Keeper Skool Interviews Ian Walker

Ian Walker’s career has spanned many years at the top flight of international football. Predominantly, his tenure in the Premier League, with teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City had spanned some 468 professional games. At an international level, Ian was capped for England 4 times. After completing a three year tenure at Bolton Wanderers, Ian decided to move onto a managerial career with Bishop Stortford in the Conference North.

Today, Ian is the goalkeeping coach at Chinese Super League powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua, where he joined former Bolton Wanderers team mate Nicolas Anelka, helping to develop the first team goalkeepers.

In this exclusive interview, we walk through Ian’s career and discuss his views of goalkeeping development in the massive footballing growth market of Asia.

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Penalty Kick Strategies for Goalkeepers

For goalkeepers, penalty kicks are the hardest job. Within a second, a player can line up, place the ball to the goal, and score before the goalie even has a chance to think what to do! It is always a good idea to have a preplanned (and pre-practiced) strategy for penalty kicks, if you are a keeper. Read the story »

Strength in Depth Key for Reds Boss

Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, is keen to get plenty of business done this summer to add some much needed strength in depth to the squad at Anfield.

Having not enjoyed Champions League football since 2009/2010, despite strong support in the football odds, the Reds are desperate to bring those big European nights back to the club and their passionate fans.

Even in recent campaigns, Liverpool have enjoyed a strong starting XI but have lacked players to push those in the starting line-up or cover those who get injured.

Rodgers has looked to get his business in the transfer market done early this summer, with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure already agreeing a move to the Merseyside outfit.

Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto are expected to follow suit as the Reds start to build a squad capable of challenging for a top four finish.

Keeping wantaway striker, Luis Suarez, at the club will of course be key but Rodgers knows building competition for places will drive a winning mentality into the team for next season.

He said to football betting pundits: “You can flip it about, but we just need to build up the depth of the squad. I want people who might be disappointed because they’re not on the bench.

“At the minute we probably don’t have that so it’s competition we want to get. I don’t want a massive group. We want a tight group with a real core of 17 or 18 who feel they should always be playing and then supported be a few of our top young talents. We haven’t had that – we have had one or two on the sidelines but we need more.”