Andrew Taylor

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Andrew Taylor

Taylor playing for Middlesbrough
Personal information
Full name	Andrew Derek Taylor
Date of birth	(1986-08-01) 1 August 1986 (age 25)
Place of birth	Hartlepool, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Left back, Left midfielder
Club information
Current club	Cardiff City
Number	3
Youth career
000?–2004	Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2011	Middlesbrough	125	(3)
2005–2006	→ Bradford City (loan)	24	(0)
2010–2011	→ Watford (loan)	19	(1)
2011–	Cardiff City	42	(1)
National team‡
2002	England U16	4	(0)
2002–2003	England U17	6	(0)
2004	England U18	3	(0)
2004–2005	England U19	10	(0)
2005	England U20	1	(0)
2006–2009	England U21	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 February 2012

Andrew Derek Taylor (born 1 August 1986) is an English footballer who plays for Cardiff City as a left wingback. He has previously played for Middlesbrough, Bradford City and Watford on loan.

Club career

Taylor was born in Hartlepool, County Durham. A graduate of Middlesbrough's youth academy, he started out as a left midfielder in the successful 2004 FA Youth Cup campaign with the likes of David Wheater and Adam Johnson.

Middlesbrough

In 2005, Taylor was sent out on loan to Bradford City, making his full debut at his hometown club Hartlepool United.

Taylor was named as a substitute in several UEFA Cup games during the 2004–05 season but did not leave the bench. During the 2005–06 season, Boro reached the FA Cup semi-final and the 2006 UEFA Cup Final. With only Franck Queudrue able to play at left-back, Steve McClaren brought Taylor back from Bradford, where he had impressed on loan. He played in several Premier League matches and the FA Cup semi-final to save Queudrue for the UEFA Cup tie with Sevilla. His impressive form meant he was unlucky to miss out on a starting place against Sevilla.

The arrival of Julio Arca for the 2006–07 season in replacement of the Fulham-bound Queudrue saw Taylor lose his place. After Arca's injury during the first game of the season, Taylor deputised in the left back position and eventually made it his own after impressing Gareth Southgate. He stuck a partnership with fellow Boro academy graduate Stewart Downing on the left wing and is now regarded as the first choice left-back. Taylor signed a one year extension to his contract in January 2008, which would see him remain at the club until June 2011.^[1]

The 2008–09 season was a frustrating one for Taylor as he played only 20 league games due to several injuries. He ended the season on a low note as Boro were relegated after playing out a draw at home to Aston Villa. After starting the 2009–10 season on the bench, he reclaimed his spot in the starting eleven. On 12 September, he sustain an ankle ligament injury in the home win against Ipswich Town and was out for the rest of the month and October. He made the bench for the 21 November game against Nottingham Forest but did not leave the bench.

Taylor joined Watford on loan on 31 August 2010.^[2] He scored his first career goal—a stunning left footed volley from outside the penalty area—on 1 January 2011, in a 3–0 win against Portsmouth at Vicarage Road.^[3] His loan spell finished on 5 January, and on 17 January, Watford put in a bid for the left back.^[4] However, a move failed to materialize. Under new 'Boro boss, Tony Mowbray, Taylor returned to the first team as a left winger. On 19 March, Taylor scored his first Middlesbrough goal against former side Watford, 'Boro won the game 2-1.^[5] He later scored two more goals for Middlesbrough against Ipswich Town and Burnley.

At the end of 2010-11 season, Taylor's contract was due to run out and was linked with a move to Cardiff City, where he could re-join former Watford boss Malky Mackay.^[6] Another Championship club, Bristol City were also interested in signing Taylor over the summer.^[7]

Cardiff City

Andrew Taylor playing for Cardiff in 2011.

On 1 July 2011, Taylor agreed terms with Cardiff City, the deal was subjected to a medical which will take place on 4 July.^[8] The deal was finalized after completing the medical and he signed a three year deal with the Welsh club.^[9] He made his debut in 1-0 win over West Ham United, on the opening day of the season.^[10] Taylor scored his first goal for Cardiff on 27 August, in a 1-1 draw with Portsmouth at Fratton Park.^[11] An hamstring suffered in a League Cup game against Leicester City meant he was ruled out for two weeks and would miss his first game since joining the Bluebirds.^[12] Taylor played in all eight games in the club's League Cup push, in which they reached the final but lost 3-2 on penalties against Liverpool. Cardiff slipped away from automatic promotion following the cup final and at the end of the season found themselves in the final play-off spot, however they were beat 5-0 on aggregate by West Ham United.

International career

Taylor has been in the youth setup since the Under-17 level, and played at the 2003 UEFA U17 Championships with U21 teammates Mark Noble, Steven Taylor and James Milner. With England qualified for the FIFA World Youth Championship that year, he was again selected in the squad. He was a part of England's Under-19 at the 2005 European Championships, in which they finished runners-up to France. In the summer of 2009, he was called up for the 2009 UEFA U21 Championship in Sweden and finished runners-up to Germany.

Business interests

In August 2009 it was announced that the footballer would be involved in a new business venture called Platinum Players. The website based service is aimed to connect footballers and other celebrities with companies and trades people whose reputability and trustworthiness has been validated. The site is available by invitation-only, and went live on 1 September 2009.^[13][14][15]

Career Statistics

As of 17 May 2012.

Honours

Middlesbrough

• FA Youth Cup: 2003–04

Cardiff City

• League Cup Runners-up: 2011-12

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrew Taylor (footballer born 1986)

• Andrew Taylor profile at the Middlesbrough website
• Andrew Taylor career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at 4thegame.com
• Platinum Players website
• England FA profile

v t e England squad – 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship 1 Martin 2 McMahon 3 Wilson 4 Mills 5 Wheater 6 Cranie 7 Leadbitter 8 Noble 9 Blackstock 10 Fryatt 11 Holmes 12 Ifil 13 Ruddy 14 Jarvis 15 Jones 16 Morrison 17 Smith 18 Taylor Coach: Hunter

v t e England squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Hart 2 Cranie 3 Taylor 4 Cattermole 5 Stearman 6 Onuoha 7 Milner 8 Gardner 9 Agbonlahor 10 Noble 11 Johnson 12 Muamba 13 Lewis 14 Walcott 15 Rodwell 16 Tomkins 17 Richards 18 Mancienne 19 Gibbs 20 Driver 21 Campbell 22 Loach 23 Rose Coach: Pearce