Scott James Taylor (born 5 May 1976) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a

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 ...

who notably played in the Premier League for

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 ...

. He also 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 Millwall, Rotherham United,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, Tranmere Rovers, Stockport County,

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, Milton Keynes Dons,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Rochdale. He played in non-league football with

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

. He later had a spell with

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C.'',''Staines Albany F ...

where he was also the club's assistant manager.

Playing career

Taylor started his professional career at Millwall where he played 28 games before being signed by Bolton for £150,000 in March 1996. Taylor failed to break into the Bolton side and only managed to score three goals in all competitions. One of these goals came in the memorable 6–1 League Cup win over Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, when Bolton were in the second tier. After loan spells at Rotherham United and

, he signed for Tranmere Rovers in October 1998 for a fee of £350,000. Taylor played over 100 games for Tranmere in almost three years and played the full 90 minutes in the

2000 Football League Cup Final The 2000 Football League Cup Final was played between Leicester City, in their third final appearance in four years, and First Division side Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2000. It was the 34th and last League Cup Final to be p ...

before signing for Stockport County on a free transfer in July 2001. His stay at Stockport was short lived, and he signed for

, this time on a permanent deal, in January 2002. It was at Blackpool that Taylor enjoyed the most successful part of his career to date, scoring 61 goals in all competitions in a two-year spell. In 2002 he started and scored in the final as Blackpool won the

2001–02 Football League Trophy The Football League Trophy 2001–02, known as the LDV Vans Trophy 2001–02 for sponsorship reasons, was the 19th staging of the Football League Trophy, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in Second, Third Division and the Confere ...

. His goalscoring record resulted in a £100,000 transfer to Championship side

. "I had a great time at Blackpool," he said shortly after the move south. "I got on really well with the fans and, whatever anyone says, was sad to go. It was because of serious issues in my personal life at the time, and it was forced upon me. Things are finally looking up now and I hope both us and Blackpool stay up – I certainly think with Simon Grayson in charge they will beat the drop." Taylor failed to establish himself at Home Park and moved to Milton Keynes Dons in January 2006. On 11 February 2006, he scored against Blackpool during a 3–0 victory for the Dons. On 8 March 2007, Taylor signed for

in a one-month loan deal. He made six appearances (three as a substitute) without scoring, before returning to MK Dons at the end of the loan spell. He then went out on loan again to Rochdale in late 2007.

announced on 18 January 2008 that, Taylor signed for the Blues until the end of the 2007–08 season. The striker's first goals for the club came on his third appearance, in the form of a hat-trick in the Conference League Cup against Welling United, on 29 January 2008. On 7 July 2008, it was confirmed Taylor had signed for

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

newcomers

. Manager Kevin Keehan told BBC Southern Counties Radio: "He's a very intelligent footballer and brings other people into the game. "He will create as well as score. I couldn't be happier we've signed him." On 28 November, Taylor was released from his contract at Lewes and re-signed for former club

. On 2 May 2009, Taylor came on as a substitute and scored the only goal of Staines Town's Isthmian League Premier Division play-off final against

Carshalton Athletic Carshalton Athletic Football Club is an English football club based in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton. They currently play in the and are based at the War Memorial Sports Ground. The club also field a women's team playing in the Lo ...

. Taylor came on and scored in extra time after Staines goalkeeper Louis Wells saved a penalty in normal time to clinch promotion to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

Personal life

Taylor is a trainee electrician, since turning to part-time football.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 2003–04 Second Division

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Scott 1976 births Sportspeople from Chertsey Living people Men's association football forwards English footballers Staines Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players