Neil Taylor (footballer)

Neil Taylor

Taylor playing for Swansea City in 2011
Personal information
Full nameNeil John Taylor[1]
Date of birth7 February 1989
Place of birthRuthin, Wales
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Swansea City
Number3
Youth career
1998–2005Manchester City
2005–2007Wrexham
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2007–2010Wrexham75(3)
2010–Swansea City112(0)
National team‡
2005–2006Wales U1710(0)
2006–2007Wales U195(0)
2007–2010Wales U2113(0)
2009Wales Semi-Pro1(0)
2010–Wales21(0)
2012Great Britain5(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 11 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:00, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

Neil John Taylor (born 7 February 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Swansea City and the Welsh national team as a defender.

A former Manchester City trainee, he began his career with Wrexham in 2007 and moved to Swansea for an initial £150,000 in 2010.

Taylor made his full international debut for Wales in 2010, and has since earned over 15 caps. He also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Club career

Wrexham

Taylor began his career at Manchester City, but left the club at the age of 15.[2] He instead moved to Wrexham at the age of 16 progressing through the youth system at the club,[3] signing a professional contract in July 2007.[4] He broke into the first-team at Wrexham during the 2007–08 season when he made 27 league and cup appearances.[5] He signed an extension to his contract in March 2008, keeping him at Wrexham until 2010.[6]

Swansea City

At the end of the 2009–10 season, Taylor joined Football League Championship side Swansea City on a free transfer.[2] A fee of £150,000 plus 10% of any future profit was agreed between the two clubs just before entering a professional footballers compensation committee tribunal on 30 September 2010.[7][8] He made his Swans league debut coming on as a sub for Albert Serrán in the defeat at Norwich City. Taylor had played 15 league games, due to injuries and suspensions, before spraining his ankle against Reading on 1 January 2011. Taylor made his return more than a month later on 19 February against Doncaster Rovers the same week where both he and captain Garry Monk became fathers. On 12 May 2011, in the Football League Championship play-off semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest, Taylor was sent off after 53 seconds for a high challenge on Forest's Lewis McGugan. The match ended in a 0–0 draw.

His impressive form then sparked a £1m-plus bid from Newcastle United that summer, but he committed himself to the Swans instead with a contract extension.[9] That paid off for both player and club as Taylor again enjoyed a successful season in helping the Swans to 11th spot in their first Premier League campaign.

Taylor and Nathan Dyer attempt a tackle on Arsenal's Robin van Persie in 2011

Taylor suffered a broken ankle in the game against Sunderland on 1 September 2012 after falling awkwardly during a challenge on Craig Gardner in the early stages of the game and was ruled out until the end of the season.[10] During his time on the sidelines, Swansea City would win the League Cup Final following a 5–0 win over League Two side Bradford City.[11]

On 14 December 2012, Taylor signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Swansea, which keeps him at the club until 2016.[12]

In late February, Taylor returned to full training after six months out with injury.[13] In late April, Taylor played 80 minutes for Swansea City U21s as part of his rehabilitation.[14] Taylor made his first senior appearance since his injury as a substitute for Ben Davies in a 2–0 loss against Chelsea on 28 April 2013.[15] After the match, Taylor expressed relief at his return to the first team.[16]

After Taylor's return, Swansea manager Michael Laudrup described the battle for the left-back slot between Taylor and Ben Davies as “a beautiful problem for a manager to have”.[17]

International career

Wales

Taylor lining up for Wales in 2011

Initially eligible for either Wales or India, Taylor made his debut for Wales on 23 May 2010 against Croatia at the Stadion Gradski vrt. He played four times in Euro 2012 qualifying.

On 9 September 2014, in Wales' first match of UEFA Euro 2016 qualification, he gave away a penalty to Andorra in the fifth minute, converted by Cristian Martínez, but the Welsh fought back for a 2–1 victory.[18]

Great Britain

Stuart Pearce named Taylor in his 18-man squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as one of three Swansea City players.[19] He played his first game for Great Britain in a friendly against Brazil at the Riverside Stadium.[20] He then went on to appear in all of the team's group stage fixtures helping to secure progression into the knockout stages of the Olympic Football tournament.

Personal life

Born in Ruthin, Denbighshire,[21] Taylor is of mixed Welsh-Indian descent. His mother is from Kolkata in India.[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 January 2015.
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wrexham 2007–08[23] League Two 2600010—00270
2008–09[24] Conference Premier 26220——6[lower-alpha 1]0342
2009–10[25] Conference Premier 23120——1[lower-alpha 2]0261
Total 75 3 4 0 1 0 — 7 0 87 3
Swansea City 2010–11[26] Championship 2900020—1[lower-alpha 3]0320
2011–12[27] Premier League 3601010——380
2012–13[28] Premier League 600000——60
2013–14[29] Premier League 10030106[lower-alpha 4]0—200
2014–15[30] Premier League 1900020——210
Total 100 0 4 0 6 0 6 0 1 0 117 0
Total 175 3 8 0 7 0 6 0 8 0 204 3
  1. ↑ Two appearances in Conference League Cup, four in FA Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearance in FA Trophy
  3. ↑ Appearance in Championship play-offs
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 4 June 2014.[31]
International statistics
National team Year Apps Goals
Wales 2010 1 0
2011 7 0
2012 2 0
2013 4 0
2014 2 0
Total 16 0

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 1 February 2013. p. 33. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Swans agree terms with Neil Taylor". Swansea City A.F.C. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  3. ↑ "Neil Taylor". Wrexham F.C. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  4. ↑ "Neil Taylor". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  5. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  6. ↑ "Wrexham rookies sign new deals". BBC Sport. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Wrexham FC want compensation tribunal after Neil Taylor signs for Swansea City". Daily Post. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  8. ↑ "Swansea agree Neil Taylor compensation". BBC Sport. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  9. ↑ "Swansea City turn down £1 million Newcastle bid for Neil Taylor – Football News – Football". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  10. ↑ "Swansea defender Taylor out for rest of the season with broken ankle". Goal.com/en. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  11. ↑ "Bradford City 0–5 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Neil Taylor signs fresh Swansea deal". BBC Sport. 14 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Manager Michael Laudrup sets Swansea Premier League target". BBC Sport. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Michael Laudrup says Neil Taylor is close to first-team return". Sky Sports. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Chelsea 2–0 Swansea". BBC Sport. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Swansea City star Neil Taylor relieved to finally end eight-month injury nightmare". Wales Online. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Swansea City rivalry between Neil Taylor and Ben Davies 'a beautiful problem'". Wales Online. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Gareth Bale double rescues feeble Wales from embarrassment in Andorra". The Guardian. Press Association. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "London 2012 Olympics: Stuart Pearce names Team GB football squad". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  20. ↑ Fletcher, Paul (20 July 2012). "BBC Sport – Team GB suffer defeat by Brazil". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  21. ↑ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 540. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  22. ↑ "Football in India is growing – Swansea City’s Neil Taylor". Goal.com. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  24. ↑ Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2009). Non-League Club Directory 2010. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN 9-781869-833664.
  25. ↑ Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2010). Non-League Club Directory 2011. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 154–155. ISBN 9-781869-833688.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  31. ↑ "Neil Taylor". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 February 2014.

External links

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