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Fullname: Greg John Taylor
aka: Greg Taylor
Born: 5 November 1997
Birthplace: Greenock
Signed: 2 September 2019 (from Kilmarnock, £3m)
Left: –
Position: Left-back, Defender
Debut: Celtic 2-0 St Mirren, SP, 30 Oct 2019
Squad No.: 3
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: ? [complete at end of career]
International Goals: ? [complete at end of career]
Biog
“It’s the best feeling in the world,”
Greg Taylor on scoring for Celtic (Feb 2023)
Greenock born Greg Taylor was arriving at Celtic, more advanced than the usual Scottish transfer from a Scottish club. Kilmarnock had a great 2018/19 season, upsetting many odds finishing high up in third place, and Greg Taylor was one of their highest rated stars. He had even won a cap for the national side whilst with Kilmarnock which is a show of his quality and a rare occurrence.
He’d actually started at Rangers in the junior ranks years before his success at Kilmarnock but never played with the Rangers first team, and was let go around the time when their club went into liquidation & died. He was tagged by the Rangers’ staff as “Too small and too slight“, and was to end up in Celtic’s benefit.
In 2019, Celtic had just sold Kieran Tierney to Arsenal for a Scottish record price of £25m, and replacement Bolingoli wasn’t fully convincing in defence after his first few games. So Celtic quickly tried to once again pick up Greg Taylor, and finally bought the player for £3m in Sep 2019 from Kilmarnock to bolster a then often highly criticised defence. Celtic had just defeated Sevco 2-0 the day before at Ibrox to open up a 3pt lead in the challenge for nine-in-a-row, so pressure was reduced but a long way to go. Greg Taylor had the daunting task to be challenging for the left-back role and match up as best as he could for the now departed Kieran Tierney, and compete with Bolingoli for that spot.
He had a fine start at the start of the 2020/21 season, but was often too heavily maligned, with the more critical support needing a target boo-boy. It was unfair as Taylor was developing and had a fair record. He was making the runs and the tackles and poorer results were hardly his fault in on often underperforming defence. Comparisons to his predecessor (Kieran Tierney) were not exactly fair. However, the squad needed extra cover for the left-back role, and in came the experienced Diego Laxalt on loan for the season which was a bit of a blow for Taylor. However, despite the undoubted talent that Laxalt had, over the course of time, many found that Taylor despite any shortcomings was a better fit for Celtic. He was better defensively than Laxalt and also the effort was greater.
Laxalt was skilful with flicks etc, but overall Taylor was surprisingly the winner between the two for many supporters. It was though at the time no great prize, as the defence was a shambles the full season as Celtic collapsed practically handing over the league title. At least for Taylor, he had proven himself for the future at this stage of his career against what was seen as a very tough challenge for a full-back role. Laxalt was supposedly valued at around €7m by his parent club (who initially bought him for 14m+4m), which few were convinced was value and maybe Taylor had a smile to himself wondering if that was closer to his own true worth.
Ange Postecoglu Era
Ange Postecoglu Era
This new era was the making of Taylor and under the management of Postecoglu he had proven himself in the first season as worthy of being a first team player at Celtic who went to regain the league title.
Taylor put his body on the line every game despite his limitations. From the outset of the new era he was showing his worth winning plaudits having up the opener with an assist for Turnbull v FK Jablonec in the Uefa cup. There was strong competition with the excellent Juranovic and the rejuvenated Ralston but he still held his own even after time out due to a shoulder injury needing surgery.
There were critics and so often he was not given the due he deserved, for example when Celtic defeated Sevco 3-0 in the league in February 2022, Greg Taylor made more tackles (8), made more interceptions (5), won more total duels (12/13) and suffered more fouls (3) than any other player in the game! It showed his value to the team, especially as he outfought Sevco’s on-loan Amad Diallo who allegedly was costing Manchester Utd upto £38m in total! He repeated the feat with an incredible performance v Sevco in a 2-1 victory at Ibrox that effectively sealed the title. He may have been overshadowed by his central defensive colleagues that day, but he still made some incredibly well-timed tackles which quite frankly were world class.
He scored v Sevco in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April 2022, but was to come off injured and sadly Sevco fought back to win the match, but he should treasure the goal and was a great moment for him in a great season for him.
However there were low points too. For example, he had come badly under pressure during the humiliating 3-1 defeat to Bodo Glimt in the Europa Conference League, where his corner was clearly targetted. Not that he was the only poor performer that night, but seemed to reverse opinion on him again from certain quarters of the support.
Opinion used to always ebb & flow on him, but he just knuckled down and got on with the job in hand, but that was to change from the next season onwards.
For season 2022-23, Celtic brought in Alexandro Bernabei as a high profile left back signing and it meant tough competition for Taylor but he held his own, and continued to dispell any worries about his position. The season was another incredible year with a treble completed, and Taylor was a mainstay throughout, with no questioning of his position.
For many he was one of the quieter players of the year. Not necessarily top drawer but highly effective. The only problem continued to be making that step up in Europe.
For season 2022-23, Celtic brought in Alexandro Bernabei as a high profile left back signing and it meant tough competition for Taylor but he held his own, and continued to dispell any worries about his position. The season was another incredible year with a treble completed, and Taylor was a mainstay throughout, with no questioning of his position.
Incredibly, he was the unlikely goal scoring hero in a pivotal 4-3 victory v Hearts in October 2022 which arguably reflected the season, set the tone for the season, and proved the Postecoglu mantra of “We never stop” …. Some even opine that Taylor changed the match when he came on. You could just see the joy in his face on scoring the winner:
”The euphoria took over my body, and to do it in front of that outstanding away support was just amazing. It’s right up there. you can’t control yourself. it’s just pure elation. the fans deserved that. they backed up even when we went down in periods. I’m a wee bit speechless. it was just amazing.”
Possibly the greatest tribute you could give him was that nobody, not even the most hardened of sympathisers, could ever have honestly predicted that he would have developed into a more than capable replacement for Tierney who all deemed to be wholly irreplaceable. Very different types of players but both wholly loved by the Celtic support. He was shattering the glass ceiling!
The improvement in Greg Taylor under Ange spoke volumes of his desire, intelligence, ability and determination, making long passes and starting moves that previously he wouldn’t have even contemplated let alone be confident to attempt. He even adapted to what was now a new tactical role as an inverted fullback. As Celtic went on to complete the domestic treble, he was another hero in this incredible run.
Brendan Rodgers Era (2nd stint)
In this new era, Taylor seemed to come under flak, however despite the challenges for his position, he kept the first choice role for left-back despite the supposed competition from Bernabei who was to be mostly side-lined. He ended up a near ever-present throughout the 2023/24 season, regardless of the opposition or the competition, so he has a right to be recognised for his place in the league & Scottish Cup double won, especially after how hard-fought it was to achieve.
His usual form remained consistent, taking the tackles, making the runs up the fields, and even providing crosses and assists for his colleagues to benefit from. Taking in the added workload he had to carry as both a wing-back and left-back defender, it was a heavy amount of work he had to cover. However, as Celtic faltered during the mid-section of the 2023/24 season, he’d often come under flak from critics, with his limitations as a footballers heavily picked apart by some. In fairness, he was seen by many opposition teams as a weak link, especially in a defence that was often not very settled and not convincing. In particular, sides in Europe continued to target him, but also did TheRangers in matches target his corner (especially for set-pieces) to gain advantages, and it did at times pay off for them.
Regardless he was a mainstay in the first team and deservedly so, albeit there were repeatedly calls for at least another back-up to cover for the left-back slot, especially as Bernabei was pushed away on loan after not having succeeded to date at Celtic.
For anyone who questioned him, notably, his former manager Ange Postecoglou (now at Tottenham) identified Greg Taylor as one who he deemed as “influential” for his highly paid & valued Tottenham full-backs to emulate.
Must add that he scored three goals in the season, including the final one against Kilmarnock in a 3-1 win at Celtic Park (Dec 2023) in a season when Celtic had actually tripped up repeatedly against their well-drilled side.
Possibly the most celebrated moment of the season by the fans involving Greg Taylor actually was in the Scottish Cup final, which Celtic won 1-0 v TheRangers. Whilst the opposition player Todd Cantwell tried to rile Taylor up, he took it in his stride and just at one time grabbed the player by the shirt when he was on his backside on the ground, and laughed in his face. After having been targetted by the Sevco players and match tactics all season, he deserved this moment to put them back in their place.
According to various comments, his father was a big Rangers fan growing up and the family were a big Rangers family growing up, but now his father was going to all the Celtic games, so a nice note.
As an added vote of confidence in Taylor, he was selected for the Scotland squad for Euros 2024, which was some achievement when you consider that his counterparts for the same position were the world class rated Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney.
[….]
Quotes
“They view him as an easy target. They criticise him purely because of the fact he’s not Kieran Tierney. Sorry, but that’s a cheap shot and an easy stick to beat him with.”
Kris Commons Sep 2020
“When he moved to Celtic he had some early criticism but I know his character. He just dug in, learned a way to play and I know the current manager is very happy with him. He’s improving all the time Greg, which is great to see. I always thought he would. I remember quite early days after I took over at Kilmarnock. [In December 2017] I took him all the way up to Ross County and left him on the bench. Stuart Findlay was playing left-back and got injured after half an hour. I sent Greg on [at half-time] and he did really well. I said to him after the game, “Well done, that was good”. And he said, “I’m not going back out the team again, gaffer.” And he was right. He’s a good character.”
Scotland manager Steve Clarke (Sep 2022)
“I think I should speak about Greg because he has been unbelievable this season and he’s a top player. I think he’s delivering every game.”
Jota after Taylor’s great performance in 5-0 win v Kilmarnock (Aug 2022)
“Shut Yer Hole Fatboy!”
Greg Taylor To Sevco’s Morelos in 2-2 match at Ibrox 2nd January 2023.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,”
Greg Taylor on scoring for Celtic (Feb 2023)
[…]
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2019-20 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 32 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-22 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 35 |
| Goals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022-23 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 43 |
| Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023-24 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 46 |
| Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024-25 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Total | |||||
| Goals |
Honours with Celtic
Pictures
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KDS
Articles
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49558521
Greg Taylor: Celtic clinch signing of Kilmarnock & Scotland left-back
Greg Taylor says he is making “no comparisons” with Kieran Tierney after signing a four-year deal with Celtic.Left-back Taylor, 21, completed his move from Kilmarnock after talks over the weekend between the Scottish Premiership clubs.Tierney left Celtic Park last month in a Scottish record £25m move to Arsenal.“Kieran has done amazing, he’s done great things for this massive club,” said Taylor, who is in the current Scotland squad.”He’s away to another big club to hopefully do great things again.”Thankfully now I’ve got an opportunity that’s presented itself and all I can do is what I can do. It’s not a competition or a comparison it’s up to me to impress the manager and hopefully that impresses the fans.”Sunderland and Nuremberg had previously made bids for the Scotland international, but the English League One side then ended their interest.Now given the number three shirt, Taylor will compete with Boli Bolingoli for the left-back berth.”You need competition. It improves every player,” said Taylor.”There are other players here, of course there will be. I’m not daft enough to think I’m walking into a jersey. It’s up to me to earn the right to get that jersey.”A Kilmarnock statement said: “The club would like to thank Greg for his services to Kilmarnock Football Club, and wishes him the best for the future.”
Celtic’s Greg Taylor says he’s never claimed to be Kieran Tierney – “I’m me and that’s all I can be”
Full-back feels he has handled pressure well at Scottish champions
By Andrew Smith
Wednesday, 23rd September 2020, 10:30 pm
The grumblings from Celtic supporters over their team’s uneven performances this season have meant few singing the praises of Greg Taylor. As the club’s former attacker Kris Commons laid on the line this week, the issue for the 22-year-old left-back hasn’t been his displays that – in the main – have been decent. The issue is that Taylor is not this faithful’s erstwhile golden boy Kieran Tierney.
It is now 13 months since Tierney departed for Arsenal in a Scottish record £25m deal. Yet, still the Celtic fans pine for the defender, who wasn’t just one of their own, but a one in a generation gem in the left-sided role. Comparisons between the two Scotland internationals will always see Taylor placed in an unfavourable light. The ebullient Greenock-born performer has no interest in musing whether it is unfair simply to make them.
Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports
“It’s not for me to say. It’s natural,” said the player, who joined Celtic in a £3m deal from Kilmarnock last September. “Kieran was a top, top player for the club, and still is that at Arsenal. He’s a great lad and I was with him in the last Scotland squad and got on really well with him. But, it’s for other people to make comparisons. It’s not something I do myself. I’ve never claimed to be Kieran Tierney, I’m Greg Taylor and that’s all I can be each week. Hopefully that’s enough to continue to play each week for the gaffer. There’s big expectations on every player at the club and I’m no different. It’s just one of those things. I’m fine with it.”
Taylor might be entitled to feel vulnerable over the fact that his club have been in the market for a player capable of deployment on the left as either full-back or wing-back – the berths which he has tended to fill this season. He is not taking that pursuit personally, though.
“It’s not a problem for me,” Taylor said. “That is the life of a player at a big club. There’s going to be competition everywhere. Boli [Bolingoli] has gone on loan, so there’s a vacancy there. It’s understandable the manager’s looking to bring someone else in. It’s competition and that drives every player on. It’s something that we love having in the squad.
“I feel I can deal with the pressures. It’s something I’ve become accustomed to. The pressures and demands through the support, the squad, the club. It’s all natural and I feel I can handle it. I also feel I’ve handled it well since I signed for Celtic. It’s something I feel I need to continue to do. It’s a pressure that I love.”
In a steady fashion, Taylor has risen to the challenge and opportunity presented to him. He is in line to make his ninth appearance of the season in Thursday’s Europa League third qualifying round tie away to FC Riga. The encounter will mark the club’s 10th game of a stop-start season. In his outings, he has contributed four assists – a total only bettered at the club by Ryan Christie, who has five.
“It’s about giving my all and trying to help deliver clean sheets and assists,” he said. “I take pride in what I can bring to the attack. Assists are something I want to continue to rack up. When you’re playing at full-back at Celtic you’re on the front too a lot.
“And it’s been even more so when we’ve been playing a system of wing backs. Four assists this season, with three in the league, is not a bad start. But it’s certainly something to build on and hopefully I can rack up a few more.”
More than a few players will be on the rack – beyond the usual suspects of which Taylor has become one – if Celtic mess up against Riga as they did in their last continental contest that led to them being turfed out of the Champions League qualifiers by Ferencvaros at home four weeks ago.
“Of course, we don’t want that again. It’s a must that we get [group stage] European football,” Taylor said. “We didn’t progress in the Champions League and it was disappointing on that evening. It still hurts us. But we can only control what’s in front of us and that’s Thursday night – hopefully we’ll progress in the Europa League. It’s a must and every player knows that. The gaffer stresses that, the coaching team and the whole club. It’s a minimum expectation to have European football at this club.”
”The euphoria took over my body,” Greg Taylor on his vital winner
By Peter Brown 22 October, 2022
”The euphoria took over my body,” Greg Taylor on his vital winner
Greg Taylor of Celtic scores Celtic’s winning goal during the cinch Premiership match at Tynecastle. Photo Neil Hanna / Sportimage
Celtic overcame three dodgy VAR decisions earlier today which made the win at Tynecastle all the more enjoyable and the icing on the cake came later in the afternoon with Livingston being unlucky to leave Ibriox with just one point after their 1-1 draw against theRangers.
22nd October 2022. Greg Taylor scores the wiining goal during the cinch Premiership match at Tynecastle. Photo Neil Hanna / Sportimage
However, Greg Taylor stepped up and secured all three points for the Bhoys with a late goal, netting Celtic’s fourth goal of the match and he didn”t know it at the time but it was a goal that would ultimately double Celtic’s lead to four points at the top of the league looking down on theRangers.
Greg Taylor drifted forward from his left full-back position right up to the Hearts 6-yard box where he tapped in a deflected shot from Liel Abada like a top quality poacher. Taylor has been exceptional this season and last under the management of Ange Postecoglou, slotting easily into the manager’s unique style of football and looking like a confident left-back perhaps the best in the country.
Heart of Midlothian v Celtic – cinch Premiership – PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxIRL Copyright: xJanexBarlowx 69403852
Coming on from the bench and scoring the winner, which was also his first premiership goal for Celtic, put Taylor in a state of ‘euphoria’. Speaking to CelticTV after the match, Taylor said…
“It was a good feeling to score and an important three points most importantly.
“I think it’s important to add it wasn’t the manager’s instruction to play as high as I did. I seen the play develop out there, and as Liel went to shoot or cross, I gambled to be honested and thankfully I managed to get a toe on it.”
”The euphoria took over my body, and to do it in front of that outstanding away support was just amazing. It’s right up there. you can’t control yourself. it’s just pure elation. the fans deserved that. they backed up even when we went down in periods.
“I’m a wee bit speechless. it was just amazing.”
Greg Taylor of Celtic scores Celtic’s winning goal during the cinch Premiership match at Tynecastle. Photo Neil Hanna / Sportimage
Taylor’s late goal could prove to be critical in Celtic’s title ambitions, as theRangers were hoping to draw level on points today with their game against Livingston. However, unfortunately for them, Livingston held theRangers to a 1-1 draw. So, Taylor’s heroic actions have helped the Hoops further extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to four points ahead of theRangers.
Greg Taylor: From bit-part Celtic left-back to ‘player of the season’ candidate
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64755867
25 February 2023
Greg Taylor has made himself a key cog in Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side
By Nick McPheat BBC Scotland
When Alexandro Bernabei penned his five-year deal at Celtic in June, it was perhaps assumed by many that the Argentine’s multi-million pound summer move would signal the end of Greg Taylor’s brief spell as Ange Postecoglou’s first-choice left-back.
The 22-year-old signing from Atletico Lanus was expected to be the latest in a long line of shrewd acquisitions by the Celtic manager – and he may well still turn out to be – but Taylor has since cemented himself as one of the first names on Postecoglou’s team sheet.
Following last Saturday’s league victory over Aberdeen, the Scotland international with 10 caps to his name spoke of the intense competition for starting places – a driving factor that has made the full-back undroppable on the left of the Celtic defence.
BBC Scotland looks at how Taylor has gone from a bit-part player to a key cog in Postecoglou’s side.
‘He’s improved a hell of a lot’ – but how?
Postecoglou isn’t usually one to single out individual players for praise. When he does, you know you are on the right track.
After Taylor marked his 100th Celtic appearance with a goal and an assist in October’s 3-0 win over Livingston, the Australian spoke of how the left-back has embraced the club’s “environment where players can constantly improve”.
“He has improved a hell of a lot because he wants to improve,” Postecoglou said. “From the moment I arrived, he is one of the few who have stayed on and you can see he’s growing all the time as a footballer.”
Taylor’s numbers certainly back up his manager’s view. The full-back has improved in almost every aspect of his game this season.
Taylor league stats per 90Image source, BBC/SNS
Due to the inverted nature of Postecoglou’s full-backs, the Scotland cap is involved in so much of Celtic’s play on the ball. In the last two league games alone, Taylor accumulated more touches than any other player against both St Johnstone (130) and Aberdeen (133).
In an attacking sense, Taylor’s current goal tally of three is a career high. He will almost certainly want to improve on his solitary assist, but his chance creation of 1.6 per 90 minutes is just shy of team-mate Matt O’Riley, who leads the 2022-23 Premiership assist chart with 10.
In comparison to last season, Taylor has almost doubled his shooting output (from 0.5 to 0.8 per 90), while he also averages 13 more successful passes in the opposition half.
Taylor’s defensive numbers have been more stable, but the full-back has still managed to improve on both his ground and aerial duel stats.
A ‘player of the season’ contender?
Life at Celtic is rosy at present for Taylor, but he had to bide his time after a tough introduction.
Despite joining from Kilmarnock with the reputation of a top Premiership full-back, the former Rangers youth product made just 12 league appearances in his debut season for the club.
The 2,395 minutes he has played so far this term is already greater than the total he managed in his second season and is more than 85% of the tally he racked up last campaign.
Injuries, manager preference and the demands of moving to a club with Celtic’s ambitions perhaps all played a role in his bit-part spell. But, since the start of 2022, Taylor has made himself a regular fixture in a side that won both the Premiership and League Cup last term.
Replacing fellow Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney, who departed to Arsenal for a record-breaking £25m fee just a month before Taylor’s arrival, also couldn’t have been easy.
Taylor stressed he would make “no comparisons” with Tierney at the time of his signing back in September 2019. Four years on, he hopes “someone will be getting compared to me” years down the line.
Tierney echoes a similar sentiment. The Arsenal defender has even been picking the brains of his Scotland team-mate, who Tierney believes could be set for a coveted individual award.
“He’s been brilliant,” Tierney said. “Inverted full-back, that’s how [Arsenal] are playing, so I’m watching him every week trying to take tips from him.”
Speaking to SunSport, external last month, the Arsenal full-back added: “Greg’s different from me. He’s got his own strengths. He’s very technical and on the ball he’s among the best there is. For me, he’s a contender for player of the year.”
Maintaining his current level form will certainly have Taylor in the conversation for individual awards come the end of the season. Maintaining it on Sunday, along with the rest of his team-mates, might well result in another winner’s medal round his neck.