Richard Walker (footballer, born 1977)

For other people named Richard Walker, see Richard Walker (disambiguation).

Richard Walker

Personal information
Full name	Richard Martin Walker
Date of birth	(1977-11-08) 8 November 1977 (age 47)
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.

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. ^[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 sons Sammie and 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

• Football League Trophy: 2001–02 ^[15]

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 ^[16]

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". The Independent. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
3. Wilson, Jeremy (28 May 2007). "Walker applies finishing touch to Rovers' revival". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
4. "Trolls firm over Walker". Bristol Rovers F.C. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
5. "Walker off to Shrews". Bristol Rovers F.C. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
6. "Walker released". Burton Albion F.C. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
7. "National League North". 20 November 2021.
8. "Boston United vs. Solihull Moors – 10 September 2011 – Soccerway".
9. "England – R. Walker – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
10. 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.
11. "Late own goal bags Beer a home Macron League top flight point". 19 March 2018.
12. "Beer Albion beaten in East Devon Senior Cup final". 11 August 2018.
13. @albion_beer (25 May 2018). "First team player Manager in his prime 🙌🏻! #TrickyDickyWalker" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. "Beer Albion appoint new management duo as Fishermen prepare for Saturday's big kick-off". Sidmouth Herald. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
15. Fletcher, Paul (24 March 2002). "Blackpool lift LDV Vans Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
16. Hughes, Ian (1 April 2007). "Bristol Rovers 2–3 Doncaster Rovers AET". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

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