SOME footballers become one-club heroes having spent their entire careers playing in front of the same set of fans. Not Paul Walsh. The exciting, pacy, tricky striker moved from club to club during his 17-year career and became a hit at them all, endearing himself to supporters with his energetic, all-action displays and ability to get goals. Walsh netted 127 times during his club career and once for England, 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 most highly-sought after teenage footballers during a two-year stint at Luton Town that saw him crowned as 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 re--placement for Kenny Dalglish, soon snapped him up and at the age of 21 he was playing alongside greats like Ian Rush and Alan Hansen.A member of Liverpool's 1986 double winning side, his next stop was Tottenham Hotspur where he shared a dressing room with Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker and added an FA Cup winner's medal to his collection when Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest were defeated at Wembley in 1991.
A move to Portsmouth followed and Walsh became a Fratton Park favourite operating up front along--side 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 part--nership 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. Now a well established and much respected member of the Sky Soc--cer Saturday team, Paul Walsh's story will be a hit with fans of the clubs he played for, those who fondly recall him being one of the most exciting teenage talents of the 1980s and TV viewers who enjoy his no-nonsense punditry.