Lee Bowyer wants to see Jonny Williams repeat as Charlton Athletic man ended goal drought on international stage
Lee Bowyer watched Jonny Williams end his goal drought last week – and he is hoping the penny has dropped for the Charlton Athletic attacker to make more runs into the opposition’s penalty box.
The 27-year-old netted his first senior goal for Wales in their victory in Bulgaria.
It was Williams’ first time on the scoresheet since he was on loan at Sunderland in 2018.
The former Crystal Palace man got off the mark for his national side on his 25th cap. He has clocked up 51 appearances for the Addicks and is yet to get off the mark for them.
Williams was an unused sub as the SE7 outfit beat Wigan 1-0 on Saturday. But he could come into the starting line-up for tonight’s League One fixture at Blackpool if Bowyer looks to add fresh legs.
Bowyer had tuned in for Wales’ fixture last week. He said: “I was watching it because I wanted to see who came on and how long people played for – because it interferes with our preparations for the next game.
“Jonny came on as a striker and played up top as a loan striker, that’s how it looked to me.
“We were having a laugh on messages because Jonny had finally run into the box in an area that you can be effective. That’s how he scored, he didn’t do anything special. He ran into an area where there was a chance of the ball coming in and he finished it.
“I tell him all the time ‘you will score goals in and around the six-yard box’. That’s where 90 per cent of the goals come from. If you don’t make those runs you have less chance that you’re going score. If you stay outside the 18-yard area you’ll have even less chance of scoring – and that’s where Jonny loves to hang around.
“He finally made that run into the box and I’m chuffed for him – he couldn’t stop smiling. Hopefully there will be a knock-on effect regarding us and he can build on that.
“It’s not easy to get in there – it’s hard work. You’ve got to run another 10-15 yards every time and make 20 of those runs for that one to drop to you. But it’s what top players do – keep getting in those areas.
“He was unlucky not to get on the end of one just before he did score. It was a cross in a quite similar position and he just couldn’t get on the end of it. The other kid should’ve scored it but put it over the bar.”
PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD
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As much as everyone seems to like Jonny, he is a bit of an enigma. Firstly there is his injury record, which is not good and then there is his poor, almost non-existent scoring record . Lee Bowyer is 100% right and he should know as he was a very adventurous midfielder, so Jonny needs to heed the advice and put it into action and he could still become a very important player for Charlton. He mightily impressed me when he joined Charlton and took a pay cut, something you would not see many players do. So come on Jonny, get some goals !!