Mark Williams (footballer, born 1970)

Mark Stuart Williams (born 28 September 1970) is a former footballer who played for Shrewsbury Town, Chesterfield, Watford, Wimbledon, Stoke City, Milton Keynes Dons and Rushden & Diamonds.

Mark Williams
Personal information
Full name Mark Stuart Williams
Date of birth (1970-09-28) 28 September 1970
Place of birth Stalybridge, England
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Newtown
1992–1995 Shrewsbury Town 99 (3)
1995–1999 Chesterfield 168 (12)
1999–2000 Watford 22 (1)
2000–2002 Wimbledon 70 (7)
2002–2003 Stoke City 6 (0)
2003 Columbus Crew 5 (0)
2004 Wimbledon 11 (1)
2004–2005 Milton Keynes Dons 13 (0)
2004–2005Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 7 (0)
Total 401 (24)
National team
1999–2005 Northern Ireland 36 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A defender, Williams played international football for Northern Ireland, being selected 36 times.

Club career

Williams started his career at Newtown, then moved to Shrewsbury Town where in 1993–94 season he helped the side win the Third Division title. After three seasons with the Shrews he moved to Chesterfield. In the 1996–97 season, he was part of Chesterfield's historic run to the FA Cup semi final, playing in both the semi final[1] and semi final replay[2] against Middlesbrough. Williams had earlier kick started their memorable cup run when he scored the only goal in the first round against Bury.[3]

In 1999, he was signed by newly promoted Premier League side Watford. He scored once for Watford, his goal coming in a 2–1 defeat to Leeds United.[4] However, at the end of the season the Hornets were relegated outright, in bottom place with just 24 points and Williams moved to another relegated side Wimbledon. Although an integral part of the team in his first season, he lost his place and joined Stoke City in March 2003.[5] Stoke were in deep relegation trouble in 2002–03 and Williams played in six matches helping them to avoid the drop on the final day of the season. In the summer of 2003 he moved to the United States to play for Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew where he made five appearances before returning to England.[6]

Williams re-joined old club Wimbledon in February 2004 and played 11 times for the club in 2003–04 as they suffered relegation to League One. He stayed at the club following their controversial change to Milton Keynes Dons and played 15 times for the re-branded club before ending his career with seven games on loan at Rushden & Diamonds.

International career

Williams played for Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2005 and won 36 caps, scoring once.[7]

Personal life

In 2006, Williams married glamour model and pornographic actress Linsey Dawn McKenzie. The couple have one child, Luca Scott Mark Williams, born in May 2005. Mark also has a daughter Chardae from a previous relationship.

In November 2016, amid the United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal, Williams waived his right to anonymity and alleged he had been abused by youth coach Barry Bennell while a trainee at Crewe.[8][9] In Manchester on 5 December 2016, Williams was one of five abuse victims at the launch of an organisation, the Offside Trust, to support player victims of abuse and their families.[10][11]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shrewsbury Town 1992–93 Third Division 281201010321
1993–94 Third Division 361305020461
1994–95 Second Division 351102031412
Total 9936080611194
Chesterfield 1995–96 Second Division 423201050503
1996–97 Second Division 423712000514
1997–98 Second Division 443304010523
1998–99 Second Division 403103011454
Total 168121311007119114
Watford 1999–2000 Premier League 221202000261
Wimbledon 2000–01 First Division 426614000527
2001–02 First Division 5000110061
2002–03 First Division 231200000251
Total 707815100839
Stoke City 2002–03 First Division 6000000060
Columbus Crew 2003 Major League Soccer 5000000050
Wimbledon 2003–04 First Division 111000000111
Milton Keynes Dons 2004–05 League One 130001010150
Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 2004–05 League Two 7000000070
Career Total 4012429226114247029
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy.

International

Source:[13]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 199980
200050
200141
200230
200350
2004100
200510
Total361

Honours

Shrewsbury Town

References

  1. Shaw, Phil (13 April 1997). "Hewitt keeps the Chesterfield dream alive". London: The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  2. Moore, Glenn (22 April 1997). "Foreign legion go back to Wembley". London: The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  3. "Season of dreaming Spireites". The Independent. 13 April 1997. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  4. Haylett, Trevor (3 October 1999). "Bridges' pointer to pots of gold". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  5. "Williams joins Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  6. 2003 Columbus Crew Statistics, USA Today.
  7. "Irish Football Association, Northern Ireland – Squad Profiles – Mark Williams – Defender". Archived from the original on 13 July 2008.
  8. Parveen, Nazia (29 November 2016). "Former Northern Ireland player Mark Williams was 'victim of sexual abuse'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  9. Austin, Jack (29 November 2016). "Football abuse scandal: Former Premier League player becomes fifth footballer to reveal sexual abuse". Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  10. "Southampton 'abuser' still working in football". BBC News. BBC. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  11. "Sex abuse footballers 'want to be free of pain'". BBC News. BBC. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  12. Mark Williams at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  13. Mark Williams at National-Football-Teams.com
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