Derrick Williams (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Derrick Williams[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 January 1993[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Germany | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Aston Villa | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2016 | Bristol City | 111 | (4) |
| 2016- | Blackburn Rovers | 10 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2011–2012 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 6 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:36, 6 November 2016 (UTC). | |||
Derrick Williams (born 17 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship club Blackburn Rovers.
Early life
Williams was born in Germany in 1993, to an Irish mother and an American father. With his father serving in the United States Army at the time, Williams moved regularly during spells in Germany and the United States. In 2000, when Williams was seven years old, the family eventually settled in Waterford in Ireland. It was here where Williams began playing football, and was later spotted playing for Tramore AFC and Waterford. At 15, Manchester United offered him contract, however he decided to join Aston Villa instead due to their success in developing academy players into first team players.[3]
Club career
Aston Villa
After being spotted playing for local side AFC Tramore, Williams had trials for both Aston Villa and Manchester United, before signing for Villa in January 2009. Following a number of injuries to Alex McLeish's first team squad in the latter stages of the 2011–12 season, the versatile defender was brought in to train with the first team on a number of occasions. His first competitive involvement with the first team saw him earn a place on the bench for the defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the draw with Liverpool.
Williams made his first-team debut under Paul Lambert, as a substitute in Villa's 1–1 Premier League draw against Queens Park Rangers on 1 December 2012.[4] Williams played a part in the Aston Villa Under-19s' successful NextGen Series 2012–13 campaign.
Bristol City
After struggling to make it into the Aston Villa first team, Williams signed for Bristol City, newly relegated to League One, on a three-year contract on 24 June 2013.[4]
Williams made his debut in a 2–0 away win at Gillingham in the League Cup on 6 August,[5] and continued to solidify his place in the line up, starting almost every league game for City that season. His first professional goal came on 15 February 2014, in a 2–2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers.[5]
Bristol City started the 2014–15 League One season with a 16-game unbeaten run,[6] a club record, and the second longest unbeaten run in the country at the time, only behind Chelsea.[6] Williams was a key fixture in this run, starting every game. His first goal of the season came in this run, in a 3–2 home win over Chesterfield on 11 October, and his second was scored in a Football League Trophy win over Coventry City in early December.[7] Williams was sent off for the first time in his career in a 1–0 away defeat at the hands of Crewe Alexandra, forcing him to miss the following game.[7] After returning from his one-match ban, Williams continued to feature on the left of City's three man defence, alongside Aden Flint and Luke Ayling. Williams played in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium on 22 March 2015, a game in which City beat Walsall 2–-0, becoming the only side to have won the competition three times.[8] He was a regular in the City side that confirmed promotion to the Championship with three games of the season still to go.[9]
Blackburn Rovers
On the 26th of August 2016 it was announced that Williams had joined Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a three-year deal. [10]
International career
Williams is eligible to play for Germany, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. In February 2011, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team against Croatia U19, before going onto play in three of Ireland's four fixtures of the UEFA Under-19 Championships later that year. On 10 September 2012, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, in a 4–2 victory over Italy U21.
Career statistics
- As of match played 30 April 2016.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 2011–12[11] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[12] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Bristol City | 2013–14[5] | League One | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| 2014–15[7] | League One | 44 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 55 | 3 | |
| 2015–16[13] | Championship | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 111 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 129 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 112 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 130 | 5 | ||
- ↑ Appearances in Football League Trophy
Honours
References
- ↑ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 41. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Derrick Williams Bio, Stats, News". ESPN FC. ESPN Internet Ventures. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ↑ "Williams out to match Dunne's Euro exploits". Irish Independent. 20 July 2011.
- 1 2 "Derrick Williams: Bristol City sign Aston Villa defender". BBC Sport. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- 1 2 Kempson, Russell (15 November 2014). "Swindon's Michael Smith ends 10-man Bristol City's unbeaten run". The Observer. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ↑ Chapman, Caroline (22 March 2015). "Bristol City 2–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ↑ Mitchell, Brendon (15 April 2015). "Marlon Pack: Bristol City promotion 'hard to take in'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ↑ "Rovers are delighted to announce the signings of defensive duo Tommie Hoban and Derrick Williams". rovers.co.uk. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "Squad stats: 2011/12". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ↑ "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ↑ "D. Williams". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
External links
- Derrick Williams profile at the official Bristol City F.C. website
- Derrick Williams career statistics at Soccerbase
