Rest in Peace Mick Walker

[maddogslater]

It was a WTF moment kicking off against tranmere on that Tuesday evening, passing the ball instead of lumping it, warnock had just been sacked following a 2 0 loss at home to Sunderland.
RIP Mick

[MapperleyMagpie]

Some exciting football, great wingers , lots of goals, HAPPY DAYS. RIP MICK WALKER

[durhampie]

A sad loss, We played some of our best football under him. RIP Mick.

[wiseoldmagpie]

It was a WTF moment kicking off against tranmere on that Tuesday evening, passing the ball instead of lumping it, warnock had just been sacked following a 2 0 loss at home to Sunderland.
RIP Mick

One of my favourite ever games. I left the Lane delirious after that display. I loved his playing style and his loyalty. What a gent in a sport full of egotistical maniacs. RIP

[Notsohumblepie]

Sad news this evening that Mick Walker has passed away.

A very sad loss, condolences to family members , and many thanks for some great memories.

[upthemaggies]

We all know about Yates, Johnson (T and M) and Draper, but perhaps the greatest testament to Mick Walker was how well youth players such as Cox, Walker, Simpson and Gallagher played at 2nd tier level under him, none of whom went on to achieve anything like as much as the aforementioned personnel.

For me, the best period we had under him was the battle to stay up in 92/93, we were mostly brilliant for 6 months (and had to be) to climb off bottom spot. That season is eclipsed in most people's minds by the dazzling wins v Fword, Derby and Leicester in 93/94, those were the individual highlights for sure, but generally speaking we were far better to watch in the relegation scrap.

I was always hoping Mace would interview him for Magpie Circle. AFAI he's never given his side of the story since he was sacked. Sad that his personal take on a very significant era in Notts' history will never be told.

RIP Mick

[JoePass]

RIP Mick, a fantastic servant to our club.

[jackal2]

RIP Mick - a good servant of the club, a nice guy and a very decent coach.

That's Mick Walker in a nutshell for me. In fact I'd say far more than a 'decent' coach. He was an outstanding, world class coach in terms of youth development, proven by the conveyor belt of talent he nurtured and delivered to the first team.

After all the brilliant work he did developing young players, he earned his shot at being first team manager and started well, but sadly it didn't work out in the end, ultimately leading to his departure from the club in difficult circumstances.

Part of me wishes Mick had stayed doing what he did best (in my opinion) with youth development, because he probably would have been with us for many more years producing even more talent, whereas in the 'top' job there's usually nowhere left to go but the exit door if it doesn't work out. As such, we lost a gifted coach and long-time club servant, without the fanfare he deserved for his youth development work.

That said, I think this thread demonstrates that anybody who knows the history of Notts County, in particular the Sirrel and Warnock eras, appreciates the importance of Mick Walker's role in it.

RIP

[legs77]

RIP Mick.

A manager ahead of his time too and that season we finished 7th was the best football ive seen.

2-0 down to Palace & win 3-2 also we beat all the East Midlands rivals not just beat but hanmered them and he gave us Charlie Palmer day too !

[upthemaggies]

Walker's HOME PPG ratio of 2.11 is better than almost every other Notts manager since the beginning of time. It's really saying something that he had a higher PPG at Meadow Lane playing in tier 2 against the likes of West Ham, Sunderland, Fword, Leicester, Derby (all beaten at ML under Walker) than both Burchnall and Ardley did in tier 5 against the likes of Boreham Wood, Woking, Maidenhead and Eastleigh (all of whom we lost to at ML).