Adrian Williams (born 16 August 1971) is a former Wales international

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 ...

and former Didcot Town manager. He now presents the sports coverage on

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...

Club career

Reading

Born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, Williams started his career with

, making his first appearance in the 1991–92 season. This first spell at Reading saw him established as a firm fan favourite. His talent and youth saw him play in every position for The Royals, from centre-forward to emergency goalkeeper, wearing every shirt number from 1–11, plus both substitute numbers 12 and 14, in the process. He was a regular in the side that missed out on promotion to the

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 ...

, eventually losing to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in the 1994–95 First Division play-off final 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 ...

. Williams had scored the second goal in that game, giving them a 2–0 lead in the first half, before two late goals saw Bolton draw level and force extra time, going on to win the game 4–3 and seal a place in the Premier League – a level at which Williams would ultimately never play.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In 1996, he was signed by

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 ...

, where he remained until the 1999–2000 season. His time at Molineux was largely interrupted by injury; he made just 36 appearances in over three seasons.

Return to Reading

He returned to Reading during the 1999–2000 season and played a crucial part in their rejuvenation under

Alan Pardew Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who most recently managed Greek Super League club Aris Thessaloniki. Pardew's highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup ...

and their promotion back to the First Division in 2001–02. In a vote to compile the Royals' best-ever eleven, Williams was voted the best centre-back with 59.9% of the vote.

Coventry City

Despite being a firm favourite at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

he chose to move to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

rivals

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

on a free transfer in Autumn 2004, having been refused the contract he wanted with Reading. Signed by

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

to replace

Calum Davenport Calum Ray Paul Davenport (born 1 January 1983) is an English former professional footballer who plays for Tavistock in the Southern League Division One South. During his career he has played for Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United ...

and

Muhamed Konjić Muhamed Konjić (; born 14 May 1970) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back, most notably for Monaco, Coventry City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team who he also captained. Club career A solid defen ...

, Williams went on to make 23 appearances in League and Cup, scoring goals in a 2–1 win at

Millmoor The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County between 1907 and 1925, and then its successor Rotherham United until 2008. The stadium ...

against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, and a 2–1 home defeat by

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. He started the 2005–06 season out of the Sky Blues side and joined struggling

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

on loan for three months. Following the end of this loan spell, Williams returned to the Coventry side for the home game against his old club Wolves on 2 January 2006, playing a key defensive role in a 2–0 home win. This performance, and other similar performances put him right back in the first team picture at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currentl ...

Swindon Town

Williams joined

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

in the summer of 2006, and following the resignation of

Dave Tuttle David Philip Tuttle (born 6 February 1972 in Mortimer Common, Berkshire) is an English former footballer. Career As a player, Tuttle was a central defender. He began his playing career at Tottenham Hotspur, where he scored his first professio ...

as caretaker manager, Williams briefly held that position himself until the appointment of

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

on 7 November 2006. On 3 May 2008, he decided that the game against Millwall would be his last, ending his 19-year career span, although ultimately he was not selected on the day.

Weston-super-Mare

Williams joined

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

in June 2009.

International career

Williams was born in Reading but qualified to play for Wales through his father. He made seven international appearances during his first spell with Reading, including one at home to

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

in 1995 alongside fellow Reading player Lee Nogan. Five more caps followed whilst at

, including scoring his first international goal during a 2–1 win over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and in November 2002 he received his first international call-up for three years when he was selected for a squad to take on

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. On 26 May 2003 Williams played the full 90 minutes as Wales lost 2–0 against the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in an international friendly at the Spartan Stadium in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, his first international start for four years. He was an unused substitute for several matches including an away defeat to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

, while he missed the play-off with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

through injury.

Managerial career

Bedford Town

On 23 March 2010, Williams accepted his first managerial post as boss of Southern League Premier strugglers

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

. Whilst he initially improved their form enabling them to stave off relegation, they made a poor start to the 2010/11 season struggling in the relegation places and making early exits from the FA Cup and FA Trophy. Following the away FA Trophy defeat to Harlow Town on 16 October 2010, Williams resigned from his position.

Didcot Town

On 29 January 2011, he took charge of the Southern League Premier Division side Didcot Town. Williams was replaced however in the summer of 2011 by Francis Vines.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1993–94 Second Division

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Adrian 1971 births Living people Men's association football defenders Footballers from Reading, Berkshire Wales men's international footballers English men's footballers Reading F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players English football managers Reading F.C. managers Swindon Town F.C. managers Bedford Town F.C. managers Didcot Town F.C. managers Welsh men's footballers English Football League players