- Maik Taylor
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Maik Taylor 
Taylor during 2004 pre-seasonPersonal information Full name Maik Stefan Taylor Date of birth 4 September 1971 Place of birth Hildesheim, West Germany Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1] Playing position Goalkeeper Youth career – ASC Nienburg – Princess Marina College Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† – Petersfield Town – Basingstoke Town 1992–1995 Farnborough Town 80 (0) 1995–1997 Barnet 70 (0) 1997 Southampton 18 (0) 1997–2004 Fulham 187 (0) 2003–2004 → Birmingham City (loan) 27 (0) 2004–2011 Birmingham City 187 (0) National team‡ 1999 Northern Ireland B 1 (0) 1999–2011 Northern Ireland 88 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:47, 11 July 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:18, 16 November 2011 (UTC)Maik Stefan Taylor (born 4 September 1971)[2] is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is without a club after being released by Birmingham City at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Taylor spent eight years at Birmingham, and previously played for Barnet, Southampton and Fulham. In international football, he played for Northern Ireland, qualifying for that country through his British passport which, as he was born abroad, entitled him to play for any of the Home Nations.
Contents
Early life and career
Taylor was born in Hildesheim, 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.[3][4] 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.[5]
He later moved to Bordon in Hampshire where he played football for his regiment and the Army & Combined Services representative sides.[6] During this period he also played for Petersfield Town, Basingstoke Town and Farnborough Town with whom he won the Southern League Premier Division Championship in 1993–94.[5]
In June 1995, he joined Barnet of the Football League Third Division for a fee of £700.[5] Eighteen months later he was signed by Southampton of the Premier League for a fee of £500,000.[5]
Southampton
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.[6] Taylor immediately went into the first-team, replacing Dave Beasant, making 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.[7]
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.[6]
Fulham
Taylor was bought by Fulham in 1997 from Southampton at a cost of £800,000.[6] Fulham's manager Kevin Keegan rated him as the "best taker of a cross I've ever seen"[8] and he proved to be a good signing for the Cottagers, helping them to 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, going on to make over 80 appearances for his adopted country.[5]
He was the first-choice 'keeper 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 on 21 December 2002[9] ruled him out for several months, allowing Taylor to return to the side, and he retained his place for the remainder of the season.[10]
Birmingham City
Taylor signed for Birmingham City in August 2003, initially on a year-long loan deal with the possibility of a permanent contract.[11] Manager Steve Bruce made the contract permanent in March 2004 for a £1.5 million fee.[12] Taylor continued his impressive form and was rewarded by being nominated as the goalkeeper for the Premiership team of the 2003–04 season.[1]
Taylor is renowned for his shot stopping and great aerial ability. He was voted Premiership fans' goalkeeper of the season in Birmingham City's 2003–04 campaign.
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]
In November 2011, Taylor played for a Leeds United XI in a 2–1 friendly victory over a Chelsea XI as part of a trial with the club.[14]
International career
As the holder of a British passport who was born abroad, Taylor was eligible to represent any of the Home Nations at international level.[4] He is a regular in the Northern Ireland national team, and has played 88 matches, including the famous 1–0 victory over England in September 2005. His debut was against Germany in 1999, where Northern Ireland lost 0–3.[5]
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.[15] He made his 88th and final appearance for Northern Ireland on 11 October 2011, captaining his country in a 3–0 defeat away to Italy in a Euro 2012 qualifier.[16]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2010–11 season
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total 1995–96 Barnet Third Division 45 0 2 0 2 0 – 49 0 1996–97 25 0 4 0 4 0 – 33 0 1996–97 Southampton Premier League 18 0 – – – 18 0 1997–98 Fulham Second Division 30 0 2 0 – – 32 0 1998–99 46 0 7 0 5 0 – 58 0 1999–00 First Division 46 0 4 0 7 0 – 57 0 2000–01 44 0 1 0 5 0 – 50 0 2001–02 Premier League 2 0 2 0 3 0 – 7 0 2002–03 19 0 4 0 2 0 2 0 27 0 2003–04 Birmingham City Premier League 34 0 4 0 1 0 – 39 0 2004–05 38 0 2 0 2 0 – 42 0 2005–06 34 0 6 0 1 0 – 41 0 2006–07 Championship 27 0 3 0 1 0 – 31 0 2007–08 Premier League 34 0 1 0 – – 35 0 2008–09 Championship 45 0 1 0 – – 46 0 2009–10 Premier League 2 0 – 2 0 – 4 0 2010–11 Premier League 0 0 1 0 3 0 – 4 0 Total England 489 0 44 0 38 0 2 0 573 0 Honours
- Farnborough Town
- Southern League Premier Division champions: 1993–94[5]
- Second Division champions: 1998–99
- First Division champions: 2000–01
- The Championship runner-up: 2006–07
- The Championship runner-up: 2008–09
- Football League Cup winner: 2011
References
- ^ a b "Player Profiles: Maik Taylor". Birmingham City F.C. http://www.bcfc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10412~8076,00.html. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ Hugman, Barry, ed (2005). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006. Queen Anne Press. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-85291-662-1.
- ^ Reng, Ronald (24 March 1999). "Ein Nordire aus Hildesheim [A Northern Irishman from Hildesheim]" (in German). Berliner Zeitung. http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/1999/0324/sport/0026/index.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ a b 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. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/maik-taylor-for-some-players-there-is-always-an-excuse-they-dont-appreciate-their-job-it-amazes-me-766724.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Maik Taylor". Northern Ireland Football Greats. http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2007/05/maik-taylor.html. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
- ^ 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.
- ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 250.
- ^ Marshall, Alan (3 May 2000). "I'd pick Don for England; Keegan wishes he had Hutch" (reprint). Daily Record (The Free Library (Farlex)). http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football%3a+I%27D+PICK+DON+FOR+ENGLAND%3b+Keegan+wishes+he+had+Hutch.-a061869518. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
- ^ Turnbull, Simon (22 December 2002). "Robson piles new troubles on Tigana". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/robson-piles-new-troubles-on-tigana-611759.html. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Maik Taylor". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=9109. Retrieved 13 May 2011. Select required season via dropdown menu.
- ^ "Blues finally land Taylor". BBC Sport. 8 August 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/3126051.stm. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ Curtis, John (23 March 2004). "Taylor secures permanent deal at Birmingham". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/taylor-secures-permanent-deal-at-birmingham-567324.html. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Carr Gears Up". Birmingham City F.C. 27 May 2011. http://www.bcfc.com/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10412~2367559,00.html. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ "Taylor features for United". Leeds United A.F.C. 15 November 2011. http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20111115/taylor-features-for-united_2247585_2517051. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Kyle Lafferty and Chris Brunt back for Northern Ireland". BBC Sport (BBC). 22 August 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14614885.stm. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ Ferguson, Paul (12 October 2011). "Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland reign comes to bitter end against Italy". Belfast Telegraph. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/nigel-worthingtons-northern-ireland-reign-comes-to-bitter-end-against-italy-16062578.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
External links
- Profile on Birmingham City website
- Profile at The Official Website for the Irish Football Association
- Profile at Premier League
- Maik Taylor career stats at Soccerbase
1998–99 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year GK: Maik Taylor · DF: Steve Finnan · DF: Chris Coleman · DF: Steve Davis · DF: Rufus Brevett / Jamie Vincent · MF: Darren Wrack · MF: Sean Gregan · MF: Graham Kavanagh · MF: Steve Robinson · FW: Mark Stein · FW: Geoff Horsfield2000–01 Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year GK: Maik Taylor · DF: Steve Finnan · DF: Chris Coleman · DF: Henning Berg · DF: Martin Grainger · MF: David Dunn · MF: Lee Clark · MF: Sean Davis · MF: Damien Duff · FW: Louis Saha · FW: Matt JansenCategories:- Living people
- 1971 births
- People from Hildesheim
- British people of German descent
- Northern Ireland international footballers
- Association football goalkeepers
- Petersfield Town F.C. players
- Basingstoke Town F.C. players
- Farnborough Town F.C. players
- Barnet F.C. players
- Southampton F.C. players
- Fulham F.C. players
- Birmingham City F.C. players
- Southern Football League players
- The Football League players
- Premier League players
- Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers soldiers
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