It’s really a great story, and one we all love to see, when a player like Ryan Taylor comes back into the Newcastle side in a very tough game at the Etihad Stadium, and Ryan had the kind of game that may not have been possible after he had suffered two terrible ACL knee injuries.
Ryan Taylor challenges David Silva early in the game
But Ryan’s comeback and fantastic performances in Newcastle’s great 2-0 win on Wednesday night – our first win ever at the Etihad Stadium – was Boys’ Own stuff – it was to say the very least very heart-warming.
We will probably see Ryan on the bench tomorrow in the home game against Liverpool and maybe the St. James’ Park crowd will get their first chance to welcome back the 30 year-old back onto the famous pitch.
This is what Alan Pardew said about this courageous player yesterday:
“It’s been a great 24 hours for Ryan, and when you consider he’s had 24 months or more of real tough work and tough mentally on him, it’s brilliant to have that kind of night for him and his family.”
“I’ve had players who have had serious injuries and not come back – the same sort of injury as Ryan. He’s had a good surgeon, that helps, and he’s had good medical care, which helps. But more importantly his attitude has been spot on.”
“It’s very, very important to keep your mentality strong. We’ve tried to keep him alive, we’ve given him scouting and stuff in terms of interest and included him in stuff that we were doing, I think that helped him as well.”
“He’s had some help along the way but it all really lies at his own feet in terms of his attitude to everything we’ve put in front of him.”
“I think in this area we are very much aware of Ryan’s troubles and battles,” “He’s had the best part of two years out with cruciate injuries – terrible injuries for a professional sportsman.”
“And he’s shown tremendous dedication to come back and I think they admire that.” “They admire the type of person he is, and it’s all being reflected and I can’t say he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Ryan’s got a special bond here. He obviously scored a very famous goal for us under my tenure, I’ve always had a soft spot for him but you can’t help but have a soft spot for him – he’s just that kind of guy.”
“He’s just a football person who does everything the right way.”
Striker Dean Ashton is a player who had to retire early in his career in his mid 20s while at West Ham back in 2009, and he’s a player Alan Pardew had coached when Alan was at the Hammers.
Dean was forced to retire because he failed to recover from a long term ankle injury he had picked up while playing for England – so even in this day and age players don’t always come back from serious injuries.
Taylor was on the bench last Sunday at Tottenham and played the whole game on Wednesday night, and he showed all his experience and skill in that game, and he was one of Newcastle’s best players on the night.
Ryan easily won our Man of the Match award, and that’s not too bad considering all Ryan has gone through – and it was simply fantastic to see Ryan back in a black and white short on Wednesday night.
This man deserves all the credit for all he’s been able to come through since August of 2012, and it’s not often we get inspiring news like this in today’s world.
As Peter Beardsley said last week – Ryan is a proper man.
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4 comments so far
cyprus
Oct 31, 2014 at 8:27 AM
Comment #1ok, now that the dust has settled, a more measured post.
We haven’t suddenly become world beaters. We could’ve easily drawn or lost the last two games, in which we were outplayed for big chunks of time. In truth, they are better teams. City, ok, that’s expected, but we should be on par with spurs. If we played 10 games vs them, the safe bet is we’d lose more.
Still, the good news is that this is the best PL since it started. There are 3 recently relegated or lower league teams in the top 6. AP, I grudgingly admit, is right. Games are indeed won on a couple of details. No one, including Chelsea, is unbeatable. They won’t run away with it, be assured. Without Hazard, they are playable.
70TWO
Oct 31, 2014 at 8:31 AM
Comment #2If only Ryan had got it over the wall, that would have been the cherry on the cake.
Go toon gooooo
Oct 31, 2014 at 8:37 AM
Comment #3Retirement is the only normal option for this player.Nobody can against nature.Good luck anyway.
NUFCJackW
Oct 31, 2014 at 8:42 AM
Comment #4I wouldnt want to disrupt Steven Taylor’s form but i think we should play dummet with colo because they were excellent against city, it would also free up space for haidara who has really good skill for a LB.