MORE than two months have elapsed since John Taylor set all kinds of records by entering the field of play at the ripe old age of 56 but Thetford Town's assistant manager is not entirely convinced that he has hung up his boots for good.
“The simple answer is that I don't know if it will happen again but it probably won't be in the immediate future as it took a bit out of me,” he recalled. “The body is not quite what it used to be but I have always kept myself relatively fit and that helped.”
Thetford were 2-1 down to Lakenheath in their opening Eastern Counties League game of the season when, with time running out, manager Matt Morton told Taylor he was going on. “I wanted to help Matt out,” added Taylor.
“I didn't score but my going on seemed to be the catalyst for us getting an equaliser with almost the last kick of the game. I seemed to have an influence. Because of the numbers situation and the state of the game and the way we were playing, it was definitely the right thing to do.
“I'd do it again if needed. But we've got a fine squad in terms of ability and numbers. We recently won five games on the spin and I wouldn't want to be taking the place of anyone much younger.”
Taylor's cameo appearance which probably lasted a total of ten minutes with added time, was all the more remarkable considering that it came 17 years after his last appearance in senior football – for Dagenham and Redbridge – and eight years after he had suffered a minor heart attack. “Don't worry, I've been given a clean bill of health,” he said. “It was just a miniature blood clot that caused it. It's all sorted now. I had a stent put in since when I've had the allclear and been told everything was fine.”
Everything is so fine in fact that Taylor still features in the odd charity game in the Abbey Stadium where he made his name as a record marksman for Cambridge for whom he scored 86 times in two spells during which he accumulated 336 appearances. Under John Beck and in a prolific partnership with Dion Dublin, Taylor helped the club progress to the old second division from the fourth division and reach two FA Cup quarter-finals. He was no slouch then and still isn't.
Nigel Armes, Thetford's chairman is Taylor's biggest fan. “John is one of those former players who just loves his football,” he said. “He obviously couldn't resist coming on against Lakenheath. He's such a great delight to be with.”
