Ash Taylor
Personal information
Full name Ashton John Taylor
Date of birth (1990-09-02) 2 September 1990
Place of birth Bromborough, England
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Bradford City
Number 4
Youth career
2002 Tranmere Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2014 Tranmere Rovers 183 (8)
2009 → Colwyn Bay (loan) 14 (3)
2014–2017 Aberdeen 100 (9)
2017–2019 Northampton Town 78 (6)
2019–2021 Aberdeen 45 (2)
2021–2022 Walsall 11 (1)
2022–2023 Kilmarnock 43 (7)
2023– Bradford City 3 (0)
International career‡
2009 Wales U19 3 (0)
2012 Wales U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:44, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:07, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Ashton John Taylor (born 2 September 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Bradford City. He began his career with Tranmere Rovers, and during his time there had a loan spell at Colwyn Bay. He later played for Scottish club Aberdeen before moving to English club Northampton Town for two years, after which he re-signed for Aberdeen. Born in England, he has represented Wales at youth international level.

Club career

Tranmere Rovers

Taylor started his footballing career at Tranmere Rovers as a youth team player at the age of 10.[1] In the summer of 2007, he signed as a first-year scholar at Tranmere Rovers.[2] In January 2009, Taylor signed his first professional contract with the club.[3]

He joined Colwyn Bay on loan in 2009, where he made a total of 14 appearances.[4] Whilst on loan, Taylor scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Lancaster City in the Northern Premier League Division One North in March 2009.[5]

Following his return from Colwyn Bay, Taylor made his first team debut in a League One match against Scunthorpe United, a 1–1 away draw on 2 May 2009, replacing Antony Kay as a substitute in the 89th minute.[6][7]

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Taylor signed a twelve-month contract extension keeping him at the club until 2011.[8] He scored his first goal for Tranmere in a 1–0 win at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup First Round in November 2009.[9] His first league goal came on 26 January 2010, as Tranmere beat Yeovil Town 2–1.[10] In February 2010, Taylor sustained a hamstring injury that kept him out for three weeks.[11] He made his return, in a 0–0 draw against Bristol Rovers on 15 March 2010.[12] After making his return, Taylor continued to make more appearances and went on to make thirty-three appearances. At the end of the season he won Tranmere's "Young Player of The Season" award for the 2009–10 season.[13] On 21 May 2010, he extended his contract by another year, until 2012.[14]

Taylor missed the first the half of the 2010–11 season when he damaged his cartilage in training, requiring an operation that would keep him out of action for "four to six weeks at best and up to three months if the damage to a cartilage requires a full repair." [15] He returned to training and started his rehabilitation process in September 2010.[16] Following his return, Manager Les Parry praised Taylor for his recovery.[17] After being on the bench for three matches since his return, Taylor made his first appearance of the season, in the Football League Trophy Northern Area final, as Tranmere lost 2–0 to Huddersfield Town.[18] After the match, Taylor said he was surprised to have been selected having initially expected to play a reserve match before making his return[19] Following his 50th appearance for the club, Manager Parry said that he believed Taylor had the potential to become the next captain of Tranmere Rovers.[20]

In Tranmere's opening match of the 2011–12 season Taylor scored the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with Port Vale in the first round of the Northern section of the Football League Trophy. With the scores level after extra–time the match went to a penalty shootout where Taylor scored the winning penalty as Tranmere won 4–2.[21] He scored his first league goal of the season, on 17 September 2011, as Tranmere won 2–1 against Wycombe Wanderers.[22] In the second round of the Football League Trophy, Taylor scored Tranmere's first goal in the match against Accrington Stanley, but the game was later abandoned after 39 minutes following a serious injury to Accrington's Tom Bender.[23] In the rematch on 13 October 2011, Taylor scored from a free kick, in a 1–0 win to send Tranmere through to the next round.[24] Taylor's season ended early when he missed the final two league matches due to a calcium problem.[25] Taylor made thirty-seven league appearances during the season, scoring twice. He also played 3607 minutes in all competitions.[26]

On 8 May 2012, Taylor signed a new two-year contract with Tranmere.[27] He scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season in a 2–2 draw against Portsmouth on 7 December 2012.[28] Then, his second goal of the season came on 23 February 2013, in a 5–1 victory over Colchester United.[29] Taylor made forty-four league appearances, missing two others while on international duty with Wales Under-21s.[30][31]

On 23 November 2013, Taylor received a straight red card in the second half against Coventry City after a foul on Franck Moussa, despite that Tranmere won the match 5–1. Afterwards Tranmere Manager Ronnie Moore said he was disappointed with Taylor's challenge and decided against appealing the decision.[32][33] Following his return, it took time for Taylor to score his first goal of the season, it came on 29 December 2013, in a 3–1 victory over Sheffield United.[34] He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Preston North End on 8 February 2014. After the match, Taylor expressed his disappointment with the result.[35] Taylor scored his third goal, on 22 March 2014, in a 3–2 loss against Port Vale.[36] With Tranmere in a relegation fight, Taylor remained confident that the club would remain in League One,[37] however on the final day of the season a home defeat against Bradford City and results elsewhere meant they were relegated to Football League Two.[38] At the end of the season, Taylor was among five players to be offered a new contract.[39]

Aberdeen (first spell)

Taylor signed for Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen on 28 May 2014.[40] He made his debut for the club on 11 July 2014, against FK Daugava Riga in the Europa League first qualifying round second leg.[41] On his league debut in the opening game of the season against Dundee United, he was criticised when his pass back to his goalkeeper was intercepted by Ryan Dow who went on to score as Aberdeen lost 3–0.[42] Taylor scored his first goal for the Dons in a 4–0 win against Livingston in the Scottish League Cup.[43] Taylor began to find his form from then on in and scored his first league goal in a 3–0 win against Hamilton Academical.[44] On 15 January 2015, Taylor extended his contract with the club until 2017.[45] Just a week after signing new contract, Taylor suffered a knee injury and had to be substituted in the 63rd minute during a 3–3 draw against Dundee.[46] As a result, Taylor had a surgery on his knee and was out for two months.[47] After making his return, coming as a substitute in a 4–0 loss against Celtic,[48] Taylor scored his second goal in the next game, in a 2–1 win over Motherwell on 13 March 2015.[49] His third goal later came on 8 April 2015, in a 1–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[50] Taylor made 37 appearances in all competitions as Aberdeen finished second and qualified for European Football for the second season running. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Aberdeen confirmed that Taylor would be leaving the club after playing a total of 100 league appearances.[51]

Northampton Town

On 5 July 2017, Taylor signed a three-year contract with EFL League One club Northampton Town.[52] He was one of 3 transfer-listed by Northampton at the end of the 2018–19 season; a further 8 were released.[53]

Aberdeen (second spell)

On 4 June 2019, Taylor re-signed with Aberdeen on a two-year deal.[54]

Walsall

On 7 July 2021, Taylor joined League Two side Walsall on a two-year deal.[55] On 14 January 2022, his contract with Walsall was terminated by mutual consent. [56]

Kilmarnock

Following Derek McInnes appointment as Kilmarnock manager Ash returned to Scotland to join Scottish Championship side Kilmarnock on an 18-month deal. Ash would score the equaliser in the penultimate game of the season against Abroath which Kilmarnock went on to win securing Kilmarnock’s return to the Premiership. On the opening game of the 2022/23 Premiership season Ash would score a last minute equaliser against Dundee United at Rugby Park. [57]

Bradford City

On 16 June 2023, Taylor signed for Bradford City on a free transfer on an initial two year deal.

International career

Taylor represented Wales under-19 in the Milk Cup in 2009.[58]

He was named in the Wales Under-21 squad for the friendly match against Austria on 18 May 2010.[59] Two years later, he was selected again for Wales Under-21 squad for the qualifying match against Andorra[60] where he made his debut, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute, in a 4–0 win.[61]

Personal life

He attended South Wirral High School and grew up in Eastham, Wirral.[4] In 2014, he was engaged to model India Lea and planned to marry in Italy before his contract with Aberdeen began.[62]

Career statistics

As of match played 28 May 2023 [63]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tranmere Rovers 2008–09[64] League One 1000000010
2009–10[65] 33151201[lower-alpha 1]0412
2010–11[66] 26000001[lower-alpha 1]0270
2011–12[67] 37210003[lower-alpha 1]2414
2012–13[68] 442201000472
2013–14[69] 42310301[lower-alpha 1]0473
Total 183891606220411
Aberdeen 2014–15[70] Scottish Premiership 32310212[lower-alpha 2]0374
2015–16[71] 37410106[lower-alpha 2]0454
2016–17[72] 31250206[lower-alpha 2]0442
Total 1009705114012610
Northampton Town 2017–18[73] League One 45620104[lower-alpha 3]1527
2018–19[74] League Two 33000102[lower-alpha 3]0360
Total 786202061887
Aberdeen 2019–20[75] Scottish Premiership 14140002[lower-alpha 2]0201
2020–21[76] 31100001[lower-alpha 2]0321
Total 452400030522
Walsall 2021–22 League Two 11100103[lower-alpha 3]0151
Kilmarnock 2021–22 Scottish Championship 113100000123
2022–23 Scottish Premiership 324207000414
Total 437307030537
Career total 4603325121132353838
  1. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in the Europa League
  3. 1 2 3 Appearance in the EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Ash Taylor: "I'll play wherever I'm told"". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 7 July 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Taylor can fit the bill for Moore". Liverpool Echo. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "PAIR SIGN ROVERS PRO DEALS". Liverpool Echo. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 Hilton, Nick (11 July 2009). "Ash Taylor hoping loan spell at Colwyn Bay has toughened him up for Tranmere Rovers return". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  5. ↑ Pearce, James (21 March 2009). "Tranmere teen star Ash Taylor scores hat-trick". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "Scunthorpe 1–1 Tranmere". BBC Sport. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  7. ↑ "Fixtures/results: Scunthorpe 1 – 1 Tranmere". Soccerbase. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  8. ↑ "Taylor extends Tranmere terms". Sky Sports. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Leyton Orient 0 - 1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers 2 - 1 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Tranmere boss Les Parry: 'We were right to sign Chris McCready'". Liverpool Echo. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Rovers edging towards safety – and Magaluf". Liverpool Echo. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Rovers' good, bad and ugly". Liverpool Echo. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Double contract deal for Tranmere Rovers". Sky Sports. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Operation blow for Tranmere's Ash Taylor". Liverpool Echo. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers defender Ash Taylor begins recovery". BBC Sport. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Les Parry praises Ash Taylor ahead of his anticipated return from injury". Liverpool Echo. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers 0 - 2 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers' Ash Taylor relieved to be injury free". BBC Sport. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Taylor has leadership qualities - Parry". The Daily Telegraph. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers spot on". Sky Sports. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  23. ↑ "Accrington match called off after Tom Bender head injury". BBC Sport. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  24. ↑ "Accrington Stanley 0 Tranmere Rovers 1: Ash Taylor strike puts Rovers through in Johnstone's Paint Trophy". Liverpool Echo. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  25. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers FC: Ash Taylor to miss rest of season due to calcium problem". Liverpool Echo. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  26. ↑ "Minutes on the pitch 2011-12 season". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  27. ↑ "Tranmere's Ian Goodison and Ash Taylor sign new contracts". BBC. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  28. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers 2-2 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  29. ↑ "Colchester United 1-5 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Pair Hit By Thigh Injuries". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 9 December 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  31. ↑ "Taylor Called Up". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  32. ↑ "Coventry City 5 - 1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "Taylor Banned For Three Games". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  34. ↑ "Sheffield United 3-1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  35. ↑ "Taylor: It Was A Sucker Punch". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 9 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  36. ↑ "Port Vale 3-2 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  37. ↑ "Ash Taylor: Survival in Tranmere's hands despite Crawley defeat". BBC Sport. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  38. ↑ "Tranmere 1-2 Bradford". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  39. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers Offer Five New Contracts". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  40. ↑ "Aberdeen sign keeper Scott Brown and defender Ash Taylor". BBC Sport. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  41. ↑ "FK Daugava Riga 0-3 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  42. ↑ "Aberdeen 0-3 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  43. ↑ "Aberdeen 4-0 Livingston". BBC Sport. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  44. ↑ "Aberdeen 3 – 0 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  45. ↑ "Dons are Taylor made for defender". Aberdeen F.C. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  46. ↑ "Aberdeen 3 – 3 Dundee". BBC Sport. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  47. ↑ "Dons defender Ash Taylor requires knee surgery". Evening Express. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  48. ↑ "Celtic 4 – 0 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  49. ↑ "Aberdeen 2 - 1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  50. ↑ "Aberdeen 1 – 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle". BBC Sport. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  51. ↑ "Aberdeen: Ash Taylor & Lawrence Shankland join players leaving Pittodrie". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  52. ↑ "Ash Taylor: Northampton Town sign ex-Aberdeen defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  53. ↑ "Northampton Town release eight players and transfer-list three more". BBC Sport. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  54. ↑ "Ryan Hedges joins Aberdeen from Barnsley as Ash Taylor returns to Pittodrie". BBC. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  55. ↑ "Ash Taylor: Walsall sign defender following his departure from Aberdeen". BBC. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  56. ↑ "Ash Taylor contract terminated". Walsall F.C. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  57. ↑ "ASH TAYLOR EXCITED BY KILLIE PROMOTION CHALLENGE". Kilmarnock F.C. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  58. ↑ "Ash Taylor in Milk Cup action". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 12 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  59. ↑ "Wales under 21 squad v Austria". Football Association of Wales. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  60. ↑ "Taylor Called Up For Wales U21s". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  61. ↑ "Taylor Makes Wales U21 Debut". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  62. ↑ "All you need to know about the Dons' new signings". Evening Express. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  63. ↑ Ash Taylor at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  64. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  65. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  66. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  67. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  68. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  69. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  70. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  71. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  72. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  73. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  74. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  75. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  76. ↑ "Games played by Ash Taylor in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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