Aaron Taylor-Sinclair Explained

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair
Fullname:Aaron Taylor-Sinclair[1]
Birth Date:1991 4, df=y
Birth Place:Aberdeen, Scotland
Height:[2]
Position:Defender
Currentclub:Airdrieonians
Clubnumber:26
Youthclubs1:Aberdeen
Youthyears1:2001–2006
Years1:2008–2011
Clubs1:Montrose
Caps1:66
Goals1:5
Years2:2011–2014
Clubs2:Partick Thistle
Caps2:99
Goals2:4
Years3:2014–2015
Clubs3:Wigan Athletic
Caps3:0
Goals3:0
Years4:2015–2017
Clubs4:Doncaster Rovers
Caps4:47
Goals4:2
Years5:2017–2018
Clubs5:Plymouth Argyle
Caps5:24
Goals5:0
Years6:2018–2019
Clubs6:Motherwell
Caps6:6
Goals6:0
Years7:2019
Clubs7:Crewe Alexandra (loan)
Caps7:6
Goals7:2
Years8:2019–2021
Clubs8:Livingston
Caps8:20
Goals8:3
Years9:2021–2022
Clubs9:Falkirk
Caps9:16
Goals9:1
Years10:2022–
Clubs10:Airdrieonians
Caps10:38
Goals10:1
Club-Update:10:00, 19 November 2023 (GMT)
Nationalyears1:2021–
Nationalteam1:Antigua and Barbuda
Nationalcaps1:13
Nationalgoals1:0
Ntupdate:00:35, 22 November 2023 (GMT)

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (born 8 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a left sided central defender for club Airdrieonians. Born in Scotland, he plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national team.

Taylor-Sinclair started his career at Aberdeen as a youth player, having been scouted by the club at age ten. He then joined Scottish Third Division club Montrose, where he played for three years and scored five goals. His talents were then spotted by First Division side Partick Thistle in 2011. After a successful spell at Thistle (including promotion to the Scottish Premiership), Taylor-Sinclair signed for English Championship side Wigan Athletic in 2014.

After spells with Doncaster Rovers and Plymouth Argyle, Taylor-Sinclair returned to Scottish football in 2018 with Motherwell. He spent the second half of the 2019–20 season on loan at Crewe Alexandra and was then released by Motherwell in May 2019. He then had two years with Livingston, before a six-month spell with Falkirk in 2022. He joined Airdrieonians on 1 September 2022, and subsequently took up the role of first team player-coach.

Club career

Montrose

Taylor-Sinclair began his career with Montrose as a youngster. He began playing football at the age of seven for Middlefield Wasps Boys Club. He then was scouted by Aberdeen Football Club at the age of 10 where he played for five years. He had one season at Albion Boys Club before moving to Montrose where he made his debut on the final day of the 2008–09 season against Albion Rovers. During the following two seasons he became a first team regular at Links Park. His first goal came on 16 March 2010, against Forfar Athletic, with his second coming four days later. In his second season, Sinclair scored three goals within the opening two months and was named as Scottish Football League Young Player of the Month for September 2010.[3] His form over the two seasons at Links Park, earned him the chance to train with SPL side St Johnstone.[4]

Partick Thistle

Taylor-Sinclair signed for First Division side Partick Thistle on 5 July 2011, where he signed a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[5] He made his competitive debut during a 2–1 victory against Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 23 July 2011.[6] His impressive form at the start of the season, led to some attraction from English Championship clubs, such as Cardiff City and Southampton.[7] and he was given the SFL Young Player of the Month award for October 2011.[8]

Taylor-Sinclair played an instrumental part in season 2012–13 as Partick Thistle won the First Division Championship. His impressive form at Thistle sparked interest from Glasgow rivals Celtic and from English clubs including Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.

Wigan Athletic

In June 2014, Taylor-Sinclair left Thistle for a move to English Championship club Wigan Athletic.[9] He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 defeat away to Burton Albion in the League Cup.[10]

Doncaster Rovers

On 20 July 2015, Taylor-Sinclair joined League One side Doncaster Rovers on a two-year contract.[11] In the final match of the 2015–16 season, against Burton Albion, he suffered an injury which was expected to keep him out for up to nine months.[12]

Plymouth Argyle

On 28 June 2017, Taylor-Sinclair joined League One Plymouth Argyle.[13] He was released by Plymouth at the end of the 2017–18 season.[14]

Motherwell

Taylor-Sinclair signed a one-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Motherwell in June 2018.[15]

On 30 January 2019, Taylor-Sinclair was loaned to English League Two side Crewe Alexandra until the end of the season.[16] He made his Crewe debut on 16 February 2019 coming on as a second-half substitute for Harry Pickering at Oldham Athletic,[17] and scored his first Crewe goal on 30 March 2019 against Cheltenham Town at Gresty Road.[18]

In May 2019, Taylor-Sinclair was released by Motherwell at the end of his contract.[19]

Livingston

On 6 November 2019, Taylor-Sinclair signed a short-term contract with Livingston.[20] Taylor-Sinclair would sign an extension to stay for the full season, and later another extension to stay at the club for the 2020–21 season.[21] [22] It was announced in May 2021 that Taylor-Sinclair would be released upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.[23]

Falkirk

On 29 December 2021, Taylor-Sinclair signed with Scottish League One side Falkirk until the end of the 2021–22 season, scoring on his debut in a 6–2 win against Dumbarton. Taylor-Sinclair was released by Falkirk at the end of the 2021–22 season.[24] [25] [26]

Airdrieonians

On 1 September 2022, following his release from Falkirk, Taylor-Sinclair signed with fellow League One side Airdrieonians, winning promotion to the Championship via the League One Play Off final victory over Hamilton Academical FC in May 2023.[27]

He scored his goal for the Diamonds in a 6-2 play-off first leg win against Falkirk.

International career

Born in Scotland, Taylor-Sinclair is of Antiguan descent. He was called up to represent the Antigua and Barbuda national team for a pair of friendlies in June 2021.[28] He debuted for Antigua and Barbuda in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Grenada on 4 June 2021.[29]

Career statistics

ClubSeasonCompetitionLeagueCupLeague CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Montrose2008–09Scottish Third Division1000000010
2009–103023[30] 11000343
2010–113535[31] 11000414
Total665822000767
Partick Thistle2011–12Scottish First Division301301020361
2012–13331202031402
2013–14Scottish Premiership362103000402
Total9946060511165
Wigan Athletic2014–15Championship0000100010
Doncaster Rovers2015–16League One432302010492
2016–17League Two4000000040
Total472303010542
Plymouth Argyle2017–18League One240001020270
Motherwell2018–19Scottish Premiership6000300090
Crewe Alexandra (loan)2018–19League Two6200000062
Livingston2019–20Scottish Premiership143000000143
2020–2160104100111
Total565108120676
Falkirk2021–22Scottish League One0000000000
Airdrieonians F.C.2022-23Scottish League One211100010231
Career total289171921919133621

Honours

Partick Thistle

2012–13

Individual

September 2010,[3] October 2011[8]

2011–12,[32] 2012–13[33]

Notes and References

  1. News: The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015 . The Football League . 36 . 16 May 2015 . 19 June 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924042638/http://www.football-league.co.uk/documents/pages-from-fl-professional-retain-list-free-transfers-2014-15-2.pdf-...549-2491536.pdf . 24 September 2015 .
  2. Web site: BBC Radio Sheffield: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair speaking to Andy Giddings. audioboom.com. 28 July 2015.
  3. Web site: Montrose's Sinclair wins young player prize. BBC Sport. 12 October 2010. 7 November 2016.
  4. Web site: Saints look at Sinclair a third time. Scottish Professional Football League. 28 September 2010. 7 November 2016. 8 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161108052425/http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/saints-look-at-sinclair-a-third-time/. dead.
  5. Web site: Aaron joins jags . Partick Thistle . 5 July 2011 . 13 August 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711073703/http://www.ptfc.co.uk/news/2011-2012/july_2011/thistle_make_new_signing . 11 July 2011 .
  6. Web site: Partick Thistle 2–1 Stenhousemuir . BBC Sport . BBC . 23 July 2011 . 13 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110728200738/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14244537.stm. 28 July 2011 . live.
  7. News: Eyes on Thistle starlet . Sky Sports . BSkyB . 8 September 2011 . 8 September 2011.
  8. Web site: IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards – October October 2011. Scottish Professional Football League. 18 November 2011. 7 November 2016. 7 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151007042455/http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/irn-bru-phenomenal-awards---october-october2011/. dead.
  9. Web site: Wigan Athletic: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair joins from Partick Thistle. BBC Sport. 4 June 2014.
  10. Web site: REPORT: BURTON ALBION 2 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1. Wigan Athletic F.C.. Jones. Ed. 12 August 2014. 7 November 2016.
  11. News: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair: Doncaster Rovers sign Wigan defender . BBC Sport . 20 July 2015.
  12. Web site: Doncaster Rovers: Injured Taylor-Sinclair facing nine months out. Doncaster Free Press. Goodwin. Paul. 24 May 2016. 7 November 2016.
  13. Web site: Plymouth Argyle sign Gregg Wylde and Doncaster's Aaron Taylor-Sinclair . BBC Sport. 28 June 2017 . 10 July 2017 .
  14. Web site: Gary Sawyer: Plymouth Argyle offer new deal to captain as nine are released. 9 May 2018. 9 May 2018. BBC Sport.
  15. Web site: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair joins Motherwell after Plymouth Argyle release . BBC Sport. 19 June 2018 . 19 June 2018.
  16. Web site: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair Joins Crewe Alexandra . 30 January 2019 . . 30 January 2019.
  17. News: Oldham Athletic 1–1 Crewe Alexandra . 18 February 2019 . BBC Sport . BBC . 16 February 2019.
  18. News: Crewe Alexandra 1–3 Cheltenham Town . 1 April 2019 . BBC Sport . BBC . 30 March 2019.
  19. Web site: UPDATE ON PLAYING SQUAD FOR 2019/20. Motherwell F.C.. 21 May 2019. 6 November 2019.
  20. Web site: Livingston: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair signs as Ibrahima Savane leaves. BBC Sport. 6 November 2019. 6 November 2019.
  21. Web site: FourFourTwo Staff. 2019-12-30. Aaron Taylor-Sinclair to remain at Livingston until end of season. 2021-12-29. fourfourtwo.com. en.
  22. Web site: admin. 2020-06-01. First Team squad update. 2021-12-29. Livingston FC. en-GB.
  23. Web site: Livingston exodus as 13 depart and defender submits transfer request. 2021-12-29. www.scotsman.com. 18 May 2021 . en.
  24. Web site: AARON TAYLOR-SINCLAIR SIGNS!. 2021-12-29. Falkirk Football Club. en-US.
  25. News: Defender Aaron Taylor-Sinclair joins Bairns as Rennie's first signing . Ben . Kearney . 29 December 2021 . 5 January 2022 . Falkirk Herald.
  26. Web site: Falkirk 6-2 Dumbarton.
  27. Web site: Airdrieonians sign former Motherwell defender. Daily Record. 1 September 2022.
  28. Web site: Five Overseas-Based Players Identified For Benna Boys' World Cup Clash Against Grenada. 1 June 2021. Antigua Observer Newspaper.
  29. Web site: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers – North, Central America and Caribbean – Matches – Antigua and Barbuda – Grenada . https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213716/https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/nccamerica/matches/match/400136235/. dead. 2 June 2021. fifa.com.
  30. Includes 1 appearance not recorded on Soccerbase or Soccerway. Web site: Banks O'Dee 0–3 Montrose. BBC Sport. 24 October 2009. 7 November 2016.
  31. Includes 2 appearances not recorded on Soccerbase or Soccerway. Web site: Montrose 1–1 Arbroath. ESPN. 23 October 2010. 7 November 2016. & Web site: Arbroath 2–3 Montrose. ESPN. 30 October 2010. 7 November 2016.
  32. Web site: PFA SCOTLAND DIVISION ONE TEAM OF THE YEAR. PFA Scotland. 3 May 2012. 7 November 2016. 26 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150826224010/http://pfascotland.co.uk/2012/news/pfa-scotland-division-one-team-of-the-year/. dead.
  33. Web site: PFA SCOTLAND TEAMS OF THE YEAR. PFA Scotland. Wishart. fraser. 2 May 2013. 7 November 2016. 30 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160330175004/http://pfascotland.co.uk/2013/news/pfa-scotland-teams-of-the-year/. dead.