Andrew Taylor

Born in Hartlepool, County Durham, Taylor began his football career at Middlesbrough's youth academy, first joining at age nine. He eventually progressed through the youth ranks as schoolboy, trainee and senior professional before signing his first professional terms upon turning seventeen. Taylor started out as a left midfielder in the successful 2004 FA Youth Cup campaign with the likes of David Wheater and Adam Johnson. On 12 March 2005, he signed his first professional contract with the club.

Middlesbrough

Taylor was named as a substitute in several UEFA Cup games during the 2004–05 season but did not leave the bench. However, he was plagued with ankle injury that affected most of the 2004–05 season. With only Franck Queudrue able to play at left-back, Steve McClaren brought Taylor back from Bradford City the following 2005–06 season, where he had impressed on loan. Taylor made his Middlesbrough debut, starting a match and playing 61 minutes before being substituted, in a 7–0 loss against Arsenal on 14 January 2006. A month later on 23 February 2006. He made his UEFA Cup debut against VfB Stuttgart in the second round of the Round of 32, in a 1–0 loss, but saw the club through to the next round on away goal. Since making his debut for the club, he found himself in and out of the starting line–up for the rest of the 2005–06 season. During the 2005–06 season, Boro reached the FA Cup semi-final and the 2006 UEFA Cup Final. Taylor played in several Premier League…

Following his retirement from professional football, Taylor joined Sunderland as a first team coach, under the management of Phil Parkinson. He took temporary charge of Sunderland after Parkinson's sacking on 29 November 2020, ahead of a league game against Burton Albion. After the appointment of Lee Johnson, Taylor continued to remain in the club's backroom staff under the new management. However, he left Sunderland to join Leeds United as the new loan manager.

Having previously played for the Under-16 level, Taylor has been in the youth setup since the Under-17 level, and played at the 2003 UEFA U17 Championships with U21 teammates Mark Noble, Steven Taylor and James Milner. With England qualified for the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates that year, Taylor was again selected in the squad and played one out of the three group games as England were eliminated in last place. In October 2004, Taylor was called up to the England U19 for the first time and made his debut in 1–1 draw against Czech Republic U19. He was a part of England's Under-19 at the 2005 European Championships, in which they finished runners-up to France. In February 2006, Taylor was called up to the England U21 squad for the first time and made his debut for the U21 side, coming on a 65th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 win against Norway U21. He made his first start for the U21 side a year later on 6 February 2007, in a 2–2 draw against Spain U21. Between 7 September 2007 and 16 October 2007, Taylor started and helped the U21 side keep four clean sheets. Two years later in the summer of 2009, he was called up for the 2009 UEFA U21 Championship in Sweden and finished runners-up to Germany.

Taylor said that football was his lifetime ambition growing up and said in the same interview that his childhood hero was Paul Gascoigne and Paul Ince. While progressing through the Middlesbrough's academy, he spent three years at college, studying BTEC National Diploma in Sports Science and passed the course. His father, Kevin, worked for the under-15 coach at Middlesbrough. Taylor is married to his wife, Jay, and together, they have two children Mason and Preston. On 20 May 2010, Taylor was arrested by police for being drunk and disorderly at a popular nightspot outside Loons bar in the town's Lucan Street and fined £80. After announcing his retirement from professional football, Taylor returned to living in native North-east. He previously studied his masters in sport directorship at the University of Salford and stayed there for a year, with his next plan once his football career is over.

Business interests

In August 2009 it was announced that the footballer would be involved in a new business venture called Platinum Players. The website based service is aimed to connect footballers and other celebrities with companies and trades people whose reputability and trustworthiness has been validated. The site is available by invitation-only, and went live on 1 September 2009.