Andy Williams (footballer, born 1986)

Andrew David Williams (born 14 August 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays for League Two club Cheltenham Town. He plays as either a forward or a winger.

Andy Williams
Personal information
Full name Andrew David Williams[1]
Date of birth (1986-08-14) 14 August 1986[2]
Place of birth Hereford, England
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Cheltenham Town
Number 14
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)
2015–2018 Doncaster Rovers 92 (23)
2018–2020 Northampton Town 71 (20)
2020– Cheltenham Town 24 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:53, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] On 7 August 2010, Williams made his debut for Yeovil against Leyton Orient,[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12] Williams made his second debut for Yeovil as a second-half substitute against Derby County, on 24 August 2013.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

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.[16] On 27 August he scored his first professional hat-trick in a 4–1 win over former club Yeovil Town. He was released by Doncaster in May 2018.

Cheltenham Town

In July 2020, he signed for Cheltenham Town, on a one-year deal. [17]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hereford United 2004–05[18] Conference National 1000—0010
2005–06[19] Conference National 301020—9[lower-alpha 1]34113
2006–07[20] League Two 41840201[lower-alpha 2]1489
Bristol Rovers 2007–08[21] League One 41481211[lower-alpha 2]0526
2008–09[22] League One 4100100051
2009–10[23] League One 433101000453
Bristol Rovers Total 88891411010210
Hereford United (loan) 2008–09[22] League One 26220001[lower-alpha 2]0292
Hereford United Total 9820802011411924
Yeovil Town 2010–11[24] League One 376221000408
2011–12[25] League One 35163110003917
Swindon Town 2012–13[26] League One 401110413[lower-alpha 3]04812
2013–14[27] League One 3000110041
2014–15[28] League One 462110204[lower-alpha 4]15322
Swindon Town Total 893220727110535
Yeovil Town (loan) 2013–14[27] Championship 900000—90
Yeovil Town Total 81225320008825
Doncaster Rovers 2015–16[29] League One 461232222[lower-alpha 2]05316
2016–17[30] League Two 371100102[lower-alpha 5]14012
2017–18[31] League One 9000103[lower-alpha 5]1131
Doncaster Rovers Total 922332427210629
Northampton Town 2018–19[32] League Two 391210004[lower-alpha 5]04412
2019–20[33] League Two 32840104[lower-alpha 6]1419
Northampton Town Total 71205010818521
Cheltenham Town 2020–21[34] League Two 20620101[lower-alpha 5]0246
Career total 539131346215358629150
  1. Three appearances in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, three appearances and two goals in Football Conference play-offs
  2. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  3. Two appearances in League One play-offs, one appearance in Football League Trophy
  4. Two appearances in League One play-offs, two appearances and one goal in Football League Trophy
  5. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  6. Two appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs

Honours

Northampton Town

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Cheltenham Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 20. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  3. "Port Vale 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  4. "Williams back to the Bulls". bristolrovers.co.uk. Bristol Rovers Football Club. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  5. "Chairman's Report Week 2". Bristol Rovers Football Club. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  6. "Andy Williams eyes regular games at Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 24 May 2010.
  7. "Yeovil Town 2–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010.
  8. "Yeovil 1–3 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. 13 November 2010.
  9. http://www.ytfc.net/page/MatchReport/0,,10673~57857,00.html%5B%5D
  10. "Yeovil Town to lose four players after failing to agree deals". BBC Sport. 14 May 2012.
  11. "Swindon Town sign Gary Roberts, Andy Williams and James Collins". BBC Sport. 18 June 2012.
  12. "Andy Williams: Yeovil re-sign Swindon striker on loan". BBC Sport. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  13. "Yeovil 0–3 Derby". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  14. "Andy Williams: Yeovil loanee returns to Swindon with injury". BBC Sport. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  15. "Yeovil to contribute to injured Williams' wages". Swindon Advertiser. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  16. http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/doncaster/breaking-doncaster-rovers-sign-former-swindon-town-striker-andy-williams-1-7318415
  17. https://www.ctfc.com/news/2020/july/robins-seal-the-signing-of-experienced-striker/
  18. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  19. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  20. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  21. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  22. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  23. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  24. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  25. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  26. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  27. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  28. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  29. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  30. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  31. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  32. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  33. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  34. "Games played by Andy Williams in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  35. Pilnick, Brent (29 June 2020). "Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
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