Ex-Imp Walker Joins Ilkeston

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31st July 2006

Former Lincoln City midfielder Justin Walker has joined non-league Ilkeston Town.

Walker was one of the players who faced Lincoln City in Saturday's friendly. The match ended as a 3-2 victory for Ilkeston, after several Lincoln players put in disappointing performances.

Gary Birch and Jeff Hughes scored Lincoln's goals but it was two errors by both of Lincoln's goalkeepers Alan Marriott and Simon Rayner that gifted Ilkeston their victory. The winning goal was scored by Robert Gill in the 67th minute. Also playing for Ilkeston was former Imps' striker Martin Carruthers.

Lincoln City: Marriott (Raynor 45), Cryan (Watt 45), Hughes, Mayo, Sherlock (Warlow 54), Foster, Frecklington (Clarke 45), Amoo (Toyne 45), Birch, Ryan, Mettam.

Walker, who is a former England youth International, joined Lincoln City in July 2000, under the Bosman ruling.

He was born in Nottingham and signed for Nottingham Forest as a 13-year-old where he progressed to earn a trainee's contract. While at Nottingham Forest, he was a teammate of both John Finnigan and Paul Smith, who would all link up again at Lincoln City.

Competition for Forest's first team was great, so all three decided to leave with Finnigan and Smith electing to join Lincoln while Walker opted for Scunthorpe United. Initially the transfer, which took place In March 1997, was a loan deal before Scunthorpe agreed a £5,000 price tag with Forest.

Walker is an excellent passer of the ball and a strong tackler. Hence he quickly established himself as a regular by making nearly 150 appearances for Scunthorpe before his three year contract expired.

He was one of the few players to gain any credit from Lincoln's poor 2000/01 season. Unfortunately, his second season at Lincoln was a disappointment as he struggled to regain his place following injury. However, during the closing months, he rediscovered his form but it was too late to earn himself a new contract and he was released by Lincoln in June 2002.

Walker, after leaving Lincoln City, could have been forgiven for thinking that his career had been cursed. While at Lincoln City, he spent his time fighting against relegation from the Football League. After leaving Lincoln, he played for three teams who were all relegated in separate seasons. The sequence began with Exeter City, then York City and finally Cambridge United.

A fresh start at Chester City came in June 2005 but his time at Chester was for just one season. He now plans another fresh start, this time at non-league Ilkeston Town.