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Revision as of 09:00, 31 October 2006 by 207.200.116.10 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)- Fofuthe current manager of Crystal Palace, see Peter John Taylor. For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.
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| Full name | Peter Thomas Taylor | ||
Peter Thomas Taylor, (July 2 1928 – 4 October 1990), was an English football goalkeeper who played for Port Vale, Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest. More notably, he was a very successful coach at Derby County and Forest alongside Brian Clough.
It was as a reserve goalkeeper at Middlesbrough that he first met Clough (and it was he who spotted Clough's potential as a forward and helped him break into the first team).
Taylor is most famous for his managerial partnership with Clough. While Clough inspired and motivated the team, it was Taylor who had the uncanny ability to spot talent and potential. Clough once said of his colleague: "I'm not equipped to manage successfully without Peter Taylor. I am the shop window and he is the goods in the back." Taylor himself described their partnership as: "We just gelled together, we filled in the gaps...My strength was buying and selecting the right player, then Brian's man management would shape the player."
In October 1962, he was offered the manager's job at Burton Albion. He created one of the most successful sides in Burton's history, winning the Southern League Cup in 1964. In 1965 he joined Clough as his assistant manager at Hartlepools (now Hartlepool). Before their arrival, the club had been forced to apply for re-election to the Football League four times in the previous six years. The two gradually turned around the club's fortunes, leading them to an 8th place finish in the Fourth Division. In June 1967 both men left to join Derby County. The team they built at Hartlepools was promoted the following year.
At Derby, Taylor and Clough proceeded to re-build the side with Taylor instrumental in signing players such as Dave Mackay and Roy McFarland. Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969. They finished fourth in 1970 and won the League Championship in 1972 - the first in the club's history. Derby reached the semi-finals of the European Cup the following season, controversially losing to Juventus. In October 1973, both he and Clough resigned, partially after a dispute with the Derby board over Taylor's crucial but largely undefined role.
The two then took over at Third Division Brighton in November 1973, though this time with less success. Just after Clough and Taylor were appointed, the team lost 4-0 at home to Walton and Hersham at home in a FA Cup replay and then 8-2 at home to Bristol Rovers on 1 December 1973. Brighton finished 19th in the final table.
Clough left for Leeds United in July 1974 but Taylor stayed on the South coast for a further two seasons, guiding the team to a 4th place finish in 1975-76. In the summer of 1976, Taylor resigned as manager and joined Clough at Nottingham Forest. A year later Brighton were promoted to the Second Division and in 1978-79 they reached the First Division.
Within a year of Taylor's arrival, Forest were promoted to the First Division. In their first season back in the top division, Forest emphatically won the Championship, finishing seven points clear of runners-up Liverpool. They also won the League Cup, winning the latter by beating Liverpool 1-0 in a replay. In 1979, Forest won the European Cup with victory over Malmö FF and the League Cup again. The European Cup was retained a year later, this time against Kevin Keegan's Hamburger SV, though the club were denied a third consecutive League Cup win after a defeat in the final to Wolves.
Taylor retired in May 1982, but took over as manager of Derby six months later in November of that year. At the time Derby were going through serious financial problems and were bottom of the table when Taylor took over, but he steered them to a mid-table position by the end of the season. Derby went through a 14-match unbeaten run and reached the 5th round of the FA Cup, being knocked out by Manchester United 1-0 at home. In the third round they knocked out Clough's Forest team with a 2-0 win at the Baseball Ground. However, Taylor resigned in early April 1984 with the club third from bottom of the Second Division and no money to spend on players.
Taylor's relationship with Clough was damaged permanently after a dispute over the transfer of John Robertson from Forest to Derby in May 1983. The two never spoke again over this incident and were unreconciled at the time of Taylor's death. Clough was never as successful without Taylor and vice versa.
Peter Taylor died while on holiday in Majorca, aged 62 in early October 1990. Brian Clough attended the funeral and dedicated his 1994 autobiography to Taylor. Clough also paid tribute to Taylor when he was awarded the freedom of the city of Nottingham, and in 1999 when a bust of himself was unveiled at the City ground.