Greg Taylor (Scottish footballer)

Greg Taylor
Personal information
Full name Greg John Taylor
Date of birth (1997-11-05) 5 November 1997
Place of birth Greenock, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position Left-back, Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Kilmarnock
Number 3
Youth career
2008–2014 Rangers
2014–2016 Kilmarnock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016– Kilmarnock 73 (0)
National team‡
2017 Scotland U20 5 (1)
2017– Scotland U21 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:09, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2018 (UTC)

Greg John Taylor (born 5 November 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Kilmarnock. He is proficient at any defensive midfielder role, but has primarily played as a left back. He has also played in central midfield.

Career

Early career

He started his career as a youth player, playing for the Rangers and was associated with the Ibrox club for six years until he was released, with the club saying he was "too small and too slight."[2] He then signed for Kilmarnock in July 2014,[3] and captained their under-17 and under-20 youth teams before making his progression into first team football in 2016.

Kilmarnock

Taylor made his first team debut for Kilmarnock on 14 May 2016, starting at left back in a Scottish Premiership game against Dundee United.[4] He then made his second start in the second leg of the Scottish Premiership Play-off Final, which Kilmarnock won 4–0 against Falkirk to win the tie 4–1 on aggregate. After the 2015–16 season ended, Taylor signed a three-year contract with Kilmarnock.[5]

Having kept his place in the team under managers Lee Clark, Lee McCulloch and Steve Clarke (the latter of whom oversaw a dramatic improvement in the club's form during 2017–18), Taylor was rewarded with another new contract in April 2018, running until June 2021.[6]

International

In March 2017, Taylor played in his first match for the Scotland under-21 side in a friendly against Estonia.[7][8]

Taylor was selected for the Scotland under-20 squad in the 2017 Toulon Tournament. In the team's second match in the tournament, Taylor scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Brazil under-20.[9] Taylor was also the only Scottish player named in the 'team of the tournament' as well as being named 4th best player.

Personal life

Taylor was born in Greenock and raised in nearby Gourock, attending Clydeview Academy. His younger brother Alistair is also an aspiring footballer at Kilmarnock who signed a professional contract with the club in 2018, and is playing with the reserves.[2][10]

He is an avid golfer and plays locally at Gourock Golf Club, with a handicap of 4.

Career statistics

As of match played 28 July 2018[1][11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kilmarnock 2015–16[12] Scottish Premiership 1000001[lower-alpha 1]020
2016–17[13] 340103000380
2017–18[14] 380304000450
2018–19[15] 0000200020
Career total 730409010870
  1. ↑ Appearance in the Premiership play-offs

References

  1. 1 2 Greg Taylor at Soccerbase
  2. 1 2 Mitchell, Jonathan (26 May 2016). "Gourock player's pride at helping Kilmarnock keep top flight status". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Greg Taylor's Contract Extended". Kilmarnock F.C. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Kilmarnock 2-4 Dundee United: Clark changed players with play-off in mind". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. ↑ McLaughlin, Chris (7 June 2016). "Kilmarnock eye 11 new signings as Greg Taylor extends contract". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Greg Taylor: Kilmarnock left-back agrees new contract until 2021". BBC Sport. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Scotland Under-21 0-0 Estonia Under-21". BBC Sport. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Scotland U20s 1-0 Brazil U20s". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Room to breathe: Kilmarnock left-back Greg Taylor sees big future in the game for little brother Ally". Scottish Sun. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  11. ↑ Greg Taylor at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
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