Simmonds is a true blue
 By David
Thorpe
At an age when most youngsters are watching their footballing idols from
the stands London-born Ireland youth international James Simmonds was
sharing a pitch with the cream of the crop.
The 19-year-old first played for Chelsea’s reserves as a 15-year-old
when his teammates included Damien Duff. Dozens more games for the Premiership
champions’ second-team followed and with it the chance to play alongside
England World Cup star Joe Cole and Portuguese international Paulo Ferreira
amongst others.
A new chapter was opened in James’ career last week when he was
signed on-loan by Championship high-flyers Cardiff City and he hopes to
make his first English league appearance with the Bluebirds in the coming
weeks.
Simmonds was first spotted by Chelsea scouts as a nine-year-old playing
for his local team in Ealing, West London. He has risen through the ranks
at the Blues ever since. He regularly trains with the first-team squad
and has been on stand-by on several occasions this year for the Premiership
champions.
With maternal grandparents hailing from Kerry and Donegal James opted
to play for Ireland at a young age. He represented the Boys in Green at
U-16 level when he was 14. Subsequently he played in the same age group
for England before choosing to represent Ireland at international level.
James recently made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U-19 team and
decided he wanted more regular and competitive football than that which
is offered by the Chelsea reserves.
He asked to go on loan and after a week’s trial Cardiff signed him
and James is looking forward to the challenge of pushing for a place in
the starting line-up of the Welsh promotion chasers.
He said: “A big attraction about Cardiff was that they play good
football. That is what I have become used to at Chelsea. I really would
have hated playing the kick-and-rush stuff that some teams in that league
play”.
Having trained with his new teammates last week James is hoping to play
some part for Cardiff.
“The next stage of my career is to play some first-team football,
most of the other lads involved with the Ireland U-19s and U-21s are at
that stage so really I need to be doing that too,” he said.
James’s Chelsea contract runs until the summer of 2008 and while
the talented young midfielder is in no hurry to leave the Stamford Bridge
club he admits that if Cardiff were to try to sign him on a permanent
basis he would jump at the chance.
He said: “They are a club going in the right direction, they could
be in the Premiership this year, and have a great chance of getting promoted
in the coming years.
“The chance to play in the Premiership is what I have always wanted
so while obviously I would like to do that with Chelsea if another club
offered we the chance I would have to look very seriously at it.”
James has an excellent chance of becoming the latest Irishman to shine
in the English Championship but whatever the future holds the young London-Irishman
has already collected a lifetime’s worth of soccer memories.
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