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Portsmouth legend Taylor announces retirement

19 Mar 2019

Midfielder who made 325 PL appearances for Pompey, Bolton, West Ham and Burnley calls time on playing career

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Former Portsmouth midfielder Matthew Taylor has announced he will retire from playing professional football at the end of the season.

The 37-year-old, who also featured for Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and Burnley in over 12 Premier League seasons, made the announcement on Twitter.

Part of the Portsmouth squad promoted to the Premier League in 2003, he made a habit of scoring spectacular goals among the 16 he got in five top-flight seasons for the club.

His wonder strikes against Sunderland in 2005 at the Stadium of Light and Everton at Fratton Park in 2006 are two that live long in the memory.

Portsmouth's record PL appearance maker played a key role as the club won six of their last 10 matches to stay up in 2005/06 and contributed to club-record finishes of ninth and eighth in the following two seasons.

In January 2008, Taylor moved to Bolton, where he made 123 appearances in four seasons, scoring 23 goals.

He spent three seasons at West Ham from 2011, the first of which resulted in promotion to the Premier League, before signing for Burnley in July 2014.

Currently completing his FA Pro Licence qualification, Taylor hopes to "pass on 20 years' worth of knowledge to the next generation of footballers".

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