'From Wetherspoons to Walsall's finest' - Behind departing Taylor Allen's remarkable rise

It's difficult to imagine a (now former) Saddlers' fan favourite serving in your local Wetherspoons but that is exactly the type of humble roots that kick-started his storybook journey. 

"I was working in Wetherspoons in a local pub and I was also doing a coaching apprenticeship at college," he remembered in 2023. 

"It was difficult working two jobs and pursuing a career in football at the same time. Then you go into the professional game and you learn that it's a different world, but football has always been an enjoyment rather than a job. 

"I enjoyed my route through non-league because it has made me much more humble." 

A strong mentality would be his greatest weapon, especially during his early career when setbacks threatened to deprive him of his desire to turn professional. 

Even aged 14, Allen found himself overlooked when his Hednesford Town strike partner Mitchel Candlin was poached by Walsall. He would later enjoy a successful trial at Derby County, but once again he was released.

“We were thinking Taylor was going to be this big star but when Mitchel went, Taylor took it as a bit of a knock back at the time but he dealt with it very maturely for a kid of 14," his ex-youth coach Matt Allman recalled.

“He kept working, kept persevering and then he had a successful trial with a lad called Brandon Hitchman.

“Brandon was exceptional but didn’t have the same attitude as Taylor. He signed a professional youth contract at Derby, but Taylor got released. Brandon only stayed there 12 months whereas Taylor kept on progressing.”

Those setbacks shaped him and his ability to deal with adversity only increased his hunger to succeed. 

He started his road to the Football League in the eighth-tier with Romulus and soon stepped up into the National League North at Nuneaton Borough. 

It was there that he attracted attention from higher up the pyramid, and after a summer of trials, including at Leicester City, Allen eventually settled in Gloucestershire with Forest Green Rovers. 

At the New Lawn, Allen would team up with future Walsall teammates Isaac Hutchinson, and most notably Jamille Matt. 

His debut heralded his first professional goal in a 1-0 win over Oldham Athletic, but game time would be limited for the youngster, who had been signed as a centre-forward. 

A spate of non-league loans at the likes of Hereford, Gloucester City and Leamington followed before hometown club Walsall came knocking in the summer of 2022.

A serious knee injury to Liam Gordon presented him with an early run in the team under Michael Flynn, although he would swiftly fall down the pecking order once Gordon returned. 

Yet despite his peripheral role, Allen always made his presence known, taking on a leading role from the shadows.

"When I first came in, he wasn't really involved and there was maybe some uncertainty on his future," ex-Walsall analyst Lewis Needham revealed. 

"I don't think anyone could've predicted the way he has risen to where he is now. Even if he didn't get on the pitch, he would still be receptive and take a lead in meetings."

Things changed drastically for Allen once Mat Sadler took the reins on a permanent basis in 2023, although it was not necessarily glaringly obvious at the time. 

Gordon was the preferred choice at left wing-back and Chris Hussey was signed to provide another option on the left, albeit as a centre-half. 

But Sadler was quietly planning for the future in the background and first casted his eye over Allen as a left-sided centre-back during pre-season friendlies against Leamington and Aston Villa. 

"We'd signed Chris Hussey at left centre-half," Sadler revealed in April 2024. "I initially wanted to balance out that left hand side so Taylor could play a similar role to Chris. 

"I was also keen to have a good deliverer of the ball, which Chris did and Taylor also has a wand of a left foot. 

"There was something in Taylor. I like under-lapping and overlapping centre-backs and I knew he'd be able to do that."

Hussey surprisingly retired from professional football just several weeks into his Saddlers spell, but Allen largely remained on the fringes during the first half of the campaign.

He scored his first goal for the club from the bench in a 3-1 win over Wrexham between Christmas and New Year, but would have to wait another six weeks for another chance in the XI. 

After four months without a league start, Donervon Daniels went down with an ankle injury during a 1-1 draw at Crawley Town on a cold Tuesday night in February 2024. 

This was Allen's chance and he took it with both hands. 

"Over my years of playing, I've literally played everyone," Allen said about his positional change at the time. 

"It might not always be down to choice, but as long as I'm playing, I'll be there to help the team. Wherever the gaffer wants or needs me, I'll be there." 

It was a typical 'Taylor Allen response' and he would go on to become a key cog in the system in his new found role, as Walsall just missed out on the League Two play-offs. 

The qualities that he brought to the role were apparent from the outset. His technical ability and propensity to burst forward marked him as a dangerous attacking threat, which he illustrated with long-range strikes against Colchester United and Tranmere Rovers respectively.

“If you’d have told me years ago that he’d be playing left centre-back I’d have said you were absolutely crazy,” Allman laughs.

“Taylor was always a forward player, a goalscorer." 

Yet his performances in the last part of the 2023-24 season was just a small sample of what he was capable of and his dazzling displays last season has catapulted him to the league above. 

After 11 goals and eight assists in 57 appearances, Allen swept a hat-trick of awards at the end-of-season ceremony, including the club's Player of the Season award. 

Despite his undoubted qualities, it's the humble head which he has on his shoulders that he endeared him so greatly to the Bescot faithful. 

Not only did he play 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over Salford City in September on the same week that his father sadly passed away. 

But when he was sent off on his 100th appearance for the club, Allen was the first to face the media in the wake of the Saddlers' 2-1 defeat at Colchester United in February. 

"That day sums Taylor Allen up and the leader that he is," Needham continued. 

"He's way beyond his years, reads the game exceptionally, but carried himself in the right way like the ultimate professional. 

"The head he's got on his shoulders is something I've not quite seen at that level and he deserves all the plaudits.

"He will go on and have a fantastic career, I have no doubts about that."