Jacques Williams

Jacques Williams
Personal information
Full nameJacques Roger Williams
Date of birth25 April 1981
Place of birthLiverpool, England
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Emirates Club
Youth career
199?–1999Bordeaux
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1999–2002Birmingham City3(0)
2003–2004Scarborough12(1)
2005–2006Excelsior Virton3(0)
2007–2008Tractor Sazi0(0)
2008–2009Steel Azin7(1)
2009–Emirates Club44(0)
National team
1999–2000England U-18
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Jacques Roger Williams (born 25 April 1981) is an English-born professional footballer who played for Birmingham City in the Football League as a midfielder.

Football career

Williams was born in Liverpool but grew up in France. He started his football career in the youth system at Bordeaux, and played for the Bordeaux junior side which won the French under-18 championship.[1] At the age of 18 he came to England together with fellow French youngster Trésor Luntala, and following successful trials, both players joined Birmingham City on free transfers before the 1999–2000 season.[2] Eligible to play international football for both England and France,[3] Williams represented England at under-18 level.[1] He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in August 2000, playing one game in the League Cup and then three Division One games, but his development was interrupted by the need for a hernia operation.[4] Though he recovered sufficiently to resume playing reserve team football, scoring the goals which put the team into the semifinal of the Birmingham Senior Cup,[5] a spate of injuries meant that those four games were all he played for Birmingham's first team before being released when his contract expired.[1]

He had a trial at Crewe Alexandra, on the recommendation of former assistant manager Brian Eastick, then Academy Director at Birmingham,[3] but no contract ensued.

He joined Conference side Scarborough for the 2003–04 season, but sustained a broken rib and punctured lung in only his second game, complications from which meant a prolonged stay in hospital and three months out of football.[6][7] Returning in November 2003, he played a further ten league games,[8] but was only an unused substitute in the club's FA Cup fourth round match against Premier League Chelsea,[9] despite scoring and hitting the post in the preceding league game.[10] He then injured an ankle,[11] and was released at the end of the season.[12]

He spent the 2005–06 season with Belgian Second Division club Excelsior Virton for whom he made three substitute appearances.[13]

In August 2006 he had a trial with Brighton & Hove Albion, scoring a goal in an 11–0 rout of French amateur side Racing Club Port du Havre,[14] and making a promising substitute appearance in a 2–0 defeat against Le Havre AC,[15] but manager Mark McGhee decided against signing him.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Jacques of all trades". Scarborough F.C. 2 August 2003. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  2. ↑ Anderson, David (17 July 1999). "Football: Edwards rules out FA Cup proposals". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Midfielder and striker are hoping to shine on trial". Crewe Guardian. 3 July 2002. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Football: Stan's The Man To Keep Blues On Pace" (REPRINT). Birmingham Post (NewsBank). 3 October 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "Football: That's all right Jacques" (REPRINT). Birmingham Evening Mail (NewsBank). 14 February 2001. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  6. ↑ "Williams still in hospital". Scarborough F.C. 6 September 2003. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006.
  7. ↑ "Williams resumes training". BBC Sport. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  8. ↑ "Player Details: Season 2003–2004 Jacques Williams". SoccerFactsUK. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  9. ↑ "Scarborough 0–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  10. ↑ Welbourn, Peter (18 January 2004). "Jacques the lad – Conference". News of the World. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Shrews news". Scarborough F.C. 19 February 2004. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006.
  12. ↑ "Nationwide Conference club-by-club guide 2004/2005". The Daily Telegraph. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  13. ↑ "Jacques Williams" (in Dutch). SportWereld.be. Retrieved 31 March 2008.(Dutch)
  14. ↑ Camillin, Paul (1 August 2006). "Comprehensive Victory For Albion". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  15. ↑ "Albion back on Brittain's trail". The Argus (Brighton). 22 July 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  16. ↑ Gurney, Tom (26 July 2006). "July 26: Loan man a must after Hinsh blow" (REPRINT). The Argus (Brighton) (NewsBank). Retrieved 31 March 2008.

External links

Jacques Williams career statistics at Soccerbase