Life in football hasn't been easy for Ryan Williams but he could be about to become a star of the future.
In limbo when Chester City went into administration, Williams (pictured) has rebuilt his career in the non-league and in Welsh football and has just received a trial opportunity with Premier League outfit Stoke City.
Recently, Ryan spoke to Total Football's Simon Wright about his career, his brief stint playing in Spain and his own personal training business.
I believe you have just received a trial with Stoke City, can you tell us how that feels?
When I received the call saying Stoke have asked if I would be interested in coming in for a couple of weeks training I was absolutely delighted.
It's not everyday a Premier League club expresses an interest in you. I was probably more pleased than most considering just last season I was playing non-league football.
What age and where did you make your Football League debut?
I made my debut at 17 for Chester City. I can still remember it now, it was a night game and they had brought a good few fans which really helped spice up the atmosphere.
Things took a turn for the worst though just before half-time when I rolled my ankle and got a tear in my ankle ligaments.
I was out for a couple of months and by the time I was back, got match fit and back to my best, the season was pretty much over.
It was a shame really because at the time I knew with the small squad we had, I knew I would of got a chance in the team and got some league football under my belt, which at 17 you can't really argue with.
What was the atmosphere like at Chester when the club went into administration?
I think for a while the lads knew what direction the club was going in.
There were many times when players were getting paid late, a couple of players had moved on to other teams and the squad was getting smaller.
When players were getting paid late, sometimes their frustrations would be evident in training.
It's easy for people to say don't let it affect your football but in lower league football it's very much a job, the players had families to provide for and mortgages to pay.
I was okay because I was an apprentice at the time and my wages were covered by the LFE but it was certainly an introduction into the world of lower league football.
It was a shame the club went into administration because at the time we had some very good young players.
The Under-18's knocked Tottenham out of the FA Youth Cup in 2006-07 with a team containing Jake Livermore who has gone on to play for England and we ran then close in a 2-1 defeat a year later at White Hart Lane.
A lot of these lads ended up dropping into non-league football.
What would you say are your strengths and weaknesses within your game?
I'm technically a good player who reads the game well and I have a good range of passing.
I'm also a free-kick specialist. Over the last year, Evo Football Consultancy put me in touch with Bartek Sylwestrzak who coaches technically proficient players to put top spin on the ball.
Over the last year he's worked with players like Nick Powell who has since moved to Manchester United and Ashley Westwood who moved to Aston Villa.
His training has been a massive benefit and has already improved me as a player. Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most famous player who uses a similar technique but the player who really set the benchmark is the Brazilian Juninho Perambucano.
A weakness I had before I dropped into the non-league was I physically wasn't strong enough, partly down to my age and being a late developer, but partly because I needed to take my physical training more seriously.
Looking back, I sometimes thought my ability would get me through games and if a game wasn't going my way, I wouldn't really be affected by it.
Dropping into non-league, playing on some poor pitches, I learnt that I couldn't always have it my own way, but if I wanted to keep my place in the team I'd have to influence the game another way.
That meant working hard, closing down and not letting my opponents play. The ugly side some may say.
I feel like I've learned a lot playing non-league, it may be a different path than some of my friends have taken being in the reserve teams of various Premier League clubs but I think it's an education that will serve me well for the rest of my career.
Hercules offered you a trial, what was it like to play/train in a foreign country?
Playing in Spain really suited my style of play, this was right after I was at Chester when I was 18.
I got to play with some top young Spanish players and learn that the game could be played another way.
It was great to be a part of a team where the philosophy was based on keeping the ball. It was a bit of a culture shock at first because the tempo of the game was slower, and you was given more time on the ball.
The catch was that if you gave the ball away, you would be punished and if you weren't, you wouldn't see the ball for five minutes.
So your concentration levels had to be spot on at all times. My best memory was training in the mid-August heat at 10am in the morning.
I don't think I've ever appreciated water quite like I did over there after a fitness session.
I think if circumstances had been different I would have 100 per cent stayed over there because I loved it.
Total Football recently hosted a Futsal tournament – what is that game like to play in, in comparison to regular football?
I basically started playing Futsal when I was 16 for my local team who at the time were probably one of the top four sides in the country.
It's completely different to football in that there is no hiding place, if you are technically poor it will be exposed straightaway because you have to be comfortable receiving the ball under pressure in any area on the pitch.
You are constantly involved in the game so your concentration levels have to be maximum at all times.
When I made my debut for England against Turkey at 18, that was when it really hit me, the difference in football to Futsal.
The speed of the game, more so at international level was frightening so you had to be able to think three and four steps ahead of the game because it was so frantic and if you didn't know what you were doing with the ball before it came to you, the chances are you were likely to concede possession.
Who were your footballing heroes you idolised when growing up?
For me it was all about Zinedine Zidane when I was growing up! There were so many great players when I was growing up but the way he controlled games, for me it's hard to look past him.
He always seemed to have so much time on the ball, it was as if it was too easy for him.
It goes without saying Lionel Messi and Ronaldo are a level above everyone right now, but growing up, there was only ever one person I'd be when I was in the playground.
I believe you have a personal training business – can you tell us how that is going?
Basically when I dropped into the non-league, I knew I was good enough to play at the level I'd come from but I wasn't strong enough.
I knew I needed to work on myself so I set about learning everything I could, everything from Russian methods, American methods, anything I could get my hands on by the best strength and conditioning coaches in the world.
I used what I learnt and over the next 12 months I physically became a totally different athlete.
People could see the difference in me and soon I was getting asked to train other people and sports teams.
I saw an opportunity and though I always believed I would get back into professional football, I thought I should make the most of my available time, so I went back to college and obtained a Level Three Personal Training badge.
I then set up Roqstar Fitness and things went from strength to strength, doing everything from training athletes, running bootcamps to doing NHS health sessions for senior citizens.
It was ideal because I was my own boss, I could leave if football dictated so.
You were offered a contract by Morecambe in October, but signing it has been delayed – Can you tell us why that has happened?
Basically I was doing well for Rhyl last year and had a couple of options but Morecambe really stood out.
The manager (Morecambe boss Jim Bentley) has been first class with me and the lads were great, the only problem was for whatever reason the club couldn't sign me until October, but the manager said as soon as October came, there was a deal for me.
Once October came, true to his word the manager signed me. I thought that was that and I was looking forward to contributing to the the team and trying to make a name for myself.
A week later the manager pulled me in and said the FA have basically said I can't sign because it's outside the transfer window, and because my last contract was "amateur" and not "professional."
So I'm technically not an out of work professional footballer that would make me a free agent so I'd have to wait until the window reopens in January.
So I could only play in behind closed doors matches and then the Stoke opportunity came about and me and Jim agreed it was an opportunity that I couldn't turn down.
Who is the hardest player you’ve ever faced?
Jack Rodwell was a good player, very composed on the ball and he reads the game well which made him difficult to get close to apply pressure, so he's up there.
It sounds like you have had plenty of ups and downs in your career – what would be your message to other youngsters trying to make the big break into the game?
The biggest thing I've leaned is that it's massive to take the positives from every situation.
You might be at a lower level team and think you should be a lot higher but there are still things you can learn at any level of the game, so keep taking every opportunity to improve and enjoy the game.
As long as you never give up on yourself and keep believing, you have always got a chance.
If you work harder than everyone else, you will eventually get where you want to be.
It might take longer than you want, but if you stay focused you will get there.
That's the way I've been thinking and still am. I've got a long way to go yet.
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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