The Coventry City Former Player Association are delighted to announce that the Association’s special guest for the Sky Blues’ next home game against Crawley Town next Saturday 4th October 2014 will be former Sky Blue striker John Williams.
John has joined us at the Ricoh for events a number of times in the past, is a good supporter of our Legends Day and other events. He is picking up the Special Guest baton from another member of the Williams team! John will be hoping, like all Sky Blues fans, that City can halt the recent run of three successive defeats including the first home defeat of the season last Saturday against PNE (at which John’s namesake Paul Williams was our special guest).
John in the Sky Blue
John will be doing the honours meeting supporters in the various arena lounges pre-match. He will be assisting the match day commentary team of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire with comment and analysis and after the game we hope to tempt him once more onto the stage of the G-Casino’s Lady Gs Show Bar where CCFPA’s Billy Bell will submit him to a light hearted grilling in front of a roomful of footy fans (all welcome).
A Brummie, John earned the knickname the ‘Flying Postman’ since he was a postie when discovered playing for Cradley Town in 1990 as a 22 year old by Swansea City (46 appearances, 11 goals) and won the Rumbelow’s sprint challenge against other speed merchants from the world of soccer at the Cup Final on the Wembley turf in 1992. The Sky Blues brought him to Highfield Road in July 1992 for £250k and for a time he terrorised top Division defences with his pace. John eventually scored 11 times in his 86 appearances for the Sky Blues (also having loan spells with Notts County, Swansea City and Stoke City) before moving to Wycombe Wanderers in September 1995 for £150k.
John’s subsequent career made him something of a wandering star, however, featuring for Hereford United, Walsall and Exeter City in 1997, Cardiff City (1998), York City (1999), Darlington (2000), and Swansea City again (2001) and Kidderminster Harriers (2003) producing a total of 71 goals in just over 450 appearances in the Football league. John then dropped down to non league football with Bath City (2004) and between 2005-08 the likes of Redditch United, Evesham United, Weston-Super-Mare, Stourbridge, Willenhall Town and Boldmere St. Michaels for whom he scored a hat-trick (aged 40) in August 2008 against Shifnal Town! After this ‘grand tour’ of Britain’s footballing outposts John tried a spell on the continent in 2008 playing for Aris Salonika (Greece) and Austria Vienna before hanging up his boots in 2009.
John has since worked as a youth and community worker in Birmingham, acted as agent with a sports management company as well as producing football themed evening entertainments through his own company ’Flying Postman productions’ . He also regularly plays Charity fixtures in the Midlands for the Sky Blue Legends team. Welcome back John!!