On August 8 2006, Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored the Football League’s 500,000th goal.
Gary Taylor-Fletcher in action for Leicester City
It is 10 years to the day that Taylor-Fletcher etched his name into footballing folklore with a 25-yard drive into the top corner for Huddersfield Town, 78 minutes into their League One match with Rotherham Town.
Not content with holding that accolade, Taylor-Fletcher is one of only three players to have scored in the top five divisions of English football – the other two being Steve Finnan and Jimmy Willis, both former Liverpool defenders.
(L) Steve Finnan. Goal-machine.
Taylor-Fletcher certainly had an interesting career. Scouted by Conference National side Northwich Victoria during a charity friendly when he was a roofer, he went on to score 11 goals in 43 league appearances for the club between 1999 and 2001.
After a brief loan spell at Hull City, he was then sold to Third Division side Leyton Orient for £50,000. Finding goals hard to come by for The O’s, loan spells with Grays Athletic and Dagenham & Redbridge followed.
At the start of the 2003/04 season, he was signed by Lincoln City on a free transfer, scoring 27 league goals in two seasons at the club.
He then found himself at Huddersfield Town where, in addition to the historic goal against Rotherham, he scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup third round.
In pursuit of Sheffield Wednesday’s Oguchi Onyewu
Taylor-Fletcher’s rise up the divisions continued. He signed for Blackpool for the 2007/08 season, playing a vital part in their promotion from the Championship to the Premiership.
Not only did he score in the Play-Off Final against Cardiff City, he also scored Blackpool’s first-ever Premiership goal on the opening day of the 2010/11 season.
After six years with the Seasiders, he joined Leicester City in the Championship. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5-3 win over Bolton Wanderers, having come on in the 77th minute to partner a certain Jamie Vardy in attack.
20 of his 22 league appearances for Leicester came off the bench as the Foxes gained promotion to the Premiership.
In Leicester’s first season in the top flight, he was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall but didn’t find the net at either club, and on October 17 2015 he was sold to Tranmere Rovers minutes before their match against Forest Green Rovers. He scored after five minutes.
Taylor-Fletcher (R) in the colours of Millwall
Taylor-Fletcher no longer appears on the Tranmere website as a player (though no departure has been announced), but he can be found running and promoting his football academy in Widnes alongside former Blackpool left-bach Stephen Crainey.
Gary Taylor-Fletcher. We salute you.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
