Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor is an English footballer, who is currently working as an Assistant Coach to New Zealand National Football Team. He was born as Peter John Taylor on January 3, 1953, in Rochford, Essex, and East of England. Peter started his career with Canvey Island Football Club. Prior to signing as a junior for Southend United in the year 1971, he had faced some hurdles at Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur. He was part of the success of the Southend United when the club got promoted to the old 3rd division in the year 1972. This caught the attention of Malcolm Allison, manager of the Crystal Palace club, who signed him for £110,000 in 1973. At the end of the season, Palace got demoted to the 3rd tier, but Peter was named as the “Player of the Year.” He stayed at the football club for two more seasons and earned the same title in 1976.

The peak of his career as one of the Palace was from 1975 to 1976 season when the Palace has reached the semi-final at the FA Cup. He scored two goals during the quarter-final and won over Chelsea. He also made appearances and scored twice for the England club. Palace season gradually reduced after the semi-final and even failed to be promoted to the 2nd tier. Former footballer, Terry Venables replaced Allison when he resigned and in 1976, Peter left the club for Tottenham Hotspur. He juggled his career with Spurs, but the club got demoted in 1977 and was promoted again in 1978. Since then, he did not make any appearances for England and shifted to Leyton Orient F.C. in 1980. He made more than a hundred appearances for Tottenham and scored 31 times. Peter also played 56 times for Orient and scored 11 times in the span of three seasons.

From 1983 to 1984, he was seen eight times for Exeter City, before shifting to a non-league football, firstly with Maidstone United, followed by Chelmsford City, and then Dartford. He played as a substitute for England against Wales, and in the 80th minute of the game, Peter pulls off the winning goal. On his next match, he scored his second international goal against Wales and became the last English footballer to achieve two international games. When he ended his playing career, Peter started working as a Manager for Dartford F.C., a non-league club. After four seasons, 1000 attendances, and 100 goals, he bagged the Southern Cup for two times.

His first Football League managerial role was at Southend United. He quits after two years when the club failed to reach the middle of the Division One table. From 1995 to 1996 season, he became the Manager of Dover Athletic F. C. Two months after signing for Dover, he left after Glenn Hoddle (the then Manager of England) requested him to manage England’s Under-21 football team. From 1999 to 2000 season, he guided the Gillingham F.C. until the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. A few weeks later, he left the club for Leicester City F. C. in the Premier League. Peter had a bright start against the East Midlands and even reached the top of the league for two weeks.

However, after their 9 over 10 defeats, they ended on 13th place and got defeated by Wycombe Wanderers F.C. at the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Peter was laid-off by Leicester in the year 2001 after a dreaded start in the 2001 to 2002 season. Peter also took charge on clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City, Stevenage Borough, Wycombe Wanderers, and Bradford City. He was signed to train the Bahrain Football Association in 2011. He was also appointed to be the head coach of the Kerala Blasters in 2015. In 2016, he became an assistant to former footballer and manager, Anthony Hudson, for the New Zealand National Team.