West Brom legend eyes a return

Jun 7 2009 by Robert Tanner, Sunday Mercury

Taylor was a supreme goalscorer with that rare gift of being able to sniff out a chance before anyone else spotted the danger, but while Taylor wants to pass on his pearls of wisdom to aspiring young footballers, he admits it is difficult to coach such a natural instinct.

“You can tell players to get across the front man and make their runs early, not to react to passes but to pre-empt them,” he said

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink, and that is the case with strikers. They have to have that natural instinct. Take Gary Lineker, he always made runs across the front of the defenders and how many goals did he get inside the six-yard box? He made his runs before the ball was played.

“Ishmael Miller could be a great striker but for his size he should be attacking the back post all the time and knocking over any defenders who get in his way. They should be bouncing off him.

“For his size, Kevin Phillips scored a lot of goals with his head because he read the game so well. He was a great striker.

“A goalscorer always knows where the goal is, even when he has his back to it.

“That is what Albion lacked last season, a striker capable of scoring between 15 and 20 goals, or even two strikers who could score between 10 and 12. That would have been enough to keep them up I think.

“Strikers who can score 15 goals in the Premier League cost a lot of money and I don’t think Albion are going to pay that.

“I think Tony Mowbray will have to dig up a gem for next season but the problem is everyone else is looking at the players with potential as well.

“It is going to be tough for Tony but he has done brilliantly so far.”

Taylor admits he is still a frequent visitor to the Albion training ground and gets on well with manager Mowbray and assistant Mark Venus.

“I get on well with them both, and I also have a cup of tea with the tea lady and the kit man,” he said.

“I also do some presentations for the club at the end of the season. I often wonder why because it has been so long since I played but they say I am good with the kids so I am happy to help.

“I have also been down to watch a few games this season and I have to say, despite relegation, I have really enjoyed the football they have played.

“It has just been in the important areas, the two boxes, where they have had problems.

“They have really lacked a goalscorer and a big, solid defender because they have given too many soft goals away.

“They gave soft goals away as well during the season they got promoted but then they were able to score enough to win games. That hasn’t happened in the Premier League.

“But the football has been fantastic and that is the frustration because they were good enough to stay up.

“Do we want the Stoke style of play? I don’t think the fans do. Everyone says they like this style so you have to accept it.”