Taylor: Stuart James (Stuart)

2014-2015 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Goalkeeper

Born: Romford, Essex: 28-11-1980

Debut: v Accrington Stanley (h): 12-08-2014

Height & Weight: 6ft 5ins 14st

Taylor started his football career in the Junior ranks at Arsenal. After trials with Wimbledon in 1992-93, he joined Arsenal and progressed through the Junior teams before signing professional forms in August 1997. Arsenal were well supplied with goalkeepers and in 1997 he had David Seaman, John Lukic, Lee Harper and Vince Bertram in front of him and his luck with injuries also hampered his progress. The following year Alex Manniger became second in line as Lee Harper left. In 1998-99 he was recognised as fourth behind David Seaman, Alex Manninger and John Lukic and this continued in the following two seasons. In Several times in his eight year career at Arsenal he was loaned out to other clubs to get first team experience. He had already represented England, once at Under-Sixteen and five times as an Under-Eighteen before making his League debut on 25th September 1999 for Bristol Rovers in a 2-0 win at Notts County in a Division Two game and made four starts for them before returning to Arsenal when his one month loan expired on 23rd October 1999. He also represented England twice at Under-Twenty in 1999. He was loaned to Division One side, Crystal Palace, at the start of the 2000-01 season and made ten starts after his debut in a 0-2 loss at Ewood Park, against Blackburn Rovers. On 1st November 2000 he made his Arsenal debut in a 1-2 home loss to Ipswich Town in the League Cup and six days later he played his first European Cup game in a 3-0 loss at Shakhtar. He was then loaned to Peterborough United for a month in February 2001 and after making his debut on 17th February 2001 he made six starts before returning to Arsenal on 15th March 2001. He made three appearances for England Under Twenty-one team as they beat, Holland 4-0 on 14th August 2001, Germany 2-1 on 31st August and Albania 5-0 on 4th September 2001. He forced his way into the Arsenal team, after coming on at Half-Time for the injured Richard Wright, in the 2-0 defeat at Deportivo in the European Cup and keeping a cleansheet. He made his League debut in the EPL in a 3-1 home win over Manchester United on 25th November 2001 and kept his spot until Richard Wright again became available. He had made nine EPL, two League Cup and one F.A. Cup as well as one further European Cup game. Arsenal were EPL champions that season and to gain a medal he needed ten League appearances. This was achieved when he came on as an eighty-fourth minute substitute for Richard Wright in the final game of the season as Arsenal beat Everton 4-3 with Steve Watson getting an eighty-ninth minute goal for the visitors. However he was still behind David Seaman and Richard Wright and also had Graham Stack and Craig Holloway to contend with. He next started in the 3-2 home defeat in the League Cup by Sunderland on 6th November 2002 and was then called off the bench as a forty-third minute replacement for the injured Rami Shaaban in a 0-2 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on 7th December 2002. This was followed by a start in the Fourth Round of the F.A. Cup in a 5-1 win in an away match with Farnborough on 25th January 2003, which for financial reasons was played at Highbury. His next appearance was as an half-time replacement for the injured David Seaman in the 1-1 away draw with Ajax in the European Cup on 18th February 2003 and he retained his place in Seaman's absence in a 5-1 win at Maine Road over Manchester City four days later. From the 15th March 2003 Taylor stood in for the injured David Seaman in six EPL, one European Cup and one F.A. Cup tie until the end of the 2002-2003 season. It was now a battle with Rami Shaaban for the deputy position to David Seaman. Due mainly to a shoulder injury, he was not called upon in the 2003-04 season and he only tasted first team football when he was loaned to Leicester City for two months from 20th November 2003. He made his debut on that day in a 0-0 draw at Wigan Athletic in the Championship League and by the time he returned to Highbury had started ten League games. Jens Lehmann had replaced David Seaman and was an ever-present, leaving Stuart Taylor, Rami Shaaban, Graham Stack and Craig Holloway to dispute the place on the bench. In the 2004-05 season Manuel Almunia became deputy to Jens Lehmann while Taylor, Chris Wright and Michael Jordan were contenders for the bench. His spell at Highbury was quite rewarding, as not only did he pick up an EPL Championship medal but also received an F.A. Cup and two Charity Shield winners medals without setting foot on the turf! He was transferred to Aston Villa on a four year contract 25th June 2005 as cover for Thomas Sorenson, after starting only sixteen EPL games and coming off the bench twice, starting three F.A. Cup and four League Cup-ties and three starts and two games as a substitute in the European Cup, while with the Gunners. His time at Villa Park was equally inactive as he after making his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on 31st October 2005, he started just nine and came off the bench in three League games as well as starting three League Cup-ties and two Inter-Toto Cup matches and in a loan spell at Cardiff City from 13th March 2009 to the end of the season he started eight League games after making his Championship debut in a 1-1 draw at Bristol City on 15th March 2009. When his contract at Villa Park ran out he joined Manchester City as a free agent on 1st July 2009 on a one year deal. He was third behind Shay Given and Marton Fulop in his first season, then behind Joe Hart and Shay Givens in the second season and Joe Hart and Costel Pantilimonin his final season After making his City debut in a 4-2 win at Scunthorpe United in the Fourth Round of the F.A. Cup, it looked like that was to be his only game at the Etihad, as he was released at the end of the season but the club had second thoughts and signed him on a two year deal and in reality it was his only game as he saw out his contract while not playing a game for the next two seasons. On 20th August 2012 he signed a one year contact with Reading and on 2nd March 2013 he made his debut for his new club in a 3-1 defeat at Goodison Park in the EPL game with Everton. He also played the next three EPL games and signed another contract to 30th June 2014 on 2nd August 2013. He was always third behind Adam Federici and Alex McCarthy and those four games were the only ones that he played for Reading and he was released at the end of his contract. On 3rd July 2014 he signed a one-year contract for Leeds United, but once Leeds had signed Marco Silvestri from Chievo Verona, he was always going to be second choice and his task was made easier with the departure of Paddy Kenny who would have expected to be vying for top spot, as he had done in previous seasons. Taylor made his Leeds debut on 12th August 2014 when he started in the 2-1 League Cup home win over Accrington Stanley. He made his second appearance in the second round League Cup defeat by Bradford City at Valley Parade on 27th August 2014. He finally made his league debut on 18th April 2015 in a 1-2 defeat by Charlton Athletic at the Valley and played the two subsequent League games to the end of the season when Marco Silvestri was not available. He was released at the end of the season by Leeds when his contract expired