Walshy – My Autobiography

f Paul Walsh played for your football team, you remembered him.


The exciting, pacy, tricky striker moved from club to club during his colourful 17-year career, endearing himself to fans with his energetic, all-action displays and no-nonsense attitude.


Walsh netted on a regular basis, his trademark long blond locks bobbing around on his shoulders as he skipped past defenders or slotted the ball past despairing goalkeepers.


After bursting onto the scene aged just 16 at Charlton Athletic he became one of the country’s most sought-after teenage footballers during a two-year stint at Luton Town that saw him crowned PFA Young Player of the Year and called up by Bobby Robson for full international duty.


European champions Liverpool, on the hunt for a long term replacement for Kenny Dalglish, soon snapped him up and at the age of 21 he was playing alongside greats like Ian Rush and Alan Hansen. 


Walshy proved popular with Kopites but injury and team politics meant life with the champions wasn’t straightforward. His next stop was Tottenham Hotspur, where he joined up with Terry Venables, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. It was an entertaining time and Walsh added an FA Cup winner’s medal to his collection but living life to the full off the pitch sometimes meant the Spurs’ faithful saw only fleeting glimpses of his striking talents.


A move to Portsmouth followed and Walsh became a Fratton Park favourite, operating up front alongside record-breaking goalscorer Guy Whittingham.


His departure to Manchester City upset Pompey fans and he soon proved why at Maine Road by forming a thrilling strike partnership with cult hero Uwe Rosler to save the club from relegation before eventually returning to Portsmouth where injury ended his career at the age of 34. 


Walshy: Wouldn’t It Be Good is full of twists and turns. Honest and whole-hearted, it is an entertaining tale of football during the ’80s and ’90s – the team-mates and triumphs, the booze and bust-ups – and a lesson  that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.