Paul Williams (footballer, born 1965)
Paul Anthony Williams (born 16 August 1965) is an English former professional footballer who made 300 appearances in the Football League for a variety of clubs. He was capped by England at under-21[4] and B international level.[5]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Anthony Williams[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 1965[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Stratford, London,[1] England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Aveley | |||
| Clapton | |||
| –1987 | Woodford Town | ||
| 1987–1990 | Charlton Athletic | 82 | (23) |
| 1987 | → Brentford (loan) | 7 | (3) |
| 1990–1992 | Sheffield Wednesday | 93 | (25) |
| 1992–1995 | Crystal Palace | 46 | (7) |
| 1995 | → Sunderland (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1995 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Charlton Athletic | 9 | (0) |
| 1996 | → Torquay United (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Southend United | 40 | (7) |
| 1998–2000 | Canvey Island[3] | 25 | (14) |
| National team | |||
| 1989 | England U21 | 4 | (3) |
| 1989–1990 | England B | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Born in Stratford, East London, Williams was signed by First Division Charlton Athletic from non-league Woodford Town in 1987. Where he was top goal scorer for two successive seasons. This prompted Ron Atkinson to spend nearly a million pounds to bring the Londoner to Sheffield Wednesday in 1990, where he enjoyed a productive partnership with David Hirst. That season he won a League Cup medal at Wembley Stadium when Wednesday defeated Manchester United 1–0. In the same season, Wednesday achieved promotion back to the First Division. Williams moved back to London with Crystal Palace in 1992, in a swap deal involving Mark Bright. In season 1993–94 he won a Football League First Division (second tier) winners medal with Crystal Palace and was second top goal scorer behind Chris Armstrong.
After loans with Sunderland and Birmingham City he returned to Charlton Athletic, followed by a few months at Torquay United before ending his league career with Southend United in 1998, due to injuries.
From there, Williams went on to complete two very successful years playing and coaching at Canvey Island. While there, the club gained consecutive promotions and won two league Cups. Ending his semi-pro playing and coaching career at Bowers FC in Essex in 2002.
Williams continued coaching at the Charlton and Crystal Place Academy Programs before moving to Florida in 2012 where he is currently the Director of Coaching for Florida Fire Juniors which is affiliated with the MLS team Chicago Fire.
Honours
- Sheffield Wednesday
- League Cup winner 1991
- 1st Division Runners-up 1991
- Crystal Palace
- * 1st Division Champions Medal 1993
References
General
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
Specific
- "Paul Williams". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- Appearances for 1998–99 season unknown so not included, though goals from that season are.
- Courtney, Barrie (10 January 2004). "England – U-21 International Results 1986–1995 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- Courtney, Barrie (21 March 2004). "England – International Results B-Team – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
