| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steve Walsh | ||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Preston, Lancashire, England | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender, Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1982–1986 | Wigan Athletic | 126 | (4) |
| 1986–2000 | Leicester City | 369 | (53) |
| 2000–2001 | Norwich City | 4 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Tamworth | ? | (?) |
| 2002 | Coventry City | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Tamworth | ? | (?) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Steven Walsh (born 3 November 1964) is a former professional footballer, who spent most of his career at Leicester City. He also played for Wigan, Norwich, Tamworth and Coventry City, over a career lasting 21 years - 14 of them with Leicester City.
He was normally a defender but at times was also used as a striker. He is the record holder for the most red cards in the Football League, 13, an unenviable mark that he holds jointly with Roy McDonough.[1][2]
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Born in Preston, Lancashire, Walsh won the 1984-85 Freight Rover Trophy with Wigan before following Bryan Hamilton to Leicester for £100,000, where he soon established himself as a non-nonsense central defender. In 1986 he received an eleven match ban after smashing the jaw of striker David Geddis, whilst playing for Leicester against Shrewsbury, part of his often violent reputation which included a longstanding rivalry with Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Steve Bull which led to both being sent off in separate matches.
Brian Little made Walsh Leicester's club captain in 1992 and in 1992-93 started playing him as a striker. He went on to score fifteen goals that season including one in the Division 1 play-off final against Swindon Town at the end of that season. In 1993-94 he scored twice as Leicester won the final and promotion to the Premier League over Derby County, having missed much of that season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury. Injury kept him out for most of that top flight season too, but he was returned to the captaincy by Martin O'Neill for the 1995-96 play-off final victory over Crystal Palace, a position he retained for the successful 1996-97 season, lifting the Coca-Cola Cup at Hillsborough having set up Emile Heskey's goal in the first game and Steve Claridge's winner in the replay. This was also his testimonial season, the likes of Paul Gascoigne and David Seaman playing in his benefit game. He was also captain when City lost what was now the Worthington Cup final to Tottenham Hotspur in 1999. His last ever European appearance was a 2-1 UEFA Cup defeat to Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadium in 1997.[3]
Walsh was a hugely popular figure with Leicester fans, who nicknamed him "Captain Fantastic".[4]
Peter Taylor let Walsh leave Leicester in 2000, ending his spell at Filbert Street after 14 years and some 400 competitive games, and after unsuccessful short spells at Norwich and Coventry he coached junior soccer schools and ran a golf course in Spain. Still a cult favourite at the club, he currently writes a weekly column for the Leicester Mercury and has formed an events company with England Rugby player Neil Back and another business partner. Walsh made an unsuccessful attempt to become the new manager of Leicester City when Gary Megson vacated the position in October 2007.[5] Steve regularly attends home games at the Walkers Stadium, and is often a guest during the half-time shows.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ali Mauchlen |
Leicester City F.C. Captain 1991-1992 |
Succeeded by Gary Mills |
| Preceded by Gary Mills |
Leicester City F.C. Captain 1993-1999 |
Succeeded by Matt Elliott |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Tommy Wright |
Leicester City Top Goalscorer 1992-93 |
Succeeded by David Speedie |