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Maik Taylor

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Maik Taylor
Taylor during 2004 pre-season with Birmingham City
Personal information
Full name Maik Stefan Taylor[1]
Date of birth (1971-09-04) 4 September 1971 (age 53)[1]
Place of birth Hildesheim, West Germany
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham City (goalkeeper coach)
Youth career
1985–1990 ASC Nienburg
Princess Marina College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Petersfield Town
Basingstoke Town
1992–1995 Farnborough Town
1995–1997 Barnet 70 (0)
1997 Southampton 18 (0)
1997–2004 Fulham 189 (0)
2003–2004 → Birmingham City (loan) 27 (0)
2004–2011 Birmingham City 187 (0)
2011–2012 Leeds United 0 (0)
2012 → Millwall (loan) 10 (0)
2012–2013 Millwall 6 (0)
Total 502 (0)
International career
1998 Northern Ireland U21 1 (0)
1999 Northern Ireland B 1 (0)
1999–2011 Northern Ireland 88 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Maik Stefan Taylor (born 4 September 1971) is a former Northern Ireland international football goalkeeper and, since July 2022, goalkeeping coach at Birmingham City.

At club level, Taylor played non-League football for Petersfield Town, Basingstoke Town and Farnborough Town before moving into the Football League with Barnet. He went on to play for Southampton, Fulham, Birmingham City, where he spent eight years before his release at the end of the 2010–11 season, Leeds United and Millwall. In international football, he played for Northern Ireland, qualifying for that country through his British passport which at that time, as he was born abroad, entitled him to play for any of the Home Nations.

Taylor took up goalkeeper coaching, initially with the Northern Ireland setup. He was briefly goalkeeping coach at Bradford City in 2019, and then spent three years in that role with Walsall before moving on to Birmingham City in July 2022.

Early life

[edit]

Taylor was born in Hildesheim, West Germany, to a German mother and an English father who was serving as a staff sergeant in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) regiment of the British Army.[2][3] Taylor began his football career at ASC Nienburg of Nienburg, Lower Saxony, in Germany before moving to England as a schoolboy. He later followed in his father's footsteps by joining the REME based at Arborfield in Berkshire, where he attended Princess Marina College.[4]

He later moved to Bordon in Hampshire where he played football for his regiment and for the Army and Combined Services representative sides.[5] During this period he also played for Petersfield Town, Basingstoke Town and Farnborough Town, with whom he won the Southern League Premier Division title in 1993–94.[4]

Club career

[edit]

In June 1995, Taylor joined Barnet of the Football League Third Division for a fee of £700.[4] Eighteen months later he was signed by Southampton of the Premier League for a fee of £500,000.[4]

Southampton

[edit]

Taylor had become a "Saints" fan as a schoolboy so when Graeme Souness brought him to The Dell in January 1997, no-one was more delighted than Taylor himself.[5] Taylor immediately went into the first-team, replacing Dave Beasant, and made his debut on 11 January in a 1–0 victory at Middlesbrough. During his first season at Southampton, the team struggled near the foot of the table, missing relegation by one point, having been in last place with five matches to play.[6]

Souness left the club in the summer of 1997, being replaced by Dave Jones who brought in several new players, including goalkeeper Paul Jones from his previous club, Stockport County. Taylor spent the rest of his time at Southampton on the bench and was sold to Fulham in November 1997.[5]

Fulham

[edit]

Taylor was bought by Fulham in 1997 from Southampton at a cost of £800,000.[5] Fulham's manager Kevin Keegan rated him as the "best taker of a cross I've ever seen"[7] and he proved to be a good signing for the Cottagers, helping them win the Second Division title in 1999. The First Division championship followed in 2001 and thus promotion to the Premier League.

Whilst at Craven Cottage, Taylor earned his first international cap for Northern Ireland in a 3–0 defeat by Germany on 27 March 1999. He went on to make over 80 appearances for his adopted country.[4]

He was the first-choice goalkeeper at Craven Cottage until Fulham reached the Premier League, when manager Jean Tigana signed Edwin van der Sar, thus relegating Taylor to the bench. Taylor made only one Premier League appearance in 2001–02, but an injury to Van der Sar sustained at Newcastle United on 21 December 2002[8] ruled him out for several months, allowing Taylor to return to the side, and he retained his place for the remainder of the season.[9]

Birmingham City

[edit]

Taylor signed for Birmingham City in August 2003, initially on a year-long loan deal with the possibility of a permanent contract.[10] Manager Steve Bruce made the contract permanent in March 2004 for a £1.5 million fee.[11] Taylor continued his impressive form and was rewarded by being nominated as the goalkeeper for the Premiership team of the 2003–04 season.[12]

Taylor was replaced as Birmingham's first choice goalkeeper in February 2007 by Colin Doyle, but regained his place after the first three matches of the 2007–08 Premier League season. He was again replaced as the first choice keeper in the 2009–10 Premier League season by loan signing Joe Hart, playing only the two fixtures against Hart's parent club, Manchester City. He spent the rest of the season on the bench.

In May 2010, Taylor signed a new one-year deal with Birmingham just after they had signed new keeper Ben Foster from Manchester United. He played only four matches in 2010–11, all in cup competitions, and was on the bench as Birmingham won the 2011 Football League Cup Final. He was not offered a new contract at the end of the season.[13]

Final playing years

[edit]

After training with the club for two weeks in November 2011, and saving a penalty in a friendly against a Chelsea XI, Taylor signed a short-term contract, until January 2012, with Championship club Leeds United.[14] Taylor took his place on the bench behind loan goalkeeper Alex McCarthy two days later against Barnsley.[15] His contract was extended until the end of the season, to act as backup for Andy Lonergan,[16]

But in March, having made no appearances for Leeds and with new manager Neil Warnock preferring not to name a goalkeeper among the substitutes, Taylor agreed to move to fellow Championship club Millwall on loan for the remainder of the season.[17] After a string of clean sheets, Taylor was nominated for the Championship player of the month award for April. After his six-month deal came to an end, Taylor was told he would be released by Leeds at the expiry of his contract.[18] In May 2012, Taylor agreed a 12-month contract with Millwall, staying with them for one season before retiring.

International career

[edit]

Taylor was born in Germany to an English father and a German mother. As a British citizen who was born abroad, FIFA eligibility rules at the time of Taylor's first international selection entitled him to represent any of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom at international level. He opted for Northern Ireland, despite having no familial connection to that country.[19][20]

Taylor made his debut for the Northern Ireland U21 team in April 1998 at the age of 27, as an over-age player in a 2-1 friendly victory over Switzerland.[4] His senior debut was against Germany in 1999: Northern Ireland lost 3–0.[4] In an August 2005 friendly Taylor saved an injury time penalty from Malta's George Mallia to keep the score at 1–1.[21] He became a regular in the Northern Ireland national team, and played 88 matches, including the famous 1–0 victory over England in September 2005.

Taylor was replaced by Lee Camp as first choice goalkeeper, but was recalled to the Northern Ireland squad in August 2011 despite not being registered with a club since leaving Birmingham City.[22] He made his 88th appearance for Northern Ireland on 11 October 2011, captaining his country in a 3–0 defeat away to Italy in a Euro 2012 qualifier.[23] While working as the national goalkeeping coach, the 43-year-old Taylor made an emergency return to the squad in June 2015 as a back-up goalkeeper, following an injury to Roy Carroll the day before a Euro 2016 qualifier against Romania.[24]

Coaching career

[edit]

In July 2013, Taylor – who had studied UEFA B Licence and UEFA A Licence, Part 1 – was hired as goalkeeping coach for the Northern Ireland national team.[25]

On 8 March 2019, he agreed a short-term deal to become the goalkeeping coach at Bradford City until the end of the 2018–19 season.[26] In June 2019 he left Bradford to take up a similar role at Walsall,[27] and in July 2022, returned to Birmingham City as part of newly appointed head coach John Eustace's backroom staff.[28]

Career statistics

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barnet 1995–96[1][29] Third Division 45 0 2 0 2 0 2[a] 0 51 0
1996–97[1][29] Third Division 25 0 4 0 4 0 — 33 0
Total 70 0 6 0 6 0 2 0 84 0
Southampton 1996–97[29] Premier League 18 0 — — — 18 0
1997–98[30] Premier League 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0
Total 18 0 — — — 18 0
Fulham 1997–98[30] Second Division 28 0 2 0 — 3[b] 0 33 0
1998–99[31] Second Division 46 0 7 0 5 0 0 0 58 0
1999–2000[32] First Division 46 0 4 0 7 0 — 57 0
2000–01[33] First Division 44 0 1 0 5 0 — 50 0
2001–02[34] Premier League 1 0 2 0 3 0 — 6 0
2002–03[9] Premier League 19 0 4 0 2 0 3[c] 0 28 0
Total 184 0 20 0 22 0 6 0 232 0
Birmingham City 2003–04[35] Premier League 34 0 4 0 1 0 — 39 0
2004–05[36] Premier League 38 0 2 0 2 0 — 42 0
2005–06[37] Premier League 34 0 6 0 1 0 — 41 0
2006–07[38] Championship 27 0 3 0 1 0 — 31 0
2007–08[39] Premier League 34 0 1 0 0 0 — 35 0
2008–09[40] Championship 45 0 1 0 0 0 — 46 0
2009–10[41] Premier League 2 0 0 0 2 0 — 4 0
2010–11[42] Premier League 0 0 1 0 3 0 — 4 0
Total 214 0 18 0 10 0 — 242 0
Leeds United 2011–12[43] Championship 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Millwall (loan) 2011–12[43] Championship 10 0 — — — 10 0
Millwall 2012–13[44] Championship 6 0 0 0 1 0 — 7 0
Total 16 0 0 0 1 0 — 17 0
Career total 502 0 44 0 39 0 8 0 613 0
  1. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in Football League play-offs
  3. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup, one in UEFA Cup

Honours

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Farnborough Town[4]

Fulham[4]

Birmingham City[4]

Individual

  • 1998–99 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year[47]
  • 2000–01 Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2005). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Queen Anne Press. pp. 396–97. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  2. ^ Reng, Ronald (24 March 1999). "Ein Nordire aus Hildesheim" [A Northern Irishman from Hildesheim]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 19 May 2003.
  3. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (22 December 2007). "Maik Taylor: 'For some players there is always an excuse. They don't appreciate their job. It amazes me'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Maik Taylor". Northern Ireland Football Greats. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d Holley, Duncan & Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology. pp. 586–587. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  6. ^ Holley & Chalk, In That Number. p. 250.
  7. ^ Marshall, Alan (3 May 2000). "I'd pick Don for England; Keegan wishes he had Hutch". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 5 January 2014 – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ Turnbull, Simon (22 December 2002). "Robson piles new troubles on Tigana". The Independent on Sunday. London. p. 4. Retrieved 5 January 2014 – via NewsBank.
  9. ^ a b "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Blues finally land Taylor". BBC Sport. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  11. ^ Curtis, John (23 March 2004). "Taylor secures permanent deal at Birmingham". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Player Profiles: Maik Taylor". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  13. ^ "Carr gears up". Birmingham City F.C. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Goalkeeper signs up for United". Leeds United F.C. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011.
  15. ^ "United lose out to Barnsley". Leeds United F.C. 26 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Deal agreed for Maik to stay on". Leeds United F.C. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Millwall sign Leeds United goalkeeper Maik Taylor". BBC Sport. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  18. ^ "Eleven told they can go". Leeds United F.C. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012.
  19. ^ Brunt, Heather Jan (11 October 2005). "Maik Taylor's 50th cap". Irish Football Association. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  20. ^ McKinley, Stuart (19 November 2008). "Taylor is still true to Northern Ireland cause". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Malta 1–1 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 17 August 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Kyle Lafferty and Chris Brunt back for Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  23. ^ Ferguson, Paul (12 October 2011). "Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland reign comes to bitter end against Italy". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  24. ^ Beacom, Steven (13 June 2015). "Northern Ireland v Romania: Michael McGovern is handed biggest match of his life". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Maik Taylor appointed Northern Ireland goalkeeping coach". BBC Sport. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  26. ^ Parker, Simon (8 March 2019). "Taylor named Bradford City goalkeeping coach". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Former Bantams goalkeeping coach Maik Taylor joins Walsall". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  28. ^ Dick, Brian (4 July 2022). "Confirmed: John Eustace names his Birmingham City back-room staff". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  29. ^ a b c "Games played by Maik Taylor in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  30. ^ a b "Games played by Maik Taylor in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  31. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  32. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  33. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  34. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    "Fulham 3–0 Bolton Wanderers". Fulham F.C. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  36. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  37. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  38. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  39. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  40. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  41. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  42. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  43. ^ a b "Millwall sign Leeds United goalkeeper Maik Taylor". BBC Sport. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
    "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  44. ^ "Games played by Maik Taylor in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  45. ^ "Fulham clinch Euro glory". BBC Sport. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  46. ^ McNulty, Philip (27 February 2011). "Arsenal 1–2 Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  47. ^ "Sad Vialli throws in title towel". Irish Independent. 26 April 1999. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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