John Robert Williams (26 March 1947 – 22 January 2021) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a left-back. He died in January 2021, aged 73.

Career

After playing for Bennetts End Youth Club, Williams joined Watford as an apprentice in 1962, aged 15. He turned professional in September 1964, and went on to make 419 competitive appearances for Watford in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. He was part of the side that achieved promotion to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1968–69, and in 1970 played in Watford's first ever FA Cup semi final, against Chelsea. Williams scored two goals for Watford. Both came in 1971–72, a season in which Watford scored fewer goals than any other in their history. Williams left Watford on a free transfer in 1975. He joined Colchester United, where he made 108 Football League appearances, scoring once, before joining non-league side

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. He signed for Gravesend & Northfleet in December 1979 and played for two seasons before joining Chelmsford City.

Honours

Club

Watford *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

Winner (1): 1968–69

References

External links

Johnny Williams
at Barry Hugman's Footballers {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Johnny 1947 births 2021 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Watford F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Margate F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Tottenham