John Taylor (born 25 June 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for three clubs during the 1970s.

Playing career

Taylor began his professional career with

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, who he joined from

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh language, Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the pl ...

in July 1970, in a summer that also saw fellow youngsters

Alan Groves Alan Groves (24 October 1948 – 15 June 1978) was an English professional association football, footballer. He played as a midfielder. Groves joined hometown club Southport F.C., Southport from Blowick in December 1968 and went on to play for ...

, Dave Kennedy and Brian Woodall and the experienced

Dave Pountney David Pountney (; born 12 October 1939) is an English former footballer. He played in The Football League for Shrewsbury Town, Aston Villa and Chester City. He played in several positions including winger and wing half.''Player Memories'', C ...

arrive at the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

club. Although he made his debut for Chester against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

on 31 October 1970, Taylor managed just seven league appearances in his first two seasons at the club as he acted as reserve to

Terry Carling Terry Carling (born 26 February 1939) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Football League for four clubs. Playing career Carling began his professional career with Leeds United. He joined them in 1956 bu ...

and then

Gordon Livsey Gordon William Livsey (born 24 January 1947) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Wrexham, Chester and Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional assoc ...

. He finally established himself at the club during the 1972–73 season, as he recovered from a pre–season injury to play in the final 40 league games of the season. He played in the opening 18 games of the following season, but the signing of

Grenville Millington Grenville Rodney Millington (born 10 December 1951 in Queensferry, Flintshire) is a former professional footballer who played in The Football League as a goalkeeper. He enjoyed a long career with Chester and was voted the club's BBC Cult Hero i ...

led to Taylor losing his place and he managed just five more league starts. In the 1974–75 season (when Chester won promotion from the

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

and reached the semi–finals of the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

), Taylor was restricted to a solitary

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

outing against Oswestry Town as he brought his Chester career to a close. During the season, he had a short loan stint with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, where he played three games. After a spell with non-league side

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

, Taylor returned to

with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

in November 1975. Just one league appearance was added to his career tally and he joined

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1949 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Chester City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Pwllheli F.C. players