External links
- Ryan Williams at Soccerbase
- Ryan Williams at USL Championship
- Ryan Williams at hartfordathletic.com
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Anthony Williams [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Detroit City | ||
| Number | 39 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| 2005–2008 | Chester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2009 | Chester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Colwyn Bay | 10 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | → Llandudno (loan) | 16 | (7) |
| 2011–2012 | Rhyl | 35 | (16) |
| 2013–2015 | Morecambe | 53 | (5) |
| 2015–2016 | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
| 2016 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 8 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Ottawa Fury | 34 | (7) |
| 2018 | Paysandu | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | Hartford Athletic | 26 | (4) |
| 2020 | AFC Eskilstuna | 13 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | AFC Eskilstuna | 37 | (0) |
| 2024– | Detroit City | 22 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | England Futsal | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024 | |||
Ryan Anthony Williams (born 8 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Detroit City. After beginning his career at Chester City, Williams came to prominence with Morecambe and built a reputation as a free kick specialist. [3] He later played in Scotland, Canada, Brazil, [4] the United States and won an international futsal cap for England.
Born in Birkenhead, Williams came through the youth ranks at League Two club Chester City and a transfer embargo saw him and other youngsters promoted to the club's first team during the 2008–09 season at age 17. [5] He was an unused substitute in seven matches between September and December 2008 and made his senior debut for the club in a 7–0 Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final defeat to Crewe Alexandra on 20 January 2009, [6] [7] [8] but he tore ankle ligaments on the stroke of half time and failed to recover before the Seals' relegation at the end of the season. [9]
Williams signed for Northern Premier League First Division North club Colwyn Bay in late 2009. [10] He helped the team achieve promotion to the Premier Division and moved to sign for Cymru Alliance club Llandudno on loan during the 2010–11 season, [11] [12] where his performances won him the club's Player of the Year award and a place in the league's Team of the Year. [10] Williams transferred to fellow Cymru Alliance club Rhyl in July 2011 and was again voted into the Cymru Alliance Team of the Year at the end of the 2011–12 season. [10] He departed Rhyl midway through the 2012–13 season. [13]
Williams began training with League Two club Morecambe in July 2012, but was not offered a contract due to financial constraints. [14] After the departure of Joe Mwasile on loan, funds were made available for Williams to be offered a short-term contract with the Shrimps in October 2012.[ citation needed ] International clearance problems held up the signing and he finally joined the club on 10 January 2013. [15] Williams made his Football League debut in a match versus Plymouth Argyle five days later, [16] coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Gary McDonald. [17] He crowned his day with a long-range goal in the 80th minute, though the Shrimps would lose 2–1. [18] He scored his second goal in three games versus Dagenham & Redbridge two weeks later, this time scoring a late winner in a 2–1 victory. [17] A first start versus York City on 2 February and Man of the Match performances later in the month versus Exeter City and Aldershot Town saw Williams sign a new contract running until the end of the 2013–14 season. [19] Williams made 16 appearances and scored two goals during the second half of the 2012–13 season. [17]
Williams was a regular starter during the 2013–14 season and got his campaign off to a flyer, netting long range goals with a free kick in a League Cup first round victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 25-yard strike in a league draw with Torquay United. [20] His performances saw him sign a new one-year contract extension in February 2014. [21] Williams made 29 appearances and scored four goals during his first full season of league football and won Morecambe's Goal of the Season award. [22] Williams began the 2014–15 season alternating between a starting berth and a place on the bench and missed the final two months of the season after undergoing surgery on a hernia problem. [23] [24] He finished the season with 16 appearances and no goals. [25] Williams was released in May 2015 after making 61 appearances and scoring five goals during his two-and-a-half year spell at the Globe Arena. [26] [27]
On 11 June 2015, Williams signed a one-year deal with Championship club Brentford, with the option for a further year. [28] His only appearance for the Bees came with a start in a 4–0 League Cup first round defeat to Oxford United on 11 August. [29] On 1 February 2016 and having failed to win a call into the squad in over four months, [30] Williams' contract was cancelled by mutual consent. [31] Get West London later reported that Williams "was a set-piece expert, but was never going to get in the first team and (Brentford) turned him into a set-pieces coach". [32]
On 1 February 2016, Williams joined Scottish Premiership club Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season. [33] He made eight substitute appearances and was not offered a new contract at the end of the season. [34]
On 19 July 2016, Williams moved to Canada to join North American Soccer League club Ottawa Fury FC. [35] He made 18 appearances and scored four goals during the remainder of the 2016 season and was named as the Fans' Player of the Year. [2] [36] After making 20 appearances and scoring five goals during the 2017 United Soccer League season, [36] Williams departed the club. [37] He made 38 appearances and scored 9 goals during his time at the TD Place Stadium. [36]
On 5 February 2018, it was announced that Williams had moved to Brazil to join Campeonato Brasileiro Série B club Paysandu on a three-month contract. [38] He was unable to be registered until 23 March and made his only appearance for the club as a 75th-minute substitute for Pedro Carmona in a 1–1 draw with São Bento on 19 May. [36] [39] [40] In mid-June 2018, it was announced that Williams' contract had been terminated early due to personal problems. [41]
On 13 September 2018, Williams joined League Two club Tranmere Rovers on a short-term contract. [42] He made just two EFL Trophy appearances before departing Prenton Park on 14 January 2019. [43]
On 21 February 2019, Williams moved to the United States to join USL Championship club Hartford Athletic. [44]
On 26 August 2020, Williams joined Swedish Superettan side AFC Eskilstuna. [45] His lone goal for the club came on 16 October 2020 in a 3-2 loss against Akropolis IF. [46] In March 2022, he rejoined the club on a deal until the end of the year. [47]
Williams returned to the United States in March 2024, signing with USL Championship side Detroit City ahead of their 2024 season. [48]
Williams played futsal for Tranmere Victoria and Liverpool and was named in the England squad for the 2010 FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament. [49] [50] He made his debut in the final of the tournament, a 3–2 defeat to Turkey. [9]
After dropping out of professional football in 2009, Williams studied to become a personal trainer, eventually launching Roqstar Fitness, based in New Brighton. [9]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup [a] | League Cup [b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chester City | 2008–09 [51] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 [c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Colwyn Bay | 2009–10 | NPL Division One | 10 | 1 | – | – | 10+ | 1+ | ||||||
| 2010–11 | NPL Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Conference North | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0+ | 0+ | |||||||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10+ | 1+ | ||||||
| Llandudno (loan) | 2010–11 | Cymru Alliance | 16 | 7 | – | – | – | 16+ | 7+ | |||||
| Rhyl | 2011–12 | Cymru Alliance | 35 | 16 | 1+ | 2+ | – | – | – | 36+ | 18+ | |||
| Morecambe | 2012–13 [17] | League Two | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 [22] | League Two | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 1 [d] | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 [25] | League Two | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 [d] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 53 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 4 | ||
| Brentford | 2015–16 [29] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| Ottawa Fury FC | 2016 | NASL | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 18 | 4 | |||
| 2017 | USL | 16 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | 20 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 9 | ||
| Paysandu | 2018 | Série B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 2018–19 [52] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 [d] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hartford Athletic | 2019 | USL Championship | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4 | ||
| AFC Eskilstuna | 2020 | Superettan | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 196 | 41 | 8+ | 4+ | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+ | 0+ | 214+ | 46+ | ||
