The Hotel End

Ash Taylor's contract has been terminated by mutual consent.

I wonder where Taylor will end up next ... Scotland, Tranmere, Salford?

What a strange cobblers career - talk about from (kind of) hero to zero. It’s fair to say he didn’t exactly endear himself to the fans with some of his interviews/opinions on his form last season and from there it was a point of no return.

Good luck to him. Things didn't happen well for him this season - but he was comitted and played with a passion.

Happy to post in this one too. I'll be delighted to face a team with you in it next season. Couldn't be happier that he is gone. This has been a great month.

Glad to see him go frees up a chunk of wage bill no place for bully boys in this club

I assume we agreed some kind of pay-off - players don’t usually just walk away from a year left on their contract do they?

Back to Aberdeen it seems.

Annan Athletic.

Well said. Did well in his first season and was a good influence in the dressing room. Very positive with the younger players. I wish him well.

I doubt it, he will have a club lined up. With 6 weeks or so before pre-season starts again, logically we'd have held out hoping someone came in before 'doing a deal'.

Whilst he never seemed terrible, it was often noticable that we defended better when he wasn't in the side. That good run of wins we had under Curle that took us from relegation battle to talk of playoffs was when he was out.

Lost my support when he had that barney with Pierre and moodily strolled back to the half way line whilst Pierre sprinted back to help stop the counter

Fair do’s - seems a bit odd if Aberdeen are going to take him that we didn’t hold out for even a nominal fee but I’m not going to quibble.

If he has a deal lined up why not hold out for a transfer fee rather than pay him off? Glad he’s gone though.

Pretty sure we won't have paid him off, merely allowed him to leave before the end of his contract.

Ash "it wasnt my fault" Taylor. You need to take a long look at yourself, before bollocking others around you, for your errors.
Ta dar me duck.

We could even offer Pierre a contract extension if we wanted to now. Test his resolve and go from there. The one thing I'm concerned with are the weeks away on international duty and the potential for injury/fatigue.

Perfect summary Tabasco (cherrio;cherrio,cherrio)

Bye Ash  ;D

This is a distraction that we can't afford at the moment - everyone needs to concentrate on the 1 cast iron offer that is on the table. If Pierre  is interested then what's stopped him from doing something about it ? In the meantime KT has done all the hard work and due diligence and put his money where his mouth is. We don't need fish distractions - the clock is ticking

Que?

Wouldn't be surprised if he joined the "project" at Salford City

Fish Distractions are playing at the Dublin Castle.

This news on top of Harry Smith signing has made my weekend...

Good riddance to a technically inept defender who runs like he's wearing lead boots, wins **** all in the air for his size & cannot accurately pass the ball to a team mate...

Still, his form never dipped & it was never his fault #whyme

He'll fit perfectly back in the Scottish Prem  ;D

Take no notice Ash of some of the ‘opinions’ on this thread. You def had one good season; so many on here were praising you a few months ago!  Personally I thought he was a good player; pity he fell out of favour with KC.

The venom dished out to players on this forum is disturbing. Suggest some of you watch a programme on the BBC on Sunday night to realise the damage that your comments are likely to cause. From a club whose supporters have a reputation for appreciating good football, it’s very odd that you can be so callous!

Probably the best outcome for both club and player. Struggled with form for most of this season but was outstanding away at Crewe.
Understand fans frustation but some of the comments thrown at him have been a little OTT .

Good luck going forward Ash.

But players don't read this forum...which of course, beggars belief why some have to scramble to be first opening a thread with;
Welcome blah blah!  ;D

I think you will find there are some players that do view their club forums and some that quickly get informed to what is said about them.

If I recall one of the fans forums in League 2 were given a donation by a players for their appeal to raid funds to keep it going and that was back in the Colin Calderwood days.

Didn't really work out for Ash in the end but I have no ill feeling towards him, 11 players take to the field, you can't blame relegation and bad results on just 1 of them and there were times when only 3 of the 11 could leave the field knowing they had given their all.

Good luck to him wherever he goes next.

Think I follow your drift - do you agree with some of the abusive comments aimed at Taylor?

It's to acknowledge a signing for the club and yes to welcome a new player to this 'friendly' club. Except you, of course  ;)

It’s a good decision in my opinion and part of the necessary change - abuse not necessary but as already said, some of his comments frankly disrespectful towards us - statistics clearly show this season we were better defensively without him and the tendency to blame others does not endear him to many.

He had gone - a while ago he had one good season but rather than dwelling on a passing player that will be forgotten within one season I prefer to concentrate on the early close season good work that is progressing under KC.

I don' think the flags are flying at half-mast over his departure but no need to single him out for over-the-top criticism.  A bigger worry will be if Pierre goes which looks more likely than not.

No doubt the club including some players read the forums - those that think otherwise, are quite simply wrong!
To what degree is open to question, but clearly when opinions are profered on here, it's only a short matter of time before the Chron and to a degree the club itself start reporting on the fans' feelings towards players, club etc.

What like lazy, attitude ridden?  ;)

There are some pretty nasty comments on here about a player that didn’t serve us too badly.
For me , he never looked fit enough this season and carried weight . He also continued to live in Merseyside with a young family. That’s just never going to work for anyone .
A massive chunk off the wage bill now that he has gone .

For a while he was a decent defender. But unfortunately it all went a bit awry.

Good luck to him...

Are suggesting divorce?  ;D

Of course they read this forum, do you think they spend times searching their names on Insta and Twitter whilst avoiding the one place they are guaranteed to be named?
Before you all get too exited they are also warned by the club they these are anonymous posts and could be from anywhere, including fans from ex clubs.

I need to eat humble pie re Ash Taylor, I have not been very positive about him in the past but at the end of the day slagging players off on this site is not the way forward. In only watching away games in the North West then on the last two occasions I saw him play at Tranmere and Crewe I thought he was beginning to perform at a better level. Looks like the Cheltenham away game and in particular the home game against Port Vale  were the games in which Curle decided to ditch him. He has a young family on Merseyside and I guess he is looking to play somewhere in the North West possibly the likes of Tranmere, Crewe, or Salford City. I think he will give Bury a wide bertb as the issue of being paid there is an ongoing problem. Lesson learned from me no more personal slagging off of players on this site, life is too short.

It can happen with players. Their natural games is compromised by the way the manager wants to play - so they end up not playing very well.
I think Ash falls into this category. Not a bad player and will probably thrive elsewhere. Good luck to him - will probably come back and haunt us!!!

His wife having a meltdown on twitter...

Stating how unjust it is with all the love JJOT is getting when all her Ash got was a one word sentence...

chalk & cheese

As she sips cocktails on a luxury holiday and her husband is now a free agent meaning he’ll get a hefty signing on fee from whatever club employ him next. It’s a bit like with Buchs - I can understand their wives being supportive but it’s all a bit cringe when they start chipping away on social media.

Do you have a  link for this please?

I find it quite amusing when the WAG's get involved. Mrs Buchs for example..

Fair play to them for sticking up for their significant other, but you will never get a decent response when you start bashing the club, especially when in Ash Taylor's case you have had a poor season and refused to admit.

@MrsIndiaTaylor
India Taylor Retweeted Northampton Town
What a nice farewell..(referring to JJOT send off)

@MrsIndiaTaylor
1 sentence and not a photo montage in sight (referring to one sentence statement by NTFC regarding AT departure - replies to this are golden!)

@MrsIndiaTaylor
Think a few people have short term memory loss tbh..(referring to the awards AT won when the whole squad was s***e!)

Thks Memyhead my Twitter account is dormant but worth resurrecting to view Mrs Taylor’s comments >:D

Poor Ash wanted a montage - it’s a bit like Yaya Toure and his birthday cake!

Mrs Taylor "Why is it that people who give you sh*t on twitter always look like they haven’t washed for weeks?"

 ;D ;D ;D

fancy going public asking for players to have a decent send off from the club.

how dare she.

who would think of doing such a thing.

A fair assessment of our fanbase.

Scousers on Twitter - a recipe for disaster.

Holding talks with Aberdeen about a possible return North of the border according to reports.

Rejoined Aberdeen on a 3 year contract

Has he?

Nothing on the Aberdeen official site.

We wanted a six figure sum but happy to cancel the contract.. 

Looks like I've been had by a fake Aberdeen twitter account  >:(

Yeah right. We were never getting a fee for Taylor.

That was reported....then it goes on to say we paid up his last year because we need to get the wage bill down....

Who Ash Taylor's? FFS!

Haven't seen, though Buch's misses always seems to put her Penny's worth in!

.

Reported where? I must have missed that . However there is a big difference between wanting a fee and getting it. I can't believe we paid up his whole last year. That would make no sense.... Have now found the reports. It does say the six figure fee wanted was prohibitive. I would take ' last year paid up to reduce the wage bill'  with a pinch of salt.

Hey, I was only reporting what has been written......hes obviously been paid something in lieu of the last year.......and that something would have been less than a years wages.... mutually terminated.

http://www.talkhearts.co.uk/thread-3642.html

Aberdeen it is then, good signing for the SPL, there are a few conference players who would do well in Tha league if willing to travel.

It could mean releasing him rather than demanding a transfer fee. Or has a pay-off been suggested?

Rejoined Aberdeen on a 2 year deal! ::)

Nailed on he was going back there, although it looks like the Aberdeen supporters don't rate him highly.

Taylor's return not getting a positive reaction on Aberdeen's fan forum, will be o.k. as 4th choice centre back.

Some real obnoxious comments - some even thought that India was the reason?

Incidentally take a look at Bradfords Forum the thread on ' Transfer News' -  some really top comments with one fan championing the signing of Bayo!

Good luck to Ash .
His first season was great for us but he simply wasn’t fit enough last season and it showed .
He doesn’t deserve the abuse .

thought he was a lot better than he was.

shows how terrible scottish football is.

Best of luck to Ash with this move. Did well in first season when others didn't. Hope he recovers his form.

Must have a good agent

Yes he has.

Not happy with Keith
https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/former-skipper-taylor-could-write-a-book-about-what-went-wrong-at-cobblers-1-8982795

Chip on his shoulder - not about football ability my ar**!

KC kept have with him far longer than I would have done, the stats with and without him in the side we’re damning, I thought J Williams was far more unlucky not to get more game time.

His feelings echoed by a number of players last season, but most now gone. If successful this season who will care?

That’s the players who contributed to 2+ seasons of complete mediocrity - they will be greatly missed. Also, if KC is such an ogre then how come Nicky Adams jumped at the chance to play for him again - he doesn’t exactly strike me as a shrinking violet in the dressing room?

Not a criticism from me of the current manager. Just making the point that we won't care if successful. That's football. But I wish AT well and hope he recovers his form. He's a good guy besides stupidly getting involved in run-ins with certain fans.

It’s true that KC changed systems on the eve of a match and then when it failed , threw players under the bus .
Having said that , Taylor didn’t play well last season and looked unfit so you can understand why KC had issues with him .

T.O.- "Do you think you personally are out of from"
A.T. - "No"

And from that point on he alienated every fan that was listening. Because quite simply he HAD lost form.


ps
When he was on RN with Buchs he stated his favourite team was Arsenal - any scouser that neither supoorts Everton or Liverpool is frankly a little strange.

That's the problem, according to AT, it never dipped!

I've long suspected there was a little bit of player power in the squad starting with JFH's tenure and that this was having a negative effect on the team as a whole. This culminated around the time of the dropping of Buchs for Bunney and raised his head with the ultimately disastrous appointment of Austin, after he had been recommended for the role by Buchs and Taylor. Buchs and Taylor then seemed to be undroppable under Austin's tenure, despite their performances ranging from lacklustre to outright terrible, the team leaking goals at an untenable rate (and often berating other players for their own faults) and the far more capable Turnbull (in both positions) apparently frozen out of the side.

This is only my suspicion of course so I may be wide of the mark but it doesn't surprise me one bit that Taylor 'clashed' with Curle as KC is the not the kind to take any dissent in the ranks and Taylor's departure was on the cards as soon as KC become manager.

I've heard from another source that KC does not like to be questioned, differences of opinion are not well received! See Shaun McWilliams "absence" from the team for a period last season.

At the end of the day though KC is the manager and players should respect him. Its true that player power got out of hand, and Keith won't tolerate that. He builds his squad with a "certain type of player", those who he can work with, and on the whole those who just keep quiet and get on with it.

I always felt that the likes of Rico, Buch to name but two had a lot of influence. Which is great when its going well (15/16) but maybe less so when the teams struggling (16/17 onwards).

Its no surprise that a series of managers have not been able to cut it or/and  'handle them'. I suspect a lot of personalities clashed. When a football team is top of the league, everyones happy, every decision made is justified. But when its struggling, its the complete opposite. Thats why teams nose dive aka Chesterfield, Yeovil, Sunderland...loads of examples over the years. Loads. So hard to stop the rot once its set in.

When Austin was fired, we were what, 22nd? And in grave danger of doing the same. KC steadied things, now its his chance (which he's earned) to be a success.

Thats why Im perhaps less fussed than some that we have offloaded practically every player that was here prior to last season. JJOT and Buchs earned a lot of sentiment, and with the right manager may have been able to stay and kick back on. KC though isn't obviously that manager so he's doing it another way. No excuses eh!

100% agree

Sour grapes from Taylor it was his performances on the pitch that got  him pushed out by Curle.He saw himself as a leader but was not,Curle saw through him and it is common knowledge in football circles that like his mentor Warnock cross Curle at your peril.

Good post again Drilling' my thoughts entirely.

First class interview with Taylor and he is absolutely spot on, a clear difference of opinion indeed. He thought he was brilliant, KC didn’t.

.....and I tend to agree with KC

Taylor - player of the season when we were  relegated and leading a defence that shipped numerous soft goals - then next season his form dropped further and points amassed (or lost) from games he played would have seen us relegated again.

Well shot of him and his overinflated opinion of himself.

Shame, there’s a decent player in there. It seemed to me it was all about attitude with Taylor, and it apparently affected the others around him? Came across in interviews that the failings were always down to someone else and the positives (few as they were) we’re down to him. Whatever the opinion of AT the facts are he joined and was ever present in a decent side that went into a dramatic decline got relegated and was on its way out of the league until he got dropped. 3 managers went under the bus whilst consistently picking him, and the only one that hasn’t and appears to have stopped the rot he appears to have an issue with? Hope he does write that book, explain that one Ash?

It will be very interesting to see how he gets on next season, hopefully he gets splinters in his backside.

Goode cannot be a replacement for Pierre because they play on opposite sides of defence to each other .
Goode is a replacement for Taylor , and I’m sure we are all happy with that .
Williams I assume is Goode’s back up and we then need another left sided centre half to back up or accompany Turnbull , depending if we play three at the back or not .

Taylor was poor over the two seasons he was at NTFC
 He won Player of the Season in a season which he was the best of a very rotten team. Glad to see back up at Pittodrie.

I saw enough of Taylor over the past two seasons and thought he played well in quite a few games. When we have a disappointing season many of us throw our toys out big time and then find somebody to blame. Can understand the criticism though but some of it is OTT and bigoted. As to whether Goode is better than Taylor is a bit of a bold statement; for example Goode picked some pretty silly bookings. He looked at times what he was ' a L2 defender' with not a great deal of finesse! Dont mind the 'ugly' side he can exhibit when necessary.

My issues with Taylor were more perceived attitude, less so ability.

His sulk after him and Pierre went for the same ball in a home game towards the end of the season was the last straw. There were many instances where he would scream nonsense at his team mates. Going straight home after learning he wasn't in the team, rather than staying and supporting his team mates. His infamous interview where he claimed he was playing well. His self appreciation tweets. The list is a long one.

Therefore I will never defend him. I'm very glad he's buggered orf!

If his ability matched his ego, he'd be on his way to the prem...

This  ;D

Thought he'd gone back to the prem?

;D

He is

OTT indeed. If you flipped his 2 seasons so last season was the better one, how would he be viewed now? All I can say is that he was a very positive influence on some of the younger players last season and never let his own situation get in the way of that.

Bit sharp Patti boy ;D

I think I grasp yr sentiments but assume from your comments that Taylor was ok and good with some young players? If so some on here might have to reconsider their judgement on Taylor. Or did I detect a note of sarcasm?

The right one for him.  ;D

Opinions will invariably vary and as a result there will be fans that will defend players under almost any circumstances. When you look at the performance of the squad post Wilder something was very wrong somewhere. Therefore the players that were there during that period have to be at the very least part of the reason for the dramatic decline. Unless it happens to be the entire fault of the managers and the players are to bare no responsibility whatsoever? If Taylor had held his hands up a bit regarding his own failings when criticising KC I might have more respect for him and his opinion. But rather predictably he didn’t, so I don’t. I think the answer to the conundrum is right there, decent ability, slightly arrogant, slightly delusional and slightly confrontational. A bit like most of us on here?

No sarcasm. He was a very positive influence to one pr two in particular and has offered help in the future, if required.

quote ' If Taylor had held his hands up a bit regarding his own failings when criticising KC I might have more respect for him and his opinion'.

Bit Airy Fairy from you.

With hindsight I agree Evers.

Taylor only on the bench for Aberdeen's Europa cup match last night. After taking a 2 goal lead the conceded a lale goal to win 2-1. Comment on Aberdeen forum " thank **** he didn't put Taylor on to defend the 2 goal lead ..."

This is what confuses me with Scottish Premier League football...

Aberdeen and other clubs sign players from English League One, Two and the Conference.

Celtic and maybe Rangers will pay £3 million or even more for a single player.

Do these expensive players improve when playing 90% of their games against opponents who are at League One level.

You could argue that they only sign expensive players to help them in Europa League or Champions League because they certainly should not need £3 million pound signings to win SPL when most of their opponents would not win League Two.

I'm not being disrespectful to those clubs, they improve players and compete against each other, it's just so odd that 2 teams are happy to buy the league when in reality they are throwing money away because that level of football could be won without spending any.

Totally crazy and the Scotish FA should be worried about the production of talent for the national team because the academies up there need improving and then they need high quality opponents week in week out not just 4 games a season.

It’s best to be quite when you have no clue what what you are talking about.

I'd say that was quite an accurate assessment of Scottish football from Lukey! Outside of Celtic and Rangers, the vast majority of SPL players fall into two categories: those that have tried and failed in English football and those who haven't yet tried and failed in English football. ;D

Those who wallow in a players downfall not very nice people.

Ash Taylor is currently trending on Twitter, https://twitter.com/search?q=%22Ash%20Taylor%22&src=tren

To be fair Lukey, he was no where near as good as he thought he was. The same applies to Adam Smith.

whilst I was not as Taylor’s biggest fan, don’t like to see that. Seems like he has jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? I feel a bit bad for him as I would imagine the bloke is feeling pretty low at the minute?

Would not mind him back here on loan tigether wiith the great KvVeen. Possibly Bayo as well. At least they are experienced players!

Not forgetting the forgettable Marvin Sordell are you?!?!

To be fair, with all the nonsense he came out with via his wife on Twitter and from himself on the pitch whilst here, I would say he is getting what he deserves.

I am sure he has now seen the error of his ways and is now 100% in agreement with you?

Keep an eye on Twitter and you will find out.....

Don’t think I’ll bother, I reckon I know the answer and I’m not even clairvoyant?

There you go then.

Perhaps his wife will help him see the light? I married well, mines always pointing out my faults?

You trying to raise the ante?