MJ Williams - player profile

 MJ Williams, the midfield and defensive destroyer 

MJ Williams is a 27 year old footballer who currently plays for MK Dons in League Two and has represented his national team at youth level in 2014 (Wales). He began his professional career with Liverpool but did not make a senior appearance for the side, however he did enjoy loan spells at Notts County, Swindon Town and Rochdale. The latter was the most successful and Williams did join Rochdale on a permanent transfer and made 56 appearances from 2018-2020. He then signed for Blackpool and assisted in their promotion to the Championship but that was when he left, for Bolton and regular football. Joining in 2021, Williams made 89 appearances for Bolton and has only just left the club for MK Dons.

MJ Williams is more of a defensive minded player and is definitely better in the first and second phases of play, rather than in the final third. He can also play as a central defender and did so for Bolton on multiple occasions, but it probably isn't his best position. I would say he is best as a single pivot (number 6) with 2 slightly more advanced number 8s (box-to-box) players ahead of him. This gets the best out of his game because one of his main strengths is his ability to cut a passing lane, Williams places himself in between the passer and the intended receiver. This resulted in his high interceptions numbers and tackles per 90, in relation to his teammates.

Another strength of Williams is what he does as soon as he wins the ball back from these situations. He can easily trap the ball with one touch and then progress the ball up the pitch, through carrying the ball or passing through the lines. This part of his game is such a strength, that he has already done it for MK Dons in their first game, against Wrexham. The numbers aren't accurate but this was a situation he was put in, his teammate had the ball on the touchline and only had the option of going back to Williams. Williams had 4 players running at him but still managed to pick out a pass through to the number 11 on the board and break the entire press with one simple pass. 

He also has a superb long ball in his locker as well, having the ability to find players over the top of the defence or out wide. One of his most impressive uses of this was in the EFL trophy round 2, he assisted Oladapo Afolyan with a clipped ball, completely bypassing the midfield and defensive lines of Barrow. Having a player who can do this is crucial for every side because it gives different outlets of attacking play. 

Saying this, it was the right time for Williams to move on and leave Bolton to become more of a regular in the starting team. He is clearly a player of quality and deserves to play regular football. 

This is for The Fanzone Pod, check this out on their website here