'Most enjoyable time of my career': Huge Portsmouth favourite savours emotional Fratton Park reunion

Matt Taylor savoured an emotional Fratton Park reunion and admitted: These fans gave me the most enjoyable time of my career.

The hugely popular ex-player returned to the south coast on Wednesday night as guest speaker at Pompey’s End of Season Awards Dinner.

A swashbuckling left-sided player blessed with a knack for stunning goals, Taylor scored 29 times in 203 games after being recruited from Luton by Harry Redknapp in June 2002.

His goals against Sunderland, Everton and that Great Escape penalty and subsequent celebration at Wigan reside in Fratton folklore, while he was also instrumental in the 2002-03 First Division title success.

Now aged 44, the Pompey Hall of Famer produced a touching speech at Wednesday evening’s Victory Suite event, which saw Terry Devlin claim a hat-trick of awards.

And Taylor, who is presently a Norwich Under-18s coach, reflected on being back at Fratton Park among friends.

‘When I look back at my times at Pompey, I did all right’

He told The News: ‘One of my kids showed me a TikTok the other day and someone has made a TikTok of me scoring some goals for Pompey!

‘I was never the best player that Pompey had, but I think what everyone will say about me is I gave everything I could for the shirt, that’s what supporters want to see. I understood that, that’s why I loved it down here so much.

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‘It was the most enjoyable time of my career because of the fans, playing at Fratton Park, proving everybody wrong. We were the small underdog, nobody expected anything from us. That first season in the Premier League finishing 13th, phenomenal.

‘It’s special because of what it gave me. Before I came here, I probably didn’t understand how important football clubs are to cities, to towns, to the people. But is what most definitely what this place taught me.

‘The goal which always sticks out for me was scoring at Wigan to seal the Great Escape. I put that penalty away against a good friend of mine in goal, Mike Pollitt, and ran the full length of the pitch to be with the supporters. Brilliant memories.

‘I am proud of the five seasons I had here, in the Premier League, winning the Championship, what an experience for me.

‘Great times. I have reflected a bit recently and, when I look back, I did all right.’

Left Fratton Park in January 2008

Taylor’s Pompey love affair ended in January 2008, when sold by Redknapp to Bolton. It was a reluctant exit, having realised his first-team chances were beginning to dwindle.

Just five months later, the Blues won the FA Cup, with Niko Kranjcar having established himself as the preferred left-sided choice.

And while Taylor later played for West Ham, Burnley, Northampton and Swindon, it’s Pompey which remains closest to his heart.

He added: ‘This football club is a huge part of my life and it’s not until you leave that you realise that, so, from my perspective, I was really honoured to be invited back to see a lot of people I haven't seen for a while.

‘There’s a couple of the Pompey lads I played with in Keshi Anderson and Regan Poole. I also had a good chat with Conor Chaplin and sat next to John Mousinho. It was nice to see some other lads as well.

‘This is such a tremendous football club, it holds such a special place in my heart. Always.’

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