Roker Roundup: Lyle Taylor explains why he rejected Sunderland and chose Charlton last summer

Taylor on rejecting Sunderland move

Sunderland tried to sign former AFC Wimbledon striker Lyle Taylor in the summer, going as far as to make the player an offer after meeting with him and his representatives.

He rejected the move in favour of signing for Charlton Athletic and has had a fantastic season for the Addicks, scoring 24 goals in all competitions and providing a further 11 assists.

Speaking about the move, Taylor says he was disappointed that he did not get a move to the Championship after his performances for Wimbledon and felt that either Sunderland or Charlton would provide him the best opportunity to get to the second tier, with Lee Bowyer and the close proximity to home made Charlton the best choice for him:

I’ll give you a little insight into me. I was – if I’m honest – disappointed that I didn’t get the opportunity to go and play in the Championship at the start of this season.

With what I did at Wimbledon, I didn’t think – and I still don’t think – people sat up and took enough notice of what I’d done. The same as I don’t think they will with Joe Pigott.

It’s because of the stage you do it on – it’s not deemed to be big enough.

So I was in a place where I was frustrated that people didn’t seem to rate the things I had done there.

I thought for me to get to the Championship that I could go up to Sunderland, who are expected to win the league because of the size of their budget, or I could try and do something under somebody [Lee Bowyer] who I knew would back me to the hilt.

And I knew any word he would have to say about me, as long as I did my job, would change peoples’ perception about me.

So I knew playing under Bow was the right thing to do. It was simply about him meeting me and whether he liked me – because of what he’d heard.

Ultimately I’m not the person a lot of people think I am and say I am. So, I decided the best thing for me to do was come here.

I’m already here. I’m already settled. I’m home. This is home for me. Then I don’t have to worry about the move, not being around my family – which for me is a big thing – and it’s the familiarity of being born in Greenwich, raised in New Cross and being 15 minutes from the doorstep of the house I was brought up in.

Added to the fact it was Lee Bowyer as the manager. So it was kind of a concoction of things.

Charlton Athletic

Congerton joins Foxes

Former Sunderland Sporting Director Lee Congerton has left his role as head of recruitment at Celtic to follow Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City.

Congerton has been appointed head of senior recruitment at the King Power Stadium after a two-year spell at Celtic Park.

The Welshman was not a popular figure amongst the Celtic Park faithful after a string of signings failed to make the grade but he will be hoping for better luck with the Foxes in what will be his third spell working with Rodgers.

Final day woe

With today being the final day of the Premier League season, igeeksoccer have been looking at which teams have fared best on the last day.

Probably unsurprisingly, Sunderland have by far the worst record of team with more than a handful of Premier League seasons to their name.

In 16 Premier League seasons, Sunderland picked up just SIX points on the final day of the season. The only win being a 3-0 win at West Ham United at the end of the 2010-11 season.

The only teams to pick up less points than Sunderland on the last day of the season are Swindon, Brighton, Barnsley, Blackpool and Huddersfield who all lost at their only attempt so far, as well as Hull City who picked up two points in five games.

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