Peter Thomas Taylor
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Peter Thomas Taylor (2 July 1928 – 4 October 1990) was an English
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 ...
player and
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 ...
. 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 ...
with a modest playing career, he went on to work in management alongside
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
at Derby County and
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, winning 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 ...
with both clubs and the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
twice with Nottingham Forest. He joined
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
in 1945 and spent the 1953–54 season as Coventry's first choice goalkeeper, but was otherwise mostly used a reserve player. He was sold on to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
for £3,500 in 1955, and kept goal for the
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 ...
club for four full seasons after being promoted to the first team in the 1956–57 campaign. He lost his first team place in 1960, and in June 1961 joined
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
for a £750 fee. He took a free transfer to non-league Burton Albion in May 1962, where he ended his playing career. Throughout his playing career he built for his future management career by learning from Coventry manager Harry Storer and building a close relationship with Middlesbrough striker Brian Clough, six years his junior. He was appointed as manager of Burton Albion in October 1962 after impressing the chairman with his knowledge of the game. He built a strong team and led the club to victory in the Southern League Cup in 1964. In 1965, Clough appointed him as his assistant at
Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
, and Taylor helped Clough to rebuild the playing squad. The pair moved on to Derby County in May 1967, taking the club to the Second Division title in 1968–69, then the First Division title in 1971–72, and the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. The duo resigned in October 1973 after their strained relationship with the club's board of directors became unworkable. Clough and Taylor moved on to Brighton & Hove Albion in November 1973, and Taylor stayed on as manager after Clough left Brighton in July 1974. In July 1976, Taylor left Brighton to work alongside Clough at Nottingham Forest. Repeating their achievement at Derby by winning promotion into the top-flight in 1976–77 and then winning the league title in 1977–78, they then surpassed their previous accomplishments by winning the European Cup in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
. Forest also lifted the Anglo-Scottish Cup, the
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
, the
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
, and twice won the League Cup. Taylor retired in May 1982, but returned to the game in November 1982 to manage Derby County. He retired for the second and final time in April 1984. Following a dispute over a player transfer in May 1983 he and Clough had not been on speaking terms and Taylor's sudden death in October 1990 robbed Clough of the chance of reconciliation, something he greatly regretted. In April 2009, a statue of Clough and Taylor was commissioned at Derby's Pride Park Stadium, and in October 2015 Nottingham Forest's main stand at the City Ground was renamed the Peter Taylor Stand.


Playing career


Nottingham Forest

Peter Taylor was born on 2 July 1928, one of eight children brought up in the Meadows, Nottingham, to Tom and Jenny Taylor, an engineer and housewife respectively. He met his future wife Lily Thorpe at the age of 14, who persuaded him to play for her father's team, local non-league side Christchurch. He later moved on to play for Mapperley Methodists, before he was spotted by
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, and signed to their youth team, the Forest Colts. He made his first team debut for the club as an amateur in a wartime fixture against local rivals Notts County at Meadow Lane in 1944, at the age of 16.


Coventry City

He signed with
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
on his 17th birthday, though was initially only a part-time player as his father insisted that he also complete an apprenticeship in bricklaying. Under the stewardship of Harry Storer, Coventry finished seventh in the
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 ...
in 1950–51, and Taylor made his debut 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 ...
on the final day of the season, breaking Alf Wood's run of 261 consecutive first team appearances. The ''Birmingham Sports Argus'' described how "if Peter's role ack-up goalkeeper to Woodhas denied him the glamour of a glorious achievement in action, he has his share of personal glamour. He's a tall fair-haired good looker, and so comely, that he was described as the film star of Highfield Road. Is single too." Taylor did not stay single for long however, and married Lily Thorpe in June 1951. Coventry were relegated in 1951–52, with Taylor having made 29 appearances. Coventry finished sixth in the Third Division South in 1952–53, with Taylor only appearing eight times. It proved to be Storer's final season as manager, and Taylor later cited Storer as his managerial mentor, and would go on to quote Storer numerous times throughout his career. Taylor played 42 games as Coventry posted a 14th-place finish under
Jack Fairbrother John Fairbrother (16 August 1917 – October 1999, born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire) was an English professional football goalkeeper, best known for his time at Newcastle United shortly after the Second World War where he won a FA C ...
in 1953–54, then played ten matches as they finished ninth in 1954–55. Taylor decided to leave the club after losing his first team place to future Coventry City Hall of Famer and England international
Reg Matthews Reginald Derrick Matthews (20 December 1933 – 7 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the most expensive goalkeeper at the time he signed for Chelsea in 1956 for £22,000. Club career In a playing career ...
.


Middlesbrough

Taylor was sold to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
in the summer of 1955 for £3,500 by new Coventry manager Jesse Carver, following an assessment of the playing staff by Carver and new coach
George Raynor George Sidney Raynor (13 January 1907 – 24 November 1985) was an English professional footballer and one of the most successful international football managers ever. One of his greatest achievements was taking the Sweden national football te ...
. It was at Middlesbrough that Taylor first met his future managerial partner
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
, who was then fourth-choice
striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...
at
Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and r ...
. Taylor spotted Clough's potential and helped him to achieve a place in the first team. Taylor initially contacted Storer, now manager of Derby County, to try and get him to sign Clough, but Storer had told him he had spent the club's budget on signing
Martin McDonnell Martin Henry McDonnell (27 April 1924 – 7 April 1988) was an English footballer who played as a centre half. He made 412 appearances in the Football League, playing for Southport, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Derby County and Crewe Alexandr ...
and Paddy Ryan. Manager Bob Dennison led "Boro" to 14th in the Second Division in 1955–56, seeing both Clough and Taylor only as "useful reserves". The pair spent their spare time coaching schoolboys to boost their wages and to gain experience. Clough went on to become the club's star striker with 197 goals in 213 league games, and though Taylor would also break into the first team after replacing Rolando Ugolini, he later said he was only ever an "average goalkeeper".


Port Vale

In June 1961,
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
manager Norman Low paid Middlesbrough £750 for Taylor's services. Largely unneeded at Vale Park,
Ken Hancock Kenneth Paul Hancock (born 25 November 1937) is an English former football goalkeeper. He is the younger brother of Ray Hancock. He made 442 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He began his professional career at P ...
being a virtual ever-present from 1960 to 1964, his only appearance was in a 2–1
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
defeat at
Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
on 3 February 1962. He left on a free transfer for Burton Albion in May 1962, where he began his management career.


Management career


Burton Albion

In October 1962, Taylor was offered the manager's job at Burton Albion after impressing chairman Trevor Grantham with his knowledge and theories on the game. In summer 1963 he oversaw a complete overhaul of the playing staff, only retaining four players, and completely rebuilt the squad. He signed strikers Richie Barker and Stan Round, who would score a combined 308 goals for the club, and remain the club's two highest goalscorers (as of 2021). He survived calls for his resignation after a defeat to
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
in the FA Cup and went on to create one of the most successful sides in Burton's history, beating Weymouth to win the Southern League Cup in 1964. In 1965, he walked out on a newly signed £34 a week three-year contract at Burton to become Clough's assistant manager at
Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
on wages of £24 a week. He later admitted the decision, which he took against the advice of his friends and family, was "against all logic". His successor, Alex Tait, led Burton to promotion out of the Southern League Division One in 1965–66.


Hartlepools United

Before their arrival, Hartlepools had been forced to apply for re-election to 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 ...
five times in the previous six years, and Taylor stated that the squad were all free transfer signings and some of the players struggled with "drink, debt or abandoned wives". The two gradually turned around the club's fortunes, and started by painting Victoria Park. Taylor had little chance to show his skills in the transfer market as the club only had £7,500 to spend, £4,000 of which went on centre-half Johnny Gill. Other signings included two of Taylor's former players at Burton, defender
Tony Parry Anthony John Parry (8 September 1945 – 23 November 2009) was an English footballer who made nearly 200 appearances in the Football League playing as a central defender for Hartlepool United, Derby County and Mansfield Town. Parry was born in ...
and goalkeeper
Les Green Leslie Green (17 October 1941 – 30 July 2012) was an English footballer and manager. Playing career Atherstone Town Les Green started out at a young age playing for youth teams around his hometown of Atherstone. He played for Atherstone Boys ...
; Parry would go on to win the club's Player of the Year award. The pair went on to lead the club to an eighth-place finish in 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 ...
in 1966–67 after replacing most of the playing staff, an improvement on 1965–66 when the pair had only managed an 18th-place finish. On 15 November 1966, the then chairman, Ernest Ord, who was known for playing mind games with managers, sacked Taylor saying he couldn't afford to pay him anymore. Clough refused to accept it so Ord sacked him as well. However, there was a boardroom coup where they refused to ratify the two sackings and which instead saw Ord ousted as chairman. Both Clough and Taylor were reinstated. Clough had initially wanted to quit the club numerous times due to interference from Ord, but Taylor insisted that they stay as they could not walk out on their first job in management. After Ord resigned as chairman Clough wanted to remain at Hartlepools, but Taylor persuaded him to take the offer to manage Derby.


Derby County

In May 1967, Clough and Taylor left Hartlepools to join Derby County after being recommended to the club by Len Shackleton. At Derby, Taylor and Clough proceeded to re-build the side, with Taylor instrumental in signing players such as
Dave Mackay David Craig Mackay (14 November 1934 – 2 March 2015) was a Scottish football player and manager. Mackay was best known for a highly successful playing career with Heart of Midlothian, the Double-winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961, an ...
and Roy McFarland. Future England centre-half McFarland, who he described as an "uncut diamond" from the
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
, was his first signing for a fee of £24,000. Other signings he initiated included winger John McGovern (whom the pair had signed at Hartlepools and would follow Clough on to Leeds and Nottingham) and full-back John Robson. After the 1967–68 season had finished with the club fifth from bottom in the
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 ...
, Clough and Taylor had released 16 players and numerous more staff members, including "a tea lady who laughed after a bad defeat". Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1968–69, prompting chairman Sydney Bradley to state that "Brian and Peter built an ocean liner out of a shipwreck". Derby finished fourth in 1969–70, and then strengthened again from a player Taylor had
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
ed, signing midfielder Archie Gemmill from
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
for £64,000. Most signings involved scouting from Taylor, with the only two transfers he had played no part in being Clough's former Sunderland teammates Colin Todd and John O'Hare. Following a ninth-place finish in 1970–71, Derby went on to win the League Championship in 1971–72 – the first in the club's history. Clough and Taylor continued to strengthen the club in the transfer market however, with Taylor noting that "a manager should always be looking for signs of disintegration in a winning side and then sell the players responsible before their deterioration is noticed by possible buyers". Derby reached the semi-finals of the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
the following season, controversially losing to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
; Taylor had spotted Juventus player Helmut Haller talking with referee Gerhard Schulenberg at half-time and described how a "squad of heavies" restrained him after he attempted to overhear the pair's conversation. Clough went on to call the Italian team "cheating bastards". On 15 October 1973, both he and Clough resigned, partially after a dispute with the Derby board over Taylor's crucial but largely undefined role, although numerous reasons were behind Clough and Taylor's resignation. Taylor in particular had been frustrated by what he felt was a lack of support from the club's directors over the pair's transfer policy. The pair had come close to leaving Derby earlier, turning down offers to manage
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
and the Greece national team. Fans protested against the board following their resignation, and the players also demanded they be reinstated, but chairman Sam Longson's relationship with Clough and Taylor was irreparable.


Brighton & Hove Albion

Clough was appointed as manager at Third Division Brighton & Hove Albion on 1 November 1973, with Taylor joining as his assistant. Just after the pair were appointed, the team lost 4–0 at home to Walton & Hersham in an FA Cup replay and then 8–2 at home to Bristol Rovers on 1 December. Brighton finished 19th in the final table in the 1973–74 season, narrowly avoiding relegation to the Fourth Division, and the pair began to rebuild the team by signing Peter Grummitt,
Andy Rollings Andrew Nicholas Rollings (born 14 December 1954) is an English retired professional footballer, best remembered for his six years as a centre back in the Football League with Brighton & Hove Albion. He also played League football for Portsmo ...
,
Ian Mellor Ian Mellor (born 19 February 1950) is an English former professional footballer. He was born in Sale, England. Mellor, a left-winger, began his career with Manchester City. He played as a substitute as City won the 1972 FA Charity Shield. He ...
,
Steve Govier Stephen Govier (born 6 April 1952) is a former professional footballer. Govier, a centre-back, began his career with Norwich City, for whom he played 30 games (scoring twice) and was a member of the squad that won the second division championshi ...
, and Ken Goodeve; Taylor felt that Clough never settled at Brighton however, and spent too much time away on media commitments. Clough left for Leeds United in July 1974, but Taylor refused to go with Clough as he felt Brighton and club chairman Mike Bamber had treated them well, and so the partnership ended after nine years as Taylor stayed at the Goldstone Ground as sole manager. He went on to sign striker Peter Ward and midfielder Brian Horton, but admitted that both he and Clough were much more effective as a duo; he felt that he had struggled to make the good players he signed play to their full potential whilst feeling that Clough had bought and sold poorly as Leeds manager. He stayed on at the South coast club for a further two seasons, guiding the team to a fourth-place finish in 1975–76, missing promotion by two points. His successor, Alan Mullery, managed to lead the team Taylor left behind to promotion in 1976–77 and then into the top-flight in 1978–79.


Nottingham Forest

On 16 July 1976, Taylor resigned as Brighton manager and joined once again with Clough, who had by this time moved on to
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
after a 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United."Brian Clough and the miracle of Nottingham Forest" theguardian.com 10 October 2015
/ref> After assessing the players Taylor told Clough "that was a feat by you to finish eighth in the Second Division because some of them are only Third Division players". He then berated
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned, and got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him to become a top international. He also spotted Tony Woodcock playing for the reserves and converted him from an unwanted midfielder into a striker who would win 42 caps for England. In September 1976, he bought striker Peter Withe for £43,000, and sold him on to
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
for £250,000 two years later. Withe was replaced in the starting eleven by Garry Birtles, who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league Long Eaton United; Birtles would also go on to represent England. The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the
1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup The 1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup was the second edition of the tournament. It was won by Nottingham Forest, who beat Orient in a two-legged final by 5–1 on aggregate.Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976. Clough valued winning a derided trophy as the club's first silverware since 1959, saying: "Those who said it was a nothing trophy were absolutely crackers. We'd won something, and it made all the difference.""Old Big 'Ead ignites Forest fire" ESPN 22 March 2012
/ref> Within a year of Taylor's arrival, Forest were promoted to the First Division after securing third automatic promotion place in 1976–77. Taylor and Clough then decided to replace goalkeeper John Middleton with Peter Shilton, whom they purchased for £270,000; Taylor reasoned: "Shilton wins you matches." After spending some time secretly following Kenny Burns he came to the conclusion that Burns's reputation as a hard drinker and gambler was exaggerated and he sanctioned a £145,000 move for the player, who would become FWA Footballer of the Year in 1977–78 after being converted from centre-forward to a sweeper role."Signing 'a hooligan' and a Shankly team talk: how Clough set up Forest for title" The Guardian 11 November 2015
/ref> Clough and Taylor were appointed joint-managers of the England youth team in December 1977, but the pair resigned after less than a year in charge as Forest's success meant they struggled to make time to also coach the England players. In their first season back in the top division, Forest won the Championship by a seven-point margin ahead of runners-up Liverpool, conceding just 24 goals in 42 league games. They won the League Cup with a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the final replay, despite Shilton, David Needham and Archie Gemmill all being ineligible to play as they were cup-tied. In February 1979, Taylor authorised the English game's first £1 million transfer, when Forest purchased Trevor Francis from Birmingham City. Taylor later reported that Clough had been holding out for a fee of £925,000 until Taylor rang Birmingham to confirm the deal at £1 million, before ringing Clough to say "We've got Francis, I've just paid their price"; Clough replied simply by saying "Good", and then put down the phone. Forest started the 1978–79 season by beating Ipswich Town 5–0 for a Charity Shield record win. On 9 December 1978, Liverpool ended Forest's 42 match unbeaten league run dating back to the November the year before. The unbeaten run was the equivalent of a whole season surpassing the previous record of 35 games held by Burnley in 1920/21. At the end of the season Forest won the European Cup with a 1–0 victory over Malmö FF at the Olympiastadion. They also won the League Cup again after beating Southampton 3–2; Taylor led the team out at Wembley as Clough felt it was Taylor's turn – they always wanted to lead their team out together but were always denied permission by Football League chairman Alan Hardaker. After this success Forest bought Asa Hartford and Frank Gray, though Hartford was sold on after two months after Taylor realised his limited passing range did not fit Forest's style of play. Forest were denied a third consecutive League Cup win in 1980 after a defeat in the final by Wolverhampton Wanderers. The European Cup was retained in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
, this time against
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
's Hamburger SV at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Clough and Taylor then began the process of breaking up the championship winning team, selling off Martin O'Neill, Ian Bowyer, Garry Birtles, and Larry Lloyd; as a new team was built based around youngsters such as Gary Mills, Stuart Gray, Colin Walsh, and
Bryn Gunn Brynley Charles Gunn (born 21 August 1958, in Kettering) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a full-back (association football), full-back for a number of clubs between 1975 and 1996. He is best remembered for hi ...
. New signings included striker Ian Wallace and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
international
Raimondo Ponte Raimondo Ponte (born 4 April 1955) is a Swiss former professional footballer. At international level, he made 34 appearances for the Swiss national team scoring 2 goals. Career Ponte joined Nottingham Forest from Grasshopper Club Zürich ...
. Taylor retired in May 1982 after Forest finished 12th in the league, with recent signings
Justin Fashanu Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu ( ; 19 February 1961 – 2 May 1998) was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out publicly later in his career, beco ...
and Raimondo Ponte proving to be unsuccessful. Clough would stay at Forest for another 11 seasons, but without Taylor would only add two League Cups and two Full Members Cups to the club's trophy cabinet, and would struggle against alcoholism.


Return to Derby County

Taylor took over as manager of Derby County in November 1982, to the great surprise of most people in the game. He brought in Roy McFarland as his assistant, and signed Archie Gemmill and
Bobby Davison Robert Davison (born 17 July 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his professional career with Huddersfield Town before spending time at Halifax Town, Derby County (twice), Leeds United, Sheffield ...
. At the time Derby were going through serious financial problems and were bottom of the table, but he steered them to a mid-table position by the end of the season with a 15-match unbeaten run. In the third round of the FA Cup on 8 January 1983 they knocked out Clough's Forest team with a 2–0 win at the
Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 19 ...
. They reached the Fifth Round, where they were knocked out by
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 ...
. However, the following season saw the team struggle again, and Taylor resigned in early April 1984 with the club third from bottom of the Second Division, before Derby went on to be relegated. However, the team did manage to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and the revenue obtained from the cup run helped to keep the club afloat.


Relationship with Clough

Clough was quoted as saying "I'm not equipped to manage successfully without Peter Taylor. I am the shop window and he is the goods in the back." The two worked as a pair by complementing each other's strengths, as Clough had a forceful personality and was adept at motivating players, whilst Taylor was more reserved, though he had an ability to spot talented players. Former Hartlepools player Cliff Wright described the pair as "good cop, bad cop. Cloughie would knock you to the ground, verbally at least, and Pete would pick you up and put you back together." As the bigger personality and the man with the title of manager, Clough garnered much greater publicity than Taylor, which caused Taylor to grumble that "I sometimes wonder why he never says to Bell's whisky, for instance, when they're handing out Manager of the Month awards, 'You'll have to present an extra gallon bottle. There are two of us." On a personal level they were very close, and often finished each other's sentences. Though Taylor's friendship and partnership with Clough had been strong, their relationship had sometimes become strained on occasion. While at Derby in 1971, Taylor was riled when he learned that Clough had failed to disclose to him that he had received a pay rise of £5,000 from chairman Sam Longson. He was also annoyed that Clough was often away earning extra money from media work while he was left to do a larger share of the work with the players. The relationship worsened in the autumn of 1980 when Taylor published ''With Clough, by Taylor'', an autobiography which was largely based on Taylor's work with Clough. Taylor had not told Clough that he was writing the book and did not give him a share of the proceeds. In February 1972 Taylor was approached by and received an offer from
Frank O'Farrell Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining ...
to be his number two at
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 ...
but the United board rejected the offer because of apparent fear from Busby about Clough mountaining a campaign against the club in the media. Although they initially parted on good terms when Taylor retired in May 1982, and spent time together that summer in Cala Millor the relationship was severely strained when Taylor became manager of Derby County in November 1982, and finally damaged permanently after a dispute over the transfer in May 1983 of
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
from Forest to Derby, where Taylor was now managing. Clough was apparently angered that Taylor did not inform him about the deal. Clough attacked Taylor in a
tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft * ''Ta ...
article on 3 July 1983 as being a "
rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small anim ...
", "a snake-in-the-grass" and said that "We pass each other on the A52 going to work on most days of the week. But if his car broke down and I saw him thumbing a lift, I wouldn't pick him up, I'd run him over". The two men would never speak to one another again. Shortly before his death, he did scouting work for Leicester City.


Death

On 4 October 1990, Peter Taylor died suddenly of pulmonary fibrosis while on holiday in Costa De Los Pinos,
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
, at the age of 62. When told of Taylor's death by Ron Fenton, Clough apparently did not speak and put the phone down on him. He also, while very upset, made a phone call to the Taylor family. Clough, along with the rest of his family, attended the funeral 12 days later at St Peter's Church,
Widmerpool Widmerpool is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, about 10 miles south-south-east of Nottingham and some 7.5 miles north-east of Loughborough. It is one of Nottinghamshire's oldest settlements and is just over a mile west of the A46 ...
as did around 250 people, including Colin Todd, Roy McFarland, Larry Lloyd, Alan Durban, Frank Clark, David Pleat, Jimmy Sirrell, Kevin Hector, Peter Withe and Archie Gemmill. Clough dedicated his 1994 autobiography to Taylor saying "To Peter. Still miss you badly. You once said: 'When you get shot of me there won't be as much laughter in your life'. You were right."


Career statistics


Playing statistics

Source:


Managerial statistics


Honours

Burton Albion * Southern League Cup: 1964 Derby County (with Clough) * Football League Second Division: 1968–69 *
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 ...
: 1971–72 Nottingham Forest (with Clough) * Football League Second Division third-place promotion: 1976–77 * Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1976–77 *
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 ...
: 1977–78 * League Cup:
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
,
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
*
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
*
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
:
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
,
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
*
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...


Legacy

Clough paid tribute to Taylor when he was awarded the freedom of the city of Nottingham in March 1993, saying that "I have only one regret today, and that is that me mate isn't here with me". Taylor was portrayed by Timothy Spall in '' The Damned United'', a film released in 2009 based on Clough's ill-fated spell at Leeds United. In August 2010, Derby County unveiled a statue of Clough and Taylor at Pride Park Stadium. In September 2015, Nottingham Forest announced that the Main Stand at the City Ground would be renamed the Peter Taylor Stand as part of the club's 150th anniversary celebrations.


References

Specific General * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Peter 1928 births 1990 deaths Footballers from Nottingham English footballers Association football goalkeepers Nottingham Forest F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English football managers Burton Albion F.C. managers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. managers Derby County F.C. managers Southern Football League managers English Football League managers Association football coaches Association football scouts Hartlepool United F.C. non-playing staff Derby County F.C. non-playing staff Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. non-playing staff Nottingham Forest F.C. non-playing staff Notts County F.C. non-playing staff Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis