Martin Taylor Speaks to Joys and Sorrows
One of our forum regulars, “Cliffmann,” is a friend of Martin Taylor. He offered to speak to Martin to gain an interview for Joys and Sorrows.
So over to Cliff:
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Joe Hart, Blues, Match Attacks. That’s probably my 7 year old sons current loves in life in the right order. Match Attacks for those unfamiliar with them are cards of the current premier league teams which give stars based on attack and defence ability.
Alex (my son not Eck!) has changed favourite players like most people change socks, Cameron Jerome, Frank Queudrue and Martin Taylor have all been one time preferences. So this year he was a bit surprised Tiny was not in the match attack pack, so we found a card on the internet of Martin from a previous season. When he saw it he was aghast at the fact Martin only had one star, not the maximum of 5 for either attack or defence.
The reason for telling the story is that we know Martin quite well as a family, so next time Alex saw him he decided he would not call him Martin any more and he would be affectionately known as “one star”. One of the funniest things I have ever seen is seeing this massively tall man struggling to come up with a suitable put down for a 3ft 7 year old.
So when he left the club for Watford in January without the chance to say goodbye to the fans I thought it would be nice for him to say goodbye and also maybe think of a response to his new nickname.
“Love the questions mate, something a bit different to usual. I think whoever decided on my one star status must have been watching one of my poorer performances. I always feel it’s better to be underestimated than overestimated, it gives you the chance to surprise an opponent who may have thought they were gonna get an easy game. That aside it was great banter from Alex!
Just a quick note to the fans to say thank you for all the support I received when I was at the club. It’s probably a standard thing to say for a player who leaves a club but I think I can sincerely say that I received fantastic support especially during a certain difficult period of my career and that loyalty from the blues fans helped my family and I enormously.
I’ve always enjoyed speaking to fans that I bump into around and about, they’ve always got good footballing opinions of what’s happening at the club. All in all it’s been a pleasure to play for Birmingham City. Thank you”
1. How did the move to the club originally come about?
It was a few years ago now, Jan 2004 to be precise but Blackburn were going through a bit of a transition. We’d had a good season the year before but some new faces were brought in and I found it more difficult to hold down a place. Sometimes as a professional you get the feeling that your time at a club has passed and you need to move on to further your career. Birmingham showed a lot of interest and were doing very well at that time. I spoke to a couple of lads who were at the club already and it sounded like an excellent opportunity to come to a club that was on the up. It took a couple of weeks to sort out but just before the window closed I found myself 100 miles down the M6 playing at the blues.
2. What was Bruce like as a manager?
I enjoyed my time working with Steve Bruce as a manager, he had wealth of knowledge of the game that he liked to pass on to his players. There were periods when I was at the club that I would have preferred to play more games under him but I always felt that he believed in me as a player who could do a job for him. He had a good team working with him, I thought Erik Black in particular was a very good coach
3. When the new owners came in did you as a player notice a changed atmosphere or is it a press myth?
There was actually a change in atmosphere around the place when the new owners came in. I would agree that sometimes a football club could have a change of ownership and the players would see no differences, however Carson Yeung’s arrival did bring a new feeling. The owners were very direct in their contact to the players showing us what they were planning for the club and the positive changes that they would bring. The previous owners did a great job when you compare the club from when they bought it to when they sold it but the new owners have their own ideas of how to make Birmingham City competitive further up the premier league. They know that for it to be successfully marketable the club and its facilities need to be comparable with the top premier league clubs and these are the differences that the players are now experiencing.
4. So in terms of Blues teams, were the Robbie Savage era better than the current team do you think?
I’ll sit on the fence on this one and say that it’s difficult to compare teams from different eras as they had different styles with their own positives. Both the team when I first joined and the team this season have done exceptionally well to stay in the top half of the premier league. If the current squad can maintain that position for a few seasons then that consistency would be the only separating factor of the two eras.
Martin "Tiny" Taylor
5. When you signed for the club, Steve Bruce said you were versatile and could play left back, right and centre, was he serious? Surely you are 100% centre half?
I actually played all over the pitch at Blackburn and was quite versatile when I was a younger player, if you can imagine! I actually made my debut as an emergency centre forward and played there a few times after that. I also found myself in midfield a few times. It’s often the case that centre half’s play full back when they first progress to the first team and that was what happened to me being used at both right and left. I quite enjoyed it being able to attack for a change and had probably my most successful season at Blackburn when we finished sixth playing a good portion of it at full back, mind, it helped having Damien Duff in his prime helping out in front. My body shape has changed as a player as I have got older into more of a centre half’s, gone are the days of overlapping the winger to get a cross in, I’m happy to just hold fort now.
6. Highlight of being at the club and your best performance?
Highlights would have to be getting promoted twice, especially the first time when we beat Sheffield Wednesday at home to put ourselves on the brink of an immediate return to the premier league. Even though we hadn’t quite made it yet, there was a great feeling following that game.
My best performance would have to be Newcastle away in the FA Cup replay (5-1). Not surprisingly I enjoyed every minute of that game.
7. If you search youtube you can be spotted sat on the bench during a blues-villa game. Two questions… See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugcutAxYD7I around the 1.39 mark!
a) What is the Blues-Villa derby like for a player in terms of pressure/preparation?
The game is prepared for like any other, but the big difference is the pressure and tension that you feel when you get out onto the pitch.
As a player you can sense from the crowd that its not just another game and that the result is the only thing that matters. That’s why the best things about derby games tend to be the tackles as everyone is wired up and doesn’t want to be the one to miss a tackle or make a mistake that could lose the game. Skill and flare tends to be forgotten for an afternoon.
b) What happened to that awful “curtains” hairstyle?
I was very proud of my ‘curtains’ hairstyle thank you very much and I would love to be able to grow it back if a. I could, and b. it came back into fashion.
8. How do you cope with not being in the team, do you get all moody or are you quite relaxed about it?
I would love to tell you that I accept it really well and it doesn’t bother me but in reality I probably get a bit moody.
It’s very frustrating as a player when you work hard all week with the rest of the players but end up not involved in the game on the Saturday. It’s vital to maintain a good condition when not playing as you could be called on at short notice but its a much more enjoyable job when you are playing regularly and experiencing the highs and lows in the team.
9. What career would you have done if football had not worked out?
I think about this occasionally but still don’t know. I think a lot of people don’t really work out their vocation until a few years after leaving school, when they’ve tried a few things or realised they’ve chosen the wrong subject at university.
I would probably have been like this, my favourite subjects at school were maths and geography but I probably would have ended up doing something completely unrelated to these.
10. You won a league cup medal with Blackburn, is it a treasured possession or lost somewhere in the loft?
It’s actually quite treasured with my other medals, three championship runners up gongs.
When I played the final at Cardiff, one of the older lads in the squad said I should treasure playing in a final because not many professionals get the chance in their career.
I’ve been fortunate to have had that chance and would love it again. It’s also a great thing to hold onto to show the grand kids in a few years who won’t believe that granddad was able to run never mind play football.
11. Who were the biggest jokers at the club and were there any stand out pranks played?
In the time that I was there a few jokers have passed through the changing rooms. Dunny was always one for a prank, as well as Sav. I can’t think of a particular one but there was always some good banter flying around. Ian Bennett was great fun to have around the training ground, he had the lads in stitches on a daily basis.
Martin "Tiny" Taylor
12. What’s it like being so tall?
I often don’t think of myself as being particularly tall, I suppose I’ve got used to it now. The only time it is ever a problem is when I hit my head on doorways or low hanging signs, or have cramped legs on transport. I think I’m still above the anthropometric/economic trade off of seating as many people comfortably in a specific area.
There are however advantages to being tall, such as at concerts or in highly stacked supermarkets, oh and not forgetting jumping for headers with Duncan Ferguson!
13. How is Watford different in terms of set-up, ambition and treatment of you as a player?
The set up at Watford is excellent from the facilities to the staff at the training ground to the help I received when I first joined. I found the transition between clubs quite comfortable as many of the training methods were very similar to the ones I was used to at Birmingham. They are a very community friendly club and I have been welcomed very well by everyone at Watford. Like any team in the championship they have ambition of getting promoted to the premier league and being as successful as possible.
14. Have you met Elton John yet, and did he have those great star shaped glasses on?
Unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Elton John yet. Hopefully one day in the future.
15. You have already scored for your new club, are you settled in already?
I am pleased with how the first month has gone. To get on the score sheet is a bonus, but I am happy with how I’ve settled in and we’ve had some decent results in that time. As a team we’ve been dominant in all the games I’ve been here which is not easy in the championship as all teams are very competitive.
16. What are your personal ambitions now and do you have plans in place for life after football?
My ambitions are now to play as many games as possible with Watford and to try and get promoted. I think we have as good a chance as most of being in and around the top positions in the championship and if it didn’t happen this season then we would just try for next.
I don’t have any concrete plans for what to do after football. It’s difficult to plan as I don’t know when that will be, hopefully not for another few years. Unfortunately there will be time when I come to retire, something as a young professional looks a lifetime off but creeps up on you all too quickly. The best thing is to prepare that it could happen at any time and not be surprised or disappointed when it does, just be ready to move on to the next chapter.
17. Pressure time now! With a chance to annoy your friends and colleagues what would be your best 11 during your time at the club?
1. Goalkeeper – Maik Taylor
2. Right Back – Stephen Kelly
3. Left Back – Jamie Clapham
4. Central Midfield – Damien Johnson
5. Centre Half – Kenny Cunningham
6. Centre Half – Raidi Jaidi
7. Right Midfield – Sebastian Larsson
8. Centre Midfield – Stephen Clemence
9. Centre Forward – Mikael Forssell
10 Centre Forward – Nicklas Bendtner
11 Left Midfield – Gary McSheffrey
Martin, I think I speak for everyone who supports the blues in saying we hope you do really well at Watford and things go well…
Good luck One Star!
Cliff
Images used with kind permission from Birmingham City FC
The Best Yet to Come
This is an article by Jay one of our forum regulars. It is an expansion on a post he made commentating on the recent positive comments we’ve been receiving from the national press.
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It’s been a very weird season for me as a Bluenose, for the first time in my lifetime anyway, we’re challenging on both major domestic fronts. In a season when ‘them’ from down the road have booked a trip to Wembley, it’s becoming a reality that the we might be booking our tickets too in a couple of months.
It seems this season, based on the league table anyway, that the gap in power is closing in the Midlands, 21 games into the season, Aston Villa sit 3 points above Birmingham City in the Premier League, and with Birmingham being the form side in England, that gap could soon be all gone.
It moves me onto the next 2 month’s at this football club, ever since Carson Yeung and his army came into St. Andrews, they changed the feel of the club, and since they officially took over the club, they’ve not witnessed a defeat, 15 games it’s spanned, but it seems the easy work is now done.
The games coming up are huge, Chelsea & Spurs, as we look to battle into the top seven of the Premier League, something McLeish will secretly have his eye on, although he won’t tell us and it’s something many Bluenoses are starting to look at, whispers of; “Clear your schedule mate.” “Renewed your passport?” Are all starting to creep into the minds of us Blues fans and it’s Febuary and March that are going to for me, define this incredible season.
Not only have we made amazing strides within the Premier League, causes some shocks, shut out the un-stoppable Chelsea, been robbed at Anfield, but quietly, carefully, we’ve came through two of the toughest FA Cup draws you could imagine. Away at Nottingham Forest, another one of the country’s form sides, poor performance in both ties, we come away with a win. Everton away, a team in form, a very classy performance = 5th Round. Next up on the road to Wembley, Derby County, the easiest draw on paper so far, it’s down to the character of this amazing squad to show their ambition, their belief in themselves and the sheer cheek to continue marching towards Wembley, can it be done? I think so, and I think they do too.
It just shows the change in perspective since the start of the season, a lot of grumbling fans, a board that wasn’t wanted, a lack of investment, the only bright light being the manager and even he was under-pressure due to a lack of good football. Now, January 2010, he’s a hero, a tactical mastermind, he’s moulded the best outfit I’ve ever possibly seen at St. Andrews and all that’s missing is Lé God scoring blinding free-kicks and back-heels.
It’s been an amazing season so far, and the next two games will show everybody what we’re made of, if we come out of those beaten, bruised, confidence down, I think we’ll yet again see that the spirit within this club, 8th, 10th, 12th, 17th is amazing and I think we should all be proud of every single person associated with this football club, including the fans.
KRO, here’s to Wembley!
Jay
Transfer rumour round up
Well we have all this money now but do we need to spend it? The team is unbeaten after twelve games and our manager hasn’t felt the need to change the team much during that run. It’s possible that a sudden influx of new players could unsettle the team so most fans would agree that only two or three quality additions would be needed to boost the squad and cover for injuries. The question is who can we get.
The most prominent story in recent days has been that Liverpool have turned down a nine million pound bid from us for Ryan Babel. It seems strange to me that they would turn down such an offer as Babel is only an occasional first teamer for Liverpool but to be honest a lot of Benitez’s decisions baffle me. I’m not too bothered that they have turned it down though as it’s a lot of our budget for someone who is talented but inconsistent. The other option talked about is Aiden McGeady of Celtic but there are conflicting stories about his availability. Some reports say that Celtic have asked for ten million while others say that he is not for sale. Either way it doesn’t look like he will be coming to us.
In the ”More Likely” column is another bid for Sporting Gijon’s Michel who in some reports has already had a medical. This was a player we were close to signing in the summer so hopefully the small print can be sorted out this time. Craig Gardner of Villa was also talked about in the summer and the rumours have started again as they have for Kris Boyd of Rangers. Gardner has not featured for Villa much this season and Boyd is close to the end of his contract so they are both more likely to happen now if they are players McLeish really wants. It’s interesting that despite us having a new board and a much bigger budget we are still being linked with the same players as in August.
Other stories doing the rounds are a bid for Wigan’s Charles N’Zogbia. McLeish is obviously looking for wide players. It doesn’t look like Wigan really want to sell though. The Ruud Van Nistelrooy rumour has come round again but I can’t see that even the chance of first team football will make him want to swap sunny Madrid for freezing Birmingham. Kevin Kuranyi looks unlikely to come now as well so at the moment there is no sign of the new striker that we all said was a priority. Early days though.
The one deal that we would all like to happen, the permanent signing of Joe Hart won’t go through but there is a chance that we could extend the loan for another year like we did with Mikael Forssell.
Still twenty six days to go so I expect there will be many more rumours, good and bad, to come and maybe we”ll actually sign someone before deadline day.
Kenny Burns Speaks to Joys and Sorrows Part 2
Here is part 2 of my interview with Kenny, starting with style as a player! If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
You had a bit of a reputation as a hardman, was that something that developed or was it always there?
It was always there to be honest. I liked the physical aspect of the game. If someone was doing something – you had to stop it. (Me – Didn’t you put Alan Hanson or Mark Lawrenson down in a game?). Well that wouldn’t be hard! Alan wasn’t very physical! There were players who weren’t very physical, so I tried to bully them. You get a hard tackle or challenge in early.
Kenny Burns
So by roughing them up you were gaining an advantage.
Yeah, I’m trying to do the best for the team. If it means me bullying someone to give us the edge, I would do it. Freddie always said, the first chance you get hit the keeper. The first cross – whack him. Next time it comes over, he’ll be watching you and not the ball. I used to try and get away with what I could! I think I only got sent off twice for the Blues though! I came close a number of other times though!
Tell us about Willie Bell, because he took over as manager while you were still with us after Freddie got the sack.
After Freddie got the sack, I got on well with Willie (Bell) and then for some reason it went totally against me. I saw Willie many years later and he said that he was told that I was tapped up by Forest and my sources were never wrong. I said they were wrong this time, I was NEVER tapped up. I got on really well with him, I think I was one of his favourites and probably got away with things a bit more. Then when he became manager I remember he had a Vauxhall Viva and I used to say to him – what are doing driving that as manager of Birmingham City? You should be driving a Mercedies! He did eventually get one. That’s how I used to talk to him!
Kenny Burns
It sounds like you had a great time with us as a club, and we loved having you. But tell me a bit about your time after you left us, because you had a great time at Forest. Was the move difficult?
To be honest I found it really hard that Birmingham didn’t want me. That was strange to me. Forest were superb to me. I can’t fault them to be honest.
Have you got a Cloughie story?
Well there was one related to Martin O’Neill, he had been dropped to make way for Trevor and he was really upset about it. Cloughie called everyone in and asked him what the matter was. He said nothing, so Cloughie said yes there is and we will all sit here all day until you tell me. So Martin O’Neill said, OK then I want to know why I’m in the second team. Cloughie just turned round and said, because you’re too good for the third team! That was in front of the whole squad. You were a better man for meeting Cloughie.
There is a rumour that he was in line to become the Blues manager, do you know if that was true?
Yes it was. I remember when I was with him, he said to me. I nearly became manager of Birmingham because of one man, Clifford Coombs. He was a gentleman I nearly went there because of him.
Back to the present Kenny, what do you think about the new owners and about what Alex is doing?
Well I hope the new owners do spend their money to build the club up. Alex has to build slowly, and get the squad playing well and add in better and better players over time. I saw the Villa game earlier in the season and I was disappointed. Alex played 1 up front at home. It’s good that he’s changed it. The run the club is on, is great and they can play. Alex can do it. If the Blues can start getting success, they will become a bigger club than the Villa. I remember the big gates in the 70’s and I believe that these owners can play a big part in making the Blues a big club.
What are you up to now, and you have a new book out Kenny, tell us a bit about that.
I do a lot of after dinner speaking these days, and if anyone wants me to come to an event just contact me. (Contact J&S for details). As you say, I have a book out called No If’s or Butts! It is about my life and career from Scotland to the present day. Stories about managers and about things I’ve experienced. Not that it is all about me as such, it is about those who also played a part in my career. Some stories bout when I got into fights, also when I was on tour with the Blues and some things that happened there and also about my time at Forest!
Kenny thank you so much for giving me the time, you are genuinely one of my all time favourite Blues players. I hope we get chance to meet you again. I did meet you as a kid at Elmdon and you signed an programme for me.
I hope we can meet to, and no problem for this. Actually my signature has changed since then, I can do joined up writing now!
Ladies and Gentleman – Kenny Burns!
Images used with kind permission of Birmingham City FC
Midlands Football On the Up?
The only 3 teams to win in the Premier League Yesterday were Us, Villa and Wolves.
We are sitting at the top of the form table, with Villa being 5th. As far as the actual table, Villa are 4th, we are 8th and Wolves now find themselves out of the bottom 3.
I know the season isn’t over, but I’m really pleased that as a geographical area that has struggled to punch above it’s weight for a while, that things are beginning to look up. Yes we could still go down, however it would take a REALLY bad run!
I guess some Blues fans won’t agree with me, but I’d rather we all stayed up.
The Albion of course are doing well in the Championship, so let’s hope that they can come up too to increase the Midlands representative and increase the Premiership derby days by 2 for each of the afore mentioned sides!
Kev
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