WHETHER people foretold doom and gloom upon his arrival or hailed him as ‘England’s number one’ at the end of last weekend’s win against Ipswich, James Trafford is determined to take it all.
At the tender age of 19, the Cumbrian goalkeeper kept a clean sheet on his debut for Bolton Wanderers, having only known his new team-mates in Lostock for 48 hours.
Concerns had surfaced on social media that Ian Evatt had taken the risk of capturing such an inexperienced competition for Joel Dixon, but Trafford was able to filter out the noise and make a positive start to his time at UniBol.
“You’re aware of the pressure, but nothing really gets on my nerves that much. I’m calm,” he told The Bolton News.
“I saw a bit of it (social media) — and I was like, ‘Relax, you didn’t actually see me play!’ “Maybe they’ve seen some highlights and some bad parts? But everyone has them.
“I tend not to go on Twitter because it’s a rough place at times.
“Once I found out I was playing, I tried to focus on what I normally do. When the game came I knew if I gave 100 percent nobody would question my attitude. If they think I’m a bad goalkeeper, I won’t read it.”
Make no mistake that a goalkeeper as young as Trafford has coached at first-team level for Manchester City and even been on the bench for Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Blues is a significant achievement in itself.
But Trafford’s first loan away from the Etihad’s bosom and its manicured lawns didn’t quite go to plan.
A stint at Accrington Stanley in League One saw him dropped after 11 games for home keeper Toby Savin and while that prompted Trafford to consider his options for January he insists the experience helped him has.
“The five months that I spent at Accy will benefit me here because although I’m young I know the league,” he said.
“I’ve seen more or less every team and played against half of them. Saturday (against Ipswich) came as no surprise.
“Although I was in the first-team environment at City, it was a different experience in the lower leagues. At Accy I grew up a lot because I was with the pros every day.
“I came here to contribute, to push the other goalkeepers and to see what we can achieve.”
Tactically, Trafford also feels he can get more out of his time at Bolton.
“I know a lot about the gaffer and how he got on at Barrow. I like how Bolton play, that’s how I grew up and similar to City so it helps my development,” he said.
“I’ve learned a lot during my time at Accrington but the simple thing is I haven’t played and thought my development would be better somewhere else.
“The gaffer there didn’t stand in my way of going.
“A lot of clubs in League One play very directly, which I don’t see with City. It suits me that Bolton is playing a high line, it’s the best for my development at the moment.
“The whole situation in Bolton suits me better. From day one I liked how professional it is as I’m used to. The gaffer and the boys drive each other.”
Trafford doesn’t try to hide his ambition and confidently predicts he will one day be Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper.
And the youngster realizes that to reach that high place he needs to try all the different emotions that football can offer.
“Any goalkeeper knows that when you’re 18 or 19 like me, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll break through at a top club without going on loan first,” he said.
“I want to evolve, add more strings to my bow, play in front of an audience. I just feel like the attention I get, good, bad, or indifferent, makes me grow as a player.
“In five or ten years this experience will have helped me and right now I want to help the team.”
From the moment he nearly yanked his manager’s arm from his hip as he introduced himself, Trafford has made a huge impression on the training ground as well.
The young goalkeeper was particularly pleased with the welcome from Joel Dixon, who had held the first-choice goalkeeper at Bolton until his arrival.
“Joel has been really good to me. He didn’t hit us badly because when another goalkeeper comes in it’s natural to maybe think he’ll take the position, but we both worked hard.
“Adam Senior and George Thomason were nice – they played darts, had something to eat or a coffee – and the older guys in the dressing room, nobody fought us because I come from a big club, basically they all have me Gave time of the day and helped me.
“Even though we all get along, we demand a lot in training. If someone’s standard slips, they jump on it.
“I don’t know how far we were from the relegation zone when I came in but it didn’t feel like a club that was close or in bad shape. The training was sharp and the mood was positive.”
Trafford hasn’t been short of help at City, including the wise advice of veteran goalkeeper Scott Carson, and has studied many of his peers as he seeks to assert himself in the game.
“I like watching a lot of goalkeepers,” he said. “I try to see a lot of Dean Henderson because he’s from Cumbria and I’ve seen a lot of him over the years.
“I try to be unique and play the way I enjoy the most.
“Of course you see players like Ederson, Allison, Mendy, Ramsdale and take stuff from them but I’m just trying to be James Trafford.
“I just want to look forward to getting into training the next day, developing with the ball at my foot and trying to do my part.”
Trafford certainly hasn’t arrived with the attitude of a big club, but he has added some facial hair since he was last on the field at Accrington – and denies that this should set him apart from well-known YouTuber and Wanderers fan Thogden.
“It came from the start of the season because I was fed up with the stick I was getting from away fans asking if my mum allowed me to come. I had to grow something,” he laughed.
“But Thogden always wanted me to come to Bolton, he’s a good lad. I didn’t think that would happen!”
