Richard Stuart Walker (born 17 September 1980) is an English football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player who is the lead professional development phase coach at club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. A defender with an eleven-year professional career, he played 185 competitive games, including 158 appearances in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

. Walker spent most of his career with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

, and played over 100 games for the club between 1999 and 2006. During this time he also played on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

for

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

clubs

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

and

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

. He was promoted out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

with Crewe in 2002–03. He joined

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in 2006, and was loaned out to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

in 2007. In 2008, he signed with

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

, before

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

ring to non-League

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top.

the following year. He retired in January 2010. He coached in the

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

at Stoke City from 2009 to 2023, after which he joined the academy at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Playing career

Crewe Alexandra

Born in Stafford, Staffordshire, Walker attended Wolgarston High School in Penkridge, playing for Penkridge Juniors until signing for

at age fourteen. After working his way through the ranks to the first team, he made over 100 appearances for the "Railwaymen" in seven years, making his debut in November 2000 as a 20-year-old. Before making his professional bow, he had been sent out on

to local

side

to gain first team experience, making ten appearances at the Drill Field during a six-month loan during the 1999–2000 season. The following season, he made only a handful of appearances for Crewe, and was farmed out on loan to Southern League side

for a month in March 2001 for more first team games. The 2001–02 season saw Walker make only one substitute appearance for Crewe, though he was still offered a new two-year deal. The following season saw him become a virtual ever-present at

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History Cre ...

as the club won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from the

in 2002–03. He agreed a new three-year deal in June 2003, keeping him at Crewe until the summer of 2006. The next two years saw Walker continue to play regular football. He was not offered a new

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

by Crewe at the end of the 2005–06 season, and instead joined near neighbours

on a free transfer in June 2006.

Port Vale

Despite a good start to his time at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

, which included a goal in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against Championship side

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, he faded from the first team picture and was loaned to struggling

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

in March 2007. His form for the "Dragons" in just three appearances impressed to the extent that

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

striker

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

added money to the pot collected to pay the defender whilst at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home ...

. He returned to Vale Park in the summer, but was a peripheral figure during the 2007–08 season, and was released in January 2008 after suffering problems with

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

in his knee.

Later career

After a short spell training with

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

and turning out for their reserves, he joined

on a short-term deal in March 2008. His form in his ten games impressed

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Keith Alexander sufficiently to win Walker a twelve-month contract in June 2008. He turned out sixteen times for the "Silkmen" in 2008–09, playing against

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

Everton in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Third Round in January 2009. With his contract coming to an end at

Moss Rose Moss Rose, known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C., and the former home of Macclesfield Town, a club wound up in September ...

in May 2009, he made contact with

manager

Dean Edwards Dean Edwards (born July 30, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer and musician. His work as a voice actor includes Scottie Pippen and Spike Lee in ''Celebrity Deathmatch'', a robot in ''Robotomy'', and Donkey in ''Scar ...

, who was in the market for an experienced player to become part of the

ing staff at Keys Park after Matt Elliott's departure. Despite his relative young age and Football League background, he decided to take the step down to Southern League Premier Division and join the "Pitmen" as the club's new first team coach. However, he left the club by mutual consent in January 2010.

Coaching career

In July 2009, he was appointed the under-11's coach at Stoke City on a part-time basis. He was made Stoke City U18s manager for the 2018–19 season. He helped the team to reach the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup in 2017 and the final of the Premier League Cup the following year. Walker left his role at Stoke's Academy in May 2023. He was then appointed as under-18s lead professional development phase coach at

Career statistics

Honours

Crewe Alexandra *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

second-place promotion: 2002–03

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Richard 1980 births Footballers from Stafford Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Southern Football League players Association football coaches Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff