Like many Addicks, I always liked Jonny Williams as a player and a person. I always felt he tried to give his very best.
Richard Cawley has a fascinating in depth interview with him on his Substack page. Apparently Williams took a pay cut to stay at Charlton when we went up to the Championship. Williams is full of praise for Lee Bowyer who recruited him.
No surprise that the 32-year old is now taking a course in football psychology. He also talks about how often he got tackled and the lack of protection he got from referees.
He also discusses Roland Duchatelet’s deeply damaging decision to hand over control of the club to East Street Investments, whose sham ‘takeover’ never received EFL approval and saw funds completely dry up.
“You would be lying if you said it didn’t worry the players,” said Williams. “It affected everyone. We were in a bad situation on the pitch, in terms of results, but off the pitch it was an absolute circus at the time, to be honest.
“There was all sorts going on. No-one really knew where they stood. At times we had our own meetings as players and staff. We tried to park all that other stuff and take care of matches. In football it is about focusing on controlling the controllables and you let go of everything else. But it has an effect on people’s mentalities, worries and anxieties. It is everyone’s job at the end of the day - you have got X, Y or Z to pay."
