Souness: Taylor will be Big

By Nick Raynor
December 31 2004

Graham Souness has said he expects young centre-back Steven Taylor to be a great centre-back, but won’t play him their yet.

Taylor claims his best position is as a centre-half, but Boss Graham Souness won’t play him there until he has matured. 

Taylor has been more of a first-team player this season, with the sale of Woodgate and injuries forcing Souness to bring him into the squad, but he was been playing a lot of matches at right-back. 

Souness said: 

"I think Stephen is one of those that if I said to him at 2.55pm on Saturday or whatever time we kick off on Saturday, 'look, I really think you can play centre-forward for us today', I do not think he would offer any argument and he would go out and play centre-forward.

"I think he can play anywhere along the back four. Sooner or later, he is going to get a chance to play in the centre of the defence, but it is an enormous ask.

"Young players do get in the team at 18, 19, but you do not see too many 18 and 19-year-old centre-halves because, quite simply, if you make a mistake there, it leads to a shot at your goal.

"If you make a mistake at full-back, hopefully a centre-half can recover the situation for you.

"But ultimately, he will be a centre-half. We are looking to bring people in, we are looking to bring maybe a couple of defenders in, but if Steven Taylor keeps going like that, I have got a real decision to make.

"He was our best player at Blackburn last Sunday. You would not like to fight him. He is a big powerful unit. He is all there for 18.

"He intimidates people because he does not hold back with anything on the pitch. He is a big honest lad."