Williams started in non-League with Dudley Town and Solihull Borough, before he was signed by First Division side Coventry City on 24 July 1985 for a fee of £20,000, at the age of 23.
The "Millers" were relegated at the end of the 1987–88 season after losing to Swansea City at the semi-final stage of the Fourth Division play-offs.
[3] After spending five months out with his groin problem, he then suffered a fractured cheekbone after teammate Vinnie Jones accidentally hit him in the face with a cricket bat.
[4] Restricted to the odd appearance by the form of the Leeds midfield, in December 1991 he was loaned out to Second Division side Port Vale.
[4] He played five games for the "Valiants", who would finish the season in last place; in contrast Williams returned to Elland Road, where manager Howard Wilkinson was in the process of bringing Leeds the First Division title.
He struggled with a knee injury,[6] and at the end of the 1994–95 season, he moved on to league rivals Hull City – who had tried to sign him in 1988 but lost out to Leeds.