Martin Taylor (born 9 November 1979) is an English retired footballer who played as a defender. Taylor began his career with Blackburn Rovers, for whom he made more than 100 appearances, and also spent time on loan at Darlington and Stockport County. While a Blackburn player, he was capped once for the England under-21 team and played on the winning side in the 2002 Football League Cup Final. Taylor moved to Birmingham City in 2004, where he spent six seasons, and played for Norwich City on loan. He was involved in an incident in 2008 in which Arsenal player Eduardo da Silva suffered a badly broken leg. Unable to force his way into Birmingham's first team after their return to the Premier League, he joined Watford in January 2010. Taylor quickly established himself in Watford's first team, starting every league game in the 2010–11 season, but injury disrupted his next season, and he joined Sheffield Wednesday in August 2012. He played infrequently for Wednesday, spent time on loan at Brentford, and was released at the end of the 2013–14 season, and subsequently retired. Club career Blackburn Rovers Taylor was born in Ashington, Northumberland, and attended Cramlington High School. He played football for Cramlington Juniors before joining Blackburn Rovers as a schoolboy at the age of 17, signing his first full contract at the start of the 1997–98 season. Loan spells at Darlington and Stockport served to improve his self-belief, and in May 2001 he won his first and only cap for the England under-21 side, as a half-time substitute for John Terry in a 3–0 friendly win against Mexico. Though brought into the squad for the 2002 European under-21 championships to replace the injured Ledley King, he made no further international appearances. Also in 2002, he played throughout Blackburn's League Cup campaign, culminating in a 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium. Blackburn manager Graeme Souness felt that Taylor had enough ability to reach the top, but had for some time believed that without adopting a more aggressive physical approach – one befitting his frame, which caused his teammates to nickname him "Tiny" – he would not fulfil his potential. He had been viewed as a potential replacement for defenders Henning Berg and Craig Short, but, as Berg left the side, Souness signed Lorenzo Amoruso, because he felt that Blackburn needed experienced centre-backs, and then took Markus Babbel