James Shea looks to have played his last game for Harrow Borough.
The former Arsenal keeper became the first man in many a moon to scoop all three major gongs at the club’s end of season awards on Friday night – reward for a season where he has successfully filled the void between the sticks at Earlsmead, which has been the bug bear of Dave Anderson’s three years in charge.
However, it seems the 22-year-old, who still trains with the Gunners’ goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts, is hungry to return to the professional game.
Consequently he faces a summer of trials as he tries to persuade clubs up and down the country to give him a second chance at the big time.
He said: “I’m still a baby in goalkeeping terms, but I want to get back into league football as quickly as I can and Dave (Anderson) is not the sort of manager to stop me doing that if I’m good enough to achieve it. Hopefully teams have been watching me and will take a chance on me. I just need a chance.”
If the Reds have seen the last of Shea, his trio of awards simply underlined the impact he has made on everyone at the club from directors to team-mates and fans.
He cleaned up, taking the Players’ Player of the Year, Supporters’ Player of the Year and the much coveted Geoff Fitzpatrick Memorial Sword, given to the winner of the Vice-President’s top player of the season.
Claiming the trio of awards meant Shea eclipsed the feat of fellow member of the goalkeeper’s union Nicky Jupp, who won two of the three in 2010-11, the year Borough made the play-offs and the first round proper of the FA Cup.
The 22-year-old is reluctant to crow about his achievements, but admitted his time at Borough had been a great apprenticeship.
He added: “I have absolutely loved every single minute of my time at Harrow Borough. I’ve played nearly 40 games and I’ve never played that many. With the reserves in development football you only get about 15 games maximum and all the kicking took its toll on me physically, but I’m so thankful Harrow let me come here.
“What has helped me is Dave (Anderson) being an ex-goalkeeper so he knows everything and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
