Desmond Sinclair Walker (born 26 November 1965) is an English football coach and former player who played as a defender.
At club level he played in seven cup finals for Nottingham Forest at Wembley, winning five of them. He was Forest's player of the year three times; on four straight occasions at Forest he was selected for the PFA Team of the Year. At Sheffield Wednesday he picked up another club player of the year accolade. He played in twenty seasons of senior football. All but the last three of those were in the top flight in either England or Italy.
He played 59 times for England, which included the nation's run to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Walker was spotted playing locally in London and was signed by Forest in 1980 as an apprentice. He had previously been part of the youth system at Tottenham Hotspur, but was released after a disagreement where he refused to get a haircut. Forest manager Brian Clough, known for giving opportunities to youth players, gave Walker his début in March 1984 at the age of 18. Forest finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In Walker's nine seasons of first team football at Forest, they finished in only three different league positions; third (three times), eighth (four times) and ninth (twice).
In 1987 Walker earned the first of his club player of the year awards at Forest.
Forest won the Football League Centenary Tournament in April 1988 (their first senior trophy since 1981). They finished third in the league in 1988. That form also carried them to the semi-finals of that season's FA Cup with Walker in outstanding form.
Forest won the 1989 Full Members Cup beating Everton 4–3 in the final after extra time. They won a second cup that season, the League Cup with a 3–1 victory at Wembley over Luton Town.
With Forest now chasing a unique cup treble tragedy struck a week after the League Cup triumph. Forest and Liverpool met for a consecutive season in the FA Cup semi-finals. The Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans. When the rescheduled game took place Forest struggled as Liverpool won 3–1. Forest finished third in the First Division for a second successive year. However they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup as English clubs were still banned from European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster. Walker was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the first time.
Walker won his second League Cup winner's medal when Forest retained the trophy in 1990 with victory over Oldham Athletic. He earned his second Forest player of the year accolade. He was also selected for the PFA Team of the Year for the second successive season.
Despite English clubs being re-admitted to Europe for the 1990–91 season, places in the competition were initially limited, and 1990 League Cup winners Forest were not included; the only UEFA Cup place that season went to league runners-up Aston Villa. Walker was now aged 25, and despite playing for one of England's most successful clubs, he had not yet been given a chance to prove himself in European competition.
Walker scored an own goal in the 1991 FA Cup Final as Forest lost 2–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Roy Keane played in central midfield for Forest; years later in his autobiography, Keane admitted he should not have declared himself fit to play as he had not recovered from injury. Yet again Walker missed the chance of playing in Europe. The otherwise excellent consistency of his form earned him a third successive selection for the PFA Team of the Year.
On New Year's Day 1992, Walker scored his only goal in professional football, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Luton. That season Forest won the Full Members Cup for a second time beating Southampton 3–2 after extra time. Forest reached another League Cup final but lost to Manchester United. Forest had now played in seven domestic cup finals at Wembley in five seasons, winning five of the finals. Walker signed off from Forest as their player of the year for the third time in six seasons. He also earned a fourth successive selection for the PFA Team of the Year. One other player was selected in the same four PFA Teams of the Year, Walker's teammate Stuart Pearce who earned selection five consecutive seasons.
After the Euro 1992 finals, Walker was sold for £1.5 million to Italian side Sampdoria, who were coached by Sven-Göran Eriksson at the time. Sampdoria had been runners-up in the 1992 European Cup Final in the season prior to Walker's arrival, however they finished sixth in Serie A, nor did they win the 1992 Coppa Italia; thus they did not take part in any UEFA competitions in Walker's only season with the team. Although much was expected of Walker upon his arrival in Italy, he endured a difficult season, and did not perform well; moreover, Sampdoria finished the season placed seventh in Serie A, failing once again to qualify for European competitions, and also suffered a second–round elimination in the Coppa Italia. Despite playing 30 of Sampdoria's league games, however, he was largely played out of position at full back. He stayed just one season before returning to England.
Walker joined Sheffield Wednesday for £2.7 million in 1993. He made more than 300 appearances for the club under eight different managers in eight years. He quickly became a favourite of the fans earning their player of the year award at the end of his first season. He also picked up the captain's armband. His time at Sheffield Wednesday brought mixed fortunes, although he played in the overwhelming majority of the club's games following his arrival.
In that first season, Wednesday finished seventh in the Premier League, but were defeated in what was effectively their last chance of silverware in February. They suffered a hefty defeat at the hands of Manchester United in the semi-finals of the League Cup. In 1994–95, Wednesday finished in 13th and 15th in 1995–96. Wednesday were never in any acute danger of relegation on either occasion. In the 1995–96 season, Wednesday played four games in the group stage of the Intertoto Cup.
The 1996–97 season began brilliantly for Wednesday topping the Premier League at the end of August. However they were unable to keep up their excellent form. They finished the season in seventh as they had three seasons before. They also had the best FA Cup run in Walker's time their reaching the last eight. In the next two seasons Wednesday finished 16th and 12th respectively in the top division.
They were then relegated in 1999–2000. Walker played in seven seasons of top-tier football with Wednesday to add to his nine at Forest and one with Sampdoria. In a disappointing 2000–01 season in the 24-team second tier Wednesday finished 17th. Amid Sheffield Wednesday's growing financial strain associated with their fall from the top league, Walker was released from his contract in 2001.
He briefly trained with his ex-Forest teammate Nigel Clough at Burton Albion (where he was manager) and a short stint in the US playing for the MetroStars in their 9/11 benefit matches against D.C. United. Forest manager, Paul Hart then asked if Walker could train with Forest, who were now struggling in the second tier of English football. In July 2002, Walker signed for Forest on a permanent basis.