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[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

It's sad to learn of the death of another one of those renowned characters from 1970s & 1980s Non League football.

John Williams was appointed as the manager of Altrincham FC in May 1986, as part of that unexpected and, frankly, bizarre exchange of bosses between the Robins and Runcorn in the almost immediate aftermath of the two clubs having contested the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium, which of course witnessed that delightful 1-0 triumph for John King's men.

Notwithstanding Williams' considerable accomplishments in charge of Runcorn, which had included the impressive capture of the 1981/82 Alliance Premier League title, he was unfortunately unable to replicate that success during his relatively brief tenure at Moss Lane.

A decent sequence of results during the autumn of 1986 had engendered hopes of a significant title challenge, but this optimism rather evaporated after a particularly negative and dispiriting FA Cup Second Round exit at Telford United in December.

Further cup disappointment ensued in January 1987, when the Robins were eliminated from the FA Trophy via a 2-0 defeat at Maidstone United.

A respectable fifth-place finish in the 1986/87 GM Vauxhall Conference (GMVC) league table was duly attained, but the Robins finished 22 points adrift of the eventual promoted champions Scarborough.

Williams had undoubtedly made some good signings for the club e.g. left full-back Paul Edwards, midfielder Eddie Bishop and striker John Timmons, however there was also a collection of transfer flops such as the likes of central defender Graham Jones, forward Mark Hilditch, winger Stewart Hamill and, most notably, the expensive and injury-plagued forward Martin Hanchard. 

You sensed that Williams' previous strong connections with Runcorn had acted as a barrier to him becoming truly accepted at Moss Lane by the Alty faithful.

Despite a flurry of new recruits for the 1987/88 GMVC season, including such figures as goalkeeper John Butcher, midfielder Ossie Smith, winger Garry Worrall and experienced striker Colin Williams, a 2-1 defeat at Bath City in merely the 10th match of the campaign proved to be John Williams' swan song as Alty manager. He was duly relieved of his duties, which facilitated the dawn of the Tommy Docherty circus at Moss Lane.

For a variety of reasons, things just never worked out for him at Altrincham FC.

Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Here's a splendid obituary on the Runcorn Linnets website:

https://www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk/post/most-successful-linnets-manager-john-williams-dies-at-88
 
 

[brisbane_alty]

 Very sad news. A great manager and a gentleman.

Does anyone know the circumstances of him becoming our manager? I remember John King leaving immediately after the Trophy final, but I don’t think there was any explanation as to why, or how the two clubs swapped managers.

[swindellsworth]

Johnny Williams transformed Runcorn and prior to that did likewise with Winsford , leading them to the Cheshire League title in 1977 and the quarter final of the Trophy the following year when losing 4-2 at Moss Lane to the mighty eventual winners. Came here with a great managerial record of course and much was expected but things just did'nt work out as we hoped. Taking over from the King was always going to be a tough ask.

[brisbane_alty]

Does anyone know the circumstances of him becoming our manager? I remember John King leaving immediately after the Trophy final, but I don’t think there was any explanation as to why, or how the two clubs swapped managers.

Funnily enough, I've just found out the answer almost 40 years later. Paul Burton has been posting a series of press cuttings on the Moss Lane Memories Facebook page. Here's a quote from John King in the Manchester Evening News, reporting on his resignation: "My reason for leaving Altrincham was that I wanted to spend more time with my family. Running a scaffolding business and managing the club meant I wasn't seeing enough of them."

I also had an email from an old friend who remembers the managerial swap resulting from a drunken bet between King and Williams in the dressing rooms at Wembley after the final. I don't recall hearing that before - does it ring any bells for anyone?