Lyle Taylor praised for impact despite eventual exit

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Charlton Athletic have made some cracking signings over the last couple of decades.

Once a Premier League club, now a League One promotion hopeful, Charlton have endured their ups and downs in recent times.

Since their fall from the Premier League, the Addicks have floated between the Championship and League One as they long for a return to top flight football one day.

Through the relegations and promotions of the last two decades, Charlton have signed some fantastic players who have gone on to have a big impact at the club.

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One striker in particular that comes to mind is Lyle Taylor. Before arriving at the Valley, Taylor spent three years at AFC Wimbledon and scored a number of goals, but he went a little under the radar when he signed for Charlton as a 28-year-old.

Very few would have expected him to hit the numbers that he did while playing for Addicks.

Charlton fan suggests that Lyle Taylor was a signing that exceeded expectations

FLW’s Charlton Athletic fan pundit, Ben Fleming, was asked whether there was a player that signed with little fanfare but turned out to be a great signing, and he suggested Lyle Taylor.

“In terms of a signing, look at someone like Lyle Taylor. He came in with an impressive goal record for Wimbledon, and after years of trying and failing to sign a replacement for Yann Kermogant all those years back, he came in and really hit the ground running and was that reliable goalscorer.

“I know it all ended acrimoniously a couple of years down the line, but in that first season in League One he was unbelievable for us, and obviously, for the period we were in the Championship before Covid, he was a really key player for us.

“He was hugely important in getting us to a point where we nearly stayed up, but then refusing to play and basically condemning us relegation was not good.

“If you take that aside and review him for that season in League One and half a season in the Championship, in recent years, I can’t think of a player that arrived with not as much fanfare, went under the radar, and hit the ground running straight away.”

Lyle Taylor’s time at Charlton Athletic

Taylor did score a number of goals at AFC Wimbledon, but he really took it to a new level at the Valley, and it took him no time whatsoever to find his shooting boots.

He only spent two seasons at the club, but his impact did not go unnoticed. In his first season, he contributed to a whopping 32 goals in 41 League One appearances to help Charlton reach the play-offs and subsequently earn promotion to the Championship.

The start of next season saw Taylor remain their starting striker, and he scored five goals in their first six games of the Championship. When Covid hit in early 2020, the striker refused to sign a contract extension, wouldn’t play again after the restart and soon departed the club for a move to Nottingham Forest.

Despite his spell at the club turning sour towards the end, Taylor will be remembered fondly for his incredible goal record that ultimately led to their promotion to the Championship in 2019.

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