Possibly. However, I think that if I take your statement "Personally I think he would be awful at RW. He has no nuance and skill to his game, and can barely cross" and substitute "he" with either Lennon or Bale, you'd probably be echoing the sentiments of 90% of Spurs fans from a few years ago.
I particularly remember these two quotes, which were widely agreed upon by just about everyone at the time.
"Lennon's final ball is SHIT!"
"All Bale has is his pace; his future is at LB, because he needs space to run into."
However, I disagree with your assessment of his qualities. Last year I think that was true, even if he did have a better season. In the reverse Liverpool fixture last year I paid very particular attention to Walker going up against Glen Johnson. In the first instance of Walker taking on Johnson, he faked left, then dribbled right before putting in a cross, skipping past Johnson. In the second instance, Walker faked left, then dribbled right, and was cut out by Johnson. In all subsequent instances, -- to my knowledge -- he faked left, dribbled right, and was completely taken out of the game by Johnson. It was comical.
This season he's regularly beating his man. More than that, he's got decent close control. He likes interchanging one-twos with his teammates, then launching into runs that split the opposing side wide open, like Bale. He's a very direct player. A player can be taught to put in a decent cross, but to a much greater extent, football intelligence relies on instinct. It's not as easy to teach good decision making, and the modern fullback is probably the most difficult position in the modern game. They have to be "complete" players. They're expected to mark and defend, but also be an extension of the midfield, and going forward they have to provide width on the wings in the space that the modern inside-forward evacuates in the attack.
I like the idea of Walker growing into a great RB. He's got a great engine, and terrific stamina. He can cover an amazing amount of ground, which is crucial for the modern fullback. You say "He needs to mature his defensive thinking, needs to learn when to track, when to stand off... When he does he can be superb" and I agree completely.
However, I'm not seeing the signs that he's working on that. He seems more interested in attacking and, indeed, he was quoted in the media once this season saying that he prefers to attack.
All I'm saying is that he probably needs a bit more structure. I think AVB has been careful this season to not upset the apple cart, and has retained that Redknapp-ian sense of still allowing players significant freedom. In the case of Walker though, I think this is counter-productive. He's a fullback that prefers to attack, so either A) reign him in and coach him in how to mark and defend, or B) move him to a position in which attacking is actually his primary duty. I'm sure Naughton would love a few starts in his natural position, and I don't think he was nearly half as bad in many of his appearances on the left this season as some people made out.
edit: dammit. That's what you get when you take time to write a book, someone beats you to some of the salient points.
