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)
2012–2013	Beer Albion
Managerial career
2013–2019	Beer Albion
* Club domestic league appearances and goals 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

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa	1997–98 [15]	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	1998–99 [16]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1999–2000 [17]	Premier League	5	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
	2000–01 [18]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
	Total		29	4	0	0	4	3	7	2	0	0	40	9
Cambridge United (loan)	1998–99 [16]	Third Division	21	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	24	3
Blackpool (loan)	2000–01 [18]	Third Division	18	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	3
Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	2001–02 [19]	Second Division	12	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	3
Blackpool	2001–02 [19]	Second Division	21	8	0	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	23	11
	2002–03 [20]	Second Division	32	4	3	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	38	4
	2003–04 [21]	Second Division	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		62	12	3	0	1	0	4	3	0	0	70	15
Northampton Town (loan)	2003–04 [21]	Third Division	12	4	4	2	0	0	3	2	0	0	19	8
Oxford United (loan)	2003–04 [21]	Third Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Oxford United	2003–04 [21]	Third Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Bristol Rovers	2004–05 [22]	League Two	27	10	1	1	2	1	2	2	0	0	32	14
	2005–06 [23]	League Two	46	20	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	52	21
	2006–07 [24]	League Two	49	16	5	4	1	1	5	1	0	0	60	22
	2007–08 [25]	League One	24	4	4	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	31	4
	Total		146	50	13	5	6	2	9	3	1	1	175	61
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2008–09 [26]	League Two	27	5	1	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	32	6
Burton Albion	2009–10 [27]	League Two	17	3	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	20	3
	2010–11 [28]	League Two	18	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	19	2
	Total		35	4	1	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	39	5
Solihull Moors	2011–12 [ citation needed ]	Conference North	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 ^[29]

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Second Division runner-up: 2002–03

Bristol Rovers

• Football League Two play-offs: 2007 ^[30]
• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2006–07 ^[31]

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. "Games played by Richard Walker in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
16. "Games played by Richard Walker in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
17. "Games played by Richard Walker in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
18. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
20. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
21. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
22. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
23. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
24. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
25. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
26. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
27. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
28. "Games played by Richard Walker in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
29. Fletcher, Paul (24 March 2002). "Blackpool lift LDV Vans Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
30. Bevan, Chris (26 May 2007). "Bristol Rovers 3–1 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
31. 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