Wellington Phoenix defender Steven Taylor says the incessantly competitive nature of the A-League, even in training sessions, is a quality sometimes found lacking in the English game – and it’s helping the league flourish.
The 35-year-old is currently serving a two-week quarantine period ahead of his return to the Phoenix, who negotiated an early release from his contract with Odisha FC in the Indian Super League.
Speaking to Daniel Garb and Robbie Cornthwaite on the ABC Grandstand Football Podcast, Taylor revealed the allure for foreign players like himself to ply their trade in the A-League is growing as each season passes, due to the increasingly competitive nature of the league and the promising young players helping the quality of play thrive.
Read on as Taylor discusses how the A-League’s increasing exposure overseas is drawing keen interest from the players he once battled with in Europe, as Garb and Cornthwaite debate whether Stefan Mauk has had the greatest impact of any midfielder on the league this season.
HARMONY WEEK: Why football has so many diverse reasons to celebrate
Taylor returns to Wellington eager to resume battle in ultra-competitive A-League
“If you’re not willing to work and graft, then you’re in the wrong game here I think.”
Steven Taylor’s Indian Super League stint has come to an end, as the Englishman prepares to emerge from a two-week quarantine block and return to the Phoenix with eagerness to build on his 49 Wellington appearances accrued between 2018-20.
The imposing centre-back enjoyed a successful start to life in Phoenix colours, captaining the club to its best-ever finish of third on the A-League table in the 2019/20 season.
Similar to the likes of Alessandro Diamanti, Miloš Ninković, Ulises Dávila, Graham Dorrans, Callum McManaman and a raft of big-name international signings plying their trade around the league this season, Taylor is relishing the chance to continue his playing career in a competitive environment, where the stakes are high at all times.
The central defender with 268 appearances in total for English Premier League side Newcastle United says his phone is often abuzz with messages from former teammates and opponents inquiring about his experience with the Phoenix, as word of the burgeoning game down-under reaches the ears of the international names with potential to become A-League icons.
“The amount of phone calls you get, and texts you get from players who I’ve played against (and) with, players who are still playing now (in) the Premier League, the Championship and even League One, they are all asking the question about coming out to the A-League,” Taylor told Garb and Cornthwaite.
“You’ve seen the players who have come here who have done well.
“Look at this season, the players like Dorrans and all that, top quality players.”
Taylor continued: “I always give a good name for the A-League. I think it’s somewhere where you can’t come across here and think it’s an easy life, and the games are going to be easy.
“If you’re not willing to work and graft, then you’re in the wrong game here I think.
“Maybe five to 10 years ago you could have probably thought ‘yeah I’ll take it a little bit easy’, but not now.
“The way football is moving now and the young Aussie kids that are coming through, looking at the games in the A-League this season especially: it’s end-to-end, a lot more goals are scored and especially in crucial stages of the game.
“The young Aussie kids are definitely getting better, I think it’s good for Australian football.
“I definitely noticed that last year and the year before when I first came out here. It was exciting for me, you’re always kept on your toes and you can never underestimate anybody.
I enjoy the challenges, I love how competitive they are. The Aussies never give in, especially in training sessions when you watch – even the Kiwi’s – they graft, they’re willing to win even in little small-sided games.
You can see sometimes in England that sometimes is lost, where you lose a game and it doesn’t really matter. You’ve got to try and build that winning mentality, and I think it starts in training.”
NEWS: Rudan admits goalkeeper selection dilemma as Kurto eyes return
NEWS: Stajcic says Mariners are confident of toppling in-form City
Mauk’s fifth goal of A-League campaign helps Reds captain set the midfield benchmark
“Is there another midfielder in this league that has had a bigger impact on their side than Stefan Mauk?”
As Adelaide United have surged up the A-League table off the back of a four-game winning streak, there’s been one player making an unexpected rise up the Golden Boot leaderboard: Stefan Mauk.
The Reds captain scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season in Adelaide’s Original Rivalry win over Melbourne Victory, taking him above Tomi Juric as the club’s leading goalscorer for the season.
Jamie Maclaren leads the way on 10 goals for the campaign. But below the City marksman Mauk is surrounded by the likes of Besart Berisha, Nick D’Agostino, Matt Simon, Alou Kuol, Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Matt Derbyshire and Bruno Fornaroli on the goalscoring leaderboard; an assortment of bona fide strikers spearheading attacks around the league.
MATCH REPORT: Mauk, Yengi star as Reds seal comeback win over Victory in tense Original Rivalry clash
.jpg)
Mauk, meanwhile, has done his damage from midfield. The 25-year-old is on track to blitz his current best of seven goals in an A-League campaign, scored over 25 games for both Adelaide United and Melbourne City in the 2015/16 season.
Mauk’s current tally of five goals in nine games has seen the Reds skipper become a key cog in Carl Veart’s machine, and one of the standout performers of 2020/21 to date.
“Is there a midfielder that has had more of an influence than him this season?” Cornthwaite asked.
“I know Diamanti will come to mind, he’s had six assists, Ninkovic as well, he’s got three goals.
“Is there another midfielder in this league that has had a bigger impact on their side than Stefan Mauk? He’s got five goals already from attacking midfield.”
“Goals-wise, probably not,” Garb replied.
“I would say Neil Kilkenny has had a massive influence on Perth, a really big campaign from him.
“Oli Bozanic as well at Central Coast, he’s had a huge season so far and his influence on the entire team on and off the field I think is up there with the very best.
“But the goals record for Stefan Mauk though, is right up there.”
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6239913786001
Garb continued: “Let’s not forget, this is a bloke that Ange Postecoglu called into many a Socceroos squad.
“He might not have actually gotten on the field, but he saw something in him big time. He spent some time overseas, he’s a player who has a lot of talent who perhaps hasn’t been discussed enough.
“He’s really starting to deliver now, and some of the controversies have maybe clouded over what he’s actually doing on the field.
He’s captaining a team that’s sitting second and won four in a row. He probably deserves a bit more credit, Stefan Mauk.”
