Lloyd-Williams relishes Anfield task

By Andrew Warshaw

He may be relatively unknown outside his native Wales but when it comes to goalscoring, Total Network Solutions FC striker Marc Lloyd-Williams has no peers anywhere in Europe.

Top scorer
Thierry Henry and Diego Forlán may have shared last season's ESM Golden Shoe, but Lloyd-Williams outscored the pair of them with 34 goals for the League of Wales side. On Wednesday he graces the biggest stage of all, the UEFA Champions League. The problem is, his opponents are title-holders Liverpool FC and the forward could be forgiven for being a little fazed by the first qualifying round contest.

Liverpool fan
"I grew up fanatically following Liverpool and used to stand on the Kop dreaming of being the new Ian Rush," Lloyd-Williams told uefa.com. "I used to dream about running out at Anfield as a Liverpool player. Obviously that never happened but this will be the next best thing. I thought my time had passed. To go there now, at 32, in front of a packed house against the European champions is unbelievable."

Small crowds
To put things into perspective, the average crowd of TNS, the only full-time club in the Welsh system, is little more than 300. The local railway station closed down over 50 years ago though there are plans next season to move to a new 3,000-seater stadium at nearby Oswestry.

Goal machine
Lloyd-Williams is understandably peeved at never having gained the same recognition, in goalscoring terms, as the cream of Europe's strikers. Twice he has scored more league goals than anyone else on the continent but because of the co-efficient used to determine the Golden Shoe winner, his feats have gone virtually unrecognised.

'Tough going'
"I suppose I am pretty frustrated about it because everyone plays against people of their own standard," he said. "It seems they just want the more high-profile players to get the award. Apparently, I would have to score the equivalent of one and a half goals per game to stand a chance, which is tough going."

'Shades of Dalglish'
Ironically, Lloyd-Williams, who combines football with studying at university, is likened by the TNS management more to Kenny Dalglish than Ian Rush, mainly because of his hold-up play. "He's got really good lower-body strength and is exceptional at turning and shooting in the box," said TNS spokesman Andrew Lincoln. "How much we'll see of it against Liverpool is hard to say because obviously there's a huge gulf in class between the teams."

'Increased profile'
Being compared with Dalglish is a compliment Lloyd-Williams finds hard to accept, but he admits he cannot wait to pit his skills against the likes of England defender Jamie Carragher on Wednesday. "I've played against Manchester City [FC] before but this is going to be mind-boggling," he said. "It'll be a case of damage limitation against Liverpool. But we'll have 10,000 fans for the second leg, which has been switched to Wrexham's ground, and it will be good to raise the profile of our league."

'Liverpool tattoo'
It certainly will. Ever since the first qualifying round draw was made, the TNS switchboard has been jammed solid. "There's been a media frenzy," said Lincoln. "Our website crashed within ten minutes of the draw being made. It's hardly surprising. Almost every one of our players are mad Liverpool fans. One even went to the final in Istanbul and has a Liverpool tattoo on his arm." If TNS can make a similarly permanent impact on Liverpool, there will be plenty more interest coming their way.