Ian Taylor (footballer, born 1968)

English footballer

In June 1994, Taylor signed with Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday. The next month a tribunal decided upon a £1 million fee, plus £100,000 for an England appearance and £25,000 for every ten goals up to a maximum of fifty goals as well as 15% of the profit of any future sale. As it happened he was shifted on to Brian Little's Aston Villa in December that year for £1 million plus Guy Whittingham. The "profit" for Wednesday was therefore Whittingham himself, meaning all the would be bonuses were an irrelevance. Taylor played just eighteen games for Wednesday.

A lifelong supporter of the "Villans", as a child he used to stand on the Holte End at Villa Park. This fact, combined with his utterly committed displays and knack of scoring crucial goals, quickly established him as a fans' favourite. Villa narrowly stayed in the Premier League in 1994–95 after finishing three points and one place above relegated Crystal Palace. Villa finished fourth in 1995–96, and Taylor scored in wins over Manchester United, Wimbledon, Leeds United, and Southampton. He also played, and scored, in the Aston Villa side that won the 1996 League Cup final 3–0 against Leeds. He played 36 domestic games in 1996–97, scoring in wins over Leeds, Wimbledon, and Liverpool. He scored 9 goals in 44 games in 1997–98, and maintained his first team place under new manager John Gregory. Taylor also netted important goals in Villa's 1997–1998 UEFA Cup run, when they would eventually be knocked out by Atlético Madrid on away goals at the quarter final stage. He scored four times in 38 games in 1998–99, and again Villa won all games in which he found the net, including a 2–1 victory at Coventry City in which Taylor scored both Villa's goals. He was prolific in 1999–2000, scoring ten goals in 42 games, helping Villa to reach the 2000 FA Cup final, where they lost out 1–0 to Chelsea. Taylor hit five goals in 35 games in 2000–01, including both goals in a 2–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. However, he was restricted to just eighteen appearances in 2001–02, as manager John Gregory was replaced by Graham Taylor in January. After only nineteen appearances in 2002–03, he was released by Taylor at the end of the campaign.

Taylor joined First Division side Derby County, where he was made captain. He was the club's top scorer in 2003–04 with twelve goals, as Derby avoided relegation by a single point. He played 44 games in 2004–05, as Derby reached the Championship play offs , where they were defeated by Preston North End in the semi finals. Taylor was released in May 2005.

In June 2005 he signed with League Two club Northampton Town. The "Cobblers" won promotion in 2005–06 as League Two runners up, with Taylor making 38 appearances. For his performances he was named on the PFA Team of the Year. Northampton retained their League One status in 2006–07, as Taylor played another 36 games. Taylor announced that the game at home to Huddersfield Town on 27 April would be the last of his career before retiring as a professional player. A small number of Aston Villa fans attended this match. At Villa's away match against Manchester City the day after Taylor's final game, the travelling Villa fans sang "There's only one Ian Taylor".

Taylor was born in Birmingham, England and is of Barbadian descent through his mother. In May 2004, he was considered by Barbados manager Kenville Layne for a call up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying double header against Saint Kitts and Nevis in June 2004. Taylor revealed that he turned down a similar approach from the nation five years previous, as he wanted to play for England.

Taylor is now an occasional football co commentator for the Aston Villa website's Villa TV, and can regularly be seen at Aston Villa games as was appointed as a Club Ambassador in February 2011. He also makes occasional appearances on Sky TV and TNT Sports. During the 2007–08 season, he has been given a regular column as the final feature in Aston Villa's matchday programme, titled 'Tayls Talking'. Still held in very high esteem by Villa fans, he maintained his cult status in October 2005, when instead of sitting with the directors and VIPs for the Second City derby against Birmingham City at St Andrew's, he was amongst the travelling Aston Villa contingent; Taylor did the same thing again in Villa's game against Blues on 11 November 2007. Taylor is also a director of Optima Sport, which brings academy football teams from across the world to compete against academies in the UK. He also runs his own consultancy in the solar and renewable energy industry, being Global Business Development Ambassador for MJ Quinn Solar and is an Ambassador for car company Express Car Leasing. In January 2024, Taylor was named by Aston Villa as a member of the Honorary Anniversary Board ahead of the club's 150th anniversary season.