Since Ryan Taylor’s last game for Port Vale, he has moved out of the country and played football abroad.
Luckily for Vale, he made his return to Vale Park after his previous contract ended, just in time to secure the three points against relegation rivals Shrewsbury Town.
Taylor left Vale after the home draw with Bury towards the end of January to pursue a career overseas in America, but has since decided it was not for him and re-joined the Valiants just in time to score the winner against Shrewsbury Town on Friday night.
The defender spoke exclusively to Valiant PlayerHD about his time abroad: “I was offered a chance to go to Chicago. So as a player who had been in England all of his life, I went to Chicago, and I went with an open mind.
I was there for quite a few weeks and to be honest, it was not what I thought it was. It was too difficult to take my family over. I have two young boys and it was such a big move.
I played a game and immediately after told them that I need to go back home.”
Taylor continued: “I text Michael Brown after the Swindon game, and told him that I was delighted because I knew it had been tough, and his reply was what are you doing?
So I told him that I was coming home on Monday, after the game on Saturday. So I got home late on Tuesday, and signed a deal that day. I had Wednesday off, trained Thursday and played today.”
Since departing Vale Park the ex-Newcastle man has been keeping track of his former team-mates: “I have been keeping my eye on the results and seeing that things have not been going too well, losing by the odd goal and not winning when maybe they should have.
I have come back to help the team, and [Michael] Brown chucked me straight in. Whether it was the right or wrong decision before the game, all that matters is the three points and we got them tonight.”
Despite only being back in the country a matter of days, the deal did not take long to complete and was a no-brainer for the defender: “I only got back in the country on Tuesday, but I spoke to [Michael] Brown on Monday and he told me he would love for me to come back. To be honest I did not even think about it, I just said ‘no problem’.
The funny thing was, one of his last comments was that I could come back and win the game on Friday”, Taylor added, laughing.
With Taylor back in the fold, and Vale returning to winning ways, a trip to bottom-placed Coventry City is more than welcome. However, the 32-year old is adamant that they will not underestimate their opponents: “It will be tough because it has not been a great season for them. We have to go there with the right attitude and not feeling sorry for them one bit.
The lads are happy and confident at the minute, and come Tuesday we would love to have that same dressing room.”