Gordon Taylor (footballer)

Last updated

Gordon Taylor OBE
Personal information
Full name Gordon Alexander Taylor [1]
Date of birth (1944-12-28) 28 December 1944 (age 78)
Place of birth Ashton-under-Lyne, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) [2]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1959–1960 Curzon Ashton
1960–1962 Bolton Wanderers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1962–1970 Bolton Wanderers 258 (41)
1970–1976 Birmingham City 166 (9)
1976–1978 Blackburn Rovers 64 (3)
1977 → Vancouver Whitecaps (loan) 16 (1)
1978–1980 Bury 60 (2)
Total564(56)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Alexander Taylor OBE (born 28 December 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was chief executive of the English footballers' trades union, the Professional Footballers' Association, for over 40 years, between 1981 and 2021. [3] In March 2019 it was reported that he was to stand aside upon completion of a "full and open review" into the PFA's finances (presented at its 2019 AGM) along with its entire management committee and chairman Ben Purkiss. [4] He was reputed to be the highest paid union official in the world. [5] The 2020 PFA AGM is scheduled for 26 November, and is expected to appoint four non-executive directors. [6] In September 2020 the chair of the all party group on gambling, Carolyn Harris [7] voiced her reservations on gambling related harm exampled by the Union's CEO. [8] On the 1 June 2021, Taylor was formally replaced as CEO, retaining a temporary transitional advisory role to his successor. [9]

Taylor was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. He played over 250 matches for Bolton Wanderers and scored more than 50 goals before being transferred to Birmingham City in 1970. He joined Blackburn Rovers in 1976 and spent the 1977 close season playing in the North American Soccer League for the Vancouver Whitecaps. He returned to play for Blackburn and finally Bury before retiring in 1980 to work full-time for the PFA. [1] [10]

Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from University of London in 1969 as an external student. In 2007, he was a member of FIFA's football committee. [5] He is an alumnus of Manchester Metropolitan University. [11]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours. [12]

His mobile phone messages were allegedly hacked by a private investigator employed by the News of the World newspaper. The Guardian reported that News International (the owner of the News of the World) paid Taylor £700,000 in legal costs and damages in exchange for a confidentiality agreement barring him from speaking about the case. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Football Association</span> Governing body of association football in England

The Football Association is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gérard Houllier</span> French footballer and manager (1947–2020)

Gérard Paul Francis Houllier was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2001. He then guided Lyon to two French titles, before announcing his resignation on 25 May 2007. He became manager of Aston Villa in September 2010. He also coached the France national team between 1992 and 1993. He assisted Aimé Jacquet in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, was part of UEFA's and FIFA's Technical Committee in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, and technical director for the French Football Federation during the 2010 finals. In June 2011, he stepped down from club coaching, leaving his managerial role at Aston Villa, following frequent hospitalisation over heart problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Le Tissier</span> English association football player and television pundit

Matthew Paul Le Tissier is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team. Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non-League football in 2002; his loyalty garnered special affection from Southampton's fans who nicknamed him "Le God".

The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Shilton</span> English footballer

Peter Leslie Shilton is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Strachan</span> Scottish football coach and former player

Gordon David Strachan is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Coventry City, Southampton, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Merson</span> English footballer and manager

Paul Charles Merson is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports.

David Batty is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeme Le Saux</span> Retired professional footballer

Graeme Pierre Le Saux is an English former professional footballer and television pundit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fergus Suter</span> Scottish stonemason and footballer

Fergus Suter was a Scottish stonemason and footballer in the early days of the game. Arguably the first recognised professional footballer, Suter was a native of Glasgow and played for Partick before moving to England to play for Darwen and Blackburn Rovers F.C..

In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can only be transferred during a transfer window and according to the rules set by a governing body. A negotiated transfer fee is agreed financial compensation paid from an interested club, to the club that possesses the player's exclusive contracted playing rights. When a player moves from one club to another, their old contract is terminated whilst the player and their new destination club will both negotiate on new contract terms. As such, the transfer fee functions as financial compensation for the early mutually agreed termination of the contract of a professional football player. Transfer fees are contingent on the player’s current football abilities, future potential, duration of the existing contract, amount of future salary owed and the willingness of clubs to agree on an economic equilibrium through supply and demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Cowans</span> English footballer and coach

Gordon Sidney Cowans is an English retired football player and coach.

William John Slater,, also commonly known as W. J. Slater, was an English professional footballer. Slater made the majority of his appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he won three league championships and the FA Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Taylor (referee)</span> English association football referee

John Keith Taylor was an English football referee. Later described by the Football League as "perhaps the finest English referee of all time", Taylor was famous for officiating in the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final during which he awarded two penalties in the first 30 minutes. The first of these penalty kicks, awarded after just a minute of play, was the first penalty kick awarded in a World Cup final.

Maheta Matteo Molango is a Swiss-born sports executive and former professional footballer. He was born in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, he is an Italian citizen, born to a Congolese father and Italian mother. As a player, his last team was Unión Adarve in group one of the Preferente de Madrid. He became the Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers' Association for England and Wales on 1 June 2021, replacing Gordon Taylor.

The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland is the association for professional footballers in Scotland. It was known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association (SPFA), but that organisation was dissolved and replaced by PFA Scotland in 2007. PFA Scotland is affiliated to the (English) Professional Footballers' Association and the worldwide union FIFPro. The SPFA used to be affiliated to the GMB union.

Clifford Lloyd was a Welsh footballer, best known for his association with Wrexham. He was also involved with the PFA, as secretary of the players' trade union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Stanway</span> English footballer

Georgia Marie Stanway is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the England national team. Stanway has also represented England at various youth levels.

The 1976–77 season was Aston Villa's 77th in the Football League and their second consecutive season in the top division.

References

Infobox statistics

Specific

  1. 1 2 Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 128. ISBN   978-1-85983-010-9.
  2. ↑ Jackman, Mike (1994). Blackburn Rovers: the official encyclopaedia. Derby: Breedon Books. p.  221. ISBN   1-873626-70-3.
  3. ↑ Bhana, Mohammed (1 June 2007). "Gordon Taylor on Asians in Football". Ethnic Now. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Gordon Taylor: PFA chief executive to step down after 38 years". 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Ils font le foot anglais" [They make English football]. France Football (in French). 28 September 2007. Le syndicaliste le mieux payé au monde (1,6 M€ annuels !). ... Diplômé en économie, membre du comité du football de la FIFA, Taylor est un interlocuteur clé des instances dirigeantes du football anglais. [The best-paid union man in the football world (€1.6 million a year!). ... A graduate economist, member of FIFA's football committee, Taylor is a key contact for the powers-that-be of English football.
  6. ↑ Wilson, Jeremy; Burt, Jason (9 October 2020). "PFA's four new non-executive directors expected to be confirmed at next month's AGM". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "The concept of vulnerability and gambling-related harm". Gambling Regulation and Vulnerability: 9–47. 2018. doi: 10.4337/9781785364709.00007 . ISBN   9781785364709.
  8. ↑ "Footie union boss Gordon Taylor spotted at bookies despite admitting £100,000 gambling losses". Footie union boss Gordon Taylor spotted at bookies despite admitting £100,000 gambling losses. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. ↑ MacInnes, Paul (16 March 2021). "PFA appoints Maheta Molango to replace Gordon Taylor as leader". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Gordon Taylor". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Notable alumni in sport". Manchester Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Roopanarine, Les (29 December 2007). "PFA head Taylor scoops OBE". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Davies, Nick (8 July 2009). "Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.