It has been a frustrating first season at Coventry City for Tyler Walker. Brought in to much excitement over the summer as the striker who would propel the club away from danger, Walker has yet to justify that level of optimism. Five goals in 25 appearances, albeit in a side that doesn’t create many chances, is an underwhelming record, however, it comes with the caveat that Walker has either been injured or attempting to build fitness for much of the season.
Taking into account the various mitigating factors, the question is whether we have seen enough from Tyler Walker to believe that he can go on to be the leading striker at Championship level we hoped he would eventually develop into. Walker has one of the better shots to goals ratios in the division, the biggest issue for him has been in reliably getting in shooting positions. Although a lack of service doesn’t help, Walker’s movement has left a lot to be desired, often finding himself caught offside or pulling wide, away from shooting positions. For someone who doesn’t possess outstanding physical attributes for Championship level, intelligent movement is going to be the key way in which Walker can generate chances for himself and we haven’t seen that from him.
If we stay up and improve the creativity in the side over the summer, Walker may start to look like the kind of goalscorer that we had been hoping for. However, that optimism would be based on expectations of Walker from the start of the season rather than what he has done this season. It has been a difficult year for Tyler Walker, but he will enter the next one with jury out on his ability at Championship level.
Sideways Sammy 