114: Jonathan Williams, Wales, Panini UEFA Euro 2020 Official Licensed Sticker Album, Tournament Edition

For many people 2016 was seen as a challenging, if not dreadful, year. In January alone the world said farewell to David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Terry Wogan and by April football had lost Cesare Maldini and Johan Cruyff. Britain was deeply divided by the Brexit referendum, marred by the murder of MP Jo Cox, with campaigns from both sides that scaremongered, patronised, overpromised and underdelivered. And then the good people of the USA elected Donald Trump as their 45th President. You might argue that my wife and I chose a questionable year to get married.

As it so often does sport provided some much needed relief and 2016 proved to be the year of the underdog. Leicester City defied 5000-1 odds to win the Premier League thanks to the inspirational dilly-dinging of Claudio Ranieri. My beloved Crystal Palace reached the FA Cup final and Connor Wickham managed to play in two consecutive Wembley games for the Eagles without his legs falling off. And if all of that seems inconceivable the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year barren run to win the World Series. On top of this Wales and Northern Ireland made their first ever appearances in the European Championships finals joining England and the Republic of Ireland in France. Scotland at least kept one formbook intact by missing out.

Lining up for Wales in their first Group B clash against fellow tournament debutants Slovakia was Crystal Palace midfielder Jonathan Williams. Loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Milton Keynes Dons had allowed the 23-year-old time to gain valuable match experience and prove his fitness and he acquitted himself reasonably well in his country’s 2-1 win. I say his country, Kent has still not gained independence from the UK, but much like Andy Townsend before him Williams has established himself in his father’s national side. Williams played something of a bit part in the rest of the tournament as Wales recovered from the setback of defeat to England in their second group game to go all the way to the semi-finals via impressive victories over Russia, Northern Ireland and Belgium. They were eventually bested by eventual winners Portugal but fared considerably better than their British and Irish neighbours. If the giant moths who besieged Cristiano Ronaldo in the final had arrived a stage earlier who knows what might have happened.

If all had gone to plan Williams might well have been an integral part of the Welsh side that so exceeded expectations in France. Coming through the Palace youth ranks he earned the nickname ‘Joniesta’ due to his creativity and passing and his promotion to the first team had more than a little influence on the Eagles’ return to the top flight in 2013. Sadly, as well as his natural footballing brilliance, the Gods also handed Jonny Williams a body made of biscuits and perished rubber bands. A broken fibula while on under-21 duty for Wales brought his breakthrough season at Palace to a premature halt and a calf injury during pre-season delayed his start to the following campaign. He was sent out on loan to Ipswich Town on two separate occasions during the season only to have both spells curtailed by a persistent groin injury. However, his undoubted potential and proven resilience saw the Eagles extend his contracts on a regular basis.

During his final season as a Crystal Palace player in 2017/18 he headed north to Sunderland on loan where he made an instant impact in a struggling side only to once again fall foul of injuries. The brilliant Netflix series ‘Sunderland ‘til I Die’ captured Williams’ struggles to regain fitness and saw him speak candidly about the understandable psychological impact his injuries had had on his career. After making only one appearance in the League Cup for Palace in 2018 he left Selhurst Park after seventeen years to join Charlton Athletic in January 2019. Thankfully at The Valley Williams regained some of his confidence and his performances helped the Addicks return to the Championship via the play-offs. Initially his contract was not extended but common sense prevailed and he racked up 26 appearances in the 2019/20 campaign. Having made a solid start to the 2020/21 season back in League One he was snapped up by Cardiff City in January 2021.

In October 2020 Williams scored his first international goal with a beautifully timed run and strike against Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League. He might not be in the starting line up for Wales’ opening game of Euro 2021 against Switzerland but it’s fair to say that he offers something off the bench should the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale fail to produce the magic they are capable of. The fresh faced Jamie Laing lookalike who came through the ranks at Selhurst Park may have given way to a wizened exterior but it’s important to remember two things. Firstly, at the age of 27, Jonny Williams may still have his best years ahead of him and secondly, he is a bloody good footballer. If that’s not enough for you, anyone who can turn up at Selhurst Park in a Charlton kit for a pre-season friendly and still be showered with love on social media is clearly a pretty special individual. Joniesta am byth.