Tony Williams on his way for good?

By Albatross
April 28 2004

If the rumours are true, Tony Williams may be about to sign a permanent contract with Stockport County. The Hartlepool United goalkeeper is out of contract in the summer anyway, and Sammy McIlroy is keen to have him available for the Hatters' last two games of the season.

It's been reported by at least one newspaper in the Stockport area that Sammy McIlroy is hoping to sign Taff permanently, which would allow him to play in the crucial last two games for the Hatters. He's reached the end of the 93 days he's allowed to spend on loan - but should a deal be agreed, Williams would be allowed to play on as Stockport held his registration on transfer deadline day. Similar deals have been agreed for other players on the same basis - we came up against David Pipe for Notts County after his loan deal was converted into a permanent one.

Taff's out of contract at the end of the season, and is at best third in line at Pools: the chances of him being at Victoria Park next season other than as an opposition player look vanishingly small. The only real reason not to let him go just yet is that should Provett or Konstantopoulos pick up an injury, we'd have to rely on our youth team for cover - most likely James Winter. With potentially five games should we make the playoffs and then reach the final, it would be a slight risk.

Stockport's situation is more desperate though. Taff has been a regular for their first team since his arrival, with the 19 year old James Spencer dropping to the bench. Recent results may have propelled them up the table and close to safety - but there's still a chance of relegation and an injury to their only keeper could seriously louse things up for them.

Whether the move would be welcomed by Hatters fans is a moot point. Just as at Pools over the previous couple of seasons, Taff has shown an ability to divide the fans like no other - some saying that he should stay if at all possible, given his role in their recent good run, others saying they'd like him to be backup, and others suggesting that McIlroy shouldn't touch him with a barge-pole. The split between those that would like him to stay and those that want him to go seems to be about 50-50....

No matter whether he goes now or departs in the summer, it's a sad end to the Pools career of a player we expected to go on to great things. When he arrived from Blackburn in the summer of 2000, the reports on Williams were good to say the least. Although he had failed to break into the first team at Blackburn, loan spells at Macclesfield (twice), Bristol Rovers and Gillingham saw him make more than 20 starts, and from Macc especially came some good reviews; and a Blackburn fan of my acquaintance told me in no uncertain terms that we were getting a good keeper that we'd be selling on for a nice fat fee a couple of years down the line. A record number of Welsh u21 caps - and a reputation for saving penalties after he performed the feat of saving two penalties in a match on two occasions for the Welsh - added to his pedigree.

Martin Hollund started the season in possession of the jersey, but after picking up an injury early on in the season Taff came into the side early in September, starting with a League Cup tie against Burnley. He stayed in the side for the rest of the season - his form being good enough that Cardiff made a bid for him, reputed to be in the region of £250,000, that Pools turned down. We made the playoffs before losing out to Blackpool - and Taff was being hailed as a new hero, with chants of "Wales' Number One" a regular occurrence.

The next season followed a similar pattern: Hollund started after a good pre-season, only to lose his place to Williams. Although he still had a decent season, there were occasional errors creeping into his game that gave cause for concern - and despite his much-vaunted penalty save record, he failed to stop a single one of Cheltenham's penalties as we went out of the playoffs at the semi-final stage once more.

Hollund left in the close season, leaving Williams' only competition for the Keepers jersey the untried Jim Provett. It was a move that seemed to allow Taff to become a little complacent - as Turner and then Newell showed little sign of giving Provett a start in a meaningful game, Williams became more inconsistent. Against Bournemouth on Sky he was superb, keeping us in the game for a long time - but too many errors were also on display in other games, including a dreadful catalogue of errors at Rochdale as Pools lost 4-0 - Taff making howlers for two goals and being lucky not to give away another. Provett's only chance in the first team came when Turner fielded a reserve side against Tranmere in the LDV Trophy - Tranny fielding a first team side in need of confidence scored five times. More and more often the debate was coming up about replacing him - and it became harder to disagree with, despite Pools finishing second and Taff keeping 16 clean sheets.

When no-one came in over the Summer, it looked like Williams would once again be our regular keeper - but with Neale Cooper, Pools had someone prepared to give younger players a chance. After conceding three times on the opening day against Peterborough, Williams had to watch from the sidelines as Provett, finally given his chance, grasped it in both hands. A tremendous display at Hillsborough in the Carling Cup, followed by performances of increasing confidence and ability, saw Provett established as our regular keeper. With Cooper also taking a look at Konstantopoulos, Taff was being squeezed out - and he didn't like it at all. An article appeared in the Hartlepool Mail, quoting Williams as saying that he needed first team football, and that if he wasn't getting it at Pools he'd have to consider his options. After one last chance to impress against Oldham in the LDV - where he conceded three and again failed to help Pools in a penalty shootout - he found himself well and truly frozen out: Konstantopoulos was on the bench for the next match against Blackpool, and Taff was struggling to even get into the reserves. After 146 starts in just over three seasons, his career at Pools seemed to be effectively over.

With other Pools players going out on loan, it was no surprise when Williams joined the exodus. Initially spending time at Swansea as backup to Roger Freestone, at the end of January he moved to Stockport and soon established himself in the team. Despite having something of a falling-out with the fans after some of them claimed he gestured at them during a home defeat by Swindon, he played 15 times and managed to win at least part of the Edgely Park faithful onto his side.

Meanwhile, Pools fans without tickets for Saturday's game with Plymouth are advised to get them as soon as possible. The club announced earlier today (Wednesday) that less than 800 were left - and although any remaining will go to the turnstiles, the chances are it will be a full house for the second time this season. One player hoping to take part will be Paul Robinson after a four goal burst for the championship-winning reserve side against York this afternoon.