Eifion Williams

Football player infobox
playername= Eifion Williams


fullname = Eifion Wyn Williams
nickname = Willo
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1975|11|15
cityofbirth = Bangor
countryofbirth = Wales
height = height|ft=5|in=11
currentclub = Jarrow Roofing
clubnumber = TBA
position = Striker/Winger
years = 1995–1997
1997–1999
1999–2002
2002–2007
2007–2008
2008-
clubs = Caernarfon Town
Barry Town
Torquay United
Hartlepool United
Wrexham
Jarrow Roofing
caps(goals) = 075 (63)
060 (68)
107 (24)
208 (50)
013 0(1)
00
pcupdate = 04:52, 11 May 2008 (UTC

Eifion Wyn Williams (born 15 November, 1975 in Bangor, Gwynedd, north Wales) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Jarrow Roofing as a midfielder/striker after coming out of retirement. He has recently retired whilst playing for Wrexham . He has represented Wales at B- level.

Football career

Williams was born in Bangor in North Wales and began his career as a Wolverhampton Wanderers apprentice. However, things didn’t work out and he moved back to Anglesey and joined League of Wales side Caernarfon Town, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/wales/1214937.stm From rags to riches] ] while working on a building site. Williams scored freely for Caernarfon and this attracted the attention of bigger clubs. On the eve of the 1997-98 season, Williams left Caernarfon for Barry Town, then the only professional side in the League of Wales, breaking their transfer fee in the process at a cost of £25,000. He immediately began scoring regularly, including one against Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Champions League

Williams also helped Barry Town record their highest win when he contributed 4 goals to help Barry Town beat Conwy United 9-0. Williams’ performances and goal scoring record attracted scouts from English football league clubs.

On March 25, 1999, after over 200 League of Wales goals in four seasons, Torquay United paid £70,000 (breaking their transfer record) to sign Williams, beating off competition from a number of clubs, possibly helped by his Barry teammates Lee Barrow and Paul Mitchell, both former Torquay players, passing on happy memories of Plainmoor. He made his league debut against Hartlepool United and made an instant impact as he became only the second Torquay player to score a hat-trick on his debut (the first being Peter Laraman in the 6-2 defeat of Barnsley in September, 1961). Unfortunately this led to massive expectations being placed on Williams' shoulders, for example, Neville Southall, in goal for Torquay that day, predicted, "He can go all the way to the Premiership." [ [http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bleachers/1075/papers/wes29.03.99-3.html Southall predicts bright future for hat-trick hero Williams] ]

Injuries later affected his form, causing him to play with a broken toe for part of 2000-01, although he still managed nine goals in a dismal season. He was placed on the transfer list on November 2, 2001 by mutual consent after finding himself playing mainly as a substitute in Roy McFarland's side and left to join Hartlepool United on March 5, 2002 for a fee of £30,000. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hartlepool_united/1855871.stm Williams joins Hartlepool] ]

Williams spent his first weeks with Hartlepool playing for the reserves in order to gain match fitness. However it wasn’t long before Williams made his Hartlepool debut against Bristol Rovers after coming on as a substitute, replacing Gordon Watson. As the season reached its climax, Williams notched 5 goals in 10 appearances to help Pools make the play-offs.

The following season saw Williams play in 45 of Hartlepool’s 46 league matches. Due to the injury of Gordon Watson he became Hartlepool’s first choice striker and finished as Hartlepool’s top scorer, scoring 15 goals in 45 games and helped Hartlepool get automatic promotion.

William’s first season in League 1 saw him repeat the success of the previous season as he participated in 41 games and scored 13 goals despite playing right wing for a large majority of the season. His performances earned him a call up to Mark Hughes’ Welsh national side. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/wales/3719287.stm Play-off pair's Wales hitch] ] However the season would end bitterly for Williams as he picked up an injury during Hartlepool’s play-off defeat to Bristol City and missed out on the opportunity to play for his country.

Williams’ spent the majority of the 2004/05 season on the right wing with manager Neale Cooper preferring the partnership of Adam Boyd and Joel Porter up front. This reduced his goal scoring record as he only managed to notch 5 goals in 41 appearances. However he did manage to equalise for Hartlepool in their play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday.

The 2005/2006 season saw Williams once again playing up front due to the injuries of Adam Boyd, Joel Porter and James Brown. During this season he managed to score 8 goals.

Williams was released from his Hartlepool United contract at the end of the 2006-07 season.cite news
title = Pools boss Wilson swings his axe
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hartlepool_united/6640219.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-05-09
accessdate = 2007-05-10]

Williams was signed by League Two side Wrexham on a two-year contract on 11 June 2007.cite news
title = Wrexham Snap up Striker Williams
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wrexham/6741505.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-06-11
accessdate = 2007-06-11] He scored 2 goals on his debut in a 3-2 home defeat friendly to Liverpool. Liverpool were 3-0 up at half-time.

Eifion retired during the 2007/08 football season and is returning to the north-east of England to be with his family. [ [http://www.wrexhamafc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10311~1274476,00.html Eifion To Retire From Football | Wrexham | News | Dragon News | Dragon News ] ] .

However, Eifion came out of retirement to sign for North-East Northern League Division One club Jarrow Roofing. [ [http://www.shieldsgazette.com/non-league-football/Roofers-sign-exHartlepool-striker.4280628.jp Roofers sign ex-Hartlepool striker - Shields Gazette ] ]

References

External links

*soccerbase|15667|Eifion Williams
* [http://www.hartlepoolunited.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Squad/SeniorSquad/0,,10326~10657,00.html Eifion Williams’ Official Hartlepool United profile]
* [http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s84/st64779.htm Eifion Williams’ PoolsOnline.tk profile]