Ben first arrived at the Alex in the summer of 2004 on a free transfer from Premiership giants Manchester United following a successful loan spell at Gresty Road the previous season.

The Manchester born 6ft+ keeper came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford turning professional as an 18 year old. He made rapid progress in the Under-17 and Under-19 sides and played regulary for United's Reserves, but never managed to break into the first team.

Williams enjoyed loan spells at Chesterfield and Altrincham to gain more first team experience whilst at United and came to the Alex for a similar spell at the end of the 2003/04 season following an injury to Clayton Ince.

Ben made his debut in horrendous conditions at home to Cardiff City and was desperately unfortunate to be accredited with an own goal which ultimately decided the game. But his superb performance in that match, and during the other 9 games he played during the run in, quickly made him a fans favourite, helped the Alex avoid relegation and encouraged Dario Gradi to make the deal permanent.

After being released from Old Trafford at the end of his contract, Dario moved quickly to capture him on a 2-year contract.

After doing battle with loanee Ross Turnbull for a starting slot until Christmas 2005, disaster struck for Ben in the New Year when he was struck down with viral meningitis. He was left in a serious condition in hospital, and saw his season ended prematurely, but after battling back to full fitness he was rewarded with a new two-year contract in the summer.

Having made a full recovery from viral meningitis Ben has gone on from strength to strength and returned to the side for the 2006/2007 season once again as the number one goalkeeper and went on to feature in 45 games in all competitions. During our game with Port Vale at the tail end of the season Ben made a vital penalty save that softened the defeat to our neighbours.