Jon Walters ready to fire Stoke to FA Cup glory

Last updated : 14 May 2011 By Daily Mail

It's safe to say that?Stoke's well-travelled striker is not one to be daunted by reputations.

That much was clear when Walters signalled his intent to leave Ipswich in August. A furious Keane stripped him of the captaincy and vowed never to play him again, having accused the 27-year-old of feigning a sickness bug to miss a Carling Cup tie against Exeter.

Parting shot: Jon Walters (left) departed Ipswich for Stoke after a clash with Roy Keane

The allegation upset Walters so much that he used his mobile phone to photograph evidence of his illness and send it to the club physio. A week later he was on his way to Stoke in a ?2.75million deal.

'I thought Roy Keane suspected I wasn't telling the truth because I didn't want to get cup-tied,' says Walters.

'I'm not the type of player to force a move through or be a bad egg around the place, but I had a few years at Ipswich where there were bids put in and knocked back.

'If you say to any player who's in the Championship, 'you're 26 now, do you want to go to the Premier League because you might not get the chance again?' they'd snap your hand off.

'Keane was a good football player, wasn't he? A great player, captain of Manchester United and tough tackling. But it doesn't necessarily make you scared of him to knock on the door and say that. I'm not the sort of player to be worried about anything like that.

Leading man: Walters (centre) scores Stoke's fourth goal against Bolton in the semi-final

'I've got no reason to talk to him now, and I wouldn't want to with the way it was left.

'I was made out to be the one who forced the move which was untrue, and that hurt. But the people who mattered at Ipswich - the players, the staff and people involved at the club who meant a lot to me - knew what happened.

'I wasn't really bothered being labelled that it was my fault. I knew it wasn' t.'

Walters has made the most of his move to Stoke, culminating in a two-goal performance in the 5-0 win over Bolton in last month's semi-final.

But it has been a peculiar journey to Wembley for the one-time Bolton and Blackburn youngster who could only have dreamed of a Cup Final appearance when he left Hull and dropped down to League Two with Wrexham and Chester City just a few years ago.

'Our eldest daughter Scarlett was very young at the time and was quite ill in hospital, so I asked to move back closer to the north-west where my family come from,' said Walters, a father of three who has gone through 11 clubs in 10 years.

All aboard: Walters (standing) celebrates scoring against Bolton at Wembley

'Signing for Wrexham was just signing for anyone. I left there to get a fresh start, and that's what I did at Chester. We had a decent team and did well. Roberto Martinez was in centre midfield for us.

'When I played in the FA Cup at Chester, the manager Mark Wright said 'just go out and enjoy yourselves because you're never going to win it - you'll never get to the final!'.'

Chester were knocked out in the second round by Bury in 2006 but reinstated after their opponents were penalised for fielding an ineligible player in Steve Turnbull.

Walters does not need reminding about that quirk of fate. It was in the next round against Ipswich that his performance convinced the Championship side to sign him in a ?150,000 deal that re-ignited his career.

Turnbull has since joined Blyth Spartans, while two of Walters' Chester teammates that day - schoolboy friend Paul Linwood and strike partner Gregg Blundell - are now playing for Fleetwood and Barrow.

'You need a bit of luck along the way,' he said. 'There was a chance I could have gone from Chester to Scunthorpe. You could say that joining Ipswich was the turning point and the long road back up through the leagues.'

Hot-streak: Walters scored in Stoke's recent 3-1 win over Arsenal

Walters, who last lifted a cup with Wirral junior side Shaftesbury Boys, is a boyhood Everton fan who treasures Paul Rideout's winner against Manchester United in 1995.

'Whenyou're watching the FA Cup Final as a kid, you go out afterwards and play on the park opposite,' he said. 'We had the nets and my dad would put them up. About 20 kids would come out to the field. I was Duncan Ferguson.'

Now he is ready to stage another upset against Manchester City.

'Cityare one of the richest clubs in the world and they've got the best theycould buy. But there's huge pressure on them. The expectations are on the manager and the team - they've got to produce this year.

'It'sa different world with the money they've spent and the people they've brought in. We're by far the underdogs, and we know that.

'Butit's been a good journey for me over the past few years. Now I'd be happy to take a winning goal in the Cup Final if it came along.'

?The underdog can bite us! Don't get rolled over like Arsenal, warns City boss ManciniHe was a nine-year-old rebel but now Vincent is the ideal Kompany manWembley digest: What you can expect from the FA Cup Final as Stoke take on Manchester CityAll the latest Stoke news, features and opinion

?Explore more:People: Duncan Ferguson, Roy Keane, Mark Wright, Roberto Martinez Places: Exeter

Source: Daily Mail

Source: Daily Mail