Robert Anthony Taylor (born 30 April 1971) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, licensed football agent and manager. As a player he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and was active as a professional between 1990 and 2003. Although featuring for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, he notably had lengthy and prolific spells with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and Gillingham. He notably scored for the Gills at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in the 1999 Division Two Play-off final against Manchester City, only months before he would join The Blues. Taylor also played professionally for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

and

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

. He retired in 2003 following a brief spell with non-League side Gorleston, although whilst manager of Diss Town he did make three more senior appearances between 2008 and 2012. Since retiring Taylor has managed at non-League level for Watton United, King's Lynn Town, Dereham Town, Diss Town, Mundford, Swaffham Town and Acle United.

Playing career

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, Taylor played for Watton United's youth team. He was first spotted after playing for Watton United's first team at the age of 15 against

's reserves in a pre-season friendly. A forward, Taylor failed to make a first-team appearance for Norwich, making his professional debut in 1991 whilst on loan at

. He spent August and September 1990 with Norwegian side Mjølner to gain further experience. He played five games and scored one goal for Mjølner in the second tier of the Norwegian league during a loan spell that lasted until the end of the season in Norway. In August 1991, Taylor began a trial with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

which led to a one-month contract in September, but he made no first-team appearances. He ultimately joined former loan club Leyton Orient, where he scored 20 goals in 81 appearances before moving to

where he scored 74 goals in 208 appearances. In 1998, he signed for Gillingham for a then club-record fee of £500,000. Playing under manager

Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh former professional football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 2 ...

Taylor enjoyed the best goal scoring run of his career, totalling 39 goals in 70 games. This included five goals in a single game away to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in February 1999. Taylor played and scored in the 1999 Second Division play-off final against

. Taylor remained with the club until November 1999 when he signed for Manchester City for £1.5 million. Playing for the club as it gained promotion from the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, he scored 5 goals in 12 appearances. In 2000, he signed for

for £1.55 million on a four-year deal, commenting that City's signings of Paolo Wanchope and

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

meant his playing time would be limited at the club. He only made 12 first team appearances for Wolves, scoring three goals and suffered with then-undiagnosed circulatory problems in his legs. Whilst at the club he was sent on loan to

and his former club Gillingham. Leaving Wolves in 2002 he then signed permanently for

, before ending his professional career with

. He also went on to play for non-League club Gorleston. In 2008, while Diss Town manager, he made a brief playing comeback early in the 2008–09 season.

Managerial career

Taylor moved into management with Watton United,

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

(as caretaker manager), Dereham Town, Diss Town, Mundford and more recently Swaffham Town. In 2019, he returned to Watton United as manager.

Personal life

As a child Taylor supported Liverpool, citing

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...

and

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh playe ...

as his inspiration. In 2016, Taylor launched a football agency, TG-Inspire.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

runner-up: 1999-00 Individual * Brentford Player of the Season: 1995–96 * Gillingham Player of the Season: 1998–99

As a manager

Diss Town *

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

First Division third-place promotion: 2010–11

References

External links

Profile at ex-canaries.co.uk
* *
Chester City Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Robert 1971 births Living people Footballers from Norwich English men's footballers Norwich City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Gorleston F.C. players Men's association football forwards English Football League players English football managers Watton United F.C. managers King's Lynn F.C. managers Dereham Town F.C. managers Diss Town F.C. managers Swaffham Town F.C. managers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway