Retrospective Tribute To Multi-Decorated Star

With the Scottish League programme ending this weekend and Celtic celebrating yet again, CHARLES BAMFORTH pays further respect to the Parkhead favourite whose loss has been mourned in recent weeks.

It is 35 years or more since I trekked up to the banks of Loch Lomond to interview Evan Williams for my book on Molineux goalkeepers, In Keeping with the Wolves.

I was immensely saddened to hear of his passing at the end of the winter and was moved to revisit the newspaper archives to dip again into his short and so varied time in the West Midlands.

The Express & Star of March 9, 1966, had a photograph of a beaming Williams alongside similarly happy looking individuals: the chairman of Third Lanark, who had just sold him for £5,000, Wolves general manager Jack Howley and club chairman John Ireland.

Noticeably absent was chief coach Ronnie Allen, who had not yet formally been appointed as manager. I believe I am right in suspecting that the keeper’s transfer was rather more to do with new chief scout Joe Gardiner. As Evan told me clearly, Allen was not his biggest fan. But the ex-Baggies centre-forward had similar reservations over the long-serving Fred Davies, who, alongside Dave MacLaren, now provided the main competition for the 22-year-old Scot with the Welsh name.

Williams’ arrival at the club was somewhat overshadowed by the signing the previous week of one Michael Bailey.

Evan made his debut in the Central League side, replacing Davies, ten days after signing. It was a 3-0 defeat of Blackpool at Molineux and Wolves’ team read: Evan WILLIAMS, Stewart ROSS, David COOKE, Les WILSON, Graham HAWKINS, Ken KNIGHTON (1), David THOMPSON, Alun EVANS (1), Hugh McILMOYLE, Bob HATTON (1), Paddy BUCKLEY.

There is just one brief mention of the new keeper in the short match report in that evening’s Sports Argus. The article referred to ‘Williams saving well a point-blank shot from Ian Moir’. Moir was an ex-Busby Babe and, switching back to gold-shirted personnel, Buckley was another who hailed from Third Lanark, a club who went out of business just one year after Williams left them.

And so to 1966-67 and a season that must have been hugely frustrating for Evan. Davies shared first-team duties with the young Phil Parkes and youth-team lad Phil Weir, who had started the season as fifth choice but then got a call to the second team ahead of the Scot.

All told, Williams kept goal in the Central League side only nine times that season, the rest of the time toiling in the third team in the West Midlands League.

He was not in the A team on April 29, 1967, though. He was substitute for the reserves at Bramall Lane and a 4-1 beating of Sheffield United. There was only one sub in those days, of course – and he went on to replace Buckley. But he didn’t head for the left wing. He slipped instead into Fred Davies’ shirt and the Liverpudlian went marauding at the other end, as he loved to do.

The same thing happened early the following season, when Weir was sub in a game against Preston. The fact is, though, that Evan was probably more adept than Scouser Fred outfield.

As unbelievable as it sounds, Bill McGarry was quoted in his first week as Wolves manager in November, 1968 as saying Williams was a better-balanced midfielder than George Best. Evan himself insisted to me that his best asset was his ability with the ball at his feet, so he would have been a sensation in the current era.

Williams did start a game for Wolves in an outfield role on April 5, 1969. Phil Parkes was in the no 1 shirt for the first team at Liverpool, Alan Boswell was playing in the Central League team and young Jeff Wealands received the nod for the third team. Cue Evan Williams in a no 8 shirt for the goalless A team fixture with Bedworth at Castlecroft. The Wolves team read: WEALANDS, Alan STEPHENS, David COOKE, Gerry FARRELL, Jimmy PEPPER, Ken WADE, Neil LAWLEY, WILLIAMS, Peter EASTOE, Mick KENT, David JONES. Sub: VALE.

Two days later, Evan was back in goal for the reserves for the game against Bolton but let’s back-pedal because he had finally got his senior chance before these strange goings-on.

In Wolves’ first season back in the top flight, 1967-68, Parkes had started as first choice with Davies in the second team. So again, there was regular third-team duty for the Scot.

But Lofty contrived to get sent off against his home-town club, Albion, and Davies stepped in as cover during the ensuing suspension. But after a couple of games, Davies had words with Allen and basically told him to forget him in future.

Within a few months, he was off to Cardiff, much to the sadness of so many Wolves fans. Suddenly, Allen had to bite the bullet and give Williams his debut in a Monday evening match against Arsenal.

In front of 36,644 at Molineux, Wanderers won 3-2. The headline to Phil Morgan’s report in next day’s Express & Star read: “Good Evan, Dynamic Dougan”.

Morgan wrote that Williams did so well that the North Bank struck up with “We’ve got a goalie! We’ve got a goalie!” He went on to say: “He inspired a lot of confidence with his positioning and safe handling and often used his kicking ability to set Wolves on the attack”.

Wolves’ team read: WILLIAMS, Gerry TAYLOR, Bobby THOMSON, Mike BAILEY, David WOODFIELD, John HOLSGROVE, Terry WHARTON, Alun EVANS (1), Derek DOUGAN (2), Peter KNOWLES, David WAGSTAFFE. Unused sub: Les WILSON.

The following Saturday, Mike Bailey used his Argus column to say how “particularly pleasing” it was to see the keeper play so well on his debut. Williams kept his place, performing well until being dropped for the Leicester game in January. He promptly slapped in a transfer request but Allen said: “There is no question of us letting him go”. Quite the change of tune.

Evan would get back for just one more top division game that season and that prove to be his last in the League for Wolves. But there were two League Cup appearances in 1968-69. New signing Boswell was cup-tied and, for some reason, Allen would not pick Parkes, presumably because there was interest in him from elsewhere and Wolves didn’t want him cup-tied. So, Evan was selected for the 5-1 drubbing of Millwall and the 2-1 defeat at Blackpool.

The latter game was notable as illness in the Express & Star camp meant it became the first Wolves fixture John Dee – later to succeed the legendary Phil Morgan – had reported on.

Just one week later, the Birmingham Post reported that Newcastle had made a bid of £20,000 for the Scot. The Magpies were looking for cover for Iam McFaul and the article said that, should Wolves not let Williams go, they would probably be receiving a bid for third choice Phil Parkes.

A month later, as I well recall, Wolves thrashed Newcastle 5-0 at Molineux. Lofty was back in goal and, despite the scoreline, had a blinder. The Geordies’ boss, Joe Harvey, was quoted as saying how disappointed he had been not to have signed Parkes!

As for Williams, he did head off – to Villa in August, 1969 “on approval” and a two-month loan. After a dozen Second Division games for a team destined for relegation, he returned to Molineux on October 13, straightway taking a train to Glasgow to sign for his boyhood heroes, Celtic.

Within days, he had made his first-team debut and would go on to be a popular and successful successor to the legendary Ronnie Simpson. At last, Evan Williams’ true worth was recognised. Pick up the story at Williams, Evan – The Celtic Wiki