Kris Taylor
Encyclopedia
Kris Taylor is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 footballer who plays for Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 side Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

.

Never making the first team at Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, he spent over three seasons at Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

, after signing in February 2003. He spent two seasons at Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

 from 2007 to 2009, before moving on to Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 for another two season spell. Following this he signed with non-league Darlington.

Playing style

Former Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 and Hereford teammate Lee Collins
Lee Collins (footballer born 1988)
Lee Harvey Collins is an English footballer who plays for League Two side Port Vale. He is a defender who can play as either a centre-back or as a full-back....

 described Taylor as: "really good on the ball and is also good to have around. He filled in at left-back at Hereford, but is also talented in central midfield. He has two good feet, but is particularly strong on his left foot. He's got a good touch and a good passing range."

Early in his career he was a goalscoring midfielder, and in January 2005 said that the left-back spot "isn’t really me".

In addition to his ability to play down the wings, he can also play as a centre-back if the situation dictates.

Playing career

Taylor was born in Cannock
Cannock
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....

 and was originally on the books of Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

; he was signed by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 at the age of 14 for a fee of £200,000. He signed his first professional contract on 26 January 2001, but never played for the first team. He left Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 in February 2003, having featured three times for the reserves
Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy
Manchester United Football Club Reserves are the reserve team of Manchester United F.C. They play in the North section of the Premier Reserve League. They have been champions four times since the league's inauguration in 1999; in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2010...

, and joined Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

.

Initially playing for the reserves at Walsall, he went on to score on his first team debut on 31 January 2004 in a 3–2 defeat away at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

. He went on to make a further ten first-team appearances for the club that season and was retained upon the season's conclusion, signing a one-year deal.

Walsall having being relegated in 2003–04, Taylor could still not break into the team in League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

. After three cup and three league appearances early in 2004–05 he was put on the transfer list by Paul Merson
Paul Merson
Paul Charles Merson is a retired English football player, and former player-manager of Walsall. His playing career has included spells at Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and finishing his playing career at Tamworth. He also played for England 21 times...

. Taylor went out on loan to Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

 in December, after he caught the eye of Nigel Clough
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough is an English former footballer and the current manager of Derby County. Playing predominately as a striker, but later in his career was used as a midfielder, Clough was capped by England 14 times in the early 1990s....

 during a Birmingham Senior Cup
Birmingham Senior Cup
The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organized by the Birmingham County Football Association...

 match with Burton. He impressed at Eton Park, making a total of six appearances and scoring four goals. He scored a memorable goal from 35 yards against Tamworth
Tamworth F.C.
Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....

, and also scored against his future club Hereford in a 3–0 win. He scored four goals in six games for the Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 club, making a massive impact in his five weeks in Burton. On his return to the Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...

 an offer from Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

 was rejected, and he signed a new two-year contract at the end of the season.

He was a regular in the first team in the first half of the 2005–06 season, before returning to Burton Albion in early January. This time the loan lasted until the end of the season, though Taylor didn't manage to find the form he reached in his previous loan spell. He scored four goals in fifteen games before returning to Walsall in time for the last game of the season.

Walsall were relegated
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 once again in 2005–06, leaving them in League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 for 2006–07 season. He hit forty games for the Swifts, helping the club achieve promotion as champions. Taylor was not rewarded for his efforts and was instead told to look for a new club by Saddlers boss Richard Money.

In July 2007, he signed for Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

. In his first season with the club he was noted for his versatility, playing at left back, left midfield and central midfield. In similar form to the previous season, Taylor put in a forty game season to help his club win promotion to League One, this time with a third-place finish.

In contrast to his experience with Walsall, Taylor stayed with the Bulls for the 2008–09 campaign. He played 43 games, though could do little to prevent the Whites suffering relegation with a last place finish, 14 points off safety. Holding out on the club's offer of a new contract, he left the club in the summer of 2009 in search of pastures new.

In July 2009 he went out on trial at League Two side Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

, and scored from around 20 yards in a 7–0 win over Rocester
Rocester F.C.
Rocester Football Club is a football club based in Rocester, near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England.-History:Rocester Football Club was formed in 1876 and for over a century played in various local leagues including the Stafford Amateur League and Uttoxeter and District League until they became...

 in a pre-season friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

. He impressed manager Micky Adams
Micky Adams
Michael Richard "Micky" Adams is an English former professional footballer turned football manager who is in charge of League Two side Port Vale. As a player he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen year professional career in the Football League, including five...

 on his trial and would have been signed to a contract if the cash-strapped club could find the finance; instead Adams offered Taylor non-contract terms, he signed a short-term deal in early August. This was not enough for Taylor, who resolved to win a long-term contract with the club. His man-of-the-match performances also persuaded Adams to try to hold on to him. On 25 August he went a long way towards achieving this goal, scoring a wonder goal in a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 Second Round
2009–10 Football League Cup
The 2009–10 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 50th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs....

.
Unable to find the cash to fund Taylor's wages, the club were aided by a £5,000 donation from 'Vale Volunteers', raised specifically by fans to keep Taylor at the club. He was transfer listed in late September, along with the entire Port Vale squad, after manager Micky Adams saw his team slip to a third consecutive defeat. His second goal of the season came in the local derby at Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

, Taylor scoring the winner in a 2–1 victory. In October 2009 he signed a new deal that would keep him at the club until the end of the season. He made 49 appearances throughout the season, as his club finished just outside the play-offs. He was offered a new one year contract by the club at the end of the season, which he quickly signed. His manager explained that Taylor's inconsistency prevented a longer contract offer, and Taylor accepted the explanation.

He made a slow start to the 2010–11 campaign
2010–11 Port Vale F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Port Vale's ninety-ninth season of football in the Football League, and third successive season in League Two. Vale enjoyed a solid start to the campaign, looking like good prospects for promotion. However Micky Adams left the club in December to take charge of Sheffield...

, but in November declared he aimed to re-establish himself into the first team. He got his opportunity to shine when left-back Lee Collins
Lee Collins (footballer born 1988)
Lee Harvey Collins is an English footballer who plays for League Two side Port Vale. He is a defender who can play as either a centre-back or as a full-back....

 was out of action for a month with split shins. Ending the season with just twenty league appearances throughout the season, he was released from the club in May 2011. Adams said that he had faith in Taylor's ability, but that he hadn't played enough games in 2010–11 to justify a new contract.

In June 2011, he signed with Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

 of the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 on a one year contract. Manager Mark Cooper stated that "It's a big signing for us, Kris has a great range of passing and is a set-piece specialist, he's certainly a player who will excite."

Personal life

Taylor is a Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 supporter. In January 2011, his fiancée Jenny gave birth to the couple's first child, Lydia.

Statistics

|-
|2003–04||Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

||11||1||0||0||0||0||11||1
|-
|2004–05||Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||12||2||0||0||1||0||15||2
|-
|2004–05||Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

||5||3||0||0||0||0||5||3
|-
|2005–06||Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||21||2||2||0||0||0||24||2
|-
|2005–06||Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

||18||4||0||0||0||0||18||4
|-
|2006–07||Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||35||1||2||0||2||0||40||1
|-
|2007–08||Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||31||1||6||0||2||0||40||1
|-
|2008–09||Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||39||1||2||1||1||0||43||2
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Port Vale F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Port Vale's ninety-eighth season of football in the Football League, and second successive season in League Two. Micky Adams received plaudits for his first full season in charge. He took a squad of players that had previously been near the bottom of the division and made...

||Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||41||3||3||0||3||1||49||4
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Port Vale F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Port Vale's ninety-ninth season of football in the Football League, and third successive season in League Two. Vale enjoyed a solid start to the campaign, looking like good prospects for promotion. However Micky Adams left the club in December to take charge of Sheffield...

||Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||20||0||3||0||1||0||26||0
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Football Conference
The 2011–12 Football Conference season will be the eighth season with the Conference consisting of three divisions and the thirty-third season overall. The Conference covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference National is the fifth highest level of the overall...

||Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

||2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0
|-
235||18||18||1||10||1||275||20
235||18||18||1||10||1||275||20

Notes:
  • Football League Trophy
    Football League Trophy
    The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

     results included in totals.

Honours

with Walsall
  • Football League Two
    Football League Two
    Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     champion:
    2006–07


with Hereford United
  • Football League Two
    Football League Two
    Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     third place promotion winner: 2007–08

External links

  • Profile at Darlington's official website
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK