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Future Taylor vs Ledley King?


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Apologies for my somewhat controversial thread. I hadn't realised the past history of people comparing Spurs and Newcastle players.

 

It was a genuine attempt at a thread.

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King is overrated. Never really impressed me for both club and country (wheres hes played mostly in midfield and looked average).

 

As a side debate, present-Woodgate shits on present-King for me.

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Guest Nappy Rash

Apologies for my somewhat controversial thread. I hadn't realised the past history of people comparing Spurs and Newcastle players.

 

It was a genuine attempt at a thread.

 

Don't apologise because a couple of knackers whinge about something they dont like reading, imagine if they had to read their own shite  :parky:

 

Don't give into cliques and dogmatic know nothings, post what you want  :celb:

 

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I think we've got a good young lad in Taylor, I'm not sure people need to hype him up as much as they do, the best thing we could do as a club is to keep quiet about him and let him learn his trade without the added pressure some players get put on them for being potential stars.

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Guest Nappy Rash

Is it hype him up or point out the obvious?

 

I see more rubbish on forums like this one slating him than hyping him to the hilt or even giving him a fair appraisal to be fair.

 

He's an exciting prospect, he's one of us and he gives nothing more than 100% everytime he pulls on that shirt, thats good enough for me  :coolsmiley:

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King is overrated. Never really impressed me for both club and country (wheres hes played mostly in midfield and looked average).

 

As a side debate, present-Woodgate shits on present-King for me.

 

Ive been waiting for someone to say he is over rated, I totally agree. I didnt wanna say anything because i'd probably get ridiculed, Some people make out he's this world class defender but when compared against true worldclass defenders like Terry, Nesta, Cannavaro etc etc he is average. King is better than what we have atm and i feel people are over rating Taylor but i can understand that because it seem we have a defender with the potential to be a very very good defender.

 

 

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While the England Under-21s were battling it out on the pitch, it was not just the manager who was keeping a close watch on them. Equally observant were a group of excited fans in the stands - their mums, dads, girlfriends and others. GARY LIM catches up with one excited dad, Alf, the father of England defender Steven Taylor

HE was limping. He wasn't in a right shape to run, let alone take a penalty in the shoot-out

 

But he had no choice, after the Dutch camp protested vehemently.

 

At that point, not many expected the injured Steven Taylor to convert his spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the Uefa European Under-21 Championships.

 

But Alf Taylor did.

 

The 58-year-old is more than just a England fan.

 

He is the father of the England centre-back, who had bravely played 30 minutes of extra-time despite a bad ankle sprain.

 

Said Alf: 'I knew he was going to score.

 

'He used to be a very good striker. He knows where the back of the net is.

 

'But the defence in his team back then wasn't good, so they played him at centre-back when he was 14.

 

'I remember him telling me, 'Dad, please tell them I don't want to play in defence'.

 

'I told him that he had to listen to the coach and play where he wanted him to.'

 

 

No one expected the injured Steven Taylor to score in the penalty shoot-out against Holland, except one man - his dad, Alf (above).

But to convert a penalty at that juncture was always going to require more than just footballing ability. It needed mental power.

 

And according to Taylor senior, his son is not lacking in that department either.

 

'He's always very focused in the things he does,' he said.

 

Alf was part of a small band of travelling parents who were following their sons' fortunes in Holland, where the England Under-21s were fighting to become the best side in Europe.

 

At almost every match, they would gather in a section of the stadium, cheer for their heroes and lend support to one another when the going got tough.

 

During England's match against Holland, Alf was sitting with David Nugent's parents, Nugent's girlfriend, Matt Derbyshire's agent and Nedum Onuoha's mother.

 

Said Taylor: 'Nedum's mother goes to every single match.

 

'Usually, we'll see one another at the stadium and sit together.'

 

It's their way of giving support to their sons - their pride and joy.

 

Alf himself has watched Steven in almost '95 per cent' of the games he has played in.

 

The little inconveniences that come along the way are nothing compared to the feeling they get at seeing their children represent the country.

 

On several occasions, he and his wife also had to cut short or postpone their holidays to watch Steven in action, no thanks to last-minute or surprise call-ups to England teams, starting from the Under-16s.

 

For the match against Holland, he flew in from Newcastle to Amsterdam, took a train to Heerenveen and reached the Abe Lenstra Stadium an hour before kickoff.

 

RARE OCCASION

 

It was one of those rare occasions when Alf's wife wasn't around. She had other commitments.

 

By the next afternoon, he was jetting back to England.

 

Alf beamed each time he talked about his 21-year-old son.

 

How the eyes lit up when he recalled Steven making his debut for a Bobby Robson-led Newcastle United in a Uefa Cup match against Spanish side Mallorca in 2004.

 

Being Geordies, it was Steven's dream to one day play for the Black and Whites, and Alf's wish to see it happen.

 

So Alf's attendance sheet now also includes every club game, without fail.

 

'It helps that we're Newcastle fans,' he said, before going on to share anecdotes of Steven during his early days at the club, which took him into its youth system when he was nine.

 

Two years ago, Steven hurt his shoulder in a duel with Liverpool's Fernando Morientes, which put him out of the game for six weeks.

 

It was his first serious injury as a footballer.

 

Alf, who manages Steven, recalled: 'One morning at six, I received a call. It was Steven.

 

'He said he couldn't sleep because the sling he was wearing gave him much discomfort.

 

'So, I told him to slot a couple of pillows under his arm as support. An hour later, he called me again to complain.

 

'And for that duration when he was wearing the sling, he couldn't drive.

 

'So, I had to drive him around, wherever he wanted to go.

 

'I used to worry about him getting injured. But these days, I just accept it as part and parcel of a life as a professional.'

 

Already, Steven's performances in Holland have drawn praise from all quarters.

 

Among them was senior team manager Steve McClaren, who was at the England-Holland game. He was full of praise for Steven.

 

Alf also revealed that his son received 'a couple of calls' from recently-appointed Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce, who liked what he saw.

 

It is every dad's dream to see his child come good.

 

Alf has seen his boy blossom from a footballer-wannabe into a fine young player at this tournament.

 

How proud he must be feeling now.

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Guest Spurs_from_Africa

There is no way to know really. I'm going to be biased and say King as I believe he has everything that a defender needs and hardly makes any mistakes when fit. However, no-one really knows how Taylor could turn out. He could become as good as Nesta/Cannavaro etc. or he could become as crap as boumsong/bramble. It is hard to tell at such a young age.

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Guest LucasUnger

if taylor develops every year like this season then we sho uld have on of the  best defenders in the world at 25-26

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The difference is that he doesn't have the cockney factor to help him.

 

He was born in London so he may have a little in him

 

Aye your right. The force is strong with that one.

 

Although, i will now refer to him as judice.

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He's arguabley got as much potential as the likes of Terry when they were his age. The difference is that he doesn't have the cockney factor to help him.

 

Main difference is that Terry at that age was learning/playing alongside the likes of Lebouf, Desailly and Gallas.

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He's arguabley got as much potential as the likes of Terry when they were his age. The difference is that he doesn't have the cockney factor to help him.

 

Main difference is that Terry at that age was learning/playing alongside the likes of Lebouf, Desailly and Gallas.

 

Aye, i'm a firm believer in experiance alongside young talent.

 

Thing is though despite all the pressure, as a 21 year old he is handling it very well. Needs a Hyypia along side him though.

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He's arguabley got as much potential as the likes of Terry when they were his age. The difference is that he doesn't have the cockney factor to help him.

 

Main difference is that Terry at that age was learning/playing alongside the likes of Lebouf, Desailly and Gallas.

 

Aye, i'm a firm believer in experiance alongside young talent.

 

Thing is though despite all the pressure, as a 21 year old he is handling it very well. Needs a Hyypia along side him though.

 

personally i thought you could almost see tangible evidence of the effect playing with our "senior" pros had on the lad prior to last season...from his debut mistake against bolton he carried on doing what he'd been coached to do, i.e. he was doing everything the older players weren't but should have been

 

as time went on with boumsong/bramble/moore/carr/babarapist and so on he just started to let their shite creep into his game more and more....pish like getting caught wrongside and pulling players back, diving around like a tit to hide that he'd blatantly handballed it after being out of position....

 

then for whatever reason he seemed to grow last season, maybe it dawned on him that he was simply already a better player than the rest of 'em?  who knows....

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Taylor has the makings of a very good footballer and it's up to the club to get the best out of him, to do that he needs to be playing next to somebody who he can learn from.  If we can get an old pro to bring out the best of him then he can become a very, very good player.

 

I think he's got a better chance of realising his potential now than he had this time last year, I remember commenting that I though Taylor had stagnated because of who he was playing with week in and week out, most of that dross has now gone so if we bring in the right people then Taylor can start to learn again and produce the kind of performances we all know/hope he's capable of.

 

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if taylor develops every year like this season then we sho uld have on of the  best defenders in the world at 25-26

 

What development? Still makes the same mistakes (Dives in...plays to the crowd...turned easily (see u21 Germany/Italy and Holland on top of his performances for us)

 

Sam has been deliberately kind in his comments but if you read between the lines i'm not so certain he will be a regular starter in the centre of the back four.

 

He plays with a big heart but that alone does not make a great or good player. My only excuse for him is he is still young for a CH...but then i think of Toure who was converted from a CF.

 

Just worry he is already a yard short of pace to be great as that is one thing you don't gain with age... i guess reading of the game could compensate for that latter on.

 

 

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