713 Andy Williams

Biography

Andy Williams was a tall, elegant and experienced midfielder who joined the Tigers in July 1995 after a an impressive journeyman career occasionally blighted by groin injuries. He had the misfortune to be a ball player at a time when manager Terry Dolan was at his hoofy-ist worst, and his skills were rarely made best use of as the Tigers slid inexorably towards relegation and into the fourth tier while staring at footballs booted into the sky. Williams was so enamoured by the experience of playing with Dolan, he left in the 1996 close season and signed for the comparatively sunny hinterlands of Scarborough.

Williams was born in Birmingham and took the non-league route to becoming a football professional, playing for Dudley Town and Solihull Borough while working as an accountant. He was 23 when Coventry City paid Solihull £20,000 for Williams’ signature, and for 15 months Andy hovered at the edges of the Sky Blues’ first team, making ten appearances. In October 1986, in search of a regular start, Williams joined Rotherham United and it was at Millmoor that he carved his reputation as a pacy, skillful and creative ball player. In just over two years he made 106 starts and scored 15 goals, impressing in a side struggling in the third tier.

In November 1988 Leeds United paid £175,000 for Williams, on the same day that Eddie Gray’s Hull City also made an offer. Williams stayed at Elland Road for three and a half seasons and repaid his fee when he helped the Whites achieve promotion back to the First Division in 1990, even though the end of his season was hampered when Vinnie Jones accidentally whacked Andy with a cricket bat during a game of speed cricket – as you do. He played 22 times for the Leeds first team over two seasons in the top flight, but was a peripheral figures by the end of 1991 when he was loaned to Port Vale then sold to Notts County for £115,000. He was a first team regular at Meadow Lane for the remainder of 1991/92 season but the following term he was a less regular choice after manager Neil Warnock left mid-season. After spending September 1993 on loan at Huddersfield, Williams returned to Rotherham the following month, where he had two seasons prior to joining Hull City.

Williams stopped playing professionally after a few weeks at Scarborough, his last game was a League Cup game against the Tigers. He turned out for three non-league sides before hanging up his boots for good. After football Williams worked for Rotherham Council’s housing company.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 29 July 1962, Birmingham
Hull City First Game: 2 September 1995, Chesterfield A (League Division 2), 33 years, 35 days old
Hull City Final Game: 20 April 1996, Wrexham A (League Division 2), 33 years, 266 days old

Clubs

Dudley Town, Solihull Borough, Coventry City (1985-1986), Rotherham United (1986-1988), Leeds United (1988-1992), Port Vale (1991-1992, loan), Notts County (1992-1993), Huddersfield Town (1993), Rotherham United (1993-1995), Hull City (1995-1996), Scarborough (1996), Guiseley, Gainsborough Trinity, Matlock Town

Hull City Record

Career: 39 apps, 0 goals

Andy Williams

Season	LGE App	LGE Gls	FAC App	FAC Gls	FLC App	FLC Gls	EUR App	EUR Gls	OTH App	OTH Gls
1995/96	33 (1)	0	1 (0)	0	2 (0)	0	-	-	2 (0)	0