Liam Manning speaks of Joe Williams almost as a dying breed; his ability to marry technical ability with an almost unfathomable level of commitment and intensity, constantly playing on the edge, threatening at times to go over it, but just about aware of his limits.
Williams’ response to that is essentially, “that’s just me”, born out of hyper-competitive matches in his childhood, growing up in the Huyton area of Liverpool, where rival estates would battle for the prize of “owning” the respective corner for the next week. Losing would mean ignominy, on the streets and in school, but also the annoyance of having to go and find a patch of grass somewhere else to play on.
The midfielder is experiencing a purple patch in his time as a Robin, although he’s reluctant to talk it up too much. Outstanding at Watford, probably Bristol City ’s best player in the underwhelming displays against Birmingham City and Millwall and then as the beating heart of their comeback performance at West Ham in the FA Cup.
Outside of the ferocious energy he brings to a pitch, two of those matches have witnessed the 27-year-old deliver picturebook assists for Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway to score, with the debate as to which was “the best” inconclusive and ultimately a matter of personal choice; do you like your defence-splitting passes lofted and curled, or driven and spun, sir?
But the contrast in what Williams is bringing is important. He’s always been an all-action dynamic figure, impactful on both sides of the ball and someone who almost channels the terraces in everything he does. What we’re seeing more of now is finesse, but also taking the bravery he puts into other aspects of his midfield play and transferring it into game-changing moments, as what occurred at the London Stadium.
That concept is an important one because it’s something Manning constantly demands and often when City have been found wanting in matches in the final third, the head coach has deduced it’s because of a lack of that quality.
“I’ll be the first if I try a forward pass and it doesn’t come off, it won’t faze me, I’ll try it again and if it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t come off but I like to try and be forward-thinking and maybe take a risk going forward,” Williams said.
“(It’s) bravery to try things, bravery to make a mistake, bravery to do a bit of magic. Tommy works so hard for us. He’s got loads of potential, loads of qualities, probably a few things he can work on, but a couple of times we haven’t created the chances for him. As a team in general, trying to be a bit more brave. Don’t overthink things, just go for it. Believe and if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world.”
Williams has maintained such moments are as much instinct as anything but what’s becoming increasingly apparent is he’s putting himself into positions and the mindset of being able to deliver these passes. The “edge” to his game remains, and will never go away, but now he may have a little push and a shove with an opposition player, slam into a tackle, even have a few moans at a referee, but instantly can then snap back into a composed and controlled state of being.
"He's got certain qualities that are difficult to find," Manning said. "He's got a real edge to him but I think he's got better at controlling his emotions, where he stays present in a game, stays doing his job. Which I think you saw at the weekend where he had a bit of a flare-up with the West Ham lads but carried on doing his job.
"He's so invested, he cares so much, he's so desperate to do well. What he's shown are his qualities, with and without the ball. He's one who's going to progressively get better the more consistency and rhythm he gets.
"It's not a quality or an attribute you see loads in young players, that fire, that edge, that passion. Especially, in the right way, like he's started to show, it can shift the momentum in the game quite a lot; whether it be a tackle, a little bit of a flare-up, you can unsettle people but also give lads around you a lift.
"As long as it's controlled, as long as it doesn't detract what we need to be doing and people are still able to do their jobs, it's an attribute that definitely a team needs."
His role is perhaps aiding the sense of control, with Williams either partnering Matty James or Taylor Gardner-Hickman as holding midfielders, harking back to his days at Wigan Athletic alongside Sam Morsy, and perhaps that natural restraint is helping him compartmentalise aspects of the game and manage them accordingly, rather than letting heart always rule head.
“It’s a little bit more disciplined because we play the two 6s and I like it,” Williams added. “I played that type of way at Wigan a lot, I remember playing in there with Sam Morsy and I really enjoyed it; it’s quite disciplined, but also you can have that room to play and freedom to go forward. It’s a good set-up at the minute.
“It’s how I’ve always been, I’ve always liked to play a little bit on the edge. I’m not old but getting older with games, I’ve just learned how to manage it. I wouldn’t say there’s a specific thing and why that’s happening, but I’ve just learned how to manage it and put it into that middle level type of ground.
“Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes unintentional but if I’m frustrated, I want to win, it’s like, I’m going to go into a tackle, I’m maybe going to get into a little thing but then it’s about, ‘right, calm now’, how do we get going? How do we get back on the front foot? How do we get back to controlling a game? Because, first and foremost, it’s about results and how we play is all that matters.
“It’s probably not a part of my game that’ll ever go away. I play football like I do with my dad down the park, kicking out at him because he’d be winding me up all the time. It’s just part of my game and I’ve somehow just managed to get it quite level now. I’ll never let that side get away from me and it’s made me get to where I am.”
Speaking on Thursday before Saturday’s trip to Preston North End, Manning declared Williams has been a player he’s “loved” working with, and it would seem the feeling is mutual.
Manning trusted him enough to start the No8 across all three fixtures of the festive period, playing 87, 75 and 90 minutes. Impressive given his injury struggles of previous campaigns as even when the 38-year-old arrived in early November, Williams was out with a niggly calf problem.
“The manager’s a big part of that and also I’m fit and playing every week and feel strong,” Williams said of his run of form. “I’m as fit as I’ve been since I’ve been here. Long may it continue. But I’m not sitting here now thinking I’ve had a couple of good games, take your foot off, there’s none of that from me, I just can’t wait for the Preston game, I’m dying to go there and get a result.
“Since the gaffer’s come in, performances have been really consistent bar one or two and then one or two were maybe coming off the back of four games in 11 days, which are understandable. The lads are all buzzing.
“He’s just got real clear messages of how he wants you to play and it’s just benefitting me knowing you go out on that pitch and you know exactly what your job is, and that’s it.
“I get on with him; I like him as a manager, I like him as a person, first and foremost, which is a massive part of having that respect. He’s been brilliant so far and I’m sure he’ll continue to press us.”
Conversations about Williams’ form inevitably lead to the subject of contracts with his deal at Ashton Gate expiring in the summer and, as yet, no indication a decision has been reached whether to extend it, with Manning indicating those meetings will be held after the January transfer window closes.
Williams has previously declared he’d love to stay and there’s no reason why that position has changed but is focused simply on his performances and driving City up the Championship table towards a play-off race he considers wide open.
“This league’s crazy, you never know what can happen but I think we’ve got enough,” Williams said. “We’re not far off now although I do think we could be a couple of points better off than we are but let’s just see where we can go and I think we should take a lot of belief from that game the other day to take into the league.
“It took us 5-10 minutes to realise we’re good players ourselves. Now we’ve got to really step up and believe we can get into that play-off picture, because it’s all so tight.”
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