Matthew Simon Taylor (born 27 November 1981) is an English professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
,
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
and former player who was most recently head coach of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
.
As a player, Taylor was a
full-back,
wing-back and
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
for
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
,
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
and
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
and 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
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
,
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
and
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
. He scored 84 goals in 658 league games in a 20-year career in English football.
Taylor began his coaching career while still a player at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
and, upon retiring from playing in 2019, he moved to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
to coach their U18s.
He landed his first
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 ...
management job in May 2021, taking over as head coach of
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
.
Club career
Luton Town
Taylor was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, Oxfordshire.
[ He began his career at ]Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
, making his debut as a 17-year-old at the beginning of the 1999–2000 season.[ He soon made the left wing-back slot his own and won the Luton Young Player of the Season award in his first ever season as a professional,] before he won the Player of the Season award in 2000–01. However, despite having an excellent season, he couldn't prevent Luton being relegated to the Third Division. The 2001–02 season saw Luton win promotion as Third Division runners-up, with Taylor scoring 11 league goals and being named in the PFA Third Division Team of the Year.
Portsmouth
His displays led to interest from Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
clubs, but he instead decided, in July 2002, to sign for First Division team Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
for £750,000. The fee was set averting the need for a tribunal, causing Luton manager Joe Kinnear
Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...
to lament: "at least Dick Turpin
Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...
had the decency to wear a mask".
Usually playing as a left wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation, his speedy breaks down the left flank in support of the attack were a feature of Portsmouth's play as they won the First Division title in May 2003. As well as being a regular in the team during the season, he also scored seven goals in the League.
An injury picked up in the later stages of the previous season meant that Taylor was unavailable for the start of Portsmouth's first Premiership season. After returning to fitness, Taylor struggled to win his place in the side back due to the side's good early season form and Harry Redknapp
Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...
's switch to the 4–4–2 formation. Taylor eventually won a place in the Pompey team at left back, where he was a regular in the second half of the 2003–04 season and appeared to be regaining form. Despite failing to score a league goal in his Premiership debut season, Taylor did hit the equaliser in an FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
tie at Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
on 15 February 2004, when he ran the length of the pitch to celebrate with the supporters after a forceful right-footed finish at the Kop End.
Taylor's first Premiership goal came against Middlesbrough on 1 February 2005. The summer signing of David Unsworth
David Gerald Unsworth (born 16 October 1973) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Oldham Athletic. Prior to this, he was most recently academy director and under-23's head coach at Prem ...
from Everton meant Taylor only became a regular in the side in the second half of the season.
New manager Alain Perrin
Alain André Christian Perrin (born 7 October 1956) is a French professional football manager and former player.
Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes, whom he took from the fourth tier to Ligue 1 and UEFA Cup qualification by winnin ...
utilised Taylor as a left midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
during the 2005–06 season. On 29 October 2005, he scored from 40 yards at Sunderland's Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
, winning the BBC Goal of the Month
The Goal of the Month is a monthly segment on BBC's ''Match of the Day'' television programme, in honour of the best goal scored each month. The segment has been featured on the programme since the 1970–71 season. Typically, a selection of eig ...
. Spotting the 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 ...
Kelvin Davis off his line, Taylor hit a dipping left-footed half-volley over Davis' head and into the back of the net. Portsmouth had been trailing Sunderland 1–0 in the crucial "six-pointer" but Taylor inspired a second half comeback with two goals and two assists in a 4–1 victory. When Harry Redknapp returned, Taylor initially retained his attacking role but the arrival of Andrés D'Alessandro
Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro (born 15 April 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
He has played top-flight football in Argentina, Germany, England, Spain, Brazil and Uruguay. He won an Olym ...
on loan and Redknapp's disapproval of Perrin's left-back, Grégory Vignal
Grégory Vignal (born 19 July 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player.
A left back, Vignal played in the top division in five countries – England, France, Spain, Scotland and Greece – and in the second tier in a six ...
, meant that Taylor returned to full-back for the latter stages of the season. 2005–06 could be considered Taylor's breakthrough season as a Premiership footballer. In all he played 34 league games, scoring six goals. Two of these were crucial penalties; one in the last minute against Sunderland to secure a 2–1 win, and another in an away game at Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
on 29 April 2006 to clinch another 2–1 win and survival from relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
.
His good form for Portsmouth attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
and Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, but he signed a long-term contract with Portsmouth in July 2006. In the 2006–07 season, Taylor was a regular in the Portsmouth side on the left of midfield. Despite the team's good form, it took until early December for him to score his first league goal, in a game against Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
.[ He then added a second from the penalty spot in the same match before going on to score spectacular volleys in the next two games against Everton and ]Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
His first-half goal against Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at Fratton Park in April 2007 sent Portsmouth on their way to a 2–1 victory over the Premier League champions. His final goal for Portsmouth was a penalty kick in August 2007, in a 3–1 win over Bolton Wanderers, the club he moved to five months later.
Bolton Wanderers
After losing his place in the Portsmouth team to Niko Kranjčar
Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a winger or second striker. As of 5 May 2021, he works as an assistant to Josip Šimu ...
in the first half of the 2007–08 season, Taylor moved to Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
on 17 January 2008 for an undisclosed fee, after rejecting an offer from Sunderland. On 29 March 2008, Taylor scored his first goals for Bolton with a brace in the 3–2 home defeat to Arsenal.[ On 11 May 2008, Taylor scored his first away goal for Bolton with a last minute equaliser, gaining Bolton a 1–1 draw against ]Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on the last day of the 2007–08 Premier League season.[ In July 2008, having previously worn number 32, Taylor was given the number 7 shirt previously worn by ]Stelios Giannakopoulos
Stylianos "Stelios" Giannakopoulos ( el, Στυλιανός "Στέλιος" Γιαννακόπουλος; born 12 July 1974), popularly known as Stelios, is a Greek football manager and former player. During his playing career, Giannakopoulos p ...
. Taylor scored the 50th goal of his career in a 3–1 win at West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
on 5 October 2008 and reached double figures in the league for the first time when scoring against Chelsea on 11 April 2009. In July 2009, he signed a new long-term contract at Bolton Wanderers. In the 2009–10 season, after the Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
game blood tests showed that Taylor had developed glandular fever.
West Ham United
On 23 July 2011, Taylor signed for West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 7 August 2011 in 1–0 home defeat to Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
and scored his first goal in West Ham's 4–3 win over his former club, Portsmouth, on 10 September.
Burnley
On 4 July 2014, newly promoted Premier League club Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
confirmed that they had signed Taylor from West Ham United on a two-year deal, on a free transfer. Taylor played in Burnley's first three games of the 2014–15 season but sustained an Achilles' heel
An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to ...
injury for which he underwent surgery in October 2014. Taylor returned to the first team on 11 April 2015, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 home defeat to Arsenal. In his third game back, he missed a penalty kick which would have put Burnley 1–0 up in an important game against Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
to avoid relegation from the Premier League. Leicester won the game 1–0 scoring 59 seconds after Taylor had missed his penalty.
Taylor was released by Burnley at the end of 2015–16 season after making 37 appearances, scoring four goals.
Northampton Town
On 1 August 2016, Taylor signed for newly promoted League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
on a one-year contract. He debuted on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 1–1 draw at home to Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...
.[ His first goal for Northampton came from a 20-yard ]free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...
in a 3–2 victory at home to Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
on 4 September, and this was followed up with a goal in the following match, a 2–0 win at home to Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
.[ Taylor finished the season with 48 appearances and eight goals,][ and signed a one-year contract extension after a clause in his contract was triggered.
]
Swindon Town
On 22 August 2017, Taylor signed for League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
on a one-year contract. Four days later, Taylor made his debut during Swindon's 3–0 home defeat against Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...
, replacing Amine Linganzi
Amine Linganzi Koumba (born 16 November 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Algeria, Linganzi represented Congo at international level.
Club career
Born in Algiers, Algeria, Linganzi emigrated to Aix- ...
in the 53rd minute. On 22 September 2017, Taylor scored his first goal for Swindon in their 2–0 away victory over newly promoted Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
, doubling the visitors lead in the 91st minute.
On 6 June 2018, Taylor signed a new one-year deal with Swindon, agreeing to continue his player/coach role. In March 2019, Taylor announced his intention to retire from football at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Coaching career
Taylor completed his coaching badges during his playing career and spent time working alongside Luton Town’s under-16s team while at West Ham United.
He was named interim manager at Swindon Town following the resignation of David Flitcroft
David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the director of football at club Port Vale. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry ...
on 1 March 2018 and took charge of just one game before transitioning into a player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
role following the appointment of Phil Brown as manager.
Tottenham Hotspur
Taylor was appointed head coach of Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
Under-18s upon his retirement from football in 2019.
A number of players he developed during his time in north London went onto make professional debuts and included Alfie Devine, Kion Etete, Nile John, Harvey White and Dane Scarlett.
Walsall
Taylor was approached by Walsall to become manager while at Tottenham Hotspur and agreed to join the club at the end of the season in 2021.
Tasked with overhauling the senior squad and establishing a new playing style ahead of his first step into management, Taylor recorded his first win against Stevenage 1-0 on 28 August 2021.
He was then nominated for League Two Manager of the Month in October having recorded just three defeats in 14 games during a run of good form across all competitions.
Taylor was relieved of his duties at the club on 9 February 2022.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Luton Town
*Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
runner-up: 2001–02[
Portsmouth
*]Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
winner: 2002–03[
West Ham United
*]Football League Championship play-offs
The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...
winner: 2011–12[
Burnley
*]Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
winner: 2015–16
Individual
* Luton Town Young Player of the Season: 1999–2000
* Luton Town Player of the Season: 2000–01
* PFA Third Division Team of the Year: 2001–02
* PFA First Division Team of the Year: 2002–03
* Swindon Town Player of the Season: 2017–18
References
External links
Matthew Taylor profile
at the Swindon Town F.C. website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Matthew
1981 births
Living people
Footballers from Oxford
English footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football midfielders
Luton Town F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
English football managers
Swindon Town F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff
Walsall F.C. managers
Association football coaches