| Richard Walker | |
| |
| Nationality: | 
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| Rovers apps (gls)1: | 143 (46) |
| Date of birth: | 8 November 1977 |
| Place of birth: | Sutton Coldfield |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in |
| Position: | Forward |
| Date joined: | 29 July 2004 |
| Joined from: | Oxford United |
| Date left: | 30 June 2009 |
| 1 League appearances and goals only. | |
Richard Walker is a striker who was signed for Rovers by Ian Atkins in the summer of 2004. He was the club's top goalscorer in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, however a slow start to the 2007-08 campaign saw him relegated to the substitutes' bench, enabling Rickie Lambert and Andy Williams to establish themselves as the first choice strike pairing.
Richard was born in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, and began his career with local team Aston Villa. He failed to make in impression at Villa though, making just six league appearances in seven seasons, scoring two goals. Prior to joining Rovers in 2004, Richard's single-season goal tally had only once reached double figures when he scored eleven goals for Wycombe Wanderers and Blackpool in 2001-02. Since signing for The Gas he has never failed to reach double figures for the season.
After a poor 2007-08 season, in which Walker failed to keep down a first team, he was told by head coach Paul Trollope that he had become surplus to requirements at Rovers. On July 4th 2008, he joined Shrewsbury Town on a year long loan where he saw out his Rovers contract.
Following his release from Rovers, he signed a two-year deal at Football League newcomers Burton Albion but was let go again on its expiry, having scored four goals in 35 league games for The Brewers. He was picked up by Solihull Moors, managed by ex-Rovers player Marcus Bignot, in the summer of 2011 and also linked up with another former Pirate there in the shape of Craig Hinton, who was assistant manager. He played less than a season of Conference North football with them, opting 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 Leauge, at level 12 of the league system, some six levels below the team where he had begun the year. Was was recruited for Beer by a work colleague who played for the team, and who convinced Richard to play alongside him.
Career[]
| Season | Club | League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 1995–96 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | →Cambridge United (loan) | 21 | 3 |
| 1999–00 | Aston Villa | 5 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | →Blackpool (loan) | 18 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | →Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 12 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | Blackpool | 21 | 8 |
| 2002–03 | Blackpool | 32 | 4 |
| 2003–04 | Blackpool | 9 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | →Northampton Town (loan) | 12 | 4 |
| 2003–04 | Oxford United | 4 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Bristol Rovers | 27 | 10 |
| 2005–06 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 20 |
| 2006–07 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 12 |
| 2007–08 | Bristol Rovers | 24 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | Bristol Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | →Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 27 | 5 |
| 2009–10 | Burton Albion | 17 | 3 |
| 2010–11 | Burton Albion | 18 | 1 |
| 2011–12 | Solihull Moors | ? | ? |
| 2011–12 | Beer Albion | ? | ? |
Record against Rovers[]
Richard has played just one competitive match against Bristol Rovers, a League Two match for Northampton Town on boxing day 2003. He scored the winning goal on 86 minutes for a Northampton side which featured two other future Rovers players – Paul Trollope and Chris Carruthers.
| Date | Club | Venue | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 December 2003 | Northampton Town | Memorial Stadium | 2–1 to Northampton | Scored the winning goal, subbed off after 89 minutes. |