Sam Walker
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Sam Walker | |
| |
| Full Name | Samuel Colin Walker |
| Date of Birth | 2 October 1991 |
| Place of Birth | Gravesend, Kent, England |
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Chelsea career | 2007 - 2014 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | Millwall Barnet (loan) Northampton Town (loan) Yeovil Town (loan) Bristol Rovers (loan) |
Sam Walker (born 2 October 1991 in Gravesend, Kent, England) is a goalkeeper who was formerly a member of the Chelsea academy.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
Sam's arrival in August 2007 caused a little bit of a furore in South London. Millwall, having already lost talented youngsters David Amoo and Tom Kilbey to Liverpool and Portsmouth respectively, lost another prodigious talent to league rivals Chelsea and it prompted the club to make vocal complaints and make all of their youth games restricted access.
Chelsea career
Unfortunately for them, Walker had already joined Chelsea. Initially scheduled for regular Under-16 competition, Sam earned a place in the Under-18s squad early in the season with Jan Sebek suffering a serious injury in that September. Making five starts for the Under-18s in goal as a schoolboy was an impressive feat and whilst he had to pick the ball out of the back of the net on a number of occasions, he wasn’t humiliated.
His second season went much better, and after starting the year in Under-16 football, he sealed the starting berth in the Under-18 team after Christmas 2008 and put in some superb outings, beginning to show the first signs of his prodigious talent.
Sam was arguably the academy’s player of the season at the midway point of the 2009-10 season, accumulating five clean sheets in twelve games and stringing together a series of world-class saves. He suffered a broken foot in October and was a big miss for the youth team, and it can be argued that his long-term fitness would have left the club in with a chance of winning Group A. Nonetheless, he remained a key part of the team and was an integral figure in club's FA Youth Cup success
The 2010-11 season saw Sam spend the entire campaign with the reserve team, whilst travelling with the first team squad on occasion. In April of 2011 he went on a month-long loan to Barnet, his first foray into professional football, and played a part in keeping the club in the football league.
In August 2011 Sam joined Northampton Town on a season-long loan, joining manager Gary Johnson at the Sixfields Stadium. Johnson had previously shown an inclination to work with young Chelsea players, including Nana Ofori-Twumasi, who he first signed for Peterborough United before also taking him to Northampton.
The Cobblers struggled for much of the first half of the season but Sam proved himself one of the most capable stoppers in the league, making 25 appearances before Christmas. However, Johnson was sacked and new manager Aidy Boothroyd opted to sign a veteran goalkeeper in Shane Higgs as his first choice. Sam therefore returned to Chelsea a few days before Christmas.
However, he would go back out on loan and move up a division in January 2012, joining Yeovil Town and once again linking up with Gary Johnson. He also signed a new contract keeping him at Chelsea until 2014. He played another 20 games at Huish Park, proving himself capable at a higher level.
His move for the first half of 2012-13, however, was back to League Two, and to Bristol Rovers. With the club in the relegation zone during the middle of the season, Rovers sacked manager Mark McGhee, and replacement John Ward dispensed with Sam's services in search of a more experienced goalkeeper. Instead of remaining in the West Country, Sam moved up one division for the second season running, joining Ward's old club Colchester United. He would have a far more enjoyable time alongside fellow Chelsea loanee Billy Clifford, helping the Essex side to a remarkable turnaround in results which saw them avoid relegation on the last day of the season.
He returned to Colchester for the 2013-14 season and retained his place as first choice goalkeeper. With his Chelsea contract expiring at the end of the season, the loan turned into a permanent stay on January 20th.
International
Sam has not represented England whilst at Chelsea. He received a call-up to the Under-16 squad at Millwall and was capped twice.
Career statistics
Youth, Reserve and Under-21 Football
| Season | Under-18 | NextGen | Under-21 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2007-08 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | 7 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | 24 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2010-11 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 0 | - | - | 9 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
Senior Club Football
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2010-11 | Barnet (loan) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | Northampton Town (loan) | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | Yeovil Town (loan) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | Bristol Rovers (loan) | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | Colchester United (loan) | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2013-14 | Colchester United (loan) | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Total | 104 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 114 | 0 | |
(Statistics accurate as of the end of Sam's Chelsea career)
Career honours
Post Chelsea Career
Sam joined Colchester on a permanent basis in January 2014.
