Ian Taylor (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Ian Kenneth Taylor is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 former footballer, best known for his time at Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

. A midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

, he had a fifteen year career in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 and Premier League, making 478 league appearances.

He made the move from non-league Moor Green
Moor Green F.C.
Moor Green F.C. was a non-league association football team originally from the Hall Green area of south Birmingham but later based in the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England...

 to Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 in 1992. With Vale he lifted the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 in 1993
1993 Football League Trophy Final
The 1993 Football League Trophy Final was the 10th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football League Second and Third Division, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at the Wembley Stadium in London on 22 May 1993. The match was contested by Port Vale and...

. His impressive performances earned him a place on the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 PFA Team of the Year
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

 in 1992–93
1992–93 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1992–93 season was Port Vale's eighty-first season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season in the Second Division. John Rudge found new stars by bringing both Ian Taylor and Paul Musselwhite to the club at a combined fee of just £40,000. His team won the pre-season TNT...

 & 1993–94
1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1993–94 season was Port Vale's eighty-second season of football in the Football League, and fifth successive season in the Second Division. They won promotion to the First Division as the division's runners-up, just one point away from champions Reading...

, as well as the club's Player of the Year
Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year
The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited to cast their votes for this award.The inaugural award was...

 award in 1993. He made a million pound move to Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 in June 1994, and he was sold on for another million to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 later in the year. He lifted the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 and reached the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 final with the club he had supported as a boy. In 2003, he signed with Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

, helping the club to the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 play-offs before signing with Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 in June 2005. He helped the club to win promotion out of League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 in 2005–06, before he announced his retirement in April 2007.

Playing career

Taylor started his career with Moor Green
Moor Green F.C.
Moor Green F.C. was a non-league association football team originally from the Hall Green area of south Birmingham but later based in the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England...

, but got a move into the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 in May 1992 when Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 paid the club £15,000 (this figure later rose to £25,000 due to instalments based on appearances). His debut came on 7 August 1992, in a 5–0 win over De Graafschap
De Graafschap
De Graafschap is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the "De Vijverberg" stadium. Their current home ground stands on where the old pitch used to be located and was opened on 12 August 2000...

 in the TNT Tournament. He became a regular in the side and in 1992–93
1992–93 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1992–93 season was Port Vale's eighty-first season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season in the Second Division. John Rudge found new stars by bringing both Ian Taylor and Paul Musselwhite to the club at a combined fee of just £40,000. His team won the pre-season TNT...

 scored 15 goals to become the club's top scorer and earn himself the Player of the Year
Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year
The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited to cast their votes for this award.The inaugural award was...

 award, as well as a place on the PFA
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

 Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 team. The following season
1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1993–94 season was Port Vale's eighty-second season of football in the Football League, and fifth successive season in the Second Division. They won promotion to the First Division as the division's runners-up, just one point away from champions Reading...

 he helped the club to the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 title and was once again selected in the PFA's divisional team of the season. He had become another master signing from John Rudge
John Rudge
John Robert Rudge is an English former football player and football manager. He is currently working as the director of football at Stoke City....

.

In June 1994, Taylor signed with Premier League Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

. The next month a tribunal decided upon a £1 million fee, plus £100,000 for an England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 appearance and £25,000 for every ten goals up to a maximum of fifty goals as well as 15% of the profit of any future sale. As it happened he was shifted on to Brian Little
Brian Little (footballer)
Brian Little is an English former football player and manager who is currently without a job after being relieved of his duties as manager of Gainsborough Trinity on 22 August 2011. Little has previously managed Darlington, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City,...

's Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 in December that year for £1 million plus Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham is a retired professional footballer with over 450 appearances for a number of English clubs, after leaving the British Army. He is currently serving as joint caretaker manager of Portsmouth together with Stuart Gray...

. The "profit" for Wednesday was therefore Whittingham himself, meaning all the would-be bonuses were an irrelevance. Taylor played just eighteen games for Wednesday, but did score a goal in the pre-season Steel City Cup
Steel City Cup
The Steel City Cup was a pre-season "friendly competition" played between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United annually for four years between 1993 and 1996. Wednesday only entered a reserve team in 1996, as they concentrated on their preparations for the new Premier League campaign and this...

.

A lifelong supporter of the "Villans", as a child he used to stand on the Holte End at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...

. This fact, combined with his utterly committed displays and knack of scoring crucial goals, quickly established him as a fans' favourite. Villa narrowly stayed in the Premier League in 1994–95
1994–95 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1994–95 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.-Season summary:Two seasons earlier, Aston Villa narrowly missed out on the league title. The season after that, they dipped to 10th place in the league but still had success as League Cup winners. But...

 after finishing three points and one place above relegated Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

. Villa finished fourth in 1995–96, and Taylor scored in wins over Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

, Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

, and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. He also played, and scored, in the Aston Villa side that won the 1996
1996 Football League Cup Final
The 1996 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 24 March 1996 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Aston Villa and Leeds United. This was the 35th final and the 29th to be played at Wembley...

 League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 final 3–0 against Leeds.

He played 36 domestic games in 1996–97
1996–97 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1996–97 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.-Season summary:There was no silverware this season for last season's Coca-Cola Cup winners, but Brian Little's competent Villa side achieved UEFA Cup qualification for the second season running by...

, scoring in wins over Leeds, Wimbledon, and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

. He scored 9 goals in 44 games in 1997–98
1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League .-Season summary:...

, and maintained his first team place under new manager John Gregory. Taylor also netted important goals in Villa's 1997–1998 UEFA Cup run, when they would eventually be knocked out to Atlético Madrid on away goals at the quarter-final stage.

He scored four times in 38 games in 1998–99
1998–99 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1998–99 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League...

, again Villa won all games in which he found the net, including a 2–1 victory at Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

 in which Taylor scored both Villa's goals. He was prolific in 1999–2000
1999–2000 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1999–2000 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League .-Season summary:...

, bagging ten goals in 42 games, helping Villa to reach the 2000 FA Cup Final, where they lost out 1–0 to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 at Wembley. Taylor hit five goals in 35 games in 2000–01
2000–01 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 2000–01 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League .-Season summary:...

, including both goals of a 2–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. However he was restricted to just eighteen appearances in 2001–02
2001–02 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 2001–02 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League .-Season summary:...

, as manager John Gregary was replaced by Graham Taylor in January. After only nineteen appearances in 2002–03
2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season
The 2002–03 season was Aston Villa F.C.'s 11th season in the Premier League, and their 15th consecutive season in the top division of English football.-Season review:...

, he was released by Taylor at the end of the campaign.

Taylor joined up with First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 side Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

, where he was made captain. He was the club's top-scorer in 2003–04 with twelve goals, as Derby avoided relegation by a single point. He played 44 games in 2004–05, as Derby reached the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 play-offs, where they were defeated by Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 in the semi-finals. Taylor was released in May 2005.

In June 2005 he signed with League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 outfit Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

. The "Cobblers" won promotion in 2005–06 as League Two runners-up, with Taylor making 38 appearances. For his performances he was named on the PFA Team of the Year
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

. Northampton retained their League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 status in 2006–07, as Taylor played another 36 games. Taylor announced that the game at home to Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 on 27 April would be the last of his career before retiring as a professional player. A small number of Aston Villa fans attended this match. At Villa's away match against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 the day after Taylor's final game, the travelling Villa fans sang "There's only one Ian Taylor".

Post-retirement

Taylor is now an occasional football pundit for AVTV and can regularly be seen at Aston Villa games. During the 2007–08 season, he has been given a regular column as the final feature in Aston Villa's match programme, titled 'Tayl End'. Still held in very high esteem by the majority of Villa fans, he maintained his cult status in October 2005, when instead of sitting with the directors and VIPs for the second city derby against Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 at St Andrew's, he was amongst the travelling Aston Villa contingent; Taylor did the same thing again in Villa's game against Birmingham City on 11 November 2007. He played for Villa in the 2007 Premier League All Stars
Premier League All Stars
Premier League All Stars was a televised charity football tournament, which was broadcast live on Sky1 on consecutive nights between 23 September and 30 September 2007. The innovative format features football teams representing all 20 Premier League clubs, each playing to win a share of the...

 charity tournament.

In August 2008 he became a match day summariser
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

 covering matches involving Derby County for BBC Radio Derby
BBC Radio Derby
BBC Radio Derby is the BBC Local Radio station for the English county of Derbyshire, covering all but the northern tip of the county, and also serves eastern Staffordshire, mainly Uttoxeter and Burton upon Trent. The station broadcasts from its studios in Derby on 104.5, 95.3 and 96.0 FM and 1116...

 during the 2008–09 season.

In February 2011, Taylor rejoined Villa after being appointed club ambassador.

Honours

Individual
  • Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year
    Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year
    The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited to cast their votes for this award.The inaugural award was...

    :
    1992–93
    1992–93 Port Vale F.C. season
    The 1992–93 season was Port Vale's eighty-first season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season in the Second Division. John Rudge found new stars by bringing both Ian Taylor and Paul Musselwhite to the club at a combined fee of just £40,000. His team won the pre-season TNT...

  • PFA Second Division
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

     Team of the Year
    PFA Team of the Year
    The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

    :
    1992–93
    1992–93 Port Vale F.C. season
    The 1992–93 season was Port Vale's eighty-first season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season in the Second Division. John Rudge found new stars by bringing both Ian Taylor and Paul Musselwhite to the club at a combined fee of just £40,000. His team won the pre-season TNT...

     & 1993–94
    1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season
    The 1993–94 season was Port Vale's eighty-second season of football in the Football League, and fifth successive season in the Second Division. They won promotion to the First Division as the division's runners-up, just one point away from champions Reading...

  • PFA League Two
    Football League Two
    Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     Team of the Year
    PFA Team of the Year
    The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

    : 2005–06


with Port Vale
  • TNT Tournament winner: 1992
  • Football League Trophy
    Football League Trophy
    The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

     winner:
    1993
    1993 Football League Trophy Final
    The 1993 Football League Trophy Final was the 10th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football League Second and Third Division, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at the Wembley Stadium in London on 22 May 1993. The match was contested by Port Vale and...



with Aston Villa
  • Football League Cup
    Football League Cup
    The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

     winner:
    1996
    1996 Football League Cup Final
    The 1996 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 24 March 1996 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Aston Villa and Leeds United. This was the 35th final and the 29th to be played at Wembley...

  • FA Cup
    FA Cup
    The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

     runner-up: 2000


with Northampton Town
  • Football League Two
    Football League Two
    Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     runner-up: 2005–06

External links

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