Gareth Keith Taylor (born 25 February 1973) is a
football manager and former player who is the head coach of
Manchester City Women.
He began his career as a
defender at
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
, having left the
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
youth team in 1991. After loan spells with non-league sides
Gloucester City and
Weymouth, he was converted into a striker. He then spent the 1995–96 season with
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
(who paid £1.25 million for his services), before a two-year spell with
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. He transferred to Manchester City in 1998 for a £400,000 fee, and was loaned out to
Port Vale,
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
, and
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
. He moved permanently to Burnley in 2001, and joined
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
for a £500,000 fee two years later. In 2006, he was loaned out to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
, before signing with
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. In 2008, he switched to
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
, and joined Conference club Wrexham a year later, following a brief spell on loan at
Carlisle United. He retired as a player in September 2011, having scored 135 goals in 642 appearances across all competitions. In addition to an eighteen-year career in the
Football League he also enjoyed a nine-year international career. He won a total of fifteen caps for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and scored once, in a friendly against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. He was eligible for the national side because of his Welsh-born father.
He went on to coach at Manchester City before he was appointed manager of the club's women's team in May 2020. He led the team to the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
title in 2020 and
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
title in 2022.
Club career
Bristol Rovers
Born in
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, Taylor started his career with
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, but failed to make any first team appearances and was released.
Second Division Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
then signed him in 1991. Over the course of the
1991–92 season he was loaned to
Gloucester City, where he played two games without scoring. He made his Football League debut as a centre-back in a 6–1 defeat at
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
in February 1992. He then had another loan spell, this time to
Weymouth in
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
, where he made five appearances without scoring.
He did not play again until the first match of the
1994–95 campaign, by which time manager
John Ward had converted him into a striker. His height meant he was a good target man and was exceptional in the air, scoring twelve goals (most of them headers) in his first full season alongside
Marcus Stewart and
Paul Miller in attack. His brace against
Brentford on the final day ensured a Second Division play-off spot. After a tense away goals victory over
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in the semi-final, Rovers made it to
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, though they
lost 2–1 to
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
.
Crystal Palace
After four goals in seven games at the start of
the following season, he was transferred to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
for an initial £750,000 rising to an eventual £1.25 million on 27 September 1995.
He failed to make an impact at the London outfit and only managed 23 appearances and two goals.
Sheffield United
He was soon released by Palace, and was signed by
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on 7 March 1996.
In
1996–97 he scored twelve goals, helping the club to
the play-off final, though ironically United lost out 1–0 to Crystal Palace. The
following season he hit ten goals. United again reached the play-offs, though went out to
Sunderland at the semi-final stage.
Manchester City
He was bought by
Manchester City for £400,000 in November 1998. In
1998–99 he again found himself in the play-offs, he was a late substitute in
the final, replacing
Lee Crooks. The
1999–2000 season saw a second successive promotion for the "Blues". Taylor didn't play a huge role in the promotion though, instead he joined
Port Vale on a one-month loan in January 2000. In March, he joined
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
on loan until the end of the season.
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
were interested in his signature in November 2000, though nothing was to come out of it. He came close to a move to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
in January 2001, but the £100,000 deal did not go through. Instead he joined
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
on loan the following month.
That season he never made a
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
game for Man City.
Burnley
He scored his first Burnley goal on 13 March in a 1–0 win at
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
; five days later the loan deal was extended. The loan deal lasted until the end of the season, Taylor having scored four goals in fifteen appearances. He moved to
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...
on a free transfer in July 2001, signing a three-year deal. Taylor had a highly successful
2001–02 season with the
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
club, scoring sixteen goals despite suffering an
ankle
The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...
injury in January. He also performed in the
2002–03 season, bagging seventeen goals in close to fifty games.
Nottingham Forest
He was targeted by
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, but instead was bought by
Paul Hart
Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender.
The son of Johnny Hart, who played for and managed Manchester City, ...
's
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
for £500,000. At the beginning of the
2003–04 season, following his recovery from a serious eye injury sustained while still at Burnley, he became a regular in the side when
David Johnson broke his leg. Forest's fortunes took a downturn largely caused by a mass exodus of players during the previous summer. Taylor played a big part in the recovery with some very important goals. His first goal for Forest came against his former club Burnley at Turf Moor, where Nottingham Forest won 3–0. He missed the end of the season with a knee injury that required surgery.
In the unfortunate
2004–05 season which resulted in
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
, he was made
captain by
Gary Megson and was top scorer with eleven goals. For the second year running he underwent a knee operation at the end of the season. Shortly into the
2005–06 season, following a string of disappointing performances from the team, and with rumours that Megson had a deteriorating relationship with the players, he was stripped of the captaincy. With striker
Grant Holt being signed to replace him, Taylor suddenly fell out of favour and was allowed to go on loan to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in January 2006, where he enjoyed some success but was unable to prevent them too suffering relegation. Taylor's contract at Nottingham Forest expired in the summer of 2006; the club decided against renewing it and he was released.
Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...
offered him a deal at Crewe, though as expected Taylor signed elsewhere.
Tranmere Rovers
At the end of June 2006, he joined
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
on a two-year contract, scoring nine goals in all competitions in his debut season. He broke his jaw at the start of the season, spending a month on the sidelines. Upon his recovery he said: "I'm enjoying my football now, it's a great club and I'm really loving life at Tranmere", also giving high praise to manager
Ronnie Moore.
Doncaster Rovers
Taylor initially signed for
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
on loan on 31 January 2008, but the deal was made permanent on 6 February. He scored his first goal on 5 April, the first equaliser in a 2–2 draw against
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
at the
Galpharm Stadium
Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league s ...
. He helped the club to promotion from the
play-offs, though was an unused
substitute in
the final. The
2008–09 season started poorly for Taylor as he pulled a hamstring. He joined
Carlisle United on a month-long loan deal in March 2009. He scored on his debut, in a 2–1 win over
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
on 3 March. He returned to Doncaster at the end of the season, where he was released from his contract on 7 May.
Wrexham
In June 2009, Taylor signed a one-year contract with
Dean Saunders
Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...
'
Conference National side
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, leaving the
Football League after eighteen years. Taylor got off to an excellent start with his new club, grabbing a brace in a 3–0 win over
Eastbourne Borough on 8 August. He finished the season with nine goals in 28 appearances – enough to earn him a fresh contract at the end of the campaign. In
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
, the veteran striker hit six goals in 35 appearances. The "Dragons" earned a play-off spot, though were beaten by
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
at the play-off semi-final stage. Throughout his time at the Welsh club he began taking his coaching badges, and regularly took charge of the reserve side. He retired in September 2011, and immediately took up coaching at
Manchester City.
International career
Taylor is a former
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
international. Born in England, he qualified for the national side through his father who was born in Wales. After a three-year absence he was re-called to the squad in August 2001 for the final two
2002 World Cup qualifiers. He was utilised as a stand-in for
John Hartson, who was troubled with injury. He scored his only international goal in a 4–0
friendly victory over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
at the
Millennium Stadium in 2004.
Coaching career
Manchester City
In September 2011, Taylor was appointed as a coach at former club
Manchester City, and was given the task of developing young talent in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.
He became the under-16 coach at the
City of Manchester Stadium in 2012.
He was appointed the head coach of
Manchester City Women on 28 May 2020.
Lucy Bronze was the biggest name arrival of his first transfer window. On 1 November 2020, he led City to a 3–1 victory over
Everton in the
2020 final of the
Women's FA Cup
The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship rea ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
.
City finished second in the
FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
at the end of the
2020–21 season, two points behind
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. They reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they were also beaten by Chelsea. In the
2020 Women's FA Community Shield, they lost to Chelsea, who also eliminated them from the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
at the quarter-final stage. City were also beaten in the
Champions League quarter-finals, this time losing to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
Taylor won his second trophy in management on 5 March 2022, finally overcoming
Emma Hayes
Emma Carol Hayes (born 18 October 1976) is an English professional football manager. She is currently the manager of FA WSL club Chelsea Women. She previously served as the head coach and director of football operations for Chicago Red Stars o ...
's Chelsea in
a final, as City won 3–1 with a brace from
Caroline Weir
Caroline Elspeth Lillias Weir (born 20 June 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Spanish Primera División club Real Madrid CF and the Scotland women's national team.
Club career E ...
and goal from
Ellen White.
He said the win was a good response after he received "unjustified" following a poor start to the
2021–22 campaign. City also reached
the final of the FA Cup, though were beaten 3–2 by Chelsea after extra-time.
Career statistics
Club
International
Managerial statistics
All competitive games (league, domestic and continental cups) are included.
Honours
Player
Manchester City
*
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
play-offs:
1999
*
Football League First Division second-place promotion:
1999–2000
Manager
Manchester City Women
*
Women's FA Cup
The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship rea ...
:
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
; runners-up
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
*
FA Women's League Cup
The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...
:
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Gareth
1973 births
Living people
People from Weston-super-Mare
Association football utility players
Association football defenders
Association football forwards
Welsh footballers
Wales international footballers
Southampton F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Gloucester City A.F.C. players
Weymouth F.C. players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Crewe Alexandra F.C. players
Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Women's Super League managers
Welsh football managers
Manchester City W.F.C. managers
Association football coaches
Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff