Marvin Williams

Marvin Travis Williams (born 12 August 1987) is an English former footballer who played as a winger and forward.

Williams began his career as a trainee at Millwall, progressing through the club's youth system and signing his first professional contract in January 2006. He made 55 appearances for Millwall over two years, including a brief loan to Torquay United in March 2007, before joining Yeovil Town ahead of the 2007–08 season. He spent one season at Yeovil before moving to Brentford in June 2008, contributing to the club's promotion to League One.

He subsequently had a brief permanent spell at Torquay, followed by a stint in Sweden with Östersund in 2010 and a brief non-contract period at Stevenage. Williams later played for non-League clubs Hemel Hempstead Town, Salisbury City, Eastleigh, and Sutton United, including a loan to Tonbridge Angels during the 2014–15 season. He retired from playing in 2015 due to a persistent Achilles tendon injury.

Early life Williams was born in Sydenham, London and educated at Addey and Stanhope School. before making his first-team debut on 10 December 2005, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Coventry City. He scored his first professional goal on 2 January 2006, Five days later, Williams signed his first professional contract, just hours before the club's FA Cup tie against Premier League club Everton. Williams subsequently made his first start against Everton, scoring just before half-time in a 1–1 draw. He later described the goal as one of the highlights of his career. He scored his third goal for Millwall in the club's 2–1 victory against Luton Town at The Den on 4 March 2006. Williams played 24 games during the 2005–06 season, scoring five times as Millwall were relegated to League One. scoring with a "low shot" to give Millwall the lead against Cheltenham Town, although they went on to lose the match 3–2. Williams went six months without scoring, After being left out of the squad for Millwall's 2–0 home win over Cheltenham Town on 3 March 2007, he requested a loan move to start playing regular first-team football. Three days later, on 6 March 2007, Williams joined League Two club Torquay United on loan for the remainder of the season. He scored on his debut in a 3–0 home victory against Wycombe Wanderers on 10 March 2007. After playing twice for Torquay, He was recalled on 4 April 2007. On joining the club, Williams stated Yeovil manager Russell Slade "was really persistent and was the one that really came in and pushed for me. From there I always knew that I would join Yeovil". Williams made just nine starting appearances for Yeovil during the season, He played 24 times for Yeovil during the season. A week later, Williams provided assists for Nathan Elder and Charlie MacDonald in Brentford's 4–0 victory over Grimsby Town. He scored his first goal for Brentford in the club's 2–2 Football League Trophy draw with Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on 7 October 2008, a match in which Brentford went on to lose on penalties. He made 37 appearances and scored twice during the club's 2008–09 season, as Brentford were crowned League Two champions.

Shortly after the conclusion of the season, on 9 May 2009, Williams was transfer-listed by Brentford manager Andy Scott. The decision to transfer-list Williams was mutually agreed, with Scott stating that the player's first-team opportunities would be limited. After making four appearances for Torquay, Williams was released in December 2009.

Östersunds FK Williams was affected by an FA rule which prohibited players from representing more than two clubs in a season; Williams had already made one six-minute substitute appearance for Brentford and also played on loan at Torquay United during the 2009–10 season. Due to this, he had to look for first-team football either outside of the UK or within the non-League football pyramid. Williams signed for the club after English manager Lee Makel contacted him about a short-term opportunity. He made his debut in a 7–1 away win in the Swedish Cup second round against Umedalens IF on 11 April 2010. During his time at Östersund, he played alongside several other English players, including Joe Holt, Richard Offiong, and Jon Routledge. He made his first league start the following week, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat to Vasalunds IF.

He then joined Hemel Hempstead Town in February 2011 for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. He continued to play for Hemel until he was offered a full-time contract by Conference South club Salisbury City, signing on 14 November 2011. Salisbury manager Darrell Clarke commented on Williams' "experience and great pedigree" as key factors in the move, also noting that Williams was "delighted" to be back playing full-time football. After making eleven appearances, scoring once in a 3–0 away win against Havant & Waterlooville, Williams made his debut for Sutton in a 2–1 victory over Truro City on 27 October 2012, playing the first 75 minutes of the match before being replaced by Paul Telfer. Having scored twice in his first five months at Sutton, Williams found a rich vein of goalscoring form in April 2013 to end the 2012–13 season. In his opening season with the club, he scored 11 times in 30 matches.

Having started the opening month of the 2014–15 season making six of his seven appearances for Sutton from the substitutes' bench, The loan deal was later extended for the remainder of the 2014–15 season, and he went on to make 25 appearances for the club, scoring three goals. It proved to be his final appearance as a persistent Achilles tendon problem that had affected him during the final two seasons of his career ultimately forced his retirement. Towards the latter stages of the 2005–06 season he was often used as a second striker alongside Ben May, and used his quick turn of pace to "cause opposition defences problems". When Williams signed for Brentford in 2008, manager Andy Scott described him as "quick and direct", adding that "he can play wide on the right or up front, he has a lot of potential".

Coaching career In 2014, Williams established a football academy at Sutton United, and his role has entailed overseeing "the programme, from coaching to taking matchdays, arranging the logistics of a game as well as organising fixtures and recruitment".

Personal life In late 2010, he undertook a personal training course. Williams has two children.

Career statistics

Honours Brentford League Two: 2008–09