Taylor set to quit Toon over hate campaign - Exclusive
Published 22:45 27/03/10 By Brian McNally
Broken-jaw victim Steven Taylor is the target of a vicious smear campaign that threatens his Newcastle future.
Taylor and his family have been upset by an email circulating on Tyneside that clearly aims to whip up a fans’ backlash against the former England under-21 skipper.
He suffered a double fracture after a bust-up with Toon team-mate Andy Carroll at the club’s training ground last Sunday.
Printed copies of the email which claims, “Taylor is despised at the club by all” have been handed round pubs and clubs.
It is also featured on several Newcastle fans’ websites.
The document which makes totally unfounded accusations against Taylor, claims that a deputation of senior Newcastle players have asked Magpies manager Chris Hughto to sell the centre-back to restore dressing room harmony.
The campaign against Taylor is puzzling given that he has refused to make any complaint to police about the incident and has declined to make any comment on the matter.
It is clear that the bust-up has polarised opinion in the Newcastle dressing room and it is inevitable that one of the players will have to leave in the summer.
The tone of the anonymous email attempts to support Carroll, suggesting Newcastle’s top scorer is “a good honest lad and easily wound up.”
Carroll is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on April 29 on a charge of assualt occasioning actual bodily harm after a man suffered a head wound in Newcastle after being attacked with a bottle.
The fact that several prominent Newcastle players have rallied around the trouble-prone Carroll have increased the odds that Taylor will be the man to move on.
If Taylor is driven out of the club there will be no shortage of takers with Aston Villa, Chelsea and Everton all keen to sign him.
But the severity of Taylor’s injury could hinder any attempts at a quick sale this summer. There are fears that the fractures could take four to six months to heal which would leave Taylor struggling to be fit for pre-season raining.
Newcastle have refused to make any comment on the situation, fearing that official confirmation of an incident could spark an investigation by Northumbria Police.
Carroll is on bail for the ABH charge he faces next month and the club are anxious to avoid further police involvement. But the Toon top brass have been left embarrassed by pictures of Carroll with both his hands in bandages at a Manchester pop concert on Thursday.
Hughton evaded questions about how Carroll came to sustain his injuries at a press conference yesterday morning, but confirmed that the striker “is fit to play” in tomorrow night’s crucial promotion clash with Nottingham Forest.
