Super Jimmy Walker: 530 not out

Playing 530 games for one club in the modern era takes some doing. Especially when you play for a club that has great difficulty managing to hang on to its better players, writes Walsall blogger Mark Jones.

Add in spells at other clubs lasting well over six years and it's not hard to see why Jimmy Walker's achievement in breaking Colin Harrison's all-time Walsall F.C. appearance record is worthy of so much praise and attention.

I am old enough to remember seeing Colin Harrison set the record. All being well I should see Jimmy Walker overtake it at Griffin Park on Saturday. Whether or not I get to see it broken again is doubtful. (By someone else that is, Wacka will break his own record in every game he plays after Saturday obviously.)

Of course the young Jimmy making his debut in that win over Gillingham on that October Saturday back in 1993 would barely recognise the club now. In those days we were a team full of free transfers and raw youngsters struggling to make any kind of impact in the lower divisions. Cup runs were something we could only dream of as we played in front of barely 3000 fans in a stadium we didn't own and paid rent to a company heavily connected to the club's owner. My how things have changed.

Jimmy is without doubt the best goalkeeper I've ever seen play for Walsall, he's arguably the best keeper ever to play in the lower divisions and I would go as far as to say if he was six foot plus he would have many many England caps (and consequently considerably fewer Walsall appearances).

In fact the name Walker is right up there in my top five all time favourite Saddlers of all time. (Along with the esteemed names of Rammell, O' Connor, Viveash and, of course, Buckley who ironically hails from the same corner of Notts.)

So here is my tribute to the career of the man who has kept 153 clean sheets (so far) for the club …

Early Days – Wacka kept a ridiculous number of clean sheets in those first few months following his debut. At the time nobody really expected him to keep Mark Gayle (the reigning Player of the Season) out of the side and, this being Walsall, you waited for the inevitable dip in form. Thankfully it never came, but a combination of Kenny Hibbitt's misfiring side and a nasty injury meant that there was a disappointing, low key ending to the season.

For me the standout game came about a month into Jimmy's career. At home to John Beck's Anti-Football Preston (the ultimate long ball, set piece monstrosity) and their arrogant 'too big for this league' fans, Wacka gave a brave and faultless display full of confidence. Some bloke called Jason Lillis (apparently all the stories are true) notched twice and we laughed heartily.

Scarborough/Bury May 1995 – With Trevor Wood coming in as first choice keeper and doing a decent job as we battled it out with Chesterflid (another Donkey Football side) for automatic promotion chances were limited for Jimmy.

Then, with the club ridiculously having to play a Tuesday/Thursday final game double header, cometh the man. Jimmy was magnificent coming off the bench for the injured Wood as we clung on for three points at Scarborough and then played out the 0-0 we needed against Bury (another long-ball team) 48 hours later.

My personal memory is of a save in about the 493^rd minute of the seemingly endless second half at Gigg Lane, where Wacka plucked out a long range effort destined for the top left corner as if it were a tap in from the mascot in the warm-up. Majestic!

The whole of 98/99 – My favourite ever season with a team who never knew when it was beaten. Sir Ray's side was full of leaders and real characters, ideal for a personality like Wacka. Jimmy was tremendous throughout the season as we achieved that memorable promotion.

Typifying this season were the final ten plus minutes at Lincoln in April after Wracky had put us one up. Looking to clinch a fourteenth (14^th) away win of the season and facing up to an inevitable aerial bombardment, there was never any doubt that Wacka and co wouldn't be leaving with yet another clean sheet.

Super Jim came up with the goods once more, Man City bottled it and the rest is Saddlers folklore.

A Local Skirmish - August 28^th 1999 at the Golden Graveyard, 10 minutes into the second half and Walker had to be alert in rushing out of his area to deal with the threat of Junior Dingle Colin Larkin who was through on goal.

To say Wacka lived up to his name would be a bit of an understatement. Like any true Saddler would have done he took the ball, the man, everything.

We waited for the inevitable red card but for once the refereeing gods were with us. Not only did he escape a caution, but it even ended up as a throw-in. Apparently they still find bits of Colin's leg down at the Moolinex.

2-1 to the Saddlers!

Ipswich 2000 – The season ended in relegation despite some fine performances from our man in green.

2-0 down with about 20 minutes to go at Portman Road, there was a subdued atmosphere as the result suited neither team. Then, with the great man about to take a goal kick, the chant of 'Super Jimmy Walker' started up.

Jimmy's response of a clenched fist salute towards the away end was typical of the man and seemed to sum up the attitude of the team. It also became the catalyst for 2000 Saddlers to sing ourselves hoarse in one final act of defiance before bowing out of Division One.

We were down but we went down with pride, and we seemed to know that somehow we would be back.

Match of the Day – Walsall fans have always known about Jimmy's ability. After the FA Cup Third Round clash (those were the days) with West Ham in 2001, a wider audience got to see what he could do against his future employers.

There is a triple save that defies belief, well worth looking up.

The Testimonial – Not many players get them these days (see above), Jimmy's was fully merited. I interrupted a family holiday (in Somerset mind, not abroad or anything) just to get back for the game, simply because I felt I had to be there to pay tribute to the man.

Millwall, Gillingham and Best Wishes – 2003/04 proved to be the end of an era. Colin Lee's deficiencies as a manager, which many of us were fully aware of, were finally exposed as we slid cluelessly towards relegation.

Like his four predecessors, Lee owed a lot to Jimmy Walker who was still our best and most consistent performer.

Astonishingly I've actually heard people blame Wacka's dismissal at Millwall and subsequent three-match ban as the entire reason for our demise that season. What actually happened that day was that Wacka was dismissed after an altercation with the odious Denis Wise whilst going up for an injury time corner to try and rescue a replay in an otherwise gutless, insipid performance typical of that era.

In my book at least the defeat was obviously hurting and he was showing a bit of passion and pride in the shirt. He can hardly be blamed for his manager's inability to provide adequate cover or the team's ineptitude in his absence (we lost 6-1 at home in one game ffs).

And how many points did he win the team that season? Loads.

The defining game of 03/04 was the disgraceful capitulation at Gillingham on Easter Monday, the game that prompted the overdue demise of Lee. We lost 3-0, which killed our goal difference, yet without Jimmy's heroics that day it's no exaggeration to say it could easily have been six, seven or eight.

After relegation, Jimmy left for a well-deserved crack at a bigger club. No one I know begrudged him his move.

The Return – Clayton was good, the rest were average to appalling, we saw him fleetingly in a Colchester kit, which was just plain wrong; and then finally, with the club in a desperate situation in the final weeks of the Hutchings reign, Super Jim was back.

As a measure of how far we'd fallen in his six year absence, his first clean sheet came as we were embarrassingly outplayed by Fleetwood. Jimmy was superb that night, rolling back the years to defy the non-leaguers single handedly as we scraped a win from somewhere.

It's hard to imagine how we'd have pulled off the Great Escape without him, and I have a feeling we're going to need a little bit more of his magic between now and May.

Whatever happens, Jimmy Walker is a genuine Walsall legend. Super Jim – I salute you!