Boo boys in the wrong
05/10/05 | by Paul Severn

What do Neil Shipperley, Marlon King, Neil Harris, Andrea Silenzi, Adam Proudlock, Nick Barmby, Gary Bull and Gary Jones all have in common? They have all played up front in a Forest shirt, and scored fewer goals than Gareth Taylor. Almost every fan would also agree they all wore the shirt with less distinction than Taylor, and certainly on fewer occasions. Furthermore, none of them have filled in at centre half in a crisis, and none have been close to captaining the club.

Gary Megson has taken a lot of stick this season, but he was right to rebuke the fans who booed Taylor as he entered the fray on Saturday against Tranmere. To boo your own players is counter-productive, no matter how much we are frustrated. To cheer as a player as he’s subbed off is cruel. 

To treat Taylor with such negativity is short-sighted. Taylor has popped up with big goals in the past couple of seasons. He scored winning goals against Bradford and Sheffield United under Kinnear, pinched a draw against Wigan last season and did it again on Saturday. He offers a different option in the squad. I’m not suggesting he’s in Ronaldinho’s class, but at this level, he’s a useful squad man at worst. Defenders heading long balls away from David Johnson all afternoon will certain think twice when Taylor arrives on the field.

The saddest part of the Taylor business is that he actually seems to care about the club. He faced the press after relegation and was honest. Fans complain that their players don’t care, but here we have one that does, yet he is treated badly. Who could have blamed him for going to Sheffield United last month?

It seems strange for Forest fans of all people to indulge in this, as we have seen our fair share of poor strikers over the years. Some strikers I didn’t list at the top of the article have been crowd favourites, yet still endured horrendous barren spells for the club – these include Kevin Campbell, Stern John and, yes, David Johnson.

Then of course there are other players in different positions who haven’t given as much as Taylor – Alan Rogers, Adam Nowland, Kevin James, Danny Sonner, Platt’s Italians… I could continue.

So let’s stop the jeering at Taylor, or else we’re just fickle next time he pops up with a winner with a back post header.