Stuart Taylor (footballer born 1980)

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Stuart Taylor
Personal information
Full name	Stuart James Taylor[1]
Date of birth	28 November 1980 (1980-11-28) (age 28)
Place of birth	Romford, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	TBA
Youth career
	Arsenal
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–2005 1999 2000 2001 2004–2005 2005–2009 2009 2009–	Arsenal → Bristol Rovers (loan) → Crystal Palace (loan) → Peterborough (loan) → Leicester City (loan) Aston Villa → Cardiff City (loan) Manchester City	18 (0) 04 (0) 10 (0) 06 (0) 10 (0) 12 (0) 08 (0) 00 (0)
National team2
	England U21	03 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:55, 23 June 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 19:55, 23 June 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Stuart James Taylor (born 28 November 1980) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City. He signed from Aston Villa on 1 July 2009 on a free transfer. ^[2] He plays as a goalkeeper.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Arsenal 1.2 Aston Villa 1.3 Cardiff City 1.4 Manchester City 2 International career 3 Honours 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] Arsenal

Born in Romford, Essex, Taylor had been at Arsenal since joining the club in 1997 as a youth player, though he was loaned out several times – to Bristol Rovers (September 23 – October 23, 1999), Crystal Palace (August 9 – October 1, 2000), Peterborough United (February 15 – March 15, 2001) and Leicester City (November 18, 2004 – January 23, 2005). He played only 30 times in eight years for Arsenal's first team, as he was often the club's second or third-choice keeper. However, this included ten League appearances in Arsenal's 2001–02 Premiership-winning season, thus qualifying him for a winner's medal, although this was only achieved in the final match,with the title already won. Taylor and Richard Wright were on 9 appearances so manager Arsene Wenger picked Wright from the start but substituted him for Taylor on 85 minutes so that both were entitled to a winner's medal.

During his time at Arsenal he was tipped to become David Seaman's successor. However, although he saw off competition from Alex Manninger and Richard Wright, the signings of Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia in 2003 and 2004 respectively led to his decision to seek opportunities elsewhere. Taylor missed the whole of the 2003–04 season due to a persistent shoulder problem.^[3]

[edit] Aston Villa

In June 2005 Taylor moved to Aston Villa, signing on a four-year deal.^[4] He became Villa's second-choice goalkeeper, behind Thomas Sørensen. During the 2005–06 season he made just two appearances for the club. He blocked Wayne Rooney's penalty in a match against Manchester United on 20 October 2007 during a match in which first-choice goalkeeper Scott Carson was sent off. Aston Villa signed Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan at the start of the 2008–09 season, and Friedel is now the first choice goalkeeper. The second choice goalkeeper appears to be Guzan with Taylor slipping down to third. This despite generally putting in good performances, when called upon. Taylor has not appeared for Villa since facing Odense BK in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, early on in the season. However, he was named in the squad to travel to Moscow to face CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup on 24th February 2009. ^[5]

[edit] Cardiff City

In a bid to find first team football, Taylor began to search for a short term loan deal at a Football League side, entering into talks with League One side Leeds United.^[6] However, on 13 March 2009, a last minute offer from Cardiff City prompted Taylor to instead opt for the Championship side on a one-month loan deal, becoming the third goalkeeper to sign on loan at the club during the season, after Tom Heaton and Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.^[7] He made his debut for the side two days later in a 1-1 draw with Bristol City.^[8]

Taylor continued as first choice for Cardiff throughout his first month at the club, despite the return of Tom Heaton from injury, and his loan deal was extended to the end of the season.^[9] However, following a 6-0 defeat to Preston North End, Taylor was dropped from the side for the final three games of the season. At the end of the campaign, he returned to Villa Park.^[10]

[edit] Manchester City

Taylor agreed terms with Manchester City regarding a free transfer on 23 June 2009, following the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2008-09 season. He officially became a Manchester City player on July 1, 2009. ^[11] Taylor admitted taking advice from Brad Friedel, who had previously worked with manager Mark Hughes and goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock at Blackburn Rovers.

[edit] International career

Taylor played for the England U20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside Ashley Cole, Peter Crouch and Andy Johnson. He has been capped three times for the England U21 team.

[edit] Honours

With Arsenal

• FA Premier League: 2001-02
• FA Cup: 2003
• FA Community Shield: 1999, 2002

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stuart Taylor career stats at Soccerbase
• Stuart Taylor: The Arsenal Verdict
• Profile at UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database

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