Gerry Taggart
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Taggart | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1990 | Manchester City | 12 | (1) |
| 1990–1995 | Barnsley | 212 | (16) |
| 1995–1998 | Bolton Wanderers | 69 | (4) |
| 1998–2004 | Leicester City | 117 | (9) |
| 2003–2004 | → Stoke City (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| 2004–2006 | Stoke City | 47 | (3) |
| 2007 | Tamworth | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 547 | (44) | |
| National team | |||
| 1990–2002 | Northern Ireland | 51 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007 | Leicester City (caretaker manager) | ||
| 2010–2013 | Oldham Athletic (assistant manager) | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Gerald "Gerry" Taggart (born 18 October 1970) is a former professional footballer. He played for Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City, Manchester City and Stoke City as well as the Northern Ireland national team.
Taggart began his career as an trainee with Manchester City in 1989 but joined Barnsley in 1990 after being unable to break into the first team at Maine Road. He soon became a popular player with the "Tykes" supporters due to his passionate and committed performances. After spending five years with Barnsley making 249 appearances he joined Bolton Wanderers where he helped them to win the Division One title in 1996–97. He signed for Leicester City in 1998 and played in back to back League Cup Finals with Leicester winning the cup in 2000. He remained with Leicester until 2003 when he joined Stoke City. He spent three seasons at the Britannia Stadium and after a short spell with Tamworth he retired from playing.
After his retirement in 2007, he began his coaching/managing career for Leicester. On 10 June 2010, he was announced as the new assistant manager at Oldham Athletic.[1] He was placed on garden leave by the club on 31 December 2012 following a run of poor results.
Playing career
Manchester City
Taggart started his career as a trainee with Manchester City in 1989. Taggart spent one season with the club making 13 appearances, and scoring one goal.
Barnsley
Limited chances in the Manchester City team saw Taggart drop down a division to take up the option of joining Barnsley where he spent five seasons, making the Northern Irish national team in the process. Taggart spent most of his time at Barnsley under former Northern Ireland player Danny Wilson, where he made 247 appearances and scored 20 goals for the club.
Bolton Wanderers
He signed for Bolton Wanderers for a club record £1.5 million on 1 August 1995, as they prepared for the Premier League after winning promotion from Division One. However, he was unable to prevent them from being relegated after just one season among the elite.[2]
In his second season with the club, Taggart helped Bolton reach the Premiership after they had amassed 98 points and scored 100 goals in that season and gained promotion as Champions of the First Division. The following season Taggart was relegated back to the First Division. In a total of three seasons with the club, Taggart made 81 appearances, scoring 5 goals for Bolton, with one such goal coming in the last ever game at the clubs old Burnden Park ground against Charlton Athletic in April 1997.
Leicester City
Taggart again played in Premiership football when he signed for Leicester City on 16 June 1998. Taggart was often partnered with Steve Walsh and Matt Elliott in Leicester's defence. In 2000 he won a League Cup winners medal with Leicester.
He scored his last European goal in a 1–1 UEFA Cup draw against Red Star Belgrade on 15 September 2000, at Filbert Street.[3] In the 2001–02 season Leicester were relegated from the Premier League and Taggart opted to remain with the "Foxes" and helped them regain their top-flight status. He was over looked for the first team squad in the Premier League and joined Stoke City on loan then on a permanent basis.
Stoke City
He joined Stoke City on loan on 9 December 2003.[4] He instantly impressed Stoke manager Tony Pulis with his leadership qualities.[5] His loan deal was extended for another month on 6 January 2004.[6] But he was recalled by Leicester.[7]
He joined Stoke on a permanent basis on 26 February 2004 until the end of the 2003–04.[8] He then signed an extension at Stoke turning down an approach from Derby County.[9] He formed a decent defensive partnership with Michael Duberry in the 2004–05 season Pulis was sacked at the end of it though and was replaced by Johan Boskamp. Boskamp used Taggart as a coach during his one season spell and he was not offered a new contract at the end of the season.[10]
Tamworth
Taggart had spent the 2006–07 season back with his former club Leicester City to take his coaching badges. He signed for Conference North division side Tamworth on 16 May 2007.[11] He played twice for the "Lambs" leaving to become assistant manager at Leicester.[12]
International career
Taggart played international football for Northern Ireland, making his debut in 1990 and spending 13 years at the back for Northern Ireland with his final appearance coming in 2003 while at Leicester. Taggart earned 51 caps for Northern Ireland, scoring seven goals. He retired from his Northern Ireland and international football career on 18 August 2003.[13]
Taggart spent 21 months out of the team after he was dropped by Lawrie McMenemy in 1998. He was recalled by incoming manager Sammy McIlroy.[14] According to team-mate Keith Gillespie, Taggart had angered McMenemy by drunkenly exposing his (Taggart's) penis to a female flight attendant on the way back from a 4–1 friendly defeat by Spain in June 1998.[15]
International goals
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 February 1991 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Poland | 1–1 | 3–1 | Friendly match |
| 2 | 5 February 1991 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Poland | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly match |
| 3 | 13 November 1991 | Odense, Denmark |  Denmark | 1–2 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 4 | 28 April 1992 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Lithuania | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 2 June 1993 | Riga, Latvia |  Latvia | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 9 November 1996 | Nuremberg, Germany |  Germany | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 3 June 1998 | Santander, Spain |  Spain | 1–2 | 1–4 | Friendly match |
Coaching career
Taggart returned to Leicester on 13 September 2007 as first team coach under Gary Megson.[16] He and Frank Burrows became caretaker managers following Megson's departure to Bolton Wanderers on 25 October 2007.[17]
Taggart left Leicester on 10 June 2010, when it was announced he would become the new assistant manager at Oldham Athletic alongside former Leicester team mate Paul Dickov.[1] He was placed on garden leave by the club on 31 December 2012 following a run of poor results.[18]
After football
In July 2014, Taggart was appointed as a match summariser for Leicester City matches on BBC Radio Leicester during the pre-season, replacing the popular Leicester striker, Alan Young.[19] He also appeared on the station's weekly Leicester City Football Forum talk show. Taggart's media career was brief; less than 3 weeks later he resigned from the role in order to take up the role as chief scout at Doncaster Rovers, but resigned in October 2015, following the sacking of Paul Dickov.[20]
Career statistics
- Sourced from Gerry Taggart profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City | 1988–89 | Second Division | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 1989–90 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Barnsley | 1989–90 | Second Division | 21 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| 1990–91 | Second Division | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 3 | |
| 1992–93 | First Division | 44 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 5 | |
| 1993–94 | First Division | 38 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 3 | |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 41 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 4 | |
| Total | 212 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 249 | 20 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 1995–96 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 4 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 5 | ||
| Leicester City | 1998–99 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 31 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 7 | |
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 3 | |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | First Division | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 117 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 142 | 12 | ||
| Stoke City | 2003–04 | First Division | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 2004–05 | Championship | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 5 | ||
| Career Total | 465 | 35 | 31 | 2 | 36 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 541 | 43 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Full Members Cup, UEFA Cup.
Honours
Club
- Manchester City
- FA Youth Cup runner-up: 1988–89
- Bolton Wanderers
- Football League Division One champions: 1996–97
- Leicester City
- Football League Cup winner: 1999–2000
- Football League Cup runner-up: 1998–99
- Football League Division One runner-up: 2002–03
Individual
References
- 1 2 "Gerry Taggart joins ex-Leicester City team-mate Paul Dickov at Oldham". www.leicestermercury.co.uk. The Leicester Mercury. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ↑ Ridley, Ian (13 August 1995). "Club-by-club guide: The prospects, the players to watch, the arrivals and departures". www.independent.co.uk. London: The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ↑ "Leicester held at home". BBC Sport. 15 September 2000. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ↑ "Taggart joins Stoke City". BBC News. 26 February 2004.
- ↑ "Pulis praise for Taggart". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Stoke extend Taggart loan". BBC Sport. 6 January 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Taggart eyes Stoke return". BBC Sport. 5 February 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Taggart joins Stoke". BBC News. 9 December 2003.
- ↑ "Taggart signs new deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Experienced duo released by Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Tamworth sign up veteran Taggart". BBC Sport. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ↑ "Gerry's not surprised to see the Lambs flying". This is Tamworth. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ↑ "Taggart quits big stage". BBC News. 18 August 2003.
- ↑ "Taggart's exile is over". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 17 March 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ↑ Gillespie, Keith (2013). How not to be a football millionaire. 1792: Trinity Mirror. ISBN 9781908319418.
Gerry Taggart, who had scored our goal on the night, was always at the heart of the banter. Just after the food was served, Taggs pressed his call button and the air hostess came to his seat. “Is this supposed to be in this sandwich?” he asked. She looked down and Taggs had taken out his cock and placed it between two slices of bread. There was uproar but Lawrie [McMenemy, the manager] didn’t see the funny side, words were exchanged and he never picked Taggs again.
- ↑ "Megson excited by Leicester job". BBC News. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
- ↑ "Megson appointed Bolton manager". BBC News. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
- ↑ "Oldham Athletic coaching trio placed on gardening leave". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ↑ "Gerry Taggart to replace Alan Young as match day commentator for BBC Radio Leicester". Leicester Mercury. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "Leicester City Football Forum". BBC Radio Leicester. 11 August 2014.
External links
- Gerry Taggart career statistics at Soccerbase
- Gerry Taggart at National-Football-Teams.com