Ben Williamson (footballer)

Ben Williamson
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Marc Williamson[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-25) 25 December 1988[2]
Place of birth Lambeth, London, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Cambridge United
Number 10
Youth career
Milwall
Croydon Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Worthing ? (14)
2010–2011 Jerez Industrial 12 (8)
2011 Bournemouth 4 (0)
2011–2012 Hyde 0 (0)
2011–2012 → Port Vale (loan) 35 (3)
2012–2015 Port Vale 114 (18)
2015–2016 Gillingham 9 (0)
2015–2016 → Cambridge United (loan) 8 (3)
2016– Cambridge United 35 (9)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:30 13 November 2016 (GMT).


Benjamin Marc "Ben" Williamson (born 25 December 1988) is an English football striker who plays for League Two club Cambridge United.

He played for Worthing in 2009, before joining the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain the following year, where he had a spell with the academy's partner club, Jerez Industrial. In 2011 he returned to England to join Bournemouth, where he featured in the south-coast club's play-off semi final against Huddersfield Town. He joined Port Vale on a season-long loan from Hyde in June 2011, which was made permanent the following year. He helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13. He moved to Gillingham in June 2015, and then signed with Cambridge United in January 2016 following a brief loan spell.

Playing career

Early career

Born in London,[3] Williamson played youth football for Millwall[4] and Croydon Athletic,[5] before signing for Worthing of the Isthmian League Division One South in August 2009.[6] In November 2009, Williamson attended a four-week trial at the Glenn Hoddle Academy.[7] He was invited to the Academy partly by chance, as Academy scouts had been watching Worthing teammate Ross Treleaven when Williamson scored a hat-trick and unwittingly alerted them to his potential.[8]

The Glenn Hoddle Academy

He signed a two-year contract with the academy in the summer of 2010,[9] and was selected to play for nearby Spanish side Jerez Industrial following the academy's takeover of the club. During the first half of the 2010–11 season, he played twelve games for the club, scoring eight goals.[10][11] After he left the club, Jerez struggled, and suffered relegation at the end of the season. Back at the Academy, Glenn Hoddle focused on improving Williamson's technique, especially in his left foot.[8]

Bournemouth

On 31 January 2011, he joined League One club Bournemouth on a deal lasting until the end of the season.[12] He made his debut on 5 February, appearing as an injury time substitute in a 1–1 draw with Leyton Orient.[13] An ankle injury restricted him to just four further substitute appearances,[8] including a brief appearance in the club's play-off semi-final draw with Huddersfield Town, coming on in the last minute replacing Danny Ings.[14]

Hyde to Port Vale

In June 2011 he turned down a new deal at Bournemouth as manager Lee Bradbury could not guarantee regular first team football.[15] He joined Conference North outfit Hyde,[16] but was loaned out to Micky Adams' Port Vale in League Two on a season long loan.[17]

"Burslem is a bit different to Bournemouth, never mind south-west Spain ... I still haven't found the beach. I had only been north of Birmingham once before, going to Manchester when I was about seven. But I'm 22, hungry for regular football, pleased to be here and ready to prove myself... The physical side doesn't faze me. I'm pretty quick, try to get in behind the defence and like to run at people with the ball... If I could take my ratio with Jerez into this year I'd end up with 30-odd goals – now that would do."
— Williamson on signing for Port Vale.[8]

He got off the mark with his first Football League goals on 17 September, as he 'displayed athleticism, composure, bravery and a poacher's instinct' to score with a lob and then a header in a 3–2 home defeat to Shrewsbury Town.[18][19][20] He made six starts and eight substitute appearances in the club's first fifteen games of the season.[21] However he damaged his knee in a reserve game at Derby County on 31 October, and was sidelined for several weeks.[22] Vale failed to score a single goal in the five matches that he missed,[23] though he had to wait until boxing day before he made his return to first team action.[24] A stoppage time strike against Oxford United seconds before the end of the 2011–12 season gave Williamson a tally of three goals in 35 league games (12 starts and 23 substitute appearances). He signed a new one-year contract with the club in May 2012.[25]

He began the 2012–13 season making regular appearances from the bench, and his tendency to score important goals led to him being labelled as a "super-sub".[26] He was favoured ahead of Louis Dodds for the first time against Northampton Town on 27 October, but was taken off for tactical reasons early into the match after defender John McCombe was sent off.[27] He then returned to bench duty, and sealed his super-sub status with the winning goal against Forest Green Rovers in the First Round of the FA Cup.[28] He then scored two goals in two starts at the end of November.[29] However the arrival of Lee Hughes in the January transfer window meant that competition to partner the league's top-goalscorer in Tom Pope was fierce, and Williamson was mainly used as an impact player.[30] He ended the campaign on nine goals in his 39 appearances, as Vale secured promotion with a third-place finish, and agreed to sign a new two-year contract in the summer.[31]

Williamson scored six goals in 46 appearances in the 2013–14 campaign, helping the club to a ninth-place finish in League One.

On 12 August 2014, Williamson scored his first career hat-trick during Port Vale's 6–2 League Cup victory over Hartlepool United.[32] New manager Rob Page went on to say that Williamson was an important player in Page's tactics, his pace being useful to "create gaps for clever players like Dany N'Guessan, Mark Marshall and Louis Dodds".[33] Page played him as the lone striker in a 4–5–1 formation.[34] He ended the 2014–15 season with nine goals in 47 games.

Gillingham

Williamson rejected the offer of a new contract at Port Vale and instead signed a two-year contract with League One rivals Gillingham in June 2015.[35] Manager Justin Edinburgh said the powerful striker would add a different dimension to the team's attack force.[36] However he made only four league starts for the club as manager Justin Edinburgh preferred to play Luke Norris, Rory Donnelly and Dominic Samuel.[37]

Cambridge United

On 19 November 2015, Williamson joined Cambridge United on a six-week loan deal.[38] He scored three goals in his first four appearances for Shaun Derry's "U's".[39] Though he failed to find the net in the remaining four games of his loan spell, he still did enough to win a permanent transfer to Cambridge in January for an undisclosed fee.[40]

Style of play

Neil Duncanson, commercial director at the Glenn Hoddle Academy said "Ben is a good striker, with a good eye for goal He has fantastic movement off the ball and the pace to take on any defender".[41] After his arrival at Port Vale, manager Micky Adams stated "Ben is a quick striker".[42] Strike partner Tom Pope further said that "he's strong, quick, has a lot of attributes... [and is] going to have a good career".[43] Veteran striker Lee Hughes stated that "he has terrific pace, he's really powerful, his movement is great and he has awareness too".[44]

Personal life

Williamson studied Mathematics & Business studies at the University of Brighton.[7][8] He is a lifelong Arsenal supporter.[45]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jerez Industrial2010–11[11]Tercera División Group X128000000128
Bournemouth2010–11[46]League One4000001[lower-alpha 1]050
Hyde2011–12Conference North0000000000
Port Vale2011–12[47]League Two35300101[lower-alpha 2]0373
2012–13[48]League Two33821103[lower-alpha 2]0399
2013–14[49]League One38452102[lower-alpha 2]0466
2014–15[50]League One43610231[lower-alpha 2]0479
Total 1492183537016927
Gillingham2015–16[51]League One9010202[lower-alpha 2]0140
Cambridge United2015–16[51]League Two28120000002812
2016–17[52]League Two0000000000
Total 28120000002812
Career total[lower-alpha 3] 20241937310022844
  1. ↑ Appearance/s in the play-offs.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.
  3. ↑ Worthing appearances unavailable, though he scored 14 Isthmian League goals.[53]

Honours

with Port Vale

References

  1. ↑ "The Football League Retained List". The Football League. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Name: Ben Williamson". port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Benjamin Williamson". playerhistory.com. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Ben off to Gibraltar". Worthing F.C. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Cherries: Williamson looking to repay Bradbury's faith". Bournemouth Echo. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Worthing finally get their man". The Argus. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Rebels striker on trial at Hoddle academy". The Argus. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Port Vale: Williamson hoping career will head north as he ventures into uncharted territory". The Sentinel. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Ben Williamson Joins the Glenn Hoddle Academy for a Top-Flight Football Future". 26 July 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Estadisticas" (in Spanish). Jerez Industrial CF. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  11. 1 2 "Double Swoop for Adams". port-vale.co.uk. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "Bournemouth sign striker Ben Williamson". BBC Sport. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  13. ↑ "Bournemouth 1–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  14. ↑ Mitchener, Mark (14 May 2011). "Bournemouth 1 – 1 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  15. ↑ Wadley, Ian (26 June 2011). "Cherries: Williamson set for Port Vale move". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  16. ↑ "New Signings". hydefc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Ben Williamson and Ryan Burge join Port Vale". BBC Sport. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  18. ↑ "Port Vale 2 – 3 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Shaw, Steve (17 September 2011). "Match report: Port Vale 2 Shrewsbury Town 3". The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  20. ↑ "Port Vale: Post-match stats for Vale's League Two clash with Shrewsbury". The Sentinel. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  21. ↑ Smith, Peter (22 October 2011). "Port Vale: Williamson loving his time in Burslem". The Sentinel. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  22. ↑ "Port Vale: Striker Williamson facing lengthy spell on sidelines". The Sentinel. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  23. ↑ "Big Ben determined to strike in goal-shy Vale's hour of need". The Sentinel. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  24. ↑ "Hereford 1 – 2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  25. ↑ "Four players put pen to paper on new deals". The Sentinel. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  26. ↑ "Supersub Williamson setting new benchmark for Valiants". The Sentinel. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  27. ↑ Pearson, Guy (29 October 2012). "Match report v Northampton Town". The Sentinel. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  28. ↑ "Forest Green 2 – 3 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  29. ↑ "Micky Adams hails hot-shot Ben Williamson". The Sentinel. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  30. ↑ "Williamson desperate to prove he's better than super-sub standard". The Sentinel. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  31. ↑ "Port Vale: Out-of-contract quartet agree to new deals". BBC Sport. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  32. ↑ "Port Vale 6–2 Hartlepool". BBC Sport. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  33. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (25 December 2014). "Rob Page says Ben Williamson is perfect for his style of football". The Sentinel. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "Williamson starting to repay boss for faith shown in him". The Sentinel. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  35. ↑ "Bradley Garmston and Ben Williamson join Gillingham". BBC Sport. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  36. ↑ Cadwell, Luke (15 June 2015). "Gillingham sign former Port Vale striker Ben Williamson". Kent Online. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  37. ↑ "Gillingham striker Ben Williamson signs permanent deal at Cambridge United after successful loan". Kent Online. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "U's complete double loan signing". Cambridge United FC. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  39. ↑ Vaughton, Michael (16 December 2015). "Ben Williamson grabbing Cambridge United loan opportunity". Cambridge News. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  40. ↑ "Ben Williamson: Gillingham striker signs for Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  41. ↑ "Port Vale: Adams makes double player swoop". The Sentinel. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  42. ↑ "Ben Williamson and Ryan Burge join Port Vale". BBC Sport. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  43. ↑ Shaw, Steve (11 February 2012). "Port Vale: No drama if I don't reclaim place, says Pope". The Sentinel. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  44. ↑ "Lee Hughes backs Ben Williamson to make impact". The Sentinel. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  45. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (3 September 2013). "Port Vale 2, Bury 1". The Sentinel. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  46. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  47. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  48. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  49. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  50. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  51. 1 2 "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  52. ↑ "Games played by Ben Williamson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  53. ↑ "Hoddle Academy chance for Worthing striker". NLN24. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  54. ↑ Sherwin, Phil; Johnson, Dave (2013), Port Vale This Side Up: 2012–2013 Promotion Celebration, BGL, ISBN 978-0-9926579-0-1

External links

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