Richard Walker (footballer, born 1977)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Martin Walker | ||
| Date of birth | 8 November 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2001 | Aston Villa | 6 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 21 | (3) |
| 2001 | → Blackpool (loan) | 18 | (3) |
| 2001 | → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2001–2004 | Blackpool | 62 | (12) |
| 2003–2004 | → Northampton Town | 12 | (4) |
| 2004 | → Oxford United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2009 | Bristol Rovers | 143 | (46) |
| 2008–2009 | → Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 27 | (5) |
| 2009–2011 | Burton Albion | 35 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | Solihull Moors | 5 | (1) |
| 2012– | Beer Albion | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2019 | Beer Albion | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 10 October 2018 (UTC) | |||
Richard Martin Walker (born 8 November 1977) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for Devon and Exeter League club Beer Albion.
Career
Early career
Walker started his career at Aston Villa in 1997. Here, he scored a goal against Arsenal, one of the highest points of his Villa career. After loan spells with Cambridge United, Blackpool[1] and Wycombe Wanderers, he signed for the Seasiders in 2001. He helped Blackpool win the 2001–02 Football League Trophy, playing as a substitute in the final.[2] Walker was loaned out to Northampton Town and Oxford United in the 2003–04 season, before joining Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2004.
Bristol Rovers
A natural goalscorer, he formed a formidable partnership with Junior Agogo before the Ghanaian was sold to Nottingham Forest. Walker scored two goals in the 2007 League Two Play-off Final against Shrewsbury at Wembley, as the Gasheads secured a 3–1 victory to send them up to League One.[3]
Walker was placed on the transfer list at the end of the 2007–08 season,[4] having scored only four goals in that season, all from the penalty spot. He joined Shrewsbury on a full-season loan in the summer of 2008, taking him up to the expiry of his contract with Bristol Rovers.[5]
Burton Albion
Following the expiry of his Bristol Rovers contract, he joined newly promoted Burton Albion in July 2009 on a two-year contract, he scored 4 goals in 35 games for the club before his release in May 2011.[6]
Solihull Moors
On 9 September 2011, Solihull Moors announced the signing of Richard Walker.[7] He made his debut the following day in a 1–0 away win at Boston United.[8] He scored his first goal for the club on 17 September 2011, opening the scoring as Solihull overcame Altrincham 2–0 at Damson Park.[9]
Post-retirement
After having played less than a season of Conference North football, he opted to move with his family to Devon in April 2012. Following his retirement, Walker has worked in a large warehouse for Axminster Tools.[10]
He ended the season playing for Beer Albion in the Premier Division of the Devon & Exeter Football League, at level 12 of the league system, some six levels below the team where he had begun the year. He was recruited for Beer by a colleague who played for the team, and who convinced Richard to play alongside him.[11][12][13] In August 2019, Walker was announced to have stepped away from the role of player-manager, staying on at the club as a player alongside his son Jamie.[14]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 1997–98 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cambridge United (loan) | 1998–99 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| Aston Villa | 1999–2000 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Aston Villa | 2000–01 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Blackpool (loan) | 2000–01 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Wycombe (loan) | 2001–02 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| Blackpool | 2001–02 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 11 |
| 2002–03 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
| 2003–04 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Northampton (loan) | 2003–04 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 8 |
| Oxford Utd (loan) | 2003–04 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oxford Utd | 2003–04 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2004–05 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 14 |
| 2005–06 | 46 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 21 | |
| 2006–07 | 49 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 22 | |
| 2007–08 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | |
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2008–09 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 |
| Burton Albion | 2009–10 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| 2010–11 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| Solihull Moors | 2011–12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Career total | 347 | 87 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 24 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 408 | 109 | |
Honours
- Blackpool
- Crewe Alexandra
- Football League Second Division runner-up: 2002–03
- Bristol Rovers
- Football League Two play-offs: 2007
- Football League Trophy runner-up: 2006–07
References
- ^ "Loan striker to sign on Friday". BlackpoolFC.co.uk. Blackpool Football Club. 7 February 2001. Archived from the original on 16 February 2001. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Seasiders relish return to scene of past success". The Independent. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ Wilson, Jeremy (28 May 2007). "Walker applies finishing touch to Rovers' revival". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Trolls firm over Walker". Bristol Rovers F.C. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
- ^ "Walker off to Shrews". Bristol Rovers F.C. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ "Walker released". Burton Albion F.C. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ "National League North". 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Boston United vs. Solihull Moors – 10 September 2011 – Soccerway".
- ^ "England – R. Walker – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
- ^ Frost, Sam (7 June 2020). "'Best club of my career by a million miles' – Richard Walker relives joyful Bristol Rovers memories". Bristol Post. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ "Late own goal bags Beer a home Macron League top flight point". 19 March 2018.
- ^ "Beer Albion beaten in East Devon Senior Cup final". 11 August 2018.
- ^ @albion_beer (25 May 2018). "First team player Manager in his prime 🙌🏻! #TrickyDickyWalker" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Beer Albion appoint new management duo as Fishermen prepare for Saturday's big kick-off". Sidmouth Herald. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
External links
- Richard Walker player profile at bristolrovers.co.uk
- Richard Walker player profile at shrewsburytown.com
- Richard Walker player profile at oufc.co.uk
- Richard Walker player profile at ntfc.co.uk
- Richard Walker player profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk
- Richard Walker at Soccerbase
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
- English men's footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Aston Villa F.C. players
- Aston Villa Academy Graduates
- Cambridge United F.C. players
- Blackpool F.C. players
- Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
- Northampton Town F.C. players
- Oxford United F.C. players
- Bristol Rovers F.C. players
- Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
- Burton Albion F.C. players
- Solihull Moors F.C. players
- Premier League players
- English Football League players
- National League (English football) players