Alan Taylor (born 17 May 1943) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Playing career

Taylor began his professional career with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in 1963 after joining from local club Blackpool Rangers. Due to the form of

Tony Waiters Anthony Keith Waiters (1 February 1937 – 5 November 2020) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is better known for his coaching career in Canada. He managed the Vancouver Whitecaps to an NASL championship, and was in charge ...

, Taylor didn't make his league debut for Blackpool until 29 January 1966, keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

in a goalless draw with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

. Another goalless draw followed, this time against

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

, before Waiters returned to the fold for the remainder of the 1966–67 season. The following season, 1967–68, Taylor made only two early- one late-season league appearances in Waiters' absence. When Waiters left to become a coach at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in April 1967, thus missing Blackpool's final six games of the season, manager

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the " Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat- ...

favoured another goalkeeper – Kevin Thomas – for five of the games. Thomas also started the first the games of the 1967–68 league season, before Taylor finally made the number-one jersey his own, appearing between the sticks for Blackpool's remaining 39 league games. In 1968–69, Taylor made 38 league appearances. He missed four games in late March and early April, at which point Thomas deputised, but he regained his place for the run-in. Under new manager

Les Shannon Leslie Shannon (12 March 1926 – 2 December 2007) was an English football player and manager. As a forward, he scored 40 goals in 274 league games in the Football League, playing for Liverpool between November 1944 and November 1949 and the ...

, Taylor made only three league appearances during Blackpool's successful 1969–70 campaign, in which they gained promotion to Division One as runners-up behind

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. He was loaned out to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

during the season. In his final season at Blackpool, 1970–71, Taylor's appearances were again limited: just nine in the league. His final appearance for Blackpool occurred on 17 April 1971, in a 3–2 home defeat to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He was loaned out to

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

and Northern Premier League club

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

during the season. Taylor signed for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

in 1971, and he finished his career with ''the Sandgrounders''.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alan 1943 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Blackpool F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players People from Thornton-Cleveleys Footballers from Lancashire English Football League players