NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.85: Phil Taylor
Years: 1936-1954
Appearances: 343
Goals: 32
Trophies: First Division (1946-47)
Long-serving player, captain, league winner and manager – Phil Taylor is ingrained in the Liverpool history books.
A forward-turned-defender for whom the club stumped up £5,000 to purchase from Bristol Rovers in March 1936, his on-pitch career at Anfield spanned almost 18 years but was interrupted by the Second World War.
Taylor scored a last-minute equaliser on his debut but the Reds were struggling in the lower reaches of the top flight during the seasons immediately prior to hostilities pausing professional football.
It was a much different story when war stopped and the game resumed, with Taylor featuring in 35 out of 42 matches as Liverpool won the 1946-47 championship – their first for 24 years.
He clocked up at least 30 league appearances in each of the next four seasons and was appointed skipper at the turn of the decade.
That included leading the Reds out for their first FA Cup final at Wembley. However, they were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal in the 1950 showpiece.
Taylor’s playing time diminished as he then passed his mid-30s and the Englishman pulled on the Liverpool jersey for the last time in January 1954.
“The possibility of one day playing for such a club as Liverpool and getting a First Division championship medal never entered my head,” he said. “Certainly a possible Wembley appearance was beyond my wildest dreams.”
His Anfield association continued beyond retirement as he served as a coach and then had a three-and-a-half-year spell as manager before being replaced by Bill Shankly.
Get exclusive early access to the next players revealed on the Liverpool's Greatest list every day on the official LFC app: iOS | Google Play
