Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

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The YeyeMan
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Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

Post by The YeyeMan »

Na so? I didn't even know Walters had a Nigerian background.

Mark Walters: ‘It wasn’t just fruit – people threw darts and a pig’s leg’
The Guardian, Tue 16 Oct 2018
Paul Doyle

The former England winger discusses the racism he faced when he joined Rangers and why having ‘all the badges and every award going’ never landed him a top coaching job

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ston-villa
Laughing off or blocking out hatred had been Walters’ modus operandi since long before he joined Rangers in 1987, when he became the only black player in the Scottish Premier League. He encountered abuse that may seem almost unbelievable today but says it was, in one respect only, easy to ignore because racism is boring and paying attention to it would not have helped him to fulfil his ambition of becoming a successful footballer. He achieved that, playing for his hometown club Aston Villa before winning three Scottish titles with Rangers, a cap for England and the FA Cup with Liverpool.

Walters has rarely spoken publicly about much of this since retiring in 2002 but now, aged 54, he has released an autobiography, Wingin’ It, because he felt it was time to take stock. “It’s been cathartic,” he says of a book in which he addresses issues he had previously preferred not to discuss: racism, his frustration at the paucity of coaching opportunities for black former players and family matters including the lack of a relationship with his father, Lawrence Wabara, who played for Nigeria in the 1950s (“I only found out about that in my teens when I saw some pictures,” he says. “It did disappoint me, the fact he had been such a good footballer but never really did anything to help me”).
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Goldleaf
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Re: Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

Post by Goldleaf »

Mark Walters was an incredibly skilful player who was at his best on one-on-one situations, dribbling opponents with ease. In my opinion, he never got enough respect or recognition for his skill. If he had pursued playing for Nigeria especially during the 1994 era, he would have been great. He plays in the Amunike mould, but I rate him much, much higher than Amunike. He still features in veteran tournaments from time to time and he stands out.

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wiseone
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Re: Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

Post by wiseone »

Walters was one of the best wingers in Britain in his heyday. He was certainly the best winger playing in Scotland (during his days at Rangers when the Scottish league (at least at the top of the table) was as strong as the English league). He did not get much of a look in with England because he had John Barnes and Chris Waddle (both in their prime) playing in the same position as him.
Goldleaf wrote:Mark Walters was an incredibly skilful player who was at his best on one-on-one situations, dribbling opponents with ease. In my opinion, he never got enough respect or recognition for his skill. If he had pursued playing for Nigeria especially during the 1994 era, he would have been great. He plays in the Amunike mould, but I rate him much, much higher than Amunike. He still features in veteran tournaments from time to time and he stands out.
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Chief Ogbunigwe
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Re: Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

Post by Chief Ogbunigwe »

Goldleaf wrote:Mark Walters was an incredibly skilful player who was at his best on one-on-one situations, dribbling opponents with ease. In my opinion, he never got enough respect or recognition for his skill. If he had pursued playing for Nigeria especially during the 1994 era, he would have been great. He plays in the Amunike mould, but I rate him much, much higher than Amunike. He still features in veteran tournaments from time to time and he stands out.

[/video]

Wow! The Original Thierry Henry :clap: :clap: :clap:

where are Gotti and EII to tell us about his father?
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heavyd
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Re: Mark Walters' father played for Nigeria.

Post by heavyd »

Lawrence Wabara??
Never heard of him...
In the 50's and 60's there were a lot of people who were mentioned as having "played for Nigeria" but in reality never actually made an appearance. Quite a few may have been called up/named in a squad but never made the team. Wabara may have been one of those. EII may have some info on him. I am on holiday so cant check my records.
YNWA

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