Raymond Williams (born 30 August 1946) is an English former

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 lea ...

who played as a striker. Starting his career at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

, he did not make a first-team appearance and so moved on to

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

, and also worked as a teacher. He helped Rangers to lift the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

in 1972 and to top the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

in 1971–72 before he returned to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in July 1972. He scored 40 goals in 194 appearances for the club over the next five years and was given the club's

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

award in

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

. He returned to the

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

scene with

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

in March 1977. He was appointed as the club's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

the following year. He achieved massive success with the club, winning the

Cheshire Senior Cup The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. I ...

and

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

twice, the Alliance Premier League Cup once, and also picking up runner-up medals in the Northern Premier League,

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

, and Cheshire Senior Cup. He returned to Port Vale in 1980 and worked there as a chief

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

until 2011. He worked as a commentator at

BBC Radio Stoke BBC Radio Stoke is the BBC's local radio station serving Staffordshire and South Cheshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, Freeview and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent. According to RAJAR, the station has a week ...

for several years.

Career

Stafford Rangers

Williams played

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

football for

before joining

under

Roy Chapman Roy Clifford Chapman (18 March 1934 – 21 March 1983) was an English professional football player and manager. He was the father of former Arsenal and Leeds United striker Lee Chapman. An inside-forward, he started his career at Aston Villa ...

. He helped the club lift the

in 1972 as they defeated

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

3–0 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. His 47 goals also helped the club to the

title in 1971–72. finally, In the same year, the club beat

in the

final to complete a non-League treble.

Port Vale

He was signed by

in July 1972 for a £3,000 fee. He left his

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

career behind to become a professional player after manager Gordon Lee came to his school to sign him. He soon slotted into Gordon Lee's Third Division side. With 11 goals in 49 games in

, he was the club's joint-top scorer, along with Sammy Morgan. Vale finished in sixth place, four points shy of second. For his performances, he was also named the club's

. In 1973–74 he bagged nine goals in 43 games, as the club flirted with

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

under new manager

Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Val ...

. He hit 14 goals in 1974–75, becoming the club's joint-top scorer, along with his former Stafford Rangers strike partner

Terry Bailey Terence Bailey (born 18 December 1947) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. His son Mark Bailey also played professional football. After a brief association with Winsford United, he joined Stafford Rangers in 1968. He s ...

. The "Valiants" missed out on

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

by four points. However, Williams lost his scoring touch after being moved to the wings in 1975–76, and after going on a 21-game goal drought, he scored three goals in 34 games. Together with his strike partners Derek Brownbill and

Mick Cullerton Michael Joseph Cullerton (born 25 November 1948) is a Scottish former Association football, footballer. He is noted for his two spells with Port Vale F.C., Port Vale, as well as for being Stafford Rangers F.C., Stafford Rangers' star Forward (a ...

, the Vale front-line hit a total of 33 goals. In 1976–77, he came off the bench against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a Association football, football stadium in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the MKM Stadium, KC Stadium (now the MKM Stadium). In later years, ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and set up Ken Beamish for Vale's equalising goal. The team continued the run until a Fifth Round defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

. He was in the 15 man matchday squad for the Villa game. Still, he and

Tommy McLaren Thomas McLaren (1 June 1949 – 23 July 1978) was a Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He moved from Berwick Rangers to Port Vale in November 1967. He spent ten years at Vale Park, making 369 league and cup appearances. He helped ...

did not receive the £100 bonus that the other 13 players did. Williams was so disgusted he walked out on the club, and in March 1977, he was sold on to

for 'a small fee'. He scored 40 goals in 194 appearances for the Vale in all competitions.

Northwich Victoria

Northwich were then in the

and finished the 1976–77 campaign in second place behind

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

, also winning the

. Victoria finished seventh in 1977–78 and reached the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup, and Williams was appointed the club's manager. He took the club to a tenth-place finish in 1978–79 and also managed the club to the final of the

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

, where they were defeated 3–0 by

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

; Victoria also reached the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup and

and were victorious in both games. Victoria competed in the inaugural season of the

Alliance Premier League The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League ...

in 1979–80. Williams led them to an eighth-place finish, as well as victory in the Alliance Premier League Cup final over

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

, and another Staffordshire Senior Cup final win. He left the club after sustaining a leg break.

Later life

Williams was appointed Vale's head of youth in September 1980. He went on to become chief

, though resigned in November 1994 after being told he had to pay admission fees at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

. He then took up a scouting role at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

, but after making up with Vale he once again became chief scout there. He is credited with discovering talents such as

Robbie Earle Robert Fitzgerald Earle MBE (born 27 January 1965) is a former football player and current television commentator. Born in England, he represented Jamaica in international football. An attacking midfielder, he played 578 league games in senio ...

Mark Bright Mark Abraham Bright (born 6 June 1962) is an English sports correspondent and former Association football, footballer. Born to a The Gambia, Gambian father and English mother, he was adopted into a foster family in Stoke-on-Trent at an early a ...

and Ian Taylor. He lost his job again in the 2002–03 season after the club entered

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

; though he later was re-hired once finances were more stable. The club announced that his

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

would not be renewed beyond June 2011, partly due to Williams' decision to back prospective investor Mo Chaudry over existing chairman

Bill Bratt William Amos Bratt MBE (born 1945) is an English insurance broker and former football club chairman who was the chair of Port Vale from 2003 to 2011. After decades working in the insurance industry, Bratt turned his attention to his hometown, P ...

. He qualified as a Mathematics teacher, and taught at Berry Hill High School during his Stafford Rangers days. He worked as a commentator at

for several years.

Personal life

Williams married medical practitioner Linda and had three children. In November 2009, he was diagnosed with cancer of the prostate. He worked his treatment at the

University Hospital of North Staffordshire Royal Stoke University Hospital (formerly the University Hospital of North Staffordshire) is a teaching and research hospital at Hartshill in the English county of Staffordshire. It lies in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, near the border with Ne ...

around his commitments to Port Vale. He underwent

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ...

treatment through the summer of 2010, and was given the all-clear in September 2010.

Career statistics

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the League Cup,

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

English Football League play-offs The English Football League (EFL) play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leag ...

and

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. T ...

Honours

Individual *

Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale F.C., Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the Association football, football season. Towards the ...

Stafford Rangers *

: 1971–72 *

: 1971-72 Northwich Victoria *

second-place promotion: 1976–77 *

: 1977 & 1979; runner-up: 1978 *

: 1979 & 1980 *

runner-up: 1979 * Alliance Premier League Cup runner-up: 1980

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ray 1946 births Living people Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent Men's association football forwards Schoolteachers from Staffordshire British mathematics educators English men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Northern Premier League players English Football League players Men's association football player-managers English football managers Northwich Victoria F.C. managers National League (English football) managers English football scouts Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff English association football commentators 20th-century English sportsmen