Post by Stewart on May 10, 2013 14:04:41 GMT
Hot-shot ace Jamie Taylor snubs Luton Town for Sutton United
twickenham times
By Tim Ashton
Sutton United’s new striker Jamie Taylor turned down Luton Town to join the Gander Green Lane push for promotion.
Taylor, accompanied by his heavily pregnant girlfriend, was presented to the crowd on Wednesday night after signing from Lincoln City of the Blue Square South.
The 30-year-old, who hit 16 goals as the Imps’ top scorer last term, hails from south London, and had been offered a contract at Luton, but turned it down in favour of staying close to his family.
He said: “My girlfriend is expecting twins and she wanted to be closer to home so we came back from Lincoln. Commuting there just was not workable.”
Sources at the Lincolnshire Echo newspaper have said Taylor is not driven by money – had it been so, the Imps would have offered the striker fresh terms – instead being close to the support of family and friends when the twins are born was more important.
Taylor said: “I spoke with a few clubs down here, but Paul [Doswell] said the right things, such as the club going in the right direction, and I decided it was the best place for me to be.
“I have come to Sutton to score goals – that is what strikers are paid to do.
“I have a reasonably good record, although I am not sure I have played in this division.
“But I have scored a fair amount of goals in the Conference and, hopefully, I can do it here.
“I’ve not met up with the players yet, although I know Ali [Fuseni] from Lincoln, and I’ve played with Simon [Downer] and Jamie [Stuart] down at Grays.”
Meanwhile, his new striking partner Jamie Slabber, 28, has signed from Chelmsford City after they missed out in the Blue Square play-offs.
The former Grays and Eastleigh man hit 28 goals in 48 games last season for the Clarets.
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Sutton United Doswell accepts Senior Surrey Cup defeat, but makes demands on Surrey FA
thisislocallondon
By Tim Ashton
Sutton United boss Paul Doswell was the first to admit that Wednesday night’s Surrey Senior Cup final at Gander Green Lane was a dire affair – but he had a damning message for the Surrey FA.
Godalming Town, of the Evo Stik Division One Central, grabbed a last-minute goal to seal a 1-0 win and their second cup final victory in two years – both over United.
Despite crediting Godalming with a deserved win, Doswell could not overlook the decision to play the final at Gander Green Lane.
He said: “The game should not have been played at our place – it demeans the final. It should be played at a neutral ground.
“Every team from the conference down plays a weakened team and it is hard to take the competition too seriously. If Woking and AFC Wimbledon were putting out proper teams and there was a proper venue for the final things would be different.
“Even at schoolboy level you would not expect to play the final at your own ground.
“It did not feel like a final and maybe the Surrey FA will want to review that.”
The final brought down the curtain on United’s season but, nine days after their last league game, it was a bridge too far, according to Doswell.
He said: “It was not a good spectacle. It was a game nine days after our season ended that finally caught up with us.
“I was a little worried about how the game would pan out but when the players have put in the shift over the past couple of months that they have, you can have no complaints.”
Doswell certainly was not complaining about goalkeeper Tom Lovelock's rush of blood to the head that led to the winning goal.
He said: "Tom apologised to me after the game, but he's a young keeper and he will make mistakes.
"What I will say is that for 97 per cent of the season, Tom has been fantastic for the club."
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