Joseph Nicol Walker (born 29 September 1962) is a Scottish 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 lea ...

, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for several clubs in Scotland and England. Walker was selected for many

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

squads during the 1990s, earning two international caps.

Football career

Club

A product of Highland League club Elgin City, Walker signed for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

aged 17. He didn't settle in the Midlands though, and returned to Scotland within the year, signing for

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

in 1981. Two years later he signed for

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

, where he soon established himself as their first choice goalkeeper. The arrival of

Chris Woods Christopher Charles Eric Woods (born 14 November 1959) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach for the Scotland national team. As a player, he was a goalkeeper (association football), goalke ...

as part of the Souness revolution meant that Walker lost his place. Walker did play in the 1987 Scottish League Cup Final against Aberdeen, which Rangers won after a penalty shoot-out, while injuries to Woods the following season also meant Walker deputised in twelve games to earn a Scottish League title medal. Walker joined Heart of Midlothian in a £125,000 deal in 1990. His time at Tynecastle developed into a see-saw battle with Henry Smith for the starting goalkeeping role, both men earning international recognition when in the Hearts first team but enduring significant spells on the sidelines. Smith eventually won the duel and, after a loan spell with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, Walker moved to

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

in 1994 in a part-exchange deal for Craig Nelson.

Firhill Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick ...

proved a happy home for Walker, and he enjoyed his most consistent period in the West of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. When Thistle were relegated in 1996, his form was sufficient to earn a £60,000 move to high-flying

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He left

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Profess ...

in 1999 after he was supplanted by

Derek Stillie Derek Daniel Stillie (born 3 December 1973) is a Scottish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper for a number of clubs in Scotland and England. After retiring from football, Stillie pursued a career in law and politics, and contested the ...

, winding down his career with short spells at Ross County and

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

International

Walker earned two international caps for

, making his debut in a 1–0 defeat by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1993. His only other appearance was three years later, against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Walker was selected as a reserve goalkeeper in the Scotland squad for

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

Personal life

Walker's family company is

Walkers Shortbread Walker's Shortbread Ltd. (formerly Walkers) is a Scottish manufacturer of shortbread, biscuits, cookies, and crackers. The shortbread is baked in the Moray village of Aberlour, following a recipe developed by Joseph Walker in 1898. The company ...

, based in the Speyside village of

Aberlour Aberlour () is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin, Moray, Elgin on the road to Grantown-on-Spey, Grantown. The Lour Burn (landform), burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, bu ...

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

shire, in north east Scotland. He joined the firm following his retirement from football, becoming a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

References

External links

* *
London Hearts Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Nicky 1962 births Living people Footballers from Aberdeen Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scotland men's B international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players Elgin City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Ross County F.C. players Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Highland Football League players