Laurie Walker (footballer)

Laurie Dean Walker (born 14 October 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League One club Milton Keynes Dons.

Laurie Walker

Walker playing for Brackley Town in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Laurie Dean Walker[1]
Date of birth	14 October 1989[2]
Place of birth	Bedford, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Milton Keynes Dons
Number	22
Youth career
2006–2009	Milton Keynes Dons
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2010	Cambridge United	1	(0)
2010–2011	Morecambe	0	(0)
2011–2012	Kettering Town	46	(0)
2012	Brackley Town	1	(0)
2012–2013	Leamington	18	(0)
2013–2015	Hemel Hempstead Town	80	(0)
2015–2017	Oxford City	41	(0)
2017	Brackley Town	39	(0)
2017–2019	Hemel Hempstead Town	81	(0)
2019–	Milton Keynes Dons	0	(0)
2019	→ Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan)	12	(0)
2019–2020	→ Chelmsford City (loan)	11	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:33, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Career

Early career

Walker joined the academy of Milton Keynes Dons at the age of 16 and left the club in July 2009 at the end of his scholarship period.[3] Following his release, Walker had brief spells with then Conference Premier club Cambridge United and League Two club Morecambe.[2]

He made his professional debut on 6 February 2010 for Cambridge United in a 1–0 defeat away to Crawley Town.[4] With Morecambe, on 31 August 2010 Walker featured in a 1-0 first round League Trophy defeat away to Macclesfield Town.[5]

Non-League

After his exit from Morecambe at the end of the 2010–11 season, Walker went on to spend much of his career playing in non-League football for Kettering Town, Brackley Town, Leamington, Oxford City and Hemel Hempstead Town.[2] For Hemel Hempstead Town, Walker made over 180 appearances in all competitions across two spells with the club.[2]

Milton Keynes Dons

Following the mutual termination of his contract with Hemel Hempstead Town, on 1 July 2019 Walker returned to his boyhood club, newly promoted League One side Milton Keynes Dons.[6] Prior to signing, Walker had spent time training with the club's first team as well as working as one of the club's academy goalkeeping coaches.[3]

Walker was immediately loaned out to National League South club Hampton & Richmond Borough ahead of the 2019–20 season with the option of an immediate recall.[7] On 18 December 2019, Walker signed for Chelmsford City on loan.[8]

Following the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, Walker was one of nine players released by the club,[9] but re-joined on 12 August 2020 ahead of the 2020–21 campaign.[10] Walker finally made his professional first team debut for the club on 8 September 2020 in a 3–1 EFL Trophy group stage win over Northampton Town.[11]

Career statistics

As of 8 September 2020.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cambridge United	2009–10[12]	Conference Premier	1	0	0	0	—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	2	0
Morecambe	2010–11[2]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
Kettering Town	2011–12[2]	Conference Premier	40	0	2	0	—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	43	0
	2012–13[12]	SFL Premier Division	6	0	3	0	—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	11	0
	Total		46	0	5	0	0	0	3	0	54	0
Brackley Town	2012–13[2]	Conference North	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
Leamington	2012–13[12]	SFL Premier Division	18	0	—		—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	20	0
Hemel Hempstead Town	2013–14[12]	SFL Premier Division	43	0	6	0	—		5[lower-alpha 4]	0	54	0
	2014–15[2]	Conference South	37	0	3	0	—		3[lower-alpha 1]	0	43	0
	Total		80	0	9	0	—		8	0	97	0
Oxford City	2015–16[2]	National League South	41	0	0	0	—		4[lower-alpha 1]	0	45	0
Brackley Town	2016–17[2]	National League North	39	0	4	0	—		6[lower-alpha 1]	0	49	0
Hemel Hempstead Town	2017–18[2]	National League South	39	0	0	0	—		0	0	39	0
	2018–19[2]	National League South	42	0	2	0	—		3[lower-alpha 1]	0	47	0
	Total		81	0	2	0	—		3	0	86	0
Milton Keynes Dons	2019–20[13]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan)	2019–20[13]	National League South	12	0	—		—		0	0	12	0
Chelmsford City (loan)	2019–20[13]	National League North	11	0	—		—		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	13	0
Milton Keynes Dons	2020–21[14]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Career total			330	0	20	0	0	0	31	0	381	0

1. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
2. One appearance in FA Trophy, one in the Northamptonshire Senior Cup
3. Appearances in Southern League Cup
4. Three appearances in FA Trophy, two in Hertfordshire Senior Cup

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Milton Keynes Dons" (PDF). English Football League. p. 43. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
2. "England - L. Walker - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
3. "Laurie Walker is a Don". Milton Keynes Dons. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
4. "Crawley Town vs. Cambridge United – 6 February 2010". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
5. "Macclesfield 1-0 Morecambe". 31 August 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
6. "Laurie Walker: MK Dons sign former academy goalkeeper on free transfer". BBC Sport. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
7. "Walker comes to the Beveree". Hampton & Richmond Borough. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
8. "Laurie Walker signs on loan". Chelmsford City F.C. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
9. "Moore-Taylor and Reeves among the NINE released by MK Dons". Milton Keynes Citizen. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
10. "Walker re-signs with MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
11. "Report: MK Dons 3-1 Northampton Town". Milton Keynes Dons. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
12. "Laurie Walker". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
13. "Games played by Laurie Walker in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
14. "Games played by Laurie Walker in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

External links

• Laurie Walker at Soccerbase