Stuart Tanfield came to Hayes in 2004 from Basingstoke Town, having previously played for Aldershot. He was an old-fashioned outside-left, very fast and direct; but he was disappointing in the effect which he had on a game. Despite making 21+9 appearances, he did not score a single goal and was released.

Dave Tarran came from Walton & Hersham in summer 1963. At Walton he had formed a lethal striking partnership with Brian Jenkins, who moved to Wealdstone. When Jenkins also joined Hayes in November 1963 at the age of 24, the hope was that they would resume their previous successful partnership. But it never really happened. Dave made 29 appearances and scored 17 goals during the season and then went back to Walton. But he had obviously passed his peak and a season later was at Hampton, then at Molesey, where he had originally started, and then back at Hampton in 1966-7.

Eleven players by the name of Taylor have played for Hayes, including two with the first name ‘Andy’.  The first Andy Taylor was a left-back who joined Hayes in summer 1989 at the age of 18, having already made over 100 appearances for Uxbridge. He played a full season at Church Road, making 27+6 appearances and scoring a single goal, before returning to Uxbridge in 1990. While at Hayes he was selected for Middlesex against Hertfordshire at Boreham Wood.

The second Andy Taylor was also a full-back, who came from Hanwell Town in 1997, but originated from New Zealand. He played in several defensive positions when regular players were injured and played manfully in the rearguard action at Cheltenham in the notorious FA Trophy match. In all, he made 14 appearances, but was overlooked at the start of the 1998-9 season.

Doug Taylor was a forward, who joined from Rayners Lane in September 1978. He stayed until April 1980, making 8+5 appearances and scoring one goal. He joined Harefield United and was still playing there in 1987.

Although he made 64 appearances for Hayes between 1961 and 1966 in a variety of defensive positions, Geoff Taylor is better known for his management posts. He came to Hayes at the age of 27, having served in the Royal Signals Regiment at Hong Kong. He had previously played for his old boys’ club and Finchley. During the 1962-3 season he went to Sheppey United in the Kent League, but when they turned professional, Phil McKnight invited him to rejoin Hayes. His most successful season was his last, when he made 43 appearances and represented London v Birmingham, before following the exodus of players to Harrow Town. In 1969-70 he was at Uxbridge, before rejoining Phil McKnight as assistant manager at Ruislip Manor. When McKnight retired, Taylor took over until 1974, when he moved up to Southall as manager. In March 1981 he was appointed to the post of youth team manager at Wimbledon. He was later at Sheffield United and Brentford in coaching and scouting capacities.

When Jimmy Taylor joined Hayes in November 1955 at the age of 33 in an attempt to rescue Hayes from their worst ever start to a season, his arrival coincided with the club’s first win of the season in its 12th league game against Walton, from whom, curiously, he had just come after four seasons at Stompond Lane. He had previously been at Carshalton for a year and Tooting for three. This win was followed by a second at Cambridge. But he played only once more and next season was coaching Colliers Wood in the Wimbledon & District League. But Jimmy’s significance, and the newsworthiness of his arrival at Hayes, was that he was the brother of Ernie Taylor, Stanley Matthews’ partner in the Blackpool team, and later of Manchester United after the Munich air crash.

Dudley Baker, Alan King and Jock Taylor all had something in common – they had started at Hayes, but enjoyed success at Hounslow Town. Jock, whose real names were John George, was a forward who came from Motherwell. He made 19 appearances and scored five goals for Hayes between 1952 and 1955, when he went to Hounslow, where he became a fixture in the Scottish amateur side. He was later manager of Wembley from 1965 to 1969 – Phil Stanton was one of his first signings in August 1966 – and of Hounslow and Harrow. He finally returned to Church Road as chief scout in July 1977 and was assistant to manager Bobby Ross in 1977-8.

I include Scott Taylor as a reminder of Terry Brown’s last throw of the dice. A midfielder, who had commanded a fee of £140,000 when previously sold by Reading, he was, by general agreement, one of Terry Brown’s worst signings. He made just three appearances during the disastrous last season in the Conference and one of Willy Wordsworth’s first actions was to release him.
When he joined from Stevenage Borough in 1999, Errol Telemaque formed an attacking partnership with Lee Charles - Errol supplied the energy and Charles the guile. But the arrival of more experience in the form of Dave Stevens meant that Errol spent more time on the substitutes' bench. In his two seasons at Church Road Errol made 16+25 appearances and scored four goals, hardly a good enough yield for a centre-forward. He joined Yeading and participated in the 'Ding's run to round 3 of the FA Cup in 2004-5 before moving to Staines in the summer of '06.

Defender Graham Thomas joined Hayes from Bracknell Town, then in the Spartan League, at the end of the 1970-1 season. He had previously played as an amateur for Reading and spent two seasons at Wokingham Town. He took over at centre-half from Dave Bullock, when the latter went to Wycombe Wanderers, and played three full seasons before departing to South Africa for three years in April 1974. He made 160+3 appearances and scored 13 goals. During this time he was voted ‘Hayes’ most improved player’, was a member of the side which claimed Bristol Rovers as the club’s first Football League scalp in the FA Cup, represented the Isthmian League, and caught the eye of England amateur team manager Charles Hughes.

Not many of his contemporaries would have thought that Bob Thomas, who made 10 appearances and scored seven goals over two seasons in the late 1930s before moving to Golders Green in 1939, would later that year become a Football League player, but he confounded them when he turned professional with Brentford. He made sporadic appearances during the war years, but played a full season in 1945-6 and scored 18 goals. He later played for Gravesend and is mentioned as being with Plymouth in the Hayes 1949 Handbook. 

When Bob Gibbs resigned as manager in March 1974 for a second time, Roger Thompson was appointed as his successor. Roger had an interesting background: on leaving school at 15 he joined the Aston Villa staff and stayed for 6 years, playing at full-back. He then signed as a full-time professional with Nuneaton Borough in the Southern League and ended his playing career at Barnet. He took over the managership of Metropolitan London League Epping Town and, after one year, had taken them from bottom to champions and won the double in the following year. When he came to Hayes he was aged 31, and full of ideas and ambition. He decided to stamp his ideas by playing alongside his team in Premier Mid-Week Floodlight League matches. He made four such appearances. During the close season he was offered the post of assistant manager of Bournemouth, but turned it down. That was probably because he was chasing the bigger post of manager of the Arsenal youth team. He was offered the post, with a tacit promise of further management at the club, and left in June 1974, after only three months. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to appoint him in the first place, because of his ambitions - but he did seem particularly well qualified. He later was manager of Barnet, but was sacked by them in January 1986, following their exit from the FA Trophy at the hands of Wycombe Wanderers.

Adam Thomson came to Hayes from Flackwell Heath as a highly regarded youngster and has done nothing to dispel this statement. After a year in the youth team, he moved successfully to the Suburban League side and at the time of the merger had made 3+1 first team appearances. Adam has signed for Hayes & Yeading United and will be once again looking to put pressure on Kevin Davies for the starting position.

Ron Thurston, who had represented the local club when posted to RAF Uxbridge in 1934-5, joined Hayes from Leyton in 1936. An adaptable player – he played at wing- and centre-half, in the forward line and even at outside-left – he represented the Athenian League as well as the RAF, was chosen for the South in an international trial at Blackpool in October 1937, and was selected for an FA XI v Navy in December 1937. He took over the captaincy from Alec Chudley in March 1937 but broke a leg in February 1938 and played only once thereafter before hostilities, in which he was involved as a serving member of the RAF. He made three appearances in 1945-6, bringing his total to 70, with five goals, and  later played for Uxbridge from 1946 to 1949.  He often attended Hayes matches until illness confined him to his home and then hospital in 1970. He died on 28 December 1970 at the age of 53.

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