on Saturday and his clean sheet in Pompey's 2-0 win over Manchester City gave their survival chances a boost.

His side are just four points above the relegation zone, but after so many commanding displays by the England keeper, Portsmouth fans will be confident James will play a pivotal role in keeping them in the Barclays Premier League.

And if the glove man keeps producing the goods in the top flight, then it could be a very long time before anyone overtakes his prestigious record.

David James 536
Gary Speed 535
Ryan Giggs 513
Sol Campbell 471
Alan Shearer 441
Emile Heskey 427
Gareth Southgate 426
Frank Lampard 419
Teddy Sheringham 418
Andrew Cole 414

David James 536
Shay Given 357
Mark Schwarzer 355
Brad Friedel 311
Thomas Sorensen 289
Jussi Jaaskelainen 275

David James 164
Edwin van der Sar 104
Mark Schwarzer 102
Brad Friedel 94
Shay Given 93  

See David James's Premier League career in pictures, click here

James's joy at record