Ryan Anthony Williams (born 8 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for AFC Eskilstuna. After beginning his career at Chester City, Williams came to prominence with Morecambe and built a reputation as a free kick specialist.[3] He later played in Scotland, Canada, Brazil,[4] the United States and won an international futsal cap for England.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Ryan Anthony Williams[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1991-04-08) 8 April 1991 (age 31) | ||
Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | AFC Eskilstuna | ||
Youth career | |||
2007–2009 | Chester City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2009 | Chester City | 0 | (0) |
2009–2011 | Colwyn Bay | 10 | (1) |
2010–2011 | → Llandudno (loan) | 16 | (7) |
2011–2012 | Rhyl | 35 | (16) |
2013–2015 | Morecambe | 53 | (5) |
2015–2016 | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
2016 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 8 | (0) |
2016–2017 | Ottawa Fury FC | 34 | (7) |
2018 | Paysandu | 1 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | (0) |
2019 | Hartford Athletic | 26 | (4) |
2020 | AFC Eskilstuna | 13 | (1) |
2022– | AFC Eskilstuna | 0 | (0) |
National team | |||
2010 | England Futsal | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 July 2021 |
Born in Birkenhead, Williams came through the youth ranks at League Two club Chester City and a transfer embargo saw him and other youngsters promoted to the club's first team during the 2008–09 season at age 17.[5] He was an unused substitute in seven matches between September and December 2008 and made his senior debut for the club in a 7–0 Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final defeat to Crewe Alexandra on 20 January 2009,[6][7][8] but he tore ankle ligaments on the stroke of half time and failed to recover before the Seals' relegation at the end of the season.[9]
Williams signed for Northern Premier League First Division North club Colwyn Bay in late 2009.[10] He helped the team achieve promotion to the Premier Division and moved to sign for Cymru Alliance club Llandudno on loan during the 2010–11 season,[11][12] where his performances won him the club's Player of the Year award and a place in the league's Team of the Year.[10] Williams transferred to fellow Cymru Alliance club Rhyl in July 2011 and was again voted into the Cymru Alliance Team of the Year at the end of the 2011–12 season.[10] He departed Rhyl midway through the 2012–13 season.[13]
Williams began training with League Two club Morecambe in July 2012, but was not offered a contract due to financial constraints.[14] After the departure of Joe Mwasile on loan, funds were made available for Williams to be offered a short-term contract with the Shrimps in October 2012.[citation needed] International clearance problems held up the signing and he finally joined the club on 10 January 2013.[15] Williams made his Football League debut in a match versus Plymouth Argyle five days later,[16] coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Gary McDonald.[17] He crowned his day with a long-range goal in the 80th minute, though the Shrimps would lose 2–1.[18] He scored his second goal in three games versus Dagenham & Redbridge two weeks later, this time scoring a late winner in a 2–1 victory.[17] A first start versus York City on 2 February and Man of the Match performances later in the month versus Exeter City and Aldershot Town saw Williams sign a new contract running until the end of the 2013–14 season.[19] Williams made 16 appearances and scored two goals during the second half of the 2012–13 season.[17]
Williams was a regular starter during the 2013–14 season and got his campaign off to a flyer, netting long range goals with a free kick in a League Cup first round victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 25-yard strike in a league draw with Torquay United.[20] His performances saw him sign a new one-year contract extension in February 2014.[21] Williams made 29 appearances and scored four goals during his first full season of league football and won Morecambe's Goal of the Season award.[22] Williams began the 2014–15 season alternating between a starting berth and a place on the bench and missed the final two months of the season after undergoing surgery on a hernia problem.[23][24] He finished the season with 16 appearances and no goals.[25] Williams was released in May 2015 after making 61 appearances and scoring five goals during his two-and-a-half year spell at the Globe Arena.[26][27]
On 11 June 2015, Williams signed a one-year deal with Championship club Brentford, with the option for a further year.[28] His only appearance for the Bees came with a start in a 4–0 League Cup first round defeat to Oxford United on 11 August.[29] On 1 February 2016 and having failed to win a call into the squad in over four months,[30] Williams' contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[31] Get West London later reported that Williams "was a set-piece expert, but was never going to get in the first team and (Brentford) turned him into a set-pieces coach".[32]
On 1 February 2016, Williams joined Scottish Premiership club Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season.[33] He made eight substitute appearances and was not offered a new contract at the end of the season.[34]
On 19 July 2016, Williams moved to Canada to join North American Soccer League club Ottawa Fury FC.[35] He made 18 appearances and scored four goals during the remainder of the 2016 season and was named as the Fans' Player of the Year.[2][36] After making 20 appearances and scoring five goals during the 2017 United Soccer League season,[36] Williams departed the club.[37] He made 38 appearances and scored 9 goals during his time at the TD Place Stadium.[36]
On 5 February 2018, it was announced that Williams had moved to Brazil to join Campeonato Brasileiro Série B club Paysandu on a three-month contract.[38] He was unable to be registered until 23 March and made his only appearance for the club as a 75th-minute substitute for Pedro Carmona in a 1–1 draw with São Bento on 19 May.[36][39][40] In mid-June 2018, it was announced that Williams' contract had been terminated early due to personal problems.[41]
On 13 September 2018, Williams joined League Two club Tranmere Rovers on a short-term contract.[42] He made just two EFL Trophy appearances before departing Prenton Park on 14 January 2019.[43]
On 21 February 2019, Williams moved to the United States to join USL Championship club Hartford Athletic.[44]
On 26 August 2020, Williams joined Swedish Superettan side AFC Eskilstuna.[45] His lone goal for the club came on 16 October 2020 in a 3-2 loss against Akropolis IF.[46] In March 2022, he rejoined the club on a deal until the end of the year.[47]
Williams played futsal for Tranmere Victoria and Liverpool and was named in the England squad for the 2010 FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament.[48][49] He made his debut in the final of the tournament, a 3–2 defeat to Turkey.[9]
After dropping out of professional football in 2009, Williams studied to become a personal trainer, eventually launching Roqstar Fitness, based in New Brighton.[9]
Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chester City | 2008–09[50] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Colwyn Bay | 2009–10 | NPL Division One | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 10+ | 1+ | ||
2010–11 | NPL Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2011–12 | Conference North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0+ | 0+ | |||
Total | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10+ | 1+ | ||
Llandudno (loan) | 2010–11 | Cymru Alliance | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 16+ | 7+ | |||
Rhyl | 2011–12 | Cymru Alliance | 35 | 16 | 1+ | 2+ | – | – | – | 36+ | 18+ | |||
Morecambe | 2012–13[17] | League Two | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||
2013–14[22] | League Two | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
2014–15[25] | League Two | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
Total | 53 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 4 | ||
Brentford | 2015–16[29] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
Ottawa Fury FC | 2016 | NASL | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 18 | 4 | |||
2017 | USL | 16 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | 20 | 5 | ||||
Total | 34 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 9 | ||
Paysandu | 2018 | Série B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Tranmere Rovers | 2018–19[51] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Hartford Athletic | 2019 | USL Championship | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4 | ||
AFC Eskilstuna | 2020 | Superettan | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
Career total | 196 | 41 | 8+ | 4+ | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+ | 0+ | 214+ | 46+ |
AFC Eskilstuna – current squad | |
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