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Wasiri Williams |
Ola Wasiri Williams was born on Saturday, 1st April, 2000, in Nigeria. * The 6' 1 (12st 4lbs) defender signed for Kris Doolan's Thistle on Monday, 26th June, 2023, having most recently been with Swansea City. Aged 23, he made his debut appearance on Tuesday, 4th July, 2023, in a 2-1 friendly win away to Kelty Hearts. He scored his only goal for Thistle on Saturday, 20th July, 2024, in a 6-0 win away to Edinburgh City in the League Cup. Wasiri played his last game for the club on Saturday, 31st August, 2024, in a 3-0 win at home to Queen's Park in the SPFL Championship, having appeared as a Jag on 32 occasions. At October, 2024, his club-list included Bromley, Ashford United, Lewisham Borough, Tunbridge Wells, Sheppey United, Lordswood, Walton & Hersham, Staines Town, Corinthian-Casuals, Braintree Town, Swansea City, Dundalk and Partick Thistle.
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Wasiri Williams's Summary Totals |
League | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
Competitive | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
All Games | 32 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
‘Waz’, a Nigerian-born South Londoner from Croydon, is a Crystal Palace supporter and is passionate about his football, especially the art of defending. Due to his surroundings and circumstances he got himself into some trouble with the law as a youth, but quickly turned his life around as a young man and, recognizing the error of his ways, became a youth development officer for Reaching Higher, a charity that supports young people. By all accounts a lovely guy and has been popular amongst team mates and fans alike at former clubs, of which there have been a great many - Thistle are 13th in his list which is quite remarkable for one so young. From 2017, Wasiri around 5 years bouncing around several non League clubs in England, balancing that with holding down a full-time job: “It was so, so stressful because I would leave work at 4.30pm and training would start at 6.30pm, I’d then eat food pre-training on the train and would then eat my dinner on the train after training and I’d get home around midnight. I’ve been in non-league all my life pretty much and I’ve more or less played at all the levels at non-league. I’ve made yearly progressions going up the league and I feel that has shaped me as a player.” Wasiri signed his first full-time contract as a footballer with Swansea City in the close season of 2022. He was a regular for Swansea City’s U21 team that season, skippering the side on multiple occasions, and also chipped in with three goals, including a brace against Cardiff City. In February 2023, he made the loan switch to Dundalk in the League of Ireland, featuring 12 times during his short time in Ireland. He was described there as “tidy on the ball, big and strong” but that there was still a rawness to his game that made him prone to occasional errors. Along with Scott Robinson (they were both announced on the same day) Wasiri was jointly the first new player signed by Kris Doolan in the summer of 2023. The Firhill boss spoke about the attributes which led him to offering a two-year deal to the player at that time: “Wasiri is a strong, physical defender who is first and foremost a centre-back which is where we see him playing his football in Maryhill. He’s quick and is good on the ball so I’m sure he’ll slot in seamlessly to the way we want to play this season.” Inconsistent form, and an ankle injury in March 2022, made for a 'mid rating' report card in his first term at Firhill. While recuperating, Waz endeared himself to the Firhill faithful when he was pictured at the heart of the singing section in the John Lambie stand for the promotion play-off game vs. Airdrie in May 2024. Waz started the first 8 games of the 2024-25 season, but was deployed at right back, not his prime position. With Thistle being well placed for central defenders at the time, it came as no surprise when the player was allowed to move on in October 2024, with the warmest wishes from the club and the fans alike. |
(WS) |