 Taylor at Vale Park in May 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daryl Shea Taylor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-11-14)14 November 1984 (age 41)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | Walsall | 30 | (3) |
| 2005 | →Hereford United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Hereford United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2006 | AFC Bournemouth | 0 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Bury (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Tamworth | 23 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | Halifax Town | 21 | (1) |
| 2008 | Kettering Town | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | Halesowen Town | ||
| 2008–2009 | Hinckley United | ||
| 2009–2010 | Halesowen Town | 10 | (1) |
| 2010 | Chippenham Town | ||
| 201?–2015 | Sutton Coldfield Town | ||
| Total | 108 | (9) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Daryl Shea Taylor (born 14 November 1984) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as awinger who is now a fitness coach atEFL League Two clubShrewsbury Town.
A formerAston Villa trainee, he made his senior debut withWalsall in August 2004. He scored in each of his first three appearances. However, he suffered a seriouskneeligament injury onloan atHereford United towards the end of the 2004–05 season. He spent seven months in recovery and rejoined Hereford United on loan in January 2006 but was released by Walsall following the club'srelegation fromLeague One at the end of the 2005–06 season. He signed withAFC Bournemouth and was loaned out toBury, before dropping out of theEnglish Football League. He spent the 2006–07 season withTamworth in theConference and was then withHalifax Town for the following campaign. He spent the remainder of his career withKettering Town,Halesowen Town,Hinckley United,Chippenham Town andSutton Coldfield Town. He later became a fitnesscoach withMansfield Town,Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town.
Taylor made his first-team debut forWalsall on 7 August 2004, scoring a goal in a 3–2 win overPort Vale at theBescot Stadium.[3] He started the next game three days later and scored the opening goal as the "Saddlers" recorded a 2–2 draw atAFC Bournemouth. He also scored in his third appearance, a 5–3 defeat atOldham Athletic. Despite this start, he never scored again in theEnglish Football League.ManagerPaul Merson gave him a one-yearcontract extension in September 2004.[4][5] Taylor joinedConference National clubHereford United on a one-monthloan on 24 March 2005, which was later extended into a three-month loan.[6] However, his loan spell atEdgar Street was curtailed due to akneeligament injury.[7] The knee injury required two operations and left him sidelined for seven months.[8]
He rejoined Hereford United on loan on 12 January 2006.[9] He featured 11 times forGraham Turner's "Bulls", before returning to end the season with Walsall. He played 13 games for Walsall in the2005–06 season, who wererelegated out ofLeague One. He was released by managerRichard Money in May 2006.[10]
Taylor joined Bournemouth on a month-to-month deal on 6 June 2006.[11] Assistant managerRichard O'Kelly had previously tried to sign Taylor whilst he wascoaching atWest Bromwich Albion. This time he succeeded in bringing in Taylor, who turned down an opportunity inNew Zealand and offers from Conference and League Two clubs.[12] He was loaned out toBury and had a goal ruled out foroffside on his debut in a 1–0 defeat toTorquay United atGigg Lane on 9 September 2006.[13] He started two games and made threesubstitute appearances for the "Shakers", but managerChris Casper decided not to extend his loan deal.[14]
Taylor signed with Conference side Tamworth after an unsuccessful trial withBurton Albion in October 2006.[15] He scored four goals in 23 league games for Tamworth in the2006–07 season.[16] On 7 June 2007, it was reported that Taylor had moved on from the "Lambs" and joinedHalifax Town, with managerChris Wilder looking to add pace to his team.[17] However, Tamworth confirmed that Taylor had in fact not signed for Halifax Town, who had been misinformed by an agent.[18] However, thetransfer would eventually go through and Taylor spent the2007–08 season atThe Shay, scoring one goal in 23 games for the "Shaymen".[19]
He played nine games forSouthern League Premier Division clubHalesowen Town, but also received "seven-day approaches" fromHinckley United managerDean Thomas andHednesford Town in September 2008.[20][21] Two months later he tore his hamstring playing in theConference North for Hinckley United and was ruled out of action for three months.[22] He returned to Halesowen Town in March 2009, with manager Morell Maison stating that "Daryl has fallen out of the pro game and that left him disillusioned but he is still only 23".[23] He scored one goal in ten games for the "Yeltz" during the2010–11 season.[24] He made his debut forChippenham Town in theFA Trophy on 16 October 2010.[25]
Taylor was a pacey right-sidedwinger who struggled to fully recover from a knee injury sustained early in his career.[26]
Taylor was promoted to assistant manager at Sutton Coldfield Town by manager Neil Tooth following Ross Thorpe's departure in September 2013.[27] He joinedMansfield Town as the club's new strength and conditioning coach in 2015, where he remained until a backroom reshuffle in September 2019.[28] He joined Port Vale as a sports science and fitness coach in March 2021.[29] He left the club following a backroom restructure under new managerDarren Moore in May 2024.[30] In July 2024, he was appointed as the fitness coach atShrewsbury Town.[31]
His younger brother,Corey Blackett-Taylor, turned professional at Aston Villa in 2016.[32]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Walsall | 2004–05[33] | League One | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 2005–06[34] | League One | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 3 | ||
| Hereford United (loan) | 2004–05[33] | Conference National | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005–06[34] | Conference National | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| AFC Bournemouth | 2006–07[16] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bury (loan) | 2006–07[16] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Tamworth | 2006–07[16] | Conference National | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| Halifax Town | 2007–08[19] | Conference Premier | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Kettering Town | 2008–09[35] | Conference Premier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Halesowen Town | 2010–11[24] | Southern League Premier Division | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Career total | 105 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 117 | 9 | ||
