Des Walker
Defender 2002-2004
Full Name : – Desmond Sinclair Walker
Born on 26th November 1965 in Hackney, East London, England.
Position : Defender
Height : 1.8m (5′ 11″)
Weight : 71.2kg (11st 3oz)
Spotted as a schoolboy, Walker signed for Tottenham Hotspur as a 10-year-old, but it didn’t work out at Spurs for him, having a couple of seasons playing alongside Hoddle, Hazard, Hughton and Miller in the Juniors in 1975-76 and 1976-77. However, he went back to playing for local teams and in 1980, Nottingham Forest saw him playing in London and snapped him up for the youth team ahead of interest from Aston Villa and Birmingham City.
Played at an early age in the Forest side under Brian Clough, he developed into a central defender whose pace and positioning earned him the “You’ll Never Beat Des Walker” song from the City Ground fans. He won a couple of minor cups with the Tricky Trees and then in 1989 they won the League Cup, a feat they repeated the following year. Was part of the Forest team that made the FA Cup Final in 1991, but, ironically, he netted the winning goal for Tottenham and not Forest.
His performances for England in the 1992 European Championships attracted attention from clubs at home and abroad and he moved to Sampdoria, where he played regularly, but didn’t enjoy the experience, being played out of position at left back. A return to England with Sheffield Wednesday saw him have an unsettled time at the club, playing under eight managers in his time at Hillsborough. He played over 300 games for the Owls, but left on a free transfer in 2001 and made a return to Nottingham Forest a to see out his career with the club who first gave him a chance in the big time.
NICKNAME :
Career Record
| Club | Signed | Fee | Debut | Apps | Goals |
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| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (schoolboy) | 1996 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
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| Nottingham Forest | 1980 | ?? | March 1984 v Everton | 346 | 1 |
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| Sampdoria (Italy) | 1992 | £1,500,000 | ?? | 32 | 0 |
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| Sheffield Wednesday | 1993 | £2,700,000 | ?? | 361 | 0 |
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| Nottingham Forest | July 2002 | Free | ?? | 62 | 0 |
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Honours
England international
Debut 14 September 1998 at Wembley v Denmark (Friendly) (as a sub) won 1-0
59 full caps; 0 goals
7 Under-21 caps; 0 goals
What they said about Des Walker
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| David Pleat (his Sheffield Wednesday manager) … 27.04.2003 (Guardian interview)
“He was suspicious of authority, but he had a superb attitude on the pitch. Much as I would’ve liked to, I always found it hard to communicate with him.” |
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| Danny Bergera (his Sheffield Wednesday coach) … 27.04.2003 (Guardian interview)
“He was an excellent player but he wanted things done his way. You had to be very careful how you put things to Des. It is probably why he never got the [England] recall.” |
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What Des Walker said about …
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| … his own goal winning the FA Cup for Spurs in 1991 … 27.04.2003 (Guardian interview)
“‘The ball was crossed and I had to get there. I was sliding along the floor and I thought, “It’s going in….”.” |
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| … ? … .. ()
“.” |
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Other articles on Des Walker : –
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Books on Des Walker : –
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