Taggart signs for Newport County
Tony Taggart yesterday signed a deal with Blue Square South winners Newport County; joining Eastleigh goal-scoring legend Andy Forbes out of the Silverlake Stadium exit door.
Ian Baird brought Taggart to Eastleigh in the summer of 2008 from his former club Havant & Waterlooville.
Tony became indispensable for Eastleigh almost instantly and proved to be a quality signing. It was by no coincidence that the club's best league campaign in the Blue Square South in 2008/09 (narrowly missing out on promotion), just so happened to be the year that 'Taggs' became a Spitfire.
A virtual ever-present under Baird, Taggart played a key role in the push for promotion making 45 starting appearances and finishing the season as top goal scorer with 15 strikes to his name from his wide midfield position. It was an outstanding debut campaign for Tony in 2008/2009.
The 2009/2010 season, which came to a close for Eastleigh in April, saw Taggart score five more goals for the club from 34 starts and five substitute appearances.
County boss Dean Holdsworth was quick to snap up the services of Taggart, completing a deal for the 28-year-old (29 in August) who will now train full time for his new club who won the league as champions by a whopping 28 points in the season just gone.
A statement on the Exiles website read: “We are pleased to tell you that we have signed Tony Taggart.
"Tony has committed himself to training full time and he really does give us another player with skill, energy and know-how.
“After speaking with him in the last week, we both feel that the stage is set for TT (Tony Taggart) to make an impact. Knowing him as a person, I'm very sure he will add another good personality to the squad along with Charlie (Henry).
“We caught up with Tony sat in the park enjoying the weather.
He said "Like any footballer I always want to play at the highest level of football that I can and when Dean approached me I saw it as a great opportunity to play for a team that could give me a crack at playing in the football league.
Ian Baird brought Taggart to Eastleigh in the summer of 2008 from his former club Havant & Waterlooville.
Tony became indispensable for Eastleigh almost instantly and proved to be a quality signing. It was by no coincidence that the club's best league campaign in the Blue Square South in 2008/09 (narrowly missing out on promotion), just so happened to be the year that 'Taggs' became a Spitfire.
A virtual ever-present under Baird, Taggart played a key role in the push for promotion making 45 starting appearances and finishing the season as top goal scorer with 15 strikes to his name from his wide midfield position. It was an outstanding debut campaign for Tony in 2008/2009.
The 2009/2010 season, which came to a close for Eastleigh in April, saw Taggart score five more goals for the club from 34 starts and five substitute appearances.
County boss Dean Holdsworth was quick to snap up the services of Taggart, completing a deal for the 28-year-old (29 in August) who will now train full time for his new club who won the league as champions by a whopping 28 points in the season just gone.
A statement on the Exiles website read: “We are pleased to tell you that we have signed Tony Taggart.
"Tony has committed himself to training full time and he really does give us another player with skill, energy and know-how.
“After speaking with him in the last week, we both feel that the stage is set for TT (Tony Taggart) to make an impact. Knowing him as a person, I'm very sure he will add another good personality to the squad along with Charlie (Henry).
“We caught up with Tony sat in the park enjoying the weather.
He said "Like any footballer I always want to play at the highest level of football that I can and when Dean approached me I saw it as a great opportunity to play for a team that could give me a crack at playing in the football league.
“I am looking forward to the full time training. The extra days can really make a difference and it is something that I have always wanted to do. Without being full time, Newport County showed last season that they were a strong outfit. They were very well organised and everyone knew their job. They always looked comfortable and solid at the back and the County supporters can always be heard letting you know what they think.
“After speaking to Dean I rang my old team mates Charlie Henry & Jamie Collins. They both encouraged me to join and said that the County were a proper club that really look after you.
“My personal ambitions for next season are to play consistently well, become a better player and score lots of goals."
Here at Eastleigh we wish Tony the best of success with Newport County.
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