Walsall blogger Mark Jones is looking forward to the return of ‘super Jimmy Walker’ – even if it is for opposing visitors Colchester.

“I’ve lost count of the number of points that he has saved us since he’s been at the club.”

That is a quote about my all time favourite ever Walsall goalkeeper, not from Richard Money or Chris Hutchings about Clayton Ince, or from Chris Nicholl or Ray Graydon about Jimmy Walker, but current Colchester boss Paul Lambert about the former Saddlers goalkeeper.

There is a distinct possibility that my top two all-time favourite Walsall goalkeepers will be at the Banks’s Stadium this weekend.

Sadly Super Jim will be wearing the colours of the Essex club, who are desperately trying to sign him permanently. Having seen the way they’ve climbed the table since he first went there on loan in November, who can blame them?

I was disappointed that signing Wacka on loan even for a month didn’t appear to be an option when Clayton was injured earlier in the season. In an ideal world you’d love to see Ince and Walker battling it out for the number one shirt, but I’m realistic enough to know our desperate finances aren’t about to allow that.

In recent weeks, Clayton has been blamed for a couple of the goals we’ve conceded but he is a fantastic keeper, who has won us many more points than he’s lost over the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Ince commands his area and is incredibly positive when coming for the ball, which gives the players in front of him confidence. As with all the best goalies, you really notice how good he is when he’s not there – although stand in Rene Gilmartin did OK at Carlisle.

The same could certainly be said for Jimmy. Paul Merson must have gambled on at least seven different keepers, in a futile attempt to find someone to fill super Jim’s gloves.

While Wacka’s smaller frame meant he had to be a different style of keeper to big Clayton, he still had that massive presence. His shot-stopping, agility and bravery were second to none.

Jimmy must have gained a phenomenal amount of points for us in his eleven seasons as a Saddler. It’s hard to imagine how we would have achieved promotion in either 1999 or 2001 with a lesser goalkeeper.

With so many memorable performances to choose from, it’s an incredibly difficult job to pick out the best Jimmy Walker moments. However without referring to his biography – mainly because I can’t find my copy of it – I’ve chosen some of my own personal faves.

The promotion clincher at Bury in 1995 stands out, largely because the young Mr Walker had barely played all season, having broken his leg 12 months earlier and then been kept out by the form of Trevor Wood.

Knowing we only needed a point against one of our rivals to end the five-year spell in the fourth division dungeon, ‘Wacka’ was rock solid and pulled off one tremendous stop from a shot destined for the top corner, as the clock was ticking down.

One of his most stunning saves came against West Ham in the FA Cup in 2001 when Freddie Kanoute, Paolo Di Canio et al thought they’d scored not once, not twice but three times, treating Match of the Day viewers to a glimpse of Jimmy’s brilliance in the process.

We did end up losing that game 3-2 and similarly one of Jimmy’s best ever games was also one of our worst ever defeats – the infamous capitulation at Gillingham in April 2004.

The 0-3 scoreline would have been at least 0-6, if it hadn’t been for super Jim’s one man resistance. The irony being that this result thankfully brought Colin Lee’s reign to an end, when it was probably Jimmy who had kept him in a job for so long.

On a happier note, there was that sunny afternoon in late August 1999 on a day when defeat was not an option for the Walsall boys. Super Jim’s contribution was a last ditch out of the box tackle/full frontal assault on an onrushing orange-shirted forward.

As all of the away end held its collective breath, Wacka smiled nicely at the ref and somehow managed to walk away without even getting a yellow card. I understand they still occasionally find pieces of Colin Larkin’s leg at the Molineux.

Oh yeah and we won 2-1 with goals from Tony Barras and Andy Rammell – not that there’s a Walsall fan on the planet who doesn’t know that anyway, but it never hurts to remind ourselves, does it?

That season ended with a last day relegation at Ipswich and it was Jimmy Walker who lifted our spirits that day. With about 20 minutes to go, everyone knew the other results were going against us and we were doomed.

Likewise the Ipswich fans knew their chance of automatic promotion had evaporated, making for a strange sombre atmosphere – until Wacka took a goal kick.

The chant of ‘super Jimmy Walker’ went up from the 2000 travelling fans, Jimmy responded not with a nod or a wave, but a clenched fist salute which raised the volume a couple more notches and began 20 minutes of a fine vocal tribute to the team – meaning that we at least went down with a bit of dignity.

This act of defiance might be seen as futile by some, but to me it was typical of the attitude of Ray Graydon’s teams and I think it spurred us on to bounce back at the first attempt.

I can’t imagine that he will get anything other than a great reception if he does play on Saturday and we should get to hear a few verses of ‘super Jimmy Walker’ once more, interspersed with the odd Clayton Ince tribute of course.

Even for 90 minutes it’ll be good to have you back Wacka.