Richard Walker (footballer, born 1977)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Richard Walker, see Richard Walker (disambiguation).

Richard Walker
RichardWalker 1071628.jpg
Personal information
Full name Richard Martin Walker
Date of birth (1977-11-08) 8 November 1977 (age 44)
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
Teams managed
2012– Beer Albion
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and 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 and manages 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[]

Walker scores a penalty for Bristol Rovers against Doncaster Rovers in the 2007 Football League Trophy Final.

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.

Walker was placed on the transfer list at the end of the 2007–08 season,[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Solihull Moors[]

On 9 September 2011, Solihull Moors announced the signing of Richard Walker.[6] He made his debut the following day in a 1–0 away win at Boston United.[7] He scored his first goal for the club on 17 September 2011, opening the scoring as Solihull overcame Altrincham 2–0 at Damson Park.[8]

Beer Albion[]

After having played less than a season of Conference North football, he opted to move with his family to Devon in April 2012.

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. He is in the role of player-manager to this day.[9][10][11]

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) 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) 18 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 3
Wycombe (loan) 12 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 3
Blackpool 21 8 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 23 11
32 4 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 38 4
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Northampton (loan) 12 4 4 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 19 8
Oxford Utd (loan) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Oxford Utd 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
  • Football League Trophy winner: 2002
Crewe Alexandra
Bristol Rovers
  • Football League Trophy runner up: 2007
  • Football League Two play-off winner: 2007

References[]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Seasiders relish return to scene of past success". Independent. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Trolls firm over Walker". bristolrovers.co.uk. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Walker off to Shrews". bristolrovers.co.uk. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  5. ^ "Walker released". burtonalbionfc.co.uk. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  6. ^ "National League North". 20 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Boston United vs. Solihull Moors - 10 September 2011 - Soccerway".
  8. ^ "England - R. Walker - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  9. ^ "Late own goal bags Beer a home Macron League top flight point". 19 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Beer Albion beaten in East Devon Senior Cup final". 11 August 2018.
  11. ^ @albion_beer (25 May 2018). "First team player Manager in his prime