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Life of Ryan
Written by Rory Mitchinson
In addition to a candid interview with midfielder Mohamed Diamé, Saturday’s official matchday programme also includes a feature-length piece with former fans’ favourite Ryan Taylor. Now plying his trade with League One side Port Vale, Taylor chats to us about his time with United and Wigan Athletic, battling back from the brink, and his aspirations for the rest of the campaign.
We’ve given you a snippet of what to expect below. To read the interview in full, be sure to pick up your copy of United at St. James’ Park.
It would be easy to assume that the highlight of Ryan Taylor’s United career came at the Stadium of Light in August 2011, when he memorably arrowed home a winning free-kick from just outside the penalty area to make sure of his cult status on Tyneside.
As unforgettable an occasion as it was, there is another that sticks in his mind a little bit more. Two months into the 2014/15 campaign, Taylor was handed a starting berth as a youthful Newcastle side dumped Manchester City out of the League Cup at the Etihad Stadium. But, it was neither the result nor his own impressive display that made the evening such a special one for the versatile Liverpudlian. After an absence of more than two years, simply being back on the pitch was all that mattered.
“Everyone will talk about the Sunderland game, but for me, that was the best night of my career,” says Taylor. “After achieving what I had achieved, after overcoming what I had overcome – people writing me off, doubting me – it just couldn’t have gone any better.
“I only found out a couple of hours before the game that I was even playing. I was back in the squad, and I thought, ‘If I get 20 minutes, I am going to be so happy – regardless of the score.’ And then the team got announced, and I was like, ‘I’m playing!’
“Well, that was it – all the texts went out. My family were going to be there anyway, but they were as delighted as me. And Manchester City didn’t put a bad side out – they had a lot of big players. To go there and win in the way that we did, it just felt like it was meant to be. If I could go back, I’d love to be on the pitch in front of those Geordies going absolutely crazy.”
"To go there and win in the way that we did, it just felt like it was meant to be. If I could go back, I’d love to be on the pitch in front of those Geordies going absolutely crazy."