Michael James Williamson (born 8 November 1983) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He is currently the head coach of EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons.
Club career
Early career
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Williamson played six first-team games for Torquay United before joining Southampton in November 2001 for an initial fee believed to be in the region of £100,000. However, Williamson was unable to get into the first team at Southampton. He returned to Plainmoor on loan for two months in September 2003, where he made 11 further appearances. A further loan spell at Doncaster Rovers—then Third Division leaders—followed on transfer deadline day in March 2004, although he did not feature for the South Yorkshire club.
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers manager Tony Adams secured Williamson's services on a season-long loan in July 2004, a move that was made permanent at the end of the 2004–05 season. Williamson made the number 6 shirt his own from the start of the 2005–06 season. In total, he made 144 league appearances for Wycombe, scoring 11 league goals during his time at the club.
Watford
After a few consistent seasons he signed for Watford on 26 January 2009 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He handed in a transfer request on 27 August 2009, declaring himself unfit for the away game at Swansea City on the Saturday and not travelling with the squad.
Portsmouth
On 1 September 2009, Watford accepted a £2 million offer, potentially rising to £3 million, from Premier League team Portsmouth. He did not make a single appearance for the club, who were in the midst of a financial crisis.
Newcastle United
Williamson signed for Newcastle United on 27 January 2010 for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut the same day at St James' Park in a 2–0 win over Crystal Palace, in which he played the full 90 minutes and won the Man of the Match award in the process. On 28 January it was revealed that he was initially signed on an emergency loan deal in order for him to play the previous day, with the deal then finalised and Williamson signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. On 3 December 2010, Williamson signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract extension with the club, which ran until 2016. For the remainder of the season, he formed a reliable partnership with Fabricio Coloccini in the absence of the injured Steven Taylor.
With Newcastle's return to the Premier League, Williamson continued to be Coloccini's first-choice partner and managed to keep Taylor on the bench until an injury ended his run in the starting eleven. Despite this he managed 32 first team appearances, and 29 in the Premier League, across the 2010–11 season. The following season, 2011–12, consecutive arm and ankle injuries hampered his first team opportunities and he was out of the first team between late August and late December.
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Williamson was named as Newcatle's Player of the Year. On 30 August 2014, Williamson scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 home league draw against Crystal Palace, tapping the ball in after teammate Rolando Aarons struck the post.
On 3 May 2015, Williamson was sent off picking up a second yellow after a late challenge on Jamie Vardy, as Newcastle lost 3–0 to Leicester City, their eighth defeat in a row. After the match, Newcastle manager John Carver accused Williamson of deliberately getting himself sent off, which Williamson strongly denied.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Having not featured in the league under new coach Steve McClaren, Williamson was loaned to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 29 October 2015 for one month to cover for the injured Kortney Hause. His debut came two days later in Wolves' next game, a 2–0 win away to rivals Birmingham City in which Williamson received the man of the match award. After making three appearances, over the course of which the club conceded just one goal and picked up four points, his loan was initially extended until January, but he was recalled after five appearances in total because of injuries at his parent club. However, Williamson immediately picked up an injury of his own which subsequently kept him out for the rest of 2015–16 season.