Non-League and Academy football writer

Liam Walford is a centre-forward for Middlesex County Football League Premier Division side Larkspur Rovers. Last season (2023/24), Liam was Larkspur’s top goalscorer in all competitions. I recently interviewed the clinical centre-forward, about his footballing journey, so far, as well as some of his memories of playing for Larkspur Rovers in recent seasons.

Could you talk me through a bit about your background in football, prior to joining Larkspur Rovers?

Liam: My old man took me and my twin brother to Hillingdon Saints, as a youngster, up until I was about 11. We were in the Harrow Youth League back then, and we were a little bit above the level that we were playing at, at that time. So we ended up going to a team called Glencoe United, as the dad of one of my friends from school essentially ran the club, and we were then until we were 16. We did well there, and we got promoted to the Premier Division of that league, and that was a decent level of football with a number of lads going on to play at various higher levels. After that I ended up going to Harefield Under 18s, and at that time I was probably playing more reserve football than I was playing for the Under 18 team, probably because I was and still am quite a physical player.

The reserve team coaches from Harefield, they actually ended up leaving and joining Colney Heath, and so me and my brother also went there. We both played for the Under 18 team and the Colney Heath Reserves. But at the back of that season I did drop off a little bit, as I had my A Levels and studies to do. With all of the travelling to Colney Heath, it all became a bit much. I would later study at Durham University, and they’ve got a collegiate system which is similar to Oxford and Cambridge, and so I played for my college team up there, and I did score a fair amount of goals for them.

After I moved back to Middlesex, I ended up joining Indian Gymkhana Club. As my dad knew someone who was on the board at the club, and having played for them at times when I was back from university, I thought that it seemed like a natural progression to join them. I was at Gymkhana for a year and a half, and to be honest with my job, which is quite a social job, I was often out late on a Friday night before games. And so I didn’t have a good season for them, and I had subsequently become a lot heavier, and my game had always been about getting around the pitch and making runs in behind. So during the summer after my first full season with Gymkhana, I lost a lot of weight ready for the next season. I felt really good going into that new season, but the manager had brought in another striker, and it was clear that he would be first choice. So after doing well in pre-season, I thought that I was way too good to be sitting on the bench for any club at that level, and so I ended up going back to Hillingdon.

I did alright back at Hillingdon, and we ended up winning our league at step 8 on the last day over Hayes & Hillingdon. Hillingdon were an old team, and they actually ended up folding at the end of that season, which is how Hayes & Hillingdon ended up getting promoted. A couple of the lads had known Gary from Larkspur Rovers, and so that was how I ended up at Larkspur.

Were there any players that you used to try and model your game around, when you were younger?

Liam: Wayne Rooney was probably the obvious one, growing up. But nowadays Harry Kane is pretty much the complete striker, although going back, Rooney was the one who I looked up to. That is where my aggression and fight comes from, a little bit. I’m actually a Fulham fan and I’ve been a season ticket holder at the club for around 20 years, and Bobby Zamora is someone who had some of the holdup play that I’ve ever seen, which I’ve always admired.

Could you talk me through some of your memories of playing for Larkspur Rovers (so far), in the Middlesex County Football League Premier Division? 

Liam: So last year I felt that we (Larkspur Rovers) had a really good team, but we just struggled a little bit with consistency. We did go on a really good run last season, where we won about eight games in a row. With the players around me last season, I thought that I didn’t actually need to do to much to score goals. With players like Deluxe Mwengula around you, all that I’ve got to do is get in the box. Playing under Bradley Morris and Alan Rayner last season was brilliant, and all that I wanted was for a club to have a bit of faith in me, and I knew then that I’d score goals. And to be honest about 20 of my goals last season were probably from  inside the six yard box. We’ve had a really big turnover at Larkspur this season, and one of the reasons that I wanted to stay was because of how well the club has treated me. Larkspur is also a really well run club.

What are some of your standout memories from your footballing journey, so far?

Liam: Reaching a county cup final a couple of seasons ago with Gymkhana, was one, and we also reached a county cup final with Larkspur last season, which we lost. Winning the league on the final day of that title winning season with Hillingdon, was a great memory. There was a couple of hundred people at that division one game, and so that was probably the highlight (so far) from my time playing senior football.

Who has been the most difficult team that you faced (for their quality) in the Middlesex Premier Division, so far?

Liam: Clapton Community and NW London were standout teams, during their league title winning seasons. PFC Victoria London were also a difficult team to play, as they were physical and fit. Hayes & Hillingdon are another very difficult team to play against, and they are very effective at what they do. Another team who were excellent last season when we played them, was Camden & Islington United. 

For those who haven’t seen you play, could you describe to me what type of player you are?

Liam: I like to think that I can do what every striker wants to do, in terms of being able to hold the ball up and bring others into play. But I really back my movement, and I like getting in behind the defence, and when the ball gets into the box I always like to be there to get the goals. 

What have you made of how the Middlesex Premier Division has gone so far as a whole, at this very early stage of the season?

Liam: For us it has been tough, and it’s definitely not been how we wanted it to be. I think that we could have probably done with a couple more weeks of pre-season, and because of the games not getting played towards the end of last season, I only had about three weeks off before starting pre-season. We’ve also got a young side this season, but I think that we are on the cusp of getting some good results. As a whole I’m not too surprised with how the league season (for the other teams) has gone so far, with clubs such as Jolof Sports really impressing me so far this season.

What are some of your hopes and aims for the remainder of this season (2024/25) with Larkspur Rovers?

Liam: Hopefully we will solidify as the season goes on, as we don’t want to be in a relegation scrap. But there’s a long way to go, and for me I want to see some of the younger players start to get to grips with senior football, which is difficult. We’ve also got to start beating teams that we should be beating, and also just start to get results. On a personal note, I want to get as many goals as I possibly can, as I need to step up as well.