Recalling Ian Walker’s Transfer, 20 Years On
The shot-stopper joined Leicester City following 12 years as a professional at Tottenham Hotspur, where he had built a reputation as one of England’s best goalkeepers during that era.
Indeed, he faced stern opposition on the Three Lions front, with the likes of Nigel Martyn, fellow Fox Tim Flowers, David James, Richard Wright and Paul Robinson all also in the England fold during Walker’s time as an international goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, while at Spurs, he had made over 300 club appearances, and played from start to finish to help his side beat Leicester City 1-0 in the 1999 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.
He had established himself in England’s top flight, and it was in that division where his Foxes career began, on 9 July, 2001.
There was a particular buzz at the Football Club when Walker joined. City were set to contest their sixth-straight season in the Premier League, had contested two UEFA Cup campaigns, and only Walker’s Spurs had denied them a third League Cup in the space of just four years.
Their consistency in England’s top tier, combined with two pieces of silverware and a brace of European journeys, meant they were enjoying one of the most profitable spells in their history at the turn of the millennium.
However, the beginning of the 2001/02 season did not go to plan. Heavy back-to-back defeats by Bolton Wanderers and Arsenal prompted manager Peter Taylor to replace Flowers with Walker in goal.
City picked up their first point of the season against Ipswich Town, and then beat Blackpool in the League Cup and Derby County in the league, with Walker appearing in both matches, however a string of disappointing results saw Taylor depart the Club in September.
Walker remained in goal under replacement manager Dave Bassett, who left later in April before City appointed Micky Adams at the helm after their relegation to the second tier was confirmed with a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
Although Leicester only picked up two league victories in between January and May 2001 – one of which came against Walker’s former side Tottenham during the Club’s final match at Filbert Street – a healthy string of four games unbeaten was a sign of things to come under Adams.
He was tasked with an immediate return to the Premier League, and Walker’s 39 appearances across all competitions the previous campaign signified he would once again be heavily involved during the 2002/03 season.
The Foxes – now playing at the brand-new Walkers Stadium, later named King Power Stadium – benefitted from Walker’s vast experience and got off to a fine start, losing only once in their opening 14 matches across all formats, with the England international stopper keeping eight clean sheets during that time.
Victories continued to follow, and Leicester, at any time during the season, would only go a spell of four games without a win as they made an instant return to the top division thanks to a second-place finish.
Walker was the only ever-present for City in their 2002/03 league season, and was once again the no.1 ‘keeper for 2003/04, featuring 40 times for Leicester.
Although an 18th-placed finish would ultimately see them suffer relegation from the Premier League, Walker’s efforts did not go unnoticed and he was selected by future City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as England prepared for their 2004 UEFA European Championships campaign.
That produced Walker’s fourth and final cap – a 6-1 friendly success over Iceland – for England, making him one of only a handful of Foxes players to represent the Three Lions while at the Football Club.
Although a knee injury limited Walker’s involvement for City the following season, he still managed to play 26 times in all competitions before departing for Bolton in the summer of 2005.
His four-year spell at the Club saw him make 140 league appearances, while a further 10 came in the FA Cup and six more in the League Cup.