Ian Walker
Encyclopedia
Ian Michael Walker is a former English
footballer. His former clubs include Tottenham Hotspur
, Leicester City
and Bolton Wanderers
. Walker is the son of former Wales
goalkeeper, and Norwich City
and Everton
manager Mike Walker. He is currently the manager of Bishop's Stortford
.
and Oxford United
. Walker made 312 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur
. Walker handed in a transfer request in September 2000 after losing his place in the first team to Neil Sullivan
.
in July 2001 for a fee of £2.5 million, rising to £3 million depending on appearances. His first season at the club ended in relegation to the First Division
, eliminating any hopes of being called up for the 2002 World Cup
. Walker had an impressive season with Leicester as they regained promotion to the Premier League, earning his first England recall in six years in May 2003.
He struggled with life in the Premier League, particularly in a match against Aston Villa
at the Walkers Stadium
on 31 January 2004, in which he conceded five goals in 18 minutes. Walker put up such a poor display in the match that he was confronted by a Leicester fan who ran onto the pitch, telling him he "didn't think he was fit to be a Premiership player." On 10 February 2004, Walker scored a bizarre own goal in a match against Bolton Wanderers to give them a 1–1 draw at Leicester. Despite comfortably saving Kevin Davies
' shot, he lost grasp of the ball as it crawled over the goal line. He did make a comeback performance in a goalless home draw against Wolves
on 28 February, putting up a "world-class save" to deny Kenny Miller
. Walker pledged to stay at Leicester despite their relegation from the Premier League in the 2003–04 season. He was released from Leicester City on 6 May 2005, after the club could not afford him a new contract. Walker spent four years at Leicester.
n team Lokomotiv Plovdiv
. In May 2006, Walker was rewarded for his patience in not playing a single league game by being given a further two-year contract. In May 2008, and still without a league appearance to his name, Walker was offered a new deal by Bolton manager Gary Megson
. However, on 11 December 2008, Ian Walker had his Bolton contract terminated by mutual consent.
who play in the Conference North
. Walker's first game in charge was away to Havant & Waterlooville
on 19 March 2011. Stortford went on to lose 4–1.
four times, making his debut in 1996 against Hungary
. His most infamous game was against Italy
in a qualification match for the 1998 World Cup where he is widely believed to have been at fault to a Gianfranco Zola
strike. England lost this game to Italy 1–0 at Wembley Stadium
. He backed up David James
at Euro 2004 but was overtaken by others in the pecking order. Despite Walker's club Leicester suffering relegation from the Premier League, he played his first England match in seven years as a 61st minute substitute for Paul Robinson in a 6–1 win over Iceland
on 5 June 2004, which was also his last international.
, as featured on MTV Cribs
. After the birth of daughter Sophie in 1998, Suzi suffered Post Natal
Eclampsia
, and is an on-going sufferer of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. He became a father just months after the death of his mother Jackie after a long battle against cancer.
In November 2006, Suzi admitted Walker had met dancer Samantha Thurman, 33, from Miami on a property investment trip to Las Vegas
in May. In September 2007, Walker and Thurman had a son named Jaxson. They currently live in South Florida.
Walker attended Great Cornard Upper School
.
Leicester City
|rowspan="3"|1990–91||Tottenham Hotspur
||First Division
||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|Oxford United
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
||2||0||||||1||0||||||3||0
|-
|Ipswich Town
|||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1991–92||rowspan="10"|Tottenham Hotspur
||First Division
||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1992–93||rowspan="10"|Premier League||15||0||||||||||||||15||0
|-
|1993–94||3||0||||||||||||||3||0
|-
|1994–95||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1995–96||38||0||||||||||||||39||0
|-
|1996–97||37||0||1||0||4||0||||||42||0
|-
|1997–98||29||0||1||0||3||0||||||33||0
|-
|1998–99||27||0||6||0||4||0|||||||37||0
|-
|1999–2000||38||0||2||0||2||0||4||0||46||0
|-
|2000–01||4||0||||||1||0||||||5||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|Leicester City
||35||0||2||0||2||0||||||39||0
|-
|2002–03||First Division
||46||0||2||0||3||0|||||||51||0
|-
|2003–04
||Premier League||37||0||2||0||1||0|||||||40||0
|-
|2004–05||The Championship
||22||0||4||0|||||||||||26||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="4"|Bolton Wanderers
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||||||1||0||1||0||3||0||5||0
|-
|2006–07||||||1||0||2||0||||||3||0
|-
|2007–08||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|2008–09
||||||||||||||||||0||0
400||0||22||0||26||0||7||0||455||00
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer. His former clubs include Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
. Walker is the son of former Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
goalkeeper, and Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
and Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
manager Mike Walker. He is currently the manager of Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford F.C.
Bishop's Stortford F.C. is an English football club based in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at Woodside Park.-History:The club was established in 1874...
.
Club career
Walker was for many years the primary goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur, starting out with them as a trainee and having two loan spells, for Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
and Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
. Walker made 312 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. Walker handed in a transfer request in September 2000 after losing his place in the first team to Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan is an English-born Scottish ex-international professional Association footballer. A goalkeeper, Sullivan currently plays for Doncaster Rovers after signing on a permanent basis from Leeds United at the end of the 2006–07 season, following two loan moves to Doncaster...
.
Leicester City
Walker signed a four-year contract with Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
in July 2001 for a fee of £2.5 million, rising to £3 million depending on appearances. His first season at the club ended in relegation to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
, eliminating any hopes of being called up for the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
. Walker had an impressive season with Leicester as they regained promotion to the Premier League, earning his first England recall in six years in May 2003.
He struggled with life in the Premier League, particularly in a match against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
at the Walkers Stadium
Walkers Stadium
The King Power Stadium is a football stadium which hosts home matches of English football club Leicester City. The all-seater stadium, inaugurated in July 2002, holds 32,500 and has the 19th largest stadium capacity in England. The stadium is named after King Power, a company owned by club owner...
on 31 January 2004, in which he conceded five goals in 18 minutes. Walker put up such a poor display in the match that he was confronted by a Leicester fan who ran onto the pitch, telling him he "didn't think he was fit to be a Premiership player." On 10 February 2004, Walker scored a bizarre own goal in a match against Bolton Wanderers to give them a 1–1 draw at Leicester. Despite comfortably saving Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies
Kevin Cyril Davies is an English footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team as a striker. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009....
' shot, he lost grasp of the ball as it crawled over the goal line. He did make a comeback performance in a goalless home draw against Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
on 28 February, putting up a "world-class save" to deny Kenny Miller
Kenny Miller
Kenneth "Kenny" Miller is a Scottish footballer who plays as a striker for Cardiff City and the Scotland national football team...
. Walker pledged to stay at Leicester despite their relegation from the Premier League in the 2003–04 season. He was released from Leicester City on 6 May 2005, after the club could not afford him a new contract. Walker spent four years at Leicester.
Bolton Wanderers
Walker joined Bolton on a one-year contract. Walker was the goalkeeper for Bolton's first ever European match away from England against BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n team Lokomotiv Plovdiv
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv is a Bulgarian football club from the city of Plovdiv, which competes in Bulgaria's top football league, the A PFG. The club was founded on July 25, 1926 when two of the oldest Plovdiv clubs - Atletic and Karadzha united into a new club named Sports Club Plovdiv...
. In May 2006, Walker was rewarded for his patience in not playing a single league game by being given a further two-year contract. In May 2008, and still without a league appearance to his name, Walker was offered a new deal by Bolton manager Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
. However, on 11 December 2008, Ian Walker had his Bolton contract terminated by mutual consent.
Managerial career
On 14 March 2011, Walker was appointed as manager of Bishop's StortfordBishop's Stortford F.C.
Bishop's Stortford F.C. is an English football club based in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at Woodside Park.-History:The club was established in 1874...
who play in the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
. Walker's first game in charge was away to Havant & Waterlooville
Havant & Waterlooville F.C.
Havant & Waterlooville Football Club are an English football club based in Havant, Hampshire. The club formed in 1998 after a merger between Havant Town and Waterlooville, and are currently members of the Conference South. Nicknamed The Hawks, they play at West Leigh Park.-History:In 1998 Havant...
on 19 March 2011. Stortford went on to lose 4–1.
International career
Walker has been capped for the England national teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
four times, making his debut in 1996 against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
. His most infamous game was against Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in a qualification match for the 1998 World Cup where he is widely believed to have been at fault to a Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
strike. England lost this game to Italy 1–0 at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. He backed up David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
at Euro 2004 but was overtaken by others in the pecking order. Despite Walker's club Leicester suffering relegation from the Premier League, he played his first England match in seven years as a 61st minute substitute for Paul Robinson in a 6–1 win over Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....
on 5 June 2004, which was also his last international.
Personal life
Walker and his former Page Three wife Suzi lived in a mock-Tudor mansion in Cobham, SurreyCobham, Surrey
Cobham is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, about south-west of central London and north of Leatherhead. Elmbridge has been acclaimed by the Daily Mail as the best place to live in the UK, and Cobham is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt...
, as featured on MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs and CMT Cribs, depending on which channel it airs, is a franchise reality television program that originated on the MTV Networks' MTV. It later aired on its CMT channel that features tours of the houses and mansions of celebrities. The first show aired September 2000...
. After the birth of daughter Sophie in 1998, Suzi suffered Post Natal
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
Eclampsia
Eclampsia
Eclampsia , an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia...
, and is an on-going sufferer of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. He became a father just months after the death of his mother Jackie after a long battle against cancer.
In November 2006, Suzi admitted Walker had met dancer Samantha Thurman, 33, from Miami on a property investment trip to Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in May. In September 2007, Walker and Thurman had a son named Jaxson. They currently live in South Florida.
Walker attended Great Cornard Upper School
Great Cornard Upper School
Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College is an upper school in the village of Great Cornard, located near the town of Sudbury, Suffolk, England that educates about 800 students aged 13–18 with a sixth form facility....
.
Honours
Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
- League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
: 1
-
- 19991999 Football League Cup FinalThe 1999 Worthington Cup Final was played between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, at Wembley on Sunday 21 March 1999. Tottenham won the game, and their third League Cup, with an injury-time diving header from Allan Nielsen...
- 1999
Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
- Football League Division 1 Runner up
-
- 2002/03
Career statistics
|-|rowspan="3"|1990–91||Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||2||0||||||1||0||||||3||0
|-
|Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
|||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1991–92||rowspan="10"|Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1992–93||rowspan="10"|Premier League||15||0||||||||||||||15||0
|-
|1993–94||3||0||||||||||||||3||0
|-
|1994–95||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|1995–96||38||0||||||||||||||39||0
|-
|1996–97||37||0||1||0||4||0||||||42||0
|-
|1997–98||29||0||1||0||3||0||||||33||0
|-
|1998–99||27||0||6||0||4||0|||||||37||0
|-
|1999–2000||38||0||2||0||2||0||4||0||46||0
|-
|2000–01||4||0||||||1||0||||||5||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
||35||0||2||0||2||0||||||39||0
|-
|2002–03||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||46||0||2||0||3||0|||||||51||0
|-
|2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
||Premier League||37||0||2||0||1||0|||||||40||0
|-
|2004–05||The Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||22||0||4||0|||||||||||26||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="4"|Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||||||1||0||1||0||3||0||5||0
|-
|2006–07||||||1||0||2||0||||||3||0
|-
|2007–08||||||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|2008–09
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...
||||||||||||||||||0||0
400||0||22||0||26||0||7||0||455||00