sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Shaun Williams (born 19 October 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for English League Two club Gillingham. He has previously played for Drogheda United, Finn Harps, Sporting Fingal, MK Dons, Millwall and Portsmouth.

Shaun Williams

Williams playing for Milton Keynes Dons in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Williams[1]
Date of birth	(1986-10-19) 19 October 1986 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth	Portmarnock, Dublin, Ireland[3]
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Gillingham
Number	6
Youth career
2005–2006	Drogheda United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Drogheda United	4	(0)
2007	→ Dundalk (loan)	25	(8)
2008	→ Finn Harps (loan)	14	(2)
2009–2010	Sporting Fingal	45	(13)
2011–2014	Milton Keynes Dons	108	(19)
2014–2021	Millwall	252	(18)
2021–2022	Portsmouth	31	(0)
2022–	Gillingham	2	(0)
National team‡
2007	Republic of Ireland U21	1	(1)
2010	Republic of Ireland U23	1	(1)
2010	League of Ireland XI	1	(0)
2018	Republic of Ireland	3	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:20, 10 August 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Career

Drogheda United

Raised in Portmarnock in North Dublin, Williams signed for nearby League of Ireland club Drogheda United at the start of the 2005 season and played with the club's under 21 side for the year. After impressing for the under 21 side, Williams was offered a full time professional contract with the club which he signed ahead of the 2006 season. Struggling to make his first team breakthrough that year, Drogheda looked to loan him out for the following year for experience.[3]

Dundalk loan

Williams spent the 2007 League of Ireland First Division season on loan at Drogheda United's County Louth rivals Dundalk. He made 25 appearances, scoring 8 goals as Dundalk finished in 3rd place.[4]

Finn Harps loan

He spent the opening half of the 2008 season on loan from Drogheda United at Finn Harps following their promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division in 2007 via the playoffs. He made 14 appearances, scoring two goals.[4] His first goal came in the opening match of the season as Harps beat fellow Premier Division newcomers Cobh Ramblers 2–1 in Finn Park.[5] He followed that up with his second in three games as Harps beat U.C.D. 1–0.[6] Failing to score in the rest of his appearances for Harps, his loan ended in Summer 2008 as he returned to Drogheda United for the remainder of the season.[4]

Return from loans

He made his first team debut for the club on 20 July 2008, coming off the bench at half time for Sami Ristilä in a 1–0 win over Cork City.[7] He went on to make a further 3 appearances before the end of the season.[4]

Sporting Fingal

Williams signed for League of Ireland First Division side Sporting Fingal and made his debut away to Waterford United on 7 March 2009.[8] He scored 10 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions as his side finished 3rd in the league, beating Bray Wanderers 4–2 on aggregate in the Promotion/Relegation Play-off Final.[9] They also beat Sligo Rovers to win the 2009 FAI Cup with Williams playing the full 90 minutes of the Final at Tallaght Stadium.[10] He was voted into the PFAI First Division Team of the Year at the end of the season.[11] The 2010 season was Fingal's first ever season in the League of Ireland Premier Division but they and Williams took to it well, finishing in 4th place and earning a UEFA Europa League place for the following season.[12] Williams made his first appearances in European competition in July 2010 when he captain his side at home and away to C.S. Marítimo of Portugal as they lost both legs 3–2.[13][14] Williams was selected in the League of Ireland XI to play a friendly against Manchester United in the first ever match at the Aviva Stadium.[15] At the end of the season, Williams won the 2010 PFAI Young Player of the Year award as voted by his fellow players at the end of the season.[16] Just weeks before the 2011 season, Sporting Fingal went out of existence due to financial difficulties leaving Williams a free agent.[17]

Milton Keynes Dons

On 16 March 2011, Williams signed for MK Dons. Despite making his name as an attacking midfielder, he has played primarily as a centre half for MK Dons, due to injuries and a small squad. At the end of the 2012/13 campaign, Williams was crowned the MK Dons Player of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

Millwall

On 27 January 2014, Williams signed for Millwall on a 2+1⁄2-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[18] During his time at Millwall he accumulated 290 appearances in all competitions, scoring 22 goals.

Portsmouth

On 25 June 2021, Williams signed for Portsmouth.[19] Williams was released after one season at the club.[20]

Gillingham

On 10 June 2022, Williams signed for Gillingham.[21], the second time he had played for manager Neil Harris, having previously played for him at Millwall.

International career

He made his senior Republic of Ireland debut at the age of 31 in a 2-0 friendly loss against France in May 2018.[22] Williams scored his first senior international goal for Ireland on 6 September 2018, after coming off the bench against Wales in the UEFA Nations League.[23]

International goals

Scores and results list Ireland's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 September 2018	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–4	1–4	2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Career statistics

Professional appearances – correct as of end of 2021–22 season.[24]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Drogheda United	2006	League of Ireland Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0[lower-alpha 1]	0	0[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0
Dundalk (loan)	2007	League of Ireland First Division	25	8	0	0	0	0	—		—		25	8
Finn Harps (loan)	2008	League of Ireland Premier Division	14	2	0	0	1	0	—		—		15	2
Drogheda United	2008	League of Ireland Premier Division	4	0	—		—		0[lower-alpha 3]	0	0[lower-alpha 2]	0	4	0
	Drogheda United Total		4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Sporting Fingal	2009	League of Ireland First Division	13	8	6	1	3	0	—		3[lower-alpha 4]	1	25	10
	2010	League of Ireland Premier Division	32	5	5	1	1	0	2[lower-alpha 5]	0	0[lower-alpha 6]	0	40	6
	Sporting Fingal Total		45	13	11	2	4	0	2	0	3	1	65	16
Milton Keynes Dons	2011–12	EFL League One	39	8	4	0	3	0	—		3[lower-alpha 7]	0	49	8
	2012–13		44	3	7	3	3	0	—		1[lower-alpha 8]	0	55	6
	2013–14		25	8	4	1	2	0	—		2[lower-alpha 8]	1	33	10
	Milton Keynes Dons Total		108	19	15	4	8	0	—		6	1	137	24
Millwall	2013–14	EFL Championship	17	1	—		—		—		—		17	1
	2014–15		38	2	0	0	1	0	—		—		39	2
	2015–16	EFL League One	33	2	2	0	1	0	—		7[lower-alpha 9]	2	43	4
	2016–17		45	4	6	0	1	1	—		4[lower-alpha 10]	0	56	5
	2017–18		35	2	3	0	2	0	—		0[lower-alpha 8]	0	40	2
	2018–19	EFL Championship	31	5	4	0	2	1	—		—		37	6
	2019–20		32	2	0	0	2	0	—		—		34	2
	2020–21		22	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		24	0
	Millwall Total		252	18	15	0	11	2	—		12	0	290	22
Portsmouth	2021–22	EFL League One	31	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	35	0
Career Total			479	53	43	6	25	2	2	0	22	2	571	65

Honours

Millwall

• EFL League One play-offs: 2017[25]

Individual

• PFAI Team of the Year: First Division (2009),[26] Premier Division (2010)[27]
• PFAI Young Player of the Year: 2010[28]
• Milton Keynes Dons Player of the Year: 2012–13[29]
• Milton Keynes Dons Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13[29]

References

External links

• Shaun_Williams at National-Football-Teams.com
• Shaun Williams at Soccerbase

На других языках

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- [en] Shaun Williams (footballer)

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[fr] Shaun Williams (football)

Shaun Williams est un footballeur irlandais né le 19 octobre 1986 à Dublin. Il joue actuellement pour le Portsmouth FC.

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[it] Shaun Williams (calciatore)

Shaun Williams (Dublino, 19 ottobre 1986) è un calciatore irlandese, difensore o centrocampista del Portsmouth.

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