Like a fine wine, 'Bomber' Williams gets better with age

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Whoever said 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' never met Andy Williams.

Now in his 13th season as a professional in United States Major League Soccer, Jamaica's 1998 World Cup veteran has managed to remould his image and game so successfully, MLS observers claim the 34-year-old is performing at his peak.

Jamaica football's top brass appears convinced, and has tried repeatedly to entice the skilful midfielder back to the national team.

Williams's resurgence has been a startling turnaround for a player who, while few doubted his natural talent, once attracted a reputation of being unwilling to seriously pursue the level of football that should have earned him a far more lucrative salary than the roughly US$100,000 a year he currently commands at Real Salt Lake (RSL), his sixth team since joining MLS in 1998. Some were surprised he lasted nearly that long.

"People were ready to write Andy off many years ago," explained Jamaica-born Robin Fraser, a former United States (US) international and MLS player who coached Williams while an assistant at RSL before taking the Chivas USA job this season.

BLAME

Williams doesn't deny all the accusations. But his recollection of the past, which bounced him to MLS clubs in Florida, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Ohio, before he settled in Utah, is slightly different.

"When I came to the scene, my sole purpose was to run somebody's offence and run a team's offence and don't worry too much about running back and tracking back and tackling people," Williams said last Friday, his birthday.

"That wasn't me. That's not what I was brought there for."

Blame also rests with the systems Williams has endured, including coaches unwilling or unable to get the best from an imaginative playmaker. So for a while Williams was the poster boy for an unfair stereotype of Caribbean players, Jamaicans in particular.

"They said he was lazy and he doesn't work hard and he only works going forward, he doesn't work coming back (on defence)," said Fraser.

That did not help Williams's psyche.

"Through the earlier stages of his career he probably never felt fully confident, fully supported from his coaching staff," said RSL head coach Jason Kreis, who has had Williams in his squad for the past four seasons.

DIFFERENT

RSL's approach is the opposite and the results have showed up in Williams's performances. Nicknamed 'Bomber' for his powerful shot, his career has exploded in positives, helping RSL win an MLS title and reaching the final of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL). Williams has played more than 160 games for RSL, most with a single club. Last season, he was involved in all 30 MLS fixtures, one of only two RSL players to accomplish that, and led the club in assists with 12. He is the longest-serving member on RSL's roster.

Familiarity can breed contempt, but RSL has cherished Williams' contribution. The 5'8", 170-pounder seems to have finally found a football home and accepted his role there.

"We've been together four, five years now, the same bunch of guys," Williams explained. "We kinda know each other and once you have that (cohesion) it helps tremendously ... One man can't run a team."

DO OR DIE

The alternative, Williams realised, was ugly. RSL demanded a change in his mindset. It was do or die.

"With our team here," he said, "if you don't play defence you're not playing at all."

RSL are still in contention for the CCL and US Open Cup (knockout), while on the verge of the MLS play-offs. Williams emerged from a mid-season slump re-energised as the club blossomed.

"Through the middle stretch of the season I think he (Williams) struggled a little bit," explained Kreis. "... (But) the last couple weeks again he's been one of our most important players. He's played very well and played very hard. He's a big part of why we have succeeded over these last couple of games."

Williams' individual statistics are down this season - just two goals and an assist. But RSL won five of the last six games he played. Williams was rested Saturday against DC United and his team lost 4-1. Still, he downplays his influence.

"I think I'm playing alright," Williams said. "Nothing really to tell the world about ... I've kinda changed my ways a little bit to fit into this team."

RSL has adapted to him as well. Kreis's squad rotation features Williams where the team needs him and he can be effective.

"As players get older I think there has to be a realisation and a recognition that they're not going to be at the top of their game for the entire season," the coach explained. " ... You try to get him at his best when it matters most."

Williams has extra reason to impress in 2011. He is in the last year of his RSL contract and wants one, "for the max, two more," seasons. He has no desire to just hang on, or worse, be cast aside.

"I want to retire on my own terms," Williams said. "I don't want anybody to come run me off their team or get cut."

Off the field he has other pressing matters, including his wife Marcia, a cancer survivor, and children. Williams insists his "stress" is no different from anyone else's. So he soldiers on. Why not?

"(Williams) is a better player now than he was, you know, 10 years ago," said Fraser.

Back then, Williams was in his prime for Jamaica. He has earned more than 90 international caps and scored 15 goals. He also continues to generate interest from the national coaches. Although he has turned them down so far, his evolvement into a more balanced club player has convinced Williams and Kreis he can still help the Reggae Boyz.

"RSL have asked him to be more of a two-way midfielder," said Kreis, "and he has risen up to the challenge."

Williams credits Fraser and Kreis, who both played well into their 30s, with helping him survive MLS by taking better care of himself.

"I've been lucky to have two guys who have been in that situation and can pass on more information to me," he said.

It seems an old pro can learn a few tricks after all.