Harrower was a player with a knack of pulling off amazing trickery with the ball, but like so many players with this ability he lacked the consistency required to play at the highest level; in fact he used to irritate the Anfield crowd who knew what he could do but never saw enough of it. His best season at Liverpool was his first full season 1958–59: he missed just 5 matches and scored 6 goals. Unfortunately for James, the manager who signed him, Taylor, left the club at the end of the campaign and his replacement Bill Shankly decided that change was needed. James was vying for the inside-left position with Jimmy Melia, but midway through the campaign Shankly decided that Melia was the man for the job. Melia kept the position the following season and the future looked bleak for Harrower in a red shirt; in the March 1961 he was on his way, moving to Newcastle United.