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. He signed for
Everton in August 1978 for a fee of £375,000, a record fee for Blackpool at the time. Walsh scored in both legs against
Finn Harps in the
1978–79 UEFA Cup. He was swapped for
Queens Park Rangers striker
Peter Eastoe in March 1979 and spent 18 months at
QPR - who had a young Allen and Goddard to keep him out. Then he was sold to
Porto where he spent six years playing and appeared in their 2–1 defeat by Juventus in the
1984 European Cup Winners' Cup final, having scored at
Shaktar Donetsk in the quarter-final. ==International career==