After a career spanning twenty years, five hundred and seventy-eight appearances and one hundred and thirty-two goals, popular forward Gary Taylor-Fletcher has announced his retirement from playing football on his thirty-eighth birthday.
In total, he played for fifteen clubs in England and Wales but will be perhaps most remembered for his spell at Blackpool where he helped them to win promotion to the Premier League in 2010, scoring in the Championship play-off final victory over Cardiff City at Wembley.
He played two hundred and thirty-seven times for the Seasiders, netting thirty-nine times including nine in the Premier League which he finally reached at the age of twenty-nine.
He was also part of the Leicester City squad that won the Championship in 2014 and also enjoyed successful spells at Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town.
In his statement on social media, Taylor-Fletcher said: ‘It has been the best trip, but now onto the next stage and whatever the future will bring.’
Fans from many of the much-travelled player’s former clubs soon took to social media to wish him all the best for his retirement and pay tribute to a player who was very skilful and talented and always gave one hundred per cent to the cause.
From a personal point of view, I watched him score one of the best goals I have ever seen a Lincoln City player produce away at Leyton Orient; he really was a top player.
Here is a selection of fans responses to the news on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/TimDixon90/status/1135806096722092032
https://twitter.com/mamcgarry/status/1135841435499061248
https://twitter.com/markturner442/status/1135821301686386689
https://twitter.com/robvanriot/status/1135833905590878208
https://twitter.com/ScottSimons7/status/1135839161334861825
https://twitter.com/ChrisWalton52/status/1135807119964409856
https://twitter.com/m4tt_h/status/1135843257810862080
https://twitter.com/keithfletcher24/status/1135815279177535488
https://twitter.com/matt_scrafton/status/1135827954464956417
https://twitter.com/OxfordSeasider/status/1135836202605658113
https://twitter.com/SamLCFC98/status/1135830900808306688
https://twitter.com/gbsportingvoice/status/1135839049653063681
https://twitter.com/sylviacleaver/status/1135811058789208066
