Andy Williams (footballer, born 1986)

Andy Williams

Personal information
Full name	Andrew Williams[1]
Date of birth	14 August 1986[1]
Place of birth	Hereford, England
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team	Doncaster Rovers
Number	11
Youth career
2002–2004	Hereford United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2004–2007	Hereford United	74	(17)
2007–2010	Bristol Rovers	87	(8)
2008–2009	→ Hereford United (loan)	16	(1)
2009	→ Hereford United (loan)	10	(1)
2010–2012	Yeovil Town	72	(22)
2012–2015	Swindon Town	89	(31)
2013–2014	→ Yeovil Town (loan)	9	(0)
2015–	Doncaster Rovers	44	(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:39, 23 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Andrew "Andy" Williams (born 14 August 1986 in Hereford, England) is an English footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers. He plays as either a forward or a winger.

Club career

Hereford United

Williams was born in Hereford and attended the nearby football academy at Holme Lacy, playing for the Hereford United youth team. He also gained experience by attending football academies at Aston Villa and Birmingham City.

Williams made his debut for the Hereford United first team in the 2003–04 season, coming on as a substitute in the Herefordshire Senior Cup final against Forest Green. The following season he featured regularly on the bench and made three league appearances as a substitute. He also started the two GLS Conference Cup games against Burton and Northwich.

2005–06 was his breakthrough season. His appearances for the first team were initially from the bench but he was given his first start in the league against Woking, scoring the opening goal. He progressed rapidly and went on to become the club's top scorer for the season, scoring 13 goals from 45 appearances in all competitions. Most notably he scored two vital goals in the playoff semi-final against Morecambe, and in the final itself against Halifax. He signed a new contract with the club in March 2006.

His first season in the Football League saw him played out of position on the right wing for the majority of the season resulting in 48 first team appearance, with only Rob Purdie and Alan Connell making more appearances. Williams' eight goals also made him third highest goalscorer, and he was awarded the Away Goal of the Season for his goal against Bury.

Williams was the subject of two transfer bids from Bristol Rovers during the course of the season. At the end of August a £100,000 bid was rejected by Hereford, but at the end of January a £150,000 bid was accepted. However Williams turned down a move to the Gasheads, having already stated he was happy at Hereford and was not interested in moving to a club in the same division. When Bristol Rovers gained promotion to League One, speculation intensified that he would make the move, and on 5 July 2007 the transfer was finally confirmed.

Bristol Rovers

Williams made his debut for Bristol Rovers on 11 August 2007, scoring four minutes after appearing as a substitute for Rickie Lambert.^[2]

On 1 September 2008, Williams rejoined former club Hereford United on loan until 5 January 2009. An injury hampered his return to Edgar Street but he scored his first goal in the win over Carlisle United on 21 October. On expiry of his loan he returned to Bristol Rovers, but just 24 hours later he was loaned back to Hereford for the remainder of the season.^[3]

He was placed on the transfer list at the end of the 2008–09 season, but after some competitive performances from the bench he was removed from the list early on during the start of the 2009–10 season. On 29 September 2009, in an away 3–2 victory against Southampton, he scored a left-footed shot from the edge of the area, this goal was later nominated for Goal of the Year 2009.^[4]

Yeovil Town

In May 2010, Williams rejected a new deal with Bristol Rovers and signed a two-year contract with fellow League One side and local rivals Yeovil Town, he linked up with them on 1 July 2010.^[5] On 7 August 2010, Williams made his debut for Yeovil against Leyton Orient,^[6] and scored his first goal for the club against Rushden & Diamonds in the FA Cup, and scored his first league goal in a 3–1 defeat against Dagenham & Redbridge the following week.^[7] Williams first season with Yeovil saw him score eight goals in 39 matches mostly operating from the wing.

He started the new season well with a goal in a 3–1 win at home to Oldham Athletic before being out injured for over a month. However, once he had returned from injury he scored again, this time in a 3–0 win away at Hereford United in the FA Cup.^[8] Williams ended the campaign as Yeovil's top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions but rejected a new contract to remain at the club.^[9]

Swindon Town

Having rejected Yeovil's offer of a new contract, on 18 June 2012, it was confirmed Williams had signed for newly promoted League One side Swindon Town on a two-year contract.^[10]

Return To Yeovil

On 23 August 2013, Williams rejoined Yeovil Town on a season long loan deal, only 14 months after previously leaving for Swindon Town.^[11] Williams made his second debut for Yeovil as a second-half substitute against Derby County, on 24 August 2013.^[12] Williams made a total of nine appearances without scoring before picking up serious cruciate injury in training ruling him out for the rest of the season.^[13] Despite being ruled out with injury for the rest of the season, due to the loan agreement with Swindon Town Williams remained officially on loan at Yeovil for the remainder of the season, with Yeovil still having to pay a portion of his wages.^[14]

Doncaster Rovers

On 19 June 2015, Williams signed for Doncaster Rovers on a three year deal, despite interest from several other clubs including Bradford City, Scunthorpe United, Sheffield United and Millwall.^[15]

Career statistics

As of 16 April 2016.^[16]

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hereford United	2004–05[17]	Conference	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	2005–06[18]	Conference	30	10	4	0	—		9[lower-alpha 1]	3	43	13
	2006–07[19]	League Two	41	8	4	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	1	48	9
Hereford United (loan)	2008–09[20]	League One	26	2	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	29	2
Hereford United Total			98	20	10	0	2	0	11	4	121	24
Bristol Rovers	2007–08[21]	League One	41	4	8	1	2	1	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	52	6
	2008–09[20]	League One	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	1
	2009–10[22]	League One	43	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	45	3
Bristol Rovers Total			88	8	9	1	4	1	1	0	102	10
Yeovil Town	2010–11[23]	League One	37	6	2	2	1	0	0	0	40	8
	2011–12[24]	League One	35	16	3	1	1	0	0	0	39	17
Yeovil Town (loan)	2013–14[25]	Championship	9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
Yeovil Town Total			81	22	5	3	2	0	0	0	88	25
Swindon Town	2012–13[26]	League One	40	11	1	0	4	1	3[lower-alpha 3]	0	48	12
	2013–14[25]	League One	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	1
	2014–15[27]	League One	46	21	1	0	2	0	4[lower-alpha 4]	1	53	22
Swindon Town Total			89	32	2	0	7	2	6	1	104	35
Doncaster Rovers	2015–16[28]	League One	42	11	3	2	2	2	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	50	15
Career totals			397	93	29	6	17	5	20	5	465	109

1. 3 appearances and 2 goals in Football Conference play-offs, 3 appearances in Football League Trophy, 3 appearances and 1 goal in FA Trophy
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy
3. 2 appearances in Football League One play-offs, 1 appearance in Football League Trophy
4. 2 appearances in Football League One play-offs, 1 appearance and 1 goal in Football League Trophy

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
2. "Port Vale 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
3. "Williams back to the Bulls". bristolrovers.co.uk. Bristol Rovers Football Club. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
4. "Chairman's Report Week 2". Bristol Rovers Football Club. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
5. "Andy Williams eyes regular games at Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 24 May 2010.
6. "Yeovil Town 2–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010.
7. "Yeovil 1–3 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. 13 November 2010.
8. http://www.ytfc.net/page/MatchReport/0,,10673~57857,00.html
9. "Yeovil Town to lose four players after failing to agree deals". BBC Sport. 14 May 2012.
10. "Swindon Town sign Gary Roberts, Andy Williams and James Collins". BBC Sport. 18 June 2012.
11. "Andy Williams: Yeovil re-sign Swindon striker on loan". BBC Sport. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
12. "Yeovil 0–3 Derby". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
13. "Andy Williams: Yeovil loanee returns to Swindon with injury". BBC Sport. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
14. "Yeovil to contribute to injured Williams' wages". Swindon Advertiser. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
15. http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/doncaster/breaking-doncaster-rovers-sign-former-swindon-town-striker-andy-williams-1-7318415
16. "Andy Williams". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
17. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
18. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
19. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
20. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
21. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
22. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
23. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
24. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
25. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
26. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
27. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
28. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

External links

• Andy Williams career statistics at Soccerbase
• Andy Williams review at The Guardian