Steven Taylor (footballer)

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Personal information
Steven Taylor
Full name	Steven Vincent Taylor
Date of birth	January 23, 1986 (age 21)
Place of birth	London, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nickname	Tayls
Playing position	Centre-back
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United
Number	27
Youth clubs
1998–2002	Newcastle United
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–present 2003–2004	Newcastle United → Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	46 (1) 06 (0)
National team²
2004–present	England U21	14 (3)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:27, 16 March 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 15 December 2006 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Steven Vincent Taylor (born January 23, 1986 in Greenwich, London) is an English footballer who plays for Newcastle United. He is a central defender who can also play at right back.

Despite being born in London, his family moved to Whitley Bay, North Tyneside when Taylor was just two weeks old, and he grew up as a Newcastle supporter.

He went to Valley Gardens Middle School alongside future Newcastle teammate Peter Ramage then continued his education at Monkseaton High School.

Taylor has previously played at Wycombe Wanderers on a loan deal. An ex-England Schoolboy, Taylor also represents the England U21 side.

[edit] Playing career

Taylor had started playing football as a centre forward. He was playing at the Caythorpe & Fulbeck J.F.C. club when he was spotted by the Newcastle scout John Carver in 1995, and signed by the club. In 1998, following injury-absence of defensive players, Taylor was forced to play as a centre-half, and following successful performances, was told that he wouldn't be moving back to centre-forward.

In November 2001, Taylor, playing in the England Under-16 team at the Walkers International Tournament, was adjudged Player of the Tournament. Following this, in July 2002, he signed his professional contract with Newcastle. That season he also made his debut for the club Reserve team. In March 2003, the England Under-17 team qualified for the European Championships, and in the match against Slovakia, Taylor scored his first two goals for England. He also played in 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Taylor moved to Wycombe Wanderers in December 2003 for a month-long loan deal in order to get first team experience. He made his league debut in Wycombe colours, in a 1-1 away draw against Notts County on December 13, 2003. He played a total of six games for the club in the loan period that lasted till January 11, 2004. He was a very popular player at Wycombe, having a large influence despite his youth and limited number of appearances.

Following a good showing at the Under-20 World Championship at Dubai, Taylor made his England Under-21 debut on February 17, 2004, in a 3-2 win over the Netherlands.

Then on March 25, 2004, Taylor finally made his debut for Newcastle, also his European debut. It came in the UEFA Cup 0-3 win against RCD Mallorca, when he replaced Andy O'Brien. The full debut, which was also the Premiership debut, followed soon, on March 28, against Bolton Wanderers F.C. at the Reebok Stadium.

The start of the 2004-05 season was disappointing, as Taylor got injured, and could not play. But he came back to play 22 games for the club, thus salvaging his season.

In June 2005 Taylor represented England Under-20 at the Toulon International Tournament, where England finished in third place. On September 6, 2005, he scored his first under-21 goal, against the German side. He also scored two goals against the Poland Under-21s in October 2005.

Tayls as he is affectionately known, suffered a serious shoulder injury playing for the England Under 21's, of which he further aggravated against Liverpool on Boxing Day 2005. This injury kept him out for the rest of the season, with the defending being left to Titus Bramble, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Craig Moore. He did, however, make a substitute appearance in Alan Shearer's testimonial match on May 11. So far this season, youth graduates Steven Taylor and Peter Ramage have become fan favourites due to the frequent mistakes and errors of Titus Bramble and the departed Jean-Alain Boumsong.

In 2004 he was sent off in Newcastle's infamous 3-0 home defeat against Aston Villa. While Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer stole the show with their Rocky impersanation, Taylor was sent off after handling on the goal line when Shay Given was in no-mans land. He then pretended that he had been hit in the chest but it was clearly his arm. Toon fans found the humourous side to him that day. He repeated this hilarious routine against in a later match against Manchester United but was not caught on that occasion.

His first senior goal for the club came against Celta Vigo on November 23, 2006 in the UEFA Cup. It turned out to be the winner in a 2-1 victory for Newcastle. He then scored his first Premiership goal for Newcastle in a 3-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers on 9 December, 2006.

In the match versus Birmingham in the FA Cup on January 7 2007, he was voted Man of the Match after grabbing Newcastles equaliser, clearing off the line and giving an all round great performance. Taylor played in the replay against Birmingham on January 17 2007, although he was sent off after fouling DJ Campbell [1]