Owain Fon Williams was a dependable addition between the sticks towards the back end of the 2010/2011 season at Spotland.

Position: Goalkeeper

Arrived from: Stockport County

Played : 2011

Appearances : 22

Goals : 0

Left for: Tranmere Rovers

An interesting character away from his time at Dale, Owain Fon Williams was fairly well known when he arrived at Spotland in January of 2011.

The Gwynedd-born goalkeeper had spent the last three years at Stockport County, signing just after the Hatters' play-off final win over Dale, racking up over 70 outings in League One but making just five appearances at the start of the 2011/2012 campaign following the club's relegation to the fourth tier and their signing of Matt Glennon.

After a six-game loan spell at Bury, Fon Williams was allowed to leave Edgeley Park to join Dale on a short-term deal until the end of the season to replace loanee Josh Lillis, who was set to head back to parent club Scunthorpe.

He made his debut in a 2-0 win over Charlton Athletic and would avoid defeat in his first 10 appearances between the sticks for Dale, going on to keep seven clean sheets during his 22 game spell as Dale earned themselves what was at that point a record-high league finish.

Although admittedly I can't remember any stand-out saves, there was a dependability about Fon Williams that held him in good stead and Dale supporters on the whole seemed to want him to extend his stay beyond the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.

Instead, he would swap Rochdale for the Wirral, joining Tranmere Rovers that summer following his release from the club and the imminent departure of manager Keith Hill to Barnsley.

Fon Williams enjoyed the best spell of his career at Prenton Park, establishing himself as first-choice and making a total of 161 appearances over four years.

He has since played out the majority of his career in Scotland, enjoying spells at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hamilton Academical before joining Dunfermline Athletic in 2020, where he remains. He also spent the 2018 USL campaign on loan with the Indy Eleven, making 34 appearances at the Indianapolis-based club.

He is perhaps best known in the wider footballing world however for his association with Wales. Having first been called up in 2009, he famously spent six years on the bench before finally making his debut for his country in 2015 against the Netherlands. He remains a regular call-up to the squad, despite that being his only ever appearance for the Red Dragons.

Fon Williams also has a penchant for painting and you can buy originals and prints of his work over at his online shop! https://www.owainfonwilliams.com/copy-of-shop-online

Photo: Action Images

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