Ray Walker (footballer, born 1963)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Walker | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | North Shields, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Nottingham Boys | |||
| 1979–1981 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1986 | Aston Villa | 23 | (0) |
| 1984 | → Port Vale (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 1986–1997 | Port Vale | 351 | (33) |
| 1994 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| Leek Town | 35 | (5) | |
| Newcastle Town | ? | (?) | |
| Total | 429+ | (39+) | |
| National team | |||
| 1981 | England Youth | 4 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1998 | Leek Town (caretaker-manager) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Raymond Walker (born 28 September 1963) is an English former football midfielder. He played 440 games for Port Vale in all competitions between 1986 and 1997, ensuring himself a place in the club's history. He was twice the club's player of the season, and was named on the PFA Team of the Year three times. He was promoted twice with the club and also played a part in the club's highest ever post-war finish in the Football League.
Known as the "Hoddle of the lower leagues", Walker was an expert passer. With Aston Villa in the early '80s, he joined Port Vale in 1986, after a short loan spell in 1984. After eleven years at Vale Park he went into non-league football with Leek Town and Newcastle Town.
Walker joined Aston Villa as an apprentice in July 1979, and turned professional in September 1981. He made his First Division debut in the 1982–83 season against West Ham United.
He was loaned to Fourth Division Port Vale for two months at the start of the 1984–85 season. He played fifteen games for John Rudge's side, scoring his first goal in professional football on 15 September, in a 3–1 win over Torquay United at Plainmoor. He returned to Villa Park but failed to established himself in the first team. He returned to Port Vale (now in the Third Division) on a permanent basis in July 1986 for a fee of £12,000, plus 50% of any future sale above that amount (a fee settled by a tribunal). He played 54 games in 1986–87, scoring five goals. He was voted Player of the Year by the club's supporters in 1987–88, and was also selected by the PFA for the Third Division Team of the Year. These awards were handed to him for his performances during his 53-game season, with one of his seven goals coming against Tottenham Hotspur in a celebrated FA Cup Fourth Round upset. He handed in a transfer request in June 1988, following rumours that the club had turned down an offer of £150,000 from Manchester City; his request was rejected – much to the disappointment of Stoke City manager Mick Mills.
...
Wikipedia