A good read with Richard Walker
May 16, 2015 8:22:46 GMT
philbemmygas, Antonio Fargas, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on May 16, 2015 8:22:46 GMT
THE stage is set for somebody to add their name to Bristol Rovers' folklore this weekend – yet there are those who have already been there and done that.
You need only enter the Memorial Stadium on any given Saturday to be reminded of one of the modern day greats; a man who one day in May 2007 made certain that his feats while wearing a Bristol Rovers shirt would be remembered long after his departure.
It's nearly a decade on now, but posters and pictures of this man with his hands wrapped around the League Two play-off trophy while sporting that recognisable grin remain dotted around the venue.
Richard Walker may well be gone, but two goals at Wembley to help secure promotion to League One by coming from behind to beat Shrewsbury Town certainly means it will be a long time since he is forgotten in Horfield and surrounding areas.
When it is suggested to him that his exploits on that particular day had afforded him legendary status, the likeable Brummie again flashes that recognisable grin before replying: "It is nice to hear that."
"I played some of my best football at Rovers if people still remember me and the rest of the lads for what we achieved that day," he adds.
"I still have the DVD and my boys stick it on now and then and it is a day that will stay with me forever. I have always been a Villa fan and to score in front of the Holte End when I was a youngster was a massive thing for me and I didn't think I would ever top that feeling.
"That day at Wembley with Rovers, though, it was something else and definitely the most memorable moment of my time in the game."
Since those glory days Walker has drifted down the leagues and into retirement. A job in an engineering firm in the picturesque coastal town of Seaton in Devon now takes up most of his days, yet as we continue to discuss his Wembley exploits I begin to think that he has missed his calling.
The memories from that day are clearly still fresh in the mind such is the precision of his Martin Tyler-esque recollection of events that led to his first strike. . "Lambo holds it up and sprays it out wide". . . "Greenie plays a one-two with Craig Disley and gets down the line". The images are starting to unfold in my head.
It is a moment that reminds me of the banner immortalising the words of Brian Moore in his description of Peter Withe's winning goal in the 1982 European Cup final that stretches across the length of one of the stands at Villa Park.
"I remember thinking I had to get across my man and to the near post," Walker continues as his running commentary nears a crescendo. "To see the ball fly into the net was fantastic; real stuff of dreams."
An important goal it was, too. Stewart Drummond had given Shrewsbury the lead inside three minutes to put Rovers on the back-foot almost before they'd got started.
"We were fully focused beforehand and confident that we could go and win the game," Walker says. "I remember waking up in the hotel on the morning of the game just full of excitement. I didn't have any nerves at all I just felt it was going to be our day.
"The way we'd been playing and the momentum we'd built up to get into the play-offs over the final few weeks of that season made us feel almost unbeatable.
"I knew a couple of lads at Shrewsbury at the time and we knew that they spent an unusual amount of hours working on set-pieces on the training ground.
"We'd talked relentlessly about the need to concentrate when we were defending them so it was a real hand-over-face moment to concede a goal from one inside two minutes!
"It was a setback, but I'll always remember jogging back to the centre circle feeling almost certain that we would score."
Score, they would. Three times, in fact. Walker proceeds to take me through his second goal of the day again through the medium of running commentary. It ends with a description of a deft lob over goalkeeper Chris Mackenzie ten minutes before the break – again off his weaker left foot.
"It was one of those days for me," said Walker. "I'd scored 21 goals that season all with either my head or my right foot. When I scored two with my left foot at Wembley I knew our name was on the trophy."
The game ebbed and flowed after the break before Shrewsbury threw the kitchen sink at Rovers in search of an equaliser.
"We were under the cosh and desperately trying to keep the ball away from our goal," Walker said.
"We were defending a corner in stoppage time and their goalie had come up.
"We managed to half clear the ball and it broke to Sammy Igoe just outside the penalty area. I'll never forget seeing Sammy sprinting away up the pitch with Derek Asamoah, who was lightning quick, trying to chase him down. When Sammy finally got to their end and steered the ball towards goal I didn't think it was going to make it over the line!
"The relief and elation as the ball trickled over is hard to put into words. Watching Sammy's little legs motor away up the pitch is definitely one of the enduring images that will live long in my memory."
The achievement was all the more extraordinary when considering that Rovers, who also enjoyed a run to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final where they lost to Doncaster in Cardiff, were ten points adrift of the top seven and looking anything but play-off contenders at the end of February.
"We had a special team with some great lads," Walker said. "Everyone could play a bit and we had an especially strong spine with the likes of Steve Elliott and Stuart Campbell. We also had Rickie (Lambert) and we fancied our chances of doing something before the season.
We didn't make a good start and we had been chucking points away left, right and centre.
"We weren't even thinking the play-offs were a possibility until the final six or seven weeks of the season.
"We got to the JPT final in April and that really helped us build a bit of momentum in the league. It still looked a tough ask when we went Hartlepool, who were still trying to win the title, on the final day of the season needing a win.
"We managed to get it and the rest, as they say, is history. We took it right to the wire, but I think we fully deserved it."
You need only enter the Memorial Stadium on any given Saturday to be reminded of one of the modern day greats; a man who one day in May 2007 made certain that his feats while wearing a Bristol Rovers shirt would be remembered long after his departure.
It's nearly a decade on now, but posters and pictures of this man with his hands wrapped around the League Two play-off trophy while sporting that recognisable grin remain dotted around the venue.
Richard Walker may well be gone, but two goals at Wembley to help secure promotion to League One by coming from behind to beat Shrewsbury Town certainly means it will be a long time since he is forgotten in Horfield and surrounding areas.
When it is suggested to him that his exploits on that particular day had afforded him legendary status, the likeable Brummie again flashes that recognisable grin before replying: "It is nice to hear that."
"I played some of my best football at Rovers if people still remember me and the rest of the lads for what we achieved that day," he adds.
"I still have the DVD and my boys stick it on now and then and it is a day that will stay with me forever. I have always been a Villa fan and to score in front of the Holte End when I was a youngster was a massive thing for me and I didn't think I would ever top that feeling.
"That day at Wembley with Rovers, though, it was something else and definitely the most memorable moment of my time in the game."
Since those glory days Walker has drifted down the leagues and into retirement. A job in an engineering firm in the picturesque coastal town of Seaton in Devon now takes up most of his days, yet as we continue to discuss his Wembley exploits I begin to think that he has missed his calling.
The memories from that day are clearly still fresh in the mind such is the precision of his Martin Tyler-esque recollection of events that led to his first strike. . "Lambo holds it up and sprays it out wide". . . "Greenie plays a one-two with Craig Disley and gets down the line". The images are starting to unfold in my head.
It is a moment that reminds me of the banner immortalising the words of Brian Moore in his description of Peter Withe's winning goal in the 1982 European Cup final that stretches across the length of one of the stands at Villa Park.
"I remember thinking I had to get across my man and to the near post," Walker continues as his running commentary nears a crescendo. "To see the ball fly into the net was fantastic; real stuff of dreams."
An important goal it was, too. Stewart Drummond had given Shrewsbury the lead inside three minutes to put Rovers on the back-foot almost before they'd got started.
"We were fully focused beforehand and confident that we could go and win the game," Walker says. "I remember waking up in the hotel on the morning of the game just full of excitement. I didn't have any nerves at all I just felt it was going to be our day.
"The way we'd been playing and the momentum we'd built up to get into the play-offs over the final few weeks of that season made us feel almost unbeatable.
"I knew a couple of lads at Shrewsbury at the time and we knew that they spent an unusual amount of hours working on set-pieces on the training ground.
"We'd talked relentlessly about the need to concentrate when we were defending them so it was a real hand-over-face moment to concede a goal from one inside two minutes!
"It was a setback, but I'll always remember jogging back to the centre circle feeling almost certain that we would score."
Score, they would. Three times, in fact. Walker proceeds to take me through his second goal of the day again through the medium of running commentary. It ends with a description of a deft lob over goalkeeper Chris Mackenzie ten minutes before the break – again off his weaker left foot.
"It was one of those days for me," said Walker. "I'd scored 21 goals that season all with either my head or my right foot. When I scored two with my left foot at Wembley I knew our name was on the trophy."
The game ebbed and flowed after the break before Shrewsbury threw the kitchen sink at Rovers in search of an equaliser.
"We were under the cosh and desperately trying to keep the ball away from our goal," Walker said.
"We were defending a corner in stoppage time and their goalie had come up.
"We managed to half clear the ball and it broke to Sammy Igoe just outside the penalty area. I'll never forget seeing Sammy sprinting away up the pitch with Derek Asamoah, who was lightning quick, trying to chase him down. When Sammy finally got to their end and steered the ball towards goal I didn't think it was going to make it over the line!
"The relief and elation as the ball trickled over is hard to put into words. Watching Sammy's little legs motor away up the pitch is definitely one of the enduring images that will live long in my memory."
The achievement was all the more extraordinary when considering that Rovers, who also enjoyed a run to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final where they lost to Doncaster in Cardiff, were ten points adrift of the top seven and looking anything but play-off contenders at the end of February.
"We had a special team with some great lads," Walker said. "Everyone could play a bit and we had an especially strong spine with the likes of Steve Elliott and Stuart Campbell. We also had Rickie (Lambert) and we fancied our chances of doing something before the season.
We didn't make a good start and we had been chucking points away left, right and centre.
"We weren't even thinking the play-offs were a possibility until the final six or seven weeks of the season.
"We got to the JPT final in April and that really helped us build a bit of momentum in the league. It still looked a tough ask when we went Hartlepool, who were still trying to win the title, on the final day of the season needing a win.
"We managed to get it and the rest, as they say, is history. We took it right to the wire, but I think we fully deserved it."
ways and means it is possible to log into BT Sport to watch.
we've got a decent wifi connection here and I have bt sport on my iPad so I probably won't actually be working