Lyle James Alfred Taylor (born 29 March 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for club Nottingham Forest and for the Montserrat national team. Born in Greenwich, England, he internationally represents

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

. Prior to joining the football club of Nottingham Forest, he played for

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

, and became the Dons' record

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

goal scorer with 44 goals, and highest scorer during their Football League era with 55 goals in all competitions. Taylor started his senior club career with Millwall before spells with

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, Sheffield United, and

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. He has also spent time on loan at Eastbourne Borough,

Croydon Athletic Croydon Athletic Football Club was an English football club based in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, London, England. It was founded in 1986 and initially named as Wandsworth & Norwood until 1990. The club progressed through ...

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, Hereford United,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, two spells at

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

, and Birmingham City.

Club career

Millwall

Taylor was spotted by Millwall whilst playing for

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C.'',''Staines Albany F ...

youth academy, and progressed from the Millwall U18's to the reserve team. In October 2008 he signed a one-month loan deal at

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side Eastbourne Borough in order to gain first team experience. In November 2008 his loan was extended by another month. Although he played five games, he had only scored one goal, against Stevenage Borough. Eastbourne Borough coach Nick Greenwood decided to end the loan deal, stating Taylor was not ready for Conference starts, as he was still learning his trade.

Concord Rangers and AFC Bournemouth

Taylor's contract at Millwall expired on 1 July 2009, after which he signed for

. After scoring 34 goals in his first season for Rangers, Taylor was offered a trial with

, and subsequently agreed a two-year deal with the south-coast club. He made his

debut the following day, in a 3–3 draw against Notts County. However, Taylor struggled to hold down a regular first-team place and appeared to be surplus to requirements. On 31 January 2011, Taylor signed a one-month loan deal with

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

side

, a deal which was extended the following month. On 7 February 2011, Taylor scored on his Lewes debut, in a 2–2 draw against Boreham Wood. Despite his initial success, in March 2011, Taylor refused to extend his stay at Lewes any further, describing it as a "big risk". Despite public support from assistant manager

Steve Fletcher Steven Mark Fletcher (born 26 July 1972) is an English retired footballer who played as a forward for AFC Bournemouth, where he holds the club record for appearances and is currently a first team coach for the Premier League side. Fletcher be ...

who insisted he had a future at the club, Taylor failed to break into the Bournemouth team. Taylor then joined

at the end of March, agreeing a loan deal until the end of the season. At the start of the 2011–12 season, and following promising performances in pre-season, Taylor scored a brace against

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

in the first round of the League Cup. Still unable to force his way into the Bournemouth first–team, in February 2012 Taylor was allowed to leave on loan once more, agreeing a one-month deal with Hereford United. He scored twice in eight appearances for Hereford before returning to his parent club at the end of his loan spell. Taylor was released by Bournemouth at the end of the season having netted just two cup goals in the two years he was at the club.

Falkirk

In July 2012, Taylor signed for Scottish side

, scoring twice on his competitive debut in the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Stirling Albion. Taylor also scored on his league debut in a 3–1 defeat against

on 11 August 2012. After a successful season, Taylor attracted interest from elsewhere, with Falkirk accepting an offer from English League One side Rotherham United, only for Taylor to reject the move as he could not agree personal terms with the club.

Sheffield United

Following the collapse of Taylor's proposed move to Rotherham United, Falkirk accepted another offer, this time from Sheffield United and Taylor duly signed a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Taylor made his debut for the Blades in the opening fixture of the following season, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 home victory over Notts County. Unable to hold down a regular place in the side Taylor did not score for his new employers until mid-October when he netted a brace against Coventry City. With the arrival of new manager Nigel Clough at United however, Taylor continued to find his first team chances limited and was eventually allowed to join Scottish Premiership side

on loan until the end of the season. Having made his debut for Partick in a 1–0 away loss to Celtic, Taylor netted his first goal for the Jags in his second game a 2–0 away win against Hearts a few days later. Taylor played 20 games for Partick in total that season, scoring seven goals, before returning to England in the summer.

Scunthorpe United

With first-team opportunities apparently limited at Sheffield United, Taylor joined

for an undisclosed fee on 30 June 2014. Taylor made his United debut on 9 August 2014, in a 3–1 defeat against Swindon Town. He made his home debut on 16 August, in a 0–4 defeat against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 September 2014, in a 2–1 win against Coventry City. He scored his second goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Port Vale on 21 October. He played 12 times for United in the league that season, scoring three goals as they finished 16th. On 2 February 2015, Taylor returned to

for a second loan spell. He scored in his first game back at the club, on 7 February 2015, in a 2–1 defeat against

Inverness CT Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

in the Scottish Cup. He scored his first league goal in a 3–1 home defeat against Ross County. Taylor then scored twice in a 2–0 home win over

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

on 11 April 2015.

AFC Wimbledon

On 14 July 2015, 25-year-old Taylor signed with

for an undisclosed sum. On 1 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 loss to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in the Football League Trophy. Taylor scored his first league goal in a 2–0 win over Barnet on 3 October 2015 and scored a double in a 4–3 away win at Accrington. He continued to score freely as the Dons finished 7th in League Two, ensuring a spot in the play-offs. He played in both semi-final legs of the 3–2 aggregate win against Accrington Stanley, scoring the equaliser in extra-time in the second leg which sent the Dons to Wembley. He scored the opening goal in AFC Wimbledon's 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle in the 2015–16 League Two play-off final, plundering 23 goals and seven assists in all competitions in his first season for the club, as the Dons gained promotion to League One. On 30 August 2016, Taylor signed an extended deal with the club. Taylor notched 14 goals and six assists in all competitions in his second season for the club as AFC Wimbledon finished safely in 15th in its debut season in League One in 2016–17. Taylor followed this up in the 2017–18 season by reaching

Jack Midson Jack William Midson (born 12 September 1983) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays for Sheppey United where he is player-manager. Midson was the 2011–12 League Two joint top scorer, along with Izale McLeod, Lewis Grabban a ...

's Football League goals record for the club, 38, when scoring vs Gillingham in a 2–2 draw on 30 December 2017, and broke the record when scoring a brace vs Plymouth in a 4–2 loss on 13 February 2018. These goals were also his 50th and 51st for the club. Taylor scored 18 goals and eight assists in all competitions in his third season for the club as AFC Wimbledon battled relegation by finishing in 18th in its second season in League One in 2017–18. Taylor is AFC Wimbledon's record

goal scorer with 44 goals, and the Dons highest scorer during their Football League era with 55 goals in all competitions. During his time at AFC Wimbledon, Taylor was given the nickname "The Montserratian Messi" by author and AFC Wimbledon fan John Green, on ''

Dear Hank & John ''Dear Hank & John'' is a podcast hosted by the Green brothers: musician and author Hank Green and young-adult novelist John Green. The podcast is produced by Rosianna Halse Rojas and edited by Josef "Tuna" Metesh. First released in June 2015, ...

'', the weekly podcast he co-hosts.

Charlton Athletic

Taylor signed for AFC Wimbledon's League One rivals Charlton Athletic on 27 June 2018 on a two year deal. In April 2019, Taylor was the victim of racist abuse on Twitter from an apparent Bradford City fan following the clubs' recent match. Bradford City said they would investigate the matter. On 1 June 2020, Charlton manager Lee Bowyer confirmed Taylor had refused to sign short term extension with the club to see out the rest of the

2019–20 EFL Championship The 2019–20 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the 28th season under its current league division format. Leeds ...

season, he also refused to see out his existing contract for the next three matches for Charlton Athletic. Following the suspension of the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

, as he did not want to risk injury. On 2 July 2020, it was confirmed that Taylor had left Charlton after his contract expired.

Nottingham Forest

On 15 August 2020, Taylor joined Championship club Nottingham Forest on a free transfer. He signed a contract of undisclosed length. Taylor made his first Forest start in a 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town on 25 September 2020. He scored his first goal for Forest in a 1-1 draw with rivals Derby County on 23 October 2020. On 27 January 2022, Taylor joined Birmingham City on loan for the rest of the 2021-22 season. He scored against Derby County on his debut for the club, and finished his loan spell with five goals from 14 appearances.

International career

In March 2015, Taylor was called up to play for

in their qualification matches for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, being eligible through his grandparents. He made his full International début against

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

on 27 March 2015, scoring his first international goal.

Personal life

Born in Greenwich, England, United Kingdom. His brother, Cray Wanderers defender

Joey Taylor Joey "Ojo" Taylor is an American bassist, vocalist and keyboardist. He is best known for his work with the Christian rock band Undercover. He produced and was a studio musician for Nobody Special, the stage name for his brother, Pat "Nobody" Ta ...

, also plays for the Montserrat national football team. Taylor has also worked as a model and appeared in TV advertisements for the Champions League. In October 2018 he dyed his hair pink and wore pink boots, to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Taylor has refused to follow the EFL initiative to

take the knee Taking the knee (or taking a knee) is a symbolic gesture against racism whereby an individual kneels upon one knee in place of standing to attention for an anthem or other such occasion. It was originated by American football player Colin Kaepe ...

before football matches. In an interview, Taylor described Black Lives Matter as a 'Marxist group' that 'are using racial unrest to push their own political agenda'.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Montserrat's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Taylor goal.''

Honours

AFC Wimbledon * Football League Two play-offs:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Charlton Athletic * EFL League One play-offs:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Nottingham Forest *

EFL Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , t ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual * Charlton Athletic Player of the Year: 2018–19

References

External links

*
Player profile
at Sheffield United F.C. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Lyle 1990 births Living people Footballers from Greenwich English footballers Association football forwards Millwall F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Croydon Athletic F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Lewes F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Montserratian footballers Montserrat international footballers English people of Montserratian descent British people of Montserratian descent