BY PHIL ROSTRON

Last updated 09:03, Friday, 27 June 2008

Life at Carlisle United promises to be a little more sedate than new goalkeeper signing Ben Williams is familiar with.

Chris Howarth

When you’ve grown up as a Manchester United trainee, there are stars in your eyes and hustle and bustle is all around you.

Williams was just 19 when, in 2002, he was given an airing in front of a 56,000 crowd in the white hot cauldron of Old Trafford.

The occasion was a fund raiser for UNICEF, the childrens charity, in which Manchester United faced Boca Juniors.

The Buenos Aires club who, over the years, have produced superstars like Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta and Juan Sebastián Veron, brought its first team over for the clash, which was Boca’s first ever fixture in England.

It was the first time in 34 years a team from Argentina had visited Old Trafford, the previous time being Estudiantes La Plata in the Intercontinental Cup, and Ruud Van Nistelrooy acored twice in a first half in which Boca were outplayed and lucky to be only 2-0 down at half time.

It was a different story in the second half, which began with Roy Carroll in goal and Williams on the bench. Boca stormed back into the game, which suddenly developed a raw edge when their star player Carlos Tevez was sent off in the 72nd minute.

The game began to boil over, with several nasty challenges taking place, and this was the cue for Williams to make his entrance as a substitute as order began to be restored.

Since then Tevez, of course, has gone his way and Williams his own.

While Tevez undertook a circuitous route back to Old Trafford, Mancunian Williams left on a free transfer to Crewe Alexandra.

Now he’s a Carlisle United player and he has pledged to plug the void left by Keiren Westwood’s departure to Coventry.

“I’ll fill Keiren’s gloves okay - and then some,” said the 25-year-old after joining United on a three-year deal with a free transfer from Crewe.

The trainee who understudied Fabien Barthez, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard at Old Trafford didn’t want to extend his contract at Crewe and was delighted when Carlisle came calling.

Speaking exclusively to The Cumberland News Williams, who has plenty in common with Westwood with his Manchester roots, said: “I had a very good offer to stay at Crewe but I felt the time was right for me to seek a fresh challenge elsewhere and Carlisle fit the bill in every way.

“I need to progress my career and I’m sure I’ll do that with Carlisle. Both times we played them last season I was impressed with their solidity as a unit. They saw us off twice and their defence was very impressive.

“It helps as a keeper when you’ve got good defenders in front of you and there are some very good defenders at Carlisle. I aim to be a very reliable last line of that defence.

“I’m aware that comparisons with Keiren will start stright away but it would be good if we could knock those on the head. Keiren’s Keiren. I am me.

“I think he kept 19 clean sheets for Carlisle last season but I kept 13 in a team that struggled throughout. I’m proud of that.”

The 6ft 2in Williams joined Crewe on a free transfer from Old Trafford in the summer of 2004 having had loan spells with Altrincham and, coincidentally, Coventry.

He is set to face his old club Crewe in Carlisle’s first home fixture of the 2008/9 campaign on August 16.

Carlisle chief scout Stuart Gray is delighted by the capture of Williams and he said: “Ben is a really important signing for us. It’s horses for courses in this game and he fits the bill in every way - he’s the right age, he’s outstanding at League One level and he immediately struck up a rapport with the rest of the lads. We have a few players who are Manchester-based and they’re already making car-share plans!

“He plays in a really important position and I have every confidence that, with Ben, that position is in very good hands.”

Williams spent the evening of his 21st birthday on the substitutes’ bench as Manchester United faced a potential banana skin in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier against Hungarian outfit Zalaegerszegi.

He recalls: “We had lost 1-0 in the first leg in Hungary and there was a lot of tension in the air at Old Trafford.

“It would have been something of an embarrassment to be beaten over two legs by the Hungarians but we were three up in 21 minutes through Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham and Paul Scholes and that was job done really.

“We finished up winning 5-0 on the night with Roy Carroll in goal virtually a spectator.”

With Manchester United’s long line of top class goalkeepers - Peter Schmeichel was his boyhood hero and remains his choice as the best of all time - Williams was always going to find it nigh on impossible to become a fixture at Old Trafford.

“You never wish injury on anybody,” he says “and barring those your way to the top at one of the world’s greatest clubs is always going to be blocked.

“So you have to think of what’s best for you at the various stages of your career.

“Right now Carlisle is best for me.”