Making 90 outings for the Hammers, 2012 EFL Championship Play-Off winner Matt Taylor achieved promotion to the Premier League with both West Ham United and Burnley before moving into football management...
Managing expectations
West Ham United is a wonderful Football Club with a very rich history and it’s been brilliant to see that they’re still in a really good place after the highs of last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League success.
These days, you cannot afford to remain static – to be successful on the modern footballing landscape you need to be financially viable and, although there was resistance towards leaving the Boleyn Ground, the move to London Stadium had to happen if the Hammers were to kick-on.
After we won promotion to the Premier League in 2012, West Ham could’ve become one of those yo-yo sides but investment by the owners over these past dozen years has ensured there’s a secure infrastructure in place.
They’ve never looked back. And if West Ham United wasn’t a big club then, it certainly is now!
The Hammers are cemented in the top-flight as a fully-fledged, well-run Premier League side.
Arriving in summer 2011, I’d never been anywhere with such huge expectations and, these past few league campaigns plus that Conference League victory over Fiorentina have now raised levels, even higher.
The fans have had wonderful times travelling across Europe supporting their team and they’re also watching some fantastic players – Lucas Paquetá, Mohammed Kudus and, another great signing, Jarrod Bowen, whose infectious desire has established his great affinity with the fans.
It’s really difficult breaking into the ‘Top Four’ because those clubs have got even bigger financial resources so ‘Top Six’ becomes a more realistic target for most. Even then, a team needs to produce results week-in and week-out while having, say, three players out-performing but that’s where West Ham certainly have chances.
They’re also fortunate to have David Moyes – a very experienced man with an excellent CV – who’s achieved big things for them and, while they haven’t had their best start to 2024, it was strange hearing some recent noise around the manager. It was bonkers – coming into March, they were in eighth-spot after beating Brentford (4-2) and based on their budget, West Ham are probably there or thereabouts in terms of where they should be.
We’re looking at a healthy Football Club, which is in a healthy place.
The only way is up!
Starting out at Luton Town before moving to Portsmouth and then Bolton Wanderers, I was totally naïve when it came to joining West Ham. I hadn’t realised just how big the Football Club was or how large its fan-base is. Even today, I reckon 90% of supporters come from the East End or Essex because there’s always a real family feel around the place.
At Bolton, I’d played for Sam Allardyce, who now persuaded me to gamble, leave the Reebok Stadium and drop into the second-tier. Like me, most of the Hammers squad had loads of Premier League experience so we knew what it was all about.
And Big Sam did, too.
Despite having been relegated, West Ham still had the best squad and the most expensive players. We were the Championship’s strongest team but, somehow, were incapable of stringing a decent run of results together.
Eventually finishing third, we were so disappointed to miss out on automatic promotion but it was amazing to be involved in the Play-Offs.
I’ve played in many important football matches but contextually the final against Blackpool was the biggest because of what it meant for the Football Club and its supporters.
On the day, Blackpool were the better team but we dug deep, winning 2-1. After finishing third in the Championship, it would’ve been a travesty if we’d lost and, sharing a day out at Wembley with my family meant lots to me, too.
One of the best experiences of my career, equally, it was one of the worst, too! It took a fortnight before I could start recalling the day with any sense of relief and pride that I’d been part of what the team had achieved in returning to the Premier League at the first attempt.
My gamble had paid off and I’d made the correct decision to leave Bolton. It was a massive high and a wonderful day-out for 45,000 Hammers fans, too.
At Portsmouth and Burnley, we automatically went up to the Premier League after winning the title but that promotion with West Ham was definitely the way to go. I’d certainly take the Play-Offs every time, so long as victory at Wembley on the day was guaranteed!
Tough Moor
Completing two seasons back in the Premier League, I was loving my time at the Boleyn Ground and never wanted to leave but the new contract on offer from West Ham wasn’t the one I wanted.
I’d helped the Club win that promotion and consolidate its place in the Premier league with successive, mid-table finishes and felt I’d done well enough in my 90 games across three seasons to warrant more than a one-year deal.
Coincidentally, I’d grown up with Sean Dyche at Luton and, out of the blue, having just led Burnley to Premier League promotion in 2013/14, he phoned during the summer asking: ‘Tayls, what are you up to?’.
Having explained my situation, ‘Dychey’ offered a two-year contract but after only my fourth match, I couldn’t get out of bed the following morning. I’d partially ruptured my Achilles in our goalless draw against Manchester United and the surgeon was now discussing retirement!
I was having none of that but with my family still living down south, it was a tough first season up at Turf Moor, where the club was struggling on the pitch, too. By the time I’d battled back to fitness, sadly, Burnley were well on their way towards relegation.
Thankfully, my second year proved far more successful given we won the Championship and instant promotion. After the disappointments of 2014/15, it’d been an unbelievable way to bounce-back and, while I would’ve enjoyed another season or two in the Premier League, I raised a few eyebrows when I joined Northampton Town in League One. Aged 34, I didn’t want to be living away from my young family anymore.
In good Kompany
Sean Dyche did an amazing job building the foundations at Turf Moor and Vincent Kompany has revolutionised Burnley, too. He’s been really successful in his early days of management and that’s so pleasing to see.
Burnley’s a good club with good people and it’s a very difficult place to visit. Vincent’s got some very exciting and talented players but any league will have its big teams and its smaller ones and it’s all about doing as much as you can within your means.
Look around the divisions and you’ll see many examples of clubs who’ve overstretched themselves in their quest to either reach the Premier League or just stay there.
Over-spending and under-achieving puts any team at risk and, having been promoted as champions, Burnley are in transition, this season.
The step-up is massive.
Vincent, the supporters and everyone at Turf Moor understands that, while the owners, sensibly, aren’t prepared to gamble the club’s future and take huge financial risks just because they’re in the top-flight.
Sure, it’s been tough but there are still eleven games to go. Have Burnley been competitive in their first 27 matches? Yes. Have Burnley been unfortunate in many of those games? Yes. Will Burnley fight and kick for their lives right up until the final whistle of 2023/24? Yes, they certainly will…
Dugout drama
I’ve had two managerial jobs – firstly at Walsall and secondly at Shrewsbury Town – and really enjoyed the opportunities both clubs gave me, albeit the transition from player to manager is a really difficult one.
Being in the dug-out is so much harder than I’d ever envisaged.
Players are out there on the pitch, where they can play a direct part in the outcome of the game - making and scoring goals or producing great tackles and saves...
But as manager, you can only try to direct things from the technical area, while all manner of things unfold – injuries, inexplicable losses of form, debatable refereeing decisions...
Football’s all about needing goal-scorers, too. Wherever you look, the best teams will have the best strikers yet when you take over at a lower-level club, you won’t always find the squad and infrastructure to be anywhere like that you’ve been used to as a player but I guess there are untold managerial problems in most other professions, too.
Playing-wise, I was very lucky to work with some top managers across my seven clubs and 750 games.
For me, the likes of Sam Allardyce, Harry Redknapp and Sean Dyche have variously carried an unfair, untrue stigma with them and they’ve never been ‘revered’ as they should’ve been. I always tell people: ‘Just look at their individual successes.’
All three were brilliant man-managers, who taught me how to treat people. You’ll always get conflict in football but the solution is learning how to deal with it in the most constructive way, while being open and honest with your team.
As players – win, lose or draw – we’d head home for the remainder of the weekend, reflect on our ‘day at the office’ and then turn-up for training on Monday morning.
But I quickly discovered that management consumes your entire life. You have to be all-in, 24/7, thinking about every aspect of your job - the result, individual performances, injuries, tactics, training and preparation for the next game, everything...
Having left just left Shrewsbury, I’m presently re-charging the batteries and enjoying time out with my family because when you’re immersed in managing you miss everything that’s going on indoors.
Right now, I’m enjoying being ‘Dad’ once more but, don’t worry, when time’s right, you’ll hopefully see me back there in the dug-out again...
