Stuart Taylor (footballer born 1980)

Football player infobox
playername = Stuart Taylor


fullname = Stuart James Taylor
height = height|ft=6|in=5
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|11|28
cityofbirth = Romford
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Aston Villa
clubnumber = 13
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs = Arsenal
years = 1997–2005
1999
2000
2001
2004–2005
2005–
clubs = Arsenal
→ Bristol Rovers (loan)
→ Crystal Palace (loan)
→ Peterborough (loan)
→ Leicester City (loan)
Aston Villa
caps(goals) = 18 (0)
04 (0)
10 (0)
06 (0)
10 (0)
12 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 03 (0)
pcupdate = 19:29, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Stuart James Taylor (born November 28, 1980 in Romford, London) is an English football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Aston Villa, having joined them in the summer of 2005 from Arsenal.

Football career

Arsenal

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.

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. [Cite news
title = Taylor out for season
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/3578339.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2004-03-29
accessdate = 2008-04-13]

Aston Villa

In June 2005 Taylor moved to Aston Villa, signing on a four-year deal. [Cite news
title = Arsenal keeper Taylor joins Villa
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/4626853.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2005-06-27
accessdate = 2008-04-13] 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 October 20, 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 2008–09season, and Friedel is now the first choice Goalkeeper. The second choice goalkeeper is out of Brad Guzan and Stuart Taylor.

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.

Honours

Arsenal

*Premier League winner: 2001–02
*FA Cup winner: 2003

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=15137|name=Stuart Taylor
* [http://www.footballingworld.com/1/teams/a/astonvilla/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1120773047&archive=&start_from=&ucat=121& Stuart Taylor: The Arsenal Verdict]
* [http://www.uptheposh.com/people/2637/ Profile] at [http://www.uptheposh.com/ UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database]