Mickey Walsh

Michael Anthony Walsh (born 13 August 1954) is a former professional footballer who works as a football agent. A striker, he spent his club career in England and Portugal. Born in England, he played for the Republic of Ireland national team at international level.

Mickey Walsh

Personal information
Full name	Michael Anthony Walsh
Date of birth	(1954-08-13) 13 August 1954 (age 69)
Place of birth	Chorley, England
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–1973	Chorley
1973–1978	Blackpool	180	(72)
1978	Everton	21	(1)
1978–1981	QPR	18	(3)
1980–1986	Porto	84	(42)
1986–1987	Salgueiros	29	(5)
1987–1988	Espinho	26	(4)
1988–1989	Rio Ave	2	(0)
Total		360	(127)
International career
1975–1984	Republic of Ireland	21	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Walsh began his professional career at Blackpool in 1973, making his debut in a goalless draw at Fulham on 12 September. He went on to score 72 league goals for the Seasiders in 180 games during his five years at the club. His strike in a 3–2 win against Sunderland at Bloomfield Road on 1 February 1975 earned him the "Goal of the Season" award on the BBC's Match of the Day.^[1] He signed for Everton in August 1978 for a fee of £375,000, a record fee for Blackpool at the time.^[2]

He had a spell with Cape Town City in 1978. He spent six years playing in Portugal with FC Porto, and appeared in their 2–1 defeat by Juventus in the 1984 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final in Basel.

International career

The highlight of his international career was when he scored the only goal of the game as Ireland defeated the Soviet Union in a World Cup qualifier in Dublin in September 1984.^[3]

Legacy

Walsh was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player Jimmy Armfield in April 2006.^[4] Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Walsh is in the 1970s.^[5]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[6][7]

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackpool	1973–74	Second Division	21	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	3
	1974–75		37	12	1	0	1	1	0	0	3^[a]	0	42	13
	1975–76		42	17	2	0	1	0	0	0	3^[b]	1	48	18
	1976–77		41	26	2	1	4	1	0	0	1^[b]	0	48	28
	1977–78		39	14	1	0	2	1	0	0	3^[b]	4	45	19
	Total		180	72	6	1	8	3	0	0	10	5	204	81
Everton	1978–79	First Division	21	1	1	0	3	0	4^[c]	2	0	0	29	3
Queen's Park Rangers	1978–79	First Division	10	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	3
	1979–80	Second Division	7	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	1980–81		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		18	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	20	3
Porto	1980–81	Primeira Liga	19	14	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	16
	1981–82		8	0	3	2	0	0	4^[d]	2	2^[e]	0	17	4
	1982–83		25	15	4	2	0	0	3^[c]	2	0	0	32	19
	1983–84		16	9	4	3	0	0	7^[d]	1	0	0	27	13
	1984–85		8	1	1	0	0	0	2^[d]	0	1^[e]	0	12	1
	1985–86		8	3	1	2	0	0	1^[f]	0	0	0	10	3
	Total		84	42	19	9	0	0	17	5	3	0	123	56
Salgueiros	1986–87	Primeira Liga	29	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	29	5
Espinho	1987–88	Primeira Liga	26	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	4
Rio Ave	1988–89	Segunda Divisão	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Career total			360	127	27	10	12	3	21	7	13	5	433	152

1. Appearances in the Texaco Cup
2. Appearances in the Anglo-Scottish Cup
3. Appearances in the UEFA Cup
4. Appearances in the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup
5. Appearances in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
6. Appearance in the European Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[8]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Republic of Ireland	1976	3	1
	1977	1	0
	1978	1	0
	1979	3	0
	1981	2	0
	1982	3	0
	1983	3	1
	1984	5	1
Total		21	3

Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Walsh goal.

List of international goals scored by Mickey Walsh^[9]

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 March 1976	Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	1	Norway	3*–0	3–0	Friendly
2	21 September 1983	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	15	Iceland	3*–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
3	12 September 1984	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	19	Soviet Union	1*–0	1–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 1984–85, 1985–86
• Taça de Portugal: 1983–84
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1981, 1983, 1984
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1983–84

See also

• List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland

References

1. Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992, p. 123. ISBN 1-873626-07-X
2. Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 67. ISBN 0362020175.
3. "Recovering from illness, having hero status in Porto and teaching Liam Brady the Portuguese word for 'thief'". The 42. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
4. Singleton, Steve, ed. (2007). Legends: The great players of Blackpool FC (1 ed.). Blackpool. pp. 66–69. ISBN 978-1-84547-182-8. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
5. . Blackpool Supporters Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
6. Mickey Walsh at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
7. "Mickey Walsh Portuguese statistics".
8. "Walsh, Mickey". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
9. "Player Info: Mickey Walsh". Retrieved 15 September 2020.

Further reading

• Calley, Roy (20 October 1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.
• Singleton, Steve, ed. (2007). Legends: The great players of Blackpool FC (1 ed.). Blackpool. ISBN 978-1-84547-182-8. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• Independent site profile
• Irish Footballers in Europe Profile