John Williams (footballer, born 1960)

William John Williams (born 3 October 1960) is an English former football centre back. He made 350 league appearances in a 15-year career in the English Football League, scoring 25 goals.

John Williams
Personal information
Full name William John Williams[1]
Date of birth (1960-10-03) 3 October 1960
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1985 Tranmere Rovers 173 (13)
1985–1986 Port Vale 50 (3)
1986–1991 Bournemouth 117 (9)
1991 → Strømsgodset (loan) 1 (0)
1991 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
1991–1993 Cardiff City 6 (0)
Total 351 (25)
Teams managed
1994 Bournemouth (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, playing 201 games in all competitions between 1978 and July 1985, when he made a £12,000 move to Port Vale. He helped the "Valiants" to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1985–86, before being sold on to Bournemouth for £30,000 in December 1986. He helped the "Cherries" to the Third Division championship in 1986–87, before moving on to Cardiff City in 1991, following a loan spell at Wigan Athletic. Cardiff won the Third Division title in 1992–93, after which he returned to Bournemouth as a coach. He served the club as caretaker-manager in August 1994.

Playing career

After playing as an amateur Williams signed for Tranmere Rovers in 1979 under the stewardship of John King. However, he established himself as a regular under Bryan Hamilton during the 1980–81 season, as the club were forced to apply for re-election. They rose to 11th in 1981–82, dropping to 19th in 1982–83, two places and one point above the re-election zone. The "Superwhites" rose to 10th in 1983–84, before a sixth-place finish in 1984–85, two places and nine points behind promoted Bury. He played a total of 201 league and cup games during his time at Prenton Park, scoring 13 goals.

In July 1985, Port Vale paid £12,000 to secure his services.[1] He played regularly during the club's 1985–86 Fourth Division promotion campaign, scoring three goals in 44 appearances.[1] However, he lost his form the following season, playing 18 games at Vale Park, before being sold to Bournemouth for £30,000 in December 1986,[1] where he became a popular player with the club's fans.[3] In 2008, Harry Redknapp described him as possibly the best signing he had made in his 25-year management career.[4] Williams later recalled how he was reluctant to leave Port Vale as he had just purchased a house in Holmes Chapel and was settled, but Redknapp convinced Williams and his wife to move to Bournemouth despite only offering a weekly wage rise of £50; Williams said "I signed because I liked Harry".[5] Under Redknapp's leadership, the "Cherries" won the Third Division championship in 1986–87 with 97 points. They retained their Second Division status in 1987–88 with a 17th-place finish, before the Dean Court side finished 12th in 1988–89, only to suffer relegation in 1989–90 after finishing two points behind the safety mark set by Middlesbrough. Bournemouth finished ninth in 1990–91, finishing two places and six points outside the play-offs.

In the spring of 1991 he went to Norwegian top-flight club Strømsgodset, but only played once as a substitute.[6][7] He played four games for former manager Bryan Hamilton on loan at Wigan Athletic, and later signed with Cardiff City in 1991. Williams remained at Ninian Park for 1991–92 and 1992–93, helping Eddie May's "Bluebirds" to the Third Division title in 1993. However, he was never a regular in the first team, making just six league appearances. He then returned to Bournemouth as a member of the coaching staff.[8] He worked for Bournemouth as their community development officer and later assistant manager.[1] He served as caretaker manager in August 1994, between the terms of Tony Pulis and Mel Machin.

Post-retirement

By November 2008, Williams was working for BBC Radio Solent as a summariser/co-commentator for Bournemouth matches.[9]

Statistics

Playing statistics

Source:[10]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tranmere Rovers 1978–79 Third Division 10000010
1979–80 Fourth Division 30000030
1980–81 Fourth Division 2723010312
1981–82 Fourth Division 4462160527
1982–83 Fourth Division 3504060450
1983–84 Fourth Division 2010020221
1984–85 Fourth Division 4343040504
Total 1731312119020414
Port Vale 1985–86 Fourth Division 3630080443
1986–87 Third Division 1401030180
Total 50310110623
Bournemouth 1986–87 Third Division 2630021284
1987–88 Second Division 3821060452
1988–89 Second Division 3725050472
1989–90 Second Division 1621020192
Total 11797015113910
Wigan Athletic (loan) 1991–92 Third Division 40000040
Cardiff City 1991–92 Fourth Division 50000050
1992–93 Third Division 10000010
Total 60000060
Career total 3502520145141527

Managerial statistics

Source:[11]

Team From To Record
GWLDWin %
Bournemouth 5 August 1994 1 September 1994 5 1 0 4 020.00
Total 5 1 0 4 020.00

Honours
Port Vale
Bournemouth
Cardiff City
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References
  1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 312. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 74. ISBN 0362020175.
  3. "Cherries' Legends Gallery". BBC Dorset. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  4. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Portsmouth | Redknapp marks 25-year milestone". BBC News. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  5. Crace, John (2013). Harry's Games: Inside the mind of Harry Redknapp. London: Constable. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-78033-911-5.
  6. Thoresen, Thore-Erik (29 October 1991). ""Innvandrerne" i norsk toppfotball". Aftenposten (in Norwegian).
  7. John Williams at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  8. "CARDIFF CITY : 1946/47 - 2007/08". Neil Brown stat site. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  9. "BBC Radio Solent announce deal". afcb.co.uk. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  10. John Williams at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  11. John Williams management career statistics at Soccerbase
  12. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
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