Jacques Roger Williams (born 25 April 1981) is an English professional

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

Football career

Williams was born in

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and raised in France. He started his football career in the

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

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, and played for the Bordeaux junior side which won the French under-18 championship. At the age of 18 he came to England with fellow French youngster

Trésor Luntala Trésor Luntala (born 31 May 1982) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. From 2003 to 2008, he played for the DR Congo national team. Club career Clubs in Luntala's early career included Rennes, Birmingham Ci ...

for trials with

, and both players signed on free transfers before the 1999–2000 season. Williams was on standby for the England under-18 match against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in September 1999, but an ankle problem prevented his taking part, and he was named in the preliminary squad for European Under-18 Championship qualifiers in October but remained unused. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in August 2000, playing once in the League Cup and then three

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

matches, but his development was interrupted by the need for a double hernia operation. Though he recovered sufficiently to resume playing

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

football, scoring the goals which put the team into the semifinal of the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a regional Association football, football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest County Football Association, count ...

, a spate of injuries meant that those four games were all he played for Birmingham's first team before being released when his contract expired. He had a trial at

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, on the recommendation of former assistant manager

Brian Eastick Brian Eastick (born 27 January 1952) is an English football manager and former player. Eastick was technical director of Al Jazira, managed Newport County, and held various posts within the England coaching setup, including head coach of the ...

, then academy director at Birmingham, but no contract ensued. He joined

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

club

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

for the 2003–04 season, but sustained a broken rib and punctured lung in only his second game, complications from which meant a prolonged stay in hospital and three months out of football. Returning to action in November 2003, he played a further ten league games, but was only an unused substitute in the club's FA Cup fourth round match against

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Chelsea, despite scoring and hitting the post in the preceding league game. He then injured an ankle, and was released at the end of the season. He spent the 2005–06 season with

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

club

Excelsior Virton Royal Excelsior Virton is a Belgian football club, based in the city of Virton, in Luxembourg province. The club will participate in Belgian National Division 1 from 2023 to 2024 after relegation from Challenger Pro League in 2022–23. They w ...

for whom he made three substitute appearances. In August 2006 he had a trial with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, scoring in an 11–0 rout of French amateur side Racing Club Port du Havre and making a promising substitute appearance in a 2–0 defeat against

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club () is a French professional association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The football club was founded in 1894 as a section of the sports club of the same name, founded in 1884. Le Havre plays in Ligue 1, the ...

, but manager

Mark McGhee Mark Edward McGhee (born 25 May 1957) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. A former forward, McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and had spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, ...

decided against signing him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jacques 1981 births Living people Footballers from Wallasey English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Birmingham City F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players R.E. Virton players Steel Azin F.C. players Tractor S.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Expatriate men's footballers in Iran 21st-century English sportsmen