[Dan_]

Stevenage Borough have pulled off a remarkable coup by persuading ex England boss Peter Taylor to take over as manager and he will be unveiled to the media at a 3pm press conference today, along with coach Steve Butler. The 53 year old former England international has agreed contractual terms to manage Stevenage Borough until the end of the 2008/9 season.

Chairman Phil Wallace, currently in the USA on business, said: “I’ve done nothing else for almost a week other than work on the managerial position, but it was worth it to get Peter on board. This is a Championship appointment in the Conference and shows our desire to compete for promotion this season and next. It wasn’t easy persuading Peter that this was a great career move for him, but he’s seen the potential of the club, likes the look of the stadium, the facilities, the opportunity and the Board and relishes the challenge.

“This is breathtaking news for the town of Stevenage. Peter is one of the finest coaches in the country and it was only a couple of years ago that he was managing the England U21’s. In fact his record at International U21 level is outstanding – just 3 defeats in 31 games – what a fantastic opportunity for our young players to learn from one of the very best coaches in the country.

“Peter also brings a wealth of experience and contacts to Stevenage. He’s managed at the very highest level possible by managing the full England team and has also managed at every level of the game. The timing is great too. Exeter away in the First Round of the FA Cup now means Peter Taylor v’s Steve Perryman, which could be great TV if they choose to cover the game”

Peter Taylor has won promotion with Gillingham, Brighton and Hull in the seven years since 2000. His time in charge at Hull was remarkable, taking them from the old Division Three to the Championship in three years and it was this achievement that led to Crystal Palace paying a reported £300,000 compensation for his release in June 2006. Borough have swooped to appoint him to replace Mark Stimson who resigned just over two weeks ago.

Phil Wallace added: “The past is the past. It was a shock when Mark walked out but we promised the fans that we would use this to go up a gear and we’ve delivered that with this appointment. It’s only about the future now and we’re only looking forwards. There are no guarantees in football, but our young players will love working with Peter and that’s a great start”

Borough’s other appointment in Steve Butler brings a wealth of football experience to the team. Butler, now 42, has made over 400 League appearances, scoring over 150 goals for Brentford, Watford, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Gillingham and Peterborough. He also enjoyed a loan spell at Borough and so is no stranger to Broadhall Way or Conference football.

http://www.stevenageborofc.com/index...p?news_id=424&

What an excellent appointment.I cannot believe we've managed to get him.

[GiRTh]

Thats quite a coup. Are you happy about having him as your manager?.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by GiRTh
Thats quite a coup. Are you happy about having him as your manager?.

I'm delighted at having him as manager, lets face it, there is nobody else around who we could attract that's a better choice than him.

[GiRTh]

He's a good manager. Let's just hope he see's this as long term and not just a stop gap till a bigger club comes along.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by GiRTh
He's a good manager. Let's just hope he see's this as long term and not just a stop gap till a bigger club comes along.

Indeed.If he gets us promotion to league 2 then that's job done as far as I'm concerned and he would leave with my best wishes, if he chose to.

[GiRTh]

That’s a good spirit . In fact that’s a good point. As a Division two football league club you’d be able to attract better managers and players anyway. Just hope you don’t end up with Howard Wilkinson.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by GiRTh
That’s a good spirit . In fact that’s a good point. As a Division two football league club you’d be able to attract better managers and players anyway. Just hope you don’t end up with Howard Wilkinson.

I'm just happy we didn't end up with Eric Hall .He was spotted at our game the other night, turns out he's just one of our players agents.

[GiRTh]

LOL

I’m sure you’d be monster angry if he was made manager.

[BigSister]

Yay well done dan thats a great appointment hope he does well for you ^_^

[Mike]

The bloke is a legend & will certainly do a cracking job at Stevenage. Never forget what he did at Gills during his time, at one point I was kind of hoping he would be re-appointed but wasn't to be.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by Mike
The bloke is a legend & will certainly do a cracking job at Stevenage. Never forget what he did at Gills during his time, at one point I was kind of hoping he would be re-appointed but wasn't to be.

Good to hear, was the footie entertaining under him? I've heard he's going to make Junior Lewis his first signing.

I see Gills are appointing a new manager today and all, pretty certain it will be Stimson.

[BigSister]

hes just been on football today on sky being interviewed i hope he does well

[Dan_]

Originally posted by BigSister
hes just been on football today on sky being interviewed i hope he does well

I've not got SKY .I'm sure out website will put an interview soon though

[BigSister]

yeah im sure it will i only saw last 5 minutes though it was a good 1 though

[Dan_]

Someone uploaded it to youtube.I liked what he had to say.

[BigSister]

yay thats good and your old manager is the gillingham manager

[Dan_]

Originally posted by BigSister
yay thats good and your old manager is the gillingham manager

Just as I predicted earlier

[BigSister]

heh good prediction

[Dr43%er]

"Thats quite a coup"

Ask a Leicester fan if they think it is.

[GiRTh]

Leicester? I've just come from there. Any city where rugby is the bigger sport has no cred in my opinion. He's a good manager when he has a decent squad.

[Dr43%er]

"Any city where rugby is the bigger sport has no cred in my opinion"

LOL. Yes Rugby Union is big here, and we have one of the best teams in the world. But, The football club is still bigger. We have the highest attendance of any championship club so far this season (26650) and we are doing ****. When we get it together 32000 won't be a problem. Yes we are proud of the Tigers, but the Foxes are still bigger.

"He's a good manager when he has a decent squad."

He took over a decent squad. Mid table premiership and cup wins with O'Neill. Then Tylor squandered cash on **** players or good players that were **** for him.