From Boston to the beach at Wollongong, James’ reinvention is now complete.

He couldn’t be happier with life, while his accent is a hybrid of regional English and larrikin Aussie.

“When Luke called me, things changed. When someone with that calibre calls you, you’ve got to show him a bit of respect.

“I signed after playing against an A-League side and he liked how I played.”

James now lives near the stunning Wollongong beach. He has a revitalised football career and his study is paying off too.

He’s a good example of how to change your life. For the better.

James says he hasn’t achieved anything but has progressed his life as a human being.

“I got expelled from school for being a bad kid, and they expelled me from Nottingham Forest academy also," he reveals.

“And so I went to a school away from my hometown to get away from all the people I went to school at the primary level.

“When I hit 20, I needed a lifestyle change. There’s not much opportunity in Boston. I needed to escape from the life I was living and what I was involved in back home.

“I needed to get away. It was a 26-hour flight and for the first few weeks, I hated it. I wanted to come home.

“But I’m still close with the family I stayed with in Canberra who put me onto Canberra FC.

“After a year, I went home to Boston and was so depressed. But I got a call to come back to Canberra and I continued scoring goals for them.”

James is a visa player, which means his chances of playing in the A-League are tougher given most clubs will look to Europe or South America to fill those spots.

He’s applied for his residency last December.

Ironically it’s probably someone in Canberra’s immigration who is pondering James’ future as we speak.

Could this story be completed by James becoming a professional?

That is the question for any A-League club seeking a striker who knows exactly where the back of the net is. 

“There’s no doubt with a second division coming in below the A-League in the next few years, this will benefit young Aussie talent get a shot at professional football," James says. 

“And with social media being so prevalent, you don’t even need scouts.

“A-League clubs just need to tap into lower leagues and find out about players they could potentially sign,” he notes.

For now, the Manchester United fan (“I was a huge fan of Rooney, Ronaldo and also Van Nistelrooy and I liked Henry”) trains three nights a week.

He is kept busy as a project manager in construction and he lives on the beach in Wollongong.

You have to say his life has turned out well. In just five years, too.

“It’s definitely a better life than to grow up in England," he says. "There’s not much opportunity where I grew up and not much chance to progress in life as a human being.

“You get caught in a trap, which sounds like an Elvis Presley song!" he says with a laugh, "but it’s exactly right for where I grew up.

“If I hadn’t made this move, I wouldn’t want to picture my life.

“I’d probably be in jail by now. Like all my friends back home.”