In the immediate aftermath of Manchester City’s shock decision to sack Gareth Taylor five days before a League Cup final against Chelsea, attention turned to social media.
There were cryptic posts from former City players and others shortly after the announcement.
Ellie Roebuck, who left City for Barcelona in the summer, posted an image of a quote on her Instagram story. It read: “What goes around comes around. Keep your circle positive. Speak good words. Think good thoughts. Do good deeds.”
There was no specific mention of Taylor, but people may draw their own conclusions at the timing and meaning behind Roebuck’s post.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Roebuck said her relationship with Taylor had become “fractured” after being frozen out of the first-team. Roebuck referenced a lack of clear communication and said she felt her respect for him was not reciprocated.
Chloe Kelly, who joined Arsenal on loan from City in January, liked the club’s Instagram post announcing his departure. So did Ruby Mace, who left City for Leicester last year.
It is no secret that Kelly’s relationship with Taylor had also broken down before her exit. The forward released a statement on social media on the eve of January’s transfer deadline day to try to force through a loan move. In it, she said she would no longer tolerate someone’s “negative” behaviour towards her, though she did not name that person.
Kelly has not spoken on the record about Taylor but it is believed she would have been happy to remain at the club had he not been in charge.
In his four-and-a-half years at City it is clear Taylor was not universally popular but experiences differ from player to player. There are some who liked working under him, enjoyed his coaching style and his training sessions. There are others who felt frozen out and unhappy in that environment. Some decided to leave because of it.
When City captain Alex Greenwood spoke to the media on the day following Taylor’s sacking she confirmed she had been told the decision was “purely results based”. City currently sit fourth in the Women’s Super League table – outside the Champions League places – and the club stated that results had not met the club’s “high standards” when announcing the news.
Greenwood speaks highly of Taylor and her experience of working with him. “I can’t speak for anybody else but myself and I had a positive relationship with Gaz,” she said. “We got on well. He brought me to the club, he played me a lot, he trusted in me, he made me captain of the club, which I’m very grateful for.”
Yet there was an acknowledgement from Greenwood that not everyone’s experience would necessarily have been as positive as hers.
“I understand that sometimes not everyone’s going to feel the same because decisions are made about playing or not playing and ultimately, everyone wants to play football, so at some point, people are going to be disappointed, and that’s how football works.”
One of the issues some players had with Taylor was his management style.
Taylor was described by one source as having an “old-school approach” which, while perhaps commonplace in men’s football, was viewed as less appropriate in the women’s game. Taylor started his coaching career with City’s boy’s academy before joining the women’s team in 2020. It was alleged that Taylor could lack emotion and empathy when it came to managing his players.
Another source told Telegraph Sport that Taylor would say one thing in public and another privately. One example given was that he would exaggerate to the media the amount of support he provided to players who may have gone through a difficult experience, when in reality he could be cold and unsympathetic behind closed doors.
City did not receive any formal complaints about Taylor from players while Taylor has declined to comment on the allegations.
While some players are understood to have left because of their negative experience, there are some who are grateful to Taylor for bringing them to the club. Like Greenwood, Vivianne Miedema, who joined from Arsenal in the summer, said she got on well with Taylor.
“My personal relationship with Gareth was really positive,” Miedema said. “I really enjoyed playing under him, I’m really grateful that he’s made me enjoy playing football again.”
Significant change behind the scenes last summer
Taylor was the longest-serving manager in the WSL before his dismissal, having spent four-and-a-half years with the club. In that time, he won one League Cup and one FA Cup and had numerous second-place finishes in the WSL. After taking over from Nick Cushing, who has now replaced him as interim boss, Taylor created a leadership group involving six captains which was used as a tool for communicating. He also introduced interactive analysis sessions and individual training plans for players.
After a disappointing fourth-place finish and trophyless 2022-23 campaign, City stuck by Taylor and, with City second in the league and still in the two domestic Cup competitions, he signed a three-and-a-half year contract extension in January 2024. City were eliminated from both cups not long after this and subsequently missed out on the WSL title on goal difference.
There was significant change behind the scenes at City last summer. Taylor’s assistant coaches Shaun Goater and Alan Mahon left the club while director of football Nils Nielsen also departed.
Despite starting this season strongly, with City beating European champions Barcelona 2-0 in October, they slipped out of the WSL title race after suffering a spate of injuries. But they are still in two domestic cup competitions and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. City now have four back-to-back games against Chelsea, starting with Saturday’s League Cup final.
Cushing has been somewhat thrown in at the deep end but, as City’s statement suggested, he may be able to breathe fresh life into this team.
As for Taylor, in a statement on Thursday he said he was disappointed to have parted ways with City but was excited to see what the future holds. It remains to be seen whether his next coaching job will be in women’s football or if a return to men’s football is more likely.
