James Luke Newton Walker (born 25 November 1987) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker.

Career

Charlton Athletic

Walker was released by Charlton in 2006, but was invited back on a trial by new manager

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

during pre-season, and he impressed by scoring against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

and Hibernian, earning a new one-year contract. He has loan spells with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

(where he scored his first career goal against Boston United),

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

and

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. He is a former England under-18 international. On 23 November 2006, Walker joined

on a two-month loan deal. He scored with his final touch for the club in a 5–2 away win against Millwall on 20 February 2007. He joined

on loan in March 2007 and later joined

on a three-month loan in October 2007. There is a popular chant that fans scream at his matches which is "We appreciate James". There are even multiple facebook groups called "The James Appreciation Club".

Southend United

After returning in January 2008, he was close to joining another

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side,

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, for £200,000. However, the move was cancelled after he was discovered to have an irregular heart rhythm after he failed a medical. The following month he was signed on loan by Southend, and scored on his debut against AFC Bournemouth. At the start of Southend's 2008–09 season, Walker was used as a winger rather than a striker. On 13 December 2008, in the club's League One game against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

, Walker missed a penalty which would have put Southend on level terms, instead Southend slipped to a 1–0 defeat. On 20 January 2009, Walker came off the bench against

to rescue a point in the sixth minute of injury time with an individual effort after taking on four defenders. On 22 September 2009, Walker joined

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

on a month's loan spell. He made his debut in a 4–1 loss to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 26 September 2009. He then scored his first goal against Dagenham & Redbridge on 3 October 2009, and his second goal followed three days later in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

tie against

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

. Hereford were keen to extend Walker's loan but after his initial month he wanted to return to Southend to fight for his place in their side.

Gillingham

On 1 February 2010 he agreed to have his Southend contract terminated and joined Gillingham on a free transfer. He made his debut in 4–0 defeat to Brentford. Walker was released at the end of the season.

Leyton Orient

In September 2010, Walker joined Leyton Orient on a three-month deal, which was later extended by another month. He left the club when this deal expired on 11 January 2011, having made 14 appearances in all competitions without scoring, although he was almost always used as a late substitute. On 16 February 2011 Walker joined

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

on trial.

Woking

On 3 March 2011, Walker signed for Conference South side Woking on a contract until the end of the season.

Dover Athletic

In July 2011, Walker signed for Conference South side

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

after a successful pre-season trial. He was released at the end of the season.

Eastbourne Borough

In August 2012, Walker signed for Conference South side Eastbourne Borough after a successful pre-season trial. While at Eastbourne, Walker was called up to play for Antigua and Barbuda, coming on as a second-half substitute against Guatemala in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. Walker left Eastbourne for personal reasons on 26 February 2013.

Albany Creek Excelsior

Walker moved to Australia with former Eastbourne Borough player

Marvin Hamilton Marvin Hamilton-Omole (born 8 October 1988), commonly known as Marvin Hamilton, is a former professional footballer. Born in England, he represented the Sri Lanka national team. Hamilton began his career with Gillingham and has subsequently g ...

to play in the Brisbane Premier League for Albany Creek Excelsior. His first game was against UQFC on 29 June.

Return to Eastbourne Borough

In August 2014, Walker re-signed for Conference South side Eastbourne Borough after a successful pre-season trial. However, with fitness problems and not scoring in his first 15 appearances Walker was told by manager

Tommy Widdrington Thomas Widdrington (born 1 October 1971) is an English former football player and manager who is manager of club Aldershot Town. As a midfielder, he made 372 appearances in the English Football League in a 15-year career, before spending fiv ...

that he could start to look for a new club.

Bishop's Stortford

Walker signed for Bishop's Stortford on 9 December 2014.

East Thurrock United

Walker joined East Thurrock United for the 2015/16 season. He scored his first goal in an FA Cup tie against Carshalton Athletic.

Tilbury

Walker signed for

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

for the 2018-2019 season.

Personal Life

Alongside playing football, Walker was working as a PE Teacher at Ramsden Hall Academy in

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It i ...

. In February 2019, Walker suffered a cardiac arrest and he was left with physical and mental impairments and now lives in a 24-hour care home in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

. A Match For James
15 February 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, James 1987 births Living people Footballers from Hackney, London English footballers England youth international footballers English sportspeople of Antigua and Barbuda descent Antigua and Barbuda footballers Antigua and Barbuda international footballers Association football forwards Charlton Athletic F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Woking F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Albany Creek Excelsior FC players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players East Thurrock United F.C. players Canvey Island F.C. players Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players Tilbury F.C. players English Football League players