| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Marc Williamson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-12-25)25 December 1988 (age 36)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lambeth, London, England[3] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Millwall | |||
| 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) |
| 2016–2017 | Cambridge United | 53 | (9) |
| 2017–2019 | Eastleigh | 92 | (18) |
| 2019–2021 | Bromley | 52 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | Dover Athletic | 23 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | Concord Rangers | 49 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | Bowers & Pitsea | 36 | (14) |
| Total | 488 | (83) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Benjamin Marc Williamson (born 25 December 1988) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as astriker
Williamson played forWorthing in 2009 before joining theGlenn 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 joinBournemouth, where he featured in the south-coast club'splay-off semi-final againstHuddersfield Town. He joinedPort Vale on a season-longloan fromHyde in June 2011, which was made permanent the following year. He helped the club to securepromotion out ofLeague Two in 2012–13. He moved to Gillingham in June 2015 and signed withCambridge United in January 2016 following a brief loan spell. He joinedEastleigh in August 2017. After over two years with Eastleigh, he switched to Bromley in November 2019. He spent the first half of the 2021–22 season withDover Athletic before signing withConcord Rangers in January 2022. He was promoted out of theIsthmian League North Division via the play-offs withBowers & Pitsea in 2024.
Born in London,[4] Williamson played youth football forMillwall[5] andCroydon Athletic,[6] before signing forWorthing of theIsthmian League Division One South in August 2009.[7] In November 2009, Williamson attended a four-week trial at theGlenn Hoddle Academy.[8] He was invited to the academy partly by chance, as Academy scouts had been watching Worthing teammate Ross Treleaven when Williamson scored ahat-trick and unwittingly alerted them to his potential.[9]
He signed a two-yearcontract with the academy in the summer of 2010,[10] and was selected to play for nearby Spanish sideJerez Industrial following the academy's takeover of the club. During the first half of the2010–11 season, he played twelve games for the club, scoring eight goals.[11][12] After he left the club, Jerez struggled, and sufferedrelegation at the end of the season. At the academy,Glenn Hoddle focused on improving Williamson's technique, especially in his left foot.[9]
On 31 January 2011, he joinedLeague One clubBournemouth on a deal lasting until the end of the season.[13] He made his debut on 5 February, appearing as an injury timesubstitute in a 1–1 draw withLeyton Orient.[14] An ankle injury restricted him to just four further substitute appearances,[9] including a brief appearance in the club'splay-off semi-final draw withHuddersfield Town, coming on in the last minute replacingDanny Ings.[15]
In June 2011, he turned down a new deal at Bournemouth asmanagerLee Bradbury could not guarantee regular first-team football.[16] He joinedConference North clubHyde,[17] but wasloaned out toMicky Adams'Port Vale inLeague Two on a season-long loan.[18]
"Burslem is a bit different toBournemouth, never mind south-west Spain ... I still haven't found the beach. I had only beennorth ofBirmingham once before, going toManchester 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.[9]
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 alob and then aheader in a 3–2 home defeat toShrewsbury Town.[19][20][21] He made six starts and eight substitute appearances in the club's first 15 games of the season.[22] However, he damaged his knee in areserve team game atDerby County on 31 October, and was sidelined for several weeks.[23] Vale failed to score a single goal in the five matches that he missed.[24] However, he had to wait until boxing day before he made his return to first-team action.[25] A stoppage-time strike againstOxford United seconds before the end of the2011–12 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.[26]
He began the2012–13 season, making regular appearances from the bench. His tendency to score important goals led to him being labelled as a "super-sub".[27] He was favoured ahead ofLouis Dodds for the first time againstNorthampton Town on 27 October, but was taken off for tactical reasons early into the match after defenderJohn McCombe wassent off.[28] He then returned to bench duty, and sealed his super-sub status with the winning goal againstForest Green Rovers in the first round of theFA Cup.[29] He then scored two goals in two starts at the end of November.[30] However, the arrival ofLee Hughes in the Januarytransfer window meant that competition to partner the league's top-goalscorer inTom Pope was fierce, and Williamson was mainly used as an impact player.[31] He ended the campaign on nine goals in his 39 appearances, as Vale securedpromotion with a third-place finish, and agreed to sign a new two-year contract in the summer.[32]
Williamson scored six goals in 46 appearances in the2013–14 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 6–2League Cup victory overHartlepool United.[33] New managerRob Page went on to say that Williamson was an important player in Page'stactics, his pace being useful to "create gaps for clever players likeDany N'Guessan,Mark Marshall andLouis Dodds".[34] Page played him as the lone striker in a 4–5–1formation.[35] He ended the2014–15 season with nine goals in 47 games.
Williamson rejected the offer of a new contract at Port Vale and instead signed a two-year contract with League One rivalsGillingham in June 2015.[36] ManagerJustin Edinburgh said the powerful striker would add a different dimension to the team's attack force.[37] However, he made only four league starts for the club as managerJustin Edinburgh preferred to playLuke Norris,Rory Donnelly andDominic Samuel.[38]
On 19 November 2015, Williamson joinedCambridge United on a six-week loan deal.[39] He scored three goals in his first four appearances forShaun Derry's "U's".[40] Though he failed to find the net in the remaining four games of his loan spell, he still did enough to win a permanenttransfer to Cambridge in January for an undisclosed fee.[41] He was named on the Football League team of the week after scoring two goals and claiming anassist in a 3–1 victory at Leyton Orient, ably filling the gap left by a long-term injury to top-scorerBarry Corr.[42] He again won a place on the team of the week after endingYeovil Town run of five clean sheets with a brace during a 3–0 win at theAbbey Stadium on 19 March.[43]
Speaking in February 2017, managerShaun Derry said that Williamson had to "grasp that opportunity" after starting just four of the club's last 20 fixtures.[44] Derry went on to say that Williamson had "enthusiasm for training... [and] hiswork rate... [won him] the respect of the whole football club" but that ultimately "you only get judged on the goals you score and the facts of the matter are Ben hasn't scored enough goals this year".[45] He scored just one goal in 43 appearances throughout the2016–17 campaign and was released in May 2017.[46]
On 2 August 2017, Williamson signed withNational League clubEastleigh.[47] ManagerRichard Hill said that "I'm delighted to secure the services of Ben, especially with a list of National League teams after him".[48] He scored ten goals in 37 appearances for the "Spitfires" across the2017–18 campaign and was retained by new managerAndy Hessenthaler.[49] He scored seven goals in 40 appearances throughout the2018–19 season, helping Eastleigh to reach the play-off semi-finals, where they were beaten bySalford City on penalties.[50] He was offered a new contract in the summer by managerBen Strevens.[51]
On 22 November 2019, Williamson was signed by Eastleigh's National League rivalsBromley.[52] He scored 14 minutes into his "Ravens" debut the following day, in a 2–0 win overSutton United.[53] He scored two goals in 18 appearances in the2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in England, with Bromley in 13th-place.[54] He scored three goals in 35 league games during the2020–21 campaign, including the goal that secured a 1–0 win overNotts County and play-off place on the last day of the season.[55][56] Bromley lost 3–2 atHartlepool United in the play-off quarter-finals and Williamson was substituted athalf-time.[57]
On 24 June 2021, Williamson joined National League sideDover Athletic in a move that reunited him with former Eastleigh boss Andy Hessenthaler.[58] A first goal for the club came from thepenalty spot with the first of two equalisers in a 5–2 defeat toStockport County.[59] He scored two goals in 25 games in the first half of the2021–22 season before he left the club by mutual consent on 26 January.[60]
On 29 January 2022, Williamson signed forNational League South sideConcord Rangers.[61] On 12 February, he was named in theNon-League Paper's team of the week after he scored in a 3–1 home win overHavant & Waterlooville.[62] However, this was his only goal in 17 appearances for the "Beach Boys" in the second half of the2021–22 season.[55] He scored two goals in 28 starts and four substitute appearances during the2022–23 season as Concord were relegated to 22nd place.[55]
Williamson scored 14 goals in 42 games forBowers & Pitsea in the2023–24 season, helping the club to secure promotion via the play-offs.[63]
Neil Duncanson, commercial director at theGlenn Hoddle Academy said "Ben is a good striker, with a good eye for goal He has fantastic movementoff the ball and the pace to take on any defender".[64] After his arrival atPort Vale, managerMicky Adams stated "Ben is a quick striker".[65] Strike partnerTom Pope further said that "he's strong, quick, has a lot of attributes... [and is] going to have a good career".[66] Veteran strikerLee Hughes stated that "he has terrific pace, he's really powerful, his movement is great and he has awareness too".[67]
Williamson studied Mathematics &Business studies at theUniversity of Brighton.[8][9] He is a lifelongArsenal supporter.[68]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jerez Industrial | 2010–11[12] | Tercera DivisiónGroup X | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | |
| Bournemouth | 2010–11[69] | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Hyde | 2011–12[70] | Conference North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Port Vale | 2011–12[71] | League Two | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| 2012–13[72] | League Two | 33 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 39 | 9 | |
| 2013–14[73] | League One | 38 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 46 | 6 | |
| 2014–15[74] | League One | 43 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1[b] | 0 | 47 | 9 | |
| Total | 149 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 169 | 27 | ||
| Gillingham | 2015–16[75] | League One | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2015–16[75] | League Two | 28 | 12 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 12 | ||
| 2016–17[76] | League Two | 33 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
| Total | 61 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 71 | 13 | ||
| Eastleigh | 2017–18[55] | National League | 36 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 37 | 10 | |
| 2018–19[55] | National League | 36 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 40 | 7 | ||
| 2019–20[55] | National League | 20 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
| Total | 92 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 101 | 19 | ||
| Bromley | 2019–20[55] | National League | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| 2020–21[55] | National League | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| Total | 52 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 5 | ||
| Dover Athletic | 2021–22[55] | National League | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |
| Concord Rangers | 2021–22[55] | National League South | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2022–23[55] | National League South | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| Total | 49 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 3 | ||
| Bowers & Pitsea | 2023–24[63] | Isthmian League North Division | 36 | 14 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[g] | 0 | 42 | 14 | |
| Career total[h] | 488 | 83 | 25 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 547 | 88 | ||
Port Vale
Bowers & Pitsea